Shortweeb (7:56 PM): do you guys think we could meet up somewhere? i gotta say something.

Notagoth (7:56 PM): yeah, what's up?

Shortweeb (7:57 PM): i'd rather wait to see you guys.

KEITHKEITHKEITHKE (7:57 PM): alright... you ok?

Shortweeb (7:58 PM): yeah. it's just personal. does my place sound ok?

XxWorthy4arielxX (7:58 PM): Sounds good.

Notagoth (7:58 PM): alright

KEITHKEITHKEITHKE (7:59 PM): see you then

Sure enough, as time passed, Zach's friends arrived at his apartment. Given the fact that it was rather late and that Zach was hesitant to explain whatever was going on, the other Try Guys were understandably worried for their friend. Eugene more so than the others. Though, they all had their suspicions... the way that Zach had to sit out some of the videos. Or how he cringed in pain whenever he moved. Especially when, the other day, he was on the verge of what definitely seemed to be a breakdown... whatever it was, they all shared a hope that Zach would be okay.

As the four friends collected into the considerably small apartment space, it went unsaid that Zach... More or less looked like shit. The dark rings beneath his eyes seemed to have grown darker within merely hours, his eyes and expression attempting hopelessly to shadow his pain. His hair was a bit of a mess from the stress, and he seemed more delicate than ever before. As though one wrong move could break him permanently.

"Hey, guys... I, um..." Zach begins in a dry tone, as though completely lost on where to begin. The four friends were gathered at the kitchen table, a slightly grim atmosphere hanging over them. "I'm- sorry... I know it's late, but I..." He hesitates, his throat closing for a moment. He just... honestly, he couldn't get through it alone. And he couldn't spend another goddamned night like this. He knows that he should've been happy about it, too. No more mystery. And no more being called a liar. But that still didn't magically remove the pain. And he didn't know what he could do about it. He just... well, this is what friends are for, right?

"Don't be, Zach," was what Eugene replies with after noticing how his friend hesitates and freezes. "We're here for you, buddy," Keith follows with.

Just the slightest support is enough to make Zach's pathetically fragile wall shatter, and the lump in his throat seems to seal off his air, leaving him even more of a mess. Finally incapable of keeping himself, he pushes his forehead into his palm and squeezes his eyes shut, as though to hide himself from the rest of the world that seemed to pry into his soul with its sick, twisted humor. For a moment, Zach almost completely forgets that his friends are there until he lets out a weakened sob into his hand, then feels the arms- Eugene's?- that wrap around him in a caring, yet comforting embrace. Unable to find the strength to continue what he wanted to say, Zach instead gives up and finally lets his friends be the ones to comfort him, to calm him back down.

It takes a while before Zach manages to find the ability to speak again. Once he does, it's another half hour of him explaining everything... the pain, the diagnosis, the frustration of being called a liar for months on end... all of it. When he finishes, it's first Ned who speaks.

"Zach..." he begins once the shorter finishes. "I wish that you wouldn't have had to wait so long to tell us," he says carefully. "It isn't fair to have to go through something like that for years, only to be called a liar." To this, Zach responds with a small nod. The toll on him both physically and emotionally had lead him to breakdown after breakdown, which only lead him to the hopeless mental state that he was stuck in.

"Exactly," says Eugene. "You could've come to us a long, long time ago, Zach... we're going to help you through this, alright?" Zach, again, gives a nod, feeling his throat fill with tears of so many emotions that threatened to spill over again. Keith speaks up next. "You know that nothing you do is gonna get us off your back, right? You're stuck with us." He gives, then, a weak chuckle to the comment. "I... I guess... I was just scared," he admits.

"Don't be, Zach. You'll get through this," Eugene assures with a light, rare smile.

And for the first night for what felt like his entire life, Zach slept rather well. Sure, his body ached as it usually did, but he slept with the knowledge that his friends would be there, protecting him, reassuring him, comforting him... Maybe what he thought was the end was actually just a beginning?