It starts as a typical Monday morning. Chester wakes before Grace, as usual. They both have places to be early, as usual. Chester goes to gently shake Grace awake, despite wishing he could just watch her sleep peacefully for a little while longer. She hardly gets any sleep these days.
"Gracie, babe, you've gotta wake up." He says in a soft tone. She doesn't wake, which is the first unusual thing about the day. Usually with one shake or word she bolts up, anxious about being late and places she has to be. Today, she's completely out of it. "Grace!" Chester says louder, shaking her a bit more vigorously.
"Hmm?" She mumbles sleepily, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake up. "What's wrong?" Chester looks worriedly at her. She looks visibly tired, deteriorated. Not any less beautiful but worn out and run down.
"Are you okay? Do you feel alright?" Chester asks, taking her hand and rubbing her knuckles under his thumb. Grace pushes her limp blonde hair out of her face and takes on a serious face, scrunching up her nose like she always does when she's thinking.
"I don't know, I feel a bit off, but I can't put my finger on a reason why." She answers.
"By 'off' what do you mean? Do you feel too sick to go to your meetings?" Chester continues to press, ever worrying about her.
"I'm just fatigued is all, and I feel a little nauseous. Like in a hungover way I guess." Grace replies. "I can go to the meeting though, it's really important. I can't miss this." Chester nods, knowing there's no way in hell he'll win this argument.
"If you're feeling too unwell, don't be afraid to excuse yourself. I can always come pick you up." Chester reminds her.
"I'll call if I need you. Thank you for your concern, babe." Grace says, kissing his cheek before moving to get dressed. Chester scrolls absentmindedly through tumblr on his phone, not quite paying attention until he hears Grace muttering intangible complaints about something across the room.
"Goddammit." She curses, pulling in frustration at the waistband of her skinny jeans. It's a fruitless attempt; they won't come near enough to button. "This is just great. I just bought these too I don't understand why they won't button." she attempts again to no avail. "For gods sake!"
"Hey, hey, it's alright." Chester says, seeing tears beginning to well up in her eyes. It's odd for her to be emotional about something like this. In all honestly it's odd to see her emotional about anything. He pulls her into a tight embrace, kissing the top of her head. "It's just a pair of jeans baby, it's not the end of the world." Grace buries her face against his chest, letting out a muffled sniff and wiping away tears.
"I know, it's stupid. I shouldn't even worry about it it's just," She rambles, stopping abruptly without an end to her thought.
"It's just what?" Chester asks.
"I just feel fat." Grace whispers. "And not in a curvy way, like Louise who's body is something I'll never achieve or be able to pull off. Like in a gross, bloated sort of way."
"You're certainly not fat, darling. You're perfect and I'd love you no matter what you look like." Chester assures her, kissing her sweetly on her lips. "Why don't you just wear a dress or something?" Grace nods and finds a loose navy blue dress, pulling it on with ease.
~
Grace meets Mamrie in the lobby of Google Space LA for their meeting about HeyUSA season three. Mamrie notes the redness in her eyes, something Grace couldn't cover up with makeup despite her valiant effort.
"Helbig, are you okay? You look like you've been crying." Mamrie says bluntly, never one to hold back her thoughts. Grace looks away embarassedly.
