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It wasn't his intention to eavesdrop, and yet Caligosto found himself standing far too close to the door, pretending his arm was interesting enough to distract him from the noise of an argument in the dressing room.
The man inside had always been the type to talk on speakerphone. Even if he claimed that he didn't want to bother anyone else, he much preferred to be able to work on two things at once, so speakerphone it was. Caligosto kept his mouth shut, doing his best to not eavesdrop too obviously.
"I know you don't want me to do this, but it… it's my big break, Mother--"
"Nicholas, you could be wrapped up with their kind for the rest of your life if you don't watch your back. They could drag you down with them."
"Drag me down with them?! They're my friends! They're not going to drag me down--"
"They're psychics, Nick. You could be--"
"So? What. Do you want me to stand by? Ignore when others are being mean because they're psychic? Not everyone has an anti-psychic bias."
"Not everyone will be kind about it either."
"Not everyone is kind about us being Grulovian either!" Those words were punctuated with the closing of a closet door. "I'm-- Mom, listen to me. The cast of this show-- They're nothing but nice to me. I… I know. You would think a non-psychic like me would be… cast out, or treated like I'm nothing. But I'm not. I'm just another one of the folks here. And-- and I don't want to give that up."
"Nicholas Samuel Johnsmith--"
"No. Don't… don't. I… I can't hear that from you. Not right now." His voice shook, and the footsteps moved across the room. Cal tried his best to remain quiet, but when Sasha passed by-- Well. He couldn't do much to stop him.
"Ah, Caligosto. Is this where you've been?"
He tried to shush Sasha, flailing his arms awkwardly in the attempt, but Nick's voice stopped nonetheless, and the door opened behind Caligosto. Before he could stop himself, he fell back through the now-open doorway, just in time for Nick to attempt to catch him-- and fall with him, ending up pinned beneath Caligosto.
"...Uh. This… this is a bad time, guys," he managed.
"Is there something wrong?" Sasha asked. Nick shifted, and Caligosto moved to allow him to shimmy free.
"Nothing! I mean. No. Everything's fine." Nick smiled, unconvincingly. There was a moment of quiet, and Sasha raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing's wrong." Though Sasha's tone was flat, it carried more doubt than Caligosto expected. After all, Sasha’s knowledge of how other people lied was about as poor as Cal’s knowledge of morality. It must be a really bad lie then.
“...Maybe a bit, but it’s not something I want to talk about. I-- I’m supposed to be on set soon, and--” Sasha, ignoring him, levitated a schedule off of his desk, bringing it closer.
“The schedule says that your next scene is in four hours.”
“Wh- Well, um-- Maybe I don’t want to talk about it.” He took the schedule out of the air. “...please.”
“Alright. But you should still do that with someone eventually. It is not healthy to repress everything.”
Nick didn’t say much until Sasha left, at which point he sighed and got up, extending a hand to Caligosto.
“...How much did you hear?”
Even though Nick was as dangerous as a limp noodle, the way he looked made it hard for Cal to not take him seriously. The regalia, the stern look on his face, the way he had one hand tucked behind his back.
“N-not much!”
Nick helped him up, and almost immediately, the height difference between them put Cal at ease. He felt safer when he was able to almost loom over his friend.
“Just a bit about anti-psychic stuff.”
Nick sighed, and he closed the door before sitting down on the small sofa in his room, gesturing for Cal to join him. He settled down in the chair by the desk instead, looking at Nick with his head cocked to the side. “...I’ve always wondered. Is… is the bit about you and…” He gestured to his head. “...Is that really something that happened to you?”
“Well, yes and no.” Cal shrugged. “They tried. I ran.”
“...sometimes I wonder if my mom would’ve done the same if I was psychic.” Nick sighed. “...They always say that it’s safer to keep away from psychics. And… and anyone who could be dangerous for us.” He looked away. “...I’m sorry. You… You don’t need to listen to me whining.”
Cal didn’t have the words to react. He just looked at Nick, quietly letting him talk his way through things, unsure what he was even supposed to say or do.
“I probably sound so stupid worrying about this stuff. I mean, I’m not even psychic. I’m not… I’m just some guy. Not like I can change much about how others look at everyone here. But I want to help. I… I want to stand up to people like that. Like your parents, like my mom-- Everyone who thinks like that. And-- and people like you, like Sasha, like everyone else here-- You deserve better than those people!” Nick fidgeted with the royal collar, and he sighed. “...Sorry. I’m rambling.”
“It’s fine!” Cal grinned, and Nick managed a smile back.
“Think we should go get on set--?”
“Nah. We’re not needed for hours, soooo… Want to go get some food?”
Nick looked at Cal. Finally, he laughed, and he took off the cloak. “Of course I do. Let’s go get something good.”
Cal got up, and extended a hand to him. Nick took it, and they left together.