Break

Chapter 1

"Hey guys, so we've got about five minutes left, but we actually have a bit of a sad ending to our stream today – not about Courtney, specifically, but..." Damien introduces, his voice gentle as they ease out of the game they had been playing for the last two hours, controllers set gently on tables and the arms of the sofa. There'd been an awkward air to the whole stream, anyway, given it was no secret that a certain blonde cast member was absent for less-than-ideal reasons. The discomfort increases tenfold as Shayne steps out onto the set with his newly constant frown and awkward, hesitant movements. Ian moves off to the chair beside the couch, Shayne settling heavy onto the couch beside Damien as he clumsily tugs off his own mask and stuffs it against the couch under his leg.

"So, um- hi, guys," Shayne starts, before pausing for a long moment to take a deep breath. His quick glance up to the chat tells him it's quickly exploded into a spree of 'is Shayne okay?', but he doesn't feel like playing into the joke this time.

Or... maybe he can?

"As you all know, Courtney is still in hospital and she's... not doing too well. And I- it's- well, no, I'm not really okay. Court has been my best friend practically since we auditioned together, and... we're not dating, I swear that's not a lie, but we're... complicated friends, I guess. She means a whole lot to me, and I'm taking this really hard," he explains, letting his tone turn vulnerable and his eyes shoot down as he feels them pricking with tears. He sniffs lightly as Damien rests a comforting hand on the back of his shoulder.

"It's making it kinda difficult for me to work, so with Ian and everyone's support, I've decided I'm going to take a step back from Smosh. Not for long, I hope. I'll be back when she's okay. But for now, it's just too much for me to try and be funny because I just can't stop worrying about her, so I'm going to take a bit of a break. I'll probably be taking a break from social media, too, just to focus on... everything going on. So, you won't see me in streams or videos for a while, but I promise I'm- well, I'm physically okay. I just need to step back for a while," Shayne explains, and he has more he wants to say, somehow, but he feels himself start crying more noticeably and turns to hide his face as Ian hands him a tissue.

"We know this whole thing is hard on all of you, too, chat, we know you're worried about Courtney too – as are the rest of our Smosh family here," Damien steps in, Shayne nodding in agreement and thanks. He'd talked to Damien about what he wanted to say, too. He looks back up to the chat, dabbing at his eyes as Damien continues, "it's certainly not feeling super normal or great for any of us while she's not going well, and without Shayne too. Smosh is going to keep going as normally as we can. And we're all going to be supporting Courtney, and her family and Shayne, as much as we can through all of it, and we hope you'll all understand."

"I- because Court and I aren't actually... dating, or anything, I can't actually... COVID rules don't let me visit her at the hospital or anything. But I- someone asked about her cats, I'm looking after Bones and Birdie for her, so they'll be okay. I'm giving them plenty of hugs and treats, promise. They're used to me being around her place a lot anyway, so it makes sense. And like, our families know we're close, her Dad is keeping me – and Ian, of course – up to date with anything," he rambles, a little, mentally running through a list of what he wanted to cover and picking up on questions in the chat.

"We're going to give Court and Shayne and her family privacy where we can through all this, too, and we'd ask all of you to as well, but we will let you guys know anything you need to know," Ian adds, "and we appreciate the love and support you're giving all of us, and all the well-wishes you're sending Courtney. She'd appreciate it too."

"She really would," Shayne agrees, nodding and looking up at the chat, a flood of hearts and teary-eyed emotes and support for all of them. It makes him feel just a tiny bit better, giving a small smile to the cameras through his tears as Damien and Ian wrap up the stream.