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“Grace wondering what, question?”
Grace could hear Rocky tap his claws on the xenonite barrier near to where he was sitting while he was spinning in his chair bored out of his noggin. A sigh turned into a groan as he pushed the floor for another spin. He could hear the sharp trills of annoyance coming from behind. His best friend seemed to be especially fussy about his habits now that they were en route to Erid, alongside their new companion of course.
Simon’s addition was scarier than he initially thought meeting a human would be. Him and Rocky were on their first year back to Erid when Mary detected a blip far out stationery in the exosphere outside Tau Ceti. At a distance it looked similar to Rocky’s spaceship, a blip of sort covering the expanse of stars in black but the closer they got the smaller the ship seemed. Because was not a spaceship in the first place!
At first the presence of another spaceship confused him. He wondered if Stratt had a backup plan to the Hail Mary, which wouldn’t make much sense since he knew she was putting all her metaphorical balls in Project Hail Mary’s court. But it was Stratt. Even after knowing each other for quite some time, Grace never really knew who she was. She might have had a separate team in the middle of another ocean working on the same project. And after they sent him to space, they possibly dispatched the second team as a precaution.
The thought quickly vanished the closer they got to the ship, or should he say the bizarre appearance of a fudging submarine in space.
After getting close enough to the submarine, Mary could pick up radio signals and when Grace and Rocky heard the yells of agony coming from inside the vessel, they both panicked.
He could still remember the tormented voice screaming for help, howling to be left alone, begging to survive, wanting to live.
“Grace wondering what! Answer question, demand!”
Stopping his ever-spinning mind, he slumped his head on the barrier where Rocky was tapping his paw. “I’m not wondering anything… Just thinking bud”
“Grace is always wondering and stressing for no reason. Simon seems happy, statement” Rocky stated.
“Wha-” Grace spluttered, whipping his head to look at his alien friend. “I-”
He couldn’t even refute. Rocky was right, Simon was the only thing he was concerned about ever since they rescued him all those months ago. It had been stressful for all of them, especially Armando who practically had to take care of a man who was covered in grime and unknown blood like substance and on the verge of death with a lost limb.
A lot of things happened since then, a lot of recovering, a lot of waiting for the recovery, a lot of trying to calm both his alien best friend/ partner/ companion and the stranger they just rescued who was dead set on killing whatever that was around him. It took some time but eventually some sort of trust was built among the three of them which grace was really grateful for.
At least they weren't at each others throat at all times.
Grace sighed and cranked his neck down the hall once again.
Simon was from a different universe. As crazy and impossible as the theory it sounded at first, it was the most logical if Grace were to believe everything Simon told him, which he had no reason to doubt. Simon’s reaction to seeing the stars for the first time he walked in the hail mary had been proof enough.
It had taken a couple of weeks after Simon was conscious for long enough in the day for him to sit and talk about himself. While bed-ridden, Grace had rambled on about everything he and Rocky went through just so Simon could become familiar with the two. It certainly did help eventually. For once Grace had been glad about his habit of rambling out of his mind.
Simon had confessed to everything, opened his heart out right here on the Hail Mary about everything wrong with his universe, wrong with his people, and him. He was still coming to terms with his death that never came and people he had disappointed and left behind. He was particularly troubled about not being able to save anyone from his universe or at least he wasn't sure if his actions of saving them worked and he blamed himself for everything.
Grace had surprisingly been beaten by his best friend who had been first to wrap his xenonite laced arms on the side of Simon and had said “Not Simon's fault”. Of course, those few weeks of talking and comfort was not enough to make Simon as comfortable with them completely, which was logical but there still was improvement.
Simon came from a dog-eat-dog world where either you kill, or you're discarded as filth. So, it was understandable why he was so skeptical of him. And what he confessed to happened to him in the iron lung, it was fair why he reacted immediately with violence when he saw Rocky.
Rocky let out a series of trills which Grace associated with him teasing Grace. He groaned in his face, “I am just wondering what he’s doing! He has locked himself in the room for far too long now”
When Simon was recovered enough both physically and mentally, he had wanted to learn more about Grace's earth since the guy had only heard about earth and not actually been on earth, being from mars and all that. At first, he was satisfied with listening to Grace teach different things to Simon about the place he grew up in, places he visited. As a molecular biologist he had let whatever knowledge he had on earth onto him, but Simon had wanted to learn more. Which is why he introduced Simon to his ‘thinking machine’ and the ‘don't-go-crazy’ room.
As a result, Grace and Rocky both had been instantly replaced for a room full of screens playing yet another bad movie. He wasn't sure why Simon had gone this route exploring the internet, but hey taste is taste.
He could hear faint voices from the room, and recently Simon’s interest had jumped to video games recently. Just before sleeping Grace had told him that he had many games installed in Mary and if Simon wanted, he could teach him a thing or two about it but he rejected, stating that seeing other humans play was better and learning how to play a game was more complicated with just one hand.
“If Grace is curious, should join Simon. Simon friend is in a good mood right now” Rocky chimed while working on one of his many secrete projects he had taken. Something about big big big plans when reaching Erid.
“How can you tell?” Grace spun his chair in a circle once again earning a sharp sound of frustration from his friend.
“Grace is stupid. Rocky can hear Simon relax. Rocky also heard Simon laugh many many times. Grace is asking dumb questions again” he stomped his legs.
Laughing huh…
If anyone told Grace eight human months ago that the same Simon who was threatening to hurl himself outside the airlock just to show how “none of this was fucking real” was now comfortable enough to laugh and smile albeit rare, he would've… probably been very happy.
Because that's all Grace ever wanted from the human. For him to feel safe and comfortable for once in his life. He wanted Simon to relax. Even now, he is very happy for Simon.
but…
Loneliness is a bitch, as one would say. He had his own selfish reasons for helping Simon. For the first time in a long time, he had heard a human voice on the intercom radio, so him being a little excited to meet them was totally fair in his personal opinion. Discovering the state Simon was in though, the feeling was long replaced by worry. Now since his recovery was going well so far, he had selfishly hoped Simon would grow close to him someday.
Just like how him and Rocky got close.
Grace sighed and heaved himself up, off the chair. “I’m glad he is having fun in there, I guess. But you and I both know I can’t just barge in there”
“Can” Rocky retorts. “Simon has had good interactions lately. Heart is calm around Grace and Rocky, less and less ♪°♬♩”
“What was the last word again?” Grace watched Rocky climb closer to the xenonite barrier, leaving his unfinished task.
“♪°♬♩” he responded, “thinking environment is harmful and is distrustful. Being scared of Grace and Rocky.”
“Paranoid?” Grace wondered if that was the correct word, his Eridian-ese was still far for fluent.
He couldn't explain the complexities of human relationships and boundaries seeing the same alien that had refused to listen to his lectures about the subject. And Grace was sure it was exclusive to Rocky only and he couldn't expect all Eridians to be this bossy and invasive.
“Grace want Rocky to go first, question?” Rocky tapped the glass twice in query. “Rocky can ask Simon-”
Rocky abruptly stopped and trotted inside his barrier, making his way closer to the don’t-go-crazy room.
“Rocky?” puzzled, Grace stepped towards where Rocky was anxiously pacing.
“OH OH! Simon heart fast like scared”
Grace frowned, “scared? Is he having an episode again?”
Rocky took a second to respond, “No. Heart like worry and excited”
“So, a good thing? He might be watching a horror movie.” Grace concluded.
Before Grace could think more about what it meant Rocky trilled again, “Simon is coming here statement!”
Hurriedly, Rocky scurried away back to where he left his task, leaving him dumbfounded. Collecting his bearings he also ran to the chair he abandoned and grabbed the closest thing to him which was for some reason an empty flask.
Soon enough he heard hasty footsteps coming towards the lab as Simon made an appearance in front of the two friends who were trying their best to act like they weren't spying on him since the last hour.
“Hello Simon friend! What a surprise, Rocky Grace busy with work, did not hear you come in at all”
Grace almost faces palmed if not for the flask in his hand. He had known Rocky wasn't a good liar but this was almost comical.
Good thing Simon did not seem to catch on as he stood in the room anxiously. “Yeah…”
“Hey. What’s up?” Grace saw Simon fidgeting with his hand looking at Grace with a strange expression. He was wearing a comfortable orange hoodie with a sleeve cut to his stub, half of his long hair tied behind, his brows slightly burrowed.
Was he… stressed about something? In pain? Hungry? Did he see something he didn't like? Oh no. Grace did not like where his train of thought was going.
“On the laptop, I saw something.”
Grace really did not like where this was going. He knew Stratt would've loaded the computer up with all human knowledge but a lot of things humans did were weird. Humans on earth, he should specify. Simon had surely seen humanity at its most desperate state but there were a lot of other… sides of humanity that Simon never got to experience and Grace was not sure which side of the internet he might've stumbled upon.
Grace put his pretend flask down and stood up, “W-what did you see? And I’m sorry if it was weird or anything I should really put safe searches on the laptop”
Simon looked down as if considering something before he stared right into Grace's eyes with a frown, “You… you never told me there was someone like me in your universe.”
Grace had to pause. Someone like him? What did that mean? He heard Rocky walk towards Simon as his robotic voice came through the translator “Simon found Simon on earth thinking machine, question?”
Simon nodded hesitantly at Rocky making Grace frown even further.
What? How did that make sense?
Simon and him were from two different universes, that fact had made clear between both of them. The Earth in each universe is or was physically real. It possessed the same continents, the same atmosphere, the same Moon, and the same history—up to the moment their timelines diverge. Beyond that point, they had become increasingly distinct. Like how in Simon’s earth people had successfully colonized Mars in 1992 but this wasn't even a possibility from the earth he came from.
The probability of this happening would be zero.
So, “I don't know who you're talking about Simon, you're the first of… you I’ve seen”
Grace saw Simon look at Rocky and then back to him and shook his head. “I just saw him on your laptop! His name was Mark something… And he looks exactly like me!”
“Mark!” Rocky’s voice chimed loudly. “Rocky hate Mark!” Even though Rocky's robotic voice came out monotonous through the translator, Grace could hear the tonal anger in his friends’ sound as he stomped two of his front claws on the glass below him.
Simon seemed to be taken aback by Rocky and glanced at him, “So you know him?”
“What? No no! That’s a different Mark Rocky! I’m definitely sure I have not seen you before. Can you show me who you’re talking about?”
Simon nodded and gestured to follow him. Grace glanced at Rocky who was already on his way to his ball and followed Simon to the room.
Turns out Simon was not making things up.
They all sat silent in the room, Simon on the side letting his feet dangle as he glanced at the laptop, Grace sitting crisscrossed with said laptop in his lap and Rocky in his ball pointing his ‘gun’ at the screen.
There was indeed a human from Grace’s world that resembled Simon quite a lot.
Mark Fishbach, also known as Markiplier was an internet persona who was famous for his gaming videos and lets plays on a site called YouTube. He was pretty popular from the millions of people that seemed to be interested in him.
Somehow Grace had never even heard of the guy. Well be was never in the age range of the audience, he wondered how Simon found him.
“Scary! How is Simon there also and here also? Very ♭♪°♪♬” Rocky chirped from the ball eagerly bumping his ball to Grace's side.
Grace pressed a hand to his temples. Of all the things he was expecting Simon to find, a doppelganger was last on the list. “It is weird. I did not think… doppelgangers existed across universes” Grace scrolled through another article about the guy.
“What?”
“What word, question?”
Simon and Rocky both questioned from either side simultaneously.
“Doppelgangers are…” he hummed at both of them before thinking of a more logical way to describe the phenomenon as to not freak either of them out due to human supernatural.
“Doppelgangers are two people that happen to look similar due to random genetic variations in the massive population on earth.” Grace explained. “But their microbiomes and epigenomes remain entirely different, meaning they are simply coincidental. A "fake twin” as they call it.”
“But Grace say every human look different, statement” Rocky asked.
“Yeah, which is why this is a rare phenomenon. It is extremely rare to find a doppelganger, especially one that is alive at the same time as you” Grace answered.
“Twin share DNA, doppelgangers don’t. Why look similar, question? Long lost twin question?”
Grace chuckled at Rocky’s attempt at using a human metaphor, “It is a strange occurrence. So far there has been no studies that proves doppelgangers are similar because of something other than chance”
“Strange” Rocky let out a hum and his eyes landed on the laptop screen again.
The guy looked painfully young, smiling like it was second nature an entertainer through and through.
His gaze drifted to Simon.
Nothing about him matched the person on the screen. Simon was so much different. His features were littered in faint scars making them seem, older than they should have been. The side of his cheek was marked by a big healing scar that went words his smile, his teeth were a bit sharper as well.
His eyes strayed down.
Scars traced his skin, the way his shoulders never truly relaxed, and in those dark black eyes that instinctively searched every room for danger before anything else.
If he got angry, he would yell with loud jabbing words, but then would apologize in a small voice, guilty at the outburst he could not control. He was exhaustibly hyper independent due to the nature of his upbringing, meaning even if he was hurting somewhere he would rather pass out from the pain than to admit his discomfort. The few days after recovery he found Simon passed out in the lab because he did not ask for more water even after grace told him he had enough for the both of them.
More than anything, though...He knew he was just afraid.
There was no world where he could forget if he met someone like Simon. He hoped someday Simon wouldn't have to put up a front with them.
Oh no
Simon caught him staring, “What?”
“Huh? N-No! Nothing, just thinking” Grace quickly glanced back to his screen and opened a new tab and began typing.
Simon looked at Grace for a second and sighed to himself, “Nope…”
Grace glanced back at Simon who was slowly shaking his head, “What no?”
Simon replied slowly, “I was just thinking how rare these dopel… uh this phenomenon in your universe was.” Grace stared in the small smile that adorned Simon as he spoke. “It’s so weird how there is a me in your universe. But I’m sure there wasn’t a you in my universe”
He tilted his head at that. He could hear Rocky tilt his carapace behind him as well. He hadn’t even considered the possibility of there being a ‘him’ in Simon’s universe. Doppelgangers were rare as they were…
“Because if there was,” Simon continued, “I would’ve remembered for sure”
Grace was not proud of how his stomach flipped and his cheeks reddened hearing the exact same words he was thinking come out of Simon’s mouth. He wanted to tear his eyes away but the way Simon looked so vulnerable and grateful in the moment, he could not.
For once he was glad the night sky projected on the TV screens were so dark.
He felt Rocky bump a little into him. “Rocky too! No Grace in Erid" he crooned from behind him.
Hearing which, Grace grinned and instantly turned to Rocky, “There is no one like you either buddy!” He wrapped his two squishy human limbs over the xenonite ball and gave a big smooch on top of the ball.
“Disgust! Disgust! Disgust! Grace is so disgust” Grace heard Rocky’s complaints and giggled as the alien made no effort to push him off the ball. He was so glad he learned his language, it made what Rocky was saying and what he meant so clear since how he could distinguish the happy chimes behind his words.
“No Simon in Erid either” Rocky slowly turned and rolled his ball near the human.
Simon looked at the alien and scoffed, “trying to butter me up? I already do exist in your universe since you both are from the same universe technically”
“Why humans always think about food question? Disgust! Rocky not put any food on Simon statement!” Rocky’s vents hissed as he crouched down.
Grace let out an involuntary chuckle at his friend’s reaction. He shuffled to face Simon.
“Rocky is right. This guy is not you, you know “
Simon looked at Grace in eyes that screamed ‘what are you talking about’.
“Doppelgangers are only people that sort of look similar, that's it! It doesn't mean this is a version of you” he explained, “And plus you two don’t even look alike. For starters this guy looks way too young”
Simon raised an eyebrow at that statement. Before he could say anything, Grace continued in panic, “Not that you are not young. That is not what I meant, he just still has his youthfulness? Not that you don’t um I mean he’s-”
“Grace calm heart, statement” Rocky stomped his legs on the grounds.
“R-right. All I’m saying is this is not you. Also, Doppelgangers just look alike, it doesn't necessarily mean it is a version of you. Because if that was the case then his parents, grandparents and ancestors would have to look exactly alike. But you didn't recognize them, which means you are two different people that just happen to look alike.”
After a beat, he added “And I have also never met anyone like you before because if I did…” Almost as if on purpose, Grace’s moving knee brushed against Simon’s motionless thigh “I would definitely not be able to forget either”
Simon’s eyes widened slightly as they both froze together.
They stared at each other for what felt like the longest second of Grace's life, before rocky chimed in unhelpfully.
“Grace forgot own memories at the start of trip. Do not trust Grace words”
“What! Rocky!” Grace squealed and playfully nudged the ball beside him.
Rocky chirped laughing, “Is joke! Grace is the smartest human I know."
A small smile formed on Simon's face again. He sighed internally and looked down at his own arm, or lack there of. He glanced back down at the figure on the screen.
When the first time Simon saw the guy, he stared at the screen so hard for so long that after a while he had stopped seeing the man at all, and felt like he was looking at himself from a memory he did not remember.
The young, unblemished version of himself who was happy, free of the misery and grief that burdened his shoulders.
Cautiously he leaned to take the laptop from Grace as he nodded in permission. He wanted to know more about this guy from earth that seemingly resembled him. Where was he from? What was he like? Anything familiar.
He zoomed in the picture like Grace had taught him how to and stared. Seeing this version of him reminded him of all the things we was not, or the things he could've been if he wasnt cursed to live upon a world that deemed him dead the day he was born.
If he wasn't from Grace’s earth, would he have been something similar?
He didn't know what he would’ve done if he they were the same person. Was he expecting to go and find out? To see a normal life? But that would mean erasing himself. But if he wasn't born on the space station, he wouldn't have been forced to kill, to be called the butcher, to be blamed for everyone's death, he would've have a normal life on earth.
But that would also mean he would have never met grace. He glanced back at grace who looked like he wanted to ask something.
Simon lifted his eyebrows briefly, “Hm?”
“If you…” Grace was being careful with his words, which was always amusing since Grace had a habit of blurting things out without thinking. Then again, around Rocky, his kids, there hasn’t been a reason for him to be careful anyway until Simon.
“If you came to earth, if you were in my universe… what do you think you would like to do?” Grace asked.
Simon looked at the curiosity in his eyes and sat back to think.
“I am not sure” he whispered, “I haven't really had the chance to think about it”
Growing up, there wasn't. It was always ‘do what is meant to be done’ and not like the stations had enough resources for them to waste anyway. But since Grace asked so sincerely, he couldn't just brush the question.
“Hmmm” Grace tapped his chin thoughtfully. Simon saw Rocky mimic the gesture on his own carapace. The alien tends to enjoy mimicking Grace often even when he wasn't looking.
“What do you want to do once we reach Erid?” Grace asked.
What was he going to do once they reached their destination? He hadn't thought about that either. Ever since the two rescued him from the literal jaws of the blood ocean, it had taken him quite some time to come to terms with the fact that he was still alive and well, and under the protection of a human scientist from earth and a rock alien. He was meant to die at filament station and he was meant to die at the mercy of iron lung.
He did not think he would ever get a second chance at life, but here he was against all odds once again.
He was useful at Eden. Father had told him he had many uses to be exact. He wasn’t good with earth science like Grace was or engineering like rocky. He had been good at repairing things when need be, sure, but he was better at combat than anything. He had not earned the name ‘Butcher’ for no reason. Years of training on Eden, being forced to participate in killing more and more precious lives being taken so quickly by his hands. While killing, he always made sure it would be a quick death despite his teachings saying these were the enemies and they deserved it.
It was deemed ‘selfish to think only of oneself’ and not always for the ‘greater good’ or the good justified by the laws of Eden. Simon had no idea if he would even be useful in Grace or Rocky’s standards since he had no idea what he could bring to an alien planet.
“Simon likes plants. Can help Adrian build garden in biosphere” Rocky sang in his ball, his body rocking from side to side.
Simon looked surprised at Rocky's statement, “…a garden?”
“Garden? Is this part of your big big big plan that you've been ignoring me for?” Grace asked accusingly and jabbed a finger on Rocky’s ball.
“Rocky not ignore Grace. Rocky work for biodome for two humans now. Have to make make big plans. Rocky can not ignore noisy human anyways, statement.” Grace rolled his eyes and childishly stuck his tongue out at his best friend. Rocky let out a teasing chirp at the action.
Grace cleared his throat and turned his attention back to Simon who was watching the two interact with a thoughtful expression.
“A garden sounds like a dream. It's almost unbelievable but everything about this has been” said Simon in a whisper.
He gazed back his own face staring at him through the screen.
“Or you could do whatever else you like! You can even be an entertainer like this Mark guy” Grace pointed at the screen and grinned.
“I’m not sure if I can be as entertaining as this guy” He thought of the video that he first saw of the guy. It was about a game where one or more ‘players’ were stuck in a forest and had to build a living on the limited resources they had. The guy on the screen certainly resembled him but Grace had a point, he was not as similar to the young man.
The guy looked in his early twenties, similar if not younger than Simon. He had short colorful hair and made funny faces and remarks constantly. Simon at first couldn't even understand how one could obtain such an unnatural hair color before he learned about the practice of hair dying. And Simon always had shoulder length hair ever since he could remember. His mother always preferred to brush through his long hair.
Aside from the guy’s eccentric looks, his behaviours also were built around catching the attention of the people watching. Simon did not think he would be able to do anything similar. He did not like any sort of attention on him, not to mention on a planet full of rock aliens. Not that it was a possibility in the first place. He knew Grace and Rocky were just trying to make him feel better out of his self depreciation, just like they always did.
“Simon friend is already very entertaining to Rocky and all of Erid” Rocky warbled a tone what Simon recognized as laughter from the alien.
“Haha, I mean us being the only humans in a planet full of Eridians we are bound to be the source of their interest for a while” Grace snickered.
Simon was yet to wrap his head around going to an alien planet that live in the same atmosphere or eat the same to stay for the indefinite future in a habitat built before they die plan. But from the short time they all had spend in this closed space, he had come to trust them.
It had been extremely disorienting at first, waking up in a body nearly immovable from the pain had been really shocking. Waking up at all had been even more disbelieving. He last remembered his body tearing apart from the blood that was fusing on his arms, digging into his nerves eating their way up. He remembered loosing his arm, the alien’s jaws and nothingness. He was so sure he had died.
Somewhere in his mind he still thinks this is what afterlife was, a place where you feel happy, comfortable and your heart’s at peace even if you would want to worry.
Watching Grace and Rocky converse about the beings of the biodome, he turned his attention back to his screen.
Grace told him time worked differently in space and earth, than space and mars. And it had been years since Grace took his first flight, which meant…
“Do you think this guy is still alive on earth?” Grace and Rocky simultaneously turned their attention to him. “I mean it has been quite a while on earth, right?”
Grace scratched his nose in thought, “You are right. Let me see, If uh… Mark was in his twenties when I launched, it has been more than twenty years on earth so he would be in his forties at least.”
“Not dead” Rocky chimed in. “Yes, not dead. But much older than what he looks now” Simon could feel Grace’s calculating gaze on him as he shifted a bit in his seat. He knew Grace was a curious man but something about his freakishly blue eyes that tend to repeatedly stare at him unsettled him.
“…what?” he asked reluctantly. “Wondering if he will look like me in the future since I’m so old?”
It was a little fun watching Grace fluster around which he did often it was amusing to tease him once in a while.
“That is not what I meant Simon! I promise! You don’t look old at all” Grace groaned into his hands.
Simon couldn’t help but snort at the action, “Relax. I was just pulling your leg”
Grace lifted his head and looked away in embarrassment.
How fun.
“What do you think he does now?” He asked.
Grace coughed once and looked at the article opened on screen near Simon and hummed in thought. “Well, he did mention he wanted to go into entertainment, so maybe he’s an actor?” he began. “He has participated in a few acting projects already. But he also is a very creative person, maybe directing? Show business for sure, and acting would definitely suit him since he’s got the looks and all. But that life can be really competitive in its own-”
“Ah? Got the looks?” Simon couldn’t help but interject in Grace’s babbling.
“Uh…I mean” Grace panicked and looked for something to cover his slip up.
“Grace meant Simon attractive statement” Grace might’ve broken a bone from the speed he jerked his face at Rocky. “That… is not what I said”
“Grace lying. Grace said Simon is considered to be very handsome on earth’s standards when Simon was on bed rest.”
Simon could feel his own heart beat a little faster.
“Rocky! I said that in confidence” Grace hissed at his companion and turned to Simon as if his tail was caught in a trap. “Y-you know. I mean… You, I-”
Grace abruptly shot up from his sitting position and exclaimed, “I-I am going to get some coffee for us. You guys should continue t-the research” and stumbled out of the room in a hurry.
Rocky’s ball rolled closer to Simon in the now empty space for Grace and tilted his carapace closer, mimicking a whisper. “Grace said Simon eye candy. Does Simon also get hungry with eyes for Grace, question?” came the monotonous robotic voice at normal volume.
“Rocky!! Like i said, its a metaphor! Get over here!” Rocky trilled another laugh, ““Will come back with Grace soon” and turned to roll his ball towards the lab.
“Rocky help Grace! Why angry, question”
Simon, now left alone without the noise finally cupped his face in his hand and squeezed, trying to ignore the redness in his cheeks, “Shit”