Rivals 🌈 ✔

15 - Lovers For One Night

Juice paced through the living room; staring out of the window every other minute to see if Raine was finally there. He wished they could have gone home together, but the chance of someone seeing them had been too big. Raine told him he would go home to change clothes, then he would leave. By now, Juice was home for 30 minutes and his anxiety was starting to bother him. Maybe Raine realized he'd rather be alone. Or maybe his head was filled with so much grief, that he didn't pay enough attention to his surroundings and laid down his bike. Clenching his fingers to a fist, he bit his knuckles, as if that could help him to send away the thought.

"Lovie... Please sit down with me." Mouse grabbed his hand and led him to the couch. "Why don't you cook something? I'm sure he's hungry."

"I don't think he'll be able to eat something," he muttered.

"He has too," Mouse answered determined.

Sighing softly, Juice headed for the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and the cupboards. He decided to make lasagne that would keep him busy for a while. His roommate helped him to cut the ingredients. Making dinner helped him to control his anxiety, but it didn't take away the feeling.

"What am I supposed to say to him when he's here, Mouse?" he asked quietly. "How do I behave around him? He obviously hopes to take solace in me. What if he can't find it? What if I'm only getting on his nerves? I want to help him so badly, but I don't know how. I don't – I don't even know where he has to sleep. Should I sleep on the couch?"

"I don't think he's looking for healing words, sweetheart. He just needs someone who makes him dinner, who gives him space to recover and who can hold him when he needs two arms around him." Reassuringly, she rubbed between his shoulders. "Just ask him what he wants, when he's tired. Whether he likes to have you around or rather sleeps alone. In the latter case, you come to me. There's enough room in my bed."

He bit on the corner of his pinky nail. "Staying with him is weird, don't you think?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Why? I can imagine he craves for someone to hold."

The thought made him feel hot all over. Shame flashed through him; how could he even feel something like that after today? "But it's weird," he repeated softly. "We're just friends."

"We are also just friends," she winked. "But if we had buried a loved one of mine today, you would've found it completely normal to hold me during the night."

She had a point – but it was different. He knew Skye so well, she felt like a part of himself.

The doorbell dragged him out of his thoughts. Rushing to the door, he let Raine in. Relieved, they searched for each other's arms; Raine grateful for no longer being alone and Juice for his friend arriving in one piece.

A little awkwardly, Juice led him to the living room, not knowing what to say to him. Mouse greeted the Mayan with a hug, whispering softly to him.

Not knowing what to do, he turned to the oven; twenty more minutes before the lasagne was ready.

"I don't know if you're hungry," Juice said as he returned to the living room, seeing the two others had let go of each other. "But there's lasagne in the oven."

"Thanks. I haven't had a proper meal in days."

His face looked exhausted. Juice walked to the couch so his friend could sit. Raine flopped down next to him. Although there was quite some space left on the couch, Raine sat very close to him; there was only an inch between their legs. It made Juice nervous. Would the Mayan like a hand on his thigh? Should he hold his hand? Or didn't he realize how close he was sitting to Juice? In an attempt to divert his attention away from the bundle of nerves in his stomach, he cleared his throat.