Claude walked back into his apartment late that afternoon, feeling rather exhausted. Though, despite his tired condition, he was on edge. He was curious to see how things would pan out for him over the weekend. Tomorrow was his birthday, and he really hoped to patch things up with Sebastian before then.
Not to mention the fact that he was nervous as hell to talk to Sebastian. Somehow, Alois had convinced Claude to mention something about his secret crush to Sebastian. Claude had been playing through different scenarios in his head- though he wasn't sure any of them portrayed incredibly accurate outcomes. He wasn't sure if he should be blunt, or incredibly vague. He knew he owed it to Sebastian to at least tell him something, but he still had the innate fear of rejection- or worse- dissolving a friendship that had lasted for years.
"Sebastian?" Claude called as he walked into the living room. "Are you home?" He paused, as he heard some shuffling noises coming from the kitchen. He turned just in time to see Sebastian barreling toward him. He was pulled into a tight one-armed hug.
"Oh, my God," Sebastian sighed, releasing his friend. "I thought you were never coming home! Not that I didn't deserve it. I mean, I've kind of been an asshole to you and I-" Claude elbowed Sebastian off of him, cutting him short.
"You talk too much sometimes," he said, grinning.
"Well, I thought you at least deserved an eloquent apology," Sebastian laughed nervously, tucking his long black bangs behind an ear.
"I've forgotten everything," Claude said smiling. "I'm not without my faults, too, you know. And it was kind of jerkish of me to blow up on you that way. This is your apartment, too."
"So you'll still come to that lame-ass birthday party tomorrow night?" Sebastian asked, grinning. Claude laughed and nodded. "Oh, good. Because I'd hate for my masterpiece cake to go to waste." Sebastian headed off toward the kitchen, Claude trailing behind.
Sebastian's cake was indeed something to behold. Baking and cooking in any form was one of Sebastian's forté's, though he was usually too lazy to make anything grand. Apparently Claude's birthday presented an exception. Sebastian had been slaving away on a chocolate layered cake, though none of the layers were stacked.
"Looks good," Claude complimented. Sebastian flashed a half smile; half in thanks, and half because he knew damn well his cake was going to be delicious. "Have you really been working on this all day?"
"Pretty much," Sebastian sighed with satisfaction. "I mean, I didn't wake up 'till about noon, but ever since then I've just been in here. I had more elaborate designs, and I tried recruiting help, but-"
"-Bard?" Claude guessed with a laugh. Sebastian nodded.
"He was the only one that showed up, and we all know how God-awful he is at cooking," Sebastian laughed to himself. "Even with supervision."
"Well, I'm glad that catastrophe was avoided," Claude laughed lightly. Sebastian returned to his work on the cake, as Claude pulled up a chair.
"Hey, I'm really glad you came back," Sebastian said, stirring the contents of a rather large bowl.
"Why? Because you realized your life is boring as hell without me?" Claude asked sarcastically. Sebastian laughed.
"Yeah, that, too," he said. "But there was also something I've been meaning to tell you." Sebastian didn't make eye contact with Claude, just stared down at the cake, obviously engrossed in his work.
"Oh?" Claude asked, leaning back in his chair. His gut was telling him that now was perhaps the time for him to mention something to Sebastian as well, though his mind detested the idea. He smiled at his friend, pursing his lips so he wouldn't say anything stupid.
Just then there was a small knock at the front door. Both Claude and Sebastian looked at each other quizzically. Apparently, neither of them were expecting company. Claude stood.
"I'll get it," he offered. He shuffled lazily to the front door. He pulled the door back to reveal a slender, dark haired boy, with his arms folded. He held a bored expression as he stared up at Claude. Claude let out a slow breath, pursing his lips once more.
"Can I come in?" Ciel asked with a sigh. It was quite clear to Claude that he wasn't the one that Ciel wanted to deal with. Seeing Ciel at the door felt similar to the way it felt to pour lemon juice on a papercut. Biting his tongue, he flashed Ciel a smile.
"Sure," he agreed, opening the door wider. "Sebastian is in the kitchen." Ciel flashed him a smirk and a smug thanks as he entered the apartment. Claude took his time shutting the door, not really wanting to overhear the conversation between Ciel and Sebastian. He was sure it was nothing he needed to hear anyway. As he shuffled down the hall to his room, he cursed to himself.
He tried to tell himself he wasn't mad at Sebastian. And this time, he didn't think he really was. At least, not only at Sebastian. It hadn't seemed as though Sebastian was expecting Ciel to show up. Yet, Claude was hoping that if Ciel and Sebastian really did have a thing, it would be something he was eased into. Not something he was hit across the face with. Of course, it probably only insulted him as much as it did, simply because today was the day he was planning to tell Sebastian everything. Fate had never really favored Claude for the first twenty one years of his life, why would this one be any different? Or maybe fate was being kind to him. Maybe Sebastian would have horribly rejected him and their friendship would be obsolete. At this point, Claude wasn't really sure what he was feeling, and he didn't much care.
He quickly threw some clothes in a bag. He felt childish, like he was running away, again. Technically, he had promised Grell, Will, and Arnold, that he'd be over later that evening. He didn't think sleeping there would make much of a difference. Besides, if he could fake being all right in front of Sebastian, it didn't have to explode into another fight. It was the last thing Claude wanted.
He shuffled back towards the kitchen, smoothing over his upset expression. He tried his hardest to be blatantly obvious about his entrance into the room.
"- he doesn't know," Ciel laughed, putting his hands on his hips. Claude heard Sebastian sigh.
"Well, he's not an idiot, and he's going to figure it out. I just don't know how to tell him. And you're not helping any!" Sebastian retorted. Claude cleared his throat, causing both Ciel and Sebastian to jump.
"Hey, um, I'm heading over to Will's okay?" Claude told Sebastian with a smile. "I kinda told him I'd have this end of exams party with him."
"Oh," Sebastian said, softly. His face fell ever so slightly.
"Hey, uh, what time is that dumb party for your friend?" Claude asked with a smile. He was trying to be convincing, but also trying not to overdo anything. Apparently his act was working, as Sebastian cracked a half smile.
"Starts at five," he said with a small laugh.
"I'll be there," Claude smiled. "I'm just not going to be the poor bastard a present. I hope he understands." He turned to leave with a laugh.
"Claude," Sebastian called. Claude turned to face his friend, who was obviously searching for words. His mouth opened and closed before he finally said, "See you tomorrow."
Claude waved as he walked toward the door. He was smiling broadly, even though he wasn't happy.
A/N:So. Yeah. School is super busy. I like to read, but I don't like to read textbooks. And apparently that is 99% of what you do in college. Just in case you weren't aware :) And also, I apologize, I've had really bad writer's block with this story. Mostly because I've been working ahead and just kinda skipped over this chapter- which, surprise, made it harder to write. And its kinda important. Anyways. That's that. I fail, I'm sorry, I know its short. If you are awake later today, I plan on posting another chapter (or mayhaps I will split it into 2 chapters... we'll see) and it will be longer and hopefully make up for my lame-ness. Anyways, tighten your seat-belts, children, because this is when the story starts getting funnnnn :)
