Secret || Chanlix

Chapter twelve.

--

When I came out of the bathroom, dressed in a black hoodie and black sweatpants that hid any trace of my figure and made me look multiple sizes larger than I was, I saw that the dressing room was practically empty. A few staff members were still there, either on their phones or chatting idly, but most of the members were gone.

I was wearing two shirts under my hoodie as well. My bandages were shoved somewhere in my bag, which I carelessly dropped onto the ground as I glanced around.

Chan was waiting for me on the armrest of the couch, wearing a black hoodie similar to mine and similar coloured shorts. When he saw me, he stood and gestured for me to come closer with a small, reassuring smile.

I shuffled forwards until I reached him and grabbed at his hand with my smaller one. My clumsy fingers only managed to wrap around one of his, but he quickly intertwined them properly and waited until we were side by side to start walking out the door.

Neither of us spoke as we walked outside and strolled down the familiar streets of Sydney. I felt small, insecure and anxious, but having Chan there was soothing. He was my comfort person. It was like having a shield in front of me whenever he was with me, or an umbrella protecting me from the downpour pelting down.

But, of course, neither a shield or umbrella could make it easier for me to breathe.

Chan's thumb rubbed small circles on the back of my palm, tracing over my knuckles and the faint outline of my veins. I unconsciously drew myself closer to him, our shoulder bumping softly.

Eventually, Chan broke the comfortable silence between us. "Is there a specific doctor you want to see...?"

As I shook my head, Chan's eyes drifted to the street signs above. "I think there's one a few blocks away, should we just go there?"

I nodded, again staying silent as thoughts swirled in my head. I doubted I could have spoken much even if I wanted to, considering how much effort it was taking me to simply continue walking. My legs wobbled and faltered with almost every step, deprived of oxygen by my damaged lungs.

When we eventually reached the ivory-coloured building, Chan glanced over at me again. If he noticed the fear rippling through my eyes or the wet, glistening tears building up underneath my hood, he didn't mention it. He just squeezed my hand tighter as he pushed the door open.

Immediately, the smell of hand sanitiser and disinfectant hit my nostrils. I winced and stepped behind Chan subtly, still clutching at his hand like a lifeline.

He guided me to the front desk, where a kind-looking, ginger receptionist gave us a welcoming smile. She was plump and had pale skin dotted with freckles similar to mine. Her auburn hair fell in ringlets over her shoulders. "Hello, you two! What can I do for you both?"

"We'd like to make an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible, if we can." Chan's accent fit in with the cacophony around us like a missing puzzle piece. No one raised an eyebrow at it or asked him to repeat himself, which made my busy mind slow for just a second. Some things about Australia were alright.

"Of course! We'll just have to work out some paper work and someone will be with you shortly. Do you..." The receptionist's words faded to a soft buzz in my ears as my headache came back again. It wasn't as bad as before, but it was still enough to force me to lean my body weight onto Chan and press my face into his shoulder in an attempt to block out the bright, fluorescent lights in my eyes.

His strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me up and supporting me as he mumbled something to the receptionist and half-carried me over to the row of half vacant waiting chairs.

"You okay?" He asked softly, voice in my ear but still distant. I nodded tiredly and closed my eyes, hearing him shuffle into the seat beside me and pull my head down to rest on his broad shoulder.

When I opened my eyes again, it was because of Chan softly shaking me. "C'mon Lix, a doctor called us."

He helped me up after my legs failed to do so on their own, tugging me under his armpit and supporting most of my weight as we followed the blurry image of a man in a white coat.

My mind tried to tell me to panic, but I was deaf to its commands in my drowsy, sleep-ridden state. I couldn't hear the warning bells ringing in my ears, nor the heavy wheeze in my breaths.

I only began to regain my head when the man opened a door and we entered his office.

The room had an L-shaped desk in the back right corner with overhanging cupboards full of textbooks and diagrams. There was an examination bed thing with an open curtain in front of it pressed against the left wall, and two chairs on the right side of the room near the door. Chan helped me sit in one, sat down in the other and attempted to let go of my hand, but I clutched at his arm and refused to break contact. Eventually he just sighed and let it happen.

(After this point in the chap I kinda gave up on putting english in italics, but they're still speaking english in the rest of this chap since they're in Australia, sorry.)

"Hi, I'm Dr. Hughes," the doctor smiled at us, glasses almost falling off of his nose, "what can I do for you this evening?"

Dr. Hughes was tall and stocky, with long limbs and a round face. His arms were thick with muscle, but his gut protruded slightly from his black slacks. He wore thick-rimmed, square glasses that hid his dark eyebrows and had short cropped, chocolate hair.

"I'm Chris, and this is Felix." Chan shook the man's outstretched hand, returning the man's grin with one of his own. Turning to face me with unsure eyes, Chan silently asked permission to explain what had happened. I could only manage a shrug as anxiety swelled in my chest. "Well, Felix and I are performers, which means a lot of physical activity. You know, dancing, singing, exercise, etc.. We had a performance tonight, but Felix kind of... passed out during it. He's been a bit out of it since then, I think."

Dr. Hughes nodded along, glancing at me once Chan finished. He tapped a pen nonchalantly against his desk as he thought. "People pass out for many reasons, so it can often be difficult to pinpoint an exact reason. It could be the heat, a cold or flu, emotional stress, or just simple over-exertion. It sounds like the last one, considering your professions, but I'd like to check you heartbeat, Felix. Is that okay?" Upon seeing my nervous, flitting eyes, he continued, "All I'm going to do is lift the back of your shirt and feel your heartbeat with this stethoscope. Can you get on the bed, please?"

I looked anxiously over to Chan for help, silently pleading, but he just squeezed my hand in encouragement.

"Would you like Chris to leave the room for a second, or turn around?"

I weighed the options in my head, switching between Chan finding out and hating me but at least not leaving me alone in a room with a potentially transphobic stranger, or being left alone in a room with a potentially transphobic stranger but not having Chan hate me. Eventually, I managed a tiny nod.

Chan gave me a reassuring smile and dropped my hand, going to stand up before I stopped him with a tug on his hand.

"W-will you wait outside the door?"

"Of course, Lix."

--

A/N Sorry for not updating heh

This is really just a filler chapter, sorry, but we're going with it since I feel bad about leaving you guys hanging for so long.