"Don't trust him," Anti said, slowly circling Jack. He was holding a knife in his hand and was waving it a bit too close to Jack's body for comfort. "Blank will lure you in like he's kind and then he'll kill you. Ethan knows that too. Ethan never went through anything like you have. He works with Blank to hurt his victims." Anti used the tip of his knife to lift up Jack's head, cutting his chin a little. Jack winced but Anti just grinned at the sight of blood.

"I can't trust Ethan..?" Jack questioned, his breath hitching as Anti softly glided the knife over Jack's already scarred wrist.

"That's right. He wants you dead and we can't have that, can we? You belong on this planet."

"Why do you torture me like this if you don't want me to-" Jack was cut off by his own scream as Anti sliced into his arm. Blood profusely dripped out of the wound, covering Jack's arm in red.

"We make you strong, Jack-a-boy. Without us, you'd be weak and vulnerable."

"But it hurts." Jack was aware of how pathetic he sounded when his voice cracked and raised an octave but all he could focus on was the intense pain.

"Sure it does... but you need to hurt in order to come out the other end stronger, right?"

-

From then on, Jack seemed to go out of his way to avoid Ethan. If he was ever left alone with the other, he'd make up some excuse about him needing a drink, go to the toilet or something along those lines just to escape. Ethan wasn't sure how to approach the situation. He was debating whether he should tell Mark and ask for his advice but he wasn't sure what counted as a breach of his privacy. When he had been in that situation, he hadn't wanted anyone to know.

Maybe he was just going to have to force Jack to talk to him.

That sounded like a good idea at the time.

-

"Jack, can we talk for a moment?" Ethan asked, deciding to give Jack two options: the easy way or the hard way. Jack was apparently very stubborn. He shook his head very slowly, muttering something about needing a drink. Ethan rolled his eyes at his usual excuse, grabbing his arm but only gently so he didn't cause any pain. Jack sighed, following him into Ethan's empty bedroom.

Jack seemed... almost threatened? As soon as Ethan had shut the door, Jack had backed up to the furthest point of the room from the other. His eyes sparkled with terror, as if he was expecting Ethan to lunge for him and attack at any moment.

"You need help. I know how to handle the demons- or at least I have one on my side who-"

"I don't want help. I'm fine. You don't understand what's happening. Anti isn't like Blank." Jack muttered, keeping himself composed. He was petrified of making Ethan angry. The man may have been small but what was he capable of?

"No," Ethan stepped forward slowly and reached out to grab Jack's wrist. He noticed it was skinnier than he remembered. That wasn't good. He knew for sure the guy hadn't been working out: he had kept telling everyone that he planned on going back to the gym but he never had time to go. "I understand. Blank used to haunt my dreams. I'd stay up endless nights, dosed up on coffee and I'd wake up, covered in bruises and- and-" Ethan's breath hitched as tears filled his eyes. The memories were flooding back to him after he had tried so hard to repress it all. "Cuts. I know what you're hiding under all those long sleeves." Jack visibly stiffened but he let Ethan slowly roll up the sleeves to reveal the deep red lines. Some were fresh. As in, they looked like they had just been done that previous night.

"You don't-"

"I do understand, trust me."

"Anti." Jack mumbled, so quietly that Ethan couldn't hear. Then a figure appeared in the room and smiled creepily, his body twitching. One eye was black and devoid of all emotion, the other a bright green. He was wearing all black, similar to Blank. In fact, he was wearing the same black shirt and skinny jeans. He had a knife in his pocket, the blade sticking out and looking as threatening as ever. As Blank had described, his hair was a vibrant green colour and he had a deep gash on his throat.

"You called?" Anti said. His voice varied in pitch, as if it was glitching in the way his body was. "Is he stirring trouble again?"

Jack didn't open his mouth, just nodding slowly. His fringe hung over his eyes, making him look slightly guilty for what he knew Anti was about to do. Anti smirked as he pushed Ethan up against the wall, putting his hands around his neck. Panic flooded Ethan's eyes and he squirmed under the demon's grip. In that moment, he relived every single touch from Blank and Dark. He was crying without even realising he was crying and he was flailing around violently.

"Leave Jack alone. We're okay. He likes me, don't you Jack-a-boy?" Jack nodded but Ethan was in too much of a state of panic to notice. "See. I help him become stronger and he enjoys it. Just because you're too weak to withstand Blank. That pathetic demon doesn't deserve to live. You better not bother Jack again or you'll have to deal with me, okay?"

"O-Okay." Ethan choked out. Satisfied, Anti unwrapped his hands from the younger's neck, allowing him to collapse to the floor. He felt extremely lightheaded and he was breathing heavily.

Anti then disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"I didn't want to get him on you," Jack's voice was so quiet that Ethan wasn't sure he heard him right. "I'm so sorry."

"You alright in here? I thought for a second my two friends were together and had run into the sunset on horses to get married in secret and then they were going to change their names and then have a child and-" Mark burst in the room and immediately rambled.

"What the fuck, Mark?" Jack barked out a laugh. It was like some switch inside him had been flipped and he was back to his jolly self again, as if nothing had happened.

"Why are you on the floor, Ethan?"

Ethan let out a nervous chuckle, "You know how clumsy I am." (If someone gave me a dime every time Ethan says this line, I'd be a billionaire but I wouldn't be able to spend my money here.)