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8

Don't trust who you know, trust who you most wish you didn't know.

"Paul, please don't hang up." Andrew pleaded through the phone. Paul frowned, "What do you want, and whose phone are you even calling me from?"

Andrew swallowed hard, "I'm calling from Diana's phone, I just.." He paused, before sighing. "I want to give you something for your birthday." He finally said.

Paul's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he remained in silence. "Can I come over?" Andrew asked cautiously as he heard no response from Paul.

Andrew cleared his throat briefly, "I won't stay for long." He quickly added. Paul scoffed and shook his head, "Fine." He responded.

Andrew smiled, although Paul had no way of seeing it. "I'll be there in a bit." He quickly said, before hanging right up

"Okay.." Paul trailed off into the now empty call, before looking at his phone, only being met by the sight of the wallpaper of his home screen.

It seemed like Paul couldn't escape Andrew's calls even if he had blocked Andrew's number a long time ago.

Paul slipped his phone into his pocket then looked at himself in the mirror and let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding.

"God dammit.." He muttered, before walking out of the bathroom, turning the lights off on his way out.

He walked to the kitchen and sat at the table, his gaze constantly shifting from the decorations in the kitchen to the front door he could see all the way from the kitchen.

A few minutes later, a knock was heard at the front door, which made Paul quickly stand up and make his way to the hallway, stopping right in front of the door that led to the outside of the apartment.

And as he opened the front door, there Andrew stood - with a wrapped gift in his hands and damp hair, along with clothes that had clearly been rained on.

Andrew stared at Paul for a moment, taking in the sight of him dressed so formal yet informal. Paul cleared his throat as he noticed Andrew's eyes wandering, which made the two of them make eye contact immediately.

Andrew's cheeks became flushed, "Uh, happy birthday." He said, his voice almost a whisper as he extended his gift to Paul.

Paul looked at the gift in Andrew's hand and carefully picked it up. "How is it dry yet you look like you ran through a storm?" He questioned.

Andrew coughed slightly, "I put it in a bag when it began to rain, I didn't want it to get wet." He explained while biting the inside of his cheek.

Paul looked over at Andrew, their eyes meeting once more, which only made Andrew's heart rate accelerate.

But Paul broke the eye contact in just a few seconds when he looked down at the gift. "Well, thanks." He said casually.

Andrew swallowed hard and just nodded. "Yeah, no problem." He murmured.

Paul looked around and sighed. "Do you want to come in or something?" He asked, "You must be cold."

Andrew's eyes lit up at the simple invite and he nodded. He stepped inside the apartment and closed the door behind himself.

Paul eyed him briefly before walking to the kitchen. Andrew's eyes unintentionally landed right where William's were just this afternoon, but he quickly redirected his gaze.

"Should I open this now?" Paul asked casually as he set the gift down on the table. Andrew stepped into the kitchen, shrugging a little.

"I wouldn't mind seeing your reaction," Andrew said. Paul looked over at him before looking back down at the gift.