A/N This chapter is pretty in depth about the way people with built-up stress can react. I based this off of one of my own experiences so I hope it seems realistic. I also checked this afterwards to see if what I wrote was correct and most of it is.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading!
You wake up again facing your clock. You don't remember falling asleep so this takes you by surprise. Your throat is dry and you reach for the glass of water next to you and almost choke on it as you realize that none of the things that happened before were in a dream. It was all real and this glass of water is enough to confirm it. Or at least to confirm that he was here.
You touch your lips and sigh. It is about 12:15 and you should be calling Gamzee to call off the study session. You would probably be too scared to go anyway because of what just happened. You quickly get dressed again and walk down stairs. You don't want to wait for you so you decide to get your computer and see if he is online.
Just your luck, he is on. The icon claims that he is busy but you might be able to talk to him for a moment. "Gamzee." You type. "I'm sick and I don't think that I will 8e a8le to go help you today. Sorry ::::("
You receive no reply so are just left to hope that he sees it. You don't want to annoy him by calling so you leave your computer on and wait for a reply. You scroll through the internet. Nothing really interests you. All of the popular websites are boring to you so you are scrolling for neat pictures on a website that Dave uses often. You two don't talk often but both have an interest in photography; well, it's a hobby for him. When he wants a good critic he comes to you.
You start to doodle a character that is based on the character you made up in middle school. You would roleplay and dress as her along with Terezi who would do the same with her own character. You and Pyrope ended those silly games a long time ago but you always find yourself drawing your character when you had nothing interesting in front of you.
You almost scream when a loud ring comes from your computer. Quickly you check the message that turns out to be Gamzee's reply. "Aw mAn. MoThErFuCk. I WaS LoOkInG FoRwArD To sEeInG YoU AgAiN SiS ;)" You blush a bit and reply as slowly as you can if you decide to rearrange something in your sentence. "Uh, Yeah. I don't really know what the sickness is, 8ut my guess is that its stress related."
"I SeRiOuSlY WaNtEd tO Go aLl aNd pArTy wItH My fAvOrItE BlUe gAl."
"Yeah I know, 8ut I don't think I can see anyone for the next couple days."
"WhAt aBoUt tAvBrO? i'm pReTtY SuRe hE WaS HeAdInG YoUr wAy eArLiEr. WhEn hE CaMe bAcK He sEeMeD PrEtTy eXhAuStEd."
A shiver goes down your back and you decide to lie. You don't want them to fight or anything. "Tavros? Oh no he didn't stop over. Well, he might've, I was sleeping all day though." You nod as you think that is a believable excuse. You are still pretty tired, being sick and all.
"YoU FuCkInG SuRe? He sEeMeD eMbArRaSsEd ToO."
Quickly you come up with another excuse. "I was sleeping on my couch with the curtains open. It's extremely possi8le that he could've seen me sleeping half-naked." That is actually true. Anyone could've seen you. Even some creep on the street could've been staring at you without you knowing. You don't like thinking about that though.
"Aw mAn, ToO BaD I MiSsEd oUt oN ThAt. ;o)"
"Shut up." You type with a bit of anger mixed in with embarrassment.
"WeLl wHaTeVeR I'Ll lIvE AnOtHeR DaY WiThOuT YoU HeLpInG Me."
He logs off before you reply and you sigh with relief. He was pretty suspicious despite that the chance of going in your direction and thinking he was immediately here is unlikely. It DID happen but Gamzee didn't know about you being sick until now, or did he?
You feel your stomach churn as you keep thinking about what happened before. Or maybe it is because you are feeling sicker and sicker by the minute. The memory is extremely vivid and you still don't know how to feel about it. You never really expected anything like that to happen, let alone with TAVROS. Your cheeks start burning hot and you curse at yourself. You shouldn't feel like this for Tavros or Gamzee. The guy of your dreams will never fall for you. Love really can hurt someone. You never really realized it any time before this, but now it all makes sense.
"Blarg." You say out loud. You take off your glasses in an attempt to stop focusing on the memory. You do not like feeling like this one bit. Suddenly a knock is heard from your door. You groan and practically limp your way to the door and open it, leaning against the doorway. "Uh, hey." A familiar voice says but without your glasses on you have to guess who it is. The figure is blurry but you immediately know who it is.
"Tav?" You say out loud. You really didn't expect this. "I, uh, want to um," He turns bright red and looks away from you only to stare at his feet. "I want to apologize for what happened, uh, before…" You are shocked. You really didn't expect those words to come from his mouth either. You are left just staring at him tiredly and swaying slightly from trying to stay up right. He continues after waiting for a reply and not receiving one. "I mean, um, I'm just REALLY sorry and I, uh, hope that you can forgive me. It was really… um… stupid and I hope you aren't getting, uh, stressed out about it or anything. Um, yeah…"
You open your mouth lazily to say something but can't really process what you are trying to say or where the conversation is going. "Tavros… Ya don't have to be sorry about anything." Your language is slurred as you try to speak. "Its life an' all that." You are practically falling over by now. You didn't realize how tired you are. "Hehehe." A stupid giggle escapes from your lips and your mind is extremely fogged.
He stares at you like you're insane. "Vriska? Uh, are you okay?" He asks you with a worried tone yet you feel a little too out of it to reply correctly. "Ehehehehehe." You again let out a stupid giggle and he seems even more concerned. "Tav you are so cute." You walk closer to him (or attempt to) and end up falling against him. He holds you with confusion. "Vriska I think you need to rest…" He tells you while holding you by the shoulders so you do not fall over.
You don't really know what is happening but next thing you know you are on your couch. You are leaning on Tavros like he is made for holding you up. "Tav come here." You say with an idiotic tone. "I'm, uh, already here Vriska." He pats your head which causes another giggle to escape from your mouth. You hug him lazily. "Ya know who I love?" You ask him with a smile on your face and you sniffle in an attempt to clear your nose. "W-who?" Tavros asks with a scared tone. You laugh again before responding. "I don't even know anymore. Hehe. There's Tav and Gam who both adore me and John who will never fall for a screw-up like me. Hahaha." You laugh again and he stares at you with a sad expression.
"Vriska you are not a, uh, screw-up." He pats your back gently and you start to frown. "Yeah I am. Heheh. I'm a burden on everyone around me." You don't even know what you're saying anymore but you feel tears pricking at your eyes. You try to close them and make it stop but you just keep crying. You keep laughing also. By now Tavros is practically freaking out. He doesn't really know what is happening either. But you are much dizzier than earlier. You would question it but your head hurts and your eyes sting and your body is moving with each breath like you are going to pass out.
Tavros pushes you off of him gently and forces you to lie down. Now that you cannot feel his warmth you feel like he is not even there. You are dizzy and feel like you are going to vomit. You are tired and want to sleep but you have already slept too much today. You feel like you are going to die except these are common stress-related symptoms and these kinds of things happen to a lot of people. You try to calm down and relax by breathing slowly but you just can't.
Tavros looks like he is practically having a panic attack. He quickly grabs your hand and leads you up to your room. He tucks you in and tries to get you to speak. "Vriska please be alright. Please just tell me that everything is okay." His hand is on your shoulder and your breathing starts to slow. The feeling of loneliness is starting to fade and you manage to speak behind the tears streaming down your face. "Don't leave."
His eyes grow wide and he nods quickly. "As long as that will help you." He puts his warm and caring arms around you. You keep crying but at least the worst of how you felt is gone, for now. A loud sound echoes throughout your house suddenly. You don't know what it is but you start to panic again as Tavros stands up and walks out of the room. He says something to you but you cannot understand him. All you know is that you are left alone in your room now. You curl up your already shaking body and cry. You cry and cry and cry.
Your whimpers can be heard throughout the house and Tavros has trouble moving away from you. You don't know what he is doing or where he is going but all you can focus on is how he left you right after promising to stay. You don't know what you meant by telling him to not leave, in the 'here' or 'always' sense, but you think you just need him now. Or anyone. This feeling is the hardest thing you have had to face before.
You hear the echo of someone walking upstairs. It makes you quiet down a little but your tears continue. To your surprise it is not Tavros who opens the door, but Gamzee. He looks mad and hurt. But his expression instantly changes when he sees you curled up into the smallest shape you can create and he can hear your whimpers and cries. He looked as if he was about to yell at you but now all he can do is stare.
His stares do not help you. In fact they make you feel like you are a freak. Your sad expression is morphed into an intense glare which causes even more tears to fall from your eyes. The sick feeling grows more painful as you feel your emotions change in a split second. Gamzee looks terrified and so does Tavros when he runs in. The two make eye-contact for a few seconds. They look as if they are talking with body language. Gamzee looks like he wants to kill him but is worried at the same time and Tavros looks like he is going to lie down and cry next to you.
You don't even realize that you are speaking until halfway through. "I'm worthless and all I cause are problems. If I wasn't here you two would be happy and so would John. My mother would be less stressed and…" You stop yourself and your expression is again back to extreme pain and sadness. The two stare at you again and you hold your stomach with pain. Your head aches harder and your stomach keeps threatening the rest of your body. Pained sounds escape from your lips and the two run over to you. Before you know it you are practically screaming. The emotions bottled within you of longing and heartbreak that have been collected over the years are released for your two best friends to see. They are horrified.