MALACHI: JUNE 20TH, 2020
They watched the rest of the parade from the staircase, moving higher up so they could see better (for Leo's sake, the short motherfucker).
When it ended, Leo stood up and stretched, groaning dramatically, face twisting into the ugliest expression Malachi had ever seen on him. And then Enzo did the same, and Malachi had to look away because they both looked like absolute idiots.
Athena and their partners approached them with a small smile. "You guys done or are you going to the parties?" she asked, running his hand through her hair. "Unless you guys somehow aren't twenty one. Are you?"
"Yes," Enzo said. Leo nodded beside him.
Malachi scowled. "Ignore them. They just want to drink alcohol. We're eighteen." He stood up, stretching his legs. "Sorry."
Athena raised their brows. "You three could pass as twenty one, honestly. If you had a fake ID, they wouldn't question it. But okay! I hope you guys had a good time."
"You know what would make it even better?" Leo asked wistfully, leaning on Enzo, a hand over his heart. "If we could drink — "
Malachi shot them a glare. "No."
"We could buy you guys some," Jade piped up.
"No," Malachi repeated, sighing. "We're not legally allow — "
"Weed isn't legal either, but you had some."
Malachi pursed his lips. "It was a moment of weakness. And weed is technically harmless, alcohol is not."
"That's why you drink in moderation," Jade added.
Athena flicked her cheek. "Stop encouraging them," he hissed.
Jade pouted, rubbing the slightly reddened spot. Athena returned their attention to Malachi and his friends. "You guys leaving then?"
Malachi looked over at Enzo and Leo, who were giving him pleading looks. Like dogs trying to beg for human food. He felt like a parent right then, and for that, he wanted to smack them both.
"Yes," he decided, giving the three a friendly smile before walking away.
"Malachi!" Leo and Enzo whined in unison, chasing after him, bumping into his sides. He stumbled a little, but managed to keep steady. They continued to say his name in those stupid, whiny voices until Malachi got fed up and stopped.
"Oh my God, shut up," Malachi complained. "Why do you assholes wanna drink so bad?"
"I haven't had alcohol since prom," Enzo said.
"I haven't had any since my graduation party," Leo chipped in. "Come on, just one time."
"Whatever. Do what you want," Malachi mumbled, starting to walk again. "I'm going back to the hotel."
The duo hollered in excitement, and Malachi didn't have to turn around to know they were running back to Athena. He sighed and made his way back to their hotel room, throwing himself onto the bed closest to the balcony. He was already tired.
He wondered if he was being boring again by being such a hardass about alcohol. People their age drank all the time, sometimes even younger. He'd been around a drunk Enzo and Leo twice, and while they weren't terrible drunks, they weren't the best either.
Leo got extra loud and touchy, and Enzo started jokingly flirting with not just Leo, but anyone else around them, too. Including Malachi.
Maybe if he fell asleep before they got back they would leave him alone.
Malachi turned over and closed his eyes. He laid there for ten minutes, and just as he was finally dozing off, the door opened and Enzo and Leo waltzed in, whispering loudly and snickering, the sound of cans clinking following their footsteps.
"Mal — " Leo stopped, then said, "Is he asleep?"
"I dunno. I'll check."
Before Enzo could get all up in his space, Malachi turned over onto his back and stared at them. "No, I'm not asleep," he mumbled. "Please don't be loud."
"We won't!" Leo said, pulling cans of beer out of a bag, along with a bottle of wine. Malachi raised an eyebrow, to which Leo responded with: "Athena said you seemed like a wine guy. She got it just in case."
"How nice," he drawled. "I'm not drinking. Someone has to keep you two in check."
"Never?"
"I don't know about never. But definitely not now."
Leo hummed. "Fair. Well, we'll try to be quiet."
They did try. At first. But once the alcohol had finally entered their system, they were giggling and rambling on about things, speaking louder than they probably thought they were. Malachi wanted to sleep, but he felt responsible for them if they got up to stupid shit.
He turned away from them, stared at the balcony door. Everything seemed decent enough so far. That is, until Leo not-so-quietly slurred:
"Enzo, we should kiss again."
Malachi's first thought was: Oh, God. Which was ironic, considering he was an atheist. But dread had filled him up so much that he was desperate. Oh, fuck. He wondered what he'd done to deserve this. Was it because he was atheist? God, if you're real, I'm so sorry.
"Huh?"
"We should kiss again," Leo repeated slowly, then giggled once more. When he was drunk, he also laughed a lot. It was usually wholesome, but right then, it was anything but wholesome.
Please don't kiss, Malachi thought in anguish.
"You wanna?"
"Duh. D'you?"
No, no. No, you do not.
"Yeah."
Fuck.
It was quiet. Malachi secretly hoped they just stopped talking, they weren't kissing, they were showing each other memes and — Leo just gasped. Why did he gasp. Malachi should've known better.
There was a muffled laugh, then their bed creaked, and — that was a moan. That was a fucking moan.
Malachi abruptly sat up, grabbed a pillow, and launched it at them without warning. It smacked Leo right in the face, knocking him to the side and pulling a surprised shout from his throat.
"Hey — !"
"What the fuck is wrong with you guys?" Malachi hissed, mildly horrified by what he'd just heard. If he had just decided to ignore it, or if he had fallen asleep, there was a high chance they would've gone much farther than kissing. Malachi would've been traumatized, or blissfully ignorant.
He wished he was the latter.
Leo frowned. "What d'you mean?"
"Why would y'all do that when I'm literally a few feet away!" Malachi snapped, pressing his palm to his face, which was heating up against his will. "You know exactly what I mean, don't play dumb!"
"Well — "
Malachi stared at the floor in horror. His best friends had just made out a few feet away from him. Outside of a joke, outside of an accident like last time. That wasn't normal. Did they like each other? He wouldn't be surprised, considering playful flirting could lead to not-so-playful feelings, but —
Why is my heart beating so fast?
"Sorry, Malboro," Leo slurred, sitting criss-cross in the middle of the bed. Enzo was still laying down, but he was staring right at Malachi with a gaze that made him weirdly nervous. "Won't happen again. We weren't thinking."
"No shit," Malachi whispered.
What if they did like each other? Were they dating? If so, how long? Why didn't they tell him? And why was he getting so worked up over it? Malachi wanted to smack himself, but doing that in front of his friends would make him appear even crazier than he already did, reacting like they had just had sex or something.
He got out of bed and silently disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Malachi turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his flushed face, welcoming it with a relieved sigh. He felt like he was going to overheat if he stayed there any longer.
There was zero reason to be acting the way he was. Sure, throwing a pillow at them and asking if they were okay in the head was justified, but anything after that was not. He splashed his face again, pressing it into a clean towel. Had he been too rude?
There was a knock at the door. Malachi lifted his head, watching the door slowly be pushed open after a short pause. Enzo peeked in, then stepped in fully when he saw that Malachi wasn't taking a shit or something.
"What?" Malachi asked, frowning.
Enzo shrugged, leaning against the wall. His tan cheeks were looking warm, either from drinking or kissing Leo. Could've been both. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Malachi replied, looking away. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You're mad."
Malachi furrowed his brows. "I'm not mad."
"I can't tell if it's because you really hate kissing or you're jealous."
Malachi blanched. "I-I'm sorry, what?"
"I can't tell if it's because you really hate kissing or — "
"I didn't actually mean repeat what you said," Malachi snapped, turning to face him with a deep frown. "I heard you. But what the fuck are you talking about?"
"The jealous part?"
"Yeah, obviously."
Enzo hummed, shrugging again. "What else would I mean? Do you wanna be kissed, too?"
Malachi released a disbelieving laugh. "You're kidding, right?"
Enzo shook his head.
"Why would I wanna be kissed by you?"
Enzo's expression shifted. "I never said by me. Just in general. Does the thought of kissing me really gross you out that much?"
"Yes!" Malachi stressed, giving him a bewildered look. "You're my best friend. Why would I wanna kiss you?"
Enzo stared. Malachi shifted awkwardly under his gaze. He was usually more upbeat when he was drunk, so why was he so quiet this time?
"Yeah," Enzo said, opening the bathroom door a little wider. "Wanting to kiss your best friend is really weird, huh?"
Malachi watched him leave, more confused than ever. Why was he acting like that? He wasn't like him and Leo. Why would he ever want to kiss his best friend? He had never wanted to kiss someone in his life. Did they still not understand that?
He sighed and left, walking back out. Leo was sitting up in bed, hunched over, a can pressed against his lips, music coming from his phone. He was probably on that dumb app he was obsessed with.
Malachi glanced at Enzo. He was laying down, facing the wall, back to him and Leo. He had never gone to bed facing that way before.
He faltered as he slipped under the covers. Had he said something to make Enzo mad? He went over his words and couldn't find a single thing that could've made him upset. All he said was he didn't want to kiss him, or anyone for that matter.
What was wrong with that?
Malachi huffed and pulled the duvet up to his chin, turning over onto his side, staring at the curtains for a bit before closing his eyes.
Hopefully he would be back to normal in the morning.