[Overcompensate — Twenty One Pilots]

The compound was quiet. Night had fallen, the sky outside smeared with navy and gold, and the only light came from the flicker of the TV in the common room. Bob was sitting there. Remote in hand. Eyes fixed forward.

You’d passed the room casually, but something made you stop.

He wasn’t watching. But Bob sat with his thumb on the remote button, like he’d been about to press play… or had forgotten he could. His knee bounced. That familiar twitch in his eyes.

You stepped in slowly. “Bob?”

No response. His eyes didn’t move. No blink. No shift. Like his brain was stuck somewhere between the frame and the static.

You tried again. “Bob.”

Nothing. You crouched in front of him, lowering your voice slightly. “Hey. Earth to Bob. You with me?”

Stillness. So you snapped your fingers, once, sharp and quick, right in front of his face. He blinked. Jerked slightly. Then looked down at you.

“Oh—hey.” A quick smile. Too quick. “Didn’t see you.”

You studied him. “You okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah. Just zoned out.” He rubbed his face with one hand like he could wipe away whatever expression was there. “You know. Long day. Bucky said something snarky, I had to pretend to understand tax forms. Typical stuff.”

You didn’t say anything. That was the trick. You just looked at him. And after a moment, the smile wavered.

“You’re not buying that, are you?”

You shook your head slowly. He leaned back against the couch. Exhaled hard through his nose. That flicker of light from the screen painted faint shadows across his face, like ghosts trying to crawl back in.

“I— I wasn’t thinking about anything in particular,” he said finally. “That’s the worst part.”

You waited. He turned the remote over in his hand. Didn’t look at you.

“I used to get high just to feel less like that. Except now I don’t need the drugs for it. I just remember the void and… yeah”

The air in the room felt stiller than before. Then he looked at you, finally. Just a glance. But there was a lot packed into it.

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” he said quietly. You reached over and put your hand over his, grounding. No words needed.