A/N
you didn't think i was done uploading, did you? ;P
END A/N
Paige wakes up the next day groggy, eyes sticking together.
He'd had a horrible night. Dream after dream of him and Brandon falling out, each worse than the last.
"Br'ndon..." Paige mumbles, feeling for his phone. "G'tta call Br'ndon..."
"How's about you wake up first?" Leaf offers. "So you can actually say things?"
"D'n't be mean t' me..." Paige yawns, rubbing his eyes. "I c'n..." He clears his throat. "I can talk just fine."
"What time is it even?" Leaf asks. "He might still be in school."
"Lemme check..." Paige says, finally getting his phone. "It's 4."
"Ah. He should be home then."
"Yeah," Paige nods. "Let's call him."
"Hold on," Leaf says, stopping Paige right before he can hit the call button.
"Huh?" Paige blinks. "How did you...?"
"Don't worry about it right now," Leaf says, shaking his head. "Before you call, do you even know what you're gonna say?"
"Well, honestly? I was gonna see if he wanted to talk to you so we could prove we were telling the truth..."
"Without telling me first!?"
"Sorry! I-I thought you'd be fine with it!" Paige defends. "Besides, you're kind of the reason I'm in this mess. I think you can apologize for it at least."
"Ugh. I didn't even say anything."
"That's the issue!" Paige stresses, pressing down on Brandon's number. "Now, we're calling Brandon and you're gonna say sorry, okay?"
"..."
"Okay?" Paige stresses.
"Okay!" Leaf huffs, holding up his hands and rolling his eyes. "Okay."
The two sit in silence now, watching the phone ring. And ring. And ring. Until-
"Heyo! Iiiiit's Brandon!" crackles from the receiver. "I'm supes busy right now, so-"
Paige groans and hangs up. "Great," he laments. "Now he won't even answer my calls."
"....Maybe he just missed it?" Leaf offers weakly. "Try again."
So, he does. And again, "Heyo! Iiiiit's Bra-"
Click!
"...Maybe he missed that one too?" Leaf actually sounds a bit worried. "One more time. C'mon."
Paige isn't very hopeful when he tries again. In fact, when the receiver starts suddenly reciting the voice message again, way before it should, Paige is about ready to throw his phone at the wall.
Instead, he drops it, despair filling him.
"He doesn't want to talk to me!" Paige wails. "You messed it all up!"
"I didn't do shit!" Leaf defends.
"I know!" Paige shouts. "That's the problem!"
"Look, I'm not happy Brandon's not picking up either, you know!" Leaf huffs. "Believe it or not, I know he's like a brother to you, 'cause he's like one to me too!" Leaf gives the feeling of looking away. "I care about him too."
Paige is quiet for a moment. Then, quietly, he mumbles, "...It's okay." He sighs. "Let's see if we can think of some other way to talk to him."
Paige absently picks up his phone and clicks it off of its current display, navigating to his contact list. "Is there anyone else we can ask for help?"
"You plan on telling someone else about me?" Leaf asks, a scoff in his voice. "Look how well that's gone so far."
"What else am I supposed to do?" Paige asks the open air. "Brandon won't even pick up his phone for me, Leaf! I have to talk to someone to get help!"
Leaf is quiet. He's giving off steaming vibes, but Paige simply sends them right back. He could be angry too.
Finally, after what feels like an anger battle for Who's Most Angriest, Leaf sighs. "Let's call Bro," he says. "Isn't Brandon like, always with him?"
"Oh!" Paige gasps happily, moving to Bro's contact with one hand and gently slapping his head with the other. "Bro! Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"
"For your sake I won't answer that," Leaf chuckles.
"Oh, shut your mouth," Paige huffs back, tapping on Bro's number.
There's a tense moment where the phone rings, waiting to be picked up. And, just as Paige is about to give up-"H-ello?"
"Bro?" Paige asks, perking up. "You picked up!"
"Y-eah, man," Bro chuckles. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well..." Paige pouts. "I thought maybe... If I thought to call you for help, maybe Brandon had beaten me to the punch..."
"Brandy?" Bro asks. "Wh-what's Br-andy gotta do w-with th-at?"
"Um," Paige says.
"Nice going, dummy," Leaf groans, fac palming. "You've backed yourself into the 'I hear voices!' corner again."
"Oh, be quiet!" Paige huffs.
"Huh?" Bro gasps. "Wh-wh-wh-"
"No!" Paige gasps back. "Not-not you, Bro! I was talking to Leaf!"
"L-eaf?"
Paige's face blanches. "Um!" he panics. "Um!!"
"P-aige?" Bro asks, sounding a bit worried. "Y-ou good?"
"Leaf... Leaf is..."
"Help!" Paige thinks.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know! Talk-talk for me!"
"I-"
"Paige?" Bro asks again. "Dude, a-re you okay?"
"Great!" Leaf squeaks, talking for Paige. "I'm fine!"
"I don't sound like that..." Paige pouts.
"I'm doing my best!" Leaf huffs back.
"Y-you sound weird..." Bro mumbles.
With a clearing of his throat, Leaf laughs and turns his voice an octave lower, closer to Paige's voice. "Sorry! Something... something was stuck in my throat!"
"Okay..." Bro says, sounding unconvinced. "W-ell, what's up? Y-you s-aid this had somethi-ng to do with B-Brandy?"
"Yeah! We-I need your help with that," Leaf says. "I... think I made Brandon mad and now he won't answer my calls."
"What?" Bro gasps. "N-no way. You two are fighting?"
"I wouldn't call it much of a fight..." Leaf sighs. "But yeah, he won't pick up."
"Do y-ou know why?" Bro asks. "L-like did you s-say something to h-im that he mi-ght've taken th-e wrong way?"
"Um..." Leaf mumbles pensively. "Something like that."
"Can you... t-ell me what it is?"
"Ummm..." Leaf hums. "I... Well you see... I... Um!"
"You're bombing," Paige deadpans.
"You do it then, smart for brains!"
"Wh-" Paige starts, only to finish out loud, "-At?"
"What?" Bro asks. "Are y-ou breaking up?" There's a noise from the other end of the receiver. "M-might be me."
"Oh, um!" Paige shakes his head. "I-no, um..." He's got no options. He's just gotta suck it up and tell Bro. "What I told Brandon was kind of... a lot," he stresses.
"Hit me," Bro insists.
"Okay... well, I'll just say it to you how I said it to him." Paige takes a deep breath. "Do you... ever hear voices talk to you? Like, in your head?"
"Oh yeah," Bro replies unceremoniously, only to then immediately go, "I-I mean-"
Paige, however, isn't hearing Bro anymore. "You do!?" he shouts into the receiver. "Then I'm not just going crazy or anything? Other people can hear people in their head too?"
"I... I-I-I..." Bro stutters, worse than normal. Then, a sigh. "Yeah. They can."
Paige blinks. All of a sudden, Bro's tone had taken on a different tone, no longer mumbling or stuttering.
"Bro?" he asks, furrowing his brows.
"Alex," the other person introduces. "I guess there's no need to hide it if you get it anyways."
"Get it?" Paige repeats, confused. "Get what?"
"The voices," Bro... Alex says. "I happen to be one of them that Bro can hear."
"Oh!" Paige gasps. "Really?"
"Really."
"Woah..." Paige breathes. "Oh! Does... does that mean you can help me?"
"Of course, buddy!" Alex(?) says. Their voice is a little higher suddenly. "I'm Maxine by the way!"
"There's two of you?" Paige gasps.
"Three, actually," Maxine(?) chuckles. his voice is a bit lower, but not as low as Bro's. "Patty," she introduces.
"H-hi!" Paige greets, a little overwhelmed. Three other people in your head... Paige thinks, worried for Bro. That can't be easy...
"It's hard enough with just us two," Leaf comments. "Four of them in total must be a clusterfuck sometimes."
"Yeah..."
"So," Patty continues, "What're we supposed to do to help you and Bran-Bran make up?"
"Um..." Paige thinks about it. "I don't know..."
"I have an idea," Leaf says outloud. Patty doesn't comment on the sudden lower voice or the sudden change of heart.
"Yeah?" she asks instead.
"You could talk some sense into him," Leaf offers. "You two are thick as thieves, ain't you?"
"W-we are," Bro says. "I can s-see what I c-an do for y-you, b-ut I don't-I don't kn-ow if it'll do anything."
"I guess that's all we can ask for," Leaf sighs.
"Sh-sh-should I... call him now?"
"Please!" Paige yelps. "I can't stand knowing he thinks I was lying to him!"
"Al-alright," Bro says. "I'll-I'll talk to him. Call-call you back w-when I'm done?"
"Please," Paige begs. "And-and thank you!"
"No-no prob," Bro says. And with that, the line goes dead.
Paige falls back onto his pillow, exhausted and with a slight headache.
"Ugh..." he groans.
"Sorry," Leaf apologizes. "Probably my fault for popping in so much."
"'Sokay," Paige mumbles. "I'll be fine. I just... I just hope Bro can help us out."
"Yeah," Leaf sighs. "Me too."