To be fair, Arthur had been infatuated with Antonio since, well, forever.
Of course, he was stuck in the friendzone simply because he didn't have the guts to tell him that. Other than that? They were just friends. Besides, he doubted that Antonio would be into him, anyway. Not that he was complaining, but still.
The guy was constantly happy. If a ray of sunshine was personified, then yeah, that would be Antonio. As opposed to him, who was constantly gloomy, as if a raincloud followed him. All his previous relationships failed only because he was "too gloomy and depressing and stiff to be around", which was sad but true. And besides, he couldn't stand to dampen Antonio's smile, anyway.
Which was why he was shocked when Antonio sat on the sidewalk, carrying a bouquet of roses in the middle of the night, hopeless.
"Whoa whoa, Toni, what happened?" Wasn't Antonio just on a date?
Antonio glanced towards him, head still hung down.
"Nothing, my girlfriend just blew me off." He tried to force up a smile, but failed.
"What do you mean?" Antonio shrugged.
"Andrea broke up with me. I don't understand, I… sorry, what am I saying?"
Arthur looked at him. He clearly had a lot to say. He touched his shoulder.
"You know what? Just spout out anything, anything you want to say right now. Like, just spew out whatever you want to say right now."
Antonio took a deep breath in.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! WHAT THE HELL?! We were going so well together, but then she broke up with me only because she thought I was annoying and a bit of an asshole and she got bored with me and, just,"
He yelled out more of his frustrations and Arthur listened on. His face became as redder and redder as he went on, until eventually, he calmed down.
"Geez, Andrea sounds like a real bitch," Arthur finally said. "I mean, sure, maybe your personality type wasn't suitable for you or something, but bored? What the hell? Out of all the different people that she could be bored of, she chose you! You're anything but boring! You're…" Antonio looked up, and Arthur found that the words died in his throat. What was he going to say again? Should he say it?
"... Wonderful." There! He said it!
As Antonio faced him, a faint grin appeared at the corner of Antonio's mouth. And suddenly, it was as if dawn had arrived.
Unfortunately, Antonio's phone beeped, and the illusion was broken. He turned on his phone, and groaned when he saw a text.
His eyes widened when he saw a picture of the brunette kissing some blonde guy on the cheek at what was unmistakably Times Square during New Year's Eve. There was even a caption: see how much happier we are together. "I… I thought she was doing work related stuff at New York."
Another photo was sent very quickly. It was of her and the guy at a fancy restaurant, with the caption spite date~.
Arthur looked back at the photo. The way she actually smiled, with the audacity to be completely alright with the knowledge that she was hooking up with some other guy since at least the start of the year, and the bare nerve of going on a date with the other guy straight after breaking up and actually sending a picture it, it infuriated him.
"What the fuck! Sending a picture of herself on a date, no no, actually going on one straight after breaking up with you, seriously, what's her problem?" Antonio shrugged, hopeless, and turned off his phone. He was expecting him to be absolutely pissed, to throw a tantrum again and yell a million insults, but instead, he just sat and stared into empty space, lost. This was worse, actually. Much more worse.
"I thought that they were just friends," was all he whispered, and Arthur's frustration dripped away.
"Arthur... do you think that I'm a shitty person?"
"No," he stated. "If anything, your ex is a cold, shallow bitch. Cheating on you since at least the start of the year, and actually having the guts to send you pictures of her on those dates, Jesus. If anything, she's the shitty person. You're amazing in every single way possible, and if she didn't see that? Well, sucks to be her. I could name up to 10 other people who will date you in a heartbeat. Hell, I'll date you. I'd date you out of SPITE-" He realised what he said, and he felt his heart hammer against his chest. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, did he accidentally confess? Antonio's expression started to lighten up.
"Spite dating? Sure." He handed the rose bouquet to Arthur. "If she's doing it, why can't we?" The roses were a bit wilted now, but he could care less. He held them up to his nose, and smelt the flowers' gentle, delicate fragrance.
"Thanks," he muttered, and Antonio smiled. Instantly, his spirits soared.
"You're welcome. So. Where do you want to go?"
"Oh, now? Erhm," he thought. "Well, how about the movies? There's this new movie about pirates or something, wanna see it?"
"Hm, I saw that yesterday, but yeah! sure!"
And they made their way to the movie theatre. They took pictures, ate popcorn, laughed at bad jokes as well as shitty CGI, and had fun. And it was… great.
The next day, Arthur couldn't help but laugh when he saw Antonio's ex fuming red at the sight of them holding hands together.