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They were both sprawled over the sofa, watching a gameshow. The colorful lights and joyful shrieks of the people on screen contrasted with the barely lit livingroom and silence covering the rest of house.
"1857," the boy answered the quiz the announcer had just given.
"No way," the redhead argued, but a minute later, the answer was confirmed. "You should enter one of these things, since you know all this shit, we might win something."
"Nah, it's obvious stuff, you learn that in like third grade."
"Obvious for you and the other two kids that paid attention in class," he joked, earning a satisfied chuckle from the boy.
"I mean, it's a yearly festival, even if you don't remember it from school, it gets mentioned on the news."
A commercial break flooded the space in a cold, soft light.
Slowly, the redhead's hand stopped playing with his hair. The boy could feel his breathing change rhythm from where he was lying with his head in his lap.
He heard him mutter something and tried turning to look up at him, but his expression was obscured by the shadows of the room. His gaze remained unfocused on the screen even if he clearly wasn't really watching.
"Did you say something?"
"No, you're right, I'm an idiot for not knowing that," he replied, his voice thin.
He tried to get his attention, reaching out a hand to cup his cheek. "Hey, what's wrong?"
The redhead turned his face away, trying to hide. "Nothing, it's just..." His voice nearly broke. "You're so smart, and with your powers, you could do whatever you wanted. A-and you're with a worthless shit like me."
"Huh?" He frowned.
"Don't know why you're wasting your time with me," he insisted.
"Because I love you?"
"Because you're stupid."
He tried to smile up at him, still confused. "I don't think I need to justify why I love you."
"Maybe you do, cause I swear I don't get it." He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "I know I'm your little pet project and you're trying to fix me--"
"Woah, no--" He tried sitting up. "That's not it. I never said--"
"You don't need to say it," he cut him off, "it's obvious."
He froze, unable to reply.
"...I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that," he sighed and stood up. The boy tried to take his hand but he moved away. "I should go home before I screw things up more."
"Alan, don't do this to yourself."
"It's fine, I just need some sleep," he said hastily while picking up his jacket from the floor, "it got late."
"Okay," he murmured. "Call me if you need anything."
"Yeah."
The door slammed and, as if that was a sign, the show came back on. Startled by the loud music, the boy immediately turned the tv off. The whole house was swallowed by darkness and complete silence. He didn't bother getting up from the sofa the rest of the night.
