It's Friday evening and there's nothing more that you want to do than just crawl into a hole and die. Joao specifically told you to come at 7:30pm, but you got a little carried away with the whole 'you'll be fashionably late' not it's almost 7:30. You practically launch yourself out of bed, pushing all those horrid thoughts of revenge out of your head.
You're casually dressed, with a slightly formal top and tight, black pants. You don't bother to groom your hair, since its look weird when it's all fixed up like that German bastard Feli always seems to be with. Time to go. Careful to be as silent as possible, you leave your room and lightly push the door closed. You tip toe your way down to the front door, hoping Feli won't notice you leave. You're about to open to door and slip out when a voice behind you freeze you in your tracks.
"Brother, where are you going?" Feliciano asks, face scrunching up to form a worried expression.
Fuck! What do I do now? What should I say? Feliciano can see right through me, but I can't let him know…
"Ah!..er…Well, I'm going out with a friend. And no, you can't come."
Feliciano pouts. "Aw...Where are you going?"
"That's none of your business! I'll be back before midnight, okay? Stop asking questions! There's nothing to worry about."
Quickly, you open the door and slam it shut before Feliciano can say any more. You begin walking but your legs feel like jelly and it feels like you can collapse any second. After a few minutes of walking, you realize that you left your bag on your bed. You're also completely lost. Frantically, you dig your hands into the pockets of your pants and, finding your phone in one of the pockets, breathe a sigh of relief. You immediately find Joao's number and call him.
"Hey." You start.
"Oh, Hey! Where are you? I've been waiting here for quite a while now." He says with a hint of concern on his tone.
"I-ah…got lost. And my little brother's bein' suspicious on me…"
"Hm. He doesn't know?" he sighs. "Alrighty then. I'll pick you up. Where are you anyway?"
You look around and see a street name just ahead.
"I'm at Delaney Avenue." You hear a couple of muffled voices coming from the phone, but you wholly ignore the background noise.
"I'll be there in five minutes, okay? Call me if you encounter any trouble!" he hangs up and you just lean on the streetlight, occupying yourself with your phone. You check the time and it is already pass 8pm. You feel a cold breeze pass by you, and you cuss as softly as you can. You know that meeting Joao is a bad idea. Feliciano may call Antonio and ask if you're with him, and when they find out that neither of them are with you, they'll start worrying. After a long aggravating silence later, you see a black car park in front of you. You see Joao jump out from the car and greet you with a smile.
"Hey!"
"Hey. Took you long enough."
"Sorry…Are you alright? You seem to be catching a cold. Where's your sweater?" he asks.
"I think I left it at home. I ah…can't go there right now," You reply feebly.
He removes his coat and drapes it around your shoulders, and somehow, you immediately feel warm and protected. Sitting in the front seat of his car and watching the scenery go by in a blur, you can't help but smile fondly and bury your face on his jacket, inhaling the sweet scent of his cologne.
Joao has set up a lovely dinner for the both of you at this really famous Italian restaurant in the city. You just stand there awkwardly, taking in your surroundings. Your eyes widen, and you can't help but marvel at the beauty of the restaurant.
"It's really nice, huh?" Joao smirks, resting his chin on his knuckles, his attention solely on you.
"Oh, yes! God, this place's fucking amazing. It feels just like I'm back home." You answer, squeezing your fingers on your knees.
He chuckles and ohgodohgodohgod, he's giving you one of his killer smiles again. You feel yourself blush and squirm in your seat. You're pretty sure that he's still looking at you and can see that you are blushing. An awkward silence fills the atmosphere.
A waiter suddenly comes out of nowhere and gives the two of you menus. You let Joao order the food for you since you don't know anything about the food they serve here. He orders the best and expensive meal on the menu, and gives the waiter a tip for his service.
You two have a little heart-to-heart about your little brother and his uncanny ability to read people. He asks you all these ridiculous questions and you comparing him to Antonio. He talks like Antonio, he smiles a little different like Antonio, and all the while you're talking to him there is a chorus of"Antonio Antonio Antonio Antonio" in your mind.
You remember that for the past few days, Antonio seems to be a lot quieter than usual and absorbed in his own thoughts. He doesn't attend to any of his club activities like the Archery club and the Soccer team and many of his friends have taken up the habit of annoying you for information, but all you can say to them is a flat out 'I don't know.'
"Hm? What's wrong? You thinkin' about something?" Joao asks.
"Its about Antonio…" you blurt out. You are not supposed to say that out loud. But it won't hurt to ask him about his brother, right?
"What about him?" he asks, his voice stern and without a hint of curiosity. You look at him. You can tell that he's completely uninterested with the subject, but you continue on anyway.
"I don't know, he's been all lazy and shit. The bastard has been neglecting all his homework and school clubs for the past few weeks, so I thought that I should ask you if you know anything."
"What? So you noticed it too?" he chuckles a bit, and returns to his what-the-hell-I-don't-care-about-him face. "Meh. I've been meaning to ask you that too. He's been upset for a while now."
"Everyone's worried about him. And none of his close friends know what the fuck is happening."
"Who's everyone?"
"Francis, Gilbert, Feli, his club friends, and, uh, me of course."
Joao lets out a tired sigh. "I only know that after that messy sleep over, he hasn't been the same. He's been locking himself in his own room and avoiding me." Your eyes widen.
"Do you think he…?"
"Hm?"
"Never mind."
You sit there and process all the information Joao has given you. The very last thing you've expected to find out from asking Joao about Antonio is that he's just as lost as you. Joao runs his hand through his hair and lets out an irritated sigh.
"He's hiding something, that's for sure," he proclaims.
"Can't you just…fucking ask the guy or something?"
"You honestly think that I can talk to him when he's all locked up in his room?"
"AT LEAST TRY!" You scream, surprising the both of you. You never thought that you'd be able to yell at him like this.
"Lovi…" he sighs and smiles weakly. "I appreciate it. You did your best but there's more shit you'd need to know before you understand the situation. Do me a favour and leave it alone from now on." You can't help but notice the hint of jealousy in his tone. His possessive side is showing, and it's kind of terrifying.
Joao keeps on echoing the sentiment that you don't understand, but you DO understand. You see more than the both of them even realize. It's so frustrating. He laughs at the look on your face.
"Look at you. You're not gonna let this go until you find out what's bugging him, are you?"
You don't say a word.
"Alright, then. I'll let you do what you want." He shrugs. "But c'mon, let's not waste our time talking about him." He stands up and you know the conversation is over. He grabs your hand and takes you out to the balcony.
You can't help but feel like someone's there watching you, but you shrug off the feeling as Joao catches your chin and pulls you into a chaste kiss. You run your hands over his smooth face and down to his broad shoulders, breathing in the scent of soap and aftershave. His hands rest on your thighs and you two stay like this for a few minutes.
Hearing the squeek of a familiar voice coming from the restaurant, you break the kiss. The door is transparent and you can still see the people eating at different tables, but you are pretty sure from your angle that they can't see you and Joao. Then you hear another squeek, and you pull yourself away from Joao's arms.
"I think we should stop." You say softly. You can't help but hear the chattering near you. It's muffled, but you can make out your name and Joao's.
"Why?"
"I think I hear people coming…"
"It doesn't matter. If they're not interrupting us, then they don't mind." He says, as he begins to pull you in for another kiss.
"N-no, I think I –we should go home. It's pretty late." You say and you start walking away, leaving Joao at the balcony. He follows you after and he offers you his jacket again, which you accept...what? It's fucking freezing outside, and you forgot your belongings at your house because of stupid Feli.
Yeah, blame it all on him.
"I'll drive you home," he says, and it looks like he's not taking no for an answer.
"Um, that's alright. I'll just get a Taxi. Don't want to bother you or anything."
"I'll drive you home," he repeats.
"I don't want Feli to know anything about this."
"I'll drop you off near your home. I don't want you to get hurt along the way. Please…"
You give up and finally nodd. He looks grateful and he smiles at you so brightly it's like he's the fucking sun.
You leave the restaurant, and you don't seem to hear any more voices. Probably it's just all in your head and you're just imagining things? Yes. Just keep on believing that.
"It's not as if Antonio's going to pop out from the trees. It's not like his lazy ass to stalk you or me," he laughs, and you begin to think.
That is definitely something Feli would do.
That is DEFINITELY something Gilbert and Francis wouldn't be able to resist doing.
"That makes me feel a lot better then. But there still could be a possibility."
He gives you a look that you can't quite interpret.
"What?" you ask.
"Would it be that awful if he finds out that you like me?"
You're taken aback, and you laugh, thinking it must be a joke, but stop when his face remains passive.
"Oh, you were serious." You stop smiling. "Wasn't it your advice to avoid blowing my friendship with Antonio in the first place? Do you really think he'd ever speak to me again if he knew about us?"
Joao shrugs. "I think he'd get over it."
You still can't be 100% sure that Joao isn't trying to mess with you, so you just shake your head.
"Well, either way, I don't think I can handle that happening just yet. For now I just want to get home undetected, okay?" you ask as gently as you can manage. He sighs and you realize that you're already at his car, and he has politely opened the passenger door for you.
"Have it your way. But trust me kid, you're not gonna want to have him find out on his own."
A/N: Thank you to the happiest emo on earth again for editing~
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