The Cumberbottom Incident: Rhett and Link

Chapter One: An Ordinary Day...

Link's POV-

I have never wanted a meeting to end so quickly in my life. I part ways with Rhett as he stops to take a call. I walk over to my favorite couch in the main lobby and plop down more abruptly than I meant to. I stare at my phone with my eyes half-open scrolling through the comment section of our latest video.  

I'm half awake and I result to looking at chains of avatars and one-sentance blurbs draining the life out of my phone battery. Rhett walks in with his dog Barbara following him into the room, claws tapping on the wood floor. I smirk. Ever since first grade, I have felt this sense of security when Rhett's around. Something unexplainable I guess.

"Yo, brother." I mumble to him under my breath. I can tell by the way he slouches awkwardly that his back is in major discomfort. I glace out the window from the corner of my eye. Something moves in the bushes on the far corner of the parking lot. I can't quite shake the feeling that something is going on. I wring my hands. Its probably my usual jitters...

Rhett takes a seat in one of the leather chairs that surround the coffee table that I am currently using as support for my feet. Barbara immediately jumps on his lap and begs for attention. He looks up at me with an odd smile and raises an eyebrow. He chuckles at me as if I have something on my face:

Rhett's POV-

Link has that serious-but-slightly-irritated-look on his face. He pushes his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose and sets his phone down on the cushion next to him and raises his eyebrows, "What?" He enunciates the "wh-" sound in a way that is almost annoying.

"You look like you are having an off-day..." I say as nicely as I can without putting him over the edge. He tends to be irritable when he has these "off-days" every-so-often. "Too many cameras for one day?" I suggest, trying to not sound belittling. Link is not as outgoing as it seems. When he is in front of a lense too long, with the demand of constant enthusiasm, he sometimes goes into full-on "Introvert Mode". l came up with that term in 7th grade. I actually came up with a lot of things then...but we need not elaborate. Link looks at me and his expression starts to soften:

Link's POV-

"I..," I try to formulate a sentance but I start to give up when I hear myself speak. I suck at hiding my irritation; especially when its at the close of a long day. I want to express what I'm feeling. It's somewhere between irritation and frustration. I'm not even sure how to place it.  I feel bad for my irritated mood tendencies, but I've known Rhett forever and I think he gets it...or at least I hope. I shuffle in my seat and adjust my glasses. 

I continue my thought quietly, "I just don't know anymore. ugh. Do you know what I mean?" At this point Rhett goes into a bull-blown laugh. That familiar accentuated "ha-ha-ha" laugh echoes across the room. I can see our producer Stevie in the other room take off her headphones and chuckle along with Rhett's laugh. I swear, it's crazy how magnetic his laugh is. Ever since I can remember, his laugh has been so contagious. Barbara jumps off his lap and comes over to where I am sitting. I can't help myself from cracking a smile as he leans back in his chair and laughs at my not-so-funny-remark.

Rhett's POV-

I can't help it when Link gets like that. It cracks me up. Occasionally, he takes some things so seriously that I tend to brush off. At the same time I feel bad for laughing, I can see by the way his hands shake that he is dealing with a lot of anxiety at the moment. 

I try to stifle my chuckles and I look up at him from my hunched position as I try and straighten my posture. I wince slightly as I shift in my chair. Damn back. "Well... despite your rough day, I'd say living a life dream of ours is worth a slim trade-off, wouldn't you think?" Link smooths his hair back from his face and leans on the back of his seat. He nods and sighs deeply. It's these moments I am thankful for; being able to know what your best friend is saying without him actually saying it. 

At this point, Stevie is up from her chair and is walking over to where we are sitting. She raises an eyebrow and smiles as she turns to Link, who at this point had a defeated look on his face and was petting Barbara, who has jumped up on the couch next to him.

"It is best just to shake it off and be optomistic y'know..." I can tell from the way he doesn't challenge her that he already knows this. He always has. I have a feeling that something else might be ruffling his feathers. In fact, I might bet on it.

"Thanks, Stevie." He smiles genuinely and continues, "Yer the best."

Stevie turns to leave and says in monotone over her shoulder: "What would you do without me?"

When Stevie is gone, I turn to Link and try to keep a straight face, "Tell me you don't hate me for laughing at you..." Even if he did, I wouldn't apologize. A man's got to laugh.

Link starts to laugh, "If that were the case, i would have hated you a long time ago." He elbows my arm and smiles, *sigh*. " Let's go to Hardee's or something...I'm really hungry." I quickly get up and put on my jacket. Cheeseburger...here I come.