Chase's POV

"Chase?" Diego's concerned voice echoes from the phone. "Chase! Listen to my voice okay? Do you think you can turn on the video for this call?"

Though Diego's voice is laced with worry, it is also affirmative yet tender. Despite my increasingly blurry vision, I somehow manage to pick up the phone in my trembling hands. I squeeze a few shallow breaths into my lungs and fumble to press the button.

Diego's charming face instantly greets me; it is calm and composed but I can see the panic in his eyes. "Listen to my voice, little lamb. Just focus on me. I want you to take deep breaths with me okay?"

Diego's face seems to fade out of existence as my mind is overpowered by painful memories. I try to respond to Diego's reassuring voice but all that comes out is a little squeak. "You're not in any danger. It'll be alright little lamb. I'm going to start counting. Breathe with me."

"One, In... Out..." My body is trembling like a leaf. "Two, In... Out..." I see the yellow tulips that Mike got me on our final date. "Three, In... Out..." I push Mike away as he starts pushing me past my limits. "Four, In...Out..." I see Mike's smiling face morph into one of apathy. "Five, In... Out..." Diego's concerned face overlaps with the images of Mike.

"Six, In... Out..." Mike's image fades leaving only Diego's face. "Seven, In... Out..." I see Diego's pointed nose and sharp jawline. "Eight, In... Out..." Diego's tranquil voice comforts me. "Nine, In... Out..." Diego's chocolate eyes reassure me, letting me know that I will be alright. "Ten, In... Out..." My breathing starts to return to normal.

"I'm here Chase, you're not in any danger. Breathe." Diego says, in a steady voice. "You're doing so well little lamb."

I take another shaky breath, trying to focus solely on the kind and caring man staring at me with concern and affection . "I'm okay," I whisper, trying to steady my breathing. "Just talk to me," I squeak. I still feel like I'm too close to the verge of a panic attack and I need some sort of distraction.

Without missing a beat, Diego starts talking. "I wasn't always great at public speaking, in fact the first speech I ever gave was actually the vote of thanks at my high school graduation. I was so nervous, my palms were sweaty and I felt like I was going to be sick. Now, I'm in the graduation hall and the whole ceremony went smoothly, everything was perfect." As I am focusing on Diego's voice, my lungs are slowly letting more air into them and my trembling body begins to still.

"As I was walking up the stairs, I turned to look at the crowd and they were smiling at me which really boosted my confidence. I smiled back and looked towards the podium. Just then I tripped and fell face first on the platform. I was mortified!" Diego says, momentarily covering his face in embarrassment which makes a tiny smile appear on my face.

"But I quickly stood up and continued towards the podium. I mean I had a speech to give and I had practiced it for weeks. So I reached into my pocket to pull out my speech so that I could reference it while talking. But guess what?" Diego asks, his chocolate eyes wide and filled with horror.

A tiny giggle escapes me. I'm now completely engrossed in what he's saying and my mind is no longer trying to attack me with horrifying flashbacks.

"My speech had flown out of my pocket and was now lying on the ground, in front of the first row!" Diego exclaims and I giggle and the ridiculously shocked expression he is wearing; like he himself still can't believe what happened.

"Then what?" I ask quietly, sitting back on the couch and wrapping a blanket around my shoulders.

Diego smiles before he continues and I can see that the tension and panic that he was feeling a few minutes ago is gone. "I moved to the edge of the stage and opened my mouth to ask someone to pass me the paper but then someone in the audience let out a horrified scream."

I instinctively lean forward, wondering what he is going to say next. "I was puzzled of course but then I felt something wet under my nose. I touched it and realized that my nose was bleeding! On seeing the blood, I was really grossed out so I fainted, falling forward off the platform!"

"Oh my god! That's awful!" I squeal but I can't help the wide smile that is plastered to my face.

Diego pouts and huffs, "Sure, tell that to the adorable smile on your face."

I giggle at that and Diego chuckles, showing me his heart stopping dimples.

"Can I ask you something, Chase?" Diego questions after a few seconds of silence.

"You want to know why I had a panic attack?" I ask quietly, tightening the blanket around me and looking at the carpet. This is it. This is where he sees that I wasn't joking when I told him that I was broken. This is when he'll say that he doesn't want to talk to me anymore.

"Only if you want to tell me, Chase." Diego's kind, feather-like voice makes me lift my head to look at him and he smiles gently.

I bite the inside of my cheek as I think about how much I want to share with him. I know that I want him to get to know me and I want to tell him everything but I'm scared. What if I let him in and he hurts me? I take a deep breath and decide that I should provide some sort of explanation as to why I freaked out when he mentioned that show. "I really want to watch that show. It's just... that was the last show I was supposed to watch with my ex," I force out, trying to stop the onslaught of tears fighting their way out of my tear ducts.

"I shouldn't have suggested it. I'm really sorry I upset-"

"No, you didn't do anything wrong," I quickly interject. "Thank you for helping me," I say, trying to convey my appreciation.

"I caused your panic att-"

My eyes bore into Diego's and I can feel the disappointment and shame that he is feeling at hurting me. "No! Diego you didn't do anything wrong! Please believe me." I try to reassure him that I am really alright with my eyes.

Diego sighs and nods but I can see he is still sulking and I have that urge once again to comfort him. "Diego-"

"Chase! Bryan let me fuck him!" Jesse's voice startles me and I let out a tiny scream. I hear Diego chuckle and the jingling of the keys as Jesse enters the room. "Chase did you hear me?" Jesse asks, with a huge smile on his face and his eyes shimmering with happiness.

"Also, Mason called me in a panic wondering why I didn't call him when I got here!" Jesse says trying to glare at me but he is clearly too excited about what happened with Bryan because he literally can't stop smiling.

Jesse plops down on the couch next to me, finally noticing that I'm on the phone with Diego. "Oh! Hi Diego," he greets him with a smile. "Ooooh baby bro!" Jesse exclaims, poking me in the side and raising his eyebrows at me.

Jesse chuckles at the comical expression that I'm sure is on my face, then proceeds to make kissy noises. "I'll leave you two love birds alone," Jesse says, poking me again in the side. He gets up from the couch and exits the room but not before grinning and sticking his thumbs up.

I reluctantly turn back towards Diego, completely embarrassed by this whole situation. Diego is wearing a soft smile and I can't help the small smile that appears on my face in response.

"How about we put off that show until you're ready to watch it. If or whenever you want, we'll watch it together," Diego suggests causing my smile to immediately grow and I nod in agreement.

"Perfect!" Diego exclaims, grinning at me, which makes my heart thump loudly against my chest. "Do you want to watch something else or are you going to hang out with Jesse?"

I really want to watch something with Diego but Jesse cut his time with Bryan short so I should hang out with him.

"Pssst." I turn around just as Jesse pokes his head into the room. "I actually have some work to do for a new client so if you want you can totally watch a movie with Diego. Don't cancel on my account," Jesse whispers.

I giggle and nod excitedly and Jesse makes a heart shape with his hands and moves away making me giggle more. I think Jesse approves of Diego! He was never like this with Mike. He always frowned whenever I called or said that I would spend time with him. He of course tried to hide it but I noticed.

I turn back to Diego who has been silent the entire time.

"What are you thinking about, little lamb?" Diego inquires, propping one of his hands against his cheek.

"I think Jesse approves of you," I reply, avoiding his eyes with a shy smile.

"You really think so? He gave me a hard time last night," Diego responds with a nervous chuckle.

I frown. When did they see each other last night? "Last night?" I inquire.

"Yeah I ran into him when he went to Bryan's house," Diego says.

I pout, not sure if I'm annoyed by the fact that my brother is meddling or that I didn't get to see Diego in person.

"M&M for your thoughts?" Diego asks gently.

A smile spreads across my face and I let out a tiny giggle, my previous irritation immediately forgotten as I try not to openly stare at Diego's soft smile.

"Let's pick something to watch!" I exclaim, picking up my remote to again flick through Netflix.

Diego hums a response and we spend the next two hours watching Netflix together. Diego even ordered sushi for himself so that we could eat the same thing while we watched. While watching, we chatted, smiled, laughed and cried together. It actually felt like a real date and I couldn't have been happier or imagined having so much fun with anyone else.

I can't wait to see him at the barbecue in a few days!

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