I'll Be There (MSPA)

Dave Strider showed up outside the Egbert household at about eleven thirty on a Friday evening and threw his bike down in the middle of the yard, not caring if it got dirty or damaged. He'd ridden over there in such a rush that it had taken him about half the time it usually did, but he was struck with a sudden lethargy when it came time to make those last few steps to the door; he wasn't even sure they'd let him in.

When he finally got up to the porch and knocked on the door it was John's dad that answered, as he'd expected. He worried that Mr. Egbert would try to grill him on what was wrong; he looked exhausted, his hair was a mess and plastered to his face with sweat, and the knees of his jeans were torn and a little bloody from where he'd taken a fall on the trip there. Not to mention the tears that were streaming down his face from behind his Stiller shades.

"Hey Mr. Egbert..." he said wearily. "Can I... see John?"

Mr. Egbert was surprised by Dave's appearance to say the least. He stepped aside and opened the door to allow Dave to enter. "He's up in his room" he stated, not asking what was the matter. Dave was obviously upset and it wasn't his place to pry. "If you borrow a pair of John's pyjamas, I'll wash your clothes for you" he added, basically giving permission for the boy to stay.

Dave nodded, not trusting himself to speak further. He was already making a fool of himself, he didn't need to have a breakdown in front of John's dad. He hurried up the stairs and let himself into his best friend's room, kicking his shoes off beside the door as he went in.

"...John?"

John was asleep on the bed, on his back with his arm across his face, the crook of his elbow resting comfortably on the bridge of his nose, as was completely customary for him. His glasses were on the bedside table and Casey was resting against the pillow by his head. His breathing was deep and even, and his laptop rested on his stomach, a pesterchat window with a a discontinued chat with Karkat in it pulled up on top.

Dave was a little disappointed, but he really didn't want to wake John up just to deal with his stupid problems. He quietly walked over to the side of the bed and laid his shades on the bedside table before wiping his eyes on his shirt sleeve. He slid into bed beside his best friend, knowing full well that the boy wouldn't mind a bit to find him there when he woke up, and moved the stuffed bunny to the other end of the bed. It didn't take long, laying there in the comfort and safety that John's presence always made him feel, for the memories of everything that had gone wrong, so horribly, horribly wrong, to spring back to the front of his mind. What had been just a steady stream of silent tears before escalated into body-wracking sobs that had him clinging helplessly to his sleeping friend's shirt.

John was roused from his deep slumber by noisy sobs that also seemed to be shaking him and his bed. He moved his arm, blinking groggily before realizing that he wasn't alone in his bed. "Dave?" he mumbled, moving onto his side so he it would be less awkward to wrap his arms around him. "Dave buddy, why're ya crying?" he mumbled, tucking Dave's head to his chest and resting his head against Dave's soft blonde hair. "Don't cry, It makes me sad to hear you cry"

Dave's body shuddered violently; he felt as though he were falling apart, mentally and physically. He wrapped his arms weakly around John's waist, too tired and shaken to do much else but sob uncontrollably. As he held on to his friend, his lifeline, he shook his head back and forth, his face pressing into the soft blue fabric of John's Green Slime shirt, and repeated the boy's name over and over again like a mantra. "John, John, John, John, John," he sobbed. "John, I'm so scared. So fucking scared."

John frowned slightly and tightened his grip with one hand while moving the other to stroke Dave's hair. "Don't be scared, Dave" He whispered soothingly, planting a soft kiss atop Dave's head. "I'm here for you. I've got you, and I won't let go unless you tell me to"

Dave curled his fingers tightly into the fabric of John's shirt, holding on to him as though he would simply fall apart if he were to let go. The blonde's sobs were temporarily interrupted by a series of pathetic little hic hic hic noises as he tried to draw in a proper breath. "D-don't," he said hoarsely. "D-don't let go, John! I'm s-so hic fucking s-scared. I c-can't hic c-can't go home. I c-can't."

"I'm not going to let go, calm down. Take deep breaths, I'm here" John cooed. He let go with one hand momentarily to close and move his laptop before it got broke between them before holding him tightly again. "Hush Dave, I'm here. You don't have to be scared anymore. Nothing can get you when you're here"

Dave whimpered softly before looking up at John with a horrible, broken look in his eyes. He couldn't even begin to express the pain he was feeling; everything that he was, everything that he had admired, had aspired to, had wanted out of his life, had suddenly been revealed to be a horribly cruel lie. Of course he had instantly run to the one thing that was constant in his life: his steadfast, loyal, loving, best friend. "Oh, John," he cried. "What am I going to do?"

"Its okay" John continued to console him, still without the slightest clue about what was going on. "Its okay, you can stay here as long as you need to, I won't let you go, I'm here for you." He pulled Dave's head back to his chest and pet his hair soothingly. "I promise everything'll be okay"

Dave curled himself as close against John's body as he could, needing the comfort and attention the way he needed air to breathe. It wasn't long before he sobbed himself into a deep, exhausted sleep.

As promised, John didn't let go of Dave. He stayed awake through the night, holding the older boy close and allowing his chest to be used as a pillow. He wasn't sure what was wrong, but he wasn't going to leave his best friend alone in a stated like this. Close to morning, John sat up slightly, reclining against his headboard, but not too much so Dave could still use his chest as a pillow, and pulled his book out from his pillow case to read, his arms still loosely around his best friend. He read aloud softly, keeping himself awake and using his voice to help sooth Dave in his sleep.

Dave stirred slightly in his sleep and let out a soft, content sigh. He'd been having dreams that bordered on nightmarish recollections of the events of the day, but John's voice drowned out all of the troubling memories. His body relaxed for the first time that night and he released his death grip on John's shirt, though there would always be two spots on the back of that shirt that were a little looser and wrinklier than the rest of it.

John noticed immediately when Dave relaxed. Still reading, he moved a hand to gently pet Dave's hair, to help sooth him. He didn't mind having his best friend there, he was pleased that he had chosen to come to him when he was so upset. He had never seen Dave cry before.

Dave made a soft, comfortable noise and nuzzled his cheek into John's chest; he would have been horribly embarrassed had he been awake, but his pride couldn't interfere when he was asleep. The blonde's cheeks were still tearstained, and he still looked rather pathetic, but he still looked considerably better than he had when he's arrived. He'd gotten some of the color back in his cheeks, and he didn't look so exhausted.

It wasn't until several hours later that he finally awoke. He sat his head up just a bit and it took him a moment to remember where he was and what had happened. When it all came rushing back to him, he let out a soft, mortified groan.

"You can go back to sleep if you'd like" John stated, dog-earring his page at the groan. "It might not make it go away but you may feel better. You were having nightmares most of the night." He looked at Dave with his clear blue eyes, arms still around him. "I don't mind, I'll still be here when you wake up."

"Don't want to," Dave replied softly, his voice barely above a whisper. He laid his head back down against John's chest with a weary sigh. "I just don't know what to do, John... I can't believe this is even happening. It's like some kind of horrible fucking nightmare."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." John replied. He set his book aside and gently pet Dave's head once again. "I don't have to know if you don't want to tell me. I'm here for you no matter what, Davie."

"Oh jegus, John," he said softly, sounding weak and defeated. "I just can't..." His voice caught in his throat, but whether it was because of the situation or because John was being so spectacularly selfless Dave did not know. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his sleeve and stared at the wall, unable to meet his friend's eyes. "John... Cool kids don't let shit like this happen."

"Cool kids aren't in control of everything, Davie. They're kids, just like the rest of us, and somethings are just out of our control." John stated. "So whatever happened, don't blame yourself, okay? Sometimes things just happen"

"Oh, John," he said, sniffling just a bit, "I'm not even sure that I want to be cool anymore. 'M not sure I want to be like... like my brother. I don't know what I want. I don't know what to do."

John was silent for a few moments, just petting Dave's hair to sooth the boy. "If you want to talk about it, I'll listen." he murmured, ceasing to pet Dave to wrap his arms around him once again.

"I-" he began, his voice catching in his throat. "J-john, Bro m-molested me."