D.S.A.W.

Moo: okay so ignoring whatever the hell has happened in the main chat

Moo: i think we need something light-hearted to focus on

Lui: and we're not in the main chat because???

Moo: okay honestly

Moo: i think evan needs some serious rest

Moo: hes been taking hit after hit and based off how he's been talking i think its started to fuck with him. bad

Kryoz: yeah ive noticed that too

Lui: i dont blame him at all

BasicallyIGetFucked: id have serious psychological problems if i had to deal with all that

Fitz: well good thing he has brian then

Four07: yeah he seems to be keeping a pretty level head

Lui: good thing they live together too

Four07: no definitely like i cant imagine what wouldve happened if he lived alone

Moo: dont say shit like that dude

Kryoz: wait lets get jon in here

Lui: really?? why

Fitz: why not? hes pretty chill

DaithiDeNoPrivilege: ofc you backup your lovers suggestion

Fitz: lets not get into this again but i am NOT romantically involved with john nor am i sexually involved with him

Kryoz: thats not harsh at all

Moo: okay we are not here to talk about their weird love affair

Moo: i wanna talk about

Moo: wait no actually that is what i wanted to talk about what the fuck you guys

Fitz: ITS NOT TRUE I DONT KNOW WHERE YOU GOT THIS INFORMATION FROM???

Kryoz: yk evan was so right about you

Kryoz: he told me he was like "look john i dont control your life but i think that if you keep doing this and expecting a certain outcome then youre crazy and only asking to be hurt" and LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW

Kryoz: hold on we actually need to get jon in here

Four07: no??? again why would we

Fitz: bc hes chill

Lui: do you guys like talk to him or something?? bc literally when would you have the time we only see him in the main chat

Kryoz: are we really gonna pretend hes NOT our friend??

Kryoz: its not like hes some stranger

Fitz: guys i think its cool

Lui: bro doesnt even know him???

Moo: john has a point

Four07: he wasnt even in the original chat

Moo: neither was john?? or cam??

Kryoz: whatever we can just drop it ig

Kryoz: ill just msg him in the other chat later

Lui: okay theres a lot of talks about multiple gcs lately

Lui: so lets establish what we mean

Four07: there are only two chats tho arent there??? the main one and this one

Four07: and probably a whole graveyard of abandoned ones

Kryoz: isnt there three?

BasicallyIGetFucked: your weird love chat doesnt count

Kryoz: no thats not the one im talking about

DaithiDeNoPrivilege: then which one are you talking about

Fitz: john theres only two main chats

Kryoz: what about the one we have with evan and brian

Moo: what are you talking about

Kryoz: uhhhhhhhh actually idk i must be high or something

Four07: nah i think hes on to something

Lui: yeah im sick of the weirdness whats REALLY going on

Four07: i feel like he really is in a gc with those two i just wanna know why it exists

Kryoz: well it doesnt exist okay so just drop it

Lui: lets just ask the other two

Moo: we really shouldnt bother them guys

Moo: theyre dealing with a lot thats why i wanted us to talk in here

Four07: well what else can we do? throw a party? its not gonna go any better than the last two

Fitz: guys

Fitz: the love affair was real

Moo: oh shit

Moo: honestly i just made that up i didnt expect there to be truth to it

Kryoz: you people NEVER believe me

——

ISTG

Fitz: brock i swear i am going to kill you

Moo: you make it too easy to fuck with you, you know that?

Kryoz has sent 1 attachment.

Kryoz: honestly pretty fucked up they kicked u out of the chat brian this is prime entertainment

Moo: oh yeah i mean youve been missing out on the SEVEN THOUSAND TIMES JOHN HAS NEARLY EXPOSED THIS CHAT

Fitz: seriously john what the hell

Fitz: brian and evan have enough going on without you fucking exposing everything

Jon: seriously?

Moo: jon we've been trying to get you in but no one else is willing to vouch for you which is fucked

Terroriser: jesus john what is your problem

Terroriser: its really not a good time for you to be fucking around like this

Moo: thats what ive been saying

Terroriser: what exactly did he say

Moo has sent 5 attachments.

Moo: seriously whats the deal john

Terroriser: john

Terroriser: what the hell

Kryoz: look dude im really sorry i promise i wont say anything else

Terroriser: too fucking late john

Terroriser: im really serious about this being a bad time

Terroriser: you say anything more and youre fucking dead you hear me

Terroriser: this isnt something you can just joke about okay this is about real people and real life things and its not just some funny fucking joke okay

Moo: brian he knows he fucked up okay you can lay off

Terroriser: this is like the fifth time hes said some shit brock i cant just let it slide anymore its fucked up

Fitz: brian look we know its a stressful time but you should really calm down a little

Terroriser: dont tell me to calm down

Kryoz: guys its really fine okay i deserve it i should know better

Terroriser: damn right you should youre acting like its your fucking secret to tell and its not

Jon: brian is everything okay?

Jon: whats going on dude?

Terroriser: everything is fine

Terroriser: its just really hard to keep strong right now but im trying my best

Terroriser: seriously dont tell anyone okay?

Jon: is evan alright?

Terroriser: i dont know how much i can say about that

Terroriser: physically, hes fine, aside from his wrist but we've been keeping up with the dr appts so thats okay

Terroriser: hes just feeling a lot of things right now and its hard to explain to him to that its okay to feel these things and that they wont be there forever

Terroriser: its hard on both of us i guess

Moo: wow

Moo: im so sorry brian

Terroriser: hes trying to stay off his phone for the moment, hes scared that itll make him feel worse so if you have anything you need to tell him i can do it for you

Moo: yea for sure

Fitz: take care of yourself too brian

Fitz: you wont be able to help him if you start to lose it yourself

Moo: and this might be a bad time but what are you gonna do about tyler?

Terroriser: im still thinking about that

Kryoz: brian im really going to mean it this time

Kryoz: i wont say anything else

——

LOCATION: Brian's Car

TIME: 4:23 P.M.

Brian put the car into park before turning towards the passenger seat. Evan was curled up in the seat, arms wrapped around himself as he glanced through every nearby window before looking at his boyfriend. Brian put his hand on top of Evan's, gently pulling it towards him so that he could join their hands together.

"Ev, it's just a pickup order, okay? It'll take five minutes, maybe ten if theres a line, but not long at all. Are you sure you don't just want to wait here?" Brian spoke slowly, making sure to not alarm Evan now that he had finally gotten him out of the apartment.

"The doctor said a little exposure therapy couldn't hurt, right?" Evan tried to joke, but he was visibly terrified at the thought of having to leave the car. "And, either way, I don't want to be left alone."

Brian rubbed his thumb against the back of Evan's hand. "Ev. I know its hard, but this is a good step. And if we get back to the car and you don't want to leave the apartment ever again, then that's okay. At least, we tried. That's what matters. Plus, you don't have to say anything, alright? Just hold on to me- that's it."

"What if I see something? S-something that's not..."

"Pay attention to me at all times. If you see something that scares you, try to see if I see it, too. If I don't, then ignore it. If you don't know, just tug on my sleeve and I'll look around, okay?"

"How can you explain something like that and then tell me I'm not crazy?"

"Because I know you're not crazy, okay? Now, let's go get our food so we can get back to our apartment, okay?"

——

As soon as they stepped into the restaurant, Evan tugged on Brian's sleeve.

"To-go for Brian, please." He spoke to the waitress briefly, taking a look around the restaurant once she left to get the food. "It's safe, Ev." He whispered to his boyfriend, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead, trying not to pay attention to how scared Evan looked. How paranoid.

"For Brian?" The hostess returned with a paper bag, stapled shut at the top along with a paper that displayed the contents of the bag. Brian smiled, nodding as he took the bag.

"Ev, can you hold this for me?" He handed the bag to his boyfriend, who briefly met his eye, a moment of relief flashing in his gaze. "Thanks." He opened his wallet, pulling out a couple bills and sliding them to the hostess. "Thanks again."

Moments later, the two of them were walking out of the restaurant. He felt Evan exhale as soon as they were back outside, but his grip on Brian's arm tightened. "Time to go back home." His voice was cheerful, but he felt all kinds of conflicted.

Evan wasn't getting better. It was a hard pill to swallow.

——

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Evan still clinging to Brian's arm, he felt something was going to happen.

"You ok?" He asked, knowing that Evan either wouldn't answer him or just nod.

"I'm a little anxious, actually." Evan mumbled instead. "Just ready to be home."

"Me too. You hungry, too?"

Evan nodded. "There's nothing here, right?"

"Nothing except for you and me, and maybe the neighbor's chihuahua if he senses us coming."

"It feels like there's someone else here."

The two of them were in front of their apartment door now. Brian paused, searching the hallway again. "Evan, I can see down the hallway perfectly- there's no corners, and I don't see anyone."

"What if there's someone in the apartment?"

Brian handed Evan the keys and tried opening the door. As expected, it was locked.

"Someone could still be in there."

"There's no one there, Ev. The door wouldn't be able to shut properly if someone had broken in."

"There's someone in there."

"Evan hand me the keys."

"Someone's in there." He tightened the grip on Brian's arm- he was sure there'd be bruises come tomorrow. "Someone is in there."

Brian grabbed the keys out of Evan's hand. "No, there isn't." He twisted the key and pushed the door open. "Come on. I'll show you." He took the bag of food from Evan, suddenly not trusting him with it.

Evan's breath hitched as Brian dragged him inside the apartment.

It was a bit of a struggle, and Evan stayed completely silent as they stepped further and further inside. Brian put the bag on the counter as Evan loosened his grip, wrapping his arms around himself and nervously glancing around. He sniffed, slightly trembling.

"There's someone here." He repeated the phrase a few times, his breath quickening.

Brian turned to him, something churning in his stomach as he watched Evan begin to dissolve. He shook his head. "Ev, there's no one here. I promise." He spoke softly, trying to be gentle.

Evan slowly began to sink downward, shaking his head. "No, no, no. There's someone here, I know it. I-I can hear them, Brian. They're here, I know they are...I-I-"

"For fuck's sake." Brian ran his hands over his face, trying to tune out his boyfriend's paranoid rambling. He didn't want to be mad- he knew Evan couldn't help it, it wasn't his fault- but it had been weeks of this, and he couldn't lie to himself anymore. He was fed up. "Let's go." Evan didn't even look up, still talking to himself. "I said, let's go." Brian grabbed Evan's arm, dragging him across the floor and further into the apartment.

"What are you-No! No, Brian! I want to leave- don't do this, Brian! I don't feel safe- there's someone there, babe."

Evan began to cry, struggling in Brian's grip as he dragged him into every room of the apartment, through every inch of them, proving that no one else was there.

"Let go! Brian, let go of me!" Evan thrashed as hard as he could, and it took everything Brian had to keep moving. The anger had long since dissipated, making every move through the apartment more painful than the last. "Stop! Stop it!" He knew Evan was scared, and this wasn't the right way to do things- he should've left Evan in the kitchen and had him watch Brian do this check by himself- but he had to keep moving.

"We're almost done, Evan." He tried to sound soft and gentle, like he always is, but the damage was already done. Evan was still scared, having a complete meltdown as they were back in the hallway once again. "Just the closet left."

His boyfriend struggled even harder, hyperventilating and sobbing, begging Brian to stop. They were there, the intruder was in the closet- he couldn't open the door, he just couldn't

"It's the last place, Ev, just calm the fuck down." The anger was back now- why couldn't Evan just make it easier for one minute- and he threw open the closet door, grabbing a handful of hangers and tossing them aside so the two of them could fit in there. "Look, Evan! There's no one here!" His misplaced frustration slipped into his voice, and one look at Evan told him just how terribly he had fucked up. He let go of Evan, watching him curl into the fetal position. Brian crouched, reaching out a hand. "It's okay, Evan. You don't have to be scared." As soon as his hand touched him, Evan flinched away.

Brian's heart shattered, ashamed that he driven Evan to such a fear-filled state just to prove a point.

He sat next to Evan for a moment, trying to whisper words of encouragement, but he could tell that Evan no longer wanted him there. Brian got up, walking back into the kitchen to unpack the bag of food.

"Even Brian thinks you're fucking crazy." Evan whispered to himself, his voice just loud enough for Brian to hear it echo back to him. He almost dropped their utensils out of pure shock. "Of course there's no one here, you're so fucking stupid." His voice got lower, but Brian imagined it was just more utterances of the same sentiments.

Evan wasn't getting better, and now Brian was just making things worse.