The Magic of Insanity- YouTubers AU

(5)

The next week was pretty boring. Judging by the fact that nothing major happened, Ryan was kind of happy for the feeling of normalcy. He couldn't wait to get back to his own room and play with his younger brothers. Sure, they could be loud- and annoying- but he wouldn't wish for anything else.

Mostly, he was happy that his demons were gone. Without the voices in his head, he was much happier and less paranoid. Without the voices, he was finally free.

Maybe he was starting to become good friends with Autumn. She would usually just come in and talk with him. It was nice, and he felt like she never talked about this kind of stuff with anyone. She talked about really deep stuff with him, even talking about her demons. He knew she was Ray's best friend, but she talked so cautiously he felt that she kept that stuff to herself. He found it kind of sad honestly; she would never let her true colors show.

That morning, it was Dr. Denecour who first greeted him. As head doctor, he was the one to give medication and breakfast in the morning. "Well Ryan, today is your last day stuck in this room. Are you ready?"

"Hell yeah I'm ready. I haven't been this excited in forever!" His excitement was almost bursting out of him.

Dr. Denecour laughed. "I can see. Now, I'm pretty sure you haven't stood up since you got here, so can you walk?" He asked as he unhooked Ryan from the heart monitor. The machine flat-lined, causing an irritating noise to fill the room.

Ryan swung his legs off the bed and stood up. He almost fell down. Almost. His legs were extremely wobbly, but he could manage to walk, just very slowly.

Caleb was laughing really hard. "You look really funny."

"Gee, thanks." Ryan grumbled, still struggling to walk faster. He managed to walk out the door and to the elevator, despite his current predicament.

Autumn was standing at the door on the first floor, a wide smile shining on her face. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"Don't you have to come back?" As one of only three employees, she was constantly at work. Ryan kind of felt bad for her.

"Nah, my shift was just about to end anyways; I was going to go hang with Ray." She held her hand out. "We'll go as slow as we need to, even though we live pretty close."

Ryan smiled back and took her hand. "Thanks Autumn. I can't wait to be home." With that, they walked out the doors.

The two spent the walk sharing their views on the multiverse theory. They talked about the other universes they believed could happen and already exist. Ryan found it nice, since he could never have this type of conversation with his family. They wouldn't understand things this complicated.

He slowly regained strength as they walked. The two had let go of each other's hands to emphasize what they were saying with gestures. A liberated feeling was shared between them.

Before long, Ryan was standing in front of his front door. His heart was racing, but he didn't understand why. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen his brothers in forever; maybe he had almost forgotten what his house looked like. Either way, he was nervous.

Geoff was the one who opened the door. "Holy shit, you're back already." He greeted distractedly.

Something was clearly wrong. Autumn must've noticed this, because she said, "What's wrong?"

Geoff sighed. "We've been looking all morning. He's no where to be found. I'm really worried."

"What's happening? Who can't you find?" Ryan started to panic.

"Ray ran away, Ryan. He's missing."

After a second of shock, Autumn dropped her stuff and ran in the other direction. Ryan stared at his brother in shock. "Ray ran away? Why?"

Geoff ran his hand through his hair. He was obviously distressed by the situation. "I don't know. Gavin and Michael have been looking all day. I hope he didn't go far."

-=-

"Hey, I knew you'd be here." Autumn sat down next to Ray on the grass. Ray was playing Majora's Mask on his DS. "I'm surprised your brothers didn't come here first."

Ray groaned when she mentioned his family. "Please don't talk about them."

"Why not? And why'd you run away?" Autumn sat down next to her best friend.

"I don't want to talk about it." Ray focused back on his game.

Autumn nudged him with her shoulder. "C'mon, you can tell me." She laughed.

"No, I really can't." He mumbled.

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because this is about you, Autumn." He said in exasperation and put his hands over his face. "I don't want to hurt your feelings." His words were muffled by his hands.

"It hurts more that you think I can't handle it." She muttered.

"You wanna know what happened? Geoff found the notebook that we used for conversation earlier in the week. He said it was fine that we were friends, but Jack freaked the fuck out. I don't know why. I'd never seen him that... angry. So of course, I defended you, and he said something about me being a disappointment. I had had it. I wanted out of that house. I didn't mean to scare them; I really didn't. I just didn't want you to have to deal with them." He sighed at the end. He was clearly trying not to cry.

"First of all, I would have to deal with them today anyways. Ryan came home today, and I have to talk to Geoff about his medication. Second, you are my best friend. I don't care what your family thinks about me; I just know all about your life and obsessions. You are the person who knows so much about me." Autumn smiled reassuringly. "And Ray?"

"Yeah Autumn?"

"It's okay to cry right now. I won't tell anyone."

The two sat in silence for the next few hours. They both fell asleep on each other while holding hands. Anyone looking on would've found it adorable, until they looked closely and saw tears on Ray's face.

-=-

Autumn finally convinced Ray to go back home. They walked hand in hand through the front door. Geoff and Jack were sitting in the combined living room and kitchen. Jack was reading the newspaper; Geoff was clearly trying to distract himself. When the door was shut, both their heads turned to it. Geoff immediately pulled Ray into a hug, begging for him to never do that again. Ray flusteredly agreed and asked where his other brothers were. "Out back." Geoff said. Ray ran out the back door to whatever game the three other Hunters were playing.

Autumn turned to Geoff. "He'll be fine, just was upset about earlier."

Geoff scratched his head. "Where was he?"

"The Cliff of Endings. He wasn't contemplating suicide or anything, but we often go there for a quiet place to think or do something else." Autumn reassured. "I actually need to talk to you about something else." She took a small bottle out of her bag. "This is Ryan's; can you please make sure he takes it everyday? I don't want him to start hearing the voices again."

Geoff smiled. "I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks Geoff! I have to go, so I'll see you sometime in the near future." Autumn turned around and walked out the door.

Jack will never forget what he saw on Autumn's wrist.