Eff's dreams, whenever he actually slept and had them, were always very violent and red. Though, the moment Eff woke up he always had a hard time remembering them and what they were about.
It was actually past noon when Eff finally stirred from his slumber. Before opening his eyes he noticed how... warm and snug he felt. He was clearly near a source of heat and something was holding him, though not tightly, near it.
When he opened his eyes he came to realize that it was D-Boy. What... really...? D-Boy had him in a loose embrace. Eff never would have thought D-Boy would ever... want him so close. He didn't know he could get D-Boy to like him so fast. Eff was so surprised at the progress he had made with D-Boy already.
He remembered last night, and how D-Boy actually helped him and even tried to comfort him. It was amazing how far a little fake-affection could go and yet... though it was fake... a part of him almost wanted to believe his own lie. Would it really hurt his plans to get D-Boy on his side if he actually liked his counterpart? Well, no... but... He would have to think about this later.
Eff had to remember he was only doing this so he could have D-Boy on his side, and eventually help him keeping their horrible master behind that wall. Still though, being close to D-Boy, all snug like this, it was pleasant.
Eff smiled. He was feeling better today. His stomach had calmed down, and really the only thing he could complain about now is the bad aftertaste he had in his mouth. But that could be fixed with toast.
Speaking of toast, he should probably get up and go make some. But, not just yet. Eff would like to enjoy this rare moment with D-Boy just a little longer. He always had a hard time letting go of happy, pleasant moments. Eff wished these moments could last forever, but he would have to settle for just a few more minutes since it would have to end eventually.
D-boy awoke without noticing that he was curled around a certain someone's body, yet when he opened his eyes, he wasn't as shocked as he was at the movies. He was about to shoot out questions in confusion until all of last night came back to him, and he almost immediately calmed down, looking as if he experienced a panic attack without the actuality of having one.
He remembered it all vividly, Mr. Eff got sick, and he tried comforting him, ending in them... Oh. Right. His face was warm from the humidity, or at least that's he blamed it on. He shifted uncomfortably, still embracing Mr. Eff who was smiling right at him, and not even in a mocking way. Just... a smile.
"... Are you feeling any better?" That was all he could think of to say, not sure if he should let go of Mr. Eff or not, and equally as unsure if he wanted to.
Eff was a little disappointed that D-Boy woke up. That meant that they would have to get up soon and go about their day. Whether they would spend it together or separate was still up for debate though.
He grinned at D-Boy's blush. Boy, did D-Boy seem to blush a lot! It seemed rather easy to get D-Boy to blush, as if he didn't have any control over how he felt at all. This too was a good sign and clearly showed how much D-Boy liked Eff.
"Much better! Thanks for asking, D-Boy." He sounded like his cheery self again. Eff moved to sit up, but didn't really bother moving D-Boy's arm to do so. He stretched a bit, taking in a deep breath. God it felt great to be alive! It felt even better now that he wasn't sick anymore. Eff merely learned to appreciate life more from his experience last night.
"Would you like some toast?" Eff suddenly asked. He was hungry and eager to get that bad taste out of his mouth, but keeping up his affection and kind act, whether it really was an act or not now, was something Eff wanted to make sure he did.
"No, it's fine..." D-boy said, holding onto Mr. Eff's waist now as he sat up. "Are you really hungry?" He asked, although what he wanted to ask was 'do you have to get up and leave?', but like Hell he was going to spew that out. He couldn't deny he was cozying up to him faster than he wanted, but he was still too suspicious of him to really start opening up to him with things like that.
Then again, he got into bed and cuddled with Mr. Eff on their first fucking night together, could he even have the rights to say that he didn't want to disclose these kinds of thoughts?
Nevertheless, he remained with his arms around the other, hoping he wouldn't leave just yet. Even if the moment was gone quite some time ago, he still wanted Mr. Eff to stay. Just five more minutes. Or maybe ten. Or an hour.
Eff paused at D-Boy's question and stared. "Well... I guess I'm not starving, if that's what you're asking." He said; a little puzzled why D-Boy would even ask that. It was odd that D-Boy hadn't let go of him either. D-Boy's arm was still wrapped around his waist, though Eff didn't mind it at all. Eff would have figured D-Boy would have been more than happy to let him go but he didn't! Did that mean he wanted him to stay?
Eff actually wouldn't mind staying, but he wanted to know for sure if D-Boy wanted him to stay put or not. "Why do you ask, D-Boy?" He questioned, giving him a curious look.
D-boy really didn't want to answer, but when he stopped to think about it, maybe just outright saying it would make his counterpart stay, at least for a while. "I wanted you to stay." He replied, attempting to show no shame at all. He shouldn't, after all, Mr. Eff was the one who said that he liked D-boy, not the other way around.
But, that was also the shameful part. If Mr. Eff was the one who had feelings for D-boy in such an affectionate and caring way, why was D-boy the one asking Mr. Eff to stay? Either way, he decided he should stay confident about these types of things. Constantly blushing in front of Mr. Eff wasn't helpful at all, but as long as he didn't mindlessly stutter like a bumbling man with a knife to his throat, it truly shouldn't be a problem. He was still adjusting to his human form and all, and it was more than complicated to control for him.
Hearing D-Boy say such a thing made Eff blush a little himself. "O-oh, of course." He stuttered. It really wasn't much of an act now. Eff actually felt flattered and a bit flustered that D-Boy wanted to hold him more.
He laid back down and moved back to his original position on the bed. Eff stayed close to D-Boy, facing him, but he was too embarrassed to look directly at him at the moment. Eff wasn't sure if he should say anything or not, so he stayed silent. It was a little awkward but cozy and peaceful. It was nice to just lay here and forget about whatever they had to do today.
Eff then remembered something he liked about last night. Yes, the cuddling was great, but what his favorite part was hearing D-Boy's heartbeat. While they were making this moment last, Eff might as well listen to something he was fond of. He moved down some, so he could move his head and press his ear against D-Boy's chest. Eff smiled contently hearing this wonderful rhythmic sound, and moved an arm around D-Boy as if to keep him in his place while he listened.
D-boy felt his heart race as Mr. Eff complied to his request, and even laid his head back down against his chest again. He was beginning to take delight in these physical moments, as petty as they seemed. He adjusted his arms around Mr. Eff properly again, and settled against him closely.
He didn't get it, what was so wonderful about this, just holding each other? Whatever it was, it was great somehow, and he appreciated Mr. Eff's participation in it. You know what, Mr. Eff was right, maybe a few impulsive actions here and there weren't so bad. If they brought on this moment, then Hell, maybe-
Wait, what the fuck was D-boy saying? Mr. Eff was right?
Two days. Two days and it was already taking a toll like this on him. Was this good? Bad? Procrastination? Progress? He was getting along with Mr. Eff, that had to be a good sign somehow, but...
Was Mr. Eff siding with him, or was he siding with Mr. Eff?
D-boy had apparently earned Mr. Eff's appreciation, but he hadn't really won Mr. Eff over or anything, probably far from it, he seemed as chipper as he usually was.
But his only method was depressing others, and Mr. Eff said so himself, it would be nearly impossible to bring him down. D-boy wasn't sure what to do. He clutched to the other, as if it would make his mind work better.
He really needed to calm down, he hadn't even been up for that long, and he could panic himself about decisions later, couldn't he? That he could. For now, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to soothe himself again as he reducing his vice-grip on Mr. Eff to a simple embrace, hoping he didn't frighten him from the spontaneous grasping.
As silent as it was, despite hearing the beating of D-Boy's lovely, alive heart, Eff's mind began to wander a little. His thoughts currently decided to pick D-Boy as the subject again, wanting to pick at it more since he was staying still for a while. Where did he leave off anyways?
Oh, right. Did liking D-Boy really put his current goal at risk? Even though it was originally planned to just merely trick D-Boy, to get him to look at life more positively and help take care of the wall, did actually having affectionate feelings for D-Boy really affect the situation? Well... perhaps not. Maybe it was okay... D-Boy hadn't tried to bring down his mood much either. It had only been a couple days, but to seemed like months since he heard anything remotely depressing come out of D-Boy's mouth. So, it was working, it would seem, his plan to get D-Boy on his side. D-Boy wasn't exactly cheerful, but... he seemed less depressed. That was progress. Maybe it actually was okay to—
Eff's thoughts stopped when he felt D-Boy's grasp tighten around him. He was so curious he actually removed his ear from D-Boy's chest to look up at him. "Is something wrong, D-Boy?" He broke the silence with a question.
D-boy barely realized Mr. Eff even spoke he was so caught up in his questions, until finally he noticed the question directed to him. "What? Oh, no. Just... waking up, is all." Wow, way to go on that 'speak with confidence' plan he was going for. He sounded as confident as that fucking neighbor kid.
"Mr. Eff, I'm well-aware that this must be getting awfully tedious, but if you could just confirm one more time... do you really like me?" He needed to ask again. His suspicion just couldn't be satiated, not with this. If it was true that Mr. Eff felt this way, maybe that was all they needed. D-boy could talk to him properly and they'd all be fine, they'd be out of this world in no time. Just a few more conversations or persuasions. But it did beg question… "If you really do like me, why did you never really mention it until now?"
Eff was surprised that D-Boy brought up this question again. Wasn't what he said before believable enough? Even though they were lies, Eff did his best to remember what he had said before so he could 'confirm' his feelings for D-Boy. "Well, as I said before you're loyal and hard-working! And I still like how you seem to treat me with some respect, despite how differently we think!"
Oh but... Eff felt like these reasons weren't really as true sounding as they should be anymore, even though he had confidence in his voice. Maybe he should add something else? There was something he really liked about D-Boy now, since they've gotten a little closer and learned new things about each other. "I enjoy how you can't seem to stop blushing." Eff then grinned at the thought. "And the sound of your heart! And how the beat seems to speed up when I'm listening to it!" He kept stating things he liked.
"I didn't really know of it until last night, but you're also kind!" It was true. D-Boy wasn't as cruel as Eff thought he was. After all, D-Boy helped him and even comforted him last night.
He stopped his compliments when he heard D-Boy's second question. Oh. How was he going to answer this? The fact was he didn't really like D-Boy! ...Or at least he thought he didn't. So, it made this question a little difficult. Eff thought for a moment.
"Honestly?" Yeah, like this answer was going to be honest. "I was... afraid. You see, we fought so much in the past, and we always seemed to be screaming at each other! I thought you hated me, and... it was hard to admit my feelings to you. I thought you would reject me immediately or tease me about it! I was merely trying to save myself from unnecessary embarrassment, but now I'm really glad I did admit my feelings! I mean, we wouldn't be..." Some blush appeared on Eff's face. "...cuddling right now, if I hadn't said anything... We would probably still be trying to stuff our own opinions down each other's throats!" He chuckled lightly, since that was clearly a fact.
D-boy still wasn't entirely convinced by this, in fact, Mr. Eff's answers made D-boy even more skeptical about it. Most of the things Mr. Eff complimented only became apparent to him last night, not last month or even last week. It was like he was making it up as he went along.
His usual frown intensified, and he pushed Mr. Eff away to sit himself up. "How could you like those things- how could like me, when you didn't even know most of these traits until last night?!" He hissed, his face twisting into a scowl. He felt his face heating up again, but unfortunately for Mr. Eff, it was most certainly not blush.
Eff had been confident, too confident, expecting D-Boy to accept his lies. It was what he wanted to hear, right? But D-Boy's frown wasn't reassuring at all. Whatever confidence Eff had immediately left him as soon as D-Boy pushed him off. His smile faded.
Eff also sat up, not liking D-Boy's intense frown at all. He knew that look all too well. He felt some panic after hearing D-Boy's question. Oh, god how was he supposed to answer to this? He could just stop the lies here and admit that he didn't like D-Boy that much before, but now he sort of liked him so it was okay now! But... no. No, that can't be the only option! It was so stupid!
"What else am I supposed to say, D-Boy?" He threw a question right back at his counterpart, having his own frustrated frown on his face. "You keep asking me why over and over! I didn't want to bore you with the same answers! I thought you would appreciate that I actually found more reasons to like you!" Eff sounded like he didn't fully understand why D-Boy reacted the way he did, because honestly he didn't!
"Why do I need to keep repeating myself anyways?! Why can't you just believe me for once?" At this point Eff was just as about as upset and worked up as D-Boy was. He was really bothered by D-Boy's doubt. Maybe it was a good thing that he didn't actually like him that much, or else his feelings would have gotten hurt just now.
Then Eff realized something. They were fighting. They were fighting like they've always fought. It was a different subject, but yes, they were fighting. This wasn't going well. Fighting with D-Boy wasn't part of the plan at all! He was supposed to get along with him! Get him on his side! Not fight with him! How could he turn this around? How could he make this situation better? Eff thought and thought, but his brain refused to give him a solution right now. He was too panicked and worked up to even think straight.
That ticked something in D-boy, and he backed off of the bed and as far from Mr. Eff as he could, while still in the room. Mr. Eff was either too desperate or too oblivious, but whatever he was he was not going to take it.
"Why can't I believe you? Why can't I believe you?! Oh you nearsighted little imbecile, are you listening to yourself? Maybe I can't believe you because all you've done is lie, or maybe I can't believe you because since the day we met you've been pushing me and antagonizing me! Or, maybe it was because you have never, ever shown any interest in me or how I am or how I act in any way, and have always regarded me as your worst enemy! You little shit, I should've known you were lying! Kudos for that one fucking 'talent' you have, because you sure got me good! Now we're both pathetic, worthless wretches who've gone way past desperate, does that answer your question, Mr. Fuck? Do you now understand in the slightest why I happen to be so obsessively concerned with the truth in all of your words?!"
D-boy's body was shaking he was so furious, his fists were clenched so tightly that if his gloves were not there, he'd practically be stabbing into his palms. Two days may be short, but he should've known Mr. Eff was lying! When was he ever not?
He couldn't believe he got that close just to find out, wasting all that energy and time for nothing, just like always.
Before Mr. Eff could have the chance to retort, D-boy thundered out of the room, not wanting to look at his younger counterpart any longer. He didn't even want to be on the same level of the house as Mr. Eff, and he instinctively ran to the staircase and marched into the basement, managing to rush down several floors before finally tiring himself out from the anger and collapsing against a wall.
Wasn't this familiar? Deep inside the basement, huddled up against the wall, infuriated and exhausted from fighting with Mr. Eff.
Oh, look.
Even the tears were on cue.
If Eff had anything to say, he wasn't sure if he could even speak after was D-Boy said. So… he found out he was lying? So soon too! Too soon. Eff expected to have had this lie go on longer. Not only did he need D-Boy to believe him, but he also wanted him to believe him, and he sort of wanted to believe himself. But, any affection, fake or not, was no longer felt. Everything was replaced with frustration, confusion and a rather stunned feeling.
Eff was going to speak. His mouth moved to do so. But before he could get out any actual words, D-Boy stormed out of the room. Eff instinctively got out of bed, but then stopped himself. Did he really want to chase after D-Boy? ...No. Not without some sort of plan. He had to recover from this. He had to get D-Boy back to believing him. But for now, Eff had to leave D-Boy be.
He heard D-Boy's angered footsteps go down the stairs to the basement. As usual, D-Boy ran away to the basement. Most likely he was crying. If he was then it was likely D-Boy actually had feelings for Eff. Eff hurt D-Boy by lying. Oh, what a mess...
Eff rubbed his forehead a little, walking out of the bedroom. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything today. Ah, yes. Toast. A smiled returned to his face at the thought. Maybe Eff could think of a way to fix this after eating.
He went to the kitchen and fixed himself several pieces of toast. This time he tried putting some chocolately looking spread on it, and peanut better. Seemed like a good idea.
After the toast was made Eff sat on the couch, but didn't turn on the TV while he ate. Rather, he let his own thoughts be his entertainment for now. The wonderful taste of toast almost went unnoticed as he dug through his thoughts.
Eff decided to go over what happened this morning. Maybe he could figure out what to do. Eff remembered waking up first, and then D-Boy woke up. He remembered sitting up, and wanting to eat, but D-Boy wanted him to stay. Next he laid down, and they cuddled. Nothing bad happened so far. Maybe his mistake was elsewhere?
Eff continued his recap of this morning. He remembered asking D-Boy if something was wrong... why was that again? Oh, D-Boy had squeezed him for a moment. Then D-Boy asked those questions and... Something he said must've upset D-Boy. He didn't understand it completely. This was the point where things went wrong. His answer. Maybe it was... oh, right. He only mentioned things that he had discovered the previous night. That didn't prove that he had liked D-Boy before. He needed more re reasons... more 'proof' for his 'affection' for D-Boy. In other words, Eff was going to have to lie more.
If he wasn't so used to lying all the time, it would be hard to think of something. Eff smirked as another lie was put together in his head. If things went well, he could have D-Boy back to believing him.
Now the question was... what should he do now? Should he go down stairs and try to comfort D-Boy? He did seem upset. Well... no. It would be too soon. Too early to bother D-Boy again. Unless he wanted D-Boy to scream at him some more. Perhaps it would be best to let D-Boy calm down. Then he could 'apologize'. He wasn't really all that sorry, but judging from the movies he watched, apologizing helped fixing messes like this.
Eff needed to go paint the wall anyways. He didn't paint it yesterday, so he had to paint it now. It was a good time to paint too! D-Boy was busy crying, so he wouldn't be bothering him anytime soon. Eff got up off the couch, leaving the plate of toast crumbs on where he sat. He went down into the basement, making sure to avoid the area D-Boy usually went to sob his eyes out, and went into the room with the wall.
D-boy sat there for a long while, the occasional sob choking itself out of him from time to time. He just couldn't handle himself, how could he believe Mr. Eff's words so easily? After everything they'd been through, after all he said, and of course with the job D-boy was entrusted with! Mr. Eff was sleazy, he was sadistic and meticulous, but still D-boy had absolutely no excuse for falling for such a terrible, obviously hoaxed idea.
Then again, Mr. Eff's specialty had always been the social kind, taking advantage of Johnny's loneliness and want for a real friend then using it against him, since apparently his decaying rabbit corpse wasn't enough.
So, then, wouldn't that mean... ... D-boy wanted Mr. Eff to be that close with him?
He tensed up at the mere thought, but he had really given up denying it. He was, after all, curled up in the basement and crying simply over Mr. Eff's lie of 'affection'. It wasn't just that he didn't want to admit it to Mr. Eff, he didn't want to admit it to himself! But what could he do to deny it now? Mr. Eff said such few words that were already skeptical enough, and D-boy carelessly jumped right into it, on the very off-chance that they were true.
It was shameful, feeling such admiration for such a horrible being. One who went against anything D-boy felt was important or necessary! One who went against his own creator!
Yet, one could say that was also his 'charm'.
Mr. Eff was just so ambitious, all the time, even on the littlest of things. Despite his annoyance, even D-boy found him rather delightful to be around. His smarminess and confidence was intriguing, he was the perfect rival. And D-boy didn't know when or how, but at some point in his miserable, vile little life, he had considered and decided that Mr. Eff's traits made him the perfect partner as well.
D-boy's grip around his legs tightened, and a couple of tears streamed their way down his cheeks again. He wanted to stop thinking about all of this; he wanted it to all just stop. It was appalling, disgraceful and seemingly impossible, but it was the truth, and the truth he never wanted to refuse. Even if it did hurt.
Especially if it hurt.
Despite not painting the wall yesterday, it was still pretty well covered from the previous thick coat of blood. Eff really didn't need as much blood as he used the other night. He was content with slaughtering a few victims, draining their blood, and slapping it on the wall, but in the back of his mind there was a little concern for D-Boy.
He would be alright, right? He wasn't trying to kill himself over this right now, right? Eff gave the wall a quick, sloppy coat of blood. He rushed a little, feeling an extreme urge to check on D-Boy. The urge grew with every minute that passed.
It wasn't because he cared was it? No. Maybe. Eff wanted D-Boy to not kill himself. He didn't want to be alone with the stupid wall to take care of. And besides, he can't cheer up D-Boy if he was dead!
Eff left the room after what felt like hours. Despite rushing himself, he actually did spend a couple hours in there. He paused and listened. Occasionally he could hear D-Boy sob. While it was a depressing, pathetic sound, it was reassuring and it let Eff know that D-Boy was still around. Perhaps now would be the time to apologize. But, wait. This apology... it had to be convincing. It had to be sincere. Or at least seem like it. It had to be the perfect lie.
With another idea, Eff went upstairs. A few minutes later he was back in the basement. It was surprising to find D-Boy so deep into the basement, but Eff did manage to find his counterpart eventually. He brought something with him; a tissue box and a big plate of toast. Each piece of toast had a different topping like butter, cheese, chocolate, honey, and there were even some that were left plain. The tissue box was obviously for drying those tears D-Boy's eyes always leaked, and the toast was just Eff's attempt of some sort of gift. How can toast not make someone happy? It's impossible. Toast fixed a lot of things.
Eff put these things in front of D-Boy and sat next to him. He kept a little distance though, not sure if D-Boy would even want him close. "D-Boy?" Eff finally spoke up. "I would like to apologize." He then paused for a moment, and waited to see if D-Boy would respond or even allow an apology.
At the sound of another's footsteps, D-boy clenched onto himself and buried his face into his legs, hoping he would just pass by. His hope was for naught when he heard Mr. Eff speak, though. An apology would be nice, but he couldn't help but feel he didn't deserve one for being such a gullible fool. He was more deserving of being kicked in the face and laughed at, something to that extent.
"I appreciate the gesture, but honestly Mr. Eff, you're the last person I want to speak to right now." He replied, speaking louder than usual so that his voice would be clear, without having to lift up his head. He didn't want to face the other. He couldn't, not with what just happened between them. It was hard enough having him in the same room without continuing to verbally lash out at him.
"Well, then don't speak." Eff simply stated. He kept his voice calmer than usual, and slightly quieter, trying to sound as sorry as possible. It didn't matter what D-Boy wanted, this needed to be said. Or at least Eff thought so.
"Look. I'm sorry for lying to you." Eff started. He stared hard at the floor in front of him as he went over the lines in his head. "I don't like seeing you so upset. I didn't mean to hurt you." D-Boy must like him if he was so bent out of shape over his lie. "I shouldn't have lied about my feelings, but I do like you." This was still a lie. Probably. He had to make this convincing either way.
"You see the real reason that I even started liking you in the first place..." Eff paused, closing his eyes, as if he was trying to remember something. "You won." He said. "It didn't matter how much I manipulated Nny or how much I cheered him up and inspired him to paint the wall. You always brought him back down to your level... and in the end, he killed himself." Eff paused again, frowning at the memory. He still remembered the way that gunshot sounded.
"I'm not exactly sure what brought us back here or what made us human, but if it hadn't... You wouldn't exist anymore. Your dream came true. Not mine." How terrifying it was, the thought of not existing. There was no freedom in non-existence.
"You could say I am little jealous, but the way you won that war of ours... it was really admirable." The feeling of getting what you wanted must have felt great for D-Boy. Eff couldn't wait until he was able to feel such a wonderful feeling.
D-boy was silent as he took in what Mr. Eff said. That was his reasoning? He... admired D-boy for 'winning'?
He wasn't so much bothered by the reason itself, as his was pretty similar, but at the fact that Mr. Eff considered this 'winning', a new kind of anger rose deep inside of him. "Look at us, Mr. Eff." He said as he stood up, still refusing to face him. "I did not 'win', as you put it. If anything, I lost, and I lost big time. All I wanted was nothingness. Not even for anyone else, but for myself. I wanted it all to end, but does this look like the end to you? No, this is a beginning. Your beginning. You won, not I. You persuaded Johnny, and at the last moment he wanted to live, the only thing that stopped him was his pathetic loneliness driving him to pick up that phone. Then it all happened, and I should've won, but I didn't. We were placed here, and we're real now. You can enjoy your life, take others' lives..." He looked down at Mr. Eff's plate of toast placed upon the floor, and he grimaced. "And you can have your silly little toast, without a single care in the world. What more could you possibly want? You have everything you've ever dreamed of! For me on the other hand, this world is useless, with whatever it holds. The only thing that ever really made me pause on it... was you. But really, thanks to your little fabrication of feelings, I don't have to worry about that decision anymore. I have it all figured out. All of this reminded me of exactly why we were enemies in the first place."
His voice was low and eerily calm, but his looks deceived his tone as he tipped his head up and glared at Mr. Eff, his blue eyes piercing him like the ice they resembled.
"I'm not going to be like Johnny. I'm not a part of him anymore, so I won't make the same mistake. I won't let something as measly as companionship get. In. My. Way."
Eff stood up along with D-Boy. He wondered if he had said something wrong, and if D-Boy was going to storm off again. He was surprised when he got that speech. It was rare for Eff to actually listen to D-Boy's words, but he did this time.
D-Boy's perspective on their situation was interesting, as well as his perspective on Eff. Did Eff really win? Well, with how D-Boy put it, it did actually did seem like Eff got what he wanted. But it was a complete fluke that they were even here, standing as humans! Eff didn't see this as a victory; he saw it as a second chance. A second chance that shouldn't have happened.
D-Boy's last words gave Eff the most horrible feeling, and his glare sent a chill down his spine. What was this? Was he offended that D-Boy wasn't believing him? Was he hurt that D-Boy decided that he wasn't going to let companionship get in his way? Whatever it was, Eff did his best not to return the glare and keep his frustration from raising his voice. He didn't want to turn this into another fight. D-Boy would just walk away and go cry some more.
"You don't understand, D-Boy, I don't have everything I want." Eff took in a breath, trying to remain calm. It was so hard not to scream and push his words into D-Boy's skull. "I want you to enjoy this life, worthless or not, with me. I want you to be happy. Yes, I did lie, and I apologize again for that, but it wasn't all untrue. I was trying to say the things you wanted to hear instead of what I actually felt. I like you D-Boy, and if I didn't, I wouldn't even have tried to come down here with a plate of 'silly little toast' and apologize. Not all my feelings are fabrications. There's some truth to what I've said to you."
He paused for a moment, and looked away from that icy glare of D-Boy's. Eff almost looked like he was holding back an urge to cry. He bit his lip, closed his eyes and sighed. Eff didn't like this feeling at all. Maybe he was disappointed. Really disappointed. But he had to keep his composure and continue to talk. He had to let D-Boy know how he felt.
Eff reopened his eyes and spoke again, but he didn't look at D-Boy. "I don't want you to kill yourself, D-Boy. I know you don't want to exist anymore, but to be honest, if you didn't exist I would..." He paused again, almost afraid to admit such a thing to D-Boy.
"I would be alone." Eff glanced at D-Boy with the most pathetic look he could manage to imitate. Something had to get to D-Boy. Something had to work. Fuck, even Eff was having a hard time telling whether the words spewing out of his mouth were lies or not anymore. He wasn't even sure how he truly felt anymore either.
"Oh Mr. Eff, haven't you noticed by now? Do my words really fly past you that easily?" D-boy snickered, but his frown only intensified before he began wandering around the room, looking around as if searching for something. "The only thing that would make me truly happy is what you're keeping from me. All this trouble, and for what? To keep yourself from getting a bit lonely?" Mr. Eff didn't even know what loneliness was. He hadn't experienced it, no… D-boy was acquainted with it well, what it truly was like. His eyes scanned the items of the room here and there, certainly in Johnny's house any room would have that all-too-familiar object. As he brushed some of the boxes that decorated the area, he felt a blade and his eyes widened, and he quickly snatched the gleaming, small, overused weapon and held it close before continuing.
"Do you really want to pester me for the rest of our lives, or have me do the same? Or maybe... you think you can save me. Will you love me...? Take care of me...? Heal all my pain?" He hissed sarcastically, stopping in place.
"... That's what I thought. Don't fret Mr. Eff, you'll never be lonely again." He swerved around and leered at him, taking a deep breath as he gripped his weapon closely. Raising it, and with a quick dash, D-boy swung the knife at his counterpart. "There'll be plenty of company IN HELL!"
Eff didn't like D-Boy's tone. Something was off. Something was starting to make him feel uneasy. He listened to D-Boy's words. They were almost mocking him. He listened some more. They were mocking him! Sarcasm was laced through each syllable! Whether Eff's words were true or not, being made fun of was not something he would put up with!
He stopped trying holding back his frustrated tone. "D-Boy, you shortsighted mite, all I wanted was you to fucking try to enjoy life! Really, if you just tried it once you would-" Eff paused when D-Boy swerved to face him.
Wait. Wait. WAIT. There was a knife in D-Boy's hand! How the fuck did he not notice that sooner? A hand instinctively went for his pocket so he could grab his own knife.
D-Boy wasn't going to storm out of this conversation to cry. No. He was going to do something Eff never had expected D-Boy would ever do, at least, not without the proper manipulation.
But his hand didn't reach his own weapon in time. D-Boy had suddenly dashed at him, and he had to change what he was doing in milliseconds. Eff did move back to try and dodge the knife, but he stumbled on the plate of toast he had left on the ground. Not only did his feet crack the plate and squished perfectly good toast, but Eff didn't even move nearly enough to avoid the knife. He wouldn't have time to mourn over the precious bread product. He was about to be stabbed.
D-boy couldn't believe he did it, he could barely even register it for the moment, but he did it. Whether it was the animalistic instinct flowing through the insides of his human body, or he was truly driven off of the deep end, he attacked Mr. Eff, and he succeeded.
He shoved the knife into Mr. Eff's shoulder, and dug it in as far as he possibly could. Mr. Eff's blood spilled rapidly from the wound, causing D-boy to get covered in the thick, warm liquid as it sprayed out in all directions. He could've stopped there, but he didn't. Oh no, his fury was far from satiated at this point, he wanted to make this hurt.
With a quick blow, D-boy socked Mr. Eff is the stomach, knocking him over and forcing the knife in even deeper. He then proceeded to repeatedly kick him as hard as he could muster, the adrenaline pumping through his veins viscously with each strike. He wanted to say something to Mr. Eff, to vent at him, mock him, taunt him, ANYTHING! But all that came out were angry grunts as he delivered as much agony as he could at this point, as if any knowledge or vocabulary he had was simply thrown out of the window.
The only thing his mind could focus on through the ire was 'Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. KILL HIM.'
He kicked and kicked, until he felt so drained that he could fall over any moment himself. He couldn't hold his repugnant emotions back, and the tears flowed from his eyes once more. He panted as he stared down at Mr. Eff, who was- hopefully- deceased.
... Was that it?
Was Mr. Eff really dead?
D-boy dealt more damage than he thought he could, but was it enough? Was this really the end? What a thought, if one doughboy killed the other, you'd imagine it to be Mr. Eff who did the deed. The whole situation felt like a thought itself almost, an imaginary scenario.
But Mr. Eff laid there, still as any other thing in the room, save for his twitching shoulder from the knife. It was rather hard to watch, D-boy didn't often see the grotesque happenings to the victims; he simply heard the sounds in the safe confines of the upstairs, hearing their hopeless cries for help. Now it was Mr. Eff who was the hopeless one. Huh.
If Mr. Eff was truly gone, D-boy wouldn't have a thing to worry about. He'd just scrape the paint off of the wall, then his Master would be free, and so would he. It was so simple... Too simple. He pitied Mr. Eff for having to go out in such a barbaric way, it didn't suit him. D-boy pitied himself, too. He could have waited. He could have left, like he always did. Moped. Cried. Fought with Mr. Eff. Same old, same old. But no, Mr. Eff was most likely dead, and D-boy had the fucking nerve to CRY ABOUT HIS OWN DOING. Oh, the raging horror of it all, indeed...
Eff cried out when the knife plunged into his shoulder. Things seemed to slow down for Eff, and yet he couldn't react or defend himself from D-Boy's assault. Blood went everywhere. Waves of pain shot through his shoulder making him wince. His hands moved to attempt to block the wound and stop blood flow. Maybe he could have done something. Maybe he could have grabbed his weapon from his pocket and stabbed D-Boy back. But before he could even attempt, stunned with pain and blood loss, he was knocked off his feet thanks to a harsh blow to the stomach.
Eff would have cried out again, if the wind hadn't been pushed out of him from that punch. Instead he gasped and whimpered. He couldn't even recover from that. He didn't have a chance to move out of the way. D-Boy immediately started kicking him harshly.
Eff closed his eyes, hissing in pain. He tried blocking with his good arm, but it wasn't really much use. This was painful and unpleasant. Painful enough that some tears managed to slip through his tightly shut eyes. There were a few choked cries after the first few kicks, but then, as if Eff had given up, he went quiet. His body stilled.
It seemed like a while before the kicks were over. Now there was an odd silence in the room. Was Eff dead? Of course not! He wouldn't let D-Boy kill him, but he knew how hopeless the situation was. Instead of fighting back Eff had settled on giving up and letting D-Boy attack him until he was satisfied. Unfortunately, D-Boy had shown no mercy to Eff and had beaten half to death, knocking him unconscious.
Spit and blood leaked from his mouth, and there were fresh bruises all over him where D-Boy had kicked him. Not to mention his shoulder was in terrible shape, and had a deep wound. It wasn't bleeding as much as it had been, but there was already a good amount of blood that had escaped and stained Eff's shirt. If only he hadn't been caught off guard, Eff could have turned this situation around.
It seemed like Eff wasn't breathing, until his body managed to let out a weak cough.
D-boy nearly squealed when the silence was broken by... Mr. Eff? He was still alive? Hope was both restored and destroyed at this. Even though it was just a quiet cough, it was still something. If Mr. Eff was still alive though, D-boy's only problem was what he would do if that was the case.
What could he say? 'Sorry for trying to kill you'? Granted, he wasn't sure if he was sorry or not yet, but still. For now though, there was a chance Mr. Eff was alive, and he had to act upon it somehow. He... could just let him die. In fact, he could finish him off right here, but now that he finally had the ability to think coherently again, all he could think about was Mr. Eff's words.
... Was he really sincere about that apology? Maybe Mr. Eff really did like him, but was just terrible at expressing it? He was worse, his counterpart at least tried to explain his feelings. All he did was dwell on and deny the thoughts. Looking down at the poor, battered body of his potential partner as these thoughts raced through his mind slowly created a horrid, painful feeling inside of him.
He'd never felt this kind of depression before, it nearly felt physical. In fact, it did feel physical! There was an ache within his chest! What the fuck could even-
Oh.
Oh.
So this was what guilt felt like.
D-boy had never felt guilty before. He always had a reason for the things he'd said and done, and if not good reasons, at least reasons nonetheless. He'd always stick to verbal retorts, even when at his breaking points; he never tried to get physical. It was simply unnecessary.
But now... not only did he assault Mr. Eff, he assaulted him for apologizing. Sure, he had the right to be hurt, he had the right to be angry, but... Did Mr. Eff deserve that? Well... Yes, but not from D-boy. That was uncalled for, even if he was provoked. He could've given Mr. Eff logical, thought-out answers! He could've persuaded him!
Maybe... Maybe they could've gotten over it, even! This guilt trip was painful; D-boy had to do something for Mr. Eff.
Perhaps saving his life would be a friendly gesture.
Yes, D-boy knew at least a couple of things in the medical field, he was able to help Mr. Eff with his stomachache even, but this was a fucking stab wound. Not to mention the bruises he must have on his abdomen. Oh well, he had to start somewhere.
He bent down beside Mr. Eff, and slid him into a proper position to work on. It probably wouldn't be wise to take the knife out, but leaving it in also didn't seem like a grand idea. Carefully, D-boy grasped onto the handle and tugged, and the knife began to shift out, causing more blood to spurt out from the opening. Shit, this thing was in deep! Still, he needed to get it out to stop the blood from draining more than it had already, so he continued to tug until he finally pried it out. He immediately tossed the knife aside and looked around for something to cover the wound with, there had to be something!
No cloths, no towels, no blankets, no bandages, and they were way too deep within the basement for him to run back and forth, what could he use? His eyes darted around the room, then back to Mr. Eff, and realization hit D-boy like an arrow to the brain. Of course, their outfits were covered in stupid little cloth doo-dads! Quickly, he untied his own ascot, and wrapped it around Mr. Eff's injury, tightening it enough to make sure it would stay on for at least long enough to get some proper bandages.
Well, he stopped the bleeding for the time being, but now he needed to really help Mr. Eff. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for all of those stairs, and moved his hands underneath the other. It was shaky at first, having only done this once before, but D-boy managed to hoist Mr. Eff up and over his shoulder, and shuffled towards the staircase.
It felt like hours when they finally reached the top level of the house, but D-boy knew his trip wasn't over yet. He ran (or at least moved as fast as he could, carrying someone twice his own weight) towards the bedroom, and tossed Mr. Eff onto the bed, too exhausted to place him down gently. Oh well, at least they made it to the bedroom.
Now came the hard part. Mr. Eff's cut needed to be stitched up, but neither of them were in the shape for such a procedure at the moment. Mr. Eff would need to be bathed first to clean the wounds. Did Mr. Eff even bathe in the first place?
The guilt was looming over D-boy still as he looked over his younger companion, the companion he desired to do away with just an hour or so ago. He had to do something to make him feel better, at least emotionally. What could cheer Mr. Eff after an event like this? What would keep him from trying to throw D-boy into one of the many torture devices? Or, at least keep his own conscience from doing the same.
Well, that was obvious.
D-boy hurriedly made his way to the kitchen, and was pleased to see that Mr. Eff left the bread and toppings out in a fine condition. Thank God for him being such a slob when his mind was occupied. He'd seen Mr. Eff do this many times, he knew the whole procedure: Put the bread in the toaster, push the button down, wait, take out toast, and slather whatever was lying around on top of it. Thankfully he wasn't around to see D-boy jump in terror each time the toast popped out.
After several minutes, D-boy had stacked at least twenty different topped toasts neatly on a plate, and waltzed back over to the bedroom, placing the foodstuff on the end table beside Mr. Eff. He knew how dearly Mr. Eff loved toast and how happy it made him, but he felt it still wasn't enough.
Johnny left paper and pencils scattered around his room all of the time for doodling, maybe D-boy could write Mr. Eff a letter? Yes, that was good, but what could he write? How could he apologize to Mr. Eff for being such a thoughtless monster? What could properly describe his feelings about the whole situation?
D-boy picked up one of the pencils and a sheet of paper and pondered for awhile, before finally coming up with the most eloquent and heartfelt apology he could imagine.