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Aiden felt… unsteady. More so than usual, which was saying something lately. He’d been getting better! He swore he had, he’d been eating every day, at least something for each meal. He wasn’t really gaining anything, for better or for worse (and that little voice in the back of his head that he’d been staunchly ignoring for the past month or so, the one who’d gripped him on and off for the past 5 years, said for better for better for better), but he was sure whatever vitamins and protein he needed were getting there! It was a start.
So why was he feeling so off? It was that cold chill ran down his spine and settled in the pit of his stomach, that clumsiness that overtook his limbs, making him stumble and shake. He knew it well, greeted it every morning in those too-long seconds after he got out of bed. Felt it after most ups and downs, to be honest. But it usually didn’t last this long…
He powered through, regardless. They had an episode to film today, and he was gonna do his damnedest to be normal on the pod, despite whatever fuckery his body was up to.
That thought lasted until he was setting up his microphone. Aiden went through the motions, standing over his lawn chair, adjusting the stand’s height, fiddling with the on switch. And then something shifted. He barely noticed it, at first, when his vision blurred. He could still kind of see, maybe fuzzy outlines of objects? Maybe he was just feeling them up and filling in the gaps with his familiarity? He lasted maybe a second more trying to set up the microphone with hands shaking so badly he couldn’t grip it anymore before saying something.
“Hey, uh,” the shake was gripping his insides now, flustering him, making the words come out tinny and strained. It didn’t help that he could barely hear himself past the ringing in his ears. “Could someone grab me a water bottle? I don’t feel great, I think I need to sit down.”
“Dumbass, should’ve grabbed one before we got in,” Nick sighed fondly, heading to grab one. Aiden didn’t look any different than normal, maybe just a little pale. He was still hunched over his mic, despite what he’d just said about sitting. Weird.
Aiden was… not frozen, exactly. He could move. He just wasn’t sure he’d judge the placement of his chair quite right. He could probably see it, right? Maybe? But he didn’t want to miss it and look stupid. “Mannn, did you eat something funky?” Slime was walking right up behind him at that moment, and thank God— he clapped his shoulder (Not great for his current predicament. But ah well.) and, with a tinge of concern in his approach, pulled Aiden into his usual seat gently.
“No, nothing like that, I think I just didn’t sleep well or something. You know.” Thank God again, Nick was back with water, announcing his great generosity as he reentered the room. Less generous— he tossed the water over.
And Ludwig intercepted. His friends were shockingly perceptive sometimes. “Dude, don’t make a sick guy play ball for shit he needs. What are you, an insurance company?” Aiden weakly laughed at the half-heard joke, grabbing the water bottle with now visibly shaking hands. He was struggling to hold it, to be honest, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to unscrew it.
“Hey, Lud, could you take the cap off for me?” A long pause.
“Aiden.” Ludwig sounded weirdly serious, voice still coming through as if underwater, “The cap’s already off. I took it off before I handed it over.” Another pause. “… Can you not see it?”
And that’s when it actually hit him. His vision wasn’t blurred. It was gone. Aiden tried to look down at the bottle & check for the cap, and he couldn’t even see his hands on it. What kind of tricks was his brain playing on him? What the fuck was wrong with his body?
“I can’t— I can’t see it. Shit, guys, shit, I can’t see anything. Fuck. I don’t know what’s going on, I’m— I should. I should go to the ER. They said I should go to the ER if anything goes wrong. Because it could be really bad, fuck, I’ve gotta get to the ER—“ Aiden was panicking now. Obviously. He half-attempted to stand, just a little bend to his knees, and they immediately gave out. No way would he be able to drive himself there, he wasn’t even sure he’d be able to walk himself to the car. “I can’t. Stand. Either. Fuck.”
He’d heard faint cursing from Nick during his initial outburst, felt Slime’s hand on his back, bracing him. Once he’d finished confessing his immobility that hand got firmer. “Okay. Okay. We can handle this, buddy. You’ll be alright, shh, you’ll be alright.” Aiden hadn’t even noticed his words starting to come out as choked sobs, not until Slime was carefully rubbing his back and consoling him. Jesus, this was embarrassing. “Ludwig?” Aiden couldn’t see the way his friend had been locked in panic, the way he jolted to attention when Slime asked for him. “Can you carry Aiden to your car? I can help if need be. Nick, go grab another water bottle and some kind of snack for him.” The boys addressed nodded, hopping to.
Ludwig immediately knelt, scooping Aiden’s legs up and bracing his back to lift him in a bridal carry. He’d clearly steeled himself for a heavier burden, all 6’3 of a grown man. Instead, he was met with a scarily easy lift, almost sending him tumbling over without the expected counterweight. This wasn’t the time to ask, but he noted that. “C’mon, kiddo!” Ludwig joked, trying to keep spirits light, “Time for your car ride!”
Slime smacked him upside the head before heading out to start the car. Aiden, vision still shot, ears still ringing, body still shaking in his friend’s arms, tried for one more broken chuckle before settling in for what he desperately hoped wouldn’t be his last car ride. It would be so embarrassing to die in front of his friends; please, God, just not like this.