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To be honest, Z doesn't quite remember what happened when he finally managed to leave that place, to escape those eyes. He has a vague memory of Moe trying to get his attention before simply collapsing to the ground.
He woke up a time after, having a terrible headache. He was lying on the couch with Moe next to him. When she realized Z was opening his eyes, she started honking repeatedly, sounding both happy and relieved to see him awake.
He instantly threw himself at her, embracing her. Despite supposedly being "safe" now, his mind remains restless, uneasy. Those eyes keep reappearing in his thoughts like a captured image, and he doesn't know how to erase them. Is there even a way to stop thinking about them?
Moe carefully returned the hug, her honking slower, more deliberate. Z hates worrying her, but this is beyond even him.
He snuggles against her chest, seeking comfort, anything to remind him that he is with his friends again. Well. At least one of them.
He doesn't hear ReGect's voice, nor did he see him nearby. And maybe, that's for the best, really. He knows that bastard likes to bother him and constantly mess with his life, but this? This prank has gotten out of hand alredy. Does ReGect really hate him that much to do this to him? I mean, he hates him too, most of the time at least. They can have a normal conversation without it ending in an argument or a fight veeery rarely, almost nonexistent.
Ironically, he never saw it as a intense hatred, the kind that makes your blood boil just by looking at the other person. Sometimes it even feels like a really stupid kind of game. But it seems his view of it is completely wrong if ReGect is capable of doing all this.
For now, he prefers not to think about it. It's best to focus on the way Moe's arms are around him and how she pats his head in a friendly way. It's cozy, and that's just what he needs right now.
They fall silent; there is no sound coming from them except the soft hum of their breathing. Strangely, everything around them is calm; there seem to be no disturbing entities or things appearing out of nowhere. Only them snuggled up in an embrace, Z could stay like that for hours, sunk in Moe's comfort. She is like an angel amidst all the hell that is lived here every day, and Z is genuinely so grateful to have her here right now. He loves her a lot. She's his friend after all.
Just like...wathever
And speaking of the devil, the silence is broken by that voice he (unfortunatly) loves so much but also irritates him to levels he didn't know were possible.
"So you finally woke up, buddy"
Z doesn't answer, doesn't even look at him. He doesn't want to interact with him right now, not after everything that's happening to him because of this stupid entity. Instead, he clings more to Moe, turning a deaf ear.
"This is the first time I've seen you faint eh?"
Again. Nothing.
"I don't know where you've gone these days, but was it really that bad?"
Oh so now he's playing dumb, sure.
"...buddy?-"
"Please shut up"
It came out raw and short. His voice trembled slightly at the end, something he hated. There was no anger. Nothing. He didn't even turn his head to tell him that.
And ReGect falls silent. Not because Z asked him to, but because of the way his voice came out. It's strange that there's not a hint of anger, not even a shout, which is typical of him given how loud he can be. It even sounded like a plea? As if he didn't want to hear his voice at all?
He's probably stressed, isn't he? Neither ReGect nor Moe knows what he saw, or even where he went. He was missing for six days, and they don't even know when he left. But judging by his reaction when he came back, it clearly wasn't his own decision, and it's also evident that he saw something that affected him greatly. This is not normal behavior for him.
ReGect is worried, obviously he is. Ever since he saw Z passed out on the floor, so many options ran through his mind that he swears his heart stopped for a second. It just calmed when he realized that Z was still breathing
For a moment he really thought he had lost him.
For a moment he really thought the history was repeating itself again.
Now he's worried about his health, hoping that fainting was due to whatever he saw or experienced and not for...something else.
Silently he moved to sit next to them. There was no reaction from Z.
ReGect didn't say anything or speak to him again for the rest of the day. They sat there for quite a while without either of them saying a word. This was very out of character with how noisy and lively the house usually feels. All that atmosphere had been replaced with a tense and anxious thick blanket that covered all three of them.
And the reality is that they would stay like that for as long as Z needed them to.
After what seemed like hours, Z finally moved away from Moe. He had his back to ReGect, so ReGect couldn't see his face, but it looked like he rubbed his eyes. Had he been tearing up the whole time? Really, what on earth could have happened to him?
Z asked Moe if she wanted them to cook dinner, and she happily honked. Finally, some life in the air.
But Z didn't ask him anything; he simply stood up and left, waiting for Moe to follow. She looked at ReGect with concern for a moment before following him into the kitchen.
ReGect really tried to spend time with them, talk to them, tell his jokes, he even tried to provoke Z on purpose into fighting! But nothing worked. All the responses he got were from Moe.
If Z were acting this way with her too, he'd understand it's because he wants time alone and for himself, but he's only behaving this way with him.
The most he could get in response was an almost audible "hmm" when he asked something about food.
Z is ignoring him.
Why?
Was it because of how he spoke to him as soon as he woke up? Did he sound insensitive somehow?
Did he do something?
What could have upset Z like this?
Because yeah, okay, he usually bothers him and all, and maybe sometimes in a slightly heavy way, but nothing that makes him ignore him like this. Z always answers him, either by shouting or mocking him or anything else.
ReGect thought it was just a phase of today. Maybe Z feeling unwell prefers to surround himself with Moe's positive and cheerful energy. It will surely help to put him in a better mood
So he simply decided to stay to the side, let them talk, and watch them interact. Z seemed to be getting slightly better with each passing hour, and that calmed him.
Although it didn't go as expected.
Z paid no attention to him the next day, nor the next...nor the next...and so a week passed with him completely ignoring the entity.
No matter what he emphasized, how much he responded, how much he talked, or how much he mentioned about a new construction, even though ReGect tried to be kinder and gentler, nothing worked. Z simply acted as if ReGect didn't exist, steering all his conversations toward Moe or whatever other entity they might have encountered that day. He hardly ever turned to look at him, and the few times he did, his gaze would avert as soon as he noticed.
It hurts.
As much as ReGect hates to admit it, he has a soft spot for Z, and the fact that he's constantly pretending that he simply doesn't exist is...painful to say the least.
And it leaves him even more confused because he doesn't even know what caused this in the first place.
Had Z grown tired of him? Tired of his personality? Of the things he does? Even if that was a possibility from the start, ReGect never expected it to happen because of how reactive Z always was, for better or for worse.
He asked Moe several times if Z had told her anything about what happened or how he was feeling now, but they didn't get anywhere. And that's fine, Z has every right not to want to talk about it. But God, they really wish they could help him.
These days he seems completely exhausted, the lack of sleep is evident, and he looks more paranoid than usual, always carrying a weapon with him. He's scared. Every loud or unfamiliar noise now seems to startle him slightly; ReGect also notices how he constantly looks to the sides, as if searching for something? As if trying to see something? Or...someone?
He doesn't know.
But he wants to talk to him.
And for that reason, for once, he's going to allow himself to put his usual attitude aside, to allow himself to be more friendly and gentle with Z because it's clear that he needs it.
He planned it with Moe; she would go away for a sleepover at Msak and Ptolemy's house so ReGect and Z could be alone. He won't keep ignoring him if Moe isn't here, right?
As soon as Moe left, Z went to lock himself in his room. Jeez.
ReGect left him for like an hour before finally sighing and going with him, approaching the door and knocking slowly. Of course, there is no answer.
"Hey buddyyyy, don't you want to do something fun?"
Nothing.
"I promise you it's nothing strange!"
Nothing.
"Nothing involving entitys or going far away, we could just stay here and watch a movie together, how does that sound?"
Nothing.
"...Z"
Nothing"
"Z"
Nothing.
"Z!"
Perhaps he got impatient too quickly, but the truth is he's frustrated. Z must have his reasons for ignoring him, he knows that, but not even knowing those reasons, or not having received even the slightest explanation is driving him crazy.
Without thinking too much, he turned the knob. The door, conventionally open, slammed.
Z's room felt turned off, the light was off and his clothes were lying on the floor or chair, even though his room was almost always tidy. Z was lying in bed, curled up under the covers, until the slamming door startled him and made him wake up. He looked at ReGect, a mixture of confusion and anger on his face.
"What are you doing?!"
"Oh, so you're finally talking to me"
Okay, no. This isn't going the way ReGect wanted. He's sounding harsher than he actually planned.
Z sighs heavily, looking to the side before his gaze settles on ReGect.
"...what do you want?"
"Talk with you"
"Well I don't"
"You're just going to keep pretending I don't exist, seriously? How long are you going to do that? I'm not leaving this room until we talk"
"Ok then, stay here as long as you want" Z simply got out of bed, walked towards him, and then hurried past the entity, going out the door and down the stairs. "Are you serious?!"
Obviously, ReGect followed him into the livingroom.
"Weren't you going to stay in the room?"
"You know I didn't mean it literally"
"Well, maybe you should"
Z turned his back to go somewhere else, but this time ReGect was faster and grabbed him by the wrist—not roughly, not forcefully, just holding him.
This caused Z to tense up slowly, until he gradually decided to turn around.
"Z...please, please talk to me"
He could only stand there, petrified. It's so strange to hear ReGect speaking so softly; his visible eye seems to be pleading him to stay, to not leave again. It only got worse when ReGect's hand went from holding his wrist to gently holding his hand; if Z was crazy he'd say there was even affection in this gesture.
ReGect's two hands held his hand now, enveloping it between them; he felt...strangely warm.
Z sighed, defeated.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I think you already know that"
"I just think you went too far this time"
"Uh?"
"I know you like heavy pranks and all, but don't you think this is a bit too much alredy? It's not funny anymore"
"What- What are you talking about?"
Z frowned, looking angrier. His hand separated from ReGect's to cross his arms, looking at him accusingly.
"You know it very well"
"Z, I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about"
"And you think I'm going to believe that?!"
Oh. Oh, he got upset.
"I'm serious! Why don't you believe me?!"
"What reasons do I have to believe you?"
"Well- I-"
"See? Nothing. I seriously don't know what got into you this time, but stop it...please, I'm tired"
And from upset he quickly turned to sadness; there is genuine desperation and weariness in his voice that alarms ReGect, because he really has no idea what's going on, and Z not believing him doesn't improve anything.
ReGect was about to speak, but Z opened his mouth first.
"I'm tired of those eyes that follow me everywhere. I can't close my eyes for more than five minutes because they're here, they're on the walls, right in front of me, even in my dreams. They whisper things I don't understand. These voices are going to drive me completely insane at this rate...and you think that's funny?"
ReGect's heart stops.
Eyes? Voices? Is that what's happening to him?
He doesn't take long to figure it out.
Something is tormenting Z. Someone is tormenting Z. Someone is cruelly playing with him.
"Sending me to that hospital...what's next? Where else are you going to send me? How much longer are you going to isolate me from you, from Moe? Those six days alone made me worse than I expected. Is this all you've been hiding behind that pathetic facade? Is this how cruel you can be, ReGect?"
"I- wait...hospital?"
"An abandoned hospital, yes-"
"Did you see him?!"
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could think them well.
"What- See who? The...eyes?"
"No! Him! Didn't you see a kid walking around there?!"
"N-No? Who are you talking about?"
"...nevermind, nevermind. Forget it" They're not here to talk about Micha, not now. "So that's what's happening to you, huh? Look, I know you don't believe me, Z, and... I can understand that. But I swear I have nothing to do with this, not at all. I've been really worried about you these past few days, you know? I was afraid something worse had happened to you"
And honestly? ReGect is speaking so sincerely that Z now feels guilty for having ignored him these past few days, but at the same time, how much can he believe? How can he be sure that nothing he's saying is a lie? He knows that ReGect has great power at his disposal, even though he uses it for stupid things. Who says he can't eventually do something like that?... besides al this, what kid is he even talking about? Is there something ReGect is hiding? What is he keeping behind his back? Who was that child? Z doubts he was a relative of ReGect or something, was he perhaps...a friend? And the implications of him being in an abandoned hospital...don't bode well.
Behind that stupid and playful personality, ReGect keeps many things hidden.
And perhaps that's one of the reasons why he can't believe him. Can he blame him? No, of course not. Z keeps things to himself too, after all. Moe and ReGect literally know absolutely nothing about his life before meeting them. They don't know about his big loneliness, about how he got used to being excluded from everyone, how he had even forgotten how to interact with people normally. He was all alone in his life. But now it's him, ReGect, and Moe.
His friends, his daily companions. He never thought he could become so attached to entities.
And that's why it also hurts him not to be able to believe ReGect, but his pride won't let him tell him that. It won't let him confess that these past few days have felt like hell trying to ignore him. The first two days? Everything was fine; he felt like he could keep up. But on the third day, everything started to fall apart: hearing the things he said and not being able to answer back, hearing his jokes or the beginnings of arguments and not being able to refute anything, feeling his gaze fixed on him knowing full well that if he looked back for more than five seconds it would all be over. He missed him, even if he was the one who put that distance between them.
Since he met him, he never imagined he would miss ReGet, or that he would have any kind of strong feelings towards him.
These past few days have confirmed that huge lie. But gosh. What is he supposed to do now?
Believe him? Don't believe him?
His heart says one thing, but his mind says another.
And he really can't trust either of them.
What he might feel for ReGect mixes with his reason and confuses him more than it should.
Because the answer seems clear, but at the same time it isn't.
He opened his mouth and closed it. And he did this a few times until finally his voice came out, trembling.
"I think that...until I can prove, or until you can prove, that you have absolutely nothing to do with this...it's best to keep our distance"
"Is that what you really want, Z?"
"...No, of course no. I want company more than anything in the world right now, you have no idea how much, but...at the same time I feel like I can't trust you"
That kinda breaks ReGect inside, a small crack that expands completely.
But at the same time, he knows that this is partly his own fault.
The way he's treated Z so far really gives him reasons not to believe it at all.
"Would you stay here anyways, ReGect?"
"What?"
"I don't know how long it will take me to feel comfortable talking to you normally again, to fight like we always did, until that moment... would you wait for me? Here? With Moe?"
oh.
Oh...
"Y-Yeah, of course I'll wait for you, all the time you need buddy"
And after so many days, Z smiles at him. Not a smirk, not a playful smile, not a joking smile. Just a small, gentle sad smile that he swears makes his entity heart race more than it should.
"Thank you, ReGect...and I'm sorry"
"...It's okay"
There is a very long and very awkward silence between them, until Z decides to break the silence.
"I'm going back to my room"
"Okay, if those...eyes reappear, call for me me, okay? I'll stay right here"
"I will, thank you again"
And with that, Z went upstairs, disappearing on the floor above.
ReGect doesn't know how to feel. It's confusing. On one hand, Z doesn't trust him completely, but on the other, he seems to have softened compared to the other days.
He's simply going to sit down on the couch.
Once again, he'll find himself waiting, waiting for someone important to him. But at least... this time ReGect will be able to be here, to keep Z company from afar, and try to protect and care for him from whoever is causing him so much suffering. This time it won't slip through his fingers; his waiting will pay off, he knows it. And when everything is settled, they'll return to the old, beloved routine they've always shared.
And perhaps, maybe perhaps. ReGect would start to be kinder to him.
ReGect chuckles to himself, sinking deeper into the couch. How pathetic of him, letting a human get so deep into his heart that the thought of Z leaving him is now utterly painful.
From the beginning he knew he should never have let himself get so close to him, he knows he should have tried to push him away, to make him afraid of him, anything to prevent them from forming a bond.
But he didn't.
And now he's going to have to deal with that.
But he will investigate whenever he can, trying to decipher who this entity of the eyes is, in order to keep it as far away from Z as possible and ensure that Z is completely at peace, just like before.
Jeez. He really would have liked to comfort him better, maybe give him a hug or something, ah...how he'd love to give him a hug right now...since when does he have these kinds of thoughts? It's not the first time. Of course. He has a certain affinity for thoughts that involve physical contact; that's why he held his hand earlier...maybe that's what he needs.
But now there's nothing he can do about it.
Z made it very clear that they're going to keep his distance for a while, and that still hurts him.
But that's okay, it's what he needs.
When they speak again...if they ever do, and ReGect prays that nothing worse happens in between...he'll make sure to give Z the hug he'll be dreaming about tonight.