We're Just Friends (Jaspar/Youtube)

Chapter 3: Ok, I might be a little jealous

Oli and Marcus were being ridiculous.

Every time Caspar merely glanced at Joe one of them would raise their eyebrows obnoxiously and waggle them around or make some comment about it. 

Joe was oblivious which wasn't surprising. Caspar was quiet during dinner, picking at his food and faking interest in the conversations occurring around the small table. 

Joe was lively and excited, bouncing in his seat like a small child at the mention of going clubbing at some point later in the week. Meanwhile, Caspar had begun slowly trying to distance himself from Joe, scooting away from him until his arms dropped from his shoulder. The waitress had returned with their food, lingering longer than necessary as Joe had smirked at laughed at her jokes, all the while holding Caspar possessively. It wasn't fair. 

Usually Joe's possessiveness out in the open felt like a huge weight had been lifted off Caspar, something that made Caspar feel tethered when the crowds were getting too hectic or something bad happened.

Today it felt like a lead weight, weighing him down as they ate. He didn't like the angry, irritated feeling he got when he was pressed straight up against Joe's body. The same body that laughed at the waitress and was definitely going to leave with a stupid napkin with her number on it. Which meant that, assuming Joe called the dumb number, Caspar would see the girl again. Ugh. 

When they finally left the restaurant, Caspar practically sprinted away from the table. He wasn't interested in watching the exchange of numbers he knew was coming. He could hear them a few minutes later, Marcus teasing Joe about the number on the napkin clutched in his hand.

"Are we heading back to the flat?" Joe asked, holding the door open for Marcus and Oli. 

"Yeah, sounds good," Oli said with a laugh as he twirled his camera around his wrist.

"You're going to drop that," Marcus remarked.

"Not likely," Oli said again, dropping his other arm lazily around Joe's neck as they started to make their way back to the flat. 

Caspar trailed behind them, focusing on his phone to distract himself. When they reached the flat, he collapsed back into the bean back in front of the television, avoiding his usual spot on the couch curled up next to Joe.  He played with his phone, flipping through emails about random things and responding to text messages. He paused on a text from Zoe inviting him and Joe down to Brighton next week, ignoring it in favor of the one from his mom insisting he call her.  

He paused when his phone rang. Mom. 

"Hello," He said an involuntary smile spreading on my face as his mom spoke.

"Hi Cas," His mom replied, "How are you?" 

"Fine," Caspar replied, giving her the simplest answer to hopefully avoid further questioning. He could hear Joe, Marcus, and Oli from the bedroom where they were attempting to set up a camera to film with. 

"Really? So if you're fine why haven't you been phoning your mother?" She asked and he could hear a teasing lilt in her voice. 

"I've been busy, Mum,"

Caspar got up, moving towards his bedroom as his mom continued on about Theodora's new boyfriend or something. He tuned out for a moment as his mom rambled on, listening instead to the other boys as they argued about the lighting. 

"Caspar, are you even listening to me?" His mom asked after a moment.

"Hmmm, yeah, mum, sorry just a bit distracted," He said. 

"Well, Zoe said that you were going to visit her and Alfie in a few weeks to film a video," His mum said.

"Since when do you talk to Zoe?" Caspar interrupted.

"Since you wouldn't call me and Joe doesn't bother replying to my texts." 

"Hmm" Caspar mumbled noncommittally. His mom sighed, telling him he sounded tired and that if work was too much he should take a break. Maybe even visit.  He agreed, mentioning Christmas briefly before signing off and flopping back on his bed.  

It was getting darker, probably around 6pm by now. He closed his eyes, relaxing into the bed when his door burst open again.

"Get up, Caspar, we're going clubbing," Joe said as Oli let out a loud whoop behind him. Caspar didn't really feel like going clubbing, but he didn't feel like explaining why he didn't want to go either. He grabbed his phone and jacket, deciding to follow without complaint. Maybe some alcohol would help. 

By the time the boys decided on a club, they'd been wandering around the city for over thirty minutes and Caspar was so tired and uninterested he was tempted to just turn around and go back to the flat and sleep off the day. 

The club they picked was loud, with bright flashing lights and girls swarming all over the place. Joe and Oli immediately headed to the bar, while Marcus and Caspar sat down. Marcus still had his camera in his hand.

"Do you ever leave that at home?" Caspar asked him with a laugh, trying to distract himself from the pretty blonde Joe now had his hand wrapped around at the bar. That was quick.

"Never, what would my viewers do?" Marcus said with a joking grin as he set it down on the table. A waitress approached the table and Marcus ordered a beer while Caspar continued to watch Joe and Oli abandon their drinks at the bar and move towards the dance floor. 

The girl Joe had picked up turned around and started grinding on him as Caspar grimaced and turned back to Marcus and the waitress.   

"Well, what would you like, love?" The waitress asked with a smile, tapping the pen on her small red notepad.

"Uh—water, yeah water is fine," Caspar said distractedly glancing back over to Joe and Oli. Oli was on the dance floor, doing the robot with one hand. Caspar rolled his eyes, watching Joe press tighter against the girl, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle.

"He's gonna need something stronger than water," Caspar heard Marcus mutter under his breath to the waitress. The girl laughed. 

"Shut up, Marcus," Caspar mumbled back dropping his head on the table to avoid looking at Joe. His head made a clanging noise and he heard Marcus tell the waitress to bring him something strong. Caspar continued banging my head on the table. Why was he jealous? What was this?

He heard the waitress set down their drinks and he looked up again, taking a sip of the bitter liquid in the glass with a sigh. He glanced over at Marcus to ask what exactly he was drinking, but Marcus was staring out into the crowd frowning. Caspar followed his line of sight.

Joe was pressed tightly against the blonde girl, a red head behind him as he kissed the blonde girl. He turned around to kiss the redhead, eyes open as they met Caspar's across the room, smirking slightly before leaning back to kiss the girl behind him.  

Caspar's hand tightened around his cup reflexively, as he tore my eyes away from Joe feeling sick. Marcus was eyeing him worriedly as Caspar pushed his glass forward on the table standing up.

"Uhh—I've gotta, I have to, I'm not feeling well," He mumbled excuses, grabbing his jacket and rushing toward the exit of the club, pushing past the couples pressed tightly against each other, the club's air stifling as he burst outside into the cool night air. He inhaled deeply as he turned back to the club and put his  jacket hood up before moving down the sidewalk, blending into the other dark silhouettes of broken, sad people who wandered away from the club and down the sidewalk into the night