"No." The word tears out roughly but he latches onto it, still furiously shaking his head. He tries to paste a scowl over his features, surly and uninviting, but he can't remember how. Everything's responding too slowly, shaking his head the only impulse he can cling to. No.

"No, I - " He swallows, his expression contorting, hopeless, pained. His throat feels scraped raw, and all he can do his protest dumbly. His voice cracks humiliatingly on the final word. "Please."