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Later that evening the three friends were lounging in Josiah’s apartment a few blocks away from campus. Carson was laying down on the sofa in the living room. He had his legs draped across Ayden’s lap and she was playing with the wrinkled fabric of his jeans.

The apartment was dim, the only light on was the overhead one above the stove in the kitchen. The old, medium-sized television in front of the best friends in the living room was muted, replaying the main menu screen for the movie they were about to watch.

“Babe, can you hurry up?” Ayden called.

“Yeah,” Carson joined in sarcastically. “The movie’s gonna get up and run away. We’ll never get to watch it.”

Ayden glared at her friend and smacked his stomach while Josiah’s laughter filtered out to them from the kitchen. The microwave’s fan stopped running and the timer started to beep.

“One second,” Josiah said. “I just gotta put this in a bowl and I’ll be right there.”

Ayden sighed. Carson looked at her and nudged her stomach with his knee. “I don’t know why you’re so impatient, anyway. You’ve seen Taken before.”

“Yeah, but I like it a lot,” the blonde argue. “I want to watch it.”

“Alright, alright,” Josiah said. He flicked the light off and snatched the bowl of fresh popcorn off of the counter as he left the room. When he got back to the couch he held the bowl out to Ayden. “Here.”

Ayden smiled up at her boyfriend and puckered her lips for a kiss. Josiah chuckled but gave in to the adorable look on her face. He leaned down and gave his girlfriend a quick kiss before he backed off. Carson watched on with a small smile. The brunette was sincerely happy for his two friends. He was glad they had each other and were so in love.

Carson didn’t wish any ill feelings toward them whenever they showed affection in front of them, but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t suck at least a little. Even after all this time, he still wished he had been the one to run into Josiah that day on campus, not Ayden. Maybe if things had played out like that, Carson would have been dating the other guy. Well, he might have if Josiah were gay. Carson usually left that part out of his thoughts when he daydreamed about dating his friend.

Josiah moved over to the last open cushion of the couch, at the opposite end of where Carson was laying. Not even thinking about it, since it wasn’t that unfamiliar of an occurrence, Josiah picked up his friend’s feet before he sat down, dropping them back into place.

Carson didn’t mind, at least he got to keep laying down; he was already so comfortable. “Hey, toss me that sweatshirt, Joe,” he said.

Josiah reached behind him and grabbed the garment off of the back of the sofa and rolled it up before throwing it over to his friend. The boys laughed as it knocked Ayden’s handful of popcorn away just as she was bringing it up to her mouth.

The blonde scowled immediately and smacked both of her friends on the arm. “Thanks, guys,” she said sarcastically.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Carson said, while Josiah still laughed. He tucked his friend’s sweatshirt underneath his head to use it as a pillow. “Somebody hit play already.”

“Now who’s impatient?” Ayden quipped.

Carson stuck his tongue out at the blonde and took some popcorn from the bowl Ayden had resting on top of him. Josiah reached forward and plucked the remote off of the coffee table. As he pressed the play button, he propped his feet up on the little table.

Carson turned his attention to the screen, but he did notice Josiah shifting under his legs to press closer to Ayden. The green-eyed boy put an arm around on the back of the sofa behind his girlfriend. Ayden looked over and smiled before kissing him on the cheek while the movie rolled on.

The couple turned their attention to the screen, and all three of them were quickly sucked into the tension of the characters.

“Those girls are so stupid, though,” Carson commented right when the kidnappers broke into the apartment in the movie. “They shouldn’t tell a random stranger from a different country so many details.”

“But he’s really cute,” Ayden argued.

Josiah turned to stare at his girlfriend. “Excuse me?”

Carson laughed as he watched his best friend shrug. “Sorry, babe, but it’s true. You saw him.” Josiah gave the girl a blank stare. Carson snorted and Ayden turned to him. “Tell him, Car. You think Peter’s cute.”

Carson’s smile dropped. He glanced at Josiah for help, but the older guy just shook his head.

“Women,” the two of them said disdainfully at the same time.

Ayden huffed and crossed her arms. “I’m just saying, it’s easy to fall for a charming guy.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Carson muttered, going for another handful of popcorn.

Josiah glanced at the brunette, but then the movie quickly dragged his attention back when the second girl got dragged out from under the bed. Ayden started to say something to keep arguing for her case, but Josiah held up a hand.

“Shush, woman! This is my favourite part.” Carson burst out laughing while Ayden pursed her lips and glared. “Shhh, Car!”

“Sorry,” the younger boy whispered, trying not to snicker.

Josiah was already ignoring both of his friends as he had every ounce of his focus trained onto the television. The second the main protagonist started his spiel on the phone about his “particular set of skills”, Josiah was reciting the lines along with him. He knew them word for word, and Ayden and Carson just watched him in slight awe.

The twenty-one year old was so in the zone as he spoke in unison with Liam Neeson. Carson thought it was kind of funny and adorable. Ayden wanted to roll her eyes at her boyfriend’s immaturity, but she did also find it quite amusing.

“God, he’s such a badass,” Josiah said after he was done with the speech. “That’s basically the whole reason I watch this movie.”

Ayden turned to lock eyes with Carson. She shook her head a fraction and the boy smirked. “Ugh, men,” they said together.

Josiah looked at his friends but he only laughed. Carson’s phone started to ring at that moment, vibrating in his pocket. Ayden squealed as Carson jumped to grab the device.

“Shit, Car, get your vibrator off of my thigh,” Ayden joked. “It scared the crap out of me.”

Josiah started chuckling and Carson said, “Oh, shut it.” Then the brunette was rolling off of the couch with his hand clutching the phone. He glanced to see it was Gabriel, and walked into the kitchen so he could hear. “Hello?”

“Hey, baby,” Gabriel said into the phone. Upon hearing the older guy’s voice, Carson felt a pang of guilt. “Where are you? I buzzed up to your apartment, but I haven’t heard anything.”

Carson tapped his fingers on the counter nervously. “Uhm, yeah, I’m at Josiah’s right now.”

Gabriel’s mood immediately changed. Carson could hear the irritation in his voice as he spoke. “What? Why are you there? We had plans.”

Carson glanced back into the living room when he heard the apartment get quieter. His friends had paused the movie and were staring at him while hanging off the back of the couch. Carson gave the couple a mildly dirty look.

“Yeah, I guess I just forgot. I'm sorry," the brunette said into the phone.

There was a scoff and then Gabriel said, "You forgot? Seriously, is that the best you've got?"

Feeling vulnerable with his friends' eyes on his, Carson turned away a little to mess with the magnets on the refrigerator.

"Look, just calm down. It's not that big of a deal. Tomorrow's a Saturday; we can do something then, okay?"

"You don't even know what today is, do you?"

Carson crinkled his brows. He was lost at this point. "Excuse me?"

"We've been going out for two months today," Gabriel stressed.

His voice was gradually rising and Carson figured he would be getting yelled at soon. He had noticed over the last couple months that Gabriel had a bit of a short temper and he liked to yell when he wasn't getting his way. That was one of the reasons Carson wanted to break things off. He didn't like being pushed around or controlled; he liked when things were laidback and easy.

When Carson realized what Gabriel had just said, he felt even more guilt flood through him. He hadn't even been keeping track of the days in their relationship. He may not really like the guy that much to care about anniversaries, but he still felt bad for making the twenty-two year old upset. Carson always felt nervous when he was the cause for somebody's distress.

"Shit, Gabe, I'm really--"

"Sorry? Yeah, right. I bet you are, that's why you're over at Josiah's!"

Carson's prediction was coming true as Gabriel's voice was starting to get louder the more the boys conversed. Carson cast a glance back at his friends. They were still watching him intently, so he threw them as believable a cheerful smile as he could. Then he turned away again and lowered his voice.

"Okay, jeez. You don't have to yell, Gabriel, I can hear you just fine."

"Don't even start with me right now, Carson, I swear..." The brunette bit the inside of his cheek, not liking where the conversation seemed to be going. "I don't like that you're always over at Josiah's."

Carson's jaw dropped and for moment he forgot he was trying to be quiet. "You have got to be joking."

"No, I'm not," Gabriel snapped. "I'm completely serious in that I think you should spend less time with him and more time with me, your boyfriend."

Carson pursed his lips and shook his head. What Gabriel was suggesting was so far out of the question he wanted to call him crazy and send him to mental hospital.

"If you're trying to tell me that I can’t--" Carson said angrily before he paused long enough to lower his voice. Seething, he repeated, "--that I can’t hang out with him, then you can just forget about it. My friends are important to me and I am not about to lose them just because you're throwing a hissy-fit. Grow up, Gabe, because I'm not about to deal with your shit right now."

"Oh fuck off, Car--"

The boy in mention never got to hear the rest of his name, as he promptly hung up on his ranting boyfriend. Carson groaned loudly, now successfully irritated by that phone call. Trying to compose himself, the blue-eyed boy stuffed his phone back in his pocket and returned to the couple on the couch.

The darker-skinned guy and the blonde had faces of shock that were almost identical to each other’s in the dim lighting. Carson sat down, squeezed in between the two of them, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Did you actually just hang up on him?" Josiah asked, voice full of awe. His sage-coloured eyes were wide. "I don't think I've ever seen you do that to someone before."

Carson frowned as he thought about his previous actions. He wanted to feel bad but he just didn't. Gabriel had just been pushing all of the wrong buttons.

"Well," he said defensively, "he was pissing me off. I will not let a guy tell me I can't be friends with someone. And most certainly not you two."

At this, Ayden made a strangled, squealing noise. Both of the guys cringed at the sound, but she didn't let that phase her.

“Oh no he didn’t!” she said loudly. She wagged her finger sassily. “You need to break up with him, Car. Like, as soon as possible.”

Carson fidgeted. “Yeah, but...”

Ayden gave him a look of disbelief. “But what? It’s not like you’re even having sex with him!”

Carson instantly blushed and smacked his blonde friend on the arm. Purposely avoiding looking at Josiah, the brunette spoke with horror in his voice, “Jesus, you don’t need to announce it to the whole world!”

Ayden rolled her green eyes. “Oh, please. Josiah is hardly the whole world. Besides, he already knows.”

“God, you are the worst,” Carson mumbled. Then he glanced at Josiah. The black-haired boy looked a little taken aback by Carson’s sudden expression of helplessness. “Josiah. A little assistance right now would be nice.”

The older guy looked to Ayden first. She was giving him that look that said, “if you don’t say the right thing, we’re so done”. Josiah reached up and scratched a hand through his frizzy curls before he decided what to say.

“Uhm, sorry, man. I agree with Ayden. You don’t need someone like Gabriel in your life. He’s too pushy, and pretty obnoxious, too.”

Carson sighed and let his head drop against the back of the couch. “You’re just saying that because of Ayden.”

Josiah stared at the younger boy who was clearly distressed. “Hey, no I’m not. It’s true. You deserve someone who will treat you better. I can’t stand when that asshole yells at you for stupid shit.”

“I forgot our anniversary,” Carson mumbled quietly. That was still eating him up, it made him feel heartless or something like that. He couldn’t really describe it. “It was tonight. And I just blew him off.”

Josiah and Ayden stayed silent for a few moments. They weren’t really sure what to say to that. They could tell that Carson was feeling pretty upset, but on the other hand, neither of them approved of Gabriel anyway.

Ayden was finally about to say something when Carson abruptly pulled his phone from his pocket. The brunette groaned miserably as he read it. Curiously, Josiah leaned forward to try and see what was in the message. Ayden was doing something similar on the other side of her friend.

“It’s Gabe,” Carson grumbled. “He sent me this long message, but the jist of it is that he’s completely pissed at me now. Here,” he said, holding the phone out for someone to take. Josiah reached out, but frowned in defeat when his girlfriend beat him to it. “The best line is when he said, ‘Oh, you tell me to grow up, but then you hang up on me?’. Then he called me immature and whatever.”

Ayden scoffed and huffed multiple times as she read the message. Josiah watched Carson carefully. He hated how upset the younger boy was about this, and even though Josiah wasn’t usually the kind of guy to get into conflict and physical arguments, he wanted nothing more than to go beat the life out of Gabriel for treating his friend the way he did.

“What a prick,” Ayden said in distaste when she was done. “How many names does he need to call you?”

Josiah eagerly went to grab the phone, but yet again, it was taken from him. Carson snatched his device back and shoved it in his pocket. Then he turned his blue eyes on to his older friend. “You don’t need to read it. Seriously, Joe, it will just make you do something stupid.”

Josiah gave the other boy an indignant look. “If by stupid, you mean go beat the piss out of him, then yeah. But I’m already mad enough without having to read the text.”

Ayden linked her arm through Carson’s and rested her head on his shoulder. “Just break up with him tomorrow or something. Then forget all about him and we can find you someone new.”

“I just thought he was so nice,” Carson said quietly. “I really liked him at first.”

Trying to comfort his friend, Josiah threw an arm around him. The younger boy let his head drop down on Josiah’s chest. Ayden squished closer to her best friend and Josiah wrapped his other arm around his girlfriend. They were essential cocooning Carson in a tight, group hug in hopes to make him feel better.

“I think you were just blinded by the muscles,” Josiah whispered, attempting to lighten the mood.

It worked and the brunette laughed with his friends. “I guess I was,” he mumbled, realizing it was true.

Carson laughed again at how stupid he had been lately. Yeah, Gabriel had been alright for a while, and he had been a nice distraction from thinking about Josiah, but he wasn’t turning out to be someone Carson really wanted to be with. This search for a potential life partner that had been going on for a few years now was getting him nowhere. The brunette was beginning to think he would never find someone. Maybe he would just be Ayden and Josiah’s extra for the rest of his life. At least that was better than nothing.

“I’m gonna talk to Gabe tomorrow,” Carson said with a sigh. Josiah pulled back from the hug to give the three of them more space. “But for now, let’s just finish the movie.”

“Are you sure?” Ayden asked, studying the boy’s face.

She wasn’t that convinced that Carson was alright, but she also didn’t want to push him to talk about things he wasn’t comfortable with. She would just have to wait it out and see if he came to her with it first.

Carson nodded and smiled at his friend. “Yeah, I don’t want my night completely ruined. So let’s just forget about ‘he-who-must-not-be-named’.”

“You got it,” Josiah said cheerily.

They re-situated themselves on the piece of furniture so Carson was back to laying down between his friends. He was rolled over onto his stomach, watching with his head turned to the side over Josiah’s lap. Ayden had passed him Josiah’s sweatshirt that he used for a pillow once again.

It didn’t take long for the tension to ease away from the group as they got back into the movie. Josiah and Ayden were holding hands, but Josiah’s other hand was resting on top of Carson’s shoulder. It was sort of a last-ditch effort to make the brunette feel better. And if Carson were being honest, it wasn’t really helping anything except for making him wish he could just be with Josiah already.

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