Damien's P.O.V
"Sh-Shayne..." I uttered, frozen.
He looked at me as if I were a complete stranger. That's when I knew.
Shayne got injected, and whoever injected him might still be in the house.
Shayne pointed the sharp end of the knife down at my chest. I quickly rolled off my bed and fell on the floor, grateful that I always sleep on the edge.
I struggled getting up, since I was tangled in the sheets.
"SHAYNE—listen to me! Put the knife down..."
That's when I remembered Ian's words at the hospital.
Coconut water.
I ran for the door, hoping to lead him out into the kitchen. I heard him jump off the bed and charge at me, so I opened the door as quickly as possible.
He ran out, and I shut the door, locking it. I took deep breaths as I heard the door being stabbed repeatedly.
Then, I heard nothing, which only terrified me more.
Wait...SHIT!
I opened the door until it was ajar. After scanning the hall for any signs of Shayne, I ran downstairs to the living room as fast as I could.
-
Aria's P.O.V
I awoke to the sound of a person's footsteps as they walked up to me.
"Huh?"
I opened my eyes, and saw Shayne hovering over me.
"Why're you up so early?" I asked.
Something was wrong. Shayne didn't look at me the way he normally did. He looked distracted and angry.
"Shayne?" I said, sitting up.
He revealed a knife that was hiding behind his back, and aimed the sharp point at me.
I screamed, and shut my eyes.
After realizing nothing had happened, I reopened them.
Damien had a grip around Shayne's hands that were holding the handle of the knife, preventing it from coming down upon me.
"Damien, what the hell is going on...?" I asked, terrified.
"SHAYNE GOT INJECTED!"
Oh, hell no.
I scrambled off the couch, and frantically looked around for something heavy to knock Shayne out with.
"We have coconut water in the fridge!" Damien shouted.
I sighed. "Well, okay then."
I rushed to the fridge and searched for the water. When I finally found it, I heard Damien cry out in pain.
-
Noah's P.O.V
I woke up, noticing it still dark outside from my window.
I quietly watched Keith, sound asleep with his hand still cupping my cheek.
Unable to fall back asleep, I started to cry.
I didn't know why I was so vulnerable, but these months working at Smosh had been intense, being unable to know who could be the next person to fall victim under the injections.
After everything that's happened, I still managed to find someone I can wake up next to. Someone I can love no matter the cost.
"What's wrong, babe?"
I noticed Keith was watching me as I teared up, his hand still touching my face.
"I'm scared." I said.
"Of?"
"Losing you." I answered.
Keith leaned in for another kiss, making more tears stream down my face.
"Noah, we'll get through this. You don't have to be afraid of losing me, because I'll always be with you."
With that, I fell asleep peacefully.
[Again, super cheesy 👌]
-
Damien's P.O.V
Ignoring the gash in my arm, I was finally able to get the knife away from Shayne.
I threw the knife over to the other side of the living room, then found myself on the floor, being punched repeatedly by my best friend.
"DAMIEN!"
Aria pushed Shayne off of me, surprising me with her strength.
I looked back and watched as Aria crushed the bottle of coconut water with her hands. She soaked Shayne's face, but managed to get the liquid into his mouth.
Shayne started losing his balance, and Aria pushed Shayne once more onto the couch.
-
Shayne's P.O.V
I slowly came back to my senses. Frozen, as my vision became less blurry.
The first person I saw was Aria, giving me a worried look.
"Shayne, can you hear me?"
"Yeah..." I answered. "What happened?"
"You got injected." Damien said.
Wait.
DAMIEN!
I quickly went from the couch to the floor, sitting at Damien's side.
I took off my shirt and pressed it against Damien's arm. "Aria, can you press the shirt against Damien's wound while I get the bandages?"
"Yeah, of course!"
After Damien's arm was bandaged, we gave him painkillers. I apologized repeatedly, but Damien kept saying the apology wasn't necessary.
"Shayne, remember what you said to me when you were sent to the hospital? You didn't do it on purpose."
He's right, I didn't.
And whoever risked Damien and Aria's lives in my hands, will pay.
I started to tear up. I couldn't believe I'd almost stabbed my best friend, and the person I'd plan on spending the rest of my life with.
Aria pulled me into a hug. "At least we're all safe now, Shayne."
She read my mind.
"Wait..." Damien said. "What if the person that injected Shayne is still in the house?!"
Me and Aria exchanged glances.
"We've been in the living room for half an hour. Something would've happened by now, right?" Aria said. "Let's just make sure all the possible entrances are locked..."
-
Aria's P.O.V
Me and Damien decided that we should spend the rest of the night at my apartment, but Shayne insisted on staying here.
We knew we couldn't convince Shayne to come with us, so we just stayed with him.
The next morning started off with a load of anxiety. I wasn't sure if Shayne or Damien were still okay.
Once I stood up from the couch, I felt the relief of seeing Damien.
"Aria, I'm so glad you're okay!" Damien said, rushing over to hug me.
"You, too! How's your arm?" I asked.
Damien let go. "It's healing pretty fast...is Shayne awake?"
"I have no idea." I said. "We should go check on him."
We quickly went upstairs to Shayne's room, then opened his door without knocking.
He wasn't there.
"Shayne?"
We searched frantically in every room upstairs.
I even looked in the trash can.
Don't judge.
"Maybe he's downstairs...?"
Damien and I ran back down the steps.
Then, I was instantly shocked by the fact that we didn't see Shayne there before.
He was on the ground with his back to the front door, a wooden bat in his lap.
Either he was asleep, knocked out, or even worse...
"Damien, I found him!" I yelled.
I waited, hearing the sound of Damien's footsteps running to the direction of my voice.
Once he saw Shayne, he panicked.
We bent down next to Shayne's motionless body. I started patting Shayne's cheek, in intent to wake him up.
Shayne woke up almost instantly.
"W-What are you guys doing?!"
I gave him a look, then smacked him in the face.
"Ow!"
"You scared the crap out of me, Shayne! Why are you here?" I asked.
Shayne sighed. "If that piece of shit came back, I was going to..."
He stopped himself.
"Have revenge?" Damien said, finishing Shayne's sentence.
"Pretty much." Shayne answered, hesitantly.
"Well...don't do that again!" I yelled. "I can't bare losing you, too!"
-
Shayne's P.O.V
Once she said those words, I realized what I've done. The situation with me getting injected distracted me so much that I'd forgotten about Aria's loss.
I'm such an idiot.
"Aria, I'm so sorry..."
"Save it." Aria said. "Let's just...go to work."
-
The next week went by slower than I could imagine. The only time me and Aria had spoken was on camera while filming an episode of Bored AF.
Honestly, I couldn't stand it.
Not only the fact that me and Aria only made contact on camera, but that Aria had changed.
She wasn't herself anymore. During the times we weren't filming, the only time she'd say something was when she needed to, for work.
Everyone noticed, and all believed it was because of her mother's death.
I think that's partially true.
A lot of shit had been going on at the Smosh office. Honestly, are any of us okay?
I knew something had to be done. This couldn't be how things were for now on.
I wouldn't allow it.
-
Aria's P.O.V
I plugged in my headphones, and turned on music while writing a new script for the squad to use for a video.
They said it's because I'm so talented and creative, but that just convinced me more that they're just doing it to make me feel better.
"Every Subway Ever." I mumbled.
I turned on the song Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith. I knew that wasn't a good song to play, since I was feeling down.
But, that song just felt too damn relatable.
Don't ask why.
After being halfway done with the script, I felt someone tap my shoulder.
I paused my music and took off my headphones, turning around in my chair to see who it was.
"Hey, Aria..."
Shayne.
I started turning back around, but Shayne stopped me.
"Wait! I have dumplings."
I stared up at him. "Show me."
He revealed the fresh bag of dumplings that was hidden behind his back.
I grabbed for it, but he extended his arm.
"Come on, just give me the dumplings!"
"Only if we get to talk while you eat!"
I huffed. "Fine."
I chased after Shayne as we ran down to the Smoshateria.
No, that's not the official name that Joven made up.
I just like it, okay?
Anyways, as we ran through the office, I noticed people giving me looks of hope or surprise.
Man, have I really been that distant?
Once we got to the Smoshateria, Shayne threw the dumplings onto a table, and I snatched them.
I tried leaving, but Shayne blocked my exit. "Nope, we had a deal!"
I groaned, then sat down at a table. I opened the bag, and started eating.
Shayne sat directly in front of me, watching me as I eat.
"What?" I asked, my mouth full of chicken dumplings.
Shayne chuckled. "I missed you."
I rolled my eyes.
Shayne took my hand, allowing me one free hand to stuff my face with dumplings.
"Aria, everyone's worried about you. We all love you, so much. We're here for you, you know that...right?"
"Yeah." I said. "You've told me that many times before."
"Because I'm not sure if you're believing it." Shayne said.
"I'll talk to you guys when I'm ready." I said in defense.
He raised an eyebrow. "Have you used that card I gave you?"
"N-no..." I answered, honestly. "But I will."
"Alright." He said. "Remember, I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, I just want to make sure you're okay. A lot has happened, and I get worried about you."
"No shit." I said. "I get worried about you too. So. Fucking. Worried."
Shayne stood up, and leaned across the table. He kissed my cheek, ignoring the fact that I was still chewing.
He sat back down, and rested his chin on his hand, using his arm as a support. "Want help finishing those dumplings?"
"I can't finish all these!" I exclaimed, mouth full.
He laughed, and I handed him the bag.
-
After we finished eating, we sat there in silence.
Honestly, I missed these moments with Shayne.
I pulled out my phone, and sent everyone a text in our Smosh group chat.
Shayne's phone buzzed, and he read the text.
"The funeral's tomorrow?"
"Yup, and you're all invited."