The Neighbor Next Door

looking up

MePhone was incredibly quiet on Sunday. It was almost like he had lost his voice completely by the time 3gs was getting ready to go. Instead of the both of them going out, he had decided to get up early, and bring breakfast home, so MePhone wouldn't have to go through the hassle of walking all the way into town just to go right back home afterwards, but besides a small 'thank you', he didn't say anything. This, of course, worried 3gs. His brother was quiet, sure, but... This was just different. He figured it was because of... What happened last night, but he didn't know how to help. He couldn't just ask him if he was alright. That wouldn't help much if the other couldn't find his voice. So he made the choice he'd leave tomorrow instead, just to make sure his brother would be alright.

"I think I'll head out tomorrow, actually," 3gs looked over at his brother, who was standing in the kitchen, trying to get his cat off the counter.

"Wh... Huh?" He looked up, immediately distracted from what he was just doing. No, this wasn't right. He was supposed to go today-- and... Not that MePhone really wanted him to go just yet, but that was the plan. That, and he was... Okay today, wasn't he? He didn't have much of a voice, but he'd get over it. Bad dreams just did that to him most of the time, and he didn't have the heart to explain it like that, but...

The last thing he wanted to do was hold his brother back. He felt so immediately guilty over this.

"I just think maybe it would be better. You don't... Seem great today, I want to be here,"

MePhone was just quiet again now, unable to help the resting frown that found itself on his face.

"Plus, it's fine. I'm in no rush to get out of here anyways. We still have some groceries, so maybe I can cook something for us again,"

"Y... You don't have to," He looked away fully now, moving to pick up the cat, a gentle hold to get it off the counter. This time, instead of trying to scurry away or to a different part of the counter, it seemed to realize the shift in the mood, and let itself get picked up. Or maybe it was just tired of messing with him, or maybe he was just being stupid again and projecting onto the cat. He just sighed as he let it hop out of his arms onto the floor, slowly sauntering away, into the living room to probably rub itself against his brother. The cat really seemed to like him. Whatever. This was for the cat.

"But okay. If... You really want to stay, I can't stop you," He couldn't help how quiet he was today. His tone and all just failed him. The nightmare had spiked his paranoia so badly last night, and he was still just trying to recover. Even after 3gs brought him to the room after that, he didn't sleep at all last night. He just ended up staring at the ceiling, unable to calm himself down again.

The paranoid feeling was less bad today, thank the Gods, but it was still there. He could still feel it, and he hated that.

"It might be for the better, anyways," 3gs continued to look at his brother, an expression of silent understanding that something was clearly up. MePhone figured he was hoping he'd open up about it, but... He was unsure right now. All it was, was him overreacting, and his brain being shitty about it. Nothing beyond that, he was fine, and making progress. He just had to keep trying to trek past this paranoia, but... Would it even go away just like that? Would it only get worse once he was alone again? Could he ever feel safe walking to town again? Oh Gods he could feel himself spiraling. Now was not the time. He kept his gaze at the wall, his back still turned to his brother as he leaned his back against the counter for balance as he quickly just tried to compose himself and his thoughts, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Everything would be okay. He didn't need to be paranoid. If... If it got too bad, he could just... Stay home for a while. It wasn't like he didn't already do that, but...