Hey guys! It's me again! I hope y'all are having a great week! This story is set during Neverseen, right after they broke into Exile and all the bug stuff happened. I mainly wrote this because Shannon Messenger doesn't have enough Dex angst and Dex/Keefe friendship in her books. If you've read my other story, you can read this in the same universe as that one or not, it's up to you. Enjoy!

I own nothing except a dysfunctional computer.

Yelling.

Pain.

Heat, burning his arm.

Dark figures, faces obscured.

Searing pain in his mind.

"He's useless"

"Take him out"

You deserve to die…

Dex woke up, and was relieved for 10 seconds before remembering. He had gotten Fitz hurt, maybe even killed him. Physic had said he would get better, but Dex wasn't sure if he could trust her. He barely even knew her.

All his life Dex had wanted what Fitz had- a family with a good reputation, a good chance at a cool ability, lots of friends, great looks- Fitz had everything Dex could ever want. Compared to him, Dex was useless. But Fitz was the one stabbed through the chest by a giant bug, while the person who'd gotten him hurt was fine.

He hated himself for being so weak. If he'd had a better talent, he could have helped Sophie escape in Paris. Instead he had let himself get blasted, and then Sophie nearly died while getting them away. He could only remember bits of that, but he vividly remembered waking up and seeing how pale she was, and knowing that he was the reason that'd happened...

Sophie should've just left him there. Later he would hurt her, with his stupid Restrictor amd him wanting to prove to the council, to everyone that he wasn't useless… it just made him useless and hurtful.

He always hid the nightmares. They were useless too, and he deserved them. His parents would make him take a sedative, and he refused. He knew that it'd just remind him of the yelling and pain and confusion and darkness. Though sometimes they got so bad he almost wished he was killed by the Neverseen. He knew thinking that way was bad, he just couldn't stop it.

Screw it, Dex thought. He climbed out of bed and wandered down to the common room. There at least he could listen to the crackle of the ever-present fake fire. Fire should scare him, after Brant and Fintan, but it didn't. It helped him focus. Dex needed to think.

Should he leave the Black Swan and just go home? That would be safest for everybody, and no one would miss him. But what if the Neverseen or the Council came after him and demanded to know where Alluveterre was? He didn't trust himself to not let that information slip. Besides, he didn't want anyone else in his family to be hurt. He didn't even want to imagine the triplets having to go through the dark and pain and fear and…

Someone cleared their throat, and Dex looked up from the flames to see Keefe staring at him. "Why are you just staring at fire?"

"I was thinking," Dex muttered. He really did not want to have to put up with Keefe right now.

"Why are you up?" Keefe waved the glass of water in his hand.

"I was thirsty, and there isn't a water fountain in my room."

"Oh."

Dex wasn't sure why Keefe wasn't going back up to his room. Yesterday had probably been tiring for everyone, and surely Keefe would rather bother Dex in the morning and sleep now? Apparently not, because Keefe was sitting down on the bench beside him. Fantastic.

"Why are you up?" Dex had not been expecting Keefe to actually ask that question, so he ignored him. "You know what happened with Wonderboy wasn't really your fault, right?" That had not been expected either. Dex was't sure what answer the Empath needed, so he just shrugged, not verifying anything. "No, dude I'm serious." Keefe waited until Dex looked at him to continue. "You did the best you could, and you didn't mean for the reaction to be that big. If anything, blame that Councilor for electrifying the bomb-thing, and the creepy bug monster for impaling him, or even Fitz for grabbing it. All of those are what caused it. Don't just blame yourself."

"Right, but I should have known that could happen!" Dex exploded. Why couldn't Keefe understand that it was his fault. "I built the thing, I should've known that could happen! And I was the one who took it out and set it off! And now Fitz might die and everything is wrong and I'm still useless!" Dex hadn't realized he was crying, but he apparently was. He hated this. He should be stronger. He didn't deserve to cry.

"First off: You are definitely not useless." Keefe held up his hand to stop all comments. "You are brave and talented and honestly have a way cooler talent than you think. Second: Yeah, maybe you should've known it could happen. But it did explode like you designed it to, so… you got that right at least! And third: if you hadn't set it off, we may have been captured by the council or killed by the creepy bug things. Yeah, Fitz did something stupid- how the heck is that your fault?"

Dex blinked. That… almost made him feel better. Almost. Keefe grabbed his arm and yanked him up. "Whatever you're planning can wait until morning. You should go to bed and… and those are some pretty strong negative emotions I'm feeling from you."

Dex yanked away, ears burning. Of all the people he could've run into in the middle of the night, it had to be the Empath. He couldn't tell him about the nightmares. Keefe would just think he was more useless. "Why don't you just go back to sleep? I'm fine!" he growled.

"Uh, obviously you're not," Keefe pointed out, "given the fact that it's after midnight and you're just sitting here staring at the fire, talking about how useless you are and very against going to bed. Now, what can I do to help, because I'm not going back to sleep until you do. And I mean actually sleep, not just stare at the wall." Dex sighed, sitting back down on the bench. This was gonna be a long night.

"I just don't feel like sleeping right now. I'll be fine." Dex really, really needed Keefe to believe that but nope. Ugh.

"Well, ok. Be "fine" all you want. While sleeping." Dex shook his head. Keefe would never understand. He didn't know how to explain it. "Please Dex. Just talk to me." Dex didn't understand why Keefe cared so much. He shouldn't. No one should.

"I told you Keefe. I just can't sleep!"

"Actually you didn't tell me that, you just told me you didn't feel like it." Dex sighed angrily. Of course an Empath would notice the difference between "don't" and "can't". Keefe frowned, looking suddenly concerned. "Are you having… nightmares?"

And Dex broke. He started sobbing, so hard he didn't know how he was still able to breathe. He had no idea why he was crying, just that he was hurting and scared and tired and he needed a break. He needed to sleep peacefully until the world was fixed and the Neverseen was gone and he could be just himself again, with no one depending on him or counting on him because he'd just disappoint them. After a few minutes he was aware of Keefe talking to him, but Dex had no idea what he said.

Eventually Dex was able to stop crying, and he looked up to see Keefe still standing there, looking a little awkward but still there. He hadn't walked away like anyone else would've, he stayed. That meant something, but Dex couldn't think of what. "Sorry ," he muttered, standing up from the bench. His leg nearly gave out, but he somehow remained standing.

"For what?" Keefe asked, standing up too. "You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't create the Neverseen, did you?" Dex shook his head, and Keefe smiled the overconfident smirk he used to use back at Foxfire, before Everest. "Right! So you're ok in my book."

"You don't think It's weak?" Dex whispered. He held his breath, waiting for Keefe's answer.

"Yes, I think it's weak that you've been through hell and have a few nightmares," Keefe said sarcastically. "Of course you're not weak! I don't see why you even have to ask." Dex smiled a little at that. "But you know what will make you weak? Being sleep deprived when we need you to work on the Twiggler. So c'mon, bedtime." Dex thought for a second before climbing up to his feet. "Right. Let's go."

The two boys silently walked up the stairs until they reached the rooms. Right before ducking into his, Keefe turned and said, "You know you can come to me if you have another nightmare, right? I'll probably still be awake…"

Dex smiled softly. "Thanks. And that offer extends to you from me."

Keefe looked almost like he'd be the one crying for a second before smiling. "Sure, Dizznee. Remember: You're not useless." He ducked inside his room, and Dex walked to his bed and laid down. And for the first time in who knows how long, he completed the night without a single nightmare.

(And if Fitz noticed Keefe and Dex meeting in the common room one night, he didn't mention it.)

And that's a wrap! Thanks for reading guys! Okay, so I realize that I don't know most (or probably any) of you, but I just want to say: YOU'RE NOT USELESS! No matter what you think or who tells you otherwise, all of you matter. How do I know if I've never met you? Easy: You're a fanfiction reader. That automatically makes you awesomer than 99% of the population. Later Potaters!