Sleepwalking

The concept of sleep had long been forgotten for Oli. He drifted in and out of consciousness, just passing out from exhaustion and waking up from nightmares. This had been one of the rare occasions that Oli awoke peacefully. His olive eyes fluttered open, the sunlight bleeding in through his curtain, illuminating
the dark room with a faint glow. Oli blinked a few times trying to focus and then stretched out his tattooed arms and legs with a small yawn.

Oli smiled, realizing he had slept through a whole night with no nightmares. This had been the first time in months. He felt a little bit of confidence building behind his smile - maybe he was getting better after all.
Unfortunately, all the color drained from Oliver's face when he heard a knock on his door and then his little brothers muffled voice.

"Oli, Nicholls and Lee are here. They want to see you...and I do too. Please let us in? We're worried." The younger Sykes sounded troubled, his voice laced with concern. Oli frowned, he wasn't ready to see people yet, especially not his friends.

"Oli, we're not leavin' till you let us in." Matt used a far more persistent tone, which earned an audible groan from Oli. He quickly weighed his options considering his current state. He could suck it up and see his friends, convince them he's okay, or go back go sleep and ignore them.

He really liked the way his second option was sounding, but then it occurred to him. If he could convince them he was okay, they would leave him alone and stop worrying. They would think he just needed some alone time.

So with that Oli sighed deeply and crawled out of bed, unlocking his door halfheartedly and sheepishly poking out his head to stare at the three boys. Tom grinned widely at the sight of his big brother, but Matt and Lee's face were anything but happy. Both sets of eyes gazed over Oli's face with a sad look.

Oli quickly became uncomfortable and cleared his throat softly, opening his door wider and inviting the boys in. He sat down on his bed, pulling his knees up to his chest protectively, resting his head down on his knee sleepily. Tom sat beside Oli, Matt sitting across from him at his small desk, Lee standing awkwardly
beside him.

Oli took a deep breathe and forced a meek smile, "Well I appreciate you guys comin', but I'm fine, really."

A sad look crossed Tom's face and he dropped his gaze to his hands in his lap. Oli felt panic set in; he hoped they would believe him. Why wouldn’t they believe him? However, from the look on Matt's face, they didn't believe a single word Oli spoke.

"What are you on about? When is the last time you showered? You look like hell, mate." Matt was brutally honest. That had always been one of Oli's favorite qualities about his best friend, but right now, he wished Matt were anything but honest.

Lee shot Matt a glare and nudged him in the ribs, Tom still avoiding everyone's gaze. "I'm not bein' mean, just a bit of tough love, yeah?" Matt quickly explained frowning at Lee.

"'s been like four days or summin'." Oli mumbled, shrugging his shoulders and staring at Matt.

"Smells like it.” That earned Matt another glare from both Lee and Tom this time. Oli couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Matt's face. If there was anything the drummer was good at, it was making people laugh.

Tom shook his head and cracked a smile, "You do look a little rough, Oli." He agreed laughing lightly. Oli frowned slightly; this wasn't going according to plan.

Lee cleared his throat and shot a hopeful glance at Oli, "Why don't you get dressed and get some food with us?" And with that, Oli felt the now familiar feeling of panic set in. He didn't want to go out in public and pretend to be normal - put on a fake smile and suppress all the voices he heard in his head. But as he watched the smile slip from Lee's face, he felt a bit guilty. They were just trying to help in the end. And if he never went outside, how would he overcome this?

With a deep breath, Oli nodded his head and forced a smile at his friends, "I'll get a shower then."