But Now We're Stressed Out

You won't go lonely into this fight if you just hold me we will survive

Eventually I saw it. Stumbling down into the gorge, I headed quickly over to the structure. The fairy lights were on inside it.

I paused at the entrance and knocked a few times. No response. The longer I waited the more worried I got.

"Quinn?" I said. "It's me, Virgil. Can I come in?"

"Yeah," A soft voice mumbled from inside. I breathed a sigh of relief and crawled inside.

Quinn was pressed against the far corner. He was shivering badly from the cold, his thin sweater not helping much. An open sketch book say next to him but it was messily written words instead of a drawing.

I quickly scrambled over to him. I pulled off my hoodie and wrapped it around his shaking shoulder. Despite the cold I was feeling now, I didn't care.

His face was red and blotchy. Tear tracks were littered all down his cheeks and his eyes were watery.

"Can I touch you?" I asked him. He nodded 'yes' in response.

I pulled him into my lap and hugged him tightly. Quinn leaned into my touch, his breath hitching as he tried to keep himself from crying.

"Damien told me what happened," I mumbled. "With Remus."

"I fucked it up," Quinn cried. "I fucked up the relationship."

"No you didn't," I told him. "You have feelings. You can't change those."

"I just don't like Remus," He mumbled. "I barely know anything about him. He's so much older than us. He scares me."

"You're allowed to feel like that," I said.

"But he was so angry when I said no. It scared me. I don't like being yelled at," Quinn said, breaking down into sobs. His shaking increased.

"Hey, it's okay," I said quickly. "It's over. You're here with me right now."

"It scared me," He whispered again.

"You can't be angry with yourself because of things that trigger you," I told him.

"But it's not fair to everyone else," Quinn said, borderline gelling. "I hurt Remus. It's going to destroy our relationship."

"You can't help it that yelling upsets you," I continued. "You can't help it that what Remus did was a big shock. You weren't prepared for it. You can't be mad at yourself for this. You need time to think all this through."

"I should die," He whispered.

"No," I said sternly, anxiety spiking through me. "You shouldn't die because of this."

"It's all so much, not just the relationship drama. Everything is too much," He ranted.

"Have you hurt yourself?" I asked tentatively.

No response from Quinn. He shrunk into himself and refused to make eye contact.

"Quinn," I said, grabbing his chin to make him look at me.

He just held out his arms. Very gingerly I rolled up his sweater sleeves. Long bloody scratches were going down his arms. His forearms were also incredibly skinny and bony which couldn't be good either.

"Did you scratch yourself again?" I asked even thought I could see the answer for myself.

"I couldn't stop it," He cried. "I was back there. All this is brining back memories and I don't like being yelled at and it felt good because it hurt and I deserve it-"