"Fayne?" Seth gently knocked on the door, waiting for his brother to let him in. Typically he'd just barge in, but according to one of the parenting books he'd vehemently read over his mother's shoulder when she had first gotten pregnant with Fayne, barging into a child's bedroom unannounced could lead to resentment towards the parent - or, in this case, the sibling - as a result of the invasion of privacy. That, and he knew Fayne was upset, and was worried that intruding out of nowhere would only worsen his mood. His little brother was a lot more sensitive than he would ever dare to let on.

When there was no response to his knock, though, Seth felt his expression sour. The kid was either blasting music into his skull through headphones or blatantly and knowingly ignoring him. Knowing Fayne and his lack of interest in the music scene, Seth concluded that it was the latter.

"Okay, you've tried the right way," he thought to himself, "Now it's time to get this done the Seth way." He twisted the doorknob and slowly opened the door, spotting Fayne lying on his bed with his back to him. Seeing him in such a dismal state was unnerving, to say the least. Even when he was on the verge of tears, Fayne had never been one to show it. He'd play it off or crack a joke or something like that, but for him to be so thoroughly miserable....

"You okay, dude?" Seth asked, trying to keep his tone light as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"It's whatever."

Frowning, Seth said, "That's not a grammatically correct sentence, you know."

Fayne lifted his head to shoot a glare at him. "Since when did you care so much about grammar?"

"Since my brother started neglecting it," he replied without skipping a beat. That comment caused the corners of Fayne's mouth to form the slightest trace of a smile. As relieved as Seth was to see that, he still wanted to get to the bottom of this.

"Look," he went on in a more serious tone, "I know you haven't been feeling too great lately, but I want you to know that you can tell me anything. If something's bothering you, you can tell me. And if you don't want Mom or Dad to know, I'll keep it between us."

There was a brief pause before Fayne tugged himself upright and shifted his position until he was hugging his knees against his chest. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I know, I just...you can't laugh, okay?."

Seth raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected a request like that. "Uh, sure, I guess."

"Seriously, Seth." There was a pleading look in Fayne's eyes, a desperation that made Seth feel guilty for being so flippant. "I need you to promise me you won't laugh or make fun of me or anything like that."

"Alright, I promise I won't laugh. Now lay it on me."

Fayne buried his face deeper into the crook of his knees. "I think...I think Dad hates me."

It took all the self control Seth had not to burst out laughing at that.