"Hey, Garcello!" Hex chirps, jogging away from the basketball court with a bright grin on his screen, "Are you hanging out with Calvin's friend?"
"Yep," he replies, leaning his back against the tree he's under, "Their name is (Y/N). Met 'em a few days ago."
You awkwardly wave 'hello' to Hex, as if he hadn't seen you before.
"Oh, hello!" Hex exclaims, his smile as bright as today's sun, "I'm Hex! Sorry, I didn't really introduce myself before, I was a bit busy catching up with Calvin."
"It's alright," you say, dipping your head slightly, "I don't mind."
You watch as Calvin walks behind Hex, absolutely soaked in sweat. Trotting over to the bench that you were at before, he falls back onto it, running a hand through his tussled hair. Ashlyn laughs slightly at his disheveled appearance. He sighs.
Hex turns, noticing that his buddy has sat down, clearly not up to playing more.
"Oh geez, are you okay?" he asks, worried.
"I'm... fine," Calvin manages through panting breaths, "Just... a bit winded."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot that humans need breaks sometimes," Hex murmurs, a hand to his monitor thoughtfully. Soon enough, though, his smile comes back as bright as ever. "Mind if I sit down with you?"
Calvin shrugs, too exhausted to form a proper verbal response.
"Sure," Ashlyn speaks for him, "Take a seat."
"Thank you!" Hex sings happily before he suddenly pauses. "Sorry, what's your name, miss...?"
"I'm Ashlyn, " introduces the brunette quietly before hiding her face back behind her phone.
As Hex sits down, still beaming, you decide that you're feeling a bit parched. Standing up, you turn to start heading for a vending machine with water bottles inside.
"I'm gonna get some water," you announce loudly to your friends, "Be right back."
"Mind getting me a bottle?" Calvin mentions, tiredly raising a hand.
You hear rather than see Garcello cough off to the side.
"Me too, please," he says, voice hoarse.
Hex seems to notice the odd twinge in Garcello's words, suddenly and silently sitting straight up to peer at him with analyzing eyes. You notice, too, and a knot grows in your stomach at the memory of Garcello gasping for air on the night you met him.
"Okay," you quickly reply, a bit worried about your teal-haired friend, "I'll get them and rush back."
"Aye aye, chief," Ash mock-salutes you, smirking.
"Shut up," you offer back sarcastically, though it's only friendly banter.
You dash away, hastily trying to find the nearest vending machine as your friends wait on the park bench and under the tree.
~~~
As soon as you acquire three bottles of cold water, you hastily jog back to your group's hangout location, brushing back a lock of (H/C) hair that fell from its place. You finally arrive, lowering your head exhaustedly. Calvin blinks at you, craning his head over the back of the bench to watch as you pant for air.
"Gee, (Y/N), are you okay?" he asks, a hint of amusement slipping through the worry in his voice.
"Fine," you answer shortly, tossing him a bottle of water, which he fumbles to catch. As soon as he does, he pops off the cap and chugs down a few gulps. He lets out a satisfied sigh.
Turning slightly to peek at Garcello, you notice that he seems a little breathless. Hex is carefully knelt next to him to gently pat his back.
You stride over to the smoker's side, silently and carefully handing him a water bottle. He takes a moment to glance at it before he begins to unscrew the top. Hex watches, concern vaguely present on his screen.
As soon as Garcello tips the mouth of the bottle to his chapped lips, you can tell he's feeling miles ahead of how he was before. Some color returns to his pale cheeks, he stops sweating so feverishly, and his posture seems less labored.
You see Ashlyn analyzing him with her eyes, still half-hiding behind her phone. You can understand the curiosity. Garcello's health is a bit... worrying, admittedly. I mean, you met him because he was having trouble properly breathing. It seems that smoking, and its effects, are a big part of his life.
"You okay now?" you ask Garcello once he's finished drinking his water bottle. He nods and smiles.
"Thanks, (Y/N)..." He pauses, sighing a bit. "Again."
"It's no worries, really!" you assure him with a warm grin, "As long as you're feeling better, y'know?"
"Yeah, (Y/N)'s right!" Hex chirps, a reassuring smile on his monitor, "We just want you to be okay!"
Garcello rubs the back of his neck, seemingly a bit overwhelmed by this unanticipated comfort. He's smiling though, so it doesn't seem to be all bad.
'He should smile more,' you think idly, noting how cute dimples form on his cheeks when he does.
~~~
Calvin jumps as his phone rings. You, Hex, Garcello, and Ashlyn all turn your attention to him for a moment. He pulls out his cell, staring at the number for a moment with furrowed brows, then looks up sheepishly.
"Sorry!" he exclaims with an awkward grin, "I just gotta take this call."
Calvin quickly rises from the park bench and accepts the call, absentmindedly pacing a couple of feet away from your group as he listens to a voice on the other end of the line.
"Mhm... yes, that's me..." He pauses for a long moment before he speaks again. "Right. Wait, really? She is--? Alright, I'll... I'll get there as soon as possible. Alright. Goodbye."
You sit upright, having a good guess as to what Calvin and the caller are talking about. As soon as the blonde turns around with downcast eyes, you know that your hunch is right.
"I-I gotta go," he says with urgency in his tone. You can tell Calvin is trying to muffle his emotional response to the call, though without much success; his sentence is too short and his voice is too sharp.
While everyone else stares, confused, worried, or both, you simply nod and smile encouragingly.
"She'll be okay, Cal," you reassure him, trying your best to be gentle with your words. "Go ahead."
Calvin tries to shoot you a smile, clearly appreciative, but it falls short as he turns away half a second later and sprints to where he parked his car. You watch him run with sympathetic eyes.
"What was that?" Ashlyn speaks after a moment, breaking the relative silence.
"He's gotta go visit his mom in the hospital," you reply plainly as you lean your back against the bark of the tree you're under. Ashlyn's eyes widen and she spins around to stare at where Calvin once was.
"...What happened to her?" she asks quietly, obviously shocked at the news.
"I'm not quite sure." You purse your lips before continuing. "He's going through a lot, so I'm just trying to give him some happiness while he's dealing with it. Emotional support, y'know? Just paying back the comfort he's given me."
Hex lets out a little 'aww' from the side.
"That's very considerate of you!" the robot says genuinely with a wide smile, "You seem like great friends!"
You rub your cheek, a bit sore from smiling so much today.
"Thanks, Hex," you offer. Your tone sounds a bit flatter than you intended, but your words are genuine.
You drift off into conversation with Hex as the tension from before dies down, not noticing how Ashlyn watches the air near the parking lot with a longing expression, or how Garcello's shadowed eyes seem just a bit more focused on you.
~~~
(A/N)
Imagine being Garcello though-- like man, you met this person maybe 2 weeks ago (yes I skipped a lot of time) and you're already beginning to like them a lot, lmao (but alas, I am impatient and this is Wattpad, so what can I really do?)
I also hope the side-plot with Ashlyn and Calvin isn't too 'meh'. My brain just sorta runs out of steam fast.