"Can you just seem happy to be with me?" Gabbie asks, but it's clear that it's not a request.
"I'll try my best."
"I can't even remember the last time we went to a fancy restaurant together, but I guess it doesn't matter anyway because you never offer to pay." Gabbie says as she opens her car door.
"How am I meant to try and be happy with you when you're always trying to argue? And I'm sorry Gabbie, but I just don't have the money right now and you know that." Andrew tells her as he gets out of the vehicle to follow her.
Andrew wouldn't have agreed to do something like this; especially not after the recent arguments him and Gabbie have been having, but he knows Garrett will be there, so that makes it worth it. However, that still doesn't calm his nerves enough as they approach the restaurant and Andrew can see just how busy it is inside through the windows.
"How can I help you?" A young waiter asks them as they walk through the door.
Gabbie takes Andrew's arm and pulls him closer. "My boyfriend and I are here to see our friends and they are just sat over there." She says as she points in their direction.
"Oh wonderful, just head right on over and one of my colleagues will help you shortly."
Andrew looks around frantically as he can't seem to see Garrett anywhere and everyone else has already arrived.
"Gabbie!" A few people shout as they walk up to the table and she gets greeted with waves, smiles and hugs.
"This is my boyfriend, Andrew; but you guys already know that." Gabbie laughs as she introduces him for the one millionth time to the same group of people he has met before.
"Hey, Andrew." They respond, but a lot less enthusiastically as they did with her.
The couple sit down at the far end of the table where there are still a few empty seats. Andrew ends up sitting next to Shane Dawson; a YouTuber and Garrett's ex boyfriend, so of course, he is just the person he wants to spend an evening with while trying to make small talk.
"We met at Trisha's birthday party, right? We were all super drunk though." Shane attempts to start the conversation, but Andrew begins to feel uncomfortable with the way Shane is leaning his body towards him. Andrew has never been a person to enjoy close contact; especially with someone he barely knows.
"Yeah, I remember." Andrew keeps his reply short; just hoping it will be enough to make Shane lose interest.
"Garrett talks about you all the time."
Andrew's attention suddenly stays on Shane, praying that he'll elaborate.
"I think he has a little crush on you."
Andrew can't quite believe what he just heard. "What?" He asks as he struggles to get any words out of his mouth and he can feel the air around him getting thicker as it gets difficult for him to take in a breath.
"But Garrett has a crush on everyone..." Shane continues.
Andrew's heart is racing and it's going to take him a while to calm down again. Who would joke about something like that? And sound so serious while saying it... The evening hasn't even begun and it's already like something out of an anxiety ridden dream.
"Yeah that's true." Andrew replies with a laugh that sounds a lot faker than he intended.
"Garrett!!" Everybody at the table screams with joy as he appears from around the corner, while Andrew and Shane immediately drop their conversation so Garrett has no chance of overhearing.
"Hey guys, wow, good to see you." Garrett says with a smile as he sits down in a chair next to Ryland.
Now that all of the guests have arrived, people start reading the menus which are scattered across the table. Andrew can't even think about anything else right now besides Garrett; the texts that he sent yesterday, Shane saying that Garrett has a crush on him, it's all too much.
"What are people having? I can't decide." Ryland asks as he puts his menu down in defeat.
"I'm thinking about having a huge pizza; just for me." Shane states as he sits back in his chair. "No one's allowed to share."
"Well, I don't want too many carbs anyway because it'll make me look bloated." Ryland complains and the two of them continue to dissect the menu, trying to find anything that Ryland might want.
"I already look bloated." Gabbie says which makes Shane, Garrett and Trisha respond with "ME!"
As the laughter dies down, Andrew looks over at Garrett; admiring how his hair is slicked back, he's clean shaven and he's wearing a button down shirt that is revealing some of his chest. Sure, Andrew has always thought Garrett was a good looking guy, but tonight it just seems different. He's noticing things he never would have payed attention to before, like how Garrett is moving his hands too much as he talks and almost knocks over the glass in front of him.
"Andrew...?"
"Andrew!"
"ANDREW!"
Gabbie raises her voice and waves a menu in front of her boyfriend's face, which causes Andrew to almost fall back in his chair. "Sorry, what?"
"Have you decided what to order yet?" Gabbie questions him.
"Uh, no."
"I think he was a little distracted." Shane says while trying to hide the smirk on his face. "But I think he knows what he wants..."
"Oh you do?" Gabbie asks; completely oblivious to the meaning behind Shane's comments.
Andrew, not wanting to create more drama, just thinks of a random meal that he vaguely remembers seeing on the menu. "Just the grilled chicken with sweet potato fries."
"It's not like you to order something healthy." Garrett says and Andrew realizes that this is the first time he has spoken to him all evening.
Garrett's full attention now being on him is a little overwhelming. "Oh you know...I just thought I would try and....eat stuff...that I...yeah."
"Are you having a stroke?" Shane asks and Ryland reaches over to hit him on the arm. "You shouldn't joke about things like that, Shane."
"I think he just got nervous because Garrett talked to him." Trisha states and reaches over to put her hand on top of Gabbie's before speaking softly to her. "I think your boyfriend is in love with someone else."
Gabbie who has been silently observing everything, now gives a disgusted look towards Trisha and then moves her chair further away from the group. "I don't think we should be joking about things like this because it probably makes Garrett uncomfortable."
Shane shakes his head in disagreement. "No, I think he's always wanted to fuck Andrew."
"Shane!" Garrett shouts at his friend; hoping that Gabbie and Andrew will take all of this as one big joke.
Andrew stands up and he's visibly flustered with his face flushed and his hands playing with the sleeves of his shirt. "I'm gonna go and uh...get's some fresh air."
"I'll come with you." Garrett responds as he stands up in a hurry to quickly follow his friend.
