Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Your brain felt like it was melting. 

After embarrassing yourself in front of what felt like everybody in the house, you spent the rest of the day with Skips and the familiar shadows he lived in. Skips helped you take your mind off of the uncomfortable encounter in the kitchen with warm hugs and his usual nerdy rambles about his favorite games. Once night fell, you left the shadows with Skips(he refused to let you go by yourself,) who, with a tender smile, walked you to your bed and cuddled with you until you drifted off to sleep.

When you woke up in your bed, Skips was gone. You felt uncomfortably warm, and your head pounded. The Dateviators sat on your nightstand—Skips probably took them off of you once you fell asleep, he always noticed the little things— but you decided to wait and have some time to yourself before putting them on. Stretching slightly, you got up and headed to the bathroom to wash your face.

The splash of cold water helped to wake you up, but your headache stood strong. You look in the mirror, hoping to see someone who didn't look like they were the personification of exhaustion. You didn't. Your eyebags were deeper and darker than usual, your lips were dry and cracked, and you could swear you saw a grey hair appearing on your head.

Your clock ticked, and your head snaps towards it to look at the time. Ever since taking on so many things at once, it became second nature to keep a close eye on what time it was. Truth be told, you felt like a second Timothy.

11:57 am. In a few minutes you had to go record one of Lux's 'Lux Talks' with them.. Maybe you could head to The Breaker Box for a drink first if you were quick enough. As soon as the thought enters your head, you shake it away. Despite alcohol being one of the only things that could sooth your chronic headaches, Eddie had begun threatening to refuse service if you kept coming in so often for drinks.

Shit. Speaking of Eddie, you were supposed to be up 3 hours ago to help him fix some faulty wiring. With a groan, you hurriedly go back to your room and shove the Dateviators on your face before heading to The Breaker Box.

"Hey, Eddie. I overslept, I'm really sorry." You lean against the bar when you get there, trying your best to keep your voice steady despite already feeling exhausted. You'd only walked a few steps, but your legs were wobbly and you were panting like you just ran a marathon.

Eddie looked down at your spent figure and set a whiskey glass down a little harder than necessary. "Yeah. No worries," he said, drying his hands on a towel despite the fact they didn’t really need drying. "I'm used to handling things solo." His voice was even, but the pause after the first sentence stretched a beat too long. "You look like you could use the rest anyways." The comment lands harder than it was probably meant to. You glance away, jaw tightening, and tell yourself Eddie didn't mean it in a rude way. "...Yeah, I know." You mumble out, standing up properly. "I'll come by later, I promise." Eddie just nods, and you take it as a cue to leave. You make your way out of The Breaker Box and see Timmy, who seems to sense your presence as he turns to greet you with a frown. 

"Hm? What are you doing awake?" He yawns, stretching lazily. You send him a glare, and Timmy stiffens. "I was supposed to be awake at 8:30 today, Timmy." You huffed under your breath, barely glancing at Timmy as you look around for Lux. "Why didn't you wake me up? It's.. literally your only job." You muttered as you felt your headache throb even harder. You tried to keep your voice even, but the frustration was still there. Timmy cock his head and raises an eyebrow.

"Wha? But that shadow guy said not to wake you up early today." He responded, his voice laced with confusion. You instantly paused in your pursuit for Lux. "..What?" Timmy opens his mouth to say more, but you spot Lux in your gym room and begin to walk away from him. "Hold that thought, I'll get back to you in a moment." You say hurriedly as you took your leave to join Lux. Lux spots you, but grimaces and takes a step back. "Ew ew ew, back up right now." They say, waving you off.

You frowned. "Uh, I thought we were going to—"

"You took to long to come, so I already recorded and posted, no thanks to you." Lux takes another careful step back. "And with how shitty you look right now, you wouldn't have been in it anyway, so if you could just.." They make a shoo motion with their hands. "Go? I can't risk catching whatever you have. My face is seen by millions daily—you know how it is for famous Influncers like me." You pause in the doorframe as Lux looks at you as if you were an idiotic child. "Okay thanks byeee!" Lux shoots you their signature fake smile before looking at you expectantly. You slump a bit, but reluctantly leave your own gym room, closing the door behind you. You would say you couldn't look that bad... but you did look in the mirror today.

"Well that was quick." Timmy remarks with a sly smile, still lingering in the hallway. You roll your eyes, leaning against the doorframe. "Hush, or I'll tell Timothy the ruckus you've been making when you take over." You threaten, but it doesn't phase Timmy in the slightest. He just hums and turns to your room. "Timmy, wait— what were you saying about Skips?" You ask, holding back a wince as your spent brain tries to put the pieces together. 

Timmy turns around. "Mmn, I don't know any 'Skips', but if you're talking about that shadowy guy.." Timmy stretches again, sighing loudly. "It's just that. He very rudely woke me out of my catnap and told me not to wake you up early. It took me twelve minutes to fall back asleep. Twelve! I could've been in my REM cycle—"

"What did he say, Timmy? Did he give you a reason?" You interrupt loudly, your voice ringing in your ears painfully. "Yes.. but I can't remember." Timmy shrugs and walks away with a mischievous smile. You have half a mind to walk over to Timmy and strangle him, but in your state he could easily outrun you. With another glare shot his way, you decide to make your way downstairs to the kitchen, almost falling down them in your stupor. Luckily, Tony's there to stop your near-death experience. "Woah there!" He chuckles as he holds onto your shoulder, helping you down the rest of the steps. "See, this is why I told you about my slide idea, eh? I'll leave those by your bed to reconsider." Tony pats you on the back once you reach the bottom of the stairs, almost knocking the wind out of you. "I'll see ya later, tiger. Stay safe, get back to me soon!" He descends back up the stairs before you can respond, probably to try and convince Mayor Celia to add a moat to your house again.

You drag yourself kitchen to eat something, trying to ignore your sudden dizziness. Cam glances at you. There's something behind his eyes—worry, maybe? Judgment?— but your mind's too preoccupied to figure it out. You grab a plate of chicken and rice that smells slightly off, not bothering to heat it up before you sit down at the table and start eating. 

"Hey, man! What's—" Curt and Rod make a move to approach you, but stop when they get close enough to look at you. Really look at you. "Woah, you look—" Curt stammers, stifling a groan of pain when Rod elbows him in the stomach. "Great! You look great. Better than Curt, anyway." Rod gives you a grin, though it doesn't reach his eyes as he sits across from you. "Quick question, homie. When was the last time you had something to drink?" Rod asks, making you pause.

"I, uh... had a cup of coffee like, a day and a half ago, I think. And before that I had a few whiskey sours at—"

"He means water. When was the last time you drank water?" Curt asks bluntly. You pause again. Your stomach twists, and instead of answering you force another bite in your mouth. You don’t see it, but Rod must’ve elbowed Curt again, judging by the sharp yelp.

"Oh, man, Curt. You gotta stop bein' so clumsy." Rod lets out a strained laugh. "Curt's gonna go get Farya, cause he's not looking so hot." Rod sighs casually as Curt's footsteps disappear, but his concern shows when his fingers twitch on the table, as if he was stopping himself from reaching out to you. Rod opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, the laundry room door slams open. 

"You think you're just SOOO high and mighty walking away, Dirk, but you're not! You're a PATHETIC cheating BASTARD who can't go a SECOND without burying his STUPID HEAD in a STUPID BATMAN COMIC!" Harper’s voice is a knife in your eardrums. You wince, hands slamming over your ears, but it’s not enough. Rod stands up immediately, the chair screeching against the floor like it's own scream. This time, Dirk's shrieking words take the spotlight to pierce straight into your skull.

"You're INSANE! You can't even—" Dirk's response is cut off by Rod's sharp and irritated voice. "Man, if you two don't get your shit together before I smack the—"

"I heard someone needs medical attention!~" Farya's sings loudly, though it isn't enough to silence Harper.

"Oh, INSANE?! I'LL SHOW YOU INSANE YOU LYING SNAKE!" Harper hurls something at Dirk, but he expertly moves out of the way. Unfortunately for you, Dirk was previously standing right in front of you, and now that object was heading towards the back of your head. A collective gasp fills the room as what could only be your laundry detergent hits the back of your head, it's powdery grains getting in your hair and all over the floor.

The kitchen is, for once, blissfully silent...

At least except for your loud, shaky sobs.

You try your best to wipe your tears away, but they come faster than you can get rid of them. You try to stand up, but your legs give out from overexertion and you collapse right back into your chair, your body shaking like it doesn’t belong to you as you sobbed in the exact same place you did yesterday.

It feels like the entire world is watching you, but nobody is helping.

Nobody is helping.

You open your mouth. To curse. To apologize. To scream. To say or do something other than cry uncontrollably—

But nothing comes. Just your loud, pained cries. Your body is shaking, your head feels like it's splitting open, your vision is blurring and all you can do is sob. You cry until you can't breathe and you become dizzier than you already are. Farya rushes over to you after what feels like eternity, muttering something, pulling out a thermometer and trying to check your pupils. Her hands are cold. You can’t focus.

“You’re okay, just breathe, you’re okay—”

You are not okay.

Eventually, your sobbing slows, but your entire body seems to slow with it. The last thing you see are your shaky, wet hands before your head hits the table and everything goes dark.