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There was a tension between Coy and Anthony.
Well it wasn’t visible except if you looked closely. Coy didn’t want to drift apart from his friend, but it wasn’t his choice. Anthony started to back out of plans that included Coy and made excuses to not be in the same room as him for longer than 10 minutes. But somehow during the videos he always acts normally. It confuses Coy, but maybe he’s just reading into it.
They were now talking about how they were invited to a party later that day. Coy didn’t want to go, but everyone else was going and he wouldn’t just stay at home and do nothing.
“So what time are we supposed to be there?” Will asked.
“At like 7 pm” Anthony said, without looking up from his phone.
“Who’s driving?” They all put their fingers on their noses, as if to say ‘not it’, except for Anthony. He finally looks up from his phone.
“You guys are so childish.” They spoke a bit more about the party and then they all went to get ready. Coy was mindlessly walking up the stairs to his room, thinking about the last time he interacted with Anthony.
”hey Coy!” Anthony had said after one of the group’s hang out session.
Coy turned around confused as to why he was being called “Yes, Anthony?”
“I need to tell you something” Coy let out a hum as to say ‘continue’, when a loud sound echoed through the house, a voice rang out after that saying ‘everything’s okay!’
“Anyway, so you were saying?”
“Oh, no it’s nothing.” Then Anthony went up the stairs.
Coy felt tears stinging his eyes. It was something stupid! But he was so frustrated that Anthony was ignoring him, that he couldn’t help it.
As he entered his room Coy decided to think about something else. He started to think about what he was going to wear. It didn’t take long to think about, because he always wears the same thing, that being a T-shirt and some shorts, Because it was starting to get hot outside. He vowed to not think of Anthony that night, but somewhere deep down, he knew that he would think about him anyway. After he got dressed and styled his hair a little, he was ready to go.
He arrived downstairs and found out that he was not the first one to be ready. Anthony was there, but thankfully, Will was also there, so it couldn’t be that awkward, right? He was partially right, because they were all on their phones, so without talking it’s not awkward, but Coy did notice Will looking at him and Anthony a few times. Will was about to say something, but all three of them heard footsteps from the stairs. Bon stepped into their view, looking as beautiful as ever.
“Okay, great, now that we’re all ready we should get going.” Anthony said, getting up and walking towards the door.
Of course all of them followed, Will calling shotgun in the process. He always stood in the front, but never drove.
There wasn’t much that happened in the car, Coy was in his own thoughts so he didn’t really pay attention, but he did know that as soon as they entered the car Bon started playing music, saying something about ‘warming up before the party’. Other than that, nothing else was that noticeable.
As they arrived and got out of the car, Anthony, ever so the leader, started talking.
“If any of you get in trouble text the group. Also who is driving back, Because I’m definitely drinking.”
“I can drive” Coy responded, definitely not because Anthony asked, but because he decided to not drink that night.
“Let’s start this partyyyyy!!” Said Will and everyone else joined in with an ‘woooo’.
The second they entered, everybody split up. Bon went to talk to some girls she probably knew, Will went on the dance floor, and Anthony probably went for a drink if he meant what he said earlier. Coy just remained in a corner of the room, watching everything and everyone around him. He wondered what Anthony was doing, then remembered his vow, he knew he couldn’t keep it the whole night, but atleast the start of the night his mind could be Anthony free. He went to the kitchen to get a cup of juice, since he wasn’t allowed anything else. He bumped into someone by accident, and when the person turned around, it was a boy that Coy vaguely knew.
“Hey Jake! Sorry for bumping into you.”
“Hey Coy! That’s no problem! So what are you doing here? Are you alone?”
“Ah no I’m not alone, me and my friends were invited and we figured we had nothing else to do.”
“Interesting. So where are they?”
“Oh well probably drinking and dancing.” Jake let out a ‘hm’ “what about you? What are you doing here?”
“Well I came with a friend, he was anxious to come alone and I needed to get out the house.” And so they talked. Coy was in the middle of telling Jake a story but Will came up to them.
“Hey! Sorry to interrupt, but Bon asked for Coy.”
“Ok. Sorry, I have to leave.” Coy said, giving Jake an apologetic look.
“It’s okay dude, I get it. Friends duties.” Jake said smiling, “bye!”
“Bye!” Coy said, then turned to Will. “Is something wrong with Bon? Why is she calling me?”
“I have no idea” Will led Coy to Bon.
“COY! Dance with me!”
“Seriously? This is what you called me over for? I thought something happened” Coy said, but started dancing anyway. Will left the two alone, saying that he wants to look for Anthony. When Will returned,Anthony wasn’t with him.
“Where is Anthony?” Bon asked what he was not going to ask but wanted to know.
“I gave up trying to look for him, this house is too big.” Typical Will response.
“Okay, well I’m tired and want to go home so we need to find him” Bon said and yawned as if to prove her point.
“Fine”
And off they go to find their probably drunk friend. Coy just texted Anthony in private, not wanting to search the entire house for him.
Coy: Anthony
Coy:where are you?
Coy:Bon wants to leave
Silence, then almost immediately the texting bubble shows up.
Ant: fimd mr
It was clear he was drunk, because 1. He wrote wrong and 2. He didn’t add a period at the end. Anthony was very strict about grammar, but now he was drunk so Coy supposes that didn’t matter as much.
Coy: come to the car
Coy: fast please, I don’t want to hear Bon whining anymore.
Anthony had seen the messages. Just seen, not responded. Coy looked up at his other two friends and saw that Bon was quite drunk, meanwhile Will was pretty much okay.
“Can you take care of her? Atleast in the car so I can drive in peace. Then I can put her to sleep.”
“Okay” as Will stopped talking, Coy felt a presence behind him. He looked over his shoulder and who else could it be except Anthony?
“Let’s get in the car.” And as they got in the car, everyone was very quiet. Will went in the back with Bon, who fell asleep as soon as she got in the car, and then there was Anthony, who was just looking out the window. The drive back home was less eventful than the drive to the party. As they arrived, Coy told Will to get some sleep and was supposed to take care of the drunks. Bon was very easy, he just had to change her into an oversized hoodie and she was ready to sleep. Anthony on the other hand was harder to get to sleep. The two of them went in Anthony’s room and Anthony would just not lay down.
“Anthony, go to sleep. I’m tired.”
“Then sleep with me.” Before Coy could question him, Anthony pulled Coy into his bed, to lay next to him. Coy was too tired to fight against it, so he didn’t. And so they fell asleep, their bodies warm against each other’s.
The next morning, Coy woke up to an empty bed. It wasn’t fair! He let Anthony get close to him again, only for him to start giving him the cold shoulder. Coy was frustrated and mad and sad, but what could he do about it? He didn’t want to lose his and Anthony’s friendship over some stupid thing.
So he swallowed his pride.
It was two weeks later and Anthony was drunk again, but what had changed since last time was that Coy was also drunk. Not black out drunk, but he was a few beers in. The bunch of friends was sitting on their couch, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Coy needed this to bring up his mood. They stayed up till 2 am, when Coy finally felt the sleepiness get to him.
“Hey guys? I think I’m gonna go to sleep.” Bon made a sad face at the announcement and Will just offered a good night, but Anthony didn’t say anything. He just got up from his spot and followed Coy up the stairs.
“Come sleep with me.” Anthony broke the silence. Coy being vulnerable and drunk, of course accepted the offer and just followed Anthony to his room, thinking that maybe this time it could be different.
This time was not at all different from the last. Coy was disappointed in himself for falling in Anthony’s bed the second time. He just got up from the bed and went to his room, not even bothering to look for Anthony.
Yes, they got invited to ANOTHER party like two days later. But this time they were taking an uber, so he didn’t have to drive back home.
As soon as they arrived, he went straight to the kitchen to get a drink, and that is where he stayed. He danced with every boy and girl that gave him attention. He just wanted to feel good for a night. And he did.
Until something happened. Coy was dancing with a boy named Steve, if he remembered right, when a pair of hands found his shoulders. He turned around and tensed up at the sight in front of him. Anthony stumbling, from the crowd that was dancing, with a frown on his face.
“What do you want?” Coy didn’t get a response, but rather a pull from Anthony toward an emptier spot.
“Why did you pull me away?”
“I didn’t like how he looked at you. It was like a wolf eyeing his prey.”
“Why do YOU care?” Coy shouted.
“Because I need you! I can’t stay away from you for any longer!”
Coy felt angry. He couldn’t just say that and then leave in the morning.
“Don’t say you need me, when” Coy noticed that he started tearing up. He didn’t even care anymore, he just wanted to get his point across. “You leave and you leave again.” Coy thought about the times when Anthony just left the room if they were all alone. About the mornings that he woke up in Anthony’s bed by himself.
Anthony just had a blank face, like he was scared to even react.
“Coy-“ he started, but couldn’t finish, because Coy started to speak again.
“Don’t say you need me if,” he repeated himself, but he felt it was necessary. Anthony needed to know what he did and still does to Coy. “You live last, you’re leaving”
“Coy, just give us a chance! I promise I’ll be better!”
“I can’t do it” he started turning away from Anthony. “I can’t do it” he repeated, to convince himself of his decision. He didn’t want to leave Anthony, but he had hurt him too much. He glanced once more at Anthony, his tears flowing faster. Then he turned around and left the party.
All that Anthony could think of was how pretty Coy was when he cried. Then he realised everything that just happened and let a tear fall from his eye.
’cause I’m pretty when I cry