"My Scientific Best" | The Trio

.7

• "You can't disguise sad eyes,
Feign care and warm concern.
The kiss you did not earn,
Discourage affection."

* * *

"You need to understand, we are trying our best to keep him alive. You're lucky that we didn't just pull him off of his life support without your consent, this sort of virus is extremely dangerous to others." The Doctor warned. She had pulled Darryl and Vincent into a separate room about an hour after Zak was pulled away. Everything felt on edge and serious, like everything could go wrong if you blinked at the wrong time.
   Darryl looked over at Vincent, who was staring at the smooth, linoleum floor. He couldn't see his eyes, but assumed Vincent was trying to hide his tears. He had his mouth covered by his hand, trying not to choke up sobs. He looked cold, and scared.
   Darryl, on the other hand, was in shock. He promised Zak that he wouldn't let him die, what if... What if...? Darryl didn't know what to do, but let the doctor continue on despite that.
   "The vaccine will hold the bacteria in place, but if another type of medication doesn't come out in time, he will die."
   "NO-"
   Darryl jumped back, watching as Vincent slammed his hands onto the desk, standing up. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he looked furious. His face was red, and he breathing in and out heavily. Darryl didn't know how to react to Vincent's sudden lashing out, everything just felt like some bad dream still. Zak would survive... Right? He could hardly think, much less calm down of all people, Vincent.
   "Sir, you need to understand, the virus has already began it's pathway to his brain, we may not make it in time. I will try my scientific best to—"
   "BULLSHIT- WE DROVE ALL THIS W-"
   "Vincent- calm do-"
   "OH, Don't even think about telling me to, 'calm down,' Darryl. LOOK AT ME-" Vincent turned to Darryl in tears, clenching both his teeth and his fists.
   The Doctor hesitated, before turning to Darryl.
   "Would you like some privacy for a moment?"
   He nodded quickly. They needed a moment.
   Vincent was terrified, he could tell. Vincent didn't have a lot of other people that he was close too, and Zak was somebody who knew him. Who loved him. Vincent needed Zak just as Darryl needed him. They all balanced each other out perfectly.

* * *

"I don't want to- I can't lose him. We can't lose him." Vincent choked out, letting Darryl pull him close. He trembled, trying ever so hard to keep his tears in, but Darryl could tell that even for Vincent, this was an impossible task.
"I'm scared too."
Vincent sobbed into Darryl shoulder, and Darryl felt a few tears stream down his cheeks as well. What if Zak dies? What if the last thing he'll feel is the pain of this stupid, fucking virus?
Darryl shuddered, trying to calm his breathing.
In for four, hold for seven, out for eight.

* * *

"We really should head somewhere to eat Vincent, it's nearly six and you look miserable." Darryl sighed. It was more than true, Vincent looked terrible, his hair sticking up in random places, bags under his eyes...
Darryl tilted his head, resting it on Vincent's shoulder. The waiting room was quiet and empty, and they weren't even allowed to see their friend yet. It'd been hours since they even first arrived.

"Hmm...?"
"Vincent, you awake?"
"Quelle- Quelle heure est-il...?"
"English, Vincent."
"...Mmm, shut up."
Darryl sighed. They needed rest, Zak would've said the same. He stood up, and spoke to a few doctors, asking when they thought Zak would be awoken.
They didn't know. Probably not for a while though. How long was a while...? He chose not to think about that.
Darryl walked back over to Vincent, who opened his eyes tiredly.
"What's happening..."
"Zak won't be up for a while, we should go get some rest at home, you hungry?"
"No..."
"Yes you are."
"Let's just... Go home."

* * *

It was a short and quiet drive home, Darryl glanced in Vincent's car mirror. Vincent was in the back, already out cold. Darryl decided it was best that he drove on the way home, and he was right.
   Zak... Who he just met for the first time in the real world, three days ago. Zak...
Zak.

"We're home, Vincent." Darryl opened the car door, helping Vincent out. The sun had just risen, but it was only 6:30 am, and the two needed some sleep, desperately. They had been put through chaos nonstop for the past 24 hours.

Darryl climbed under his bed sheets after Vincent left to his own room. Finally, alone with his thoughts. He buried his face into his pillow, trying to get a bit more warm. Zak... Zak was his everything, and so was Vincent.
They met over a stupid troll, haha. Hah.
Heh.
What if Zak died? Would it be his fault? As soon as Zak got bit, they should've headed straight to the hospital. This was all his fault, if he hadn't been so obsessed with bickering over stuff with Vincent, maybe Zak would've still been okay. What will he tell their fans, what would he tell Zak's family? That his last words were, 'help?!'?"
Zak.
Zak kept Darryl free, he helped Darryl not look into things too much. When Darryl was with Zak, he could let go of everything. When Zak smiled, everything felt good. When Zak smiled, all the dumb, little things that made Darryl upset that day were erased.
   God, he loved Zak.
   And that made everything so much worse.
  He wanted to kiss him, tell him that everything was going to be okay. But he knew that wasn't the case. Zak wasn't okay, and it was all Darryl's fault. He didn't care how attention seeking or cliché it sounded. He didn't care if Vincent told him otherwise, or if Darryl appeared to be making it all about him. He didn't care, because he knew it was his fault. He hated himself so fucking much in that single moment. He hated the stupid Earth, and the stupid government, and the stupid dead people everywhere, and stupid Vincent with his incredibly cute face and brave personality, and he hated Zak with his enchanting personality and beautiful smile. He hated all of it. He wanted Zak to come home. He wanted to film a house tour with Zak and Vincent and tell their subscribers how cool it was that they were only five minutes away from the beach, and how... and how...

   "Darryl?"
   Darryl opened his eyes, and looked over at his door, which had just opened.
   "Are you crying?"

   Yeah.

   "N-No— why?"
   "Can I—" Vincent hesitated, looking to think about his next set of words. "Can I sleep in here...?"
   Darryl was taken back, but he didn't want to be alone. Not right now, not when he was like this.

   "Yeah."

*   *   *

Darryl buried his head into Vincent's shoulder, letting Vincent pull him closer. This felt nice, but he still felt like shit. He wanted Zak to be here as well, he wanted everything to be normal.
Vincent brushed some of Darryl's hair to the side, so they could both look deep into each other's eyes. He took a deep breath in, and out.
"You don't have to be alone, and neither do I, okay Bad?" He spoke slowly, and softly. He wasn't loud, or angry, or stressed, he was brave. He was brave and completely aware, and he held Darryl close to him. Darryl could smell Vincent's shampoo, and could sense everything. His heart began to beat faster, but he calmed himself down.
"Let's be alone, together."
"No." Sighed Vincent, smiling slightly. "Let's be together, together. And when Zak gets out of the hospital, we can all be together."
Together.
"Together." Darryl whispered.

   Vincent let Darryl close his eyes shut, and let out a long and soft sigh. Darryl moved in closer, before drifting off into a quiet slumber. They would be together soon, they would be together, together.