A/N: I need to stop naming my fics after Linkin Park songs. No, seriously. This is un-betaed. Posting it nevertheless. I probably will come back later and clean it up. I need a beta -_- Help?

Leave Out All The Rest

"…and then Gwaine, being Gwaine, went up to her and said something cheesy like "How you doin'" and of course, he's no Joey Tribbiani, so I expected him to at the least have a drink thrown in his face…"

Merlin smiled, and then realized that Arthur couldn't see him over the phone. He chuckled a little. He never knew how much Arthur expected him to respond when he was on a roll like this. Arthur did not seem to notice either way most of the time.

"…by the end of the night he was pissed drunk and passed out in her lap. What a disaster. Percy was heartbroken, although he'd never admit it of course. I really think he should say something though. What do you think?"

Merlin swallowed the mouthful of food he had just taken, not having expected to be asked to respond. He cleared his throat, partly because he needed a moment to remember who Percy was again. Arthur's new friends always got mixed up in his head.

"I guess, yeah," he said tentatively, feeling a little weird giving opinions on the love life of people he had never met in his life. He had known Arthur for years, having been part of the same group of friends at school, but they had decided to go to different universities now. Merlin wasn't even sure why Arthur called to talk to him so many times although he suspected that he had somehow given out the vibe that he was willing to be Arthur's live journal.

Granted, he himself did not have much of a life, being the nerd he was, although his online friends were quite enough for him, and there was always that guy, Will, who had taken up the role of being Merlin's guide to the lifestyle of Cardiff. Arthur's life was a whole lot entertaining, though, and Merlin did not mind acting as his soundboard as much as it perplexed him. He decided not to dwell on it all that much. Arthur had sent him a bunch of books for his last birthday after Merlin had mentioned the lack of stock at the local bookstore in passing. And he did ask "So what's new with you?" whenever he called. Merlin always changed the topic quickly after that, to cover up exactly how dull his life was in comparison to his friend's.

"...listening to me?"

Oh. Right. Merlin winced a little. He had spaced out.

"Yeah, sorry, didn't catch that last bit. I was… my roommate wanted something."

"Oh okay, I was just saying that I'm planning against trying out for the footie team. They've got a good team; it's going to be pretty tough though. Maybe I'll try next year."

And it was moments like these that confused Merlin.

"Arthur, are you serious? You're brilliant…"

…at everything, at life…

"…plus, you'll never know unless you even try…"

…you'll probably get more worthy friends, but I can't think about that right now…

"…and if you do try out next year, you're going to work hard right? Maybe getting rejected this year will provide motivation for that. Think about the possibilities of a Cinderella story on the footie field…"

…because I know how much you love drama, not because I think you're girly. Oh God, please let him not think that I'm making fun of him…

But Merlin needn't have worried. Arthur was laughing already.

"Alright, alright, I'm sold," he was saying. "I'll go to the tryouts."

"Good! You'll be brilliant, Arthur." Because you always are, and I am lucky to even know you.

"Thanks, Merls," Arthur said, his voice going soft, and Merlin was preparing himself to end the conversation there, because of course Arthur was tired – why else would his voice go all soft like that.

"So, what's going on with you?"

Merlin froze for a millisecond. He almost never expects these, although he should. Arthur's been pretty good at showing that he's willing to listen. Merlin just didn't know what to say to match up to Arthur.

"Me? Heh heh, same old. College, assignments, we have a midterm coming up," he said, hurrying to brush everything under the carpet. "Nowhere close to as exciting as London, you know? Um, hey when are your midterms due?"

Arthur was usually willing to let it go at this point, but today he sighed instead.

"Sometimes I wish I could be so private about my life, you know? You have it all figured out, you don't need someone to talk to all the time like I do. How do you do it?"

Merlin was stunned. He opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Unfortunately, Arthur was not done yet.

"I feel like such a child sometimes. You always give me such good advice and encourage me. I wish I could give some of it back, you know? I owe you so much—"

"Arthur, I—" Merlin could not listen to him anymore. He had never thought about it that way.

Trust was a two way street anyway. He took a breath.

"I… there's this project that I'm working on," he began, feeling weird because he hadn't actually imagined Arthur would want to listen to his pathetic problems. But Arthur was silent for once, which meant that he was listening, waiting for Merlin to speak.

"Erm, so, yeah it actually started out as a 2-person project but halfway through my partner dropped out. And then, umm, I finished it anyway, but umm, my project guide asked me to submit the report as my own even though… Arthur?"

"I'm here," came the reply, and Merlin sighed in relief. "You're guilty that your partner is not getting any credit?"

"Umm, yeah. It's… it's not a big deal, I mean my partner never actually asked for any of the credit but, you know…"

"Merlin," Arthur interrupted his babbling. Merlin expected him to say how boring his problems were, or at least make up an excuse to hang up.

"How much of the project would you say was your partner's work?" he asked instead.

"I… Um," Merlin stumbled, blindsided by the fact that Arthur was actually thinking about it. "Erm, she did some of the research at the beginning, um, so that helped me in creating the algorithm. Yeah."

"Oh come on, you did all the actual work then! These things happen, Merlin. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Yeah," Merlin replied, unable to come up with a single other coherent response.

"You softie," Arthur teased, a smile in his voice. Merlin didn't mind. It was probably true anyway.

"Yeah," he said again, this time his voice a little more sure.

"See? And if you really feel all that bad, just talk to your guide. They've seen all kinds of project-related scenarios over the years, I bet."

That was actually good advice. He hadn't really expected it. Merlin had just blurted out the first thing that had come to his mind.

"Um, thanks Arthur," he said, smile back on his face.

"Anything else eating you up?"

"Can't think of anything right now," Merlin lied, because old habits die hard. But he was already listing out what he could talk to Arthur the next time. Luckily, Arthur did not push too hard and hung up soon after.

And Merlin went to bed feeling lighter than he had in quite a while.