"... yeah."

The look on his face indicated, at least, that he wasn't injured. But it wasn't the look of "one of my friends is in trouble" either. It was something else. Something strained, tense, like he had been dealing with something alone and was about to burst from the pressure of it.

"... don't freak, okay? Whatever you do, whatever you think you're gonna say to him, don't say it. Just trust me on this, okay?"