Drowning In My Own Mind

8

*Chris*
I woke up when I heard someone in the living room. They weren't very quiet about it, either. I guess something got knocked over and the sound woke me up, but either way I was gonna check it out. I grabbed my knife and slipped it into my pocket, padding quietly down the hall.

I don't remember the house being this cold...

I got to the living room in time to see Ricky curled in on himself on the couch, mouth moving a mile a minute, but I don't know what he was saying or why he was acting like this.

It's so cold in here...

I walked into the living room and gently tapped on his shoulder, making him practically jump off the couch and try to leave his skeleton behind he moved so fast.

"Ricky! Oh, fuck, are you okay?" I moved to where he was now sitting, barely resting my hand on his shoulder.

"Rick, it's just me. It's Chris. It's alright; I'm not gonna hurt you. Everything's okay. You're safe. I promise. Nothing's gonna hurt you." I carefully cupped the side of his face, tilting his head so I could see him better. His eyes were closed so tightly it must've hurt.

"Look at me, Ricky. Just open your eyes." I whispered, my eyes slowly going from those still closed baby blues to his lips and back again. He shook his head so slightly I barely caught it. I tilted his head back slightly, leaning in close to him, and lightly pressed my lips to his. I felt him stiffen ever so slightly and then he relaxed, returning the small amount of pressure. I placed my other hand on the back of his neck, pulling away to breathe, 'cause, y'know, humans kinda have to do that to live.

He tastes like mint...

I looked at him carefully as his eyes opened, lids slowly fluttering back to reveal those cerulean gems that drove me insane. Once they met mine, pale pink collected on his cheekbones.

"Are you alright?" He shook his head slightly, moving back slightly.

"T-there was n-nothing in here with me, a-and then the sh-shadows started m-m-moving a-and I th-thought I was just seeing things but then it h-happened ag-gain and it was the thing from my nightmares... I-I'm scared..." I moved closer to him and kissed his forehead, wrapping my arms around him.

"Whatever's going on, I'm gonna help you and keep you safe. I promise."

"W-why did you k-kiss me?" Now was my turn to change colors.

"U-um, well..." I stumbled over the words trying to spill out.

"I-I kinda, maybe like you, a l-lot..." You could barely hear me, I was mumbling the sentence into my shirt in a whisper.

"R-really? Y-you're not just saying that?" I nodded and he looked like he couldn't believe it.

"Really. I don't lie about things like this." He smiled shyly and I reached for his hand, gently lacing our fingers.

"You like me, even with how fucked up I am... Maybe you're the one who needs a shrink."

"No, I don't need a shrink, and you're not fucked up. You just have extremely horrible night terrors. You're a great person, you're really nice, and I think you're kaunis."

"Kaunis?"

"It's Finnish for beautiful..."

"Y-you... You think I'm beautiful?"

"I think you're very beautiful, Rick... I know that that's something used to describe women, but you are beautiful... Everything about you is..." I could feel the shyness that I had thought I had long ago outgrown creeping back, my face heating up even more.

"You're cute when you get all shy..."

"Hush! I am not cute; I'm metal as fuck."