Word Count: 866
Disclaimer: Not mine. I'm just a fan.
A/N: Posted this to Tumblr a while back. Let me know what you think.
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Exhausted, Fabian practically collapsed onto his bed just as soon as he closed the door to his room. He couldn't remember as many physically demanding aspects of being part of Sibuna from the previous year that could even compare to how sore he was right now. He hadn't been built to perform extraneous activities - Fabian was a nerd. He dealt with facts and solving the puzzles and figuring out what went where and how to put things together. As much fun exploring the tunnels was, it was just starting to get to be too much for him to handle.
On top of that, he kept having to deal with Nina's constant back-and-forth feelings about him. "You're a genius, Fabian!" and "Why are you talking to Joy, Fabian?" - okay, so maybe she never actually said either of those things, but he felt that that was a pretty good explanation of how up and down she was being lately. Ever since their attempt at being a couple had fallen through, she'd been so fiercely angry with him over every little thing he did. And on top of her, he had to deal with Amber's constant "You need to be better to get your girl back!" rampages.
He wasn't just exhausted physically, his mental state was about to collapse as well if he had to go through one more day trying to make everyone happy. If he was friends with Joy, that made Nina and Amber angry. If he wasn't friends with Joy, that made Joy upset and angry with Nina. Either way, someone blamed something - or maybe everything at this point - on him. What was he supposed to do? Die? Maybe that'd fix everything.
He let out a loud sigh as he rubbed his temples. As if knowing his thoughts were complete - or, at least that he didn't want to think about it anymore - his phone's text message alert went off. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Who would be texting him at - he glanced at his clock - nearly two in the morning?
When he checked who it was, he nearly smacked himself. Mick! Of course! The time difference between Britain and Australia was substantial. Between classes and Sibuna, it was difficult to find a normal time for either of them where they could actually chat. The two usually kept to emails, but... best friends will be best friends and Fabian couldn't think of anyone he could ever miss more than Mick.
[ Mick ]
[00:47, Tues] Hey mate. Ur not online. Somthin wrong?
"Shit," he cursed under his breath. Throughout all of this Sibuna drama and Joy versus Nina drama and "what are you doing with your life, Fabian?" drama, he'd forgotten all about arguably the most important part of his week. Skyping with Mick. "Shit, shit, shit."
He quickly texted his friend back, "give me a sec", snatching up his laptop and waiting for it to turn on. Any time would be great, his mind commented as he put on his headphones and moved his mouse a little to get the machine to warm up. He was late enough as it was - they normally chatted at around midnight Fabian's time since that was when Mick's free period started.
Logging into Skype, he hoped Mick wasn't angry with him for forgetting. It'd only leave them an hour (which, for all intents and purposes, was fairly normal considering Fabian fell asleep halfway through Mick's free period), but still. It was the pure idea that he had forgotten his best friend, the one person he cared about most.
"Oh hush, brain," he scolded softly. The last thing he needed was to get himself all depressed because he might be in love with his best friend. It was probably just the fact that he missed him so much and he had so much going on that Fabian just needed something to enjoy again. That's all it was, surely.
"Stop thinking about it."
He typed in his password and almost as soon as the Skype login page appeared on his screen, he received a video call request from the blond meathead in question. Before accepting, he glanced to his American roommate. As usual, Eddie was zonked out, his bedsheets laying in a mess over his body as a loud snore erupted from his nostrils. If Fabian had anything good to say about his new roommate, it was that he was the heaviest sleeper on the planet and his sleep had so far never been interrupted by any of Fabian's Skype chats, not even during the one time Fabian couldn't control his laughter.
He clicked the green accept button, his breath catching. He wasn't sure why he was so insecure about seeing his friend. It wasn't like they hadn't chatted this weekend or anything. Fabian couldn't linger on his confusion because the blond appeared on his screen.
His breath caught, his heart raced.
"Hey, Fabes. What's up?"
"Hey, Mick," Fabian greeted slowly, a bright smile spreading across his face to match his best friend's. "Sorry I'm late; I completely forgot."
"Oh, it's no problem, mate," Mick reassured him. "I'll always wait for you."