You || Krii7y

3. Distracted

The two decide to spend the next few hours entertaining themselves with movies. After much debate, they settle on The Lego Movie. Jaren comes back from the kitchen with freshly made popcorn and witnesses John's head snap round at the smell. His face lights up when he spots the bowl and puts his arms out, clapping his hands together as he gestures for Jaren to pass it to him.

"Yaas fucking popcorn, thank you bb." John takes the bowl from his friend and digs his hand into it, taking a huge handful and shovelling it into his face. He lets out an unapologetically sexual moan and Jaren feels the faintest flush dust his face at the affectionate name as well as the moan before he conceals it with a roll of his eyes. They make themselves comfortable on either side of the couch, legs akimbo, and watch. Neither talks as they watch, only laughing occasionally.

"Hey! I'm Ben. But you can call me Benny," John quotes as the blue spaceman appears on the TV screen. He turns his face to Jaren, raising an eyebrow slightly and clearly expecting him to continue.

Jaren laughs and takes over. "I can build a spaceship. Watch."

Both grown men then get increasingly louder as they chant "Spaceship, spaceship, spaceship" as Benny whizzes around on screen. The harmony of their laughs fills Jaren's apartment and he almost forgets last night and his unwanted feelings until John's phone vibrates. He pulls it out of his pocket and Jaren watches a smile form on his face for a fraction of a second as the screen lights up.

"Who is it?"

John looks up at his friend through long lashes and turns his phone off, leaving it in his lap. "It's Kasey. She's the girl I met last night, the one you er... caught me with."

Movie momentarily forgotten, Jaren feels his face drop before he quickly recovers. "She's pretty. Are you together?" he asks nonchalantly. He doesn't care. John is his own person; he can do what he wants.

"Um...," John scratches the back of his neck. "I'm not really sure to be honest. She just asked me out on a date on Wednesday to see if we get along when we're sober or if it was just a drunken makeout."

"Well, you're not going to leave her hanging, are you?" Jaren is surprised at how genuine he makes his false excitement sound.

John side-eyes him, his gaze piercing Jaren's. "I guess not, she's really nice and seems to like me."

"Atta boy, I hope it goes well." And he truly does, for John deserves all the happiness in the world. He just wishes it was him, not Kasey, that could give him that.

After John texts Kasey back, he remains on his phone for the rest of The Lego Movie as well as the next movie Puss In Boots, quietly laughing to himself and typing away at the speed of light. Jaren can't help the jealousy that arises. If John was going to text Kasey, why was he here with Jaren? Because she's a girl and you're just his friend, his conscience reasons. Fuck you logic.

He doesn't say anything to John, not wanting to ruin his mood or seem suspicious. He's grateful for the company that Octavia brings when she jumps up and sits beside him as though sensing his frustration. Hours later he watches John rise from the couch with a stretch of his long arms.

John looks to Jaren and Octavia and gives her a head rub that she accepts with her tongue lolling. "Well Smitt, I should get going. I enjoyed today - we should do this more often."

If you paid more attention to me, maybe it would be a good idea. He shakes away his thoughts and instead says "Yeah, totally. We should."

John notices nothing strange about his friend and waves at him as he walks out of the house. Once he is out of sight, Jaren shuts his front door and flops onto the couch just as John had done hours earlier. Octavia lays her head in his lap, looking up at him with curious eyes. "At least I've got you, baby." He strokes her face and gives it a kiss.

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Thank you for reading!

~LC