“Karaoke?” Aiden questioned, tone sad as he held the phone against his shoulder. He set the spoon down and looked at the ramen he’d spent the past few minutes crafting for them.

“Yes! Billy and Tommy asked if I wanted to join them tonight, so I thought I’d ask you to come,” Damien said, obviously over the moon about it.

“Oh, well, I don’t really… care for group activities. I was…” he was going to tell him about dinner but opted not to, he didn’t want to upset Damien or make him feel guilty. He wanted Damien to make friends, he just wished he hadn’t gotten ahead of himself. Sad wasn’t the right word for what he was feeling, disappointed maybe. Had he really gotten that used to having Damien around that he was upset over one night not spent together?

“I don’t have to—”

“No, no!” Aiden interrupted. “You should. Billy and Tommy are fun, you should absolutely go do that. I’ll think about joining you.” He probably wouldn’t, but Damien didn’t need to know that.

He looked at the bowls of ramen and sighed, this stuff was expensive and his stomach was sour now that he was so upset and anxious. Someone knocked on the door, causing him to flinch and turn to the front of his apartment.

“I need to go. Have fun,” Aiden said as he hurried to the front door. He went to hang up as he pulled the door open and stopped when he saw Damien standing there with a smile, his own phone pressed to his ear.

“You made ramen, didn’t you?” Damien asked, his voice echoing through the phone speaker before he hung up.

“Uh… no, don’t be silly,” Aiden replied, blushing hard as he did. He tried to lean into the doorframe to block the view but it wasn’t subtle or smooth. Despite his fairly tall and muscular frame, Damien was still taller than him, and the room smelled like ramen so he couldn’t hide it even if he wanted to.

“You’re a bad liar,” Damien said with a smile. “Tommy is still in class so I came back to change and get you. You should have just said you made us dinner.”

“I didn’t lie, I don’t like group activities where I’m being perceived.”

“Okay, but, how about you just… come hang out? You don’t have to sing or anything… I want you there.”

Aiden’s heart started fluttering. “Oh… I…”

“Unless you have a deadline?”

Aiden thought about saying that he did but shook his head. He did, but saying it felt wrong since he wasn’t actually working on anything important.

“No, fine, you win. Let me just—” he gestured at the mess in the kitchen— “throw this away or something.”

“I’m starving.”

Aiden gnawed on his lower lip and resigned himself to defeat. He moved out of the way and let Damien step inside. His new neighbor raced over to the bowls and grabbed one. He looked at Aiden with a sweet smile and mouthed a soft ‘thanks’ before he opened the kitchen drawer to grab a pair of chopsticks. He clacked them together with a playful wink and dug in, leaning back against the counter as he did. Aiden scowled when he realized Damien was way too comfortable in his safe space, but shook it off when his neighbor pointed to the other bowl.

“Come on, before it gets cold,” Damien urged.

“It’s embarrassing,” Aiden replied as he joined him.

“What is?” Damien asked.

“This,” he said as he waved his hand toward the ramen. “I shouldn’t have assumed you’d want to hang out.”

“I do, though. I’m over here every night so you should know that by now.”

“Yeah, but…”

Damien cocked his pierced eyebrow in question. “You get flustered easily.”

“So do you,” Aiden replied with a defensive shrug.

“True. I do want to hang out, but I also want to go try karaoke, and I want you there. Like I said, you don’t have to sing or anything, just come hang out. Please?”

“Ugh, fine, stop whining.”

Damien giggled, and Aiden hated how he knew that Damien was beyond ecstatic about finding yet another way to drag him out of his apartment with effortless ease. He ate quietly, listening as Damien rattled off all of the things he did at work today. It seemed he really liked his job so far, and Aiden was glad for it. It fit Damien’s vibe and personality, and would give him some structure and things to look forward to.

After they ate, Damien poked Aiden in the forehead with the chopstick. “Are you coming with? You don’t have to… but I also have no idea where I’m going so I’d need you to tell me how to get there.”

“No, fine, I’ll come for a while but I refuse to sing.”

“Deal.”

They shook on it. Damien headed next door to change, so Aiden did the same, trying to find something less grungy to wear since he’d been in his sweats and a t-shirt all day. He hadn’t planned on leaving the apartment so he was a tad messy. He opted for a pair of ripped jeans, boots, and a long sleeve shirt with an asymmetrical pattern, alongside a beanie to keep warm and a cardigan. When Damien knocked again, Aiden opened the door and resigned himself to defeat. As always, his neighbor looked stunning in those tight black jeans and a Henley that showed off all of his muscles. 

Aiden couldn’t believe he was going to karaoke instead of being comfy in his pajamas. Damien had thoroughly broken him, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“Whoa, he’s totally broken you,” Tommy noted as he pointed to Aiden.

“Is that the Aiden Bowie, in the flesh, joining his friends for an activity?!” Margo asked, shocked at seeing him there.

“Shut up,” Aiden mumbled.

“It’s my fault, I guilted him into it,” Damien said apologetically.

“Nah man, keep doing it! He never joins us,” Tommy said with a grin.

Aiden rolled his eyes. He started to feel bad that everyone was so blatantly pointing out his introverted nature like it was a bad thing. He felt guilty that he prioritized his art but his social battery drained so fast. The boba dates and classes tired him enough, he didn’t have the energy to do more than that. It made him anxious. This made him anxious. He tried to subtly slip an earplug in his left ear to try and dull the overload of sound that was about to hit hm and followed everyone into the karaoke room where Billy was already waiting with a drink menu in her hands.

Neon lights danced across her bleach blonde hair and freckled, pale skin. She waved excitedly when she saw everyone walk in and handed the menu to Margo, mentioning the daily special on cocktails and how delicious they sounded. Everyone settled in, and Aiden sat on the corner of the sofa with his knees up by his chest, out of the way where he’d be close to the door in case he needed to leave.

“You good, man?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah,” Aiden replied.

Damien shot him a worried glance, but Tommy shoved a microphone and a song menu in his face. Before he could ask Aiden if he was actually okay, Damien got dragged to the front of the room by the others. Aiden watched with a soft smile. Focusing on Damien helped him feel a little less nervous, so he kept his friend in his line of sight and tried not to focus on his rising anxieties. He didn’t like to admit it, but agoraphobia was a strong monster in his life. He liked his apartment, his regular spots, and that was it. New places, especially ones with so much stimuli, made him antsy and panicky. Even switching classrooms each semester took some time to get used to. 

Something about Damien made him want to try and be a little braver, but he had also made it explicitly clear that he might need to leave early while they were on the way over. He didn’t disclose why, and Damien didn’t ask, but it had been pretty obvious that his neighbor was concerned about it.

Damien shot him a look before the music started to kick in. Aiden simply watched him sing. He had a nice voice, it was timid at first due to nerves but by the first chorus—with everyone cheering him on—he found his groove and nailed every single line. He came alive when he was rocking out, and Aiden could see that love of music come out in a way he had yet to see during their short friendship. Yeah, Damien had broken him in a way he hadn’t thought possible, and for those few minutes while his new neighbor was death gripping the mic, Aiden didn’t mind the interruption.

By the time the first round of songs had finished and drinks had been delivered, though, Aiden did mind. He wanted to leave. The noise was too much and he was overwhelmed.

“You sure you don’t want a drink, man? You look like you need one,” Tommy noted as he picked up his beer.

“Nah… I do think I’m going to head out, though,” Aiden replied.

“You okay?” Margo asked.

Aiden shook his head. “I think I might be coming down with something. I don’t feel great.” He turned to Damien. “Make sure you text me when you get home, I don’t want you to get lost.”

“I can come with you,” Damien said.

“Nah, I’m fine. You should stay and have some fun,” Aiden replied with a smile.

He bid everyone farewell and hurried out of the room, racing out into the much quieter lobby through the growing crowd before he made his way outside into the cold night. The air was brisk and took his breath away, he felt hot and overwhelmed so it was refreshing. As he tried to catch his breath, he walked over to a streetlamp and crouched under the light. He pulled his beanie off and wiped the sweat that twisted his curls around away from his forehead.

Exhaling, his breath formed in front of his eyes. He blinked a few times as he searched for something to focus on. He opted to pick the lucky cat neon sign across the street with the waving arm, counting the up and down motion as ones and twos.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Aiden flinched and looked up at Damien. “Uh… yeah, obviously,” he said with a nervous laugh. He pulled his earplug from his ear and slipped it back into its case.

“You’re a bad liar,” Damien repeated as he crouched beside him.

He shouldn’t be lying to him, anyway, so he decided not to. “I get really overwhelmed really easily. I don’t do well with—” he gestured to the karaoke bar— “loud noises and small spaces with a lot of people all talking at once. It’s a sensory overload.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, I wanted to try. I gave it a try, and it wasn’t for me. I’m just calming down and heading home. Go back and have fun, I promise I’m fine.”

Damien pouted, his lip piercing caught the light of the streetlamp overhead. With some hesitancy, he reached out and took Aiden’s hand and held it with gentle reassurance. All of Aiden’s anxieties melted away, along with his thoughts and ability to breathe.

“Will you still be up when I’m done?” Damien asked.

“Probably,” Aiden replied with a shrug, unable to say much more.

“Okay, then wait for me?”

“Always.”

“Please text me when you get home, just so I know you’re safe.”

Aiden nodded. Damien stood, embarrassingly slipping his hands into his pockets for a second before he realized Aiden was still on the ground and extended his hand to him. Aiden took it and rose to his feet. They shared soft smiles and glances before Aiden waved him off, telling him to go back and enjoy his night of fun. As he stood there, watching Damien reluctantly leave with a pout on his pierced lip, Aiden decided to be brave for a second more.

“You’re a good singer,” he called out.

Damien turned to him and grinned, blush brushed his lips, the wind rustled his pink hair. “I’m going to write you a song, then!”

Aiden’s racing heart calmed, his shoulders dropped, and a smile crossed his own lips. “Can’t wait.” He waved as Damien went back inside, then he stood for a few more seconds in the chilly autumn air before he started to make his way home.