tangled up in blue

28

"Oh trust me, we have been," Jace muttered with a smirk. Even though Lee was out of earshot, I slapped his arm with the spatula. My best friend looked like he couldn't believe I had the confidence to be sassy with his brother and walk away with my life, but we were enjoying messing with his mind too much to stop. Usually, I would have acted like nothing between Jace and I had changed, but I knew Lee was too dense to figure out what was really going on anyway, so confusing him would be comedic gold.

"Is he bribing you? Noah, blink twice if you need help."

"I don't know, Blue. Would you say you're being bribed?" Jace asked, his voice quiet enough for only me to hear. He batted his eyelashes at me, and I thought of his lips on mine just that morning in bed. I was definitely being bribed. That didn't mean I wasn't enjoying it.

"You know what, I give up," Lee sighed, sitting down at the kitchen island. "You two are so confusing. You guys need to wear alternating t-shirts that say 'enemies' or 'not enemies' at all times so I know whether you've decided to fight or not."

"We're always fighting," I replied with a grin. Me and Jace locked eyes, and he gave me a smirk that said 'Yeah, except sometimes the fighting leads to your dick in my mouth.' I smirked back at him, but I figured Lee didn't need to know that detail. We really should have been more careful, but we weren't exactly acting like boyfriends or anything. Lee would never know, as long as Jace and I still treated each other with a mild layer of contempt even when things were good between us.

"Hey," I said, changing the subject when I walked over to Lee and slid a pancake on his plate that he'd already got out in preparation. "Why do you look nice?" I sniffed his neck and he pushed my head away. "And is that cologne?!"

"What?" He defended with a blush, attempting to seem intimidating. "So I can't look or smell nice without something going on?"

"Nope," me and Jace said simultaneously. Lee made a 'hmph' sound and stuffed his cheeks with a forkful of pancake. He was adorable when he was trying to be angry. A wave of horror came over me when I realised that's probably exactly what Jace thought about me. I glared at him, as if he could read my thoughts.

Jace

Aw. Noah's adorable when he's trying to be angry.

Noah

Jace grinned at me in the way he did when he was thinking very bad and very Jace-like thoughts, and then turned to his younger brother. "So, has virgin Mary got a date or something?"

Lee pursed his lips and applied more maple syrup. "Shut up and eat your pancakes. Virgin Mary isn't talking to you."

"Oh my god, he has," I gasped as I grabbed us a plate and started piling it up. I didn't grab two, because something in me liked the thought of us both eating from the same stack, and slapping each other's hands when we reached for the same one. "Who is she and how does she put up with you?"

"Have you and Colton admitted your feelings for each other?" Jace said. I giggled, too distracted to stop Jace from stealing the fork I was lifting to my own mouth and shoving it smugly in his.

"I don't like this. You're ganging up on me. When the fuck did this betrayal happen? Noah, please go back to hating him."

"I do," I scowled, regretting my single plate decision after Jace yet again stole my forkful of food. "But this is way more fun."

"You laughed at what he said. You actually laughed. This is so fucking weird," he mumbled.

"That's because I'm hilarious," Jace said before I could deny the outlandish claims. "Now eat up, Mary. Can't be hungry on your mystery date with whatever married woman that decided to take pity on you."