Cod dammit! I knew I shouldn't have fallen for Sol's shit, but I did, and now I can't sleep. I should have just accepted the romcom, it was there, it had been sitting in there amongst the movies, but I fell for it,again.

I needed to do something about Sol, he shouldn't get away with what he did, but I realized that it might not be as simple as that. He was probably sleeping, which really shouldn't matter, but it was dark, really dark, and that corridor wasn't something I wanted to deal with right now.

A crash sounded from the room to my left, was it Gamzee's room? Did the clown even have a room? I'd always figured he lived with Karkat. But what if it wasn't him. What if it was- No, don't think about that, you'll just end up sad, and still alone. I sighed and pulled my cape tighter around my shoulders. I shuddered and decided that maybe sleeping with the lights off wasn't a good idea.

Lightning crashed outside of my window and I cursed it before pulling the cape even further over my head. The floor outside my door creaks, signaling that someone should be there, and I curled even further into myself.

"Eridan?" I squeaked in fear at the voice. "Y-yeah?" My voice was hoarse. "Are you ok?" I recognized the voice almost immediately. "Equius, I-I'm fine, I just- I just need..." he steps into view, or he would have if I wasn't underneath my cape. "What? What do you need? I can get it for you, if you want..." I don't look out from under my cape. "It's.. nothing, I'm fine I just- AGGGHH." Thunder cracks above me and I scatter myself, throwing myself into the closet.

"Eri-eridan? Why are you in the closet?" I would have laughed at that if I hadn't been absolutely terrified. "Do I need to get Feferi? Sollux?" I groaned at the thought of him getting anyone besides himself. "No! You- your fine, I just need someone to be here." Equius opens up the door and pulls gently at my cape. "Eridan, you don't have to be afraid. I won't let them get to you." my heart beats just a little bit faster.

"Well, howw wwould you knoww? You don't knoww wwhat they think, wwhat they'll plan." my stutter comes back tenfold. "Cod, I can't do this!" he looks at me, having finally gotten the cape from my head. "Who's planning to kill you?" my cheeks flush, "If I tell you, you'll just laugh at me!" he shakes his head and lifts me off of the ground, setting me on the human bed. (Wwhy do I havve this thing again?)

Equius makes his way around the bed, lowering himself down as gently as he possibly could. He was large compared to me. I didn't really understand much about the physics of highblood trolls. Just that I was supposed to be taller and stronger, which I was neither of. And besides, if this was the case for every troll, than Feferi should be the tallest, and Gamzee already has that slot.

He smiles at me, and I can tell from where I sit that he's sweating. "There're towels in the hall closet, it's right across the hall from my room." I mentally facepalm, he probably already knew that, heck, he probably put them there! "Yeah. I'll be right back." he chuckles nervously and I wonder what for, why would he be nervous around someone like me? I'm just Eridan. Sad, lonely, perpetually depressed, Eridan. He shouldn't feel anything but disgust when it comes to me.

My fins flutter when he comes back into the room. Thunder claps again, but this time it isn't as terrifying, not when he's standing there, a solid presence. "Who did this to you, who made you so afraid?" I'm almost afraid to answer, the look in his eyes tells me he's angry. But for me? It almost seems impossible. "I just borrowed a movie from Sol, and it- he- he tricked me and then I was scared and then the storm came and- and..." He walks over to me, unsure, and wraps his arms around my shoulders.

"You don't have to-" he looks down at me, pain clear in his eyes, and he shakes his head, before pulling away. "I don't understand why you do this to yourself." I look at him, scrunching my eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't understand why you have to put yourself down. Your wonderful." My eyes widen and I gasp slightly, did he just? "Eridan, I don't really know how to do this all that well, and I'm sure I'm not your first choice, or really your last, but I wanted to know if you wanted to be... friends? Or really whatever you wanted to be. But I figure it's better if we start out slowly. And I really shouldn't be asking you when your so scared, but I just thought that maybe... you would listen now?" Tears fill my eyes. "If only you knew." he looks surprised when I tackle him, nuzzling my face into his neck, my fins tickling at his chin.

"This is a good start, isn't it?" he chuckles, "I'd like to think so, but it's really up to you."