"Oh…" Mitch said.
"Yeah…" Avi scratched his head.
"That must be brutal," Kirstie said. "Sorry…"
But Avi just shook his head. "It's fine."
"Oh wow, you really look like you're going to have a lot of fun tonight." Esther joined them and looked around. "What happened?"
"Scott isn't joining, Nick has eaten something funky and claims to be feeling bad" Mitch said immediately. He didn't want to tell Esther about Avi's feelings for Scott.
“I told them about Scott,” Avi said. “By accident, but I did.”
“I’m glad that you did” Mitch replied. “I won’t come ranting to you about Scott and Nick anymore, this must be hurting you…”
Avi shrugged his shoulders. “It’s my own fault, I didn’t have the guts to ask him out when he was still single, now I have to live with the fact that he’s with someone else. Simple as that” he explained. “Anyway, I don’t want to ruin the mood. Shall we just head out? I can’t wait to have some fun.”
“Of course,” Esther said. She grabbed her brother’s hand and squeezed it softly before letting go and walking out of the lobby. “The funfair is within walking distance. Should be twenty minutes” she explained and then walked in the front with Mitch and Kirstie while Kevin walked behind with Avi.
“Are you really okay?” He asked. “I can see that you’re hurt.”
Avi shrugged his shoulders. “I am. I am trying my very best to be civil with Nick. It would be easier if I knew that Scott is truly happy with him. But with everything I keep finding out about him I’m not sure.”
Kevin nodded. “I have a weird feeling about him as well,” he said. “I mean they’ve been together for so long and Nick is still so distant. Like he doesn’t want anything to do with us…”
“Exactly. But I can’t confront Scott. I mean we talked when we were out in London. Nick was sending texts like ‘so you and Avi are still out alone’ and ‘it’s 2 am in London, why are you still out, don’t you have a tour to focus on’ or ‘did you pass out drunk or why didn’t you text’ I noticed that they made Scott very uncomfortable so I told him to stop replying and talk to him the next day” Avi said.
“I am glad that you’re not actively trying to break their bond, Avi. Still, I feel like we all need to keep an eye on Scott. What you just told me, all the texts and everything… it could’ve just been a one-time thing, but I feel like Nick is very controlling, bordering on manipulative.”
“Hear me out.” Mitch had let himself fall behind Kirstie and Esther who were talking about some shoes Esther had gotten for herself. “I have seen some messages from Nick, too. The night he arrived in Amsterdam he told Esther that he wasn’t feeling well. Plot twist: he was perfectly fine and urged Scott to be at the hotel room quicker. So… I am very sorry but I don’t think that he is feeling unwell today.”
“So you think he just told Scott that he was so they would stay at their hotel room?” Avi wanted to know.
“Exactly. I mean he got his date in the afternoon, Scott planned everything and now that they were about to do something with us, Scott’s friends, all of a sudden he’s feeling unwell. Sounds fishy to me” Mitch explained.
“I agree,” Kevin said.
“Good. So what can we do about it?” Mitch wanted to know.
“Nothing. We cannot do it like in How I Met Your Mother and hold an intervention for him” Avi replied. “We need to wait patiently and be ready to help him once he needs us.”
“But…” Mitch began.
“I’m afraid Avi is right” Kevin replied. “Scott still thinks he’s happy with Nick. And who knows maybe we’re wrong and everything is fine. But still, we’ll keep all eyes on Scott…”
“Or you could make a move, Avi” Mitch mused.
“I won’t end another person’s relationship on purpose, Mitch. I’ve been cheated on before and it was the worst I’ve ever felt” the bearded man explained.
“I’m not saying that you should cheat with him, Avi… it’s just…” Mitch sighed. “Forget it. You’re right. It would be wrong. I just want Nick to be away from Scott as far as possible.”
Avi chuckled, but it sounded bitter. “Me too, Mitch, me too…”
~
Back in the hotel, Scott was lying in bed next to his boyfriend. They were watching a movie and while Scott had ordered himself some pasta from room service, Nick had some clear broth and a dry bread called Zwieback. He had run into the bathroom twice more for diarrhoea, but apart from that, it had been a calm night so far.
Scott looked out of the window after a while. He was able to see the lights of the city and, a little bit further away, the blinking lights of the funfair his friends were visiting. He sighed as he turned back to his boyfriend, who had closed his eyes, and had apparently drifted off. Carefully, Scott got up and grabbed a can of soda out of the mini fridge, before he got out on the balcony.
The weather was nice, warm but with a chilly breeze which felt nice on his skin.
Scott opened the can of soda and took a sip, savouring the taste. Nick didn't like it when he had such sugary drinks and Scott knew that he was right. Yet, sometimes he yearned to have it as a treat and after all he had planned to have some really unhealthy funfair food for dinner.
Scott took out his phone after a while, smiling when he saw that he had only a new message from Avi:
"Is he doing better? Mitch is livid, but we calmed him down. Hope you're alright. See you tomorrow."
"He's asleep. Of course Mitch doesn't like it. I would've loved to be with you. But I can see the lights from my balcony, maybe I'll be able to see the fireworks, too."
"That would be wonderful. It should be starting any minute now. The others are saying hi. Even Mitch although he's scowling."
Scott shook his head in amusement. He loved how Avi made him feel as if he was still part of the group even though he wasn't present.
Just as he was starting to text back, he saw a flash of light in the sky. Fireworks. He took another sip of his soda and leaned against the railing to enjoy the colourful spectacle.
A few minutes into the fireworks he heard steps behind him and then felt Nick's warm body flush against his own.
Scott sighed softly and leaned back. "Hey" he said softly. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah" Nick replied. "Are you okay?"
Scott nodded. "Just needed some fresh air. And then I saw the fireworks."
Nick pressed a soft kiss onto the side of his neck and Scott sighed.
"Look I'm sorry that I got sick. I would've loved to be out there with you" Nick said.
Scott turned his head and smiled slightly. "I know. But it happened and at least we get to watch the fireworks together hmm?"
Nick nodded. "Yeah…"
Both men fell silent and watched the fireworks and as much as Scott loved to be in his boyfriend's arms, there was another feeling he tried to block out: He was looking forward to Nick's departure.
~~~~
