Purple: A Crankiplier Story

Chapter 6

Mark's eyes opened as he gasped for air. Nightmares had tortured his sleep for year and there was no getting rid of them at this point. He looked at his clock. 3AM.

Well shit. He thought.

Mark felt something else cuddled into his neck and in his arm. He smiled as he remembered Ethan was sleeping right there, his blue hair grazing the small amount of stubble that Mark had gained. Ethan was fast asleep.

It was really strange to have Ethan back after this entire time. His phone was left forgotten unless he was scrolling through reddit but other than that he really didn't do much. He didn't even go onto the group chat where all of his friends were probably worried. Mark shook the thought out of his head, he didn't need that.

Mark still played his guitar a lot and had gotten so much better at it. He wondered if Ethan would like to hear him play again. His skills had gotten so much better and he could play so many new songs.

Mark's foster parents were really kind and welcoming. They treated him like their own son and worked hard to make sure Mark didn't have to deal with so much stress. It'd been two years since his mum died and yet, he couldn't get over it. No person could get over their parents dying, that's not how the world works.

Mark still talked to his brother occasionally, he'd been doing well but couldn't visit because well... he still lived in America and didn't have enough money to fly over to Canada. Mark missed Tom a lot. He knew that Tom was older and legally allowed to live on his own so he chose not to especially because his web comic was doing so well.

Tears slipped down Marks face as he thought about his family. His father died of cancer, his mother was gone and his brother couldn't afford to visit him...

Mark took a few deep breaths, Ethan's scent filled his nose and he felt a little calmer... safer... he tightened his arm a little and Ethan moved so that his arm was over Mark's chest.

Pretty soon sleep caught Mark again and he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Time Skip

Marks eyes opened again. Ethan was up, in a different position playing with his hair gently. He felt a pang of something. A sort of desperate feeling and he started to shake.

"M-Mark?" Ethan questioned.

"I-I-" his breathing quickened. He felt his chest tighten and the shaking got worse. He felt the room close around him as he gasped for air. "N-no. No, no, no!" He yelped pushing himself up.

"Mark!" Ethan exclaimed.

Mark's eyes met Ethan's and then started darting around his room. He felt more desperate again and needed a release...

"Mark look at me." Ethan stated. Mark's tears eyes looked into the blue haired boy's. "Breathe. Three seconds in, two out. Start doing." He waited a little bit. "Okay. Five things around your room. Point them out to me."

Mark nodded. He could barely see through the tears and everything was blurry around him but he had to try for Ethan. He looked around his room. "My PC, my TV, my guitar-" his breathing quickened again and he couldn't focus. Mark felt a hand grab his.

"You can do this Mark. Three seconds in, two out." Ethan repeated.

Mark clutched Ethan's hand and nodded again. Closing his eyes to focus on his breathing. Mark reopened them and continued counting the items once he was calmer. "The picture of my mum... and you."

Ethan blushed a little bit. "Can you tell me four things you can hear. This time breathe in for seven seconds and out for five."

Mark closed his eyes again, steadying his breathing. "The birds outside, your voice, my sister's music and my own voice."