TW: References to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
Read with caution
Life's a dream. Everything is perfect. The planets must have aligned because Percy had a date with an actual human person. After Derek had helped him with a reply, the deal was sealed and he would finally have a social life outside of his best friend. He put on some of his dad's cologne, actually gave his hair a thoughtful brush, and rode to the mall. He was running a little late, so he texted Via.
When he got there, he saw Via, her friend, and for some reason Derek. Percy sat down at the table with them.
"Hey, Percival!" Via said excitedly.
"Hey, how's it going?"
"It's going," Derek said looking irritated. A moment later he jumped and made a quick glance at Finn, Via's friend.
"We were just about to order," Finn said calmly. They ordered their drinks and left the cafe. Most of their time there was spent just walking around and chatting. The entire time Derek looked incredibly uncomfortable. When Via and Finn ran off to another clothing store, Percy decided to ask him what was wrong.
"It's nothing dude, I'm fine,"
"Bullshit you're fine. Tell me what happened,"
"Nothing happened. I'm just having an off day,"
"Well, you seem alarmingly angry to be here as that guy's date,"
"He's just an ass, that's all,"
"Then why did you come?"
Derek hesitated for a moment as if choosing his next words carefully.
"I didn't want to miss your first date with a real girl! I asked Finn if I could tag along, and he said yes," That didn't seem like the truth. They were supposed to tell each other everything.
"Just tell me the truth," Percy pleaded. And after what seemed like forever, Derek obliged.
"Finn and I used to date. Freshman year. Then he ghosted me, and a couple of days ago he asked me to come here with him,"
"And why did you if he broke up with you?"
"Because I didn't want anything to happen to you," That was startling. Finn seemed like a nice guy, why would something happen? Just then Finn came up behind them putting his hand on Percy's shoulder. When Percy looked behind them, he saw Finn's other hand on Derek's ass. But when he looked at Derek's face, something was wrong. He didn't look like his laid-back self. His face flushed and he looked terrified. Like he'd done something wrong.
"Hey, Der-Bear, whaddya say we leave these two love birds to chat? C'mon and help me try some clothes on," Finn said cheerfully. Derek didn't say a word and Finn didn't wait for an answer. While they were walking away Derek glanced back at Percy with a worrying face. Then they turned a corner and were out of sight.
