Motionless In White One-Shots

Tick (Chris)

So, uh...this one shot is 6500+ words...I got carried away. It's also a bit of an apology for my lack of uploading. I've been sick and dealing with school and getting a job and things like that.
Anyway, enjoy.

There was this tick.
No, it wasn't like a bug or anything like that.
It was a noise.
A constant ticking noise in the back of my head. Sometimes, if the music was loud enough, I can't hear it. Concerts drown out the noise. It was the only reason I did this job.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
It was always there.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Maybe there was a clock inside my head.
'Chris, are you even listening to me?'
I flinched slightly, shaking my head and looking around at the world around me. I was sitting in a small café, not much bigger than my living room. It was pretty fancy, large glowing lights that seemed like they cost more than my life. The seats were more stylish than comfortable, but I couldn't bring myself to avert my eyes from my girlfriend who was sitting across from me. Her eyes were puffy from the tears that were causing her raven hair to stick to her cheeks. I wasn't paying attention.
'Huh? What's up?'
She just stared at me, eyes wide and her lips parted enough for me to notice she hadn't flossed in a while. 'Are you serious? Not a single word I said?'
'We're you talking?'
'Yes, Chris, I was talking. I'm sick of this shit and I don't want to be with you anymore.'
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
'Chris!'
'Huh? Oh, sorry. Uh, what were you saying?' I smiled nervously, looking down at the table and noticing I had a bottle of Coke in my hands. I stared at it, observing how the fizz bubbles floated to the top of the drink before bursting magnificently.
Sometimes they popped in sync with the ticks.
'I'm done, Chris. I'm done. I'm packing up my things and I'm leaving.'
'Why?'
'Because I'm sick of you never paying attention to me! It's all because of this stupid tick! I'm absolutely sick of it! I wanted to talk about this but you still can't pay attention! For months I've been asking you to come see a psychologist with me but you never listen!'
Some guy on table three just bit his tongue.
'Chris!'
"If you're going to leave, then leave. Stop being such a distraction" I wanted to say, but I couldn't. I liked being a nice person, or at least as nice of a person as I could be. 'S-Sorry, I, uh...I'm sorry you feel that way...could I...at least help you unpack?'
'Really? You're not even going to try and convince me to stay?'
'If that's how you feel, I shouldn't stop you...I'm sorry I am the way that I am...If I could be anyone else, I would.' I sighed. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a pair of (y/e/c) eyes piercing into me like tiny daggers, but my girlfriend quickly snapped me out of it.
'You're always saying stuff like that. Nobody is going to want you if you keep acting like this. I tried to make this work, Chris, I really did but you're unmanageable. You're so focused on trying to keep everyone happy that when you let them down, you let them down hard. I'm leaving. I don't want you coming back while there so I'll text you when I'm gone but after that, it's done.'
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
'Alright...' I slowly closed my eyes, pressing my lips together and listening closely to the ticking. It helped me think. I could forget about the world around me for two seconds while focusing only on the ticking. I took a deep breath, knowing that when I opened my eyes, she'd be gone.
Tick.
Tick.
'...are you okay?'
Silence.
I slowly opened my eyes, gazing up at a heavenly creature that I had the honour to speak to. They were gorgeous, gentle (y/h/c) hair, faded skin that let their veins be visible, arms covered by two long black sleeves that reached their palm but I still managed to peek at a few tattoos that stretched to the back of her hand. My lips went dry, my throat suddenly feeling like it was lined with gravel, my heart beginning to ache before I remembered I just got dumped. I was just mourning. 'Yeah, I'm fine...' The dryness in my throat really shone through and I quickly cleared my throat before repeating what I said.
'Sorry, I just thought I'd ask...I'm (Y/n), nice to meet you.' She held her hand out, letting her sleeve lip up just enough for me to make out a treble clef on her right wrist. Her nails were obviously chewed and yet still painted black with impressive skill that I could admire. I got so distracted with her hand I almost forgot to shake it but pulled myself together after a moment. I shook her hand, almost melting into her soft and warm touch before she sat down on the seat my ex was just on. 'I'm sorry for being so intrusive...It's just that I noticed that girl was acting kind of rude and I felt bad for the way things ended.'
'Oh, you don't have to feel bad. It's over, she's gone. That's really it.'
'If you're really not that upset over it, I can leave. I just wanted to know that you'd be okay...breakups suck and the depression that follows it is almost traumatising. Again, I won't get involved if you don't want me to. I just want to know if you'll be okay.' She sounded legitimately concerned as if she was my closest friend. Some part of me wondered if maybe she knew who I was, being a singer did mean people frequently came up to me, but it seemed a lot more real than that.
'I'll push through...I always manage to. She didn't like me that much to begin with anyway.'
'Why not? You seem like a catch and you were beyond apologetic to her.'
'It's...more of a mental thing. I have a tick.'
'Oh, you too? Is it epilepsy?' I immediately asked her what she meant, completely confused as to what she was talking about. 'Oh, sorry...is that not what you meant?'
'No, what're you referring to?' I asked, completely forgetting about the coke I had in front of me and instead paying all the attention I had onto (Y/n). She looked down for a moment, a distinct worry shooting into her face before she answered.
'I have Essential Myoclonus. It's a problem that my brain has where I get involuntary ticks and twitches. It can be caused by anxiety, vitamin D deficiency, consumption of caffeine, that kinda stuff. I have all of those things so I can't really stop it. What did you mean?'
'I have a ticking noise...it's in my head constantly...'
Silence.
'Even now?' She asked, leaning forward with amazement in her eyes.
'Actually, it...it's quietened down...now that you're here.'