Austin opened the bathroom door and sighed as he closed it, leaning back against it. He had excused himself to the bathroom to...think. He could feel himself sink into the door as he got lost in his thoughts... Wait what?! He quickly moved away from the door, breathing heavily. How did he..? How could he..? He blinked, "No.. That must have just been..me being paranoid and not thinking straight.. It's fine. I didn't actually sink into the door." He mumbled to himself.
He moved over to the sink and looked into the mirror, sighing. "God, im a mess.." He took off his glasses and spalshed some water onto his face. He grabbed a towel and dried off the water. After, he looked into the mirror with his glasses off, noticing something. He blinked, putting on his glasses. "What the fuck?!" His roots have started to faintly turn white.
Jack could've sworn he heard noise coming from the bathroom. He didn't want to disturb Austin, he was sure he needed the space. But...he also wanted to make sure he was alright. After a few minutes of worrying, he caved. He got up and went to the bathroom door, knocking gently.
"Hey man...you alright in there?" He called in a low voice.
Austin looked toward the door, "I, uh, y..yeah... I'll be..right o..out.." He didn't want to worry Jack. He gulped, hoping that the others don't notice the roots. "Fuck.." His voice whispered out.
Jack squinted his eyes. He wasn't too convinced. "...Okay...just making sure." He backed up a few paces from the door and leaned against the far wall. "Take your time..."
"Thank you.." Austin stayed in the bathroom for a few more minutes before going to open the door. He reached for the door knob and his hand didn't touch it. He started to panic, trying again and nothing. He tried again, finally able to turn it and quickly opening the door. Panic written all over his face.
Jack narrowed his eyes, seeing his friend in such a panicked state. “Are you sure you’re alright?” He frowned, stepping an inch or two closer.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost…”
Austin could feel panic coming from everywhere inside of him, "No, no, I'm fine." He felt a crazed laugh burst out of him as tears started to come to his eyes. God, he felt like he was going insane.
Jack backed away slightly in shock. As if it wasn’t obvious now, Austin was lying. But…Jack just couldn’t figure out what was up. He pursed his lips, looking at his friend with deep concern.
“Let’s uh…” He blinked a few times in thought. “…Let’s go for a walk, yeah?”
Austin hugged himself so he could feel something. "...Yeah, okay..." His voice was hinged in panic.
“Come on…” Jack’s voice was soft as he gestured for Austin to follow him out of the apartment. He was tempted to hug him, but…he didn’t want to overwhelm him. He had enough going on as it is.
Austin nodded, following the other out the apartment. He could feel the stares from the others. He wanted to just disappear.
Jack closed the door behind them, looking at Austin with a genuine worry. "Okay...talk to me, man. What's going on?" He took in his appearance. "You haven't been yourself for some time. I'm getting scared for you..."
"That's the thing... I don't know what's going on with me." Austin began to shake. "I just... I don't want to add more to your guys' plate. We have to deal with data first, that's more important right now." He hugged himself more tightly.
"Hey...it's alright." Jack tilted his head. "We're gonna figure this out...you being in your best light is just as important as what's going on now." He nodded. "Okay?" He took a breath. "What's going on?"
YOU ARE READING
Nowhere To Go
Fanfiction[Final book of TTG] It's been a year since that fateful New Years Eve night. Everyone has done their best to move on. They haven't heard anything or felt anything so they think nothing of it.. Boy were they wrong to do that...so wrong.
