Lacking Conviction (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 6: Bailey

Song suggestion: Smooth Operator - Sade

Unedited.

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"You seem happier than usual." I said to Nick, a hint of suspicion lacing my voice. He stayed facing forward, stirring the pot occasionally.

He shrugged "Do I? Didn't notice..." He said, sounding distracted about something.

I narrowed my eyes at him but brushed it off, maybe it was just him and Bailey finally making up.

Nick turned around to look at me. "You did invite Jaxie...- uh Jackson didn't you? He should be here by now..." He asked carelessly, as if he was bored, but the flicker of anticipation in his eyes told a different story.

He hasn't seen Jackson for over half a year now, and both of them seemed excited to see each other again.

"Yeah, he should be here soon." I drawled skeptically.

Not even I, his best friend, call him Jaxie, the most I call him is Jack, or like some random insult that I felt that was most fit for him at that particular time.

His lips twitched into a smile, and I could practically see the excitement radiating off of him in waves.

It was somewhat of a mind fuck that he hadn't talked about Bailey at all since leaving for his business trip, he seemed to care more about Jackson than he did his own fiancé.

I knew that they were arguing, everyone did; it wasn't exactly a secret. But they're not even talking, I furrowed my eyebrows quizzically before curiosity got the better of me.

"How are you and Bailey?" I asked innocently, acting as if I had no clue that I haven't seen them in the same room in months, as if nothing was wrong with their relationship.

There was an edge to his voice, a hardness in his eyes when he spoke up, "We're uh... Not doing so well..." He trailed off, possibly hoping I'd give up, but I looked at him intently waiting for him to finish. "We're over." He said in final, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"Shit man- I had no clue. I thought you were just arguing." I cringed at myself for prying, and patted his shoulder apologetically, unsure of what to do with my arms.

"Hey, it's okay yeah? We weren't a good match. It happens..." He smiled at me, but it wasn't as genuine as he was aiming for. He turned back to the pot on the stove, and continued to stir silently.

Minutes later the door knocked, and I looked at May expectantly on the couch. She arched her eyebrow at me, silently telling me to open the door. Rolling my eyes at her, I stood up, walking over to the door, passing her one last cursory glance over my shoulder.

I opened the door, Jackson was standing there with a lazy smile on his face, his hair and clothes soaked from the rain. "Hey dude."

I smiled at him and invited him inside. His eyes searched the house, looking around, immediately, his eyes clashing with Nick's. It was very quiet, almost unnoticeable, but I heard the quick intake of air that came from Jackson when Nick was made aware of his presence.

"Hey Jackson. Haven't seen you in a while" Nick smiled at him happily.

I watched their interaction with narrowed eyes, waiting for Jackson to respond. When he didn't I nudged him subtly, breaking him out of his concentration.

"It's g-good to see you too..." Jackson coughed, his voice cracking. He blushed, looking extremely flustered. That caused a coughing fit and he looked around awkwardly after, his face radiating heat.

Since when did Jackson blush and stutter like that?

Nick just grinned at him knowingly and my gaze flickered to May.

We looked at eachother confused, she mouthed 'what the fuck?', and I just shrugged because honestly I had no clue.

"Oh yeah, just remembered. We've ran out of milk, so I'll just uh go grab some from the corner store." I looked at May and she seemed to understand what I was hinting at when she spoke up.

"I'll come with. I need quite a lot of things so we may be a while..." She grinned at me and I grinned at her back. Jackson looked like he was about to protest but she interjected before he had the chance to open his mouth.

"You should stay here and give Nick a hand."

Jackson clearly wanted to object but we bolted out of the house as if we were being chased with a knife, leaving him and Nick in the house. Alone.

"That was fucking wild. Or was it just me?"

"Did you see Jackson? 'I-I-it's g-g-good to see you t-too'" I laughed heartily, getting a slap on the back of the head from May.

"Don't be mean." She said grinning.

We walked to the corner shop in silence, before we both spoke up simultaneously.

"They're definitely fucking."

"They're definitely fucking."

Looking at each other in silence, a couple moments had passed before we burst out laughing.