Mr Brightside || Danny Gonzalez x Drew Gooden

chapter one // numb

As soon as Danny Gonzalez gets home from Drew Gooden's funeral he bursts into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He crawls into bed and pulls the covers up to his chin. It is warm outside, the sun shining bright but the bedroom is dark and cold, the curtains drawn and lights off. Danny stares up at the ceiling, he was silent, numb through everything since he found out about his best friend's death, all there was a deep gaping hole in his heart. He felt like his life suddenly turned slow and dull. He just couldn't believe it. He wouldn't accept it.

He remembers the day he found out so well. Amanda, Drew's wife, called him from the hospital, telling him that Drew had just passed away from a car accident coming home from the bar, at first Danny thought it was a prank like the ones he made his YouTube videos about. But Amanda sounded panicky and she was crying and he knew it wasn't just a prank. His phone slipped from his grasp, the sound of it impacting the floor echoed through his ears.

His mind felt disconnected from his body after that moment, he would walk around the house like a zombie, if he ever even left his room. He would forget to eat and drink and would just spend all his time sleeping, he was able to escape the reality that way. And the times he was awake it was like there was a heavy blanket draped over him, forcing him to his bed, silencing him. All he wanted was to cry, things would feel better if he could but it was like his mind would refuse to accept Drew's death.

The overwhelming despair quickly turned into anger, his best friend was dead and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. And the one thing he could do to even just slightly relieve the pain of his loss, he couldn't do. He just couldn't fucking cry.

He glances over to his side, on the wall a single photo hangs. It is a photo of him and Drew laughing because of the joke he had just made. Danny loved that photo, it was his lock screen background for months. He pulls his legs up to his chest, the hole in his heart only growing bigger and bigger. He drags his gaze away from the picture on the wall, burying his face into his knees.

•

"Danny," a voice whispers, hands lightly shaking him awake,

"D-Drew?" He responds, blinking a couple of times. As his eyes adjust he sees that it is not Drew, it is in fact his wife, Laura, standing over him. He pulls himself up and leans back against the bed frame.

"Oh honey," she sighs, hugging him tight and giving him a light kiss on his cheek, "Amanda was just here, she told me to give you this. She said she found it in Drew's office and thought you should have it."

In her hand is a black moleskin notebook, Danny looks at it curiously, he recognizes it but just can't place where from. He takes it slowly and watches as Laura leaves the room. On the front of the book is the words;

THIS IS DREWS. DANNY AND KURTIS DO NOT TOUCH.

He furrows his eyebrows and opens the book onto the first page,

September 6th, 2019