National Treasure (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 13 (New)

"Oh no. Nope. No, thank you." Chris says adamantly before a solid black door slams in Jefferson's face.

The actor huffs, then knocks on the wood insistently.

"Fuck off, cheater!" The younger man's muffled voice cries.

"Hey!" Jeff protests, "I never cheated!"

"I know!" Chris yells back, "But you're an asshole and it's low hanging fruit."

Jefferson rolls his eyes, teenagers.

"Just open the door, Chris. Please." He pleads, words dripping with desperation.

There's a beat of silence, then some audible shuffling, before the door is opened just a crack, a thick silver chain connecting it to its frame.

Then a single wide blue eye appears in the gap, staring Jeff down critically.

"Shouldn't you be thinking up ways to win back my best friend right now?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing." Jefferson says flatly, looking at Chris, more specifically his eye, intensely.

"And you think your best bet is to come to me?" Chris scoffs.

The star rolls his eyes. He thought being in a long-term relationship would have calmed Chris's fiery attitude but considering that Luke gets a masochistic glint in his eye whenever his boyfriend sasses him, it's clear that he's not going to be tamed.

"Coming to you is a side-quest." Is all Jeff says, before shifting his weight to his other foot and gently nudging the door, "C'mon, let me in, man."

The student concedes, opening the door hesitantly as he continues to glare at Jefferson.

"Explain."

Jeff enters the apartment after having to squeeze past Chris, who clearly left him no space on purpose.

"No Luke?" He attempts to break the frosty atmosphere, but it only serves to make things more awkward.

"He got called into work. Emergency." Chris tells him, "Stop dodging the question."

"I'm not dodging anything," Jeff frowns, but the way he avoids the blond's eyes contradicts his words. Regardless, he sighs and concedes, "He broke up with me."

There's a beat of silence. A ticking clock. A gust of wind outside. And Jeff is sure he can hear Chris blink as he registers the words just uttered.

"WHAT?!"

Jeff grimaces, "Jeez, volume, dude."

"Don't fucking give me that! There's no way Harvey just 'broke up' with you! He's obsessed with you. And he does not quit." Chris says so quickly and forcefully that Jeff is scared his head might burst.

"Okay so... maybe it isn't a break-up per se." Jeff admits, bringing a hand up to rub awkwardly at his neck, "It's more of a break."

Chris just stares at him, then lightly smacks the side of his head, "Idiot. Why would you worry me like that?!"

"I'm sorry! It feels like the same thing."

The red-head's face adopts a kicked puppy expression which forces the tension out of Chris' body.

"It's not." He sighs, crossing his arms and looking at Jeff, "It probably just means he wants you to sit in the corner and think about what you've done."

"...What corner?"

Chris smacks Jeff's head again, "Not literally, dumbass. It's a figure of speech."

"Oh."

"Look man, you need to use this time to get your priorities straight. At the end of the day, you get to experience life without Harvey again. If it goes the way he probably wants, you'll finish this break knowing how important he is to you."

"And..." Jeff frowns, perhaps he's being dense, but it's better to know for sure, "Just what level of importance is expected?"

"You don't know?" Chris raises an eyebrow, not judgmental, just... curious.

"I do... I just... I know he's important to me, but I don't think he feels that." Jeff admits.

Chris pauses, taking a second to find the right answer to Jeff's question.

"If you truly love him, wholeheartedly, then you'll feel like you can't live without him." He tells the actor. His large blue eyes adopting a soft expression that indicates to Jeff that he's speaking from experience alone. It turns out the terrible twosome can be sweet occasionally.

"I thought it wasn't healthy to rely on another person like that." Jefferson's expression turns into one of confusion.

Chris shakes his head, "Of course not." He smiles, "But separate your thoughts and feelings. Your head knows you can survive without him, but your heart will say the opposite. That's how you know you love someone."

The words hit Jeff like a freight train. His mind is immediately catapulted back to the first few months of knowing Harvey.

After they'd met, spending nearly every day of the week together, he'd had to go back to his celebrity life. A life that had been, for the most part, fast-paced and exciting. But suddenly it felt like all of the bright lights and colours had turned into darkness and greyscale. Like the glitz in his life had been eclipsed by the shine of Harvey's smile.

He spent months living without him, but his heart remained exactly where he'd left it. And the brightness didn't return until he laid eyes on Harvey again.

As if he can tell that Jeff has learned all he needs to learn, Chris smiles and walks toward the kitchen. He begins fiddling with pots and pans, signifying that this part of the conversation is over.

"So, why couldn't you go to your kind and competent PA about this?" He calls to the hallway where Jeff is still stood in contemplation, "Did she have enough of your bullshit?"

The star snaps out of it, making his way slowly toward the kitchen, and answers, "She's got the day off, which means she's probably wrapped up with that new boyfriend of hers."

"Is that the same guy who's..." Chris trails off, assuming Jefferson knows what he's talking about. When the actor nods in confirmation, he then asks, "Does she still not know?"

"She hasn't spoken to me about it. When she finds out I'm expecting her to freak out momentarily before coming to her senses and realising it literally doesn't change anything." Jeff shrugs with a fond smile.

"I would've expected her to be more level-headed than that, from what I've seen of her."

"She is." Jeff confirms, "But just not when it comes to her life. Whenever something unexpected, no matter how inconsequential, she tends to think of all the things that might happen, instead of just living in the moment."

Chris scoffs, "Sounds like someone else we know."

Jeff smiles in agreement, "Thanks Chris."

"For?" The younger man asks.

"Being smart, I guess. It's no wonder you and Harvey are friends."

Chris grins, "I'm smarter though, right?"

Jeff rolls his eyes, then his attention is drawn to his pocket where his phone begins to ring loudly.

"Don't push it." He tells his friend before answering, "Hello?"

"Jeff," Maya's distraught sounding voice bursts through the speaker, "I need you."