Ren woke up one morning to find that it was raining outside.

This wasn't an unusual occurrence; it rained all the time. But on this particular morning he had been planning on going out to work on his garden, maybe plant some new vegetables for later. So the fact that it was disgusting and gross outside certainly put a stop to any idea of the sort. And LW had left earlier that morning with Gabrian; the two of them had fallen asleep on the massive pillow pile on the other side of the room, as usual.

Rolling over in bed, Ren ran a hand through his hair, letting out a soft sigh. He pushed himself upright and glanced around the room...

...which was not his. Ren blinked. He could have sworn he slept in his own room the previous night. Who...oh. Right. He had fallen asleep in Gabrian's room. The nix had gotten a brand new bed, mostly for the purpose of Ren and LW, since both of them kept complaining about him having no suitable place for them to sleep when they came over (the fishtank Gabrian resided in at night was not exactly a prime spot for either of them). The bed was wide and comfortable - very comfortable. And the pillow pile Ren had thought was his earlier was actually the one created unintentionally by LW (the shewolf brought a pillow over every time she came to see Gabrian). After the movie last night, Ren had curled up on Gabrian's bed, intent on just relaxing, but he had fallen asleep unexpectedly.

He glanced around the room. So. Much....fluff. If he did not know any better, he would have thought a girl lived here.

...or just a really, really, really secure nix demon with a penchant for all things cute and adorable; including a rather lovely ghoulfriend who was also Ren's best friend.

He was grumpy now. LW had woken him up to tell him that they were leaving to go on an early morning walk and then go to breakfast, and after mumbling something incomprehensible, Ren had rolled over and gone back to sleep. When he woke up the second time, he was alone. He knew Alessa was cooking in the Amityville High kitchens, but he did not want to disturb her; adding to this was the fact that he had, in fact, been banned from the kitchen anyway (Gabe's fault), so he had no one to hang out with or to visit. Not only that, but after checking his skellyphone, Ren had found two missed calls from none other than his parents.

It was not a good morning. And it was...lonely. He had grown so used to having the others in his room when he woke up that it felt...odd to not have them. Strange. Unnerving. Ren felt vaguely uneasy, unable to shake the small feeling of anxiety that threatened to creep up into his heart.

So attached already... his mind whispered. So very attached, to people whom you don't need to have a connection with. People just leave.

There's no such thing as family or friends.

His head was starting to hurt. And the room he had spent so much time in, the room where he had felt comfortable and relaxed and welcome suddenly seemed so...big. Uninviting. And he felt small, too small. Ren drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them as he pressed a hand to his temple, rubbing his aching head. The thoughts, once thought, would not stop coming now.

People betray you. That's all there is to it. Do you really expect people like the DEMON to stay by your side? He's a DEMON. Since when do they do anything for anyone besides themselves? And what about the werewolf? She's just plain dumb. As for your ghoulfriend, well, she's obviously just playing with you. What could a ghoul like her possibly see in a guy like you?

No. No. That's not true. Stop it.

His mind was contradicting itself, the clashing thoughts twisting and coiling against one another like oil and water. Ren shut his eyes tightly shut, fingers clenching in his hair.

They're different. Different.

Different.

He opened his eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. Shaky breath, let out in one long exhale. A soft inhale, tasting the familiarity of the scents on his tongue.

They're different.

"Different," Ren said aloud, his voice low, quiet. "They're my friends. And they're different than my family. Gabrian, LW, and Alessa are different.

"They're better than you are."

He wasn't quite sure he actually believed it; at least, not yet. Everything growing up had taught him to think otherwise, to believe that family was merely a facade, that there was no such thing as lasting relationships, lasting friendships. But saying it out loud made it feel - solid.

Real.

Ren slid his legs off the side of the bed, hesitating a few beats, feet hovering just above the floor. He swallowed. Squared his shoulders, and pushed himself to his feet, stumbling slightly on unsteady legs. Closing his eyes again, Ren breathed deeply.

One step at a time.

He opened his eyes. And took a step forward.