A/N: This features the characters from my drabble series: A Tale of Two Friends. It's in the same universe but this is a little bit of an AU.

Declan ended the call with his parents and practically flung his cell phone across the room in frustration. Whenever he had to see or talk to them he knew it wasn't going to end well. They had always been rather antagonistic towards him. Declan was never good enough and the choices he made were things they never agreed with. At one point he was convinced they liked Michael more than him but that changed after they found out they had entered in a relationship.

They hadn't been pleased with him since then and had grown more and more difficult to deal with. Whenever he saw or spoke to them they would eventually to the part where they compared him to his cousin Todd. The two of them were only months apart and had grown up around each other. From the start there was this competition between their parents but now that he had apparently disappointed his parents, they wanted Declan to be more like Todd.

Declan sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Sometimes I think it would've been better if I had never been born," he muttered. It was a sentence he had always thought but never said out loud.

The words eventually flew out of his mind by night time. As he crawled into his side of the bed he had forgotten about them completely but when he woke up in the middle of the night they came back. Pushing it to the back of his mind, he headed to the bathroom and was about to turn it off when he caught sight of something in the mirror.

"Hello Declan."

Staring back at him was a young looking woman that looked suspiciously liked Michael rather than his own reflection. "I think it's time for me to go back to bed because I am obviously hallucinating."

The door was slammed shut as his hand reached out to grasp the knob and when he felt a tap on his shoulder he turned. Now the woman was standing directly behind him.

"I don't mean to be so harsh but I can't have you leaving yet. You need to understand that the world wouldn't be better off if you hadn't been born."

"Michael slipped something into my food. I know he did."

At the mention of Michael the young woman smiled fondly. "My nephew would do something like that wouldn't he?"

"Wait, nephew?" Declan asked with wide eyes. "Your Harriet- his mother's sister."

She nodded. "Yes and it's also true I died when Michael was about seven."

"Now I know he slipped something into my drink or I'm still dreaming."

He pinched himself and winced when he felt the pain.

"Is that out of your system now?" Harriet asked with an impatient sigh. "I need you to see what would've happened if you had never been born. The world wouldn't have been the same."

He snorted. "I am not that important."

"You are to Michael," Harriet replied bluntly. "My dear nephew has never been good at making friends. He's always been a little awkward around people and even with his family though my dear sister and brother-in-law have never intended for him to feel like that."

"It was a stupid comment. I didn't mean it."

Harriet sighed and grasped his hand tightly. "I know a small part of you meant it and I want you to know that shouldn't be. My nephew needs you."

Declan felt the world around him spin after those words. His vision blacked out and he found himself standing in a bedroom that wasn't his own.

"Still think you're drugged?" Harriet teased.

"Where am I?" he asked, clearly ignoring her question.

Harriet pointed to a small boy in the corner. "Michael's room."

Curious, Declan looked over and saw Michael sitting on his floor. He had to only be eight or nine and he was surrounded by his toys. From the doorway he heard hushed voices and he shifted to give it more attention.

"… All Michael ever does is play by himself Ron. After school it's straight up to his room and he never leaves the house on the weekends! He's nothing like his sister was at this age. I'm getting worried."

"… Maybe we can try to enroll him in another program or something."

The woman who Declan identified as Michael's mother seemed to disagree. "… No, Ron. If the other clubs and programs didn't work what makes you think another one will?"

Then the voices started to fade and the room was spinning around to fast for Declan to make out anything.

"Even as a young child my nephew had a hard time making friends and he spent countless hours alone in his room. When he got older my sister thought it he would grow out of it but he never did."

Declan felt sick to his stomach when the world finally stopped spinning. "Do you think you can warn me before you do that?" he snapped. "Harriet?"

Looking around, he found Harriet nowhere to be found and then he caught sight of some lockers. She had brought him to a high school but why?"

"Hey Pointe!"

The sound of Michael's last name had him turning his gaze to the left and there he saw a teenage Michael standing presumably by his locker, a forced smile on his face. Three guys were standing around him and Michael looked uncomfortable.

"Hey guys," Michael said weakly.

Then the room started to spin before he could hear anything else and Declan quickly clamped his eyes shut.

"Michael was so desperate for friends that he would hang around with those who only used and picked on him."

"This would've happened regardless if we met. I didn't meet Michael until college."

Harriet smiled sadly as she placed her hand on Declan's shoulder. "I know but I wanted you to understand what life was like for him when he was younger," she murmured. "Open your eyes now, Declan."

Opening his eyes hesitantly, he found himself in a familiar looking dorm room. It was Michael's and they had spent a lot of time in here during college because his roommate had a habit of locking the door on him.

"What is the point of bringing me here-"

Declan grew quiet when the door opened and Michael walked inside.

"Happy birthday to me," Michael muttered underneath his breath and one quick glance at the calendar told Declan this was the year they had graduated.

Watching Michael intently, he saw the man sit at his desk before fishing in his desk drawer for something. The room finally started to spin again when he pulled out a paper clip and pressed it into his skin

Declan closed his eyes and swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. "We spent his birthday that year at an Arcade. It was the last one that was open in town and it had all these retro games. He was so pumped."

Harriet smiled sadly. "It never happened without you, Declan. He tried to make friends in college but after that party in the year you were supposed to meet he gave up. Michael became withdrawn and seemed to be going through the motions."

He almost didn't want to open his eyes again when he felt the world around him steadying again. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself in a room that was both familiar and not familiar at the same time. A look around told him it was Michael's room at his parents' house but it looked different.

"The bathroom."

"Harriet, where are you?"

Declan didn't get a response and took a breath as he inched towards the bathroom door. He only got as far the doorway before the sight of Michael in a blood filled tub made his stomach retch. Stumbling out of the bathroom he placed his hand over his mouth.

"Bring me back. I don't want to be here anymore!"

"I'm sorry, Declan. I didn't want you to see that but I needed you to understand how important you are to my nephew. He may have a happy exterior but sometimes it's just a show."

It was difficult to get that image out of his mind. The thought of Michael ever doing such a thing was frightening. As annoying as the man could be he couldn't imagine his life without him.

"Bring me back."

"As you wish."

xXx

Declan awoke with a gasp. Sitting up in bed, he looked around frantically and felt comfort at the sound of Michael's loud snoring reaching his ears. "Michael?" he whispered as he gently shook the man.

"Wha…?" Michael mumbled as he cracked an eye open.

"Nothing, I just wanted to say I love you. Go back to sleep."

Michael appeared taken back by the suddenness of it but he gave him a sleepy grin and obeyed but not before pulling Declan back down and snuggling into his side.

After he fell asleep, Declan shifted and wrapped an arm around him in order to remind himself that Michael was still here. This was reality and the man hadn't killed himself.

"I guess I'm glad I was born after all," Declan quipped and before he fell back to sleep he could've sworn he heard the sound of Harriet's voice followed by a soft chuckle.