Almost two weeks after their solo date, Chris wasn't home when Ricky got there. He went right up to his room, as he always did, except this time, there was no one in there. From there, Ricky looked through the rest of the house, but found no sign of the tall boy he was looking for anywhere.

The only other place Ricky could think of was the house at the end of his street. After all, that was where Chris wanted to be after his little outburst weeks before.

He left his bag by the door, and left the house again, making his way to that old decrepit house. If Chris wasn't in there, he had no clue where he could possibly have gone.

Luckily, that house was exactly where Chris had run off to. Ricky went straight to the room he found Chris in in the first place, and sure enough, that was where the taller boy was. He was sitting on the table where he was brought back to life just about a month and a half ago, with his knees pressed to his chest, and his head tucked down. From what Ricky could tell, his shoulders were shaking a bit as well.

"Chris?" Ricky asked softly, poking his head in the doorway.

Chris lifted his head at the call of his name, but didn't give Ricky a response. Ricky began to walk further into the room, closer to where Chris was.

"N-No, st-stay away," Chris said to him, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke.

"Why?" Ricky questioned. "What's wrong, Chris? Talk to me."

"I'm a m-monster," Chris responded, barely above a whisper.

"Who told you that?" Ricky frowned, stepping closer to Chris.

Chris just shook his head, hugging his knees tighter. Ricky sighed, hopping up onto the table with the crying boy, starting to soothingly rub his back.

"Come on, Chris, you've gotta talk to me here," Ricky said gently, resting his head on the taller boy's shoulder.

"It's the v-voices," Chris said quietly after a moment.

"Hmm?" Ricky asked, lifting his head to look at the boy sitting next to him. "What are you talking about?"

"Th-The v-voices in my head," Chris shakily whispered. "They w-won't leave me a-alone."

"How long have they been there?" Ricky inquired. "How long have they been bothering you?"

"J-Just to-today," Chris breathed out.

"Uh... Were they around before we went on our first date?" Ricky questioned. He was thinking this could have something to do with Chris' meltdown weeks prior.

Chris shook his head to reply. That could only mean that this is some sort of new problem.

"What's wr-wrong with me, R-Ricky?" Chris asked him, his voice still wavering, tears still escaping his eyes.

"I don't know," Ricky responded. He pulled Chris closer to him, hugging him tighter.

This had to be some kind of warning sign. He wasn't sure what for yet, but taunting voices inside someone's head is never exactly a good sign. Something or someone had to be getting to Chris, and he was determined, as always, to figure out who or what it was.

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Ricky stayed in that house for a bit, just letting Chris cry for a while. He knew from previous experiences that Chris felt more comfortable if he was around, so he figured it would be in both of their best interests to stay there and let Chris let his pain out.

Once Chris was finished crying for the time being, Ricky took his hand, and brought him back outside. The two of them walked hand-in-hand back to Ricky's house, and they made it back just a little while before Ricky's dad got home.

Of course, Ricky knew it would be a good choice to tell his father about these voices that Chris had been hearing. Chris had told him that the voices quieted down when Ricky showed up, but they weren't entirely gone.

After getting Chris to lay down in his bedroom, Ricky went to discuss Chris' current situation with his father. They had all been hoping Chris wouldn't encounter any more problems, but this surely was a sign of one. The only thing those voices were telling Chris was that he was a monster; the only thing that could possibly relate to was the stunt he pulled in the restaurant.

"Hey, dad?" Ricky started, walking into the kitchen, his father's favorite place in the house.

"Yes?" His dad replied, waiting for his son to continue.

"I need to talk to you about Chris," Ricky told him.

"What happened now?" His father questioned.

"Nothing yet," Ricky assured him. "He's just... Today, he wasn't here when I got home. He ran off to that house at the end of the street. I figured that was where he would be, so I went over there, and I found him crying. He told me that these voices inside his head wouldn't stop telling him he's a monster. Apparently, my presence quieted them down a bit, but they're still there, according to him. That has to be a sign that something else is going on with him."

"Well, something has to be making these little mood swing type things happen," his father told him. "Because before a couple weeks ago, he had never gotten angry like that. And... Has he heard those voices at all before today?"

"No," Ricky shook his head. "I asked him if he heard them the night we went on that double date with Ryan and Ange, but he said he didn't."

"He could've been distracted by everything that was about to happen," Ricky's dad shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess that would make sense," Ricky nodded.

"Just to be safe, I would keep a close eye on that boy tonight," his dad spoke quickly. "And tomorrow when you get home, too. I don't want some kind of repeat of that restaurant episode in my own home."

"I will," Ricky nodded. "Anything to keep him- And everybody else- Out of harm's way."