Firo knows what he wants, of course, and he wants to scream inside at the thought of Roland leaving him alone right now. That's why he doesn't move back to compensate for Roland's advance, even if he stiffens just a little to feel that closeness and to see his friend's shoes eclipse some of the floor he's studying so intensely.

Asking for these things like help and company is always hard, even when the offer is there, tempting. He falls into a somewhat evasive construction by instinct and shrugs, “I don’t want you to not stay.”

“Just don’t expect me to be very good company.” He tries to laugh again, but it just doesn’t make it out of his throat before choking off. "I just--I know it's not a big deal, but I can't--" No, no, not what he wants to say. "I just don't know what to do..."