It was rather confusing actually. Zach had never been one who innately cared about what others went through too much. If he did, he may have ended up in Ernie's situation. The only people he had ever chosen to check whatever he wanted for were his friends, and T. But this, he just...the music had compelled it, had spoken and said so much he had never heard before.
And this time, this time Ernie didn't pull away. That made Zach happy, a little. He felt the muscles relax, and his hands automatically began to give a gentle massage. He noted where knots were and tried to make progress at those without making them hurt too much. Getting rid of hurt was the point. At least for then. Zach wasn't thinking about the long term. He often had had trouble with that, and he was focused on the moment.
Ernie then looked at him, and they hadn't seemed so physically close until then. It was different than just standing right behind Ernie. Zach could see Ernie's face, quite close. And it was pretty, but not a girl pretty. There was a certain kind of strength that men had, and Ernie had it.
Zach wasn't sure what to say about that observation. He nodded slightly. His tongue often got him in trouble with a lot of people, he knew that. And he had always struggled with comforting words whenever he tried. So he just looked back at Ernie, not looking away.