Lucas dosen't say or do much anymore. He spends most of his time lying in bed, but doesn't sleep.

At first, Ness thought that everything would be alright. The day following those traumatizing events was a weekend, meaning that Lucas would have two days to recuperate. Ness tried talking to him, to try and comfort him, but all he got in response were incoherent mumbles.

Lucas had become an emotional wreck. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see were flashes of his recent and very vivid memory. Wario's leering face. His teeth. His breath. His smell. The three stars he took that night had removed all traces of what the fat man and his companion had done to him, but he could still feel them. The feeling of a person inside of him. It tormented Lucas into insomnia.

He also couldn't bring himself to face Ness. What did Ness think, Lucas thought, when he saw him like that, lying on the ground? He was both embarrassed and ashamed, and did his best to avoid the other boy. Whenever Ness tried to talk to him, Lucas would retreat to the bathroom, sit on the toilet seat, and cry as silently as possible. He would come back out an hour later. At night, when Lucas couldn't sleep, he would sneak out of the dorm and wander around aimlessly. He usually ended up outside on the grass, where he managed to find some peace under the starlight.

But even there, he was reminded of Ness' confession. "I love you," he had said. And then the kiss. That feeling of tongue and saliva. It reminded him of Wario, only much gentler and softer. Wario. His tongue and saliva. Lucas couldn't sleep on the grass anymore.

Saturday passed. Lucas could barely tell if he was asleep or awake anymore. He couldn't tell if he was even alive. Maybe I'm not alive, he thought. Maybe I should see if I'm alive or not. He conjured a ball of fire in his hands, and aimed it at himself.

"LUCAS! What are you doing?" It was Ness.

He grabbed Lucas' hand, and the fire disappeared. Ness' hand was warm and dry. Lucas' hand was cold and clammy. Lucas pulled his hand away and retreated to the bathroom without another word.

Come Monday, Lucas was completely depressed, shrouded in an aura of despair. His hair was messy and unkempt. His skin was losing colour with no indication as to when it would ever return. Dark circles formed under his eyes. He lay in bed, eyes wide open, hoping by some miracle that sleep would come.

"Lucas."

"..."

"Lucas, get up. We have to fight today."

Lucas ignored him, and curled up tighter under the covers.

"Lucas!"

"I'm tired. Leave me alone."

Ness tried tugging on the bed covers. "You've been in there all weekend, now-"

"I said I'm tired!"

Ness let go, disheartened. He was hoping for an opportunity to humour Lucas, or at least have a conversation that lasted more than fifteen seconds. Giving up, Ness changed into his day clothes, washed and brushed, and took one last look at Lucas before opening the door and heading out.

"Good-bye," he said, quietly.

For the first time since Lucas' arrival, Ness ventured to the atrium alone. He picked a sofa and sat down. This strange feeling, of not having the blonde boy beside him, reminded Ness of his first days in Brawl. He had been completely alone. There was no one with anything in common with him. Everyone seemed to have already have a friend or two from the same world.

The atrium was lively then. People played for sport, for friendly competition. There were a lot of people, more than thirty. They chatted and laughed lively.

Looking around, Ness realized exactly how gloomy the place has become. The original number had dwindled down to eighteen right before Tabuu's announcement last week. Now, Ness can only count eleven. Twelve, if including Lucas. They all wear evil and serious expressions. And they play for survival.

The intercom: "Free for all. Fox, Ike, Link, Ness."

Ness got up and headed for the transport tubes, walking like a boy sentenced to death. All of a sudden, he didn't feel like fighting anymore. Every time he fights, he thinks of Lucas. He thinks of how the kid hated the very idea of being forced to fight. He would cling to Ness like a child, cowering from all the violence. If there was one person that didn't deserve all the shit of this godforsaken place, Ness thought, it was Lucas.

Drawn into wire. Space and time. The emotionless voice called out the rules. It's four stock, on that stage with the spaceship. Ness didn't really care. He could only think of Lucas, and his sad, cute face.

GAME!

Without realizing it, Ness made eight kills, or four stars. He walked out of the recovery room quickly. He didn't want to see the stall where he found Lucas, lying on the ground.

They day crawled past slowly. When Ness returned to the dorm, carrying more stars than he needed, Lucas was in the same spot as this morning.

Lucas got up, walked into the bathroom, and shut the door without saying anything or making eye contact.

Ness walked over to his own bed, and fell down face first into his pillow. Just before he started to suffocate, he sat up, and took every single one of the stars he collected. An overdose, if such a thing could exist with stars.

The next moment, he was drowning in euphoria. The stars filled him with a warm pleasure that spread to the tips of his body. Feeling completely awake and drunk with confidence, Ness decided to confront Lucas.

Three knocks on the bathroom door. No response.

"Lucas?"

Still no response.

"Lucas, open up."

"...Ness..."

"We need to talk."

"..."

Ness put his forehead against the door with a thump.

"Please...?"

There were the sounds of footsteps, and then the door opened. Ness and Lucas looked at each other, face to face. Ness reached out to grab Lucas' hand, but...

"Don't touch me!" Lucas recoiled back.

Ness stared, frozen. "Sorry..."

"No, I should be sorry," Lucas replied. He sat back down on the toilet and tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't. He broke out into tears.

"Lucas..." Ness crouched down beside him, making sure not to touch him. "You can't go on like this. If you don't fight, you'll die."

"So lemme die," Lucas replied between sobs.

"No."

"W-why not? It doesn't matter, does it? I'll die eventually."

"That's...that's not..."

"You know... you know I'm right. What's the point of even fighting anymore?"

Lucas continued sobbing.

"If you die, I'll be all alone," Ness said.

Lucas looked up, but didn't say anything.

"If you die...," Ness continued, "Well... I'll have lost the only friend I ever made in this world." Ness said quietly.

"..."

Lucas stopped sobbing. He wiped his tears on his sleeve.

"I can still feel him there," Lucas said, in a whisper.

"What?"

"I can still feel him. Them. Inside of me. In my mouth. In my..."

Lucas gulped.

"Even though... even though the stars healed...me, they won't make me forget... forget..."

Ness looked at Lucas intently.

"I... I can make you forget all about them," he said.

And with that, Ness cupped Lucas' cheeks in his hands, and pulled him into a kiss. This time, however, he wasn't shoved away. Instead, Lucas sank himself deeper into Ness' mouth. They stayed there until both out of breath. When Ness pulled away, a little colour had returned to Lucas' face, making it rosy again.

Ness couldn't resist a giggle, even if it was a sad one. "You're so cute," he said. And then he kissed him again.

"..."

The afternoon passed in silence. Lucas didn't know what to think anymore. Maybe he did love Ness. It wasn't that disgusting anymore, Lucas thought. Lucas couldn't taste Wario on his lips anymore. He tasted Ness there.

Then, while thinking about the black-haired boy, Lucas feel into an undisturbed sleep for the first time in what felt like years.

It was already nighttime when Lucas woke up. He felt refreshed, even a little happy. Ness was already asleep.

"Ness?" Lucas called out. No response. Lucas walked over to Ness' bed and shook his covers.

"What is it?" Ness mumbled.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Lucas asked, looking at anywhere except Ness and blushing.

Ness also looked away. "Um, sure."

Lucas' face lit up. He slipped into Ness' bed and snuggled right up against him. Ness replied by brushing a hand over Lucas' smooth cheek.

"Hey Ness, remember when you asked if I'd be your friend?"

Ness nodded slowly. "Yeah... what about it?"

Lucas moved closer, so that their noses were almost touching. "Nothing," he replied.

And for that fleeting moment, it seemed that everything would be alright.


A/N: And that's the last chapter, folks.

Just kidding, duh. This is far from over. Updates might slow down though... school starts next week. Reviews are ALWAYS helpful :3 Bye~!