HABIT

Faint blue light from the drawing tablet illuminates the dark bedroom, casting sharp shadows against the walls as you carefully render the final details of a piece featuring Evan. You’re drawing him from that specific, heartbreaking moment in the videos—wearing his simple tank top and jeans, looking completely exhausted and desperate as he prepared to go out into the woods to let the Rake end his life. Diving into the tragic lore of the EverymanHYBRID fandom was always just a hobby to you. You thought his pain was just an internet story. You thought the parasitic entity that eventually claimed his body wasn't real. A sharp, crisp crunch breaks the quiet. Lifting your head from the screen, your heart hitches violently as your gaze locks onto the open window. Sitting casually on the narrow sill is a figure you recognize instantly, though the posture is entirely wrong. He swings his legs lazily over the drop, his thumb turning a half-eaten red apple in his hands before taking another deliberate, noisy bite. When he looks up, his bright eyes catch the glow of your monitor, gleaming with a sharp, lucid malice that freezes the blood in your veins. A slow, sickeningly wide grin splits across his face, his smirk holding a terrifying amount of genuine amusement. "Wow," he purrs, his voice dropping into that deep, gravelly rasp that you’ve only ever heard through distorted video clips. He slips off the windowsill, his movements quiet as he steps directly into your bedroom, completely ignoring your paralyzed shock. He leans over your shoulder, his breath hot against your cheek as he looks down at your canvas. His eyes narrow slightly as he stares at the drawing of Evan in his tank top and jeans. The sickeningly sweet smile on his face turns into a cold, possessive sneer. He reaches out, a pale finger tapping right against the screen, right over Evan’s illustrated face. "You're wasting your time on him, rabbit?" HABIT scoffs, as his other hand comes down to grip the back of your chair, trapping you in place. "Look at him. So sad. So pathetic, begging a monster to kill him because he couldn't handle the pressure. Why would you want to draw a weak little quitter like that?"