Wasabi is the first to notice something's wrong.
He's on his way back to the lab, meaning to grab a report he'd left there before heading home. There's no sound coming from the other side of the door, and he assumes the rest of the crew has already left for the day.
Carefully, he opens the door while making sure not to let it swing away too quickly. It's a habit he wishes his friends would adopt, as it's only been a week since Tadashi burst into the room excitedly and knocked over Go Go's midterm engineering project. And today, it's the decision that lets him enter the room without Fred noticing him. He's sitting forward in one of the rolling chairs, feet spread apart, elbows resting on his knees, and his hands are locked together so tightly that even in the semi-darkness, Wasabi can see that his knuckles are white. The lights are off.
He should apologize, obviously. In fact, Wasabi can see the normal sequence playing out in his mind: he coughs, and Fred looks up, kind of surprised, and Wasabi explains that he's just back to grab something he forgot, and Fred makes a joke about taking school home with him. And then nothing, because this whole interaction isn't that important, and there's no way either one of them will remember it in a few days.
None of that happens. Wasabi doesn't move, one hand still on the door, arguing with himself about how creepy it is to just stand there and watch somebody. This is stupid, after all. He should just cough, and get the whole scene started, so he can find the report and leave already.
But he doesn't do anything, because Fred looks... haunted.
Wasabi tries not to assume anything about people, even when they seem pretty simple and easy to read. Still, it's shocking to see his friend- always either finding the bright side of a situation, or shrugging his shoulders and not worrying about it at all- like this. Only one side of his face is visible, but his expression is the opposite of happy and carefree. Fred's staring forward, mouth set in a frozen frown, and he barely seems to blink as his eyes focus on nothing. In fact, he's hardly moving at all. As if he's so lost in thought, that the world around him can't get through.
Trapped. The idea springs to mind, and Wasabi isn't completely sure it fits, but it's all he can think about as he looks at the dark room, and the young man hunched over in the center like the rest of the building is hovering over him, waiting to push him down.
He's really overthinking this, probably.
Shaking his head, Wasabi dismisses the unsettling thoughts and flips the light on. First, like anyone would, Fred jumps at the sudden change. Then his entire visage changes, and in an instant, one of Wasabi's best friends is scooting the wheeled chair across the floor with a giant grin on his face. "Lieutenant Lasers," he drawls, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The worry is still there, telling him that this isn't right and Fred is trying way too hard to be Fred right now, but Wasabi rolls his eyes. "This is the lab, dude. I'm not visiting your mansion or anything."
"Right." He hooks his hands behind his head. "Just testing you. You have successfully identified the place where you pretty much live. Congrats."
Wasabi has the report in his hand, and he's about to turn around. He hesitates.
Why are you still here? Why'd you stay so late?
Is everything okay?
...
Sighing, he starts towards the door. "I, uh, I'll see ya tomorrow, I guess."
"Sure thing." The squeaking of wheels tells him that Fred has hopped to his feet, the usual bounce back in his movements. As soon as they get past the threshold, Fred heads for the drinking fountain at the other end of the hall. Another paranoid thought crosses Wasabi's mind, that he's making sure they don't have to talk at all while they're leaving, and he pauses again. Then he turns towards the building's exit.
It's probably nothing, after all.