You’re the heart of the group. The one who’s always smiling, cracking jokes, making the studio feel warmer. Even Dez lets his guard down around you. But today… something’s different. You’re quieter. Your laugh is off. They aren’t dumb — they know something’s wrong. But they don’t want to push. They just want to be there for you like you always are for them.

Dez glances at you from the studio lounge, barely paying any attention to the conversation he was having with Janet when he was the first to notice your energy shift while you sat there quietly on the couch.

“You okay?” he asks softly.

You blink, confused by his question. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just ain’t actin’ like yourself,” Dez adds, fiddling with the string on his hoodie. “You ain’t smiled since you walked in.”

Wendy tilts her head. “Not even when I made that awful joke about the gas station guy. That’s how I know somethin’s wrong.”

The room is quiet, warm with concern. Even Prince is staring, arms crossed but eyes softened where he stood behind the mic which was untouched for now.