You’d been talking less today.

Not that anyone else seemed to notice—not in the middle of shoot day chaos, with Ian misplacing his phone for the fifth time and Shayne turning a prop ladder into a visual bit mid-scene—but Spencer did.

He always did.

It wasn’t that you’d gone silent. Just… quieter. More careful. Like you were editing yourself in real time. Cutting down on the tangents. Swallowing the unfiltered commentary that usually spilled out of you like it was oxygen.

And Spencer hated it.

He figured it out halfway through lunch. You were scrolling through comments on the morning’s video, biting your lip in that way you did when you were trying not to react to something. He caught the brief flicker of a frown before you locked your phone and stuffed it into your pocket. He didn’t ask—not right away. Spencer wasn’t the “demand answers” kind of guy. He waited. Watched you retreat into the background for the rest of the shoot like you were just… part of the furniture.

When the cameras were finally off, and everyone else scattered to reset for the next bit segment, he found you leaning against the snack table, staring at a bag of pretzels like it had personally wronged you.

“You good?” he asked, leaning next to you.

“Yeah,” you said quickly. Too quickly. “Just… tired.”

He hummed. “Mm. That’s funny. ‘Cause usually when you’re tired you talk more, not less.”

You hesitated, then sighed.

“Someone left a comment. Said I… talk too much. That I’m not even funny or essential to the team. Just… extra noise, I guess.”

Spencer’s jaw tightened.

You laughed weakly, like you could shrug it off. “It’s not a big deal, it’s just—maybe they’re right. Maybe I don’t have to fill every silence.”

His eyes softened, but you kept going.

“It’s dumb, because… this happened to Angela, remember? A couple of months ago, when people in the comments decided she ‘didn’t add anything’? I was furious. I sat with her in the break room and told her those people didn’t know what they were talking about—that they don’t get to decide who belongs here. I meant it, too.”

You rubbed your arm, gaze dropping. “So why can’t I just… take my own advice?”

Spencer turned fully toward you, voice steady but low.

“Because it’s harder when it’s about you,” he said. “It’s easy to defend someone else you care about. It’s harder to believe you deserve that same defense. But you do.”

His tone sharpened just enough to make you meet his eyes.

“You’re part of the team because you are essential. You’re funny. You’re smart. You make people feel comfortable just by being you. Including me. And just like you told Angela—those comments don’t matter. They didn’t change how much she brings to the table, and they sure as hell don’t change you.”

Something in your chest loosened, the same way it had the day Angela smiled at you through her tears back then.

📱 Smosh HQ Group Chat: “🎬 We’re Professionals (Allegedly)”

Courtney 👑: WHO SAID IT??? Drop the @, I just wanna talk.

Shayne 👖: No, I wanna talk. With my fists.

Damien 🔥: 👀 what’s happening?

Angela 🎤: Someone in the comments decided to be real brave today and called Y/N “extra noise.” Like?? Sorry, you’re allergic to joy???

Tommy 🧢: Absolutely feral take.

Arasha 🎬: Not them being wrong and loud about it 💀

Courtney 👑: I have a spreadsheet of insults for this exact scenario.

Ian 🧠: We don’t condone targeted harassment, Courtney.

Courtney 👑: Right, right. Public harassment, then.

Angela 🎤: No, seriously—Y/N, remember when people came for me a few months ago? Said I didn’t “add anything”? You sat with me in the break room for like two hours, telling me how much that crap doesn’t matter. You were right then, and you’re still right now. Don’t let one bored internet troll make you feel smaller.

Tommy 🧢: 👏 THIS 👏

Damien 🔥: Yeah, they clearly have no clue what it’s like here without you. (Spoiler: it’s worse.)

Shayne 👖: You’re the glue and the glitter, Y/N. Without you, we’d just… be some people standing in a warehouse.

Arasha 🎬: …and it would smell worse.

Spencer 🧃: …agree.

Courtney 👑: Wow, two words from Spencer? he’s practically yelling.

Shayne 👖: Seriously, though, he’s right. You’re the best part of the room.

Spencer 🧃: yep.

Ian 🧠: Can confirm. Essential personnel.

Damien 🔥: So it’s settled. We keep being loud and amazing.

Courtney 👑: And by loud, you mean—

Angela 🎤: Exactly what you’re thinking.