As soon as the door shuts, you feel a piercing silence wash over you. The sound of your friends talking inside the apartment is the only noise you can hear, but even that feels far away.
You take a moment to breathe. After what just happened, you feel like you need it. But... nobody needs it more than Garcello.
He's uncharacteristically quiet. Not the usual kind of quiet where it's calm and soothing, no, the completely-numb kind of silence where all your words are caught in your throat. Not to mention his hunched posture and lowered head...
You open your mouth to try and start a conversation-- maybe discuss what in the world just happened, maybe comfort him some more, or maybe even say something offtopic to get his mind off of everything... But after only a moment, you shut your mouth again, teeth clicking together.
You settle for taking a good look at your friend.
His arms are limp, hanging loosely at his sides. His breathing is quiet, ragged, uneven-- it sounds like he's forcing himself to breathe this way. But every few moments, his inhales hitch and break into an early exhale, chest heaving.
He looks... so tired. So very, very tired.
Something sharp nicks your heart.
"Th...thank you."
You blink.
"Thank you," Garcello repeats, voice soft-- so fragile that you fear it might break if he were any louder. His gaze is lowered, staring at the dirty gray floor. "For... for saving me. Again."
"Oh," you reply, similarly quiet. After a momentary pause, you continue, "It's, uh, I mean... you're welcome."
The silence once again drapes over the two of you. It's shorter this time, thankfully, as you find the courage to speak again.
"Are you..." You cut yourself off and half-scoff. "Well, I guess you wouldn't be okay after that. Sorry."
That gets a chuckle out of him, and you thank the universe for that.
"I just don't understand... why did you decide to keep singing?" you ask instead. "If you felt unwell, you could've just ended the match."
Garcello winces and looks away, guilt written all over his face. You feel your heart sink.
Great, I made it worse.
"I, I just thought that..." He hesitates, at a loss for words himself. "You all seemed so excited when I sang... and when the little man-- Boyfriend-- asked for another round... I just felt like I'd be disappointing you all by turning down the offer. I thought that maybe just one more song couldn't hurt..."
He sighs, shaking his head.
"I shouldn't have done that. You guys almost had to see me..." He trails off, not finishing his sentence, though you have a decent guess as to what he means. "I'm sorry."
You feel your chest tighten at Garcello's words. You almost feel angry, but not at Garcello-- never at Garcello.
"Hey, hey." You grab his shoulders and make him look at you. A confused, almost shameful look crosses his face. Despite the expression making your insides burn unpleasantly, you continue. "Don't you dare apologize for something like that. That wasn't your fault, you hear me?"
At this, Garcello looks surprised, though you really can't figure out why.
"It's not your fault," you echo. "Garcello, you almost died. Do you seriously think you have to apologize for dying or something?"
He opens his mouth... then shuts it, an embarrassed grimace tugging at his lips. You're no mind reader, but you have the intuition that he was genuinely going to say yes.
"My gosh, Garce..." you can't help but sigh, moving your hands off his shoulders. His posture slumps slightly as soon as the touch is gone.
"Sorry," he murmurs lamely with a shrug.
You amusedly exhale, rubbing the bridge of your nose. You catch a glimpse of a small smile inching its way across Garcello's face. Thank goodness.
"Really though," you say, brushing your arm against his in a friendly little gesture, trying to mask your awkward sincerity, "Don't be afraid to tell us when you don't want to do something. I care about you, y'know?"
He looks at you, seemingly at a loss for words, before he looks away and hides his expression from you. Almost sheepishly, he rubs the back of his neck.
"Thanks, (Y/N)."
Despite the relatively heavy situation, the atmosphere seems to have lightened up a bit, which you're more than grateful for.
You lower your gaze to Garcello's hands. They're scrunching up near the edge of his jacket, gripping and ungripping the fabric. You can see the white of his knuckles through his skin.
...His arms are still shaking.
Subconsciously, you reach out for them, clasping one of his hands in your own. His fidgeting stops for a moment, seeming almost frozen as you close two hands around his one.
Your fingers gently knead across his knuckles, loosening the stressed pressure built up in his joints. His hands uncurl slightly to reveal short, uneven fingernails, possibly affected by habitual nail-biting. You suspect the habit to be a way of coping when he needs something between his teeth that isn't a cigarette.
Speaking of, the cigarettes might be a problem from here... maybe you'll buy him some bubblegum or suckers to help with the cravings. Or even nail polish-- you've heard of that helping with chewing habits, probably since painted nails usually taste gross.
Lost in your thoughts, you almost miss the soft red blush cascading over Garcello's cheeks. The moment you notice, you feel heat surge into your ears and face, making you immediately let go of his hand.
"Sorry," you say awkwardly. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything."
"It's alright," Garcello laughs lightly. "No harm done."
Despite of the awkwardness brewing in your stomach, you take a second to look at Garcello's face. His expression isn't nearly as weighted as before. A soft, yet genuine smile graces his features, cheeks still a bit pink from just now.
You find his smile to be contagious as a similar grin breaks across your face.
~~~
The two of you walk back inside, airing out more smoke through the door before letting it shut. Your friends notice you and Garcello's presence as soon as the sound startles their conversation.
"Garcello!" Annie shouts, practically launching herself from the couch to embrace her best friend. He laughs, partly out of surprise as he catches her. After a firm hug, she looks up at him, worry painted all over her face. "Are you okay??? No, dumb question-- what can I do? Does your chest hurt? Do you need anything to drink?"
"Annie, it's okay!" Garcello reassures her, though sounding a little out of breath. "I'll be fine. You don't need to worry."
"How can I not worry, man!" Annie exclaims (though dramatic, reasonably so). "You almost died!"
"But I didn't."
"But you almost did!"
Garcello offers Annie an apologetic smile as he wraps her in a hug, though one softer than the one she gave him.
"I'm sorry I worried you, Annie."
Annie laughs bitterly, though you can tell she means no harm by it. She squeezes her arms around her friend.
"You better be!" she jokes, though, through the quip, you can hear pure relief.
You step back towards your friends, the weight on your shoulders lightening as the situation seems to improve. As you do, Boyfriend moves from his spot near the side of the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. His face is lowered apologetically.
"Bep... skid bi bop..." he murmurs into his hand, rocking on the soles of his shoes. "Badoo boop."
Garcello loosens the hug between him and Annie to look at Boyfriend. Gar wears an utterly confused expression, fidgeting awkwardly in place as he stares at the singer, completely at a loss.
"He said 'sorry'," Hex clarifies after a moment, the tension broken. He wrings his hands a tad sheepishly as he continues, "For making you sing, even when you weren't feeling well."
Boyfriend nods solemnly, taking off his cap and pressing it to his chest. Garcello looks mildly surprised at this.
"Oh," he says, scratching the side of his jaw. He pauses before continuing, "Um... it's no problem, really. Stuff happens, you know?"
'Stuff' is usually not a synonym for 'almost dying', you think bitterly, but you chuck that thought aside before you can vocalize it. Now's not the time.
Surprisingly enough, Garcello's response seems rather genuine, if a little awkward. Boyfriend perks up at the fact and hastily readjusts his hat on his head, beaming. Garcello chuckles good-naturedly.
"Stay strong, little man," he says, reaching over to tussle Boyfriend's hair, though instead managing to mess up the placement of his cap. The neon-haired boy doesn't try to fix it, just letting out a humored 'beep'.
You can't help but let out a sigh, your tensed muscles relaxing. You suppose you're glad Calvin dragged you to this karaoke party after all...
A few more of your friends approach Garcello and offer their kind words and apologies. And as you watch Garcello's tired expression turn to one of genuine joy, a warm smile spreading across his face, something electric jolts inside your heart.
It takes only a moment before the realization dawns on you. You purse your lips, ears burning.
"Well, crap."
~~~
(A/N)
TFW you realize you're in love with one of your friends-- certainly a 'well, crap' moment-- /j
Anyway, THE END OF THE KARAOKE NIGHT ARC!! I'm hoping to progress Y/N's and Garcello's relationship more past this point since it's been very slow up to now. As I've said before, thank you all so much for your patience!!! It means the world to me that you're willing to put up with my dumb upload schedule. <3