DOOM DAYS ✓

Chapter 29: Somnokinesis

Somnokinesis: the ability to control the sleep functions of oneself and in others.

After twenty minutes of muffled yelling from downstairs, Tyler comes back fuming. His whole body is glowing bright pink, and he keeps pacing around the bathroom.

"Ty." Josh tries to think of something to calm him down, but he can't think of what to say.

"I can't believe she didn't fucking tell me. This whole time I thought you were going to help us, not be fucking cat food for that- that-"

Tyler roars and goes to punch the wall but stops with his fist an inch away. He glances down at Josh, looking scared of his own reaction. Josh swears he sees his eyes turn yellow and his pupils paper thin, but it must be the trick of the light.

"Shit, I'm sorry."

He sniffles, his mini breakdown long gone but with the occasional tears still falling. "For what?"

"For not realizing it earlier. I'm so sorry, angel. If I'd  known, I wouldn't have let her use you like that."

"It's okay. I mean, you were a dick to me with anyways, so what's the difference."

It's a throwaway thought, one that Josh doesn't think too much about until he meets Tyler's eyes and sees the pain behind them. His hands are shaking.

Tyler slides down the wall to the floor, sitting with his back against the door. Josh is sitting on the toilet. "I know I can be... mean sometimes. Okay, a lot of times. I don't want to be like that but I am and I hate myself for it. There's a lot of things I do that I hate. I don't know why I do this, or that, why I say these things, why I-" he stops and tilts his head like he's come to another realization. "Why I like the people that I do."

Josh wipes under his eyes. "If it means anything, I can see that you're trying. You slip up sometimes, but that's okay."

"That doesn't mean I'm a good person. I should've known what Hayley was planning. I should've- I knew something was wrong, but I trusted that she had it under control."

"That's not your fault," he says.

When Tyler looks up at him, angry tears are threatening to fall. "Yeah, it is."

They both go silent. As angry as Josh wants to be, he just feels betrayed. How could Hayley do that to them, lie to their faces. Trick them into getting killed, and for what? The greater good?

All his life, he's seen Hayley as the best example of good in the world. She made him actually believe that there was good in everyone. But now? His childhood hero tried inadvertently to kill him and his best friend.

And if that wasn't bad enough, Tiana's in the hospital, without the chance to ever learn how to use her wing. She always wanted to fly. That's probably what hurts the most- he got to do the one thing she's always wanted to do, and he has nobody to help him pick up the pieces.

Well, he has Tyler. But neither of them ate exactly unbiased in this situation.

"Do you think I could sleep here?" He asks. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

"Neither do I." Tyler sighs and rests his head against the door, holding his arms out.

Josh slides off the toilet and onto the ground, scooting so he's tucked into Tyler's side. "I don't want this to ruin us. I still want to be friends."

"Don't worry, angel. Nothing can keep me from annoying your ass." Tyler wraps arm an around Josh's shoulders and kisses his temple.

"That's reassuring."

Eventually, Hayley leaves and, since no one else is home, Tyler and Josh camp out in the living room, putting a movie on to distract themselves from everything that's happened. It doesn't work because Tyler falls asleep halfway through the movie. As soon as his eyes close, Josh can tell he's having a nightmare.

He shakes Tyler's shoulder. When that doesn't do anything, he just shrinks off the couch to where Tyler's asleep on the floor and curls up beside him, face to face. Josh gently puts a hand on his cheek, and he sees Tyler's face twist in pain. Before he has time to retract his hand, Tyler relaxes and slings an arm over his chest.

It's an awkward position since Josh's arm is tucked uncomfortably underneath him, but he doesn't really care. Josh knows he's not the only one that Hayley has betrayed, and it must've been even worse for Tyler. He puts his forehead against his chest and closes his eyes, forgetting the movie and Hayley, forgetting the fights with Alley Cat, forgetting everything he'll have to face tomorrow.

But for right now, he feels safe like this, with Tyler's arm around him and his head against his chest, and that's enough for now.

—

Josh is still pissed when they wake up, but less so when he finds that the two had shifted positions greatly when they were asleep. Tyler's chest is strikingly warm against his back, arm still around his waist. He can feel Tyler's breath hit the back of his neck.

His stomach jumps, making him smile to himself as he sinks into Tyler, just before he feels Tyler yawn.

"Ow." Tyler sits up, hand grazing Josh's side as he does so. "My arm fell asleep."

"Ouch." Josh props his head in his hand, elbow on the couch cushion that they'd been using as a pillow.

Tyler stands and stretches. "Let's go get breakfast."

"Like, together?"

"No, angel, I'm going to go to iHop while you go to Waffle House. Of course we're going to go together." Tyler is facing away, but Josh can swear he can hear him roll his eyes.

Josh grumbles but smiles and just rolls over, not wanting to get up just yet. "I'm tired."

"Then suffer. I'm going to Waffle House."

"Asshole."