Maxen stood in the office hallway watching a sexy male colleague walk by but he did not give him a second glance. This was watched closely by Halwyn who couldn't help but giggle at the disappointment marred on his friend's face.
Max looked on. "What do I have to offer to get that dude to notice me?"
"Have you tried blood?"
"Did anyone ever tell you how mean you are?"
Hal continued to smirk. "Give it a rest, he's an intern."
"So?"
"So...he's probably not asking you out because he's intimidated by your position and emotional maturity."
Grimacing painfully, Max couldn't help asking, "Am I talking to Hal or Gwen? That sounds like something girls, like Gwen, would talk with other girls while sipping cocktails in a bar."
Hal rolled his eyes. "Gwen isn't that kind of girl," he replied tonelessly and started shuffling some papers, evidently searching for something but couldn't seem to find it. "He likes you too much. You're too pretty and awesome---is this what you want to hear?"
"Devil incarnate! By the by, how have you been with Griffin and Aidan?"
To what he said, Hal couldn't help glaring. "Please, don't start!"
But Max wasn't the one to be ignored and he started singing an oldie to get a reaction, "Torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool...loving both of you is breaking all the rules..." The tone-deaf way of singing was more annoying than the fact that he was being teased. Hal groaned.
"Neither one is my lover and I'm not breaking any rules. Don't you have anything else to do?"
Steffan strode inside his office without knocking and started complaining that Hal suddenly wanted to curse. "Caller ID was the worst thing that ever happened in the world. Total invasion of privacy and personal freedom!"
Hal, "Oh please, people, get the fuck out of my office!"
Max ignored him and turned to Steff instead. "What's got your panty in a bunch? Is that guy you're seeing not calling you again?"
Steffan kicked him lightly on the shin but it still made him whine. Hal was curious, "Are we still talking about the same guy?"
"Ah, er..."
"We don't even know his name," Max pointed this out, "Or did he tell you?"
"I was thinking of his random hookups."
"What?" Steff was outraged. "I'm only seeing one at the moment, what do you think of me, a slut?"
Max acted surprised and it made Halwyn laugh. "You're not?"
"How are things with Griffin, Hal?" Steff thought of asking instead of giving Max the attention he craved for.
Halwyn was obviously exhausted from being asked the same thing. Earlier, his sister and Cadi kept prompting him to say something about Aidan, baiting him into even disclosing what they had talked about that night he asked for another chance on his front porch. Now, Max and Steff wanted to know the situation with Griffin...if there ever was a situation.
Well, to be fair, the man wanted something more than casual dates but Hal was not ready to entertain the possibility of being in a relationship with him. He didn't want to question it at first but now he was sincerely considering that it must be because of Aidan that he couldn't imagine himself being with Griffin.
There were just too many memories of the man around him and it wouldn't be easy to move on...
"He seems...alright."
"Uh-oh, I can sense a but..." Max murmured.
"Nothing is wrong with him, okay? He is a perfect guy just that...he was moving kind of fast."
"And Aidan is not?" Steffan challenged.
Hal glowered at him. "Aidan is different."
"Aidan is different or you're biased? Geez, you don't need to come up with excuses to defend him. But we're warning you, guard your heart. He used to be a straight guy, he dated lots of girls. Who knows if this was just an experiment for him and he'd go back chasing skirts."
"Perfect," Max jested, "Hal could be Gwen again."
"Max, for once, just put a cork in it!"
"He's not looking for Gwen anymore," Hal tried to argue but he wasn't certain what was he arguing about. "He isn't even texting her..."
Steffan sighed. "Look, we're not actually stopping you from being with him. We just don't want to see you hurt. By the end of the day, it'll still be your decision and we can only support you even if we are against it."
"He's right, you know," surprisingly, Max agreed and he rarely agrees to Steffan's ramblings. "Aidan has dated lots of girls, no one can deny that. There are also issues with his obsessive fan girls. Trust me, you don't want any of them threatening you to scratch your eyes out with their acrylics."
"I don't think we'll even go there, okay? Besides, I got this. I'm not falling for his charm easily. If he really wants to be with me, he has to earn it. Prove it."
▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯
No one expected to see a very different Aidan who was smiling and glowing like a miracle had finally visited the earth. Of course, neither the band nor the management was complaining, especially when Aidan had finally finished the song and made them hear it.
"What do you think?"
Owen, Dylan, and Floyd all stared with amazement after they listened to the song. Aidan sang it, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar and it already made their manager Glenda Pye cry, clapping her hands enthusiastically when he finished.
"It's...good," Owen admitted. "It really is something special."
In Aidan's mind, it was indeed special. He never could understand why he found it difficult to finish the song but now that he had accepted his feelings for Hal, he finally managed to complete it and the result was better than he expected.
"I want you guys to hear it first before I sing it to him," he didn't shy away from this fact and told his friends boldly. "I want to get your opinion because...if I just sing it directly to him, I might combust."
They all gazed at him with mouths wide open. Never in their lives as bandmates did they imagine seeing this side of Aidan that was both cute and cringe. Who would've thought that it would take a Halwyn to transform his cool and rough persona back to the teenage boy who just recently experienced his first love?
Floyd beamed at their friend and was proud of this new Aidan. "I'm sure he'll like it. Better than that 1970s song."
"Hey!" Aidan laughed, "We love that song."
"You and Hal loved that song. Spare us of the nightmare!" Floyd told him and it made Dylan laugh too.
"That song isn't a nightmare and it has good lyrics. Right, Wen?"
Owen blinked when everyone turned to him. "Huh? Yeah...it does."
Owen was happy for Aidan and as he looked at his cell phone still not getting a single message from that person, he hoped that he could also be happy like his friend. "Seriously Eurig..." He thought, "What did I do this time?!"
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Saturday came and Hal didn't receive much attention from Aidan that he found himself asking if what happened in front of his house did occur or if he only imagined it. However, when his phone dings signaling a message from the man himself the other day, he jumped to his feet to read it and they ended up talking on the phone for hours until the movie night with his friends was over. It was only understandable that his friends were starting to doubt his vow never to fall for the man's charms again, especially tonight...
Hal was looking at his scheduler and read it twice and he was certain that he had a dinner date tonight with Griffin. Taking a deep breath, his mind was coming up with all types of scenarios to postpone this date but he couldn't. When he was about to leave the house, his phone unexpectedly rang and he would lie if he said that he didn't smile upon seeing the name on the caller ID.
"You're calling me because?"
Aidan didn't laugh but Hal could tell that he was smiling on the other line by the way he spoke. "Because you told me that you're going out tonight with...Griffin."
"Why does it sound like you didn't even want to say his name?"
"You're right, I don't want to." Halwyn chuckled and Aidan continued, "Do you really need to go?"
"I made a promise. You know I always keep my promise." There was silence on the other line and Hal checked, "Are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here. It's going to rain tonight so make sure you bring an umbrella with you. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Have a good night, Hal."
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Arriving early at the venue, Hal was greeted with Greek hospitality at a restaurant that had been famous in the area for over twenty years. This wasn't Hal's first time in the diner and he visited this place before with his sister and brother as well as with his friends. What he didn't expect was that the moment he walked into the reserved table was Griffin with an older woman who seemed to be giving him a forced smile.
"Hal! I'm so happy you're here..." Griffin quickly approached and was about to give him a kiss on the cheek but he avoided it when he noticed the woman staring. "Oh, this is my mother. Janine."
"Good evening, ma'am."
Janine was the same age as his mom, with a much more slender figure and chin-length hair. Her features were pleasant but Hal could feel something odd about her, similar to those mothers who just discovered their son was gay and were now trying their best to get acquainted with people their son dates.
Sitting down at a cozy table with a rather awkward atmosphere, Hal took a sip from the freshly poured champagne flute, nervous and upset. Firstly, Griffin always does this. Although Hal was not impartial to surprises; however, not have this kind of surprise. He knew the man wanted him to meet his parents but Hal told him that it was too early for that. Especially since they weren't officially in a relationship yet. Griffin agreed on the setup as long as Hal would go out with him from time to time. But meeting the parents suddenly...it was like Hal was being put on a spot and the man didn't even give him the chance to decide if he wanted to do this tonight.
"So, Hal...I heard you worked for Trend Wise magazine?" Mrs. Teale said in the middle of their dinner.
Hal took the time to swallow his food before replying, "Yes. I've been with the company since I graduated."
"Really? Have you ever thought of climbing the corporate ladder? I'm sure it's uncomfortable to stay in the same position for years."
Before Hal could even respond, Griffin answered, "Hal has his eye on this publishing house. He wanted to write about politics and law in general. Don't you, baby?"
Baby? Halwyn could only blink at the endearment. "That's true, but..."
"A friend of mine is an editor-in-chief in News Weekly," Mrs. Teale said again. "I'm sure he can find some position for you to fit in."
"That's not necessary..."
"You should introduce Hal to him, Mom," Griffin was all smiles not even letting the other speak. "I think it's time for a new environment..."
Hal sat there and couldn't do or say anything but smile and nod. In all his life, he had never felt so suffocated...
▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯
Not wanting to embarrass the man in front of his own mother, Halwyn waited until Mrs. Teale said her goodbyes. He couldn't even tell whether the woman favored him or how much she truly understood about same-sex relationships because Hal was pretty certain that there was something else underneath that 'welcoming' façade. It was only when she was gone that Halwyn made it known how upset he was about what Griffin did. In fact, he was so upset that he had called his friends to come and pick him up.
"What's the matter?" The man started to question, still not getting why Hal was suddenly acting cold as they walked outside of the restaurant to cool off.
Halwyn turned around, "Baby? You called me baby in front of your mother."
Griffin snorted, confused by the sudden behavior. "So?"
"So? I thought you understood that I'm not ready for any kind of relationship?"
"We went out on several dates. Surely, that should mean something?"
"You're the one who wants that set-up! I made it clear that we can only be friends---"
"How long do you plan to play this game with me, huh? I'm not going out with you as a friend!"
"Then you could've told me that so we don't have to continue doing this. I told you---"
The man interrupted him again with a derisive laugh, "Because you're still in love with that rockstar?"
Hal was mortified when he heard this. "You know about Aidan?"
Griffin scoffed. "Please..."
"Did Max tell you?"
"No. I had you investigated. Actually, it's my mom..."
Hal stared at him in disbelief. "Is this something normal to your family? Because this isn't normal in mine!"
"Okay, I'm sorry. My mom just wanted to make sure that I'm with the right person."
"With the right person?" Halwyn shook his head, it felt like he had signed a bad contract and was now stuck with very unfair conditions. "How did your mom even conclude that I'm in love with---you know what? Never mind that. If you think that it's normal for an adult young man to have their mother decide who they should pair up with, count me out! Because that sure hell is not normal to me."
"Hal, listen to me first---"
The man tried to whirl him around by gripping his forearm and Hal winced when he felt the hand tightened. "Let go of me."
"My mother isn't what you think she is. I assure you, she means well..."
"Let me clarify this to you. WE ARE NOT IN ANY SORT OF RELATIONSHIP! And you want your mother to decide for me? Hell, NO!"
"You can't just leave me like this!"
"Fucking, let me go or I'm going to crush your balls, right here, right now!"
They were on the side of the street, only a meter away from that restaurant---two tall men on the verge of having a brawl. Hal was not in the mood to hurt anyone and just wanted to go home but Griffin was not letting go and they were starting to attract attention. Knowing that this wouldn't end well, panic soared through Hal...
Suddenly, a Porsche stopped by and the driver immediately went out, approaching the arguing pair.
"Let him go."
Aidan was striding toward them, his expression grim. This shocked Hal but before he could react to this, an SUV also stopped by, and out came Eurig, Maxen, Steffan, and Cadi---all four didn't expect to witness a drama so suddenly and they were all looking at Hal questioningly...and Hal stared back at them all the same.
After revealing that his mother had Hal investigated, Griffin was understandably familiar with the rockstar and did not need an introduction. He muttered, "Ah, the prince charming is here."
Terror iced through Hal when he realized what was about to happen. "I got this..."
However, Aidan fearlessly faced the man unbothered by the crowd that was starting to flock to the same spot. Seeing a celebrity was nothing new but seeing a celebrity about to engage in a fight was rare. "Get the fuck away from him."
"What are you going to do?" Griffin jeered. "Sing me a song?"
"This."
Aidan who was an expert in Thai boxing let his fist swing out and connect to the other man's jaw. Griffin staggered and cackled despite a flash of pain. "Fucking asshole!" Exclaiming back, Griffin tackled Aidan on the ground, and before anyone knew it, the fight went on dramatically in the background.
Hal stood there not knowing what to do until Max came to his side only to ask, "Who's side are we on?" ---and four pairs of eyes gave him the strangest look.