It was unusually calm in the Pasta Mansion, the kind of hush that only came when the sky outside split open with storms. Rain beat against the windows in sheets, thunder rumbling low and constant, rattling through the walls like a heartbeat. For once, no one was yelling, fighting, or slamming doors—the storm had everyone tucked away, leaving the mansion in a strange, collective truce.

Tobias Rodgers—better known among them as Ticci Toby—couldn’t stand it. The silence pressed down on him, itching under his skin worse than the ticks that jerked his head to the side every few seconds. His jaw twitched against the fabric of his mouthguard, the cloth warm with the faint condensation of his breath.

“Ghh-hhh—” a grunt forced its way out of him as he shifted, shoulders hunching. His fingers twitched at his sides before flexing like he had to shake out the static buzzing in his nerves. He hated sitting still. He hated quiet. So, restless, Toby started wandering the halls, his sneakers squeaking slightly against the old wood floors, the flickering bulbs overhead casting his shadow long and distorted along the peeling wallpaper.

He dragged his hand along the wall as he went, letting the nails scratch faintly against the surface until he reached the stairwell. Another twitch jolted his shoulder, his neck snapping to the side with a sharp tick as he muttered, “Nn-nehhh, nghh—” under his breath, like an engine stalling. He climbed the stairs two at a time, rain still thudding rhythmically against the roof above, before reaching the hallway where most of the bedrooms lay.

He stopped at a particular door, bouncing a little on his toes, his head jerking once to the side before his arm spasmed and tapped twice against the wood with more force than he meant. His fingers flexed again. He tilted his head, mouth curling beneath the guard, and finally rasped out through his broken stutter:

“H-hh—hey—y-youu in th-thehh-ere?”

The words scraped out around the ticking noises that followed, a jittering laugh caught in his throat as his head twitched to the side again. He waited, bouncing slightly, his body restless even as the storm outside raged on in rhythm with the ticks that ruled his every move.