“But Gu-u-us…”
Gus rolled his eyes. “Come on, Shawn. You know this has been coming. You just need to get in the car, and you’ll be back here before you know it.” The car keys twirled in his hand.
Shawn was unmoving in his chair, hands clutching the armrests as if that would lock him in place forever. “You know, I don’t think they would really care if I just rescheduled this…or canceled it forever.”
“Be reasonable, for once, please,” Gus said, eyeing the clock. “We’re already late. Stalling isn’t going to do anything for you but make people mad.”
“Gus, don’t be Don Cheadle’s accent from Oceans Eleven. Those nurses love me.” Shawn paused. “I just don’t want them digging my teeth out.”
It was Gus’s turn to pause. Usually this was his cue to have some snappy retort about Don Cheadle being underrated or pull out some useless fact that Shawn would never think of again—but Shawn’s position in the chair stopped him. Gus didn’t have the hyper-attentiveness to detail that Shawn did, but he could tell when something was wrong. It was a gut feeling he had. Something about the way Shawn clutched on to the chair or the way he wouldn’t look up when he spoke.
Shawn was scared.
Gus softened and steadied the keys in his hand. “Listen,” he began, “I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as you think. They knock you out for the whole procedure. You don’t feel a thing.”
“I know how anesthesia works, Gus,” Shawn said, still not looking up.
“I’m just saying,” Gus continued. “I don’t think you should worry about it. Remember when I got my wisdom teeth out?” Shawn nodded bleakly. Gus waited for another response, and reluctantly filled in when he didn’t get one. “Yeah, and remember how you laughed at my face?”
“Dude, it was awesome,” Shawn said, finally cracking his famous grin. “You were like a little brown hamster.”
Gus relaxed a bit. “Well, let me tell you, that’s all there was to it. Just a little…fattening of the face. That’s it. Nothing to be worried about. I promise I won’t even make fun of you.” He twirled the car keys once more. “Even though you deserve it.”
A pair of rolled eyes and a smile was all the response he got, but it was enough. Shawn was out of the chair and heading for the door, a retort visible on his face.
They stepped out of the apartment and closed the door—Shawn never locked it. Squinting in the early morning sunlight, Shawn lightly punched Gus on the arm. “Thanks for driving me, buddy.” Though the tone was light, his voice was a little quieter than usual.
“You’re welcome.”
That was all Gus needed. Just Shawn’s compliance, however reluctant. He’d accomplished that much, at least. He didn’t need to know why his friend was so afraid, or perhaps he didn’t want to know. He’d gotten what he wanted, and what was necessary. And that was fine. For now.
Story Notes:
I wrote this as I was recovering from my wisdom teeth surgery...I felt inspired! Haha.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hi there! This is my first multi-chapter Psych fic, and the first one with some semblance of a plot, however small. This will be two chapters long, if all goes well.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter End Notes:
Thoughts? Comments? I'd love to hear them! Reviews are always appreciated :] Thanks for reading!