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“So what do you guys want? First round is on me” Jamie got up, listening to the endless string of gratitude and praise Duang and Pae threw his way -accepting it gracefully-, took a mental note of each of his friends’ requests and made a beeline to the bar
He had just finished telling the barista his order when he felt someone grab his arm, shaking him to attention
He turned around, prepared to tell whoever it was off when he was met with the most gorgeous boy he had ever seen, looking back at him with desperate eyes
“Be my boyfriend” The boy was very pretty, but it still seemed a bit too rushed to Jamie “Sorry?” It seemed his answer just made him more anxious, because he shifted from grabbing Jamie’s arm to his hand, asking once again “Just for a second, please”
Just as he finished saying that, someone else came into view behind the boy: Earn, a senior from the engineering faculty Jamie knew had a reputation for pestering and following juniors around. He seemed to be looking for someone and, when his eyes landed on the pretty boy’s form, Jamie understood his plea
Before Earn could reach them, Jamie snaked his arm around the boy’s shoulder and spoke to him in the sweetest voice he could muster “I was just about to order, what are you in the mood for tonight, baby?”
The boy seemed taken aback by Jamie’s sudden change in demeanour but recovered quickly, smiling up at him “I just finished singing my set, I’m in desperate need of water” Jamie gestured for the bartender in front of him to add it to his tab before turning around and facing the senior, who was just about to reach for the boy, and looked at the older man up and down
Earn returned the look with obvious disdain, not even pretending to be nice and reaching for the boy’s arm as to drag him away, but Jamie was faster. He positioned himself in between them, shielding his pretend boyfriend almost completely
“Who are you again?” Somehow, the man’s bearing got even more sour “Who are you? I want to talk to Nong Marvis” Jamie didn’t even blink, he blocked another attempt from Earn to reach behind him to grab the boy, Marvis, and deadpanned “I don’t think my boyfriend wants to talk to you”
He said it with a lot more confidence than he felt, knowing one wrong move would set Earn off and could end badly for both him and Marvis
Thankfully, the man was considerably stunned by the knowledge about Marvis having a boyfriend, possibly because he had never seen Jamie around him before, and allowed him to get into his face “Leave us alone. Now”
He didn’t know if it was the look in his face or the tone of his voice but the older retreated with nothing but a scowl and a shoulder bump, clearly annoyed but not wanting to risk a fight where everyone could see
Marvis waited until he was a considerable distance away and returned to stand in front of Jamie instead of behind him “Oh my god, thank you so much” He looked so relieved Jamie couldn’t help but smile at him “It’s alright” The boy’s expression changed from relieved to guilty in an instant, and he immediately started to apologize “I’m so so sorry I got you into this, he was waiting for me after my set, I had no idea what to do”
Jamie interrupted his rant with a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder, telling him again it was alright. He still looked a bit apologetic but it seemed to calm him down
“I’m Marvis, by the way” The boy extended his hand as if waiting for Jamie to shake it, not expecting the latter to take it, turn it around and kiss it delicately “Wha-” “Your guy’s still watching” he nodded almost imperceptibly towards the farther part of the drinks bar “I’m Jamie”
Before either of them could say anything else, the bartender deposited the three drinks Jamie had originally ordered in front of them, along with a glass of water with ice and some lemon slices for Marvis
He had forgotten about that part of their conversation earlier, too focused on getting Earn off his back to realize he had added something to Jamie’s tab “Oh god, I’ll pay you back” Jamie seemed almost offended at the idea "Nonsense, it’s on me” “Really, I-”
“You can pay me by helping me carry these to my table” He gestured to the couple of extra drinks sitting in front of him “I’m here with some friends, you can join” Marvis looked a bit hesitant “Earn’s still over there, what if he follows you? He’s not gonna believe we’re together if you leave me here after two seconds” Marvis looked at the drinks on the bar, he supposed they were meant for the guy’s friends, and back up to the man, Jamie, he reminded himself. He tried to look around discreetly and, sure enough, Earn was still there, where the other had said he was. Staying a little longer wouldn’t hurt
They picked up the drinks and Jamie led the way towards the table where Duang and Pae were waiting
~♥~
After explaining the situation to his friends, Jamie invited Marvis to sit next to him, putting an arm around the shorter man’s chair -to make it believable, obviously.
Marvis thought the whole situation would be awkward and embarrassing, at least for him, but Jamie’s friends -and Jamie himself- kept the conversation going, talking about everything and anything with impressive ease
It was a strange dynamic but he was surprised at how well he fit in, with the boys including him in their conversations and asking him all kinds of questions about his work as a part time singer in the bar and his college life, wisely avoiding the topic of Earn
Soon enough, he forgot he was even pretending. That is, until Jamie’s hand changed places from the back of his chair to his shoulder, startling Marvis
“You’re taking this awfully seriously” Jamie looked apologetic at being caught “Sorry, my arm was getting numb” Marvis suppressed a smile when he heard Duang stage whisper into Pae’s ear “The guy’s not even here anymore” not bothering to remove Jamie’s hand from it’s new location
They stayed like that even after the conversation in the table died down, both Duang and Pae had drank more than necessary and were almost passed out in front of them, muttering nonsense back and forth
That left Jamie and Marvis, who was pleased when he noticed the conversation could flow just as well with just him and the taller boy. They talked for a good while only the two of them, until Pae’s complaints about being sleepy and uncomfortable overtook their voices and they realized how late it was
They found themselves in front of the bar, Jamie being stuck with taking his friends to the dorms and Marvis waiting for the ride home he had booked
Right before his boyfriend for the night could get in the taxi Jamie blurted “Hey, I can come watch your next performance if you want... You know, to make it believable”
Marvis looked back, and seeing Jaime looked as hopeful as felt replied “I’d like that”
~Fin ♥~