Grey Skies

Sensitive Content Warning: The following comic contains references to suicide or self-harm. Viewer discretion is advised.
== Information ==
Grey Skies is the thirteenth comic by EvilComix17. It is part of the season 3 collection and rated T for explicit text, rude humour, and morbid imagery of depression.
== Synopsis ==
After the disappearance of Clyde, a new member named Grey takes his spot. However, he has a difficult time bonding with the members, especially with Corey, who isolates himself from the crew because his grief. Fearing shame and pity towards him, he plots a plan to stop happiness throughout the city.
== Plot ==
Grey is walking down the streets of London. Having just escaped from his abusive family and having nowhere to go, he resorts to the option to living on the streets. However, he runs into the Black Friday Crew, who rescue him from a mugger. Grey passes out when he learns the Black Friday Crew are serial killers. In the morning, Tommy hands him his clean jumper and the crew are off to school.
At Hellbent High, Professor Annex instructs the students to read a textbook passage on WWII. Because Grey is dyslexic, he relies on audio resources to help him read. However, due to Professor Annex's technology ban, he confiscates his mp3 player. Grey tries his hardest to read without the help of tech, but finds it difficult to do so. Professor Annex gets vexed at Grey for slacking off and demands him to give him the English translation of Kristallnacht as punishment. Grey gets anxious and stress due to his pressure and yells the answer in frustration. Grey is panting due to his anxiety and excuses himself to the rest room.
Later, Tommy and Levi are heading to Mrs Larson's classroom to collect flashcards so Levi can communicate better. They find Grey reading in her classroom. Levi showcases a book he's been reading, which is a romance novel called Lust Elegance. Grey showcases his favourite book series called StarCrashers, a science fiction superhero story which parodies Star Trek and Guardians of the Galaxy. Because of his overwhelming social anxiety, Grey thinks he's said too much about the book and is ashamed of himself. After school, Grey asks to stay with the Black Friday Crew so he doesn't have to live on the streets. 
Tommy shows Grey a machine that can make anyone's worst fears come to life. Since Tommy's fear is needles, his fear is represented by a nurse with a creepy doll-like smile. Tommy slices the monster to oblivion and it disappears into thin air. The two go back inside the house to find Levi with a bunch of notes taken. Grey is impressed with his skills and asks for the book he's reviewing. Upon seeing the cover to StarCrashers, Grey freaks out and apologises to Levi for making him read something he doesn't want to read.
The anxious boy goes down stairs to find Corey, looking for his special bubblegum soda he got at a sweets shop last weekend. Grey finds it for him and Corey thanks him. Grey is happy to help and asks Corey if he wants to hang out with him. Corey, being lonely and expressing withdrawn behaviour due to Clyde's disappearance, ignores him and slams his bedroom door on him. Grey is internally upset and goes to bed with a devious plan in mind. In the morning, Grey puts on his clothes and takes the Scare Machine with him. Tommy and the gang wake up much later to find that Grey is gone. Assuming he has already gone to school, they don't worry.
His teachers take attendance and mark him absent, which is unusual of Grey. Tommy and Levi assume the worst has happened when the fire alarm goes off. They go outside and find a tall black monster, terrifying the citizens. The monster spreads black goo onto the people and sucks the colour and emotions out of them. Grey is revealed to be the one behind the act and Tommy tells him to stop. Grey yells that he is sick of people taking pity on him and accepts the fact his is "hated". Tommy tries to explain to Grey that it's not true, but Grey shouts at Tommy to stop lying to him and that they should stop pretending to care for him. The gang get trapped inside of the monster's goo and Tommy and Levi are depressed. The two find out Corey's immune to the goo because of his preexisting manic depression. With that in mind, Corey tries to fight off the monster.
This action causes Grey to fall into the monster itself and he sees all of the nice and kind things he's done for his friends. Grey realises he was a great friend and he only shut people out because of his insecurities with his social anxiety. He yells into the void of goo that he hates himself. Corey goes inside the moster and saves Grey from fading away. The two fall off the bridge of London and Corey explains to Grey he is like him in a way. Grey angerly scolds Corey for saving him, stating the world would still function even if killed himself. He then vents about his abusive family and how he struggling academically and socially. His emotions get out of control and he bursts into tears. Corey is left flabbergasted.
Grey tells Corey if he wants to embarrass him, then he should do it while he is still vulnerable. Corey does the one thing to comfort him and gives him a big hug, which confuses Grey. Assuming Grey never had a hug before, Corey explains what it is. Because Grey never been comforted before, he is dubious about if he should let Corey continue or if he should accept it. He eventually gives in. Corey tells Grey they need to stop the monster before everyone in London becomes depressed. He explains their embrace triggered an attack on the monster. The two suggest going back to defeat the monster for good. Meanwhile, Tommy and Levi are learning how depression works. Corey tells the others they need to hug him and Grey right now. The group hug makes the monster disintegrate and pop into a giant rose. The townspeople cheer as the day is saved. Tommy realises Grey also has his needs and wants and apologises to Grey for not realising it sooner. Tommy and Grey agree to pizza and video games as a compromise.
After several days, Grey is having a blast living with the Black Friday Crew. He also informs the reader what has happened since the episode. Professor Annex apologised to Grey for not understanding his disability, Levi and Grey became book buddies, and he became an official member of the Black Friday Crew.
== Trivia ==
*The title is a pun on Grey's name.
*The whole comic is a metaphor for depression.
**The monster symbolises his depression and trauma.
**Fears are visualised by the Scare Machine.
**When Corey shut the door in front of him, he felt isolated and alone, represented by the pitch black background.
**Getting inside the monster, Grey starts to turn monochrome like the others. He also screams that he hates himself and stays in the monster so he could fade away. This could be labelled as suicidal thoughts taking over Grey, as well as attempting suicide.
**Corey saving Grey from the Misery Monster symbolises hope and how he is not alone in his suffering.
**Because of the embraces, the monster turns into a rose, indicating that while he has trauma, Grey still has hope and courage.
*Grey is shown to have dyslexia. A learning ability that makes Grey have a difficult time reading. Despite his disability, he loves to read books.
*Corey wears a funny t-shirt that says "Duck my Sick" with a picture of a duck.
**Meanwhile, it is revealed that Levi owns a Raincoat Boyz t-shirt.
*Grey’s favourite book StarCrashers is a parody of the Guardians of the Galaxy comics.
*The ink from Tommy’s hair gets on the pillows while he was asleep. It could be considered a modified version of a wet dream.
*This a debut for Grey as a major character.
*Many people had labelled this to be one of the more depressing comics from EvilComix17 due to it's serious nature and heavy talk about suicide.