S L O W T O W N

Painter

"Tyler..." Josh calls in a singsong whisper, finger running along the wall, finding solace in the uneven texture.

A few giggles come from the room, there's some sort of blue light emanating from the doorway, Josh could hear Tyler having a conversation.

With himself.

In different voices.

"Tyler?" Josh pokes his head around the corner, his gut bubbling, bursting with dread, fearing an impending doom that wasn't there yet.

Tyler, kneeling yet sitting back on his calves, was fiddling with his hands, every now and then reaching up, scratching and furiously rubbing his neck.

There's something dark covering his fingers, and from the grabbing at his own throat, it begins to cover that too.

Josh steps inside, praying to every holy being that whatever Tyler was rubbing himself with, wasn't blood.

"Hey?" Josh steps inside the room.

Slowly, but ever so surely, Tyler turns, twisting his back around to face Josh, a few loud pops coming from pressure on his back.

Josh steps back, watching as whatever his hands are covered with drip to the floor, a soft splatter with each droplet.

Tyler grins, it's so huge Josh think Tyler's face is going to split.

He only stares, Josh looking past to see a dismantled lamp, bulb burning blue.

"What are you doing, what's on your hands?"

"Paint!" Tyler thrusts them forward, small flecks flying at Josh.

Josh frowns, breathing picking up.

He comes over, squatting beside him.

"Yeah? You painting?"

Tyler viciously shakes his head and laughs.

"No," that deep voice back, Josh jumps. "I'm just becoming the monster everyone thinks I am!" And now back to regular vocals, Josh shifts away from him. "You know the one up here that no one else can see, you know what he looks like," Tyler motions to the recent painting of Blurry.

"You're not a monster,"

A deafening cackle erupts from Tyler, Josh moves further away.

"Yeah then why are you trying to leave me? Why'd you come back?" Tyler, on all fours, cocks his head at Josh.

"Because, because I don't want you dead no matter how much I dislike you," Josh swallows thick, Tyler crawling up to Josh, still grinning.

"Aw you actually care?"

"Yes,"

"Bullshit!" Tyler screams with undiluted rage, kneeling up and falling back onto the carpet, laughing so loud as he does so, Josh wants to cry.

"Stop it!" Grabbing Tyler's ankle and dragging him towards himself, Josh hovers over him and pulls Tyler up by his shirt collar. "Stop it now! I don't care anymore I just want you back!"

Tyler giggles.

"You love me you love me," chanting between laughs, Tyler shakes his head.