Chapter Text
It had started as a little cough, but Garcello really should have put an end to this when it started to interrupt his impromptu jam session. Maybe he was just lost in the excitement of singing again. He had flirted with the idea of trying to sing professionally in the past, but that purple skinned creep had put an end to that dream a while ago, not to mention the stress that followed led him to pick up a nasty habit. Clearly his smoking hasn't done a thing to his singing voice, but it has done a number on his lung capacity.
What started as a little cough became sporadic fits, by the time Garcello had wrapped up his song against the little man with blue hair, those coughing fits became more common and painful. It was starting to scare the kid, he lowered his mic and took a cautious step forward. Garcello’s fit finally comes to an end and he stands up straight again, taking one more pull from his cigarette to calm his own nerves before speaking up to let the little man know there was nothing to worry about.
The moment he tries to get a word out however, the words are strangled in his throat.
He tries to force his words out through the fit, but every attempt causes the words to die in his chest. He doubled over, heaving as his coughs grew more violent and viscus. He tried desperately to gulp in more air, but each mouthful felt like it was lined with barbs that tore at his throat. Any oxygen that did make it inside of him only made the constrictive pain in his chest worse. Panic begins to set in which only makes his breaths more shallow as his strength bleeds away due to lack of oxygen.
With one last horrible wheeze, Garcello fell forward and collapsed onto the concrete, his strangled coughs falling silent.
Boyfriend stood in stunned silence before his concern overcame his shock. Tossing his mic aside, he quickly rushes to Garcello’s aid, careful not to trample the man’s cap as he rolled him over. Boyfriend may be small, but there’s a surprising amount of muscle packed into his short frame. Sliding his arms underneath Garcello’s, Boyfriend heaves the man up and props him upright against the speakers, all while his Girlfriend watches the scene play out in grim fascination. Taking his own cap off, Boyfriend fans his hat in Garcello’s face as his mind races to think of a potential fix to his friend's problem.
Thankfully what little he could manage was enough to get Garcello moving again.
The man starts barking out another painful barrage of coughs when Girlfriend leans back and produces a small bottle of water from behind the speakers. Dangling the bottle over his head, Garcello reaches an unsteady hand for it before firmly grasping it and pulling it to his mouth. When nothing comes out, he struggles to pull the cap free, but his hands now lack the proper motor skills to grip around the small cap. Pulling the bottle away for a moment, Boyfriend quickly rips the cap off before bringing the bottle up to Garcello’s lips. Liquid life clears away the fire burning at his throat and chest, but the panicked urgency in trying to chug as much of it down as possible ends up backfiring. Garcello sputters out half of the water in his mouth all over boyfriend as he unintentionally waterboards him, but it was enough to make the horrible burning go away.
Garcello is finally able to get an uninterrupted breath in.
He sits against the speakers with his hands against his chest, gasping in breaths of fresh air faster than his body can take them in. The constrictive pressure around his chest eases off with each breath and after a few moments of controlled breathing, he’s finally able to take a few deep breaths and slow his rapidly beating heart back down to a reasonable pace.
“Are you ok?!” Garcello’s eyes regain focus and he finds the little man he was singing with knelt in front of him. With a couple more deep breaths to make sure he wouldn’t spiral into another coughing fit, Garcello manages to respond.
“Don’t worry about me.” He tries to assure him in a shaky voice. “I’m fine, just overdid it is all.” It doesn’t seem to assure Boyfriend in the slightest and Garcello couldn’t blame him. He didn’t want to flat out lie to the guy, but he also didn’t want him to get all worked up over him. “Sorry I… I’m fine now, I’ll be fine.” Well now he was lying to himself. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, that was probably the most painful thing he’s experienced in his whole life. It felt like he damn near hacked up his very soul onto the ground.
“Does that mean you’re fine enough to go another round?” Garcello doesn’t quite have the strength required to turn his head to face the girl yet, but the look Boyfriend shoots her is one of confusion and frustration. The water she offered was a life saver, but she didn’t seem all too worried about what just happened to him.
“No, no.” Garcello lightly shakes his head. “Sorry guys, but I think I’m done for the night. Maybe some other time.” He really didn’t want to kill the good mood they had going but enough was enough. While the girl seemed disappointed, Boyfriend was fully understanding and offered a hand to him to help him up. Though he was shorter than Garcello by a good couple feet, he was able to help Garcello up to his feet no problem. Once he was on his feet though, Garcello found his legs were just as weak as the rest of him. They felt like jelly, any sudden movement could be enough for them to give out beneath them.
“Here.” Reaching his hand out, Boyfriend holds Garcello’s cap up to him. Garcello didn’t even notice it fell off his head. He gladly accepts his hat back and settles back in its proper place. Scanning the ground to see if he had dropped anything else, he finds his cigarette still smoldering on the ground. Though he was still unsteady on his feet, he stumbled over to it and put it out beneath his heel.
“Again, sorry for being such a bummer, but I think I’m calling it a night.” Garcello tugs his cap down and turns to make his way back home. His pace is slow at first as he tries to work feeling back into his legs, but he’s making progress.
“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Boyfriend rushes up alongside him, a hand hovering just behind Garcello’s back to give him support if he needs it.
“I’m fine.” Garcello repeats the same lie he didn’t even believe himself. “I’m sure you and your girl got enough problems on your own plates, I don’t want to heap anything else on top of that. Take care of yourself, little man.”
With a half hearted wave, Garcello continues out the alley. He sends one last look back before turning off onto the street to find Boyfriend still keeping a concerned eye on him while his girl hops off the massive set of speakers she brought along. He was a good kid, Garcello just hopes he knows what he’s doing hanging out with that girl. The whole Dearest family was nothing but trouble and clearly their little demon spawn has at least some of their wickedness inside of her. The look he shot her when she wanted him to keep singing was at least a sign that the kid knew there were some red flags, so Garcello can only hope he knows what he’s signed up for.
Walking along the lamp lit streets, Garcello slowly finds his strength again. His legs begin carrying him at a steady pace, his heartbeat settles into a steady rhythm, but there’s still a slight prickling sensation that keeps him from fully filling his chest with air. Something in there hasn’t settled back into its normal place and he’s starting to worry that it never will.
He’s tried to stop smoking a couple of times over the last few years but each attempt didn’t go far. Nicotine patches could only fight the urge so much but even if they had enough garbage in them to satisfy his cravings, he still wouldn’t have anything to do with his hands. Lighting up a cigarette and taking a drag was the only way he could calm himself down when the withdrawals got bad. It was a vicious cycle of trying to quit and falling right back in. The effects of withdrawal shouldn’t be as painful if not more than the smoke itself, but the world wasn’t a fair place.
Wandering onto his street, he has to tug his cap down to shield his eyes as the sun rises over the horizon. He’s not sure when this particular habit started, but he’s made it a daily ritual to always be awake to see the sunrise every morning. At least it was a habit that wasn’t actively killing him. Garcello takes a moment to give his feet some rest as he basks in the glow of the sun as it slowly crests the horizon before moving on. Garcello is one step onto the porch of his apartment building when he realizes with a shock that he could have missed this sunrise. He’s never slept in to miss one for five years now, had he been hospitalized, (or worse, dead) he would have missed it.
The revelation left him completely unnerved as he pushed his way into the apartment building. Passing by the stairs and elevator, he makes his way down the hall to his room on the first floor. Opening the door, he closes it behind him with a huff as he looks over his ‘humble’ abode. There really wasn’t all that much he could afford from what little he made and the few bucks he could borrow. It’s not like he spent much time here anyways, there was plenty of stuff to do outside, he just needed a roof over his head when he finally decided to call it a day.
Cutting across his room and into the bathroom, Garcello flicks the light on and marches straight for the mirror. His heart nearly stopped when he looked at his own reflection. Though he was on the mend, he looked like he was on death's door. Just looking into his own sunken, bloodshot eyes was enough for him to pull his cap over them to keep himself from looking at them. He was a complete mess. He rests his back against the wall and tilts his head up, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath (as deep a breath as he can manage anyways) before opening his eyes again.
When he does, he finds himself looking at a lit flame an inch away from the end of another cigarette that had found itself in his mouth. The process of fetching another cigarette and getting a light for it was such a practiced and ingrained action that it was practically unconscious, he didn’t even have to think about it, it was as easy as blinking. He was stuck in this feedback loop again, desperate to try and stop but too stressed out to actually do anything without a smoke to calm his nerves.
Just one more couldn’t hurt… right? One more to take the edge off and get some sleep.
Looking past the flickering flame towards his disheveled reflection, he’s suddenly struck with the fear that if he does go to sleep he might never wake up again. What happened in that alley way wasn’t just another bad cough, he was dying, and if that blue haired kid wasn’t quick to help him that would have been it for him. He knew that what he was doing to himself would catch up to him eventually, but to come so close to actually facing the consequences made him realize that it wasn’t something that would happen in the future, it was happening now.
He was going to die if he didn’t stop.
Flicking his lighter closed, Garcello spits his cig out onto the floor, hovering his boot over it for a moment before simply kneeling down and tossing it in the trash. No need to trash up his place for no reason. Along with the lone cigarette, he reaches into his pocket and grabs what was left of his pack and tosses that in with it. He wasn’t ready to give up the ghost yet and he wasn’t going to get through this with half measures, he needed to go cold turkey today.
Of course, the moment he commits to it, he realizes he still has pent up stress that now lacks an outlet. His hands automatically drift to his pockets to solve the problem, but his smokes are in the garbage now, his hands drift over nothing and it feels unfamiliar and wrong. Even as he steps away from the bin, he can feel the emptiness in his pockets, the lack of comfort knowing relief was no longer available. Even though it’s the very last thing he needs at the moment, he’s never needed a smoke more in his life.
He needed a distraction.
Too pent up to get any sleep and not trusting in himself to not dig through the trash to get his fix, Garcello headed back out again, desperate to find something, no - someone - to help.
---
With a quick stop for breakfast, Garcello had regained all of his strength again and was able to cut through town with relative ease. He knew this feeling wouldn’t last though, the weight of his decision and the stress it carried was already pressing down on him. Eventually the withdrawal symptoms would hit, then he’ll really be tested. He tried to push these thoughts out of his head, but his hands refused to keep still, he had repeatedly pulled out his lighter just to find there was nothing to light. Seeing the fire only made him miss the plume of green smoke that would follow after it.
Smoking was an automatic action he took, now that the once automatic function was failing, his brain screamed that something was horribly wrong and that he was broken. His body responded with the same amount of urgency as it would if he had forgotten how to blink or breathe, it was difficult to think straight.
Thankfully, he wasn’t wandering around blind. He had a destination in mind. He typically slept through most of the day and spent most of his time out after dark, but even then there were plenty of odd characters that he had met here in the cities. Folks came in all shapes and sizes here, but while Garcello could recognize plenty of faces, he wouldn’t really consider himself friends with anyone except two people. Even the little man with blue hair was just a stranger he spent some time hanging out with, chances are they’ll pass each other again a week or two from now and give each other a wave and that would be it.
Well, if he made it that long.
No no. Garcello shook his head. None of that right now, just keep your head forward. As much as he tried to ignore it, his situation was pretty grim. He needed someone to take his mind off of this and thankfully one of his two friends was an endless supply of unconditional support and joy. Wandering off into the park, he approaches the park’s court and hears basketballs dribbling against the hard concrete. Walking past the gate into the fenced off court, he finds just the guy he was looking for.
“Sup Hex!” Swiveling his head around to face him, his robotic pal’s face literally light’s up when he sees him.
“Mr. Garcello!” Charging forward, Garcello is suddenly embraced by the lanky robot. He’s not really a hugger and Hex is a collection of cold pointy joints, but there’s an undeniable warmth that bleeds out of Hex that Garcello can’t get enough of. That’s what he loved so much about Hex, despite being a cold machine, he was an endless source of positivity that couldn’t be matched. “It’s been so long since I last saw you! I didn’t expect you to be up so early! Or, would it be more accurate to say I didn’t expect you to stay up this late?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Garcello shrugs as Hex pulls back. “I had energy to burn and thoughts to air out and you’re the only guy I’m comfortable enough to dump it all on.” Whenever Garcello had his really bad days, Hex was always the first guy he went to go see. He’d feel guilty if he forced his problems on anyone else, he still kind of does, but Hex has assured him multiple times that he loves to help him alleviate any burdens he’s carrying. He’s not sure exactly what Hex was built for, but along with being really good at basketball, he was probably the best listener he’s ever met.
“You’ve come to the right place!” Hex proudly exclaims, marching back to the rack of basketballs in the center of the court. Looks like he was practicing his half court shots. Reaching down and clamping down on a ball, he swivels around and tosses Garcello a ball. He catches it as it bounces off the ground in front of him and stares down at the orange ball of rubber in his hands. He was feeling better now, but he’s not sure if he’s quite ready to start running back and forth around the court.
“As much as I’d like to go a few rounds, I don’t think I’m going to be able to.” Garcello sighs, tucking the ball under his shoulder. Hex’s smile seems to dip by a singular pixel, but even that makes Garcello feel like a jerk. He hated to disappoint someone, especially someone as nice as Hex. Of course, he could just be imagining that shift in Hex’s expression, it could have been just a flicker of the screen that he was misreading.
“That’s just fine!” Hex says, not showing a hint of disappointment or hurt. “We can just chat if you’d like.” Hex gestures towards a nearby bench for Garcello to take a seat as he turns to collect the scattered basketballs around the court. Garcello kept his ball in hand, running his fingers against the textured rubber was something that he could do with his hands that kept him from reaching into his pocket. After a minute of clean up, Hex joins him on the bench and leans in close. “What’s on your mind friend? You seem down.”
“I almost died last night.” Garcello explains bluntly, not bothering to sugarcoat the severity of his situation. This time there’s no second guessing himself, Hex’s screen flickers hard and his mile wide smile falters. “I was singing last night, smoking to keep myself calm and I just… I passed out. I couldn’t breathe anymore, my chest felt like it was on fire. I threw away my smokes but I’ve tried to stop before and it never turned out right. I can’t mess it up again though, I need to stop now or this is gonna kill me.”
It was an insane amount of bad news to dump on his best friend, but he was committed to this. No half measures. He needed Hex to know how serious this was and how badly he needed his help. Had he not known Hex, he wouldn’t have anyone he’d be comfortable enough to share that much with them. Hex is Hex though, within seconds, he was already patting his clamp against Garcello’s back.
“I can purchase whatever you want if you need them.” Hex urges. “I am already searching my information banks for potential-”
“Thanks Hex, but I can get those myself. No need to spot me any cash.” Garcello wasn’t exactly living on a stable income, but if there was one thing that he didn’t like more than disappointing people, it was borrowing money. As far as he knew, Hex did nothing but play basketball, but he always offered to lend plenty of cash whenever Garcello was in a tight spot. Hex didn’t need to eat or sleep, so he probably didn’t really have much use for money, but it still felt wrong to take it. “I just need someone to be by my side and help me through this.” Garcello explains. “Someone I can talk to and someone who can hold me back when the cravings start to get bad.” That was what he needed more than anything right now, a distraction. If he’s left alone to his own devices, he’s going to fold fast. Hex is silent for a while, maybe overwhelmed by the request. Looking up to him though, Garcello finds that Hex is slowly regaining his smile.
“Did you say you were singing?”
“I…” Garcello stutters for a second, trying to remember when he mentioned it. “Yeah. I was just out for my usual midnight walks when this little guy showed up with his girl asking if I could sing.”
“Oh! Boyfriend!” Hex jolts up, his face lighting up in a bright flash with his excitement. “He had bright blue hair and a red cap, right?”
“Yeah actually.” Garcello nods. Guess it’s a small world after all. “You just call him Boyfriend? You didn’t get his name?”
“That is his name!” Hex informs with a nod. “He came here with his girlfriend last month. Her name was also Girlfriend.” Garcello wasn’t quite sure if Hex was pulling a prank on him or if he mistook what they called each other as their actual names. Then again, the naming conventions of the Dearest family were already whack, but that doesn’t explain Boyfriend. Garcello decides he’s gonna just stick with ‘Little Man’, it rolled off the tongue a little easier and functioned as a proper nickname.
“So, did they want you to sing?” Garcello asks, his worries already slipping out of his conscience as he gets lost in this conversation.
“I actually approached them first.” Hex corrects. “I saw him carrying around a microphone and jumped at the chance to sing again. I used to be the king of karaoke, you know?”
“Really?” Garcello raises an eyebrow. “You already sweep the court with everyone in basketball, but you’re a virtuoso too? What can’t you do?” It wasn’t like he had any other robots he knew to compare Hex to, but he had to have been programmed for a specific function, right?
“Oh yes, I loved to sing years ago but… Well I lost my singing partner and had no one to sing with anymore.” Hex tilts his head down a little, his screen dimming slightly. With his sudden change in tone, Garcello could only assume Hex’s ‘lost’ partner left him suddenly and painfully. Maybe they were his original creator? A close friend? Whoever they were, Hex is quick to rebound back into his usual chipper mood as he continues the conversation. “So Boyfriend asked if you could sing? I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure to hear your singing voice!”
“I used to.” Garcello shrugs, feeling that itch creep back into his mind. “I was actually trying to make the charts, but that didn’t last.”
“What happened?” Hex asks, tilting his head slightly. “If you don’t mind me asking, I mean. Sounds like you have some history.” That was an understatement, and it was a memory he didn’t really want to tread back on. Simply thinking about the whole situation got him on edge, but trying to move past it wasn’t going to make it go away. Besides, he dumped so much unnecessary weight on Hex’s shoulders, the least he could do is satisfy his curiosity with a story.
“I think it was about three years ago now, but I actually tried to start a music career with another friend of mine. Annie.” And just like that, all the memories came flooding back in. “I think I met her while I was going for my usual walks. She was singing something to herself during her walk home so I complimented it and went on my way. I guess she wasn’t expecting an audience because she seemed startled at first, but then she quickly started asking a bunch of questions like ‘did I sound off tune?’ and ‘did you actually like it or are you just being nice?’. I told her that what I heard sounded great and that she should keep it up before moving on, but I think I left an impression on her.”
Garcello chuckles to himself as he reminisces about his first few meetings. “I think she started following me around after that. I usually try to mix up my routes, but every once in a while I’d find her again, singing some new tune loud enough for me to hear. When we passed, I’d give her some feedback before moving on. Eventually, one of those songs ended up stuck in my head and I started singing along with it too. I was probably halfway down the street, but when she heard me singing it she lost her mind. She was trying to get into making music for a while, so she was excited to have her first big fan.”
“What was the song about?” Hex asks, his smile growing large enough to nearly fill out his screen.
“It was a sad song to be honest.” Garcello recalls, the melody slowly forming in his mind. “Something about wanting to be good enough. She lacked confidence in her voice and when she couldn’t come up with any lyrics, she sort of just sang out her frustrations. Knowing someone actually liked it gave her the confidence she needed to finish it and when she sang it all to me, I couldn’t help but sing along to it.”
“Oh I wish I could listen to it!” Hex sighs. “It sounds like you two became fast friends after that.”
“You might be able to find a recording or two of it.” Garcello suggests. “We ended up hanging out more and more, coming up with new songs and getting practice in. After a while, I ended up saving up enough cash to enter into a local contest. Annie froze up at first, but I eventually talked her into it and we participated. The look on her face when we managed to land first place!” It was probably the happiest moment of her life. She wasn’t even out of high school yet and she was living the dream, sharing her music with the world.
“I feel like there’s a sad twist coming up.” Hex says, still holding onto a shred of hope.
“We kept getting small gigs here and there, but when we started getting more attention, we got the attention of some bad eggs.” Garcello grumbles, applying pressure to the ball in his hands to try and work out the stress that was clouding his mind. “Daddy Dearest, some ex rock star guy with a mean streak, didn’t like how two ‘nobodies’ were starting to get more attention than him. I don’t know if he said anything to Annie, god I hope not, but he made it pretty clear to me that if I kept this up there would be hell to pay.”
“Oh dear…” Hex’s smile begins to falter again.
“I tried to think nothing of it.” Garcello shakes his head. “He was just some bully trying to scare off the competition. I was making good cash off my share of the prize money and Annie was genuinely happy to finally find her crowd, I didn’t want to put a stop to any of that. Then the threats started rolling in.” He really didn’t want to live through all of this again, but he found himself repeating the events anyways. No half measures, all of his problems were going on the table for the world to see. “Late night calls, notes pinned to my door, sending his horned freaks to follow me around at night. I was on edge for pretty much every waking moment, terrified that at any minute one of the Dearest’s goons would show up and do me in. It’s the reason I started smoking, the constant tension was driving me insane and I needed something to take that edge off.”
“But you’re still here, so nothing bad happened, right?” Garcello looks up at Hex to find he’s genuinely distressed. Garcello averted his eyes and tugged his cap down.
“It only stopped because I folded under the threats.” Garcello hisses. “I dropped everything and left the music scene entirely, leaving Annie without her backup. I had hoped she’d manage on her own, but I don’t think she made it to another gig after I was gone. I don’t think I’ve seen her since.”
Other than Hex, Annie was the only other person Garcello really considered as a friend. While he kept up appearances with Hex, he couldn’t say the same about Annie. It’s been years since he last saw her, she’s probably moved on by now. Garcello falls silent for a while, running his nails along the groves of the basketball in his hands when Hex suddenly leaps up to his feet.
“Oh! I know her!” Hex blurts out. Garcello stands up to get a look at his face and finds there’s a video playing across Hex’s display. He catches Annie’s voice through it and suddenly finds her song has wormed its way firmly into his head again.
“So just do it! To hell with it, screw it! I’m so tired of you making excuses!” Garcello is mesmerized watching what was probably the best night of his life play out in front of him. This was a recording from the big one, the gig that got their names out there and opened up their future. It was also the gig that got him put on Daddy Dearest’s list. Annie is giving everything she has into her performance, the shy young girl who mumbled songs to herself in private had finally found the courage to be herself in front of an audience. Garcello saw himself too and while he wasn’t nearly as performative as Annie was, he could still see just how much effort he put into that gig. Not to mention, he didn’t look like the mess he was now. Clean shaven, wearing flashy clothes, it’s only been a couple years but it felt like he was looking at a past life.
“You said you know her? It sounds like this is the first time you’ve seen this video.” Garcello asks. Maybe Annie did keep singing and he had missed it?
“I met her at the town square!” Hex explains, closing down the video and filling his display back up with his contagious smile. “She goes down there all the time! Maybe you could go out there and look for her?”
“I…” Garcello was struck with a strange bout of indecision. He pretty much threw Annie’s dreams down the drain to save his own skin, did she want to see him? He has absolutely no idea if that’s what she thinks of him or if he’s just beating himself up now that he’s in a sour mood.
“Maybe you two could start singing again?” Hex suggests. “You got some practice with Boyfriend, maybe you could pick up where you left off?” The last time Garcello sang professionally was when he wasn’t killing his lungs with cigarette smoke, his little rap battle with Little Man nearly killed him. Just thinking about singing again made him feel short of breath, but at the same time, he can’t help but think back to those days on the stage. He used to just drift aimlessly without much purpose, he still does now, but when he was singing with Annie, it felt like his life was together.
“That sounds like a great idea!” Garcello nods his head, suddenly ecstatic with the concept of getting back into the music biz. He couldn't just amble around blindly and hope his smoking problem would fix itself, but if he had something to work towards, a goal that would require him to improve himself, he might be able to beat his addiction this time. More than anything though, he wouldn’t fail if Annie’s dream was on the line again. “Thanks a lot Hex, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I’m glad to help!” Hex beams and Garcello can only smile back at the robot’s lopsided grin. “I’m always ready to help a friend in need. Maybe you two can come back some time and we could sing together. I do miss my karaoke days and would love to have someone by my side.”
“It’s a promise, Tin Man.” Garcello nods, holding his fist out for a bump. Hex enthusiastically presses his clamp against Garcello’s fist and they both blow their fists back with the impact. “I’ll see you around, you can count on it.”
“You know where to find me when you need me.” Hex nods, giving Garcello a wave as he turns to leave the court. This is why Garcello loved to see Hex when he was down, not only did he have as much unconditional love as a dog, he was also incredibly smart. Garcello didn’t dare think of anything other than going to see Annie, he knew if he let his mind wander he’d fall back on his lack of smokes again. He had a plan now, one that he’s confident will work him out of this rut.
It was a relatively short walk to get to town square from the park, but on his walk he realized just how ‘late’ it was for him. He essentially walked off a near death experience and decided to march around town instead of getting the rest he no doubt desperately needed. As tired as he was, he still wouldn’t be able to sleep, not because of the stress but because of the anticipation of meeting an old friend again after over three years.
The streets were a lot more crowded than he was used to. The most traffic he sees is the late night rush to get back home from work before the sun sets and everyone calls it a night. Getting out and seeing everyone while the town was awake was something he hadn’t done in a long while. His thick dark jacket soaked up a lot of the sun's heat and made him stand out against the brightly colored shops dotting the commercial district leading into town square. Keeping to himself and letting his eyes wander, he can pick out a small handful of faces he recognizes amongst the sea of unfamiliar strangers. Again, none of them were close enough to call friends, at most they’d recognize each other and give each other a wave before going about their business. Maybe he should fix that, but that’s at the very bottom of his priority list. Chances are he’s gonna be a real bummer to hang out with in the upcoming weeks.
Making his way into town square, he finds himself in the center of a large open plaza leading to various different shops and transports around town. Maybe he could have asked Hex if there was a specific place in town square that Annie hung out at, there was a pretty large stretch of land that was considered town square for him to search in. With no clue where to start, Garcello begins to pace around the plaza, his gaze jumping from person to person as he tries to find the girl. Minutes pass with no results, there were simply too many people coming and going to reasonably pick someone out of a crowd.
Without the anticipation of meeting Annie again fading and with the heat bearing down on him, Garcello finds a nearby bench to sit down and lets out a disappointed sigh. He was getting worked up over nothing, the chances of them running into each other by chance was slim to none. He was exhausted and couldn’t think straight. He desperately wanted a smoke but that wasn’t an option anymore, he still had the willpower to ignore his body’s demands but it would get harder and harder to resist. He was beating himself up again, falling back into darker thoughts now that he was alone without a plan. With Annie still firmly planted in his mind and with her newly remembered song stuck on repeat, he finds himself singing it to himself on the bench.
“I wish I was good enough.” His first verse draws some eyes but they don’t linger, they got places to be and work to do so who cared what was going on. “Stop complaining, shut your mouth. Push aside all of your doubts because they’re tearing you apart…” Garcello starts tapping his foot, raising his voice just high enough to not be considered a nuisance to the various passers by. He could already feel a strain on his lungs, but he knew now that if things got tough it was time to quit, he still had some strength left in him. “Take your time, it’ll be ok. Even if you’re not that great you’ve got the fire in your heart…”
“Garcello?!” Garcello’s words suddenly died in his throat with a sputter of coughs as he lifted his head to find the source of that voice. Scanning the plaza around him, he tries to spot the little lady he remembered from the video, but that little lady is nowhere to be found.
Instead he finds his old friend has changed quite a bit in the past few years.
“Oh my god! It is you!” Garcello catches a familiar fit of black and red, but the woman wearing it was almost completely unrecognizable. Before he could get a good look at her, Garcello suddenly finds strong arms wrapped around him as he’s lifted off of his bench into a hug. Little Annie must have hit the gym since he last saw her, she was almost a good foot and a half taller and packing a lot more muscle than she used to. Garcello wasn’t a hugger, but he really did try to return this one, he just couldn’t get his hands free from Annie’s crushing grip.
“It’s good to see you too.” Garcello manages to wheeze through Annie’s grip. She takes the hint to ease off a bit and Garcello finally gets a chance to get a proper look at her. Garcello himself sort of let himself go after they separated but Annie doesn’t look like she changed a bit other than her size. He lets out a mental sigh of relief at that revelation, here he was worried that she might have fallen into a downward spiral just like him.
“What are you doing here?” Annie asks in an ecstatic voice. Clearly her personality hasn’t changed as much as she had physically. “I can’t even remember the last time we saw each other!”
“Well, to tell you the truth, things aren’t going so hot on my end.” Garcello sighs, sitting back down on his bench and leaving room for Annie to join him. “I’m in a tight spot right now and I started getting nostalgic for the good ol days. Imagine my surprise when you show up out of nowhere the moment I start singing your song.”
“I heard you from what felt like a mile away.” Annie comments as she takes a seat. “It caught me so off guard I thought I was hearing things, but it’s actually you!” She missed him as much as he did her. Garcello’s able to breathe a little easier knowing there wasn’t any bad blood between them after they separated. “So where have you been? What’ve you been up to over the past few years?”
“Not much.” Garcello shrugged. “I made approximately one new friend, hit up every burger place in town at least once, got mugged a couple times.” Jeez, now that he’s thinking about it, he really didn’t do much over the last few years. It was nothing to worry over though, everyone goes through life at their own pace. If he wanted to take the scenic back roads through life then that’s what he’s gonna do. “I’m a bit more interested to know what you’ve been up to recently.” Garcello turns the question on Annie. “No doubt your life’s been way more interesting than mine.”
“Oh…” Annie seems to lean back a bit as she begins tugging at the ends of her gloves. “I haven’t been doing anything interesting either.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible.” Garcello counters, drawing Annie back to attention. “I’m probably one of the most boring men alive, literally anything you could have done would be more impressive than what I managed.”
“Hey, you’re not boring!” Annie tries to argue. “I wouldn’t have gotten into singing if it weren't for you.”
“And I wouldn’t have come round to hear it every day if you didn’t have some serious talent.” Garcello counters. “You keep downplaying your own accomplishments, you always have. Trust me, I want to hear what you’ve been up to, I’m not gonna laugh or get bored or whatever you think my reaction will be.” She really was the same little lady he met three years ago, unsure of herself, wanting an audience to cherish her while also being terrified of said audience. It was a vicious cycle to be stuck in, kinda similar to one Garcello was in himself.
“I’m serious.” Annie says in a dejected tone. “I didn’t know where to go or what to do when you disappeared…” Now it was Garcello’s turn to fall silent. “Once you were gone, everything piled up so fast. All eyes were on me to keep the show going on my own and… I couldn’t take that much pressure.” Annie takes a moment to take a swig out of a drink Garcello just now notices she has. “Where did you go?” Annie finally asks the question that Garcello’s been trying to find an answer for. “I thought we were doing really well, why would you leave?”
“I left to save my own skin.” Garcello decides to be as honest as he can. “If you didn’t have any problems then I’m relieved, but my life went to hell the moment we started getting popular.” Glancing over at her, Garcello isn’t able to accurately read Annie’s expression with her hair covering her eyes, but if he had to guess she looked more concerned than hurt. “I caught a lot of heat from some very bad people who made it clear that if I kept showing up on stage I was going to pay for it. I didn’t want to abandon you on stage, but my life was on the line at that point. Sorry…” God he’d do anything right now just to get rid of the rising feeling of dread in his guts.
“What are you sorry for?!” Annie suddenly blurts out.
“Huh?”
“Oh my god, did someone try and hurt you?”
“You’re not mad?”
“Why the hell would I be mad?!” Annie boggles. “You could have just told me and we could have done something! Who was doing this? Are they still after you? Where are they?!” That last question sounded more like a demand than a question with Annie slamming her fist into her open palm. Was she actually thinking of fighting the Dearest family on his behalf?! She couldn’t keep her performance up on her own because she lacked confidence yet she was about to throw hands with a demon at the drop of a hat.
“Trust me, I haven’t had any trouble in years since I’ve left.” Garcello tries to calm her down. He didn’t want to get in any fights and he definitely didn’t want other people getting hurt over him. “I stopped singing and they left me alone, that’s all that matters. Though…” Knowing that there wasn’t even an ounce of anger or hurt between them after they split gave Garcello the courage to continue this line of thought. “I was thinking maybe we could have another go at it? Get the band back together again?”
“I…” Annie takes a moment to ponder over that offer, taking a couple swigs out of her bottle as she mulls it over. “I haven’t given any thought to singing again for a little over a year now, but I think you managed to ask me at the perfect time.”
“What makes now so perfect?” Garcello asks, bummed to hear that Annie gave up on her dreams but excited to hear that her interest in music has apparently been reignited.
“I met some guy and his girlfriend out here a few weeks back and they insisted I sing a couple songs with them.” Annie explains. “Apparently the guy’s girlfriend kne-”
“Wait a minute!” There was no way in hell she was talking about who he thought she was talking about. “Was this guy on the shorter side? Sky blue hair tucked under a red cap?”
“Yeah?” Annie nods, unsure of where Garcello was going with this and startled by his sudden interruption.
“Well I’ll be damned.” Little Man really got around, it seemed like everyone he knew had already crossed paths with the upcoming rapper. Eh, to be fair everyone he knew equated to about two people, but still, it was a bizarre coincidence. “Guess he got you thinking about singing again too.”
“You know him?” Annie is caught off guard by their shared acquaintance but quickly moves on. “I gave up trying to sing years ago but I found myself having so much fun when we started going at it. We started to gather a crowd out here in the plaza and as much as it terrified me, I felt like I was back on stage! After that day, I’ve been arguing with myself over whether or not I should even try to get back into music again, but if you’re back then we can totally- wait…” Annie’s rising excitement suddenly breaks off as worry takes over. “Won’t you get in trouble again if we get back on stage?”
“Maybe.” Garcello shrugs. “I didn’t want to worry you too much after meeting up with you again so soon, but trust me when I say I need to do this.” Hex was someone who was really easy to dump all of his problems on, that robot could probably work as a therapist with how good of a listener and advisor he was, but he wasn’t going to offload all of his struggles onto Annie right off the bat. Fighting his addiction was going to be hard, but he wasn’t going to die tomorrow. He could give Annie a little more time with her old friend before dropping the news that he might not be around much longer if he doesn’t win this fight against his addiction. “This time, I’m not backing down when that old geezer starts knocking again.”
“Alright then!” Annie cheers, rising off the bench and grabbing a hold of Garcello’s coat to lift him off with her. “Let's do it! Let’s get back onto the stage and take the world by storm!” Even through the thick bangs of black hair covering her face, Garcello can see Annie’s eyes light up with fire. She had rediscovered her passion for music and was finally taking steps to make her dreams a reality again.
If he needed any motivator to keep himself from smoking again, seeing Annie so happy was enough to get him through anything.