Warren and Nathan walked the mall, with Victoria hanging beside them. Warren was wearing the same clothes he had on earlier in the day. Nathan's hair was a mess, and his posture was visibly poorer than normal. Victoria had a short pink skirt with a matching cardigan and basic collared shirt. Her short hair was combed perfectly to the side. Nathan stood in the middle of the other two. Warren always felt like Victoria didn't like him, which, in his defense, was true before he and Nathan got together. Since then she had no problem with Warren. He still made Nathan stand in the middle.
While the three were stopped in a store looking at CDs, a girl with a messy brown bun and thick glasses walked up to them. She reminded Warren of Max, but Max could never pull off a bun like this girl did.
"Uhm, h-hi. I don't do this, ever, but I saw you and-" She stopped for a moment and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm really bad at this." She handed Warren a slip of paper with 7 digits on it. "Hopefully, you'll text that number and we can, um, go out? Sometime?" She blushed and walked away before Warren could give an answer. Victoria chuckled after she was gone.
"Look at Warren, getting all the hoes." She said, almost too loud.
"I- yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck.
Nathan took the paper and almost ripped it. He glared over at the other girl until she looked at him. When she did, he closed his eyes, pulled warren in with one hand behind his head, and kissed him deep and passionately. The other hand was around his waist. Nathan was tempted to squeeze his ass, but he suppressed the urge.
Warren was surprised and almost tense at first, but he loosened up and leaned into it not long after. Nathan opened one eye and looked over at the girl. He smirked at her shocked and depressed expression. Victoria grabbed Nathan's shoulder and spun him around.
"You're an ass." Victoria had to stop herself from laughing.
"What was that abo-" Warren stopped and looked at the girl. She was almost in tears. "Nathan!" He practically yelled. "You dick! I could have just texted her later and let her know I'm taken. You didn't have to be so cold." He looked back over at the girl who suddenly had a group of friends around her, herding her out of the store. "I'm really sorry!" He yelled as she left.
Nathan put his arm around Warren and they all left the store. Warren was visibly annoyed, but let the arm there, wrapping his own around Nathan's waist.
They walked down to the food court and ordered drinks, no food. When they got their drinks, they walked over to a table and sat down. Warren sipped his drink, leaning forward. He held his phone in both hands and rested his forearms on the table.
"So why'd you want to hang on such short notice?" Victoria asked, sipping her drink.
"My dad," Nathan sighed. "We got in a fight. He found out about Warren and me."
Warren looked up. "Holy shit." He said. "What happened? Are you okay? You can stay at my place if you need to."
"I don't know if I'm okay actually. I'm glad he finally knows, and I'm glad I finally stood up to him, but-"
"Wait, you stood up to Sean Prescott? Nathan…" Victoria looked concerned, like she was hurting for him.
"Yeah," Nathan laughed. "It's kind of funny now. Pretty stupid, too. He said he didn't want me to ever talk to Warren again."
Warren looked hurt. Nathan reached over and set his hand on the other's arm.
"It's okay thought. I told him I'm 18 now and he can't have restrictions on me." He paused. "I told him I'd go to the press about everything he's done to me if he tries to get between us."
Warren almost spit his drink out. "You said that? To your dad?"
"Nathan, you stupid son of a bitch." Victoria punched his shoulder. "You're not going home tonight. Not until your sister is home. You can stay with me or Warren until you're okay."
"Thanks, but I'll be okay. I've been all over this one-" Nathan nudged Warren's shoulder. "All day. In public. Someone has to have seen it. Some shitty newspaper or something will have a segment dedicated to me and my 'lover' by this time tomorrow. What's done is done."
"I really doubt that, but I still want you to stay with one of us tonight." Warren put his other hand on top of Nathan's.
"If you want to piss off your dad even more, stay at Warren's. Take a post-sex selfie and 'accidentally' send it to him." Victoria winked.
"Vic, we're trying to help Nathan. Not get him killed."
"Yeah, that's a no on the sex selfie idea. And I'm pretty sure I've pissed him off enough. Is it cool if I stay with you, Vic?"
"Of course! I'll text my parents now and let them know. You might end up on the couch. I doubt they'd be cool with having a dude in my bedroom."
"A couch is better than in my house. Thanks." Nathan looked at the time. It was starting to get late and the mall would be closing soon. "You should get going, Warren. I'll stay here with Vic until her parents give us an answer. I'll text you."
Warren stood up and pushed in his chair. He finished off his drink and threw it away. "See you later. Let me know if you need me when you confront your dad. He wouldn't hurt you in front of me." He smiled and kissed Nathan's forehead. "Bye." He waved and walked out of the food court as Victoria's phone rang.
"Okay, we're good." Victoria said to him and grabbed her purse.
"Thanks for this."