AN: CW: There are brief mentions of self-harm in this chapter.

This chapter was super easy to write (again, probably because of Rishid) but it was a pain in the butt to edit. Not that it was full of mistakes or anything; I just lost my motivation for this story very suddenly and the thought of working on it just makes me feel super tired. Don't worry though, I'm not going to abandon this story! I'm just going to take a little break from it for the next week or two and maybe work on some other projects, and hopefully my motivation will have returned when I come back to it. Sorry about that, I hope everyone understands.

Sunlight was already spilling through the curtain and illuminating the bedroom when Amir opened his eyes. He stared up at the ceiling, blinking a few times as he tried to fight wakefulness. He was groggy, and his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton candy, and his eyelids felt so heavy he could barely lift them. All he wanted to do was roll over and fall back to sleep. However, an annoying ache in his lower belly made him groan in displeasure and force himself to stand. He tiptoed around the pullout to avoid waking Ryou up and slipped into the bathroom to relieve himself.

Last night, Amir noticed Ryou had dozed off during Audition and shook him awake. Afterwards they had stayed up way too late watching horror movies. It had been a lot of fun, of course; Ryou loved Amir's gore-filled thrillers, and Amir enjoyed Ryou's supernatural terrors –even if he did think the "demons" the movie families dealt with paled in comparison to the real life ghosts he and his family catered to every single day. "Oh no, my keys are on the floor when I left them on the counter. Bitch, get back to me when a TV is thrown at you," he'd mocked the protagonists.

Another enjoyable part of the night was Ryou's reactions to Amir's commentary. He didn't take his favorite movies too seriously, so he was absolutely delighted by Amir ripping on the more ridiculous parts that were supposed to be scary but just weren't. At first it had been automatic; he was used to pointing out mistakes with Malik's favorite (garbage) action movies. But more than once he caught Ryou giggling behind his hand, so he kept at it, until Ryou joined in with his own scathing criticisms.

After the fourth of fifth movie, however, they'd dozed off against each other. Throughout the entire night Ryou hadn't moved from his spot under Amir's arm. Each time one of them got up to change the disc, they returned to that position without even thinking about it. Despite the initial awkwardness, Amir hadn't minded Ryou being tucked against his side until a particularly loud jump scare startled them both awake, and Ryou jumped so hard he head butted Amir in the chin. After a full minute of Ryou apologizing Amir checked the time on his phone and cursed when he saw it was passed five in the morning. They'd quickly shut the TV off after that and made their way upstairs.

Amir scratched at his stomach as he returned to his bedroom, his eyes falling on Ryou as he negotiated his way through the cramped space. Ryou was curled up, almost in a fetal position, with his arms wrapped around his middle like he was trying to hug himself. His long, black lashes tickled his cheeks as his eyelids twitched with dreams, and his white hair scattered around his head like tangles of spider web. He breathed slow and evenly through parted lips.

Ryou was actually pretty cute…Even if he was pretty emaciated right now.

Amir caught himself staring, and felt his face warm as he made himself look away. In his haste to return to his bed his foot caught on the strap of Ryou's duffle bag, and it made him stumble. He caught himself on the edge of the mattress and cursed, yanking the strap off his ankle and kicking the entire bag away.

The noise made Ryou stir and roll over. At first he stretched out, arms reaching above his head and back arching away from the mattress. Then he sighed and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He picked the sand from his eyes and glanced over at Amir. "Good morning," he said with a smile, rubbing his eye with his hand inside his sleeve now.

"Morning," Amir responded automatically, his chest feeling tight as he looked at Ryou. He wore an oversized sweatshirt, which had fallen from one shoulder, and a pair of Pac-man ghost printed boxers. His hair stood up in every direction, giving him a more deranged appearance that Amir couldn't help but appreciate…for some damn reason.

"What time is it?" Ryou asked as he began smoothing his hair out of his face with his fingers.

Amir groaned dramatically as he made a grab for his phone on the bedside table. "Almost ten."

"Ten?!" Ryou shouted back, instantly looking more awake. He pat down the sheets for his phone, checking the time for himself once he found it and letting out a distressed cry. "Shit! I completely forgot I work today. I'm so late!"

Ryou flung himself out of bed and grabbed his duffle bag, hurriedly rifling through it and pulling out dark pants and a green shirt with the Hylian Crest on the chest, cursing the entire time. He was in such a hurry he didn't bother stepping out of the room, or asking Amir to step out of the room, and undressed in front of Amir as if they were longtime friends.

Amir tried to avert his eyes out of decency, to give Ryou some privacy, but as Ryou tugged his sweater over his head he noticed the red lines marking up Ryou's arms, and he couldn't look away. A hollow sorrow formed in his stomach, recognizing the lines as cuts, and relatively new ones at that. When Rishid had first spoken to Ryou, Ryou had mentioned he had a history of self-harm, but hearing about it and seeing it were two very different things. The image of Ryou taking a razor to his own skin popped uninvited into Amir's head, and he finally made himself look away.

He didn't look back until Ryou had pulled on a jacket and was sitting down to tug on some socks. He felt like he should mention the cuts, but he didn't know why, or how. Everything he could possibly say at that moment would either be a cliché Ryou had heard before, or something unintentionally offensive. So he kept his mouth shut and watched Ryou struggle to get his socks on correctly in his hurry.

Finally, Ryou stood and aimed a bright smile at Amir, giving him a little wave. "Thanks so much for letting me stay. I'll see you later." And with that he dashed out the door, nearly running into Malik on his way out. Ryou exchanged a hurried apology with Malik's amused "it's fine"s, and then Malik poked his head into Amir's bedroom as Ryou hurried down the stairs.

"He oversleep?" Malik asked, brow raised. He was in his own work uniform.

"Yup." Amir's answer was curt and automatic; he was still thinking of the red that scored Ryou's wrists.

"Forget to set his alarm?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Malik chuckled and shook his head. "At least that hasn't changed. But I don't know how he thinks he's going to get to work. You drove him here last night, right?"

"Yeah."

Malik pulled his head out of Amir's room and shouted down the stairs, "Hey Ryou! Wait up, I'll give you a ride!" Then he was back in Amir's doorway, giving Amir a little wave. "Anyway, I'm heading out, too. I'll see ya later."

"Yeah, see ya."

Malik smiled and disappeared. Amir waited until he could no longer hear his footsteps before looking down at his phone and checking his own work schedule. He sighed softly, relieved that he had the next few days off. He'd definitely need them.

Amir laid back down and pulled the covers up over himself, willing himself to go back to sleep. But even though he was still tired and groggy, he couldn't stop thinking about Ryou. Not just his scar covered wrists, though that was a troubling thought that stayed in the forefront of his mind. No, he just couldn't stop thinking about Ryou. Ryou laughing, Ryou crying, Ryou cuddled into his side. The soft, herbal scent that clung to him from all his time spent burning sage. The way his eyes glittered when he was excited about something and the light pink hue of his lips.

Okay, so Ryou was attractive. Even if Amir was inexperienced in the ways of sex and romance, he could tell when he was attracted to someone, and Ryou had definitely caught his eye. He couldn't really help it; Ryou was the first person he'd ever been able to get along with aside from his siblings. The first person who ever showed an interest in basically everything Amir loved. The first person, aside from his siblings, that Amir let touch him. Even if it was a bit awkward, and even if Amir didn't know what to do when Ryou clung to him, he was starting to actually enjoy the closeness – oddly enough.

But it was more than his physical appearance and their shared interests that kept Amir awake. Loath as he was to admit it, he cared about Ryou. More than he'd cared about any client before. And he knew it was only because of their shared interests that made him more invested in Ryou's wellbeing, and that made him feel extremely shallow, but he couldn't deny that finally having another person to talk about video games and Pokémon and horror movies with was nice.

Ryou was Malik's friend. Amir hoped that, once everything was over and the demon had been exorcised, he and Ryou could be friends, too.

With that thought Amir sighed and pulled himself out of bed. It was obvious he wouldn't be able to get to sleep now, so he might as well start his day.

He trudged downstairs, still in his pajamas, and prepared himself a quick and lazy breakfast of cereal and toast. There was still some coffee left in the pot from Isis' breakfast, so he finished off the last of it without cream or sugar.

After he put his dishes in the dishwasher he glanced out the kitchen window, expecting to see Rishid tending to his garden as he usually was around this time, but he wasn't out there. Odd… Rishid did have today off too, didn't he?

Amir wandered through the house until he came to a stop in front of Rishid's study. The door was closed, but the light was on, and he could hear shuffling and soft muttering from inside.

Well, Amir supposed he couldn't really blame Rishid for getting to work this early, what with Ryou's outburst last night and his newly emaciated appearance. Amir could probably stand to help him, but with his ignorance on the subject of white magic, he'd probably just get in the way. Even so, he knocked gently on the door.

Rishid opened the door a moment later after some more muttering and shuffling. His eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles were starting to form underneath. He was still wearing the same clothes he'd worn last night, and Amir got a sinking feeling that Rishid had started working much earlier than he'd thought.

"Please don't tell me you stayed up all night working," he said.

"Alright, I won't." Rishid ducked back inside his study, leaving the door open as an invitation for Amir to come inside. He stepped inside, whistling as he looked around the study; if he'd thought it was messy before, he was wrong. Almost every single book on the shelves had been pulled out and were currently laying in haphazard piles around the room. There were crumpled up papers scattered around the room, as well as the wrappers of some granola bars and water bottles. Rishid had dedicated one wall to hand drawings of various symbols and circles, pinned directly into the drywall.

"Jesus Christ, Rishid."

"I just lost track of time," Rishid said defensively, dropping a book onto his desk. He flipped through the pages, cursed softly, and grabbed another book only to repeat the process. Amir watched him do this three more times before speaking.

"What are you looking for?"

"The right incantation," Rishid answered, flipping through another book only to lay it aside on top of one of the discarded piles. "It needs to be powerful and direct, but easy to say so we can all say it."

Amir's eyes widened. "All of us?"

"Yes. There's power in numbers. Really it should just be three of us, because symbolism is everything. The familial connection is stronger with you, Malik, and Isis, since you're related by blood, but none of you know how to perform a ritual properly so I'll have to be there to direct you anyway and that makes four. Which is fine, there's power in four. We can use the Four Symbols." Rishid took a deep breath; he'd been rambling, and Amir had only understood half of what he was saying. "So yes, all four of us."

Rishid rubbed his forehead, then his eyes. With a sigh he glanced at his mostly-empty bookshelves. "So I have to find the right incantation. If you three feel silly saying it, it won't work."

"Uh, I'll probably feel silly saying it anyway," Amir confessed, scratching his hair.

Rishid gave him a sharp look. "You better not, or Ryou might not make it through the exorcism."

Amir grew tense, his heart jumping to his throat.

Rishid continued like he hadn't noticed. He plucked a book from the shelf and scanned the table of contents. "If I can't find anything that feels natural to all of us I'll just have to make something up, but I swear I remember reading one not too far back that would have been perfect. I just cannot, for the life of me, remember what book it was in."

Amir was silent as Rishid shut the book and grabbed another. He glanced around the study again; aside from the books and paper everywhere, nothing else looked out of place. He crossed his arms, drumming his fingers against his bicep. "So, aside from the incantation, what else is left to do?" He hoped there wasn't much, because if Ryou lost any more weight thanks to this demon prick he might just fall over and shatter in the next strong breeze.

Rishid sighed and motioned vaguely to the window. "I have four jars of agrimony water on the window sill so it can soak up both sun and moonlight. I'll bless it at sunrise tomorrow morning. I'm considering making some four thieves vinegar as well. That wouldn't take too long. I need to go to White Light and get some pine and basil incense, but I think I already have all the dried herbs I need. I've already made some sage bundles. I should also get some candles while I'm out. Black and white…" He trailed off, more speaking to himself at this point than he was speaking to Amir.

Suddenly he slammed the book down and grabbed something from a bowl on his desk. He thrust it into Amir's face, and Amir saw that it was a simple necklace with a metal disc and a black cord. "I made these last night too. I've already given Isis and Malik theirs. We need to wear them now that we'll be having prolonged contact with Ryou and the thing possessing him."

Amir took it from Rishid and studied the metal disc; engraved on one side was an eight pointed star, as well as some complex runes circling the edge. Amir couldn't imagine how Rishid managed to engrave something so intricate on something so small, but he decided that if Rishid was never able to achieve his dream of being a teacher, he'd make a killing selling charms and mojo bags.

"What does it do?" he asked as he fastened the cord around his neck.

"It protects the wearer against evil ghosts, so I highly suggest you keep it on." Rishid rubbed his eyes again, blinking hard as if trying to blink the heaviness out of his eyelids. "I don't know if this thing can influence us or if it's grasp is limited to Ryou, but better safe than sorry, right?."

Amir nodded an agreement, and when he glanced down to Rishid's collar he saw him wearing the exact same necklace. "Okay, so just so we're on the same page," he began, getting a little impatient as Rishid immediately returned to scouring his books. "You've made as much progress as you thought you would by now, right?"

Rishid paused, then shrugged, not looking up from the page he was studying. "Actually, I was hoping I'd be further along by now. If I had found the incantation I wanted to last night, then I would have already visited White Light. But it's fine. We still have five days until the water is done, and that gives me plenty of time to make the vinegar and write an incantation."

Amir nodded slowly, unsurely. He hated the thought of waiting around for five whole days to do something. Who knew if the demon, spirit, whatever would take over before that? But he didn't want to ask Rishid what would happen if it did take over before that, because he's get that cryptic "Pray it doesn't" response again; and he didn't want to ask Rishid if he could hurry, just in case, because Rishid would say something about not being able to rush this stuff.

But he did ask Rishid if he could help somehow, and Rishid gave him a warm, thankful smile.

"Just stay close to Ryou," he answered. "Keep an eye on him. Remember everything that you've read and watch for the signs. Leave the rest to me."

Amir nodded and took a few steps back, preparing to leave so Rishid could resume his research without distractions. "Okay…Good luck."

"Thank you."

"Oh, and Rishid?"

Rishid looked up curiously.

"Go to bed."