Faye pulled the covers over her shoulder as she tried drifting into sleep, but sleep never came. Her thoughts kept wandering to Felix, toying the idea of asking if he wanted to have dinner with her tonight. Nothing special, just pizza. They would be neighbors after all, and she needed a friend in a city where she didn’t know anyone.
Felix banged his head against the wall, tears falling. His thoughts were just too much, the voices in his head didn't even say real words any more. They were just… there.This time it was worse than it had been in a very long time. It was everything all at once, but mostly it was the stress of moving. He pulled his armyknife out of his pocket, shaking as he flipped the blade open.
The bangs from the thin walls separating the two of them awoke Faye from her drowsy, almost meditative state. A wave of concern led her to sit up and knock against the wall, “Felix..? Is everything okay?” If that didn’t work she would go to his door, herself.
Felix heard her, but there was nothing he could do. His mind was blinded, he couldn't answer. Voices everywhere, tears and shaking and freezing and panic and the blade in front of him, the blade that was so tempting to press into the skin. Maybe it could make it stop. It usually did. The pain usually helped him.
Faye waited for a few seconds until she decided that she probably wouldn’t get a response, so she hopped off the bed to leave her room and go knock on his door, “Felix? Are you alright in there..?” She was still in her socks after kicking off her shoes for the nap.
"No…" Felix managed to say, trying to take back control over himself. He didn't want her to see him this way, not when he was this pathetic.
“No…can I get you something to eat? Eating helps a lot, I think…helps regulate..?” She attempted, “It may sound superficial, but it helps..in panic attacks..if that’s what’s going on.” She recognized the tone of voice, the rad banging, she’s dealt with similar attacks herself, but she couldn’t be positive that was happening now.
"I can't even…" He didn't finish the sentence. The knife pressed against his skin now, hands shaking. The door was unlocked, he realised. Felix sobbed and crawled up into a ball, thinking that might help.
Growing even more worried, Faye checked the door handle and found it open—much to her surprise. She opened the door and practically ran inside, “Felix?” She glanced around the huge room in search of him
Felix was sitting on the floor, turning away from Faye as she entered the room. "No," he wispered, "I don't want you to see me like this…" He knew that he needed her help, though. He didn't wanna have to use the knife as a last option.
(Sorry this got dark but since he is unstable I just gotta make him do things like this)
(Not a problem, I understand it’s storytelling + character development)
Faye sank down beside him, “Okay..well, we can take it one step at a time. How about first, you hand me the knife..can you do that?” She tentatively rested a hand on his shoulder, unsure whether physical contact would help or not.
Shaking, Felix handed her the knife. He looked away, trying to hide the tears. "The p-pain us-s-ually helps," he wispered.
Faye took the knife, setting it away from him, “Yeah…so…” she thought for a moment, “Maybe look around the room..? Find five things that feel soft.” She remembered her mom telling that to her whenever her anxiety got out of control when she was in high school and dealing with cancer. Though she never hurt herself like Felix…
"O-okay." Having to think a bit and focus on something actually helped him. "The pillow. The b-blanket. The… the curtains. This carpet. And, um…" He looked to his own shoulder, where Fayes hand were resting. "Your hands."
Faye’s expression softened even more awe… She rubbed his shoulder and smiled, “Very good..um..what about three things you can smell?”
"I don't know," he wispered, groaning and closing his eyes. "Um… something flowery. Maybe a perfume. And like," he thought, "the room has a smell. And," Felix tried to smell something, "I think there is a fresh scent from the bathroom. I don't know what it is."
“Good..” She let her hand fall down off of his shoulder, “Do you feel better..? I hope..” she sighed, thinking now might be a good time to offer to bring dinner.
"Kind of. Thanks." Felix looked to the window instead of looking at her. "I'm so sorry that you had to see me like this… I'm not really the best version of myself right now," he wispered.
“Hey..it’s okay..I’m not my best self either,” she ran a hand through her short hair, “Obviously..” she sank back to sit down cross-legged.
"You're on vacation," Felix muttered. "You should get to relax, not calm a stupid random stranger down." He had stopped shaking by now, and he didn't freeze as much as before.
“Well, I was thinking of relaxing over dinner…I don’t relax very well on my own.” She offered, “Would you like to join me maybe..?”
(Sorry I was gone for so long, some stuff happened that I had to take care of.)
Felix nodded, still shaking a bit. "That… that would be nice, actually."
(No worries! I understand :) )
Faye mirrored his nod, “Okay, good..I’ll find a place for us to eat dinner tonight. We’ve got some time to decompress until then.”
"Okay." Felix was slowly starting to feel better. His brain still felt like a mess, but a positive mess. He was way more up to speed than usual, that just seemed to happen some times. "Wanna go out for a while? I mean, we are in Paris. There's gotta be something to do. I feel like doing something stupid." His eyes sparkled.
(I'm thinking that he could be more or less bipolar? I'm gonna try to do some research on the disease…)