Around Every Corner

~Darkness~

Tanner, Jon, and Austin were good friends. They all enjoyed hanging out with one another. It all started when the world was booted up.

The world loaded in, grass blocks and the blue sky containing a yellow square were in view. Tanner looked around, seeing his friends, Jon and Austin. He smiled, waving to them. He could easily speak up and say something, but for some reason, he didn't feel like it.

Jon was the first to speak up. Pointing to the starter map and startied saying something about how there was a small, cute clearing in the trees.

Austin thought it would be a great place to start up a base. "Sounds good. It would be a nice place to at least get away from the mobs."

Tanner agreed. "Yeah, it would probably be for the best since we don't have much day time left." While Tanner was speaking, Jon used their hand to measure the sun to calculate when it would be night time.

"You guys are right, it's gonna get late pretty soon." Jon turned to the guys, looking like they were eager to start heading to the clearing. Austin noticed this and moved the group along, not wanting Jon to be scared of being too late.

"Well what are we waiting for? If we don't have much time, we should probably get going." Austin spoke, a small smirk on his face. He didn't even wait for a response before he snatched the map and started walking away.

Tanner and Jon just looked at each other for a moment, wondering why Austin didn't even wait. But they both snapped out of it once they realized that if they lost Austin, they would lose the map as well. And they needed it. So they both quickly caught up with Austin.

The three where walking for a minute. It was taking a little longer then it should have because Austin had the map upside down, going the wrong way the whole time. Yet, he still insisted being the leader, taking them to the spot.

While Austin was up front, Tanner and Jon were a little behind him, giving him space. While just staring off, Tanner noticed in the corner of his eyes, Jon looking around a lot. At a little snap of a branch, they would look at it rather fast. It just ended up being a wolf.

The more Tanner watched, the more he noticed that the darker the sky got, the more they seemed to get paranoid. So, Tanner looked over at Jon, whispering to him. "You doing alright? It doesn't look like you're doing so hot..." He seemed genuinely concerned.

"Mhm?" Jon seemed like they were only half paying attention. He kept his eyes in the tree lines. "Oh, yeah, I just don't like the darkness so much... It's giving me goosebumps." Jon was a little quiet when they spoke. They seemed almost embarrassed to say it.

"Oh.." Tanner responded, now understanding the situation. He didn't know what to do until he noticed that Jon was looking around themselves a lot. Not knowing what was around them seemed to really mess with them.

In hopes of trying to calm them down a little bit, Tanner shrugged and moved his hand closer to Jon's. He didn't take long to grap hold of Jon's hand and intertwine their fingers.

"It's alright, I'm watching. I will make sure you're safe." Tanner smiled at Jon, giving them a little smile. "...thanks." Jon responded quietly. They was surprised at first that Tanner held their hand but they would be lying if they said it didn't make them feel better.

At first, Tanner could feel Jon shaking a little bit. But the longer he held their hand, the more they seemed to calm down a little bit. But with the dark approaching fast, Jon couldn't help getting a little nervous. But when he got nervous, Tanner gave a small squeeze to their hand to remind them he was there.

And that small squeeze would remind Jon that he was there and watching out for them. It was comforting in some way. Walking through a phobia but having it low because someone held their hand was nice. Not having that fear was nice.

Jon didn't care much after that. The walk seemed to go by in a flash after calming down compared then when they were scared. But soon enough, Austin actually got them to the right place.

They didn't have much time so Austin started cutting down some trees, trying to at least get something to build with. Tanner also tried to join him but he felt a little tug on his arm. Jon wouldn't let go.

Tanner looked at them for a moment, debating what to do. He ended up diciding to stay with Jon. He got a little closer to him to try and comfort him. With only Austin cutting down the trees, they wouldn't have enough to build anything.

"Hey, Austin!" Tanner called, getting his attention. "We don't have time, we only have one option." Tanner called to him, making him stop cutting down the trees.

"What do you mean?" Austin was a little confused with that. But then, Tanner crouched down and started digging. Austin visibly cringed.

"What? Scared of a little dirt? You're gonna wish to get a little dirty if it comes to mobs getting you."
Tanner laughed, teasing him a little bit.

"What? No... It's just a little disgusting that all." Austin stayed away from the hole being dug, not wanting to help. Seeing dirt get in-between Tanners nails was the worst part, it sent a shiver down his spine. He really didn't like it.

"Whatever you say man..." Tanner responded, shrugging as he dug.

~~~~~~~~~~

The three where now in the hole that was covered up behind them. It was dark and Jon didn't like it so they sat down in the corner, just waiting it out. Tanner didn't want them to be fully alone, so he sat down with them.

Austin was already set on working on making light. He made a crafting table with his wood and sat it down. He then looked through the dark, looking at Tanner. "Could you umm, get some stone for me?" He reached out a pickaxe to him.

"Yeah, sure. Could you maybe.." Tanner looked to Jon. "Could you sit with them while I do it?" Tanner asked. "Oh! Yeah, sure." Austin didn't hesitate to sit next to Jon, starting up some conversation.

Moments later, Tanner had collected enough stone to make a couple tools and a firness. "Alright, they you go man. But you might wanna learn to get past the germ fear. I know it can be hard but in this life, you're gonna need to get your hand dirty." Tanner spoke with a serious voice, but not in a pushing way.

"Yeah, I know. But until we find a water source so I can wash my hands, I don't wanna do that stuff." Austin said, sounding genuine. Tanner and Austin once again exchanged seats. Tanner now sitting with Jon who was dosing off to sleep.

Austin stood up and walked to the gray block, opening it and putting two items in that quickly turned into charcoal. Then, he put a stick and charcoal in the crafting table, making a torch. He smiled at his creation, placing it onto the wall. It lit up the small space with a low light. Everyone was happy, or at least almost everyone. Jon didn't have a reaction as he was already fast asleep.

Austin went on the floor, lying down to try and sleep. Tanner moved Jon so that they would be close to the torch, helping them get a little heat from it. Then, with a small smile from Tanner, he leaned against the wall and tried to sleep.

Everyone finally dosed off into unconsciousness.