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Troy is sitting in his favorite chair watching Inspector Spacetime (what else?) when Abed walks through the door. Troy can see he’s holding a small stack of comic books in his right hand.
“Hey, dude! Where'd ya get all that?” Troy asks eagerly. “The comic shop, the one down the street from the dollar store” Abed states quickly. He promptly places the comics on the table. “I got a copy of Watchmen, which is good because before I had only read an online version.”
As interested as Troy is in regards to what his friend is saying, he can’t help but notice something in his friend's voice.
He’s used to Abed sometimes talking at a quicker pace than the rest of his friends when he’s talking about something he enjoys, whether it’s Indiana Jones or The Breakfast Club, but there’s something about Abed’s current tone that feels...off. He’s talking with a pitch that makes him sound slightly shaken up, and the speed at which he’s speaking makes it seem like he wants to get the whole business of showing off his comics over with as quickly as possible.
Something’s not right.
Just as Abed’s showcasing his copy of a Spiderman comic from the 90s, Troy speaks up. “Hey, Abed? Are you ok? You seem a bit nervous-”
“I’m ok” Abed says sharply and without hesitation. He realizes that his tone may have come off as rude because he can see that Troy looks a bit taken aback, even with his difficulty decoding facial expressions, so he hastily follows it up with a much softer “...sorry, it’s just that while I was at the comic shop...never mind actually, it’s not important.”
Troy leans slightly closer to his buddy. “Come on man, you know I’m always ready whenever you need to talk, right?” Abed nods. “Yeah, I know, it’s just I can see that you’re watching Inspector Spacetime, and I want to let you get back to the episode. After all, I was already kinda eating up your time by showing you my comics, and-”
“Hey, hey...it’s alright buddy” Troy says gently, realizing that Abed is once again talking in that rattled tone. “I’ve already seen this episode, and even if I hadn’t, it’s just a show.”
Abed raises an eyebrow. “An awesome show.”
Troy nods. “Of course, but still, you’re my friend.”
Abed exhales. “Okay…”
Troy starts to get comfortable. He knows that once Abed starts talking, he tends to keep going and going and going (not that Troy minds in the slightest).
“So, I was looking through the Marvel section of the store, and when I found the Spiderman comic I just showed you, I was REALLY excited, because I had been trying to find it for months with no luck.” Abed can’t help but smirk a little as he remembers the frustration he would feel while trying to find a copy on eBay.
“I was so happy that I started to flap one of my hands. I thought no-one would notice, but a couple of guys who were hanging out a couple of feet away saw me.” Abed cringes.
“They...they started to whisper some stuff, stuff about how there must be something wrong with me, about how funny I looked, how I must be r-”
Abed gulps.
“About how I...must be retarded or something.”
Troy gasps, and it sounds less like a gasp and more like he’s trying to throw up. He hasn’t felt this disgusted in a while.
“Abed...I...I’m so sorry...I wish-”
He takes a deep breath.
“I wish I could have been there with you, to teach those dumbasses a lesson or two”. Troy realizes that he sounds sorta cheezy, like he’s trying to sound like a superhero in one of Abed’s comics, but he really doesn’t care.
“Thanks” Abed says. “You’re always really supportive when stuff like this happens, it’s consistently been the best part of our friendship,” he declares with a small smile.
After a few seconds of stillness, Abed breaks the silence with “I hope you don’t think I’m not used to this”
“Of course not” Troy replies. He can still remember the morning his friend had told him about his horrible and traumatic experiences in high school.
“You’ve been through a lot Abed, I know that. And I know that all that teasing hasn't been limited to when you were a teenager either.” Troy says, clearly trying to make sure he doesn't say the wrong thing.
“Yeah”, Abed replies sounding aloof, even though he’s starting to hurt inside again. “Just last Tuesday, Pierce called me rain man. Again.” Abed subtly averted his gaze. He’s never been a fan of making eye contact, but he’s even more averse to it when he feels uncomfortable.
“And it’s not even just the stuff that’s consciously malicious. Remember that one time Britta came to school with that Autism Speaks pin on her jacket?” he says, somewhat meekly. “I know she apologized after I told her about that group’s history, but still…”
Troy nods his head, listening intently to what Abed has to say. Ever since Abed had told him about his adolescent trauma that one fateful morning, he’s constantly tried his best to make sure he knows he can tell him anything.
Abed starts to avert his gaze, staring down at his bony fingers as he wiggles them, focusing on their small yet rapid movements.
“It’s just...I kinda thought that once I left high school, this kinda thing would be over.”
Abed’s eyelids start to flutter as he continues to look at his fingers.
“That getting my feelings hurt so often would, I don’t know, taper off somehow.”
Troy leans slightly closer to his friend.
“Abed?”
As if on cue, Abed starts to whimper. It’s not nearly as loud as the high-pitched whining sounds he’d been making when he first told Troy about his high school years, but it still hurts Troy in more ways then he can count.
Abed looks up at Troy, clearly embarrassed. He had hoped that he wouldn’t have to get upset again, wouldn’t have to make Troy feel like he has to take care of him.
Troy swallows, trying to ease the lump already forming in his throat. He reaches out an arm to lovingly put over Abed’s shoulder, before freezing.
He doesn’t want his touch to hurt Abed again.
He gives Abed a look, a look that says “are you ok with this?”
Abed wipes his eyes for a moment, before nodding.
“It’s ok.”
Troy tenderly places his arm over both of Abeds shoulders, giving his upper arm a small pat.
A few minutes pass, with tears dripping down Abed’s cheeks and Troy holding him close, feeling like he might never let go.
“I promise this won’t happen again” Abed whispers.
Troy gulps again, the lump in his throat aching more than ever.
“Abed, you don’t have to make promises like that” Troy replies warmly. “You can always tell me anything you want.” He says with a fragile smile “And it’s ok to cry.”
Abed looks at him with slight shock and Troy realizes that this is probably the first time that anyone ever told him that.
“It’s ok to cry.” Troy repeats, wanting to drill it into Abed’s mind.
He never wants Abed to forget that it’s ok.