Chapter Text
''Mom, I'm not coming. I'm sorry, but it's a no."
Eliott's pacing back and forth in his dorm room... It's like the third time his mother's called to ask if he's coming to his parents' anniversary party next weekend. All of Eliott's uncles, aunt and cousins are coming to spend the weekend at his parents' house, and on Saturday night it's a party with about 100 people in a room rented for the occasion.
Normally, Eliott would have loved that. He's always loved his family, and he loves every opportunity to see his cousins. He has always loved going back to Normandy where his parents have a country house and most of their friends since they grew up there. But still, it is totally clear to him, there is no way he would ever go there.
''You're coming, Eliott. Because if you don't, I'm gonna stop paying for your art supplies and extra tuition."
Eliott stops walking.
''But, Mom, I'm trying to perfect myself. It's for my school, not just a hobby."
''I know,'' says his mother softly, ''but it's your family. We're celebrating 40 years of marriage and we want our only son to be here. I don't think that's too much to ask. Even your cousin Victor is coming back from Berlin especially for us. I warned you, Eliott, I told you not to go out with Lucille. And, of course, you did as you pleased. But I refuse to see you run away from the situation again. You have to take responsibility for your choices. So you're either coming or you're out of art class. I'm sorry to blackmail you, my son, but it's for the good of all of us. It's been more than two years, you have to move on."
Eliott grunts on the phone.
''Holy shit, Mom, I hate you. Okay, I'll be right there."
He could hear his mother's smile on the phone.
''Don't swear, and you love me and I love you too. Okay, all right. Are you bringing anyone?"
Eliott closes his eyes as he falls off sitting on the couch. Damn it, he didn't think of that. He's certainly not gonna come unaccompanied. He doesn't want to face Lucille as a single man.
''I... Yes.''
The bedroom door slams shut and Eliott jumps out.
''I have to go, Mom. See you Friday."
Eliott watches Lucas walk into their apartment. He looks just as bad as he does. Lucas looks up to greet him and starts smiling when he sees Eliott. Apparently Eliott's pain is written all over his face.
"Bad day?"
Eliott nods his head as he sinks deeper into the couch.
"Definitely. My mom's making me go to a family party next weekend."
Lucas slumps down on the couch next to Lucas, obviously surprised that this news is causing Eliott's bad mood.
''Oh, that's cool. I've never been in one of those places, so that must be nice. I always thought it must be nice to have a big family. Why don't you wanna go?"
"My ex-girlfriend's gonna be there."
Lucas' grimace sums it up perfectly.
''Yeah, it's just like you think it is. Lucille is the daughter of my mom's best friend... We were together for four years. She got her BAC, not me. She went to London to study while I was flunking out senior year. We parted on very bad terms and I have no desire to see her again."
Lucas shrugs his shoulders and smiles.
''Well, don't go. But it would be a shame to penalise your parents. They must want you there."
Eliott grunts, throwing his head back. If his mother wasn't so stubborn, it wouldn't be so much easier.
''My mom stops paying for my art supplies and extra tuition if I don't go. So, yeah, they want me to come."
Lucas laughs, which makes Eliott smile.
''Oh, geez, she's not laughing, your mom. Shit, I see where you get that stubborn streak from."
''It's clear, next to her I'm not stubborn at all. She always gets what she wants. And you, bad day?"
Lucas loses his smile and sighs.
''Basile just told me his cousin's coming to Paris next Friday and he wants to set me up with him. He says we'd be the perfect couple, but I don't want a boyfriend. I just want to do well in my year and graduate, so I'll have plenty of time to find somebody afterwards. And no matter how many times I tell my friends, they're always trying to get me to meet someone. And it's just a burden."
''Well, come with me."
Lucas jumps on the couch and turns to look at Eliott.
"What?"
''I said I'm going with someone because I don't want to face Lucille alone. You're pretending to be my boyfriend for a weekend. So Lucille can leave me alone, and you don't have to see Basile's cousin. That solves your problem and mine."
Lucas sighs as he rests his head on the back of the couch.
"Your movies are going to your head, Eliott. No one will believe it. You're straight, and Lucille should know that."
''I am not straight, and Lucille knows that because I cheated on her with several guys.''
Once again Lucas is startled and turns his eyes wide open to Eliott.
"What?"
Eliott nods his head and looks at his hands.
''Yeah, that sucked. But I was young."
''No, I'm talking about you, not being straight. As much as I agree with you, cheating sucks. You're not fucking straight? Since when?"
Eliott shrugs his shoulders and smiles.
''Uh, no... not straight. Since... I don't think I've ever actually been straight. I'm pansexual."
"But why didn't you ever tell me?"
''You never asked, Lucas. And the way we met, I didn't want you to be scared or think I was being nice because I was into you."
Lucas gets up and he laughs. The kind of laughter that would make Eliott forget how cranky he was.
''It wouldn't even cross my mind, Eliott. Look at you, and look at me! No one would ever believe that we're together."
Eliott immediately recovers his bad mood and sulking on the couch. If only Lucas knew he's been repressing his fucking crush on him since they met. Normally, Eliott wouldn't have hesitated to flirt with Lucas, but the origin of their meeting totally prevented him from taking the first step. He just wanted to protect Lucas and for them to have a trusting relationship. And now that they've become friends,he doesn't want to ruin their friendship. So he's trying not to think about lucas like that,but it's really hard.
Lucas opens their mini fridge and pulls out two beers.
''You have really stupid ideas sometimes, Eliott. But just for that alone, I love sharing this room with you! You're a fucking entertainment tool, Eliott Demaury!"
Eliott takes the beer that Lucas hands him and looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
"So, you coming with me?"
Lucas bursts out laughing before taking a sip.
''Oh, no. I'm sorry, but I would never do that, Eliott. I would never pretend to be your boyfriend in front of your whole family. No way."
Eliott's pouting over beer again. Fuck that.
The week goes by and Friday comes way too fast for him and despite his many requests, Lucas refuses to change his mind. Eliott puts his bag in the trunk of his car and shuts it with a sigh. He has no desire to go there but he can't help it. He won't give up his extra classes because of Lucille. He's just going to try to run into her as little as possible and stay glued to Valentin all the time. Lucille hates Valentin, that should work.
A hand gently strokes his back and makes him jump.
''Sorry, love, I thought you saw me coming. I'll just get my stuff and we'll go, okay?"
Eliott looks at Lucas and blinks twice to make sure he's not dreaming. He's about to turn around to see if Lucas is talking to someone behind him, which is silly because Lucas' hand is still on his back but Lucas puts a quick kiss on his lips.
''Holy shit, was that real then?''
Eliott turns around and only now notices Basile's presence.
''Yeah, what do you think, Baz? I wouldn't lie to you. You think I could do that. Thanks, man, that's good to hear."
Basile frowns as he looks at Lucas.
''OK. Don't play it like that, remember Chloe, eh? Pretending to go out with a girl to hide your homosexuality, doesn't that remind you of anything? So, yes, you'd be able to lie and make up a story just to avoid meeting Remi. Ok, maybe I believe you. I can't wait to see the pictures from this family weekend, then."
Lucas sighs and Eliott holds back laughing because he understands lucas didn't think of that.
''Totally,'' says Eliott, ''Lucas is finally gonna know what it's like to be in the middle of a big family. But don't worry, baby, it's gonna be okay."
Eliott grabs Lucas' hand and brings it to his lips to kiss the top.
''Come on, baby, hurry up and get your stuff, I'm waiting for you.''
Lucas turns around and Eliott can't resist slapping him on the ass, which makes Lucas jump up and down while Basile laughs.
"I can't believe you guys have been going out for months and Lucas hasn't told us."
Eliott shrugs his shoulders and looks at Lucas coming in already with his bag he's putting in the trunk next to Eliott's. They wave to Basile and they get in the car. Eliott waits until he's off campus before he dares to speak.
''Okay... so?''
Lucas sighs before he turns to him.
''Basile showed me a picture of his cousin Remi and I panicked. So I told him we'd been dating for a while and we were going away to your family this weekend. Sorry about that."
Eliott nods his head before he looks at Lucas.
"Keep your eyes on the road!"
Eliott laughs as he looks the road again.
''Don't be sorry, I'm really glad you're here because I'm so damn selfish and you're gonna save my weekend. I'm ashamed to say it, but I was really scared to face Lucille alone. Do I have a right to know why you freaked out?"
Lucas sighs and crawls into his seat, hiding his head in his hands.
''When I was 16, I wanted to make sure I was gay. I went on Grindr and I met a guy. He was barely a year older than me and he was coming to Paris for a weekend. We both agreed that we'd only meet for sex."
"Oh, my God," Eliott cut him, "You actually fucked Baz's cousin!?!"
Lucas sighs dramatically.
"I wish I had. No, that's even worse. We met, we started kissing... and I chickened out. I just took off before it got serious."
Eliott shrugs his shoulders.
"And?"
"This is embarrassing enough." Lucas grunts, "Fuck, there's hundreds of guys on this shitty app and I had to run into Baz's cousin."
Eliott shakes his head.
"What would be embarrassing is if you forced yourself just to make him happy. You were young and inexperienced, and you freaked out, it's not a big deal. This weekend, you could have shown him that you've changed."
Lucas lays his head against the window and sighs.
''Except I haven't changed, Eliott. Holy shit, I can't believe I'm telling you this, but I'm a fucking fraud. I'm still the same way I was at 16 when it comes to men."
Eliott turns his head and Lucas reminds him to watch the fucking road.
''Wait a minute. Wait, what about the guy you met last summer before you went off to college? And I heard you bragging about fast connections a couple of times."
Lucas shrugs his shoulders and sighs.
''Bullshit. I made up the guy on my vacation, just like I lie about my so-called connections to get guys to leave me alone. The truth is, I don't want sex for sex. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I want to fall in love. But I'd rather make up a life for myself than tell my friends the truth. Why the fuck am I telling you all this? Did you put drugs in the water or something?"
Lucas looks at the water bottle on the dashboard and Eliott laughs.
''You know I wouldn't judge you, that's all. But You don't owe anything to anyone, Lucas, not even your friends."
Lucas sighs as he rests his head on the window.
''I know. I'm 19 years old. Why the fuck do I keep lying like this?"
''I'm 21 and I'm taking a fake boyfriend to my parents' anniversary party. I think we're even."