[Sometimes, when he feels himself flaking apart, he puts up physical barriers again; he writes words that remind himself how to act, how to think, to stay safe and he holds himself together the best that he can.
It's a shock when he hears the same thing in between the lines Alex is saying, reads it in the lines of his body and the push of his hand, shoving him abruptly past his own fear building in his chest to a moment of calm, cool clarity. In that moment he doesn't understand why he's surprised. There's a reason Alex can see him.]
Alex. [Drawing from that place, the same as where the stories come from, Ben's voice is low but steady, firmly insistent for the attention of his friend. He breaks from his stillness on silent feet, drawn closer until he seats himself carefully on the edge of the chair angled to face the one Alex has claimed. He waits, gaze intent, until blue meets brown; he can't help what Alex will see when he looks. But Ben can see, too, and maybe neither of them knows, maybe they're both overwhelmed, and maybe that's okay. It's not, but maybe it is.
No one has ever listened this closely before. It's strange to see what it looks like when someone hears.]
[ Spam ]
It's a shock when he hears the same thing in between the lines Alex is saying, reads it in the lines of his body and the push of his hand, shoving him abruptly past his own fear building in his chest to a moment of calm, cool clarity. In that moment he doesn't understand why he's surprised. There's a reason Alex can see him.]
Alex. [Drawing from that place, the same as where the stories come from, Ben's voice is low but steady, firmly insistent for the attention of his friend. He breaks from his stillness on silent feet, drawn closer until he seats himself carefully on the edge of the chair angled to face the one Alex has claimed. He waits, gaze intent, until blue meets brown; he can't help what Alex will see when he looks. But Ben can see, too, and maybe neither of them knows, maybe they're both overwhelmed, and maybe that's okay. It's not, but maybe it is.
No one has ever listened this closely before. It's strange to see what it looks like when someone hears.]
You are my friend. You help.
One hundred percent.