Through the Screen

Chapter 50

the next four days were busy for abel. constant socialising and staying up late at night to keep all the

work intact, was catching up with him, his mind chaotic and his body lethargic to the point where as

soon as his body hit the unfamiliar hotel bed, he would fall asleep.

he hasn't been talking to noah that much, and after two days of ignorance noah had stopped trying,

accepting the fact that abel might be too busy at work to talk to him. abel wasn't exactly interacting with

chris either, only conversations about work or suggestions for his presentation and that was about it.

it was getting slightly too much for him to cope with the sudden amount of burden, but he was sure that

whatever he is doing now will pay off in the future, and he may get a bonus or even a promotion,

considering all the jobs that his boss has forced upon his shoulders.

the rotary event was a huge gathering of old and uncomfortably sophisticated people who would get

offended if things weren't a certain way, and so abel didn't want to give anybody a reason to complain,

nor ruin all his hardwork just because he was a little bit lazy or careless.

it was initially about the digitalisation of the different sources of writing and context, and even though

abel 's job at his office was to edit stupid manuscripts and reading old literature, he was given the job of

making the new trends of writing and literature the highlight of the event.

right now, abel was on his laptop, an unattended cup of coffee resting on the nightstand and chris

carelessly tapping away on his phone, occasionally leaning over to ask if abel wanted any help.

he had to present all his ideas in a meeting tomorrow and he was dreading it.

normally he wouldn't, because it was all the people he already knew, but tomorrow he'll be convincing a

bunch of totally different people, and if they like the idea they may fund the event and also make long Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

term ties with their company, which would feel like a huge achievement in abel 's otherwise

purposeless life.

"abel, you're stressing too much," chris furrowed his eyebrows, checking the digital clock by the bed

which was flashing one am, and abel just nodded his head dismissively, not paying attention.

"like really, i know it's important to you but you've been overworking yourself a lot and you'll mess up if

you do too much," his voice is calm and patient and abel just sighs, biting his lip harshly and shutting

his laptop, his face buried in his hands.

he was overwhelmed with the situation.

as it is, he wasn't used to opportunities or responsibilities as big as this, and being his first time doing

something like this was beginning to take a toll on him. he knew that even if he tried to not think about

it, he would think about it even more, and the cycle would be endless to the point where he's mentally

exhausted.

these were the times where he desperately needed noah to talk him down.

to just lay down with him, and softly twist the brown hair between his fingers, whispering encouraging

things in abel 's ear to calm him down. this was the time where he needed the attention, the care, times

when he was desperate and tense and just wanted a release.

and these were the only times noah wasn't there for him.

"i'm so stressed chris, i don't know what to do," abel could feel a lump growing in his throat, heavy and

ready to burst, and he was feeling so pathetic right now, crying over a stupid presentation.

"abel relax, you'll do well i know," chris wasn't sure how to comfort him. he knew that him just talking

won't particularly do anything, and so he just shifted closer to abel and hesitantly wrapped his arm

around abel 's shoulder.

his grip tightened once abel started falling apart in his grip, desperately holding onto his shirt, and just

by the way abel 's breathing was irregular and heavy, chris knew he was breaking down.

"i'm so useless, what even is the point of all this? i will fuck it up so bad and get fired and then i won't

have a job," abel rambled, burying his face further into chris' neck, who just shushed him softly, rubbing

his hand up and down abel 's spine to calm him down.

"no you won't, you'll do really great i promise," chris' voice was soft, his tone encouraging, and abel

could feel his senses falling shut, body almost limp in chris' grip. "you're one of the best speakers i

know, and you've been working on this long enough for you to impress them, don't worry alright?"

abel only nodded slightly in response, wrapping his arm around chris' waist to find the comfort that was

previously lacking. chris' fingers were massaging abel 's scalp softly, almost exactly like noah's and

abel could feel himself drifting off, shutting out his thoughts for a while so he doesn't end up wide

awake at three in the morning.

"do you want to sleep like this?" chris' asked, his hand going back to abel 's spine so he could rub

soothing circles and abel just nodded against his chest, the soft fabric of chris' shirt pressed against his

damp cheek.

"okay then, good night," chris placed an affectionate kiss on the top of abel 's head, causing abel to

shuffle closer to him, and chris just leaned over to shut off the lights before keeping his phone away

and tightening his grip on abel.

maybe sleeping the thoughts away would help him calm down a little.