"You played by yourself?" Jasmine exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

Jasmine nearly spilled her coffee as she hugged Felix. He patted her back, uncomfortable with the contact but appreciating the sentiment. She pulled away, almost spilling her coffee again. Felix sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I wasn't really expecting it," he admitted. "I thought someone was playing piano with me."

"That's still amazing! Did you play more songs after?"

"The crowd kept requesting songs."

"And what did you do?"

Felix looked at the ground, smiling. "I played for an hour."

Jasmine screeched, hopping in place. This time she did spill her coffee, the liquid going over the edges onto her hand and the floor. She quickly stopped jumping and set the mug on the nearby table. Instead of cleaning it up, she returned her attention to Felix.

"That's such a huge step for you! Doesn't it feel wonderful?"

"I mean, yeah."

"Are you going to do it again?" she paused, glaring. "You better do it again."

"I probably will," Felix assured her. "When I have time."

"You're going to make time, because that's something amazing that you've done," she said, poking Felix's chest with her coffee soaked finger.

"What's amazing?" Jerry stood in the doorway, looking between Jasmine and Felix curiously.

The grin on Felix's face immediately disappeared at the sight of Jerry. Instead, it was replaced with a subtle glare. Jasmine had done the same, but her glare was more obvious. Jerry seemed to notice their looks and frowned.

"What?" He asked. Jasmine and Felix shared a look.

"Nothing, I just spilled some coffee," Jasmine responded, reaching for the paper towels. She ripped some off the roll and began to wipe up her hand.

"Oh, hopefully it's not too messy."

"Don't worry, it's not."

Jerry turned to Felix, repeating his question from earlier. "What was the awesome thing that happened?"

Felix glanced at Jasmine. She was staring at him in the corner of her eye, silently telling him to not say anything. Felix bit his lip nervously as he looked back at Jerry. After a moment of awkward silence, Felix sighed.

"I played violin by myself at the mall yesterday," he said. Jasmine sighed as Jerry grinned.

"That is awesome! How was it?"

"Nerve-wracking, but fun."

"I would imagine it was anxiety inducing! What did you play?"

"Anything that people asked."

Jerry nodded. "Cool, cool."

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Jasmine continued wiping herself up while Jerry and Felix engaged in an unspoken staring contest. Felix didn't want to look away in fear that it would show he wanted to avoid Jerry. So instead, Felix started to walk sideways, knowing full well that he was about to trip over something.

True to his prophecy, Felix's foot caught on an object, making him stumble. Instead of struggling, he let the fall happen, his elbow hitting the ground with a jolt of pain. He hissed in pain, rolling onto his back.

"Holy shit, are you okay?" Jasmine asked, hurrying to him. She stood over him, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Felix said, cradling his elbow with a grimace. Through his eyes, he tried to convey why he had done it.

"Are you sure? That was quite the fall," Jerry said, popping into Felix's view. He stayed further away than Jasmine, but still hovered nearby.

"I'm sure, I'll be okay."

"Do you need an ice pack?"

"I'll be fine, thanks."

"I can get you one, it'll only take-"

"What's happening here?" Felix's boss' voice came from the doorway, monotone and ominous. Felix looked out the doorway, internally groaning. There could not be a worse time.

"Felix fell over, and we were trying to help," Jerry quickly responded, his voice copying that of his boss.

His boss slowly walked in, staring down at Felix. "You were trying to help?"

"Yes sir."

"You're such a helper. Thank you, Jerry."

"Of course sir."

"As for you, Osborne," His boss reached down and grabbed his arm, yanking him to his feet. "You're quite clumsy."

"I know. I'm sorry sir," Felix mumbled.

His boss clucked his tongue. "If Jerry hadn't been here to help, what would you have done? Surely you would've needed his help."

"I'm very grateful Jerry was here."

"As you should be. He's the best person in this office, after all."

"I know," Felix had to force himself not to spit the words with venom. "He certainly is."

"Aim to be more like Jerry. Maybe then you wouldn't be so clumsy."

"I'll try, sir."

"Good," His boss turned on his heels and marched out. "Best get to work, there's lots for you to do!"

Felix watched his boss disappear out the doorway, glaring daggers at him as he smugly walked away. Once he was out of view, his angry gaze shifted to Jerry. Jerry stared at his feet, rubbing the back of his neck.

"He likes to joke a lot," Jerry said, chuckling nervously. Jasmine snorted.

"Uh huh, joking. Right," she said sarcastically.

"He does it all in fun."

"I'm sure he does, you're his favorite after all. Everything between you two is super chummy."

"It's not like that," Jerry weakly defended.

"Sure it's not. He just adores you and despises Felix for no reason at all."

"Jasmine, please, stop," Felix begged. She glared at him, but her gaze softened slightly.

"Fine. C'mon, us mere mortals have to do some work," she stared at Jerry the entire time she said it, staring him down. She grabbed Felix's arm and led him out of the break room.

"You didn't have to attack him like that," Felix muttered once they were a safe distance from the break room.

"Yes, I did. He's all high and mighty from his special treatment, and he needs to be taken down."

Felix didn't really agree, but he knew better than to argue. He might not like Jerry, but Jasmine absolutely despised him. It was partly because she was protective of Felix. They were work siblings, and basically siblings outside of work too. If someone was rude to Felix, she came in like a pitbull to protect him.

Jasmine only let her death grip on Felix's arm loosen when they got to their cubicles. Felix pulled his arm from her remaining grip, grimacing as he felt the blood flow back into his arm. Her strength made him glad that she was with him, not against him.

"Did you take your meds this morning?" She quizzed. He nodded.

"Yes, I did. If I hadn't, you would be able to tell."

"Good. And your alarm is set for your meds at noon?"

"Yes, everything is set."

"Good," she gently pushed Felix into his cubicle. "Now get to work."

"Oh, I'll get right on it."

Jasmine chuckled before disappearing around the cubicle wall. Felix turned to his computer and sighed, pressing the power button. He watched the screen power on with disinterested eyes. All he wanted to do was go back to the mall and play some more.

Once he played that one song by himself, everyone wanted him to keep going. The end of every song was greeted by loud cheering and applause. Requests were launched at him in hopes of being played. A few people even handed Felix money, telling him he should be a professional musician.

When Felix finally decided to stop playing, there was an outcry from the crowd. Not disappointed murmuring. Not begrudging sighs. Loud, unhappy outcry. They wanted him to keep playing. They wanted him, of all people they've heard play, to keep playing.

Simply thinking about it made Felix's heart begin to beat faster. The anticipation of performing again hit him in full swing, his leg beginning to jitter. He was excited by the thought, wanting to be there again right away.

He took a deep breath. For now, he had to work. Forcing the thoughts of the mall from his mind, Felix tried to focus on the computer screen in front of him. The words blurred together, lines melding and separating as his eyes tried to focus. It was useless to try and focus now, with the ideas of performing looming over the back of his mind.

It was going to be a long week.