Anathema

nine - she asked me

Tyler opened the door slowly, and just as he'd expected, he could hear Clancy crying. He was sitting a few feet from the door with his face buried in his arms, much like Tyler had been only a few minutes earlier.

"He cries over everything," Nico grumbled under his breath.

Tyler felt his anxiety spike as he looked at his friend, but he tried to breathe deeply and control it. "Hey," he said, sitting down slowly beside him. Clancy just leaned away from him and muttered something into his arms. "I'm sorry," he continued anyway. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Clancy didn't respond. He just raised his head enough to glance at him.

"I was just scared and frustrated. I didn't mean to yell at you." Tyler kept his eyes straight ahead, watching the stairs for anyone who might interrupt.

"Do you really like me?" Clancy whispered, wiping his nose with his arm.

"Of course I like you."

"Because sometimes it doesn't feel like it."

"I'm really sorry," Tyler mumbled. "It's just really hard sometimes, you know, to pretend like I'm normal and to pretend like you guys don't exist or aren't important to me."

Clancy nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and turned to look at him directly. "So I'm important to you?"

"Of course you're important to me. You've been my best friend since kindergarten." Tyler gave him a tired smile, and he returned it.

"Yeah. It's been a while, hasn't it?" They sat quietly for a moment, listening to each other breathe. Then Clancy glanced at his damp clothes from earlier. "You should probably change if you're going downstairs."

"Oh yeah." Tyler had almost forgotten about that. "You should, too. If you can. I've never seen you wear anything else, so I don't know..."

A ghost of a smile crossed Clancy's face. "Yeah, I'll try."

Tyler climbed to his feet and held his hand out. "Ready to come in with me?"

At first, Clancy hesitated, but then he cautiously took his hand and let him help him stand. "Thanks," he said, pulling his hands to his chest almost uncomfortably. Tyler knew he didn't like any sort of physical contact, so he didn't think much of it.

He changed his jeans for some sweatpants and his hoodie and top for a blue and purple Disney shirt he'd gotten years ago. When he turned back to face the room, Clancy was wearing a greenish button-up instead of his grey one, and Nico had a loose tank top that had holes big enough to expose how scrawny he was. It was weird seeing them in something different, even if it was similar to what they'd been wearing before.

"I'm going downstairs," Tyler said. "You can come if you want."

"You're not seriously going to help her," Nico said in a monotone.

"I don't want to worry her further, and helping her might make her think I'm not so weird. Besides, we haven't done something together in a long time."

"It's six fifteen. She's probably already done."

"Then it's time to eat, and I'm hungry." He wasn't actually hungry, but he turned away and hoped Nico wouldn't catch the lie. He had to go down eventually, and he figured it was better if he went by himself, without his mother asking him. The two watched him cross the room and open the door, and then Clancy took off after him.

"What, you afraid of being alone with me?" Nico taunted.

"Yes," Clancy said, slipping out of the room and following Tyler close enough to step on his heels down the stairs.