shit show ⋆ bo burnham

07.

bo woke up empty-handed and cold, seeing as he must've kicked his blankets off himself. at first, he didn't think much of it. it was common for him to wake up in this state.

but then a subtle reel of the morning prior began replaying visuals through his mind, and suddenly he could feel a phantom of y / n clinging to his frame, clutching his clothing as if she could've been torn from him at any given moment. bo languidly reached for his side, proving to himself that she wasn't there.

he'd finally lost his mind. he couldn't decipher whether or not all of it was a dream.

bo sat up slowly, a subtle pain in his torso reminding him why he had been in bed all day. he glanced at his digital alarm clock, the bright green numbers reading 5:52 PM. his room was half-lit by dusk.

gently pushing himself off the bed, bo ran his hands through his hair to move it out of his face. he squinted a bit while trudging into his bright living room, gratefully spotting her on the couch.

he wasn't completely unstable after all.

bruce managed to spot bo before y / n did, however, and came sprinting over to his dad, who was subconsciously bending down to pick up the small dog. "hello, hi, my sweet boy," he cooed tiredly, placing a few kisses between bruce's eyes. the dogs ears flattened lovingly as he went in to give bo some kisses back, earning a soft chuckle from the comedian.

"i'm sorry for abandoning you," y / n stated suddenly, gazing softly up at bo and his dog from the couch. "he seemed very anxious, so i let him out to use the bathroom. i didn't want to wake you by coming back."

"oh— thank you, really. usually i hear him, but i must've been out pretty hard." bo talked slowly, still in the process of waking up. his voice was raspy.

"you were. you were snoring and everything."

bo feigned embarrassment as he gradually made his way over to the couch, managing a spot next to her with bruce still in his arms. "wow. thanks for that; i'm literally never sleeping again, especially with you around."

y / n rolled her eyes playfully, reaching a hand out to pet the small dog who was soaking up every ounce of the love he was being given. "do you feel okay?"

"better, yeah. my uh, my chest still kind of hurts, but nothing like it did this morning."

"your chest was hurting? and you let me lay on you? oh my god, bo—"

promptly, he was shaking his head, stifling a soft laugh. "no, no, it was fine. truly. i, um— i didn't mind, and it didn't hurt or anything. it made me feel better, actually. a lot better."

"why didn't you tell me?"

"i didn't want to talk." delicately, bo let bruce slide down his chest and into his lap, where he sat primly as the two conversed. it was rare that bo ever had company, and he was certain that bruce was smitten over the extra dose of love and attention he was suddenly receiving.

"it was probably for the best. we were both tired." she stated softly, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"are you okay?" bo asked, a genuine tone laced between his words. his eyes glanced over her position, curled into herself beside him. he wanted to reach out and touch her; to trail his fingers along hers until they were being entwined together. intrusive thoughts.

"i'm alright, i think. i just . . . wish things had gone better. easier."

"it's a lot to think about — all of this ended up being a massive shit show." bo stated, watching bruce finally leap off his lap to terrorize one of his toys. bo meant to add on to that statement, but noticed one of his notebooks on the coffee table, just feet away from where he and  y / n  sat. his brows knitted together slowly, glancing over at the girl, who was preoccupied with tracing a pattern on her pajama pants. bo had remembered leaving the journal at his work desk, with every other journal he'd accumulated, just as he always did.