Chapter Text
“Good morning,” Alison Arkin said cheerily, peeking into Adam’s Hesketh’s cubicle.
The red-head was tense, and he startled at her greeting, almost tipping his chair over in shock. “Oh! It’s you, Alison,” he choked, settling his chair back down. His face was pale, and there were dark bags under his eyes.
She tilted her head at him. “Uh, yes, it’s me. Is something wrong?”
Adam’s eyes grew wide, and he looked around the room. “Wrong? No! Nothing’s wrong here. Everything’s… great… did you need anything?”
“Uh, alright. I'm just… saying good morning,” Alison had just been stopping by briefly before going to find Elizabeth Lawrence, so she didn’t intend to linger. But before she could move on, Adam gave a low groan.
“You've figured it out, haven't you?” he looked miserable.
“What?”
“I feel like a mess. It's probably all over my face,” he scrubbed his hands through his long hair, mussing up his ponytail.
“Adam, is something wrong?” Alison blinked. She wasn't sure what the problem was, but he clearly needed help with something. Nervous energy was practically radiating out of him, making her want to fidget with him. If she didn't find out now, it would be bothering her all day.
He looked around, making sure no one seemed to be listening before waving Alison over. “Yes,” he sighed. Intrigued by his secretive attitude, Alison leaned in. “Victor and I… Victor… ”
“What happened?” Alison encouraged. “Did you have a falling out?”
Adam shook his head miserably. “Um, the opposite.”
“The opposite of a falling out?”
“He… might have… uh, kissed me.”
Alison jolted. “He kissed you?” she squawked, and Adam immediately shushed her, putting his finger to his lips.
“Keep it down,” he groaned. “Please, Alison. I don’t want to make things any worse. He won’t text me back anymore, and Mr. Danvers told me that he called out because he was feeling sick.”
Alison swallowed, unsure of whether to congratulate him or apologize. “Soooo the kiss wasn’t good?”
Adam shook his head quickly, then nodded, then scrubbed his hands through his hair, only further loosening his long ponytail. Bedraggled strands began to slide from his hair-tie, giving him an even more wrecked appearance. “No, it was good for me. And I think it was good for Victor. At least I'm pretty sure it was good for Victor.”
“What did he say? Did he say that it was good?”
“He didn’t say anything at the time except, um, ‘sorry’. But I also said sorry, so I think it was okay,” Adam made a confused wiggle with his hands.
Alison gave him a concerned frown. “He said sorry? After he kissed you?”
“Can you stop repeating what I say back to you as a question?” he jittered. “It’s not making me feel any better, actually.”
“Sorry! Sorry, it’s just. Um. Are you sure that it was good for Victor too? Because he’s not acting like it’s good,” Alison shrugged nervously. “I’ve also never actually been in a relationship before, so, um, maybe you should talk to someone else about it, like… ” She suddenly realized that a lot of her coworkers were chronically single. “Well, someone in your department is probably, you know, married. I can’t give you any advice that didn’t come from a TV show.”
Adam shook his head immediately. “Alison, no, I can’t tell anyone. I’m only telling you because you’re such a good friend. If I tell anyone else, it’ll get around the office, and Victor hates that. It’s got to be a secret. Nobody can know, just me, you, and… well, don’t tell Victor I told you, actually. I don't think he'd like that very much. Just me and you.”
Alison Arkin usually doubted her abilities to lie, but the heady rush of deep warmth that radiated through her core from Adam’s words made her realize that she would never purposefully do anything to betray her friend’s trust. If he thought she could keep this from getting out, then she would do anything to keep them safe. “No one will know! I promise! It’ll be the best kept secret you've ever seen!”
“Okay, okay! Volume down! Volume down!” Adam pressed a desperate finger to his lips again.
“Sorry,” she whispered.