Trigger

Ch. 6 - Mood Swings

yooo waddup friends

i feel like a freaking douche i never update this i am sooooo sorry   yy y

this chapter is pretty dumb, just filler to the shppy stuff next chapter (which i'm almost done with, it's not gonna take a whole damn month to write like this)

so i apologize and enjoy whatever the fuck this is

-kris

as james headed downstairs and waited for aleks to change,  he saw eddie sitting at the dining table reading something. he eyed the clock on the wall, which read 7:31PM. sighing quietly at how late it was, he tried to quietly step on the last stair. it creaked ungodly loudly and eddie craned his neck to look at james.

james mustered a sheepish smile as eddie grinned too. "hey james, staying for dinner after all?" eddie asked through his smile.

james swallowed and nodded in reply. 

it was silent for a second. 

"well i better get started, then. take a seat!" his voice was joyful and squeaky as it always was. james hesitated, but made his way over to the small dining table and sat down as eddie got up to start dinner. 

james was facing the opposite way of eddie, so he couldn't see what he was making or how. it was silent for the most part, apart from small clangs of pans and silverware occassionally. 

"when did you come to check on aleks?" eddie asked, breaking the silence.

the question took james off guard, and he tried to stutter a reply without sounding like an idiot. "uh- like, after i called you, i think. eight this morning? i'm not sure." 

"man, you slept for a long time then. what the hell happened last night that made you crash that hard?" james heard something sizzling in the pan behind him. 

"long night and trouble sleeping, i guess." james replied. he looked at his hands awkwardly, waiting for aleks to come downstairs and make it a little less awkward. why was it so awkward? him and eddie were good friends and got along well. why was it any different now?

james looked up as aleks came downstairs in dry clothes covered up with a hoodie, just like he asked him to change into. he pulled out a chair and sat across from james. he still looked like a mess, and his hair was drying in a weird position from laying on it while it was wet. it was obvious that he wasn't well, but james hoped eddie wouldn't notice anything.

whatever eddie was cooking smelled great, and james was definitely hungry. he tapped his fingers on the edge of the table as aleks tried to see what eddie was making. he looked nervous and afraid, but still opened his mouth to ask anyway.

"what are you making, man?" aleks piped up to eddie. 

he didn't answer.

aleks looked at james and he returned the gaze with an apologetic shrug and mouthing the words 'i don't know'. 

within less than a minute, eddie brought two plates to the table. he set one in front of james and the other in front of himself as he sat down at the end of the table. it wasn't a lot, it was just a hamburger and some chips on the side. but he didn't bring any for aleks.

james said something. "is aleks going to get any dinner, or?"

eddie munched on a potato chip and avoided the question for a moment. 

"i heard what you said to him, james." eddie retorted as he looked at him. "i didn't mean to eavesdrop, but i heard it anyway." 

aleks looked down at his lap, refusing to say anything about it. 

james shot a puzzled look at eddie. "and what does that have to do with aleks not being able to eat?"

eddie sighed lightly.

"if he feels like he wants to die so much, then why does he want something to eat? wouldn't that just keep him alive?"

aleks looked up at eddie, completely dumbfounded and offended. james did the same, and when eddie noticed they were both staring him down, he popped another chip into his mouth. he replied with a subtle "what?"

"that's really fucked up, why would you say something like that?" james stammered.

"isn't it true?" eddie asked, trying to sound like the victim.

"just get aleks some dinner." james tried to keep his temper intact as he spoke, but it wasn't working too well. his voice cracked with anger at the end of his sentence.

"i didn't make any for him." he replied nochalantly.

"then he can just eat mine." james said angrily as he shoved the plate across from him and to aleks, who gave him a look that said something along the lines of 'what the fuck are you doing?' james could feel the tension in the atmosphere so much so that it almost made him sick to his stomach. 

surprisingly, eddie didn't protest as aleks began to nibble on the hamburger in front of him. james could tell aleks was doing his best to keep his sleeves from rolling up and having eddie see the giant bandages underneath them as he ate. it was dead silent as aleks and eddie ate. james' head hurt really bad, and he still felt exhausted. he just wanted to go home. 

"so what exactly happened last night?" eddie asked. "what provoked that giant speech, james?" 

james sighed as his stomach began to churn. he knew he had to make up a lie that was really foolproof, and he sucked at that. he hated lying. but he knew he had to do it for aleks.

"aleks sent me a message last night. you know, one of those emotional messages like how 'no one cares' and 'i'm so alone'. that kind of shit. i guess i got kind of worried, so i came to check on him to see if he did anything bad. but the fucker was just laying in his bed, fast a-fucking-sleep. i woke up early as hell to check on him, too. so i fell asleep."

eddie nodded, and smiled. the tension left the air a little bit. "oh, i thought he tried to... do something again. i'm glad he's okay!" his voice squeaked familiarly and james smiled slightly as eddie began to act like himself again.

aleks had already finished his food and pushed the plate away from him. james was starving, but he knew aleks was probably hungrier. eddie stood and grabbed both of the plates and returned them to the kitchen. 

james' head was still all mushed up from all the shit that had happened in the past 12 hours. the sleepless night, aleks trying to kill himself, and eddie acting like a fucking prick accompanied by his weird and sudden mood swing. he rocked back in his chair slightly, making sure he didn't go to far back and fall on his ass. he sighed and looked at aleks, who was sitting with his hands in his lap and his head hung low still. 

james dug in his pocket and saw a text from eddie from earlier that just said 'okay homie!'. he started to type a message to aleks to avoid eddie hearing anything. 

'come to my place tonight. eddie needs some time to fucking chill.'

aleks' phone buzzed and he read the message. he nodded at james, smiling sheepishly. he still looked like a mess. 

james returned the smile.