The next morning didn't take long to arrive. As soon as the sunlight hit Tom, he got up and quietly made way into Matt's room, slowly stepping inside to check if he was awake. Tiptoeing to him, he gently shook his shoulder.
"Matt? Matt, are you up?"
Matt groaned and rolled over, refusing to open his eyes. He lazily slapped a hand over them, rubbing them as he tried to fully wake up.
"Am now.... Why are you up so early?"
"I just.... Wanted to talk to you. About yesterday?"
Matt said nothing at first, sitting up a little as he started to wake up.
"Oh, you mean the.... Mirror.... Breakdown.... Thing...."
"Yeah.... Matt, how long have you hated mirrors? Was it a recent thing or have you always been like this?"
Again, Matt said nothing. He just wrapped the blanket around him, somewhat scooting away from Tom. He, however, noticed this and glared, pulling Matt back to him. As Tom clung to Matt, he patiently waited for his response.
"It.... It all kinda started when I was a kid. I used to be really happy, don't get me wrong, but.... Kids can be so mean. At first, they made fun of my chin, then they made fun of me for being dumb, and then they made fun of me for being really white compared to them. From insults about my appearance to racial cruelty, it slowly progressed into actual beatings. Whiiiich, not gonna lie, made me fall into a reeeeeaally bad state of depression. And guess what the first thing I yelled out when I was getting my ass kicked?"
Tom was afraid he knew.
"Not the face....?"
"Bingo. Well, I ran back home and was desperate for some sort of coping mechanism, and that was when I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked at myself for a long time before taking a breather and calmed down, the mirror having been my way to relax ever since. But.... It started to not work one day, and I had to force myself to be happy. Slap on a new mask, I guess. And.... I still do to this day."
Tom was in grand disbelief. He had no idea that Matt, of all people, suffered from depression and thinks lowly of himself. He felt like utter shit knowing he poked fun at his liking for mirrors. Still snuggling his friend, he sighed and rested his head on the head rest, sighing out slowly.
"Matt.... Matt, I'm so fucking sorry I treat you the way I do.... I never.... I just never would've guessed, y'know? But please don't put on an act in front of me and the guys. We want to know when you're hurting so we can help you. Because we care about you. We appreciate you, especially whenever you make us smile or laugh. Okay?"
Matt whimpered and buried his face in his chest, clutching his hoodie tightly. Tom sighed again and clung back, again rubbing his back as Matt sobbed quietly, neither of them not wanting to wake the others up.
"Matt.... Please tell me when something's bothering you, okay? You're kind of like everyone's sunshine who can always brighten their days and.... I'd hate to see that go."
As Matt recollected himself, he stopped weeping and nodded, now abusing Tom as his pillow.
"O.... Okay.... I just.... N-Never really had true friends up until now.... Th-They'd always abandon me when the bullies became t-too much of a p-pro-blem...."
At the cruel memories, he restarted his silent weeping, Tom quietly hushing him as he rubbed his back some more.
"They're missing out. They have no idea what they've lost. You're a fantastic person, Matt. Don't let some biased, shitty opinion tell you otherwise. That jackass probably has no idea on what they're talking about, or they're doing it out of jealously."
Tom sort of waited for a chuckle or a soft laugh, as that last part was somewhat funny for making said person sound smaller than they already are. However, Matt had fallen asleep on Tom. Tom sighed and slowly lied him back down, pulling the duvet over him. He silently left the room, being sure not to have the door creak or be slammed in any way possible.
"G'night, buddy."
