[Maybe all he needs is a distraction from the fact that he's obviously losing his mind. That or the thing is real and it's going to kill him when he's not paying attention. Either way, he deserves a break. He's not gonna lose his shit in public if he can help it.]

Congratulations if your life hasn't been a shit parade since night one. Not all of us are so lucky.

[Then the defensiveness crawls up on him, and he leaps to the offensive-defensive position he's so comfortable in:]

And this isn't because I'm young. I'm not even that young. I've earned my angst, fuck it.