Without Him || FNF angst (Pico/BF/GF) poly

A Presence

GF didn't move a muscle. She still couldn't believe she'd exploded like that, which in turn, riled Pico up. A part of the girl wished to be upset at her boyfriend, for he had acted out too. But in the grand scheme of things, it was in his nature to behave that way. GF was never out of line; she had no excuse.

She tilted her head, peering at the ginger. He had turned his body to face away from her, arms remained crossed, shoulders raised. His face was slightly red as well, likely a result of the unwanted stares he was receiving from the silent audience, and his silent girlfriend. GF shifted her gaze to the robot-man she was sitting across from. The monitor on Hex's head still projected the photo of Pico walking rather than his own animated face. GF felt like throwing up.

Hex had no idea what to say. The atmosphere had grown unbearably heavy since the duo's outburst. Thankfully the image of Pico hid the robo-host's uncomfortable expression. What could he do to make this situation better? He specialized in sports, comedy, and music, not celebrity therapy. What if he made things worse? Would that be good for ratings? No. These celebrities were his peers, and humiliating them was definitely not proper interview etiquette. Still, his programming didn't necessarily include morals, so he sat frozen, quietly fighting his curious instincts.
The audience remained stagnant as they waited anxiously for the show to continue. They scanned the stage, praying for the tension to break.

Staring at the ginger anxiously, GF held her belly. Her heart pounded so obnoxiously that her ears rang. Her thoughts raced, mainly feelings about the guilt she'd been faced with, but also orders not to start crying.
This continued for nearly a minute, then suddenly, a sense of comfort washed over the girl. It felt as though she'd been draped with a quilt, not a comforter or sheet, but something in-between. It was a warm feeling, a happy feeling, reminding GF everything would be okay. There was definitely something there to calm her down- an invisible presence, like a ghost's or an angel's.

Abruptly, Pico spoke. "Jeez. That was a bit much, huh." He placed a hand on the back of his neck. "I've really been outa line, ya know." The ginger looked up from his shoes and finally turned to face his girlfriend. "I'm really sorry, GF. I've been terrible lately, not just tonight but like, generally." He explained.
"I've been bad too," GF admitted. "I'm also sorry."
After this, the couple gazed at each other lovingly, sadly smiling, but smiling nonetheless. They probably would have kissed if they weren't on live T.V. with thousands of people watching. Hex made a noise like he was clearing his throat. "Well, now that that's over with, we can move onto the fun questions!" He cheered, earning sighs of relief from the audience members.
"What do you mean?" Pico joked. "That last question was so fun."
"So fun." GF agreed sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

A few hours later, the interview was over. Hex asked a lot of light-hearted questions: How did you two meet? Where did you go to school? Fashion Inspo? He completely disregarded the couple's outburst for the time being, but Pico knew it would come back and haunt them further down the road.
After the show, the audience filtered out of the auditorium, along with most of the Heuristic Entertainment staff. This left the building relatively empty. After saying goodbye to Hex and Carol, the hip-hop-duo took their leave as well. It was nice being on the show, for the most part anyway, but they were still anxious to leave and get home.
Since everyone had already left, the parking lot was empty. Pico had parked in the staff parking area towards the back of the lot. GF could barely make out the silhouette of her boyfriend's car. It was some model of Tesla, an SUV, purple with black racing stripes down the middle. Needless to say it stood out, even in the blackness of the night.
As they walked through the vacant parking lot, Pico thought about reaching for the brunette's hand but decided not to.

Instead, he rushed ahead of his girlfriend and opened the passenger door for her. Tiredly mumbling "Thanks,", She slid into her seat.
"Watch your fingers." Pico ordered before closing the door. He ran over to the driver's side of the car and got in. Once the ginger fastened his seatbelt, he drove out of the lot, breaking several traffic laws while doing so. Even though it was nearly eleven PM, the city streets were packed. The twenty-minute drive to their house would probably end up being forty. Realizing this, Pico sighed.
"It was nice to be out again," GF said abruptly, forcing a smile. Pico hadn't turned on the radio yet, and she much preferred the sound of conversation over silence.
"Yep." The ginger agreed. "Too bad we humiliated ourselves on LIVE-TV." He remarked, not taking his eyes off the road.
"Oh, c'mon." GF laughed, "It wasn't that bad."
"It was pretty bad. Could've been a lot worse though."
"I was really shocked when you apologized like that." GF mumbled, referring to when they were back on stage. She was blushing now. Pico was silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.
"Yeah. Me too, honestly." The ginger sighed. "It was so weird. I just kinda- like. Ugh, it's hard to explain." Remembering the calm feeling that washed over her earlier, GF's interest peeked. Had Pico experienced the same thing? She tensed up in her seat.
"Try to explain anyway," The girl urged, "I wanna see something."
"Okay." Pico agreed, "It felt like, like I was being surrounded by something. Something good." He said unsurely. His girlfriend nodded understandingly. "This sounds so weird. I wasn't scared, in fact, it calmed me down, made me notice my temper. Kinda like how-" Then he cut himself off. Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, the ginger's knuckles turned white, as did his face.
"Pico, are you okay? Do you want to pull over?" GF asked in a calm tone even though she was growing worried. She had noticed her partner's expression change. Pico shook his head in response.
"Nah. I'm good." He lied, voice trembling slightly.
Curiosity taking over, GF pressed, "What were you gonna say?".
At first, he didn't answer, he just stared at the road ahead. Then, he took a deep breath, and color started returning to his face. "Babe, I'm sober right now," Pico explained like it was relevant.
"Well, I would hope so." GF joked nervously, "You're behind the wheel." She watched Pico swallow hard.
"I know, this just sounds crazy. It felt like BF was there. Like how he used to calm me down." He explained hesitantly. The brunette gasped quietly.
"I felt the same thing."
"Is that so?"

During the rest of the drive home, GF described the ease that washed over her on stage. By the sound of it, her boyfriend had experienced the exact same thing. Neither of them were religious, but the idea of BF's soul crossed their minds. Could he still be with them?
Once Pico parked the car and the duo went inside their home, they retreated to their bedroom. The ginger was in a much better mood than usual. It felt nice to open up a bit in the car, though he did feel slightly guilty about it.
GF changed into her nightgown, which was just an old shirt of BF's. She also slid on a fresh pair of underwear to sleep in. While the brunette was changing, Pico, who had already disregarded his shirt and socks, was digging through his dresser. He pulled out a clean pair of boxer briefs and a white t-shirt with "Darnelle for president" printed on it. Quickly, he changed into those and made his way to the bathroom.
GF was already brushing her teeth when the ginger arrived. He just stared at her in awe, not saying anything. "What's gotten into you?" GF asked, toothpaste foaming out of her mouth. Pico's face just turned red.
GF was so beautiful, even when she was getting ready for bed. Her hair had been pulled back into a messy ponytail, and her makeup had been washed off, but she was still drop-dead gorgeous. Her nightgown draped over her breasts and hung down to her knees, hiding her whole figure. Pico couldn't get over how cute she looked.
GF spat into the sink, rinsed her toothbrush, then turned around to face her boyfriend. Pico was a pretty stoic guy, so the way he was looking at her was enough to make GF blush. "What're ya looking at, man," GF asked, raising an eyebrow, still foaming from the mouth. 
"Oops! Sorry." Pico blurted, swiftly turning away from the girl. She just laughed in response, more toothpaste residue flying into the sink. 

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A/N: I don't like to put author's notes, (I usually just go to the comments,) but this time I have a question for all the readers willing to answer: 

Where would you like this story to go? Anything in particular you're waiting for (eg: smut, fluff, a specific event or feeling)

I have the entire thing planned out, but I want it to be fulfilling for you guys