Reputations Matter Most | Fedex Fanfiction

Chapter 17

"Know you can rely on me too."

Fitz grumbled as he recalled what Tam had said to him a few days ago.
He never spoken to Tam before about his personal problems. But... he was his best friend's, if you could still call Keefe his best friend, well...technically boyfriend. So, maybe this would be a good way to bond.

*****

Fitz nibbled at his nails as he waited for Tam to come over to Everglen and finally get to his room so they could... talk.
He felt uncomfortable with this. He really didn't know if Tam was this trustworthy. I mean... Fitz didn't trust people like him that easily.

Fitz's breath hitched as there was a knock at his door.
"Come in." Fitz called, looking over at the door.
The door opened and Fitz seen Tam slowly enter, he also seemed to look uncomfortable.
"Uh, hey." Tam said, shutting the door behind him.
Both of them stared at each other awkwardly for a moment.

Fitz let out a sigh and he took a seat by the edge of his bed.
"What did I do wrong?" Fitz mumbled out as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Tam took a deep breath and sighed as he went over and sat down next to Fitz.
"You gave Dex false hope." Tam stated.
Fitz looked at Tam and Tam stared directly into his eyes.
"You have been flirtatious, close and you guys keep blushing so much around each other, of course he thinks that you like him back. His hope for you to be his boyfriend actually coming true until you say you're straight." Tam said.

"Imagine how Dex felt. You gave him all these signals, signs... and yet, you tell someone else in front of Dex that you're straight. How would you feel if Dex did that?"
Fitz fiddled with his hands and he bit his inner cheek.
"... Embarrassed, ashamed, devastated, uhm... angry, upset and-"Fitz began.
"That's enough." Tam said, slapping his hand over Fitz's mouth.
Fitz glared at Tam and Tam smiled at Fitz as he took his hand away.

"And you've tried to talk to Dex, unsure what you did wrong, and he won't talk to you, right?" Tam questioned, tilting his head.
Fitz nodded reluctantly. He did not like how Tam was so wise and knew all this.
"That's your problem. You're not apologising for making him feel that way." Tam stated.
"Okay, but how do I apologise for saying I'm straight without embarrassing him that I know how he feels about me?" Fitz asked, looking at Tam.
"You tell him how you truly feel." Tam smiled.

Silence.

"You're... joking, right?" Fitz managed a smile as he stared at Tam wide-eyed.
Tam let out a sigh as he looked away from Fitz and got up.
"You're such an idiot, Fitz." Tam said.
"He likes you, you like him. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that-" Fitz began.
"Your reputation is on the line?" Tam questioned, finishing Fitz's sentence.
Fitz and Tam both stared at each other.

"Fitz, you're not straight." Tam said, his tone not as comforting as Fitz wanted it to be.
"But I can-" Fitz began.
"You can't fake it. You aren't straight. Yes you've always had feelings for girls, from what I've heard, but you finally have feelings for the same gender." Tam let out a exasperated sigh.
"And... that's just as normal as having feelings for the opposite gender. You're under that bisexual umbrella, like Keefe. You don't need a label, but... Fitz you have a chance of having something real."

Tam rolled up his sleeve which revealed a colourful bracelet on his wrist. Fitz looked at Tam confused.
"Keefe made me a bracelet and has a matching one." Tam said, looking at the bracelet and delicately fiddling with it as he smiled.
"I thought it was so stupid and corny of him to do this, especially since he asked me out while giving me the bracelet, but..."
Tam sighed out dreamily as he fiddled with the threads of the bracelet.
"Fitz, I have something real with Keefe."

Tam locked eyes with Fitz and Fitz gulped as he glanced at the bracelet before looking back at Tam. Tam rolled his sleeve back down, covering the bracelet.
"And I would have never found that out if we hadn't talked about our feelings, if we hadn't spent our time going on dates and then... finally becoming official." Tam smiled at Fitz.
"... You're officially dating now?" Fitz asked, his voice breaking slightly.
Tam nodded and Fitz felt his heart ache.

His best friend asked out someone he loved and he wasn't there to calm his nerves beforehand, to plan it out with him like Keefe said they would, he wasn't there to help Keefe be with the love of his life.

All because he was embarrassed of liking the same gender.

"... Dex won't even look at me." Fitz whispered, looking away.
"How will I talk to him?"
"That's what we're going to figure out." Tam said, crossing his arms as he made his way towards Fitz's desk and sat down in the chair by it.
Fitz blinked at Tam as Tam began to talk to Fitz about what he had in mind.

Fitz had Tam all wrong. He never really liked or had any interest in Tam, but now? Well, Tam was Keefe's boyfriend. And Tam was actually being really helpful and kind.

Maybe Fitz needed to stop judging people before actually having more and more interactions with them...

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Word count: 1657

A/N: Keefe and Dex are a great duo, they're just so aahdhabd
I love em, they're probably my two fav characters from KOTLC <3