Inner Demons

Sleep is For the Weak

Mark woke up when he heard his bedroom door creak open, Jack silently stepping inside.

"Jack? God it's too early man." Mark groaned in a combination of weariness and annoyance as he glanced at his phone to check the time, wincing as the bright white light blinded him slightly.

"It's almost three in the morning. I know it probably doesn't feel like it 'cause of jet lag and stuff, but I'm tired and want to sleep." Mark continued groggily as he threw the covers over his head.

Jack walked over to Mark and yanked the covers off of him before grabbing Mark by the collar of his shirt and lifting him out of bed, a black handled kitchen knife in hand.

In the starlight, Mark could finally see that Jack wasn't Jack anymore.

Jack's eyes were pitch black.

"C'mon Dark, I know you're in there. Come out to play." Jack taunted as he held the silver blade over Mark's neck.

"J-Jack, let me go, pl-please." Mark stammered out fearfully as he tried to move his head away from the knife, only for Jack to press the blade against Mark's throat with enough force to draw a thin line of blood.

"You know I'm not Jack. The fans call me Antisepticeye, so that's what you can call me too." Anti stated with a psychotic grin.

Anti abruptly crumpled to the ground before could do anything else, releasing Mark and the knife much to the dark haired male's relief.

"Bro, are you okay?" Felix asked Mark as he stepped out from behind Jack's prone body, a chair in his hands.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good." Mark stammered as Felix helped him up, his gaze drifting down to Jack.

"Do you think he's..." Mark trailed off as he thought of Amy and the others that had turned demon, praying that Jack hadn't either.

"I dunno." Felix sighed as he moved the chair aside and sat on Mark's bed, suddenly looking much older than his age.

"We all have our demons," Felix murmured sagely as he glanced down at Jack's still body.

"And sometimes they win."

"I won't let them." Mark protested fiercely, his eyes burning with determination.

"Who says any of us let them?" Felix countered, his expression unreadable as he looked at Mark.

Mark didn't answer as he flopped onto his bed, wishing he could close his eyes and escape the nightmare he was trapped in.

But this wasn't a nightmare.

This was real life, and he would have to learn how to deal with the inner demons.

"Ow...fuck, my head hurts like hell." Jack groaned from where he was lying on the ground, his eyes fluttering open to look up at Felix and Mark.

"Do you remember what happened?" Mark asked Jack gently as he kneeled down by the Irishman.

"I...on my god, Mark-"

Jack abruptly broke off and curled his knees into his chest, his sapphire blue eyes rapidly welling up with tears.

"I-I almost killed you, I di-didn't believe y-you, I'm sorry." Jack hiccuped as tears started trailing down his cheeks.

"It's okay, we're all fine." Mark assured Jack softly, pulling him into a comforting hug.

"Um, Mark, you're still bleeding." Felix reminded the dark haired male awkwardly.

Mark touched a hand to his neck to see that Felix was right, his hand now stained with his own blood.

"It shouldn't scar, but I bet it doesn't feel great." Felix remarked as he retreated from the room, quickly coming back with a rag.

"I've lived through worse." Mark shrugged as he pressed the rag to his neck, Jack looking away while biting his lower lip.

"I couldn't find any first aid, do you just not believe in safety?" Felix teased, earning a smirk of amusement from Mark.

"No, I used it all when I got hit in the eye with a pickle." Mark replied sarcastically.

"Wait, you did what?" Jack interjected with a laugh of disbelief.

"I made a video about it and everything." Mark chuckled, glad to have lightened the tense atmosphere.

"Damn it, of course Anti's here." Dark cursed in Mark's head, his voice laced with anger.

"What?" Mark muttered aloud in confusion, momentarily forgetting hat no one else could hear Dark.

"What's up?" Jack prompted Mark.

"The demon in my head knows yours and apparently hates him a lot." Mark stated, earning a frown from the Irishman.

"Look, we'll deal with your guys' demons later once I've gotten more sleep, it's too fucking early to deal with this now." Felix grumbled as he stood up and left.

Jack was uncharacteristically silent as he stood up and walked towards the door, only to pause a foot from it and look back at Mark.

"H-Hey, um, I know this probably sounds stupid, but....can I sleep in here? I'm scared to be alone." Jack admitted sheepishly, his face burning a light red hue in embarrassment.

"Of course, you can bring some blankets and pillows in." Mark nodded, earning a relieved look from Jack as he left the room, soon returning with an armful of blankets and pillows.

Mark helped Jack make his bed next to Mark before the dark haired male crawled into his own bed, the rag still pressed against his neck as he fell asleep.