Heyyyy //OxO// LGBTQ+???//CLOSED

"What?" Lloyd opened his eyes and noticed his sleeve, quickly pulling it back over his wrist. "N-Nothing! There's nothing wrong with my wrists…" He looked away, unable to make eye contact. God dammit… now she's going to ask questions and stuff…

"Really? I highly doubt that… give me your hand." Irene tries to make eye contact, but Lloyd keeps looking away. "Lloyd, look at me. Give me your hand. I know things are hard for you right now, but please be careful. I care about you, even if it's only one person, someone cares about you." Irene places her hand on his shoulder and gently rubs it.

Lloyd shakily held his hand out to Irene, a couple tears rolling down his pale cheeks. He still couldn't make eye contact as he felt her gently pulling up his sleeves. I didn't want her to find out this way… His forearm was littered with scars, some fresh. A couple looked like they'd been done just this morning, which of course they had.

Irene's face showed a lot of worry and concern "L-Loyd!! No… please don't!" She hated seeing her one and only best friend be in that much pain. It broke her heart. She places his arm down and quickly stands up. She runs to her bathroom and gets the box of band-aids and Neosporin. She comes back with a few tears in her eyes. Lloyd had put his sleeves back down, but she grabbed his arm again and started treating the scars. A couple of tears managed to escape. Once she finished the first arm she started on the second one. After she was done, she wiped her tears away and hugged Lloyd tightly. She managed to use every last band-aid from the box and almost half of the Neosporin.

Lloyd sobbed quietly into Irene's shoulder, shaking violently. "I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" He whispered apologies over and over. They were the only coherent thing he could say right now since he was distressed. I knew she'd be upset… this is why I didn't show her. He cried harder and held tightly to Irene, not wanting to lose her. "Y-You're too good for me… I… I-I don't deserve to have a friend like you…"

Irene whispered softly to Lloyd with a tiny voice crack."Lloyd, it's ok, you don't have to apologize." She felt his grip tighten, she did the same. "No, I'm not, not at all. You deserve an even better friend, you have enough shit going on already, no need to have someone that would make it even worse. And what would I be doing right now if I wasn't your friend? I would be in class bored out of my mind, probably with some toxic people I would call friends. You are so genuine and great. Yes, you may have a couple of problems, but nothing I can't handle." She was silent after that 'speech', letting him cry as much as he needed.

Lloyd hiccuped, holding even tighter to Irene. He was basically sitting in her lap at this point, but it wasn't necessarily awkward because he's gay. "A c-couple of problems is a bit of an understatement, honestly, b-but thanks anyway…" His arms were still hurting quite a bit, and so were his legs, since his arms weren't the only place he bothered to cut. His legs were far less noticeable anyways, at least most of the time. "I-I don't think you understand how much I platonically love you."

She noticed how close Lloyd was, but she didn't mind, because he's gay. "I know it was an understatement, but that doesn't omit the fact that I can handle it. And I think I might understand, I feel the exact same." There was a knock on the door. It startled Irene a little bit, she jumped a little. "Let me get that, I'll be right back." Both Lloyd and Irene let go of each other and she stands up and limps over to the door, her foot fell asleep. She stands on her toes to look out the peephole. There was another knock on the door. Irene opens the door to see her father at the door. "Hello, father!" She hugs him, he hugs her back. She goes close to his ear. "Did mother tell you?"
"Yes, she did." She turns around. "Great! I would like you to meet him. He's in the living room."
"Alright Rea, I'll be there in just a minute." Irene goes into the living room. "Hey Lloyd, you might want to pull down your sleeves and try to stop crying, my father is here."

Lloyd nodded and pulled down his sleeves, quickly trying to dry his eyes. He stood up unsteadily so he could properly greet Irene's father. When he walked into the room, he bowed politely before holding his hand out to shake Irene's father's. "H-Hello sir, my name is Lloyd. Lloyd Windsor. It's a pleasure to meet you, although I do wish it could've been under better circumstances…" He laughed weakly, looking down at the floor.

Irene puts her hand on Lloyd's shoulder. Her father takes Lloyd's had and firmly shakes it. He had a suit on with fancy shoes. His brown hair was greased to the side and he had a pair of square-rimmed glasses. "My pleasure to meet you as well, Lloyd, You can call me Mr. Semyonov. What do you mean better circumstances? Everything seems fine and dandy to me." Irene cuts in. "Father, shouldn't you start dinner? I'm starving. Also, is it ok if Lloyd stays the night? Please don't ask why, it's… complicated." He thinks for a second. "You two aren't dat–"
"NO! No… no, we aren't, he's the gay friend I've told you about." She smiles at both of them.
"Ok, Rea. I've got my eyes on you two. I'd better go make dinner." He points both his fingers at his eyes then Irene and Lloyd.

Lloyd blushed a bit when Irene mentioned him being gay, but didn't say anything about it for now. Once he left, Lloyd breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "I… I don't know if I should tell him why I'm really here…" He sat back down on the floor, biting his lip to try and not hyperventilate loudly. This was definitely one of his longest and probably worst anxiety attack. "Is… um… is there somewhere I should go so I'm not having a mental breakdown in front of your father?"

"No, don't tell him, or at least not yet. He has enough on his hands as is." Irene held her hand out to Lloyd. "There's a studio room upstairs, no one is ever in there. Let's go." She leads him to the studio. The room is big with bean bags and lots of windows. Irene plops down on one of the bean bags and motions for Lloyd to sit in one of them.

Lloyd curled up in a beanbag and hid his face, starting to tremble again. "I-I feel bad for taking up space here… I'm wasting your food, y-your time, your efforts… you bandaged my arms but I can't stop… I'm… I-I'm addicted to it…" He looked down at his arms, a couple tears falling onto them. "F-For everyone's sake, please… please hide anything sharp from me. I don't know if I can even control myself anymore, Rea… I-I'm sorry…"

Irene got up from the beanbag, goes over to Lloyd, and squats next to his beanbag. "I'm honestly so glad that you are here. It is boring without you here. I'm constantly bored. And my father always makes waaay to much food, probably enough for our first-hour class to have seconds." She chuckles a little. "I know how much you would never want a therapist, so I would be happy to talk instead. Let me help you as much possible." She hugs him tightly. "But I will definitely keep sharp items away from you, I was already planning on it."

"W-Well, I'm not necessarily against therapists, it's just… my parents wouldn't allow me to see one and I can't afford to go to one secretly…" Lloyd hugged her back, trying to subtly brush his fresh tears away. He couldn't stand this constant feeling of dread much longer without having a complete mental breakdown, in which he'd likely end up hurting himself in any way possible. It had happened before, and it was not a very pleasant experience. He knew his mind was very self destructive.

"I could always help you pay for one-" Irene's father's voice echos throughout the house. "DINNER'S READY!!" She sighs. "WE'LL BE THERE IN A MINUTE!!" Irene squeezes next to Lloyd in the beanbag. "We don't have to go, I can always get food later and bring it up here."

"Alright… we… we should probably go, but I don't trust myself with knives. Even with other people around, I can't guarantee anything I may or may not do." Lloyd stood up and took a moment to find his balance. He ran his fingers through his hair so it wouldn't be such a mess before going downstairs with Irene.

"Are you sure you are ok to go and eat a full meal, with my father observing you to make sure I made a good choice for my best friend? And don't worry, for some reason he doesn't trust me with knives and he would trust you even less with them." Irene stands up and walks to the door.

"Well, if he decides I'm not, I guess he wouldn't be wrong. I wish I could be a better friend to you." Lloyd went into the kitchen with his small fake smile plastered onto his face. "Hello, Mr. Semyonov." He sat down quietly. He'd try to eat as much as he could, but he wasn't really used to eating. It wasn't unlikely that he'd end up throwing it all up later, either.

Irene sighs. How many times do I have to tell him that he is the best friend I've ever had She shakes her head and goes downstairs. "Hello Father, this looks delicious!" She eats a lot, more than someone may think. "Father, did I ask if he can stay the night? I don't remember." He thinks for a moment. "I don't think you did, but I just don't know. I mean a really nice a polite boy, such as Lloyd just might not be welcome here…" Irene slouches a little. "Of course he can! My daughter finally brought her best friend over, why would I say no?!" He laughs. Irene fake laughs and looks over to Lloyd.

Lloyd smiled weakly. "T-Thank you sir. It… it means a lot." More than you could know… I just really don't want to be at my place tonight. It's not a nice feeling, being terrified of your parents. Lloyd ate the food, and as normal an amount as he could muster. His stomach already seemed angry at him for it, and he didn't think this was going to stay down all night. He managed to keep this fact hidden well enough, though.

Irene soon finished her food. "Thank you, father, it was delightful. Lloyd, are you done? If not, I'll be in the living room." She winks and goes up to the studio room.

"Yes… thank you for the food, sir." Lloyd got up and washed his plate, setting it in the sink since he didn't know where the plates went. He went back up to the studio room and curled up on the beanbag again. "Nnnnnn… I-I'm not used to eating that much food…" He said quietly, his eyes closed and his face quite pale.

Irene sees him enter the room and get on the beanbag. Then she notices how pale his face is. "Do you want me to get you something to help you feel better?" Irene stands up and opens a few of the windows for fresh air. "You know you didn't need to eat that much. But get used to that much food, I want you to stay here for a while. We can get you some stuff if you need it. Maybe not from your house, but we could go shopping… we haven't done that together yet!!" She goes back over to Lloyd and places her hand on his forehead. "Well you don't seem to have a fever, that's good…"

"Yeah, I'm not sick, I just…" Lloyd looked away. "…m-my stomach has learned from a bad habit… I… I often purge after eating, so that's likely why my stomach is unsettled…" He curled up tightly on the beanbag, his arms crossed over his stomach. "I-I'm trying, because I know I need this, but I'm not sure I can keep it all down…"

"I have something that might help soothe your stomach. I'll be back, and don't you move, Okay?" Irene quickly leaves the room and comes back with a small bottle. "I know essential oils are… definitely not normal for this kind of thing. But when I was younger, my mother always put peppermint oil on my stomach if it ached. It always helped me a lot. Do want some?" Irene hold the bottle out to Lloyd.

"Thanks… I'll… I'll think about it." Lloyd held the bottle gently, still feeling queasy. "If I suddenly run off to throw up, don't worry… I-I'm okay…" He gave Irene a weak smile to reassure her, still curled up tightly. "Again, I apologize for all the problems I'm causing with the bad habits I've formed from neglecting my own health entirely…"

"Okay, by the way, the bathroom is the first door to the right. And as I said, those habits are going to change. I want you to stay here for a while, at least three weeks, apparently that's how long it takes to form a habit." She returns a smile. "So is there anything you would like to do? It's only 5:14 so we have plenty of time before it gets dark."

"Um… w-well, I'm not used to doing… normal people things… I usually just read textbooks or dictionaries like some dork, but I'm sure you've got better things to do than that." Lloyd lay his head back on the beanbag and watched Irene quietly. "What do normal people do?"

"A great dork though." Irene laughs and thinks. "I honestly don't know… I usually do Sudoku or any sort of mind exerciser." Irene plops back down into her beanbag. "I guess we could watch a movie… normal people do that, I think…"