"Alfred..."

I hear a voice, but all I see is darkness. I figure out that I can walk. I start my long journey down this path of nothingness. Suddenly, I see visions from the past. These visions are of everything that I've done wrong. I try not to look at them but one particular scene is pulling me closer to it.

At first, I see two kids, Mattie and me. We were looking at our Dad, who was crying on the sofa. The vision jumped to a later scene. In this one, Mattie was crying.

"If you hadn't t-told Papa that lie...H-He might s-still be with us…"

But…that wasn't my fault…was it?

"Yes it was."

I quickly turn around. The figure that's speaking to me is covered by shadows but I recognize the voice anywhere.

"M-Matthew...?" The shadow nodded, as if surprised.

"This was all of your fault."

"All of my…what do you mean…?"

"Papa leaving, my depression, Dad not wanting us anymore…It's all because of you, Al." Without realizing it, the shadow had gotten closer. He pulls out a knife and...

"Are you alright, Alfred…?" Ivan's comforting voice asked me. I nodded yes slowly.

"Oh. Okay. You were…shifting and making faces," he told me, trying not to laugh. "It was just a nightmare…"

"Would you like to talk about it? Gilbert and Matvey had already gone inside." Ivan motioned to the front door of the house and I followed his hand, staring at the door in deep thought. Should I tell Ivan? That would just make him already more worried than he was…I probably shouldn't. But I want to so bad. UGH. Why can't my mind agree? I looked back to Ivan, who was smiling and waiting for my answer.

"Y-Yeah…I guess…" I said quietly, avoiding his amethyst eyes. The awkward silence told me to go on, screaming words of encouragement.

"Well…in the nightmare, I was just watching moments that were…life changing, I guess. After I watched one of the most life changing ones, a shadow came up from behind me. He had no face, but a voice almost like my brother's. He kept saying that our Papa leaving us was my fault. The shadow pulled out a knife and tried to stab me, but I woke up before he could…" Ivan just stared at me in…surprise? He started to get up from his seat and opened his own door.

"Let's talk more inside…They are waiting for us, da?"

As we both walked towards the door, I could hear the sounds of laughter. How could they start something exciting without the hero there? I looked over at Ivan, who was getting the door open, and smiled. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. We both walked in and instantly, the chatter had stopped. Everyone's face looked shy, as if they were all afraid to talk to one another.

"How long have you been standing there, Al…?"

"Um…we like, just walked through the door. Why?" I asked, wondering what they were up to.

"N-Nothing…!" Mattie replied. His face grew grim. Was he hiding something from me?

"Uh…Come, come! Sit, please," Papa had said, breaking my train of thoughts. He led both me and Ivan to the couch and after a while, everyone except for Ivan and me had left. They began talking again upstairs. I wanted to follow but something was keeping me from going.

"That was weird," Ivan whispered, probably hoping that I would hear him. I leaned back into the couch and sighed. I felt those piercing violet eyes glancing over at me and I couldn't resist a peek at them. The already tall man seemed way taller than me when we're like this. I had to look up to meet his stare.

"You look tired, Al. Are you okay?"

"I just don't want to fall asleep and have that nightmare again…"

"I can stay with you while you sleep," he told me. I opened my mouth to reply but he cut me off. "Or I could get your brother since you don't seem to enjoy my company very much…"

"No! I-It's fine…I don't mind you here." Okay, I felt bad for him. I did not like him. He is only a friend.

"Alright, where do you wish to sleep?" I just let my head fall down onto his lap and closed my eyes. "You're comfy, dude…" I heard him chuckle before I was once again lost in the dark shadows of my dreams.

A/N: Again, I have no idea where this is going… And sorry for the late update somewhat, I've been busy with Color guard and shiz~ Thanks you to all of the people who read this and review and what not. You guys make my world go 'round~! :D And I'm sorry for the switching of tenses up there ^ and for the short short chapter~!