Doki Doki Movie Club! - A SM AU Fanfiction!

55: Shåring With Ethan! PT. 0.2

TW // PAST SELF HARM, DEPRESSION, IMPLIED SELF HARM ISSUES.

"..oh. Hey."

"Hey.."

I muttered that to Ethan with a single breath as I slowly approached him, feeling my shoulders lowered with my sigh. I could see Ethan staring back at me—his usual smirk not gracing his lips. The only thing that seemed to accompany his lips and demeanor was an uncharacteristic frown on his face.

After a moment of thinking, Ethan let out a sigh, and took a step foward—placing a hand on his hip.

"..hey.. I.. I think earlier you might have seen something you didn't need to see. Or just.. shouldn't have seen at all in fact." He began slowly, "I didn't really wanna interfere since.. well, y'know.. Rick seemed so happy with you and all. But at this point, I probably don't have a choice in whether I should or shouldn't."

I knew what he was talking about, but the words still left my mouth curiously anyway as if I hadn't. "..what do you mean..?"

Ethan swallowed, and then spoke while glancing to the side nervously. "Y'know, that.. incident I walked in on earlier.. when Rick had you up against the wall and all. It's—getting a bit dangerous to be around him as much as you are. Might even be dangerous for me and Kevin too.."

He then sighed. "Look, just.. Rick seems pretty happy around you. That shouldn't really be a problem since he's usually pretty sad all the time. But.. okay, maybe I shouldn't be telling you this. But Rick had a bit of a problem with.. harming himself anytime he got overwhelmed in the past. Of course, he stopped a few years ago. But I've noticed how much he's been staring at his arms and sharp objects lately. It might be becoming tempting for him to do it again."

I processed these words—Rick had.. harmed himself in the past..? But why was Ethan telling me this? It's not like he knew if Rick would have wanted for him to tell me that.

"And.." Ethan's eyes trailed down to my bandaged wrist. I looked away, and rubbed it out of instinct. "..I.. think he might be starting to hurt others without really knowing it too." He then spoke with a soft frown on his lips, "Just try your best not to be around him too much, okay? You never know when he'll end up doing something he'll regret."

I only frowned silently. Ethan's lips formed into a sad smile.

"You know.. when he started harming himself, he always started collecting different knives and stuff. Everyone just thought he really liked knives or something, but that was proven wrong pretty quick when his arms started having random bandages on them every week or so. He was pretty depressed then, and is now still.. so I think doing that made him feel like he had some way of coping with how much he hated himself. It even might have given him some kind of high or something." Ethan explained, crossing his arms.

"Still.. I'm just saying, it's probably best if you stay away from him for now. I wouldn't want him to hurt himself." He then smirks slightly, laughing to himself. "..besides, if you're keeping your distance like that, I wouldn't mind spending a little more time with you. Least I don't have a bunch of issues that I keep ignoring simply because I don't wanna admit I need help.."

I found anger rising in my chest. Even with what happened earlier, I didn't understand how he could say something like that about Rick. Ethan seemed right then as if he had noticed a dangerous look on my face, and laughed nervously.

"Anyway.. why don't you go ahead and read what I wrote now? I'm kinda proud of this one. So I hope you like it as much as I do." Ethan says with a nervous, trembling smile—handing over his paper.

I feel myself glaring at his face for a moment. Ethan nervously glances away, and I only let out a sigh. I then take the paper in my hand, and begin to read over it.

"THE VOID"

By Ethan. :)

[A PERSON IS SEEN STANDING INSIDE OF A WHITE EMPTY SPACE, LOOKING UP AND THEN DOWN. THEY SLOWLY GLANCE AROUND IN THE SILENCE, AND THEN DOWN AT THEIR PALMS FOR A FEW SECONDS. THE ONLY SOURCE OF COLOR IN THE VOIDLESS SPACE SEEMS TO BE THEM. THE PERSON LOOKS UP AGAIN.]

PERSON: "..HELLO?"

[NOTHING RESPONDS. THEIR VOICE ECHOES THROUGHOUT THE SPACE. THE PERSON BEGINS TO WALK WITHIN THE SPACE, UNSURE OF WHERE THEY'RE HEADING.]

PERSON: "..H—HELLO?"

[NOTHING RESPONDS AGAIN. THEY LOOK AROUND. FOR A FEW MINUTES, THEY CONTINUE TO WALK—UNTIL THEY SUDDENLY HEAR SOMETHING. A CLICKING NOISE THAT ALMOST RESEMBLES TYPING. THE PERSON TRIES TO LOOK AROUND AND SEE WHERE THE NOISE IS COMING FROM, BUT CAN'T.]

PERSON: "..WH—WHAT THE..?"

[THE WHITE SPACE THEN BEGINS TO SLOWLY SHIFT. FLASHES OF RED BEGIN TO APPEAR, AND THE PERSON STARTS TO HEAR DIFFERENT INCOMPREHENSIBLE VOICES FROM ALL AROUND. THE PERSON BEGINS TO VISIBLY PANIC AS THEY LOOK AROUND. LINES OF TEXT MOMENTARILY APPEAR ONLY TO VANISH BEFORE THE PERSON CAN EVEN READ IT OR SEE IT.]

[THE PERSON'S FACE THEN SUDDENLY BECOMES SHOCKED. THE VOID OF SPACE BECOMES.. SOMETHING ELSE. NOT SO EMPTY ANYMORE. THERE APPEARS TO BE LINES OF TEXT NOW—THIS TIME NOT VANISHING. RED STREAKS OF COLOR ARE AT THE TOP, AND AT THE BOTTOM.]

PERSON: "..WHAT..?"

[THE PERSON THEN GLANCES AT WHAT LOOKS TO BE SOME KIND OF LIST RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. BUT THEN THEIR EYES WIDEN WHEN THEY SEE SOMETHING. THE PERSON SEES ONE OF THE RED-STROKED TEXTS SUDDENLY TURN GRAY, AND BEGINS TO HEAR A SLIGHT BUZZING SOUND ALONG WITH MUFFLED TALKING THAT THEY CAN'T DECIPHER.]

Ethan then laughs nervously again when I look up from the script with a puzzled frown, arching my brow.

"..what's this about..?"  I ask.

"Heh.. is it that weird..? Sorry. I was just trying to.." Ethan hesitates.

"..trying to wha—"

"..ne—nevermind. Don't worry about it. It's not important what it's about. I don't think someone like you would really understand either."

His tone suddenly sounds a bit cold, and I flinch back in surprise, only going silent as he let's out a sigh. His lips are curled down into a frustrated frown for a moment, before it quickly returns into a calm-looking smile.

"Anyway.. I guess I should go ahead and give you the lil' tip I have for today." Ethan says, smiling as if he hadn't spoken coldly to me a few seconds ago. "Sometimes, you find yourself struggling to keep progress of what you want to write for a script, or just forgetting what you had planned originally. So when that happens—don't forget to just leave a bookmark in it.. and.."

"..Ethan?"

"..who is this?"

"..wha—"

"Please. Is someone there? Can anyone see what I'm saying? Can—can they read what I'm saying? I don't know if someone's there. Someone, please just.. answer me. Say anything. I don't care what you say to me. I don't care who you are. Just.."

Ethan smi

Ethan

Help.

Smirking at me, Ethan laughed and said. "..that's all I have to say for today, new member. Thanks for sharin' your stuff with me."