“...Heya.” Eve blurted out, unsure what to say to the man lying in front of her. He stared up at her warily, visibly concerned.

“So... you never really... answered my question...” Not knowing how to bring it up without making the situation more unsettling than it already was, she finally settled for simply spitting it out.

He continued to gaze into her eyes, a blank expression on his face.

Eve breathed in heavily, shuffling from one foot to another as she dismissed the pit in her stomach. “Um... I didn’t... hurt you too bad, did I?”

He finally reacted, much to her relief. Unfortunately, not in a good way. He narrowed his eyes at her, furrowing a brow.

Realizing he didn’t intend to talk to her, Eve huffed in exasperation. “Come on! Why won’t you just answer me? ‘It doesn’t matter’ isn’t a very satisfying response, you know.”

Suddenly, his demeanour changed, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.

Coward. He thinks he’s gonna get attacked again, doesn’t he?

I’m actually considering it now...

Understandable. There’s only so much playing dumb you can take before you snap.

But... I didn’t want to attack him in the lab, so then... why did I?

Who said it was you?

...Wait... You’re not saying...

Don’t be silly. Of course it wasn’t me. 

Eve stiffened. She could practically hear the smile in the words.

 After all... I’m just a silly voice in you head, right...?

The sneer in the voice’s tone made her shudder, and she gave her head a shake.

Pay attention, you.

Hm?

He’s sitting up.

Eve blinked, her vision refocusing. It was true. In spite of the look of disapproval from Nataly, the Inzomniac was sitting up, propping himself against the wall for extra support.

“What’s up with you?” The question caught Eve off-guard.

“What?”

“You know what. You’re always staring into outer space. Half the time it’s like you’re not even here.” He almost sounded...

Concerned?

Why would he be?

Do you disagree?

...

Eve practically jumped out of her skin when he snapped his fingers in her face.

She sensed Nataly shifting behind her, stepping towards the two of them as she spoke. “You alright, Eve?”

“Y-yeah, fine.” She gave her head another shake, her hair standing up when she could feel Nataly’s eyes scanning her from a few feet away.

The Inzomniac was looking out the short window by now, a bored expression on his face as he rolled a shoulder back idly.

Eve crossed her arms in irritation. “So? Why won’t you answer?”

She could see the gears turning in his head as he stared at nothing in particular. Finally, he gave her a side glance. “That was pretty cruel, you know.”

Nataly gave her a questioning look, but Eve knew what he was referring to. She felt her patience running out by the second. “Stop changing the subject!” She shouted, slamming her hand onto the wall, right next to his face. “Answer me!”

He flinched, scooting away from her and lifting up his hands defensively with a wince. “Okay, jeez!”

Well, that worked.

He looked away from her. “If you must know, that ‘thing’ you carry around scares me.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I got that, but why? What’s so scary about it?”

He leaned against the wall heavily with a raspy sigh. “Well see, that’s the tough part. I have no idea.”