Armando covered his ears, trying to block out the sounds. Soon, he felt his body begin the shake as he remembered why he was in that house. The furniture flipped over and the curtains ripped off. The bottles strewn across the floor and the windows shattered. He remembered the blood on the steps and the screams he let out.
"Get out of my head!! Leave me alone!!" he screamed out, sitting bolt upright and throwing his pillow at the door. He heard a hiss from outside the door and a thud. Everything went silent and Armando looked down at his shaking body. "What's wrong with me.."
"Nothing is wrong with you. You're just cracking." a voice said, muffled by the door. The door was pushed open and The Boy tip-toed inside, his shirt going down to his mid-thighs. Armando grabbed his knife. "Please put that thing down. I'm not here to hurt you."
"Then why the fuck are you here?" Armando said, rising up onto his knees on the bed to stand taller than The Boy. The Boy looked up at him and smiled sweetly.
"You fascinate me. I want to study you. Though, from what I heard, you are not mentally stable. I'll first have to help you get into a good mind and then I can properly study you. The, what I assume are haunting memories or thoughts, will interfere with my research."
"You..you want to study me..?" Armando began to back away from him. "Yeah, that's not fucking freakish at all."
"Please relax before you injure yourself." the young man sat on the bed and smiled, staying perfectly still as he waited for Armando to relax. Eventually, he settled down, still gripping his knife, turning his knuckles white. "There..that's better.."
"I have several hundred questions and you're going to answer them. Got it?" Armando said, trying to keep his voice steady. The other boy nodded. "First..who are you?"
"I'm The Boy. That's the name I was given..I don't remember my real name. It's been a long, long time." he said with a shrug. "Sorry."
"Why are you here? Are you following me? Hunting me?"
"I live here, long before you did. I want to be your friend. Was that unclear?" The Boy tilted his head, confusion covering his face.
"You don't become friends with someone by stalking them! Don't you know how people work?" Armando yelled, his hand beginning to shake.
"I've never been around another human. People don't like to visit this house. They're afraid. I don't understand why though." Armando sighed and set the knife down.
"Listen kid, you can't stalk people..it's not okay.." he sighed and shook his head. "Look, it's late..I need to sleep..you look like you need sleep too..do you have a room somewhere? Anywhere you can sleep?"
"I do have a room down the hall but..I don't really sleep in there. The kind lady likes me to sleep in her room. Just so she can keep me safe at all times."
"She's out tonight..I'm the only person left in the house..you might as well stay in here so I can protect you. There are some blankets on the floor..some pillows in the closet. Make yourself comfortable.." Armando laid down and soon fell asleep, his exhaustion finally hitting him. The Boy watched in silence as he slept, beginning to yawn as his wide eyes began to slowly close.
"Goodnight..."
