Whumptober 2022 Oneshots + Alt List Oneshots

Prompt 6 : Proof Of Life

Subprompt : Screams From Across The Hall
Fandom : The Road Within (2014)
Pairing : Alex/Vincent/Marie
Chronology : Post-canon

Headcanons : They all rent a house together post-movie, Autistic!Alex
Warnings : Mention of hospitalization due to eating disorder related medical issues

Recovery took some time, and they all found themselves back at the center for a while, but they eventually were all well enough to branch out on their own. At first, this meant a shitty, two-room apartment (the second room just being a small and cramped bathroom) because it was all they could afford, but eventually they were able to get a slightly bigger house for relatively cheap monthly rent.

It had three bedrooms, or at least that's what they made it to be. Technically one was supposed to be a study but, after a conversation between the three, they agreed it would be best if they could have their own spaces. Not only would it allow them to more be able to work on personal projects and the like, but sometimes they just needed to be alone. Sure, they'd all met under the context of generally having a problem, but their problems were all very different and sometimes clashed.

Marie needed her space for the days where she couldn't bear to interact with anyone or heaven forbid see her reflection. Alex needed a quiet space for when he got overstimulated and a place that was organized perfectly and entirely within his control. And Vincent needed a place to be able to scream into his pillow when he got angry or tic freely at night without keeping the other two awake. They all would regularly sleep in the same bed, switching rooms based on whatever was most convenient at the moment but having their own rooms was important and one of the bigger reasons they invested in a house.

Vincent's room was just down the hall from Marie's and right beside Alex's. At first, Alex was skeptical about his room being right next to Vincent's since, as much as he cared for the guy, Vincent could be kind of stressful to be around at times, for Alex at least. However, he really liked the lighting in that room, and they quickly learned that the walls were more than dense enough to block off most of the noise between rooms, so it was fine.

Ever since that fateful day at the beach when Marie's heart had given out, Vincent found himself constantly worrying about her wellbeing. Alex, while shaken, hadn't been as shocked by it because he'd seen it before. While he and Marie hadn't gotten very close until their road trip, everyone at the facility sort of knew each other, barring the suicide watch branch of the center. So, he'd heard about it when it happened the first time and he knew that there was always a chance of it happening again with how little she ate.

Vincent hadn't been ready for that, though. He didn't blame her for it or anything, but it truly had traumatized him to some extent. That was the girl who took his virginity, the girl who brought him along on that chaotic but ultimately meaningful road trip, his friend, and she dropped dead without warning in a brief moment of him not paying attention. It was scarring, and every morning he felt a huge amount of relief seeing her alive for breakfast time, of which she ate increasingly more sizable portions as time passed.

Marie would have nightmares of the whole ordeal. Nightmares where she woke up and found herself still in the hospital with an IV feeding her, watching Vincent walk away as she screamed and sobbed for him to come back. Nightmares where they weren't able to bring her back to life and she was forced to watch Vincent and Alex mourn her death, forced to watch the toll it took on both of them. Nightmares where she relapsed and Vincent and Alex broke up with her.

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A scream woke up Vincent and Alex in the middle of the night. It was muffled by the thick walls, but still loud enough to make them both jolt awake. It was a woman's scream, so it was very easy to deduce the source of the noise, even in their groggy states.

They opened their doors, looking at each other with a knowing glance as they cautiously went over to Marie's door. Vincent opened it and the two walked in to find Marie shaking and crying in her bed, curled up in a ball. Vincent breathed out and flicked on the light. She wasn't doing well, but she was alive.

"Nightmare?" Alex asked halfheartedly, walking over and sitting at the edge of her bed. Vincent's arm shot up and he punched himself in the chest, whistled, and then blinked a few times before walking over and sitting in between his two partners, holding out a hand for Marie to take. She nodded in response to Alex's question, before taking Vincent's hand. His arm tensed up a few times, but it didn't even register in her mind. She'd known him for about two and a half years at that point and had held his hand since the beginning, so she just got used to it over time.

"Um..." she swallowed, taking her free hand to wipe away her tears as she composed herself. "Sorry for waking you guys up" she apologized. "It was... They weren't able to save me" she explained vaguely, but they both understood what they meant. She'd told them about her nightmares before, just so they knew not to worry too much if she was up at odd hours of the night or seemed especially tired in the mornings.

"Well, you woke us both- Fuck you!- Both up with your- Haha!- Screaming, so clearly you're- Mph!- Alive"

"Your tics are bad" Marie observed with the same, fascinated smile she always had when she noticed something about his Tourette's. As used to it as she'd gotten, it still never ceased to interest her, the ways it fluctuated and functioned.

"Yeah, you- Fuck! Haha! Fuck you!- Startled me" he explained. Something they'd all learned pretty quickly was that his tics were usually intensified by stress. Most of the time, when he was around them, they were mild, since he felt safe around them. However, considering he'd just been woken up by screaming, it was understandable that he wasn't at his calmest.

"Are you going to be okay, Marie?" Alex asked, fidgeting with his gloves. He always felt slightly disconnected from the other two when it came to stuff like this since he was never too good with emotions, but he still cared. Marie smiled over at him and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" she promised. "Sorry I woke you guys up"

"You already apologized" Alex reminded her.

"I know, but still" she yawned. "I know you like your sleep schedule to be intact, and Twitch Boy over here has seen better days"

"Hey!"

"Could you guys sleep in here for the rest of the night?" she requested, looking over at the two boys, who both nodded. Vincent didn't want to leave her alone after all of that and Alex didn't feel like going back to his room, so it worked out. "Thanks"

"You're welcome" Alex replied with a yawn as he went to the part of the bed closest to the wall and lied down.

"Love you- Fuck!- Love you, guys"

"Love you too"