Deep Breaths (Garcello x Reader) [Slow Updates]

Part 16 - Exhausted

Needless to say, sleeping's been a bit difficult ever since the karaoke party-- not that it was ever easy in the first place. But now with all the thoughts running around in your head, staring blankly up at the ceiling at ungodly hours of the night has become a routine. 

You don't know how to process this. Any of it, really. Garcello almost dying, you saving him, realizing that you may feel love of the non-platonic type for him... eugh, feelings. Sometimes you wish you could just tell the butterflies in your stomach to shove it. 

As 4:00 AM flickers across the screen of your watch, you sigh, tossing your arm over your eyes. You almost hate feeling this way. You don't want to lose Garcello's friendship-- it means so much more to you than you'd originally realized. But you feel like all the emotions brewing in your gut will explode you if you don't spill your thoughts. 

Calvin said that Garcello likes you too. As much as you want to believe it, you don't want to assume. Getting your hopes up just makes you fall farther.

You take the deepest breath you can...

...and internally scream.

~~~

"Woah, you look..."

You blink both your eyes individually and stare at Calvin's baffled expression. Despite your vision being blurrier than usual, it's not hard to tell how concerned he is.

"...different," he finishes politely. You can see something smile-adjacent twitch across his lips.

"Thanks," is the only response you can muster. Even then, it comes out dry. 

"How have you been sleeping?" he asks nervously, leaning across the register counter. You can't tell if he's trying to initiate small talk or is genuinely asking. Or both.

"No." The blunt (and quite frankly, nonsensical) reply slips from your mouth before your brain can catch up. Calvin raises an eyebrow at you, and you have the faintest sense that you're being judged.

"No, you haven't been sleeping?" he prompts, to which your only reply is a nod-- or maybe it was just your head drooping. He sighs. "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

"Because."

He waits for you to elaborate. You merely blink at him, eyes still not synchronized in doing so. The silence stretches on just a moment too long before Cal realizes that he's not going to receive an answer.

"...Right." He pauses to purse his lips. "Um... so, are you going home now?"

It's your turn to be confused, cocking your head at him like a clueless puppy.

"I'm... doing work," you reply before managing to rearrange your thoughts in a way that's more sensible, "You know, my work shift? You work here too, you know this."

"Yeah, I do, and that's... why I'm here. Your shift ended five minutes ago. I came here for the morning shift."

You pause. It takes maybe 10 seconds for your brain to produce a coherent thought, Calvin awkwardly staring at your bluescreen-face all the while.

"...What day is it?" you ask with a sheepish half-smile.

"(Y/N), are you serious???" He facepalms and reaches for his phone from his pocket. "That's it, I'm calling Ash."

"You can send her love poetry later, dude," you murmur, a teasing grin finding its way to your face. Despite your sleep-deprived state, you still find hilarity in how Calvin's face lights up like a red Christmas decoration.

"Wh--" Calvin's sputters with indignation and embarrassment as he unlocks his phone. "That's not what I'm doing! Geez, half-dead and you still find a way to mess with me... I'm calling her to make sure you get home safely. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You look like a zombie."