Don't you dare lose it. Don't you dare, Faqir. They need you. Don't you dare--
"I have to go." It shocked Faqir how dead his voice sounded, how little of an inflection there was in his tone. He stormed back towards the elevator, noticing that the grate hadn't yet opened to let them in.
Don't you f*cking dare, you gross b*stard. Don't you dare. She deserved it. She deserved it all. She--
Clair continued shaking--the blood seemed to have made her condition even worse. Madoka stumbled into her, sobbing against her shoulder.
Romano averted his gaze deliberately, his eyes shining with some unrecognizable emotion.
Faqir's fist slamed against the grate. He dug his fingers into the holes, clutching at them until he could feel the pain of the metal burying itself in his skin.
Don't you dare! You're f*cking Faqir Nawabi. You don't cry. You don't scream. You don't throw up. You're cool and charismatic. You're optimistic. Don't you dare.
Oni ran for the grate with him. When it didn't open, she retreated to a far corner, crouched to her knees, and cried, as quietly as she could manage.
Braeden ran a hand through his bangs, eyes locked on the stand before him. "D*mn..."
Don't you dare! Faqir, don't you dare!
"It is..." Romano swallowed audibly. "It is difficult to witness two deaths in one day. Perhaps we shall take time to rest, sirs and madams. Please do let me know if there is anything I may do for you."
"Sh-she deserved it," Clair whispered, clutching her arms. "Sh-she...sh-she deserved it...sh-she deserved it...she deserved it...she..."
Faqir couldn't stand it anymore.
He pounded against the grate with both hands, fighting against the hot tears that cascaded down his cheeks. "Let us out of here, d*mn you! We saw it, we get it! This world is sick, we get it! Now let us the f*ck out of here!"
Madoka released another loud sob. In that moment, Faqir felt he knew why the Ultimate Lucky Student had not voted for Xhevona's execution.
Monokuma--callous and uncaring as always--waved a paw. "Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a twist! Head on back--and remember, disturb the peace and you'll end up just like her!"
The grate slid open.
Faqir immediately pinpointed a corner of the elevator and vomited onto the floor.
Screw you. Screw you. Screw you. Screw you.
"Geez..." Monokuma sat up straighter, kicking his feet. "Even our class clown is a mess! Relax, you guys are the ones who voted her in. You can blame no one but yourselves!"
Unsurprisingly, his comment only served to make Faqir feel worse.
Screw me. Screw me. Screw me. Screw me.
Taking a deep breath, Romano bowed to Monokuma. "I do not suppose you have any intentions of cleaning that."
"Eh, I'll get to that when I feel like it."
Faqir clenched his fists, forcing himself to stand straighter. "W-we..."
Stuttering. No good. Try again.
"We should get out of here. Who knows, maybe if we do we can take a nap and have even worse nightmares so we forget this one."
Cut it out, you hack poser. Just admit you're terrified and confused and disgusted and horrified and shocked and...
Oni quickly joined Faqir in the elevator, mumbling to herself. Tilting his chin, Romano joined them. Braeden started to follow, paused, then went to gently coax Clair and Madoka towards the door. The three entered together.
...angry and furious and distraught and dead inside and miserable and enraged and bitter and...
And self-loathing.
"Chin up, everyone." His smile had never felt more forced. "It can only get worse from here, right?"
For once, Clair didn't yell at him. She leaned into Madoka's hug, even allowing Braeden's hand on her back to support her. Oni huddled up to Romano, who patted her back.
Faqir suddenly felt incredibly lonely. He watched the others, longing for one of them to just give him a simple smile.
It was all he could do to keep his own alive.