You changed me

I've seen crazy, you're not it.

"Aziz, what the fuck was that?" Jay snapped as soon as the door was shut, "Do they always act like that towards you?"

"It's fine, Jay, they didn't even yell this time," Aziz mumbled, swiping at his eyes. 

He'd done that quite a few times already. There were tears that continued to escape him, despite his efforts to keep them away. His voice wavered with held back sobs when he spoke. His parents had continued with their conversation, disregarding their son's tears entirely.

Those details combined did nothing but feed Jay's growing anger.

"They didn't yell," Jay said slowly, almost like a growl, "They didn't yell? Aziz, you're crying, and you want to act like that interaction was a good one?"

"It was better than it could have been," Aziz said with a small shrug, "I told you they'd call me crazy."

"Yeah no shit," Jay said, wincing as he saw Aziz flinch at the tone, "Aziz they have no right to speak to you like that."

"They're the king and queen, Jay," Aziz mumbled, "I think they can speak to me however they feel like."

"Aziz, look at me," Jay ordered, sitting at the edge of the bed, "What they just did to you isn't right. They had no right to do that. They manipulated you and disregarded your feelings. Fuck, Ziz, you were trying desperately not to cry, and they completely ignored you."

"I'm not crying-"

"Don't lie," Jay said, "You're still trying so hard not to. You can cry if you need to, Aziz."

There was a long, tense moment of hesitation before the sobs really began to come out of him. He pressed a hand to his mouth, trying to muffle any loud noised. Jay could tell why he was trying to hold back, once the tears started it looked like there would be no end to it. Jay wasn't the best at comforting crying people, on the Isle he had been the cause of quite a few tears, but he gently put an arm over him, running another hand through his hair in what he hoped to be a calming manner.

"Hey, you're ok," He said, trying to mimic the gentleness is Jasmine's voice, "Let it all out."

"I'm never going to be good enough for them," He managed to force out through sobs, "They've been calling me crazy my entire life and I don't even know why."

"You're not crazy, Aziz," Jay told him, "Trust me, I've seen crazy, you are not it."

"They're so eager to send me away," He mumbled, clinging to Jay, "They're so desperate to, what did I ever do to them?"

"You didn't do anything, Aziz," Jay assured him, rubbing his back, "You did nothing to them. Don't blame yourself for what is frankly just insanity on your parent's part."

"Jay-"

"No, don't argue. You're not crazy, and no one is sending you away."