When Violence Ensues: Slenderverse Short Stories.

Story Thirty Five: Soft Voices with Pianos and Roughed Up Jeans with Messy Hair.

HABIT was left in a state of confusion after thinking about the way Patrick's song had made him feel. His voice was no doubt beautiful and his playing absolutely captivating, but part of HABIT despised how vulnerable the empty feeling left him. Or the confusion he felt regarding how to deal with the emotion.

The teenager sat on his bed in his designated room in Fairmount. It was where he spent most of his time- partly because he was forever threatening other kids or staff, and partly because it was just his 'happy place'. This comfortably sized room with its old oak bookshelves, warm bed and blue walls contained HABIT's every thought and feeling, keeping them safe. The little window on the right wall of his room beside his bed allowed for the sunlight to seep in and colour the room brightly- letting HABIT know for sure that it was certainly day-time. Day and night tended to merge together sometimes, especially due to his lack of sleep or nightmares.

The nurses hadn't realised he was gone due to the fact that the sly teenager had crept out while the nurses were changing shifts. Having pinched a sheet with the table of shifts of the individual nurses, HABIT had memorised when the nurses swapped around and pinpointed when was safe to sneak out, and for how long. Usually, if he had gotten out, he'd have to wait until the next shift change to return- the nurses rarely checked in on him if they knew he was in the room. However, that's where luck came in- if they checked while he was out, he'd most definitely be in trouble.

HABIT was pretty much relying on a little bit of luck.

Heaving a sigh, HABIT leaned back into his bed and looked up at the ceiling, eyebrows narrowed as his dark eyes focused on the light blue coloured ceiling. That boy, Patrick, had been on his mind for the past two hours. This wasn't something HABIT was used to, but part of him didn't hate it.

Not many were able to catch the attention of the brown-haired teenager, and even less were able to continue to keep his attention. The fact that Patrick, through one song, was able to leave his head in this much of a mess really quite irritated HABIT. No one could do this to him and yet here he was- lying on his bed in a state of frustration and irritation.

"HABIT, you've got a visitor." A feminine voice called from the other side of the old wooden door, as a knock resounded and pulled him from his thoughts. A visitor? He didn't get many of those, unless they were doctors or nurses. Rolling his eyes, the male inhaled before speaking,

"Door's unlocked." The sarcasm dripped from his voice, as a familiar male cautiously stepped into the room. A timid smile found its place on his lips and his blonde hair was neatly styled- it made HABIT want to ruffle it and mess it up.

For some reason neat things tended to unnerve him.

Eyes widening in surprise, HABIT quickly sat up on his bed as he realised who was standing in the doorway. Patrick stood, fiddling with his shirt sleeve as HABIT observed him momentarily, "Hi." He mused, slightly awkwardly. It was highly unusual for him to have any visitors- let alone other people his age. He kind of had a reputation in Fairmount, everyone left him alone out of pure fear of what he could or would do to them.

"Hello." Patrick responded politely, still standing in the doorway, posture reflecting how anxious he was. Tilting his head to the side, HABIT gave a small chuckle,

"You can come in you know. No point standin' in the doorway." He spoke, as Patrick gave a nod and moved closer, actually into the room as the nurses stood in the doorway, observing. Noticing the gaze of the nurses, HABIT rolled his eyes and leaned heavily to his left, so he could make eye contact past Patrick to see the two nurses, "Could you please close the door? I'm not gonna kill him." He grumbled- obviously irritated by their presence. The nurses looked silently to each other, before respecting HABIT's wish for privacy and closed the door. Visibly relaxing, HABIT gave the taller teenager a little grin, "What brings you here of all places?" He questioned.