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DANIEL LOOKED BACK AT the rest of the group in shock as jonah got up and chased after the distressed brunette without a word. granted the blonde was immediately dealt with a wave of guilt, he hadn't mean to overwhelm the poor boy. he hadn't even meant to intimidate him.
his eyes just couldn't seem to stray far from the boy's face.
the way the brunette would release small giggles into his hands as he avoided looking up. the way the boy would smile gently and nod along to a story that was being shared, almost as if he was reliving the event as it happened. the way his fingers wrapped around the handle of his coffee cup as he was insistent on only taking small sips when he was absolutely sure no one was watching; but little did he know daniel just couldn't help himself.
"d-did i say something wrong? i'm sor-" daniel quickly tried to apologize, his hand already reaching to secure a grip on his belongings so he could flee in a second.
"no, no!" jack didn't let the boy wither in his guilt, "totally not your fault. corbyn's just," the boy looked around the table for a minute, looking uncertain before he gulped, "he's just going through a lot right now. you did nothing wrong, i swear."
daniel nodded along with the narrative, a small percentage of his guilt waivered but not enough to let the boy fully relax again.
"i think we should do an icebreaker." zach announced, "ease up the tension. jonah can join when he comes back."
"he's coming back?" eben asked, shock evident in his voice as he peered over at the brunette.
"yeah, he texted me, leo came out." zach shrugged.
daniel had half a mind to interrupt the boy, wondering who this 'leo' was they were speaking of. was it his boyfriend? brother? another member of the friend group. the blonde wanted to question it, but as jack's eyes widened, his hand reaching out to slap zach's arm, he knew he wasn't going to get a true answer even if he asked.
"ow! what?" the boy whined, cupping his shoulder. "you're so stupid, z." jack huffed, rolling his eyes.
the brunette pouted at that, resting his head on jack's shoulder, looking up at the boy with innocent, "you love me, though."
"no i don't." jack grumbled, pushing the boy away from him.
daniel chuckled at the small fight the two shared, watching in amusement as zach continued to squirm around for jack's attention.
"oh yeah, they do that a lot." eben laughed, "zach annoys jack-"
"i do not!"
".. and then they start acting like an old married couple."
