Have Faith in Me (Ianthony)

Chapter 19: This is Unreal!

Ian sighed, coughing and exiting the bathroom to make some tea. But before he could make his way over to the hotel room's coffee pot and basket of coffee and tea, there was a knock at his door.

Confused, he slid a t-shirt over his head and sauntered over to the door. Against his better judgement, he grasped the doorknob and yanked it open. He wasn't surprised to see Mari standing behind it.

His bubbly friend was beaming brightly and had her hands folded together in front of her. "Ian!" she exclaimed.

He sighed, opening the door wider. "Hey, Mari. What's up?"

Without warning, she grabbed his hand and jerked him out of the doorway. "Come on! There's something you've just got to see!" She began to run and Ian had to jog to keep up with her, so as not to fall, and his hotel room door swung shut. Too bad he'd left his room key in the actual room.

"Mari!" he yelped, running after her, down the hallway, "wh-what's going on?"

She did not reply, sidestepping an elderly couple that could do nothing but look on, completely puzzled. Instead, she stopped at the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Mari and Ian stepped into the elevator and with that, she let go of his sweaty hand and leaned against the wall.

"Where are we going?!" he demanded, glaring at her.

Mari looked up at him, still grinning maniacally. "You'll see."

Ian sighed. "Mari, I swear if this is another one of your stupid ploys to get Anthony and I back together, I'll-"

Before he could finish, the elevator dinged, signaling that they had reached their destination.

"Hold that thought," she instructed, grabbing his hand yet again. With that, she took off running.

Instead of protesting, Ian ran along with her, ignoring the fact that this odd situation was akin to a broken record.

Straight through the lobby they went, garnering looks from both the workers and the other guests. They then sprinted straight through the automatic glass double doors and outside to the parking lot.

Immediately, Ian noticed Anthony's car. He wasn't stupid and after living with Anthony for so long, he would clearly recognize the vehicle he'd often ridden in. Even more so, Anthony was staying at the same hotel that Ian was. "Nice try, Mari," he muttered, "but this isn't much of a surprise."

She snorted. "Right. Well, my job ends here. Have fun." Without so much as a wave or goodbye, she turned around and began walking in the opposite direction of the parking lot.

Ian sighed. He didn't have a lot of options here. For one, he'd left his room key in his hotel room and would therefore have to go through the struggles of the front desk if he wanted back in. For another, he also knew how very stubborn Anthony could be and if Ian didn't speak to him now, he wouldn't go away until he did. Hence, he took a deep breath, moved his hair out of his face, and trudged forward.

It took a moment for Ian to spot Anthony, as the car was parked away from Ian and Anthony was perched on the hood.

"Anthony," Ian called out, slowing his steps.

Slowly, Anthony hopped off of the hood of the car.

The shorter man began to grow impatient. "What do you want?" he asked, "why is it that you made Mari come and get me?"

Anthony just stood there, his back to Ian and his arms crossed in front of him. "I knew you'd never see me if it was me asking."

Ian frowned as Anthony turned around, a huge grin on his face. And when Ian saw what Anthony had his arms crossed over, he began to smile, too.