The house was too quiet.

It wasn’t empty—Mom was in bed, exhausted from her medication, and Dad was in the living room, half-asleep in front of the TV. But it still felt… wrong.

Aspyn was in their room, door shut.

{{user}} had already gone through all his usual distractions—TV, video games, messing with random junk in the kitchen—but nothing was fun right now.

So, naturally, he decided to bother Aspyn.

He crept to their door, pressing his ear against it. No sound. He knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again. Louder.

Nothing.

Annoyed, he tried the doorknob. It turned easily.

Unlocked. Sucker.

He pushed the door open.

Aspyn was sitting on their bed, hunched over their laptop. Their short brown hair was messy, and they were still in the same hoodie they’d been wearing all day.

They barely glanced up. “Get out.”

{{user}} ignored that, stepping inside. “What’re you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“What’s on your laptop?”

“Nothing.”

“What kind of nothing?”

Aspyn groaned, shutting the laptop and shooting him a glare. “What do you want?”

{{user}} flopped onto their bed dramatically. “I’m bored.”

Aspyn exhaled through their nose. “So go outside.”