"iโ ๐๐๐๐๐๐," he mumbles, bordering incoherent. what can he hear?
๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.
no. the hum of a flourescent bulb. dog's nails scratching against tile. "dog."
james' touch, however light, sends jason shuddering, squeezing his eyes shut like it'll clear the image of a bloodied grin from his retinas. it does no such thing.
trying to focus on james' voice is like fighting against a tidepool, spiralling further down the more he fights.
jamesโ hands flail in front of himself uselessly , before stilling in a defensive position .
โ woah ! okay .โ
he steps forward cautiously .
โ okay . letโs touch . . . something . the wall ? โ
he reaches out a hand to guide jasonโs palm to rest flat โ
distantly he can register what's being said, what's being asked of him, but it's a sisyphean task to try and wade through his own thoughts.
the tile is cold against his skin, a shock to his wracked nervous system. a shuddering gasp, coming up from drowning.
jason jumps backwards, instinct kicking in like the flip of a switch. his head hits the wall with a dull ๐๐๐๐๐ against the tile. starbursts explode behind his eyelids like firecrackers as he blinks the shock away.
"whโ how dโ james?"
โ jason ? โ
his voice cuts through the fog , distant as it is . james ducks his head to place his face in jasonโs line of sight .
โ you on this planet with me right now , man ? โ
a flash of green hair in public, someone laughing a little too loudlyโ and suddenly jason can't remember how he got home, can only focus on the porcelain under his palms and the tightness in his chest.