Smiling Friends Angst\Comfort HCS and Stories

Fatigued (💔)

Ah the weekend... One of the rare days Charlie would have any peace in his life. The larger critter had been suffering from burnout for ages and often had to put everything aside in order to help Pim at Smiling Friends. Charlie felt like he wasn't playing the part at his job, he didn't have the same positive attitude as Pim, and didn't really care about helping the clients, he was only there to "do his time" and earn a decent paycheck. The job was great at first, but overtime it just became boring and repetitive. The weekends were the only "good" days Charlie had to himself, days where he could isolate himself from society and have some downtime. But this weekend was different, he was staying in Brazil with his fellow co workers.

"Good Lord...What have I been doing to myself?" Charlie thought to himself as he stared at his reflection from the bathroom mirror. He had never been satisfied with his figure, the countless attempts at dieting and exercise just never worked, mostly because he was just so burnt out with work and life in general. Before he could further scold himself, a knock on the door was heard. "Charlie? Are you done in there?" Pim asked. The critter finished getting dressed and walked out with no hesitation. "Yeah, sorry dude. I was just getting dressed." Charlie responded, putting on his signature brown cap. Pim was confused, but assumed Charlie was in a hurry and just brushed it off. 

As Charlie walked down the halls of their beach-house, a wave of loud rave music blared out of nowhere, resulting in the critter covering his ears. "TURN IT DOWN, GLEP!" Alan shouted, also covering his ears. Glep quickly turned down the music, realizing how loud it was. "Sorry, Charlie. I didn't know the volume was turned up that much." Glep apologized, hopping off the radio. The two critters finally took their hands off their ears and had a sigh of relief. "Its fine, Glep." Charlie said before flopping onto the couch and turning on the TV. "So.... Has Pim come up with any plans for today?" Charlie asked. "As a matter of fact, yes!" Glep answered with a hint of excitement. Judging by Glep's tone, Charlie knew it was gonna be something that he would find embarrassing. "We're going to the beach!!!!" A cheery voice said, echoing from the hallways. the critters turned their heads and saw Pim dressed in swim trunks. 

"Uhhh yeah. I'm down." Charlie said. Pim gave Charlie a confused glare, "Why aren't you wearing any summer attire, Charlie?" The pink critter asked. Charlie took offense to this question, "I just prefer wearing my usual outfit, dude. Is there suddenly a dress code where you have to dress a certain way on vacation now?" He replied. The answer took Pim aback. "Well um. No, but I was just worried you might get too hot in that hoodie." Alan looked over at Pim, and then at Charlie. "You don't have to come with us if you don't want to, Charlie." The red critter said. "But I want all of you to come! It won't be a company vacation without everybody present!" Pim protested. To save himself from a long rant, the yellow critter caved in and decided to tag along. "Fine. But I'm wearing my hoodie." Charlie moaned before walking back to his room. 

"Leave him be for now, Pim." Alan suggested, putting a hand on Pim's shoulder. " The pink critter jerked away and furrowed his eyebrows with concern. He really wanted the vacation to be enjoyed by all, but it just didn't feel right to him that Charlie wanted to close himself off... "Could you excuse me for a moment, Alan?" Pim asked before walking down the hallway again. Alan and Glep looked at each other concerned, "I have a feeling this isn't gonna end well." Glep said. 

Charlie was sitting in his room, curtains closed, with the only light coming from the TV. "I can't believe I agreed to go out there with Pim and the others.... I've missed so much time at the gym trying to become a reformed 'alpha male' and its starting to get to me..." The critter thought to himself, he really didn't like the idea of being on the beach without his casual attire. Suddenly, the bedroom door cracked open, revealing to be Pim peeking in to check on his friend. "Charlie?" He whispered. "Pim. No need to whisper, I'm wide awake." Charlie replied. The pink critter entered, he could instantly feel the tense vibes projecting off his friend. "So um...Are you still interested in going to the beach with us?" He stammered, but took a step back as Charlie clenched his pant legs, trying to not lash out. "Pim. I appreciate the invitation. But...I think I changed my mind...." He said. Pim nodded his head, trying to respect Charlie's wishes. "I...I understand, Charlie." He spoke before leaving. The door slowly closed once Pim was out of the room, leaving Charlie to feel conflicted. He got up and went to look in the mirror again... "I'm a fat sack of shit..." he mumbled, looking at his reflection once again. The critter looked down in absolute disgust. "Maybe its for the best I stay here... I can't be out there in nothing but swim trunks..." 

Unluckily for him, Pim heard everything from next door. "So that's why he didn't wanna go to the beach..." The pink critter said, finally putting the pieces together. It hurt Pim to know that Charlie thought negatively of himself. Pim got up from his bed and went back to go talk to Alan and Glep. "I refuse to do that stupid button mashing thing, Glep. Like I said, there's no skill to it." Alan scoffed, trying to pay attention to the video game they were playing. Pim plopped in between the two of them on the couch. "Hey, Pim!" Glep greeted happily, with Pim responding with a small wave. "....Are you alright, Pim?" Alan asked. "Charlie said he changed his mind about going to the beach later... And I quickly found out why..." Pim went on to explain what he heard from next door. Glep and Alan were confused, but also expected something along these lines in a way, they heard similar monologues from the yellow critter in times past. "Pim. We kind of heard some of that stuff too." Glep admitted. "Yeah. The walls in this beach house are so thin you could hear basically....Anything!" Alan said. 

Suddenly, Charlie came out of his room, looking like he had just woken up from a long nap. "Hey, Charlie!" Glep greeted from a distance. "Hey Glep..." Charlie yawned, making his way to the fridge. The three critters looked at each other confused, but their trance was broken after Charlie slammed the refrigerator door shut. "Eh. I lost my appetite...." Charlie shrugged before making his way to the sofa. Pim watched his friend and noticed how he was a lot more rung out than usual. "Charlie..." The pink critter muttered to himself, fidgeting his hands. The yellow critter could sense his friends' concern, "What are you guys so worried about anyways?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Pardon me for seeming like I'm overreacting here, but I feel like maybe you're upset about something related to the beach?" Pim chimed in nervously. Charlie rolled his eyes before his mind suddenly put two and two together. His eyes widened, "You were SPYING ON ME, PIM?!" The critter said, raising his voice. Pim cowered behind Alan in response, much to the red critter's annoyance. "He's just worried about you, Charlie." Alan responded, while Glep tried to console Pim. "Ok, MAYBE I have a few....Issues. But that doesn't mean-" Charlie stopped himself for a second, not knowing how to finish his sentence. The room fell silent for a moment, the yellow critter looking down at the floor. "C-Charlie?" Pim stuttered, getting up from the couch. 

"I guess....Maybe its time for me to come clean." Charlie said under his breath. He then began to tell his friends about some of the stuff that's been on his mind. Before he could go into the topic of his own waistline, he stopped. Pim scooted next to Charlie and laid a hand on his arm, "Its ok, Charlie. You can tell us anything." The pink critter reassured. Charlie stayed quiet for a moment before he took a shaky breath and elaborated on the final nail in the coffin that would be described as his many problems. Pim, being the good friend he tries to be, listened carefully. "...And I really hate wearing swim trunks for... Well it's pretty obvious by this point." The yellow critter said, trying to laugh off his rant. Secretly, the burnout was eating him up inside, and Pim could sense this. "Charlie. I know there's more than what you're telling us." The pink critter said, "Ok. Yeah. I've been dealing with a bit of burnout, but I've managed to ride through it for a while, so try not to feel pity for me, Pim." Charlie said, nudging his arm away from Pim. 

"Listen, Charlie. You don't have to come with us to the beach if you don't want to. It's not like you're obligated to just because you work with us." Alan explained. The yellow critter nodded in response as he was glad his friends understood his boundaries. "Thanks, guys." He muttered before going back to his room. Pim felt bummed out Charlie wouldn't be joining them, but reassured himself that they could do a separate activity later on. "Come on, guys. How about we get ourselves dressed for the beach..." Pim said hopping off the couch. Alan and Glep followed in suit. After that, the trio spent some time at the beach together while Charlie spent some time to himself. As the group sat by the ocean, Pim slowly started to fall asleep from excitement. "Hey! Wait up!" A voice yelled from afar. Alan, Pim, and Glep turned their heads to see Charlie running up to them wearing swim trunks. "CHARLIE!!!" Pim called excitedly, glad to see the reunion of the group. "I'm so glad you could join us!" He said. "Yeah, I was getting pretty bored. So I mustered up the courage to come out and join you guys!" Charlie replied. Alan and Glep smiled at the two critters, and the four continued to enjoy themselves on the beach.