BOYS WILL BE BUGS ~ Warren x Shrignold

16. sleepwalk

~sleepwalk - santo and jhonny~

WARREN POV

I slowly blinked my eyes open. Hazy orange light flooded the quiet bedroom, glowing on everything it touched. As I expected, a quick glanced forward and out the window told me that the sky was still suffering the aftermath of the fire. It would be like that for a long time.

Reminded of the bandaged body next to me, I looked down and saw Shrignold still tucked up against me for warmth, his hand still gently resting on mine above the blanket. I smiled softly. He looked so peaceful as he slept...I closed my eyes again, not wanting to leave Shrignold's side.

Though as I was begging to drift off again, I felt an odd pain in my back. As I slightly moved, I clenched my teeth as the pain became more prominent. Careful not to disturb Shrignold, I slid my hand out from under his and sat up in the bed. 

Hesitantly touching my back again, I shrunk back when the pain returned. Maybe we have ointment downstairs... I got up as quietly as I can, casting one last loving glance at Shrignold before I exited the room and silently closed the door.

A walked downstairs, scratching my matted purple hair. The house was silent, Colin's fans were softly running as Sketch leaned against him for support, also sleeping soundly. I quickly noticed that Tony was not on his usual perch on the wall.

Confused, I walked downstairs and glanced into the kitchen, to my subtle surprise finding Tony sitting at the table with his face buried in his large gloved hands. "Tony?" I half-whispered, being careful not to wake anyone else up. Tony abruptly look up and I saw that his half-lidded eye was a darker shade of blue then the rest of him, purple spots littered around the edges. I sucked air through my teeth at the sight, Tony sighed. "I know..."

A long moment of silence passed, and as I was about to continue my look through the house, Tony spoke. "I've been assholes to you and Shrignold ever since you arrived here. And everyone else..." I glanced to the side awkwardly and shrugged. "Yeah."

Tony sighed again, now looking me in the eye. "I'm sorry. Last night as Shrignold just kept calm and unwavering as I yelled at him really opened my eyes. And the fact that another teacher who didn't even know him stood up for him really prompted me to take a good look at myself." I sat down at the table across from him. "I understand if you're mad at me..." I shrugged again. "I dunno. Shrignold didn't really seemed fazed by it, so it was kinda hard for me to be."

At least a part of that was true, I was still fairly mad at Tony for all he said about Shrig. Though I was a bit too tired at the moment to be mad. "Listen, I know I try to be tough and all, but it's just because I've been here a long  time at one point it was only me and Sketch in the house. And then Shrig joined, then Colin and so on. And then all that time passed and now a whole new load of teachers settling in is a big change. I'm overprotective because I've experienced...so much. I've seen what the horrors of this house do to the teachers over time, and I just don't want it to happen again. But I know that's no excuse..."

I listened to Tony thoughtfully, though quickly became disturbed. The horrors of this house? What does that mean?... "I understand...maybe we can have a fresh start." Tony smiled ever so softly. "I would like that." He was quiet for a moment, seeming deep in thought before speaking again. "By the way, I want you to know that I'm one-hundred percent supportive of you and Shrig. He's been alone for a really long time, so it's nice to see someone really care for him the way you do." He smiled again.