National Treasure (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 6

"So I grab the coffee cup, and I see the name, 'Benny', on it."

"Mhm."

"And of course, I assume it's spelling mistake, but there is no plausible way to get 'Benny' from 'Maya'. So, I figure it must be the wrong drink."

"Yeah."

"Then I turn around to look for someone with a similar drink."

"Right."

"And I get up on a table and start doing Gangnam style in my underwear."

"Mmm."

"Harvey." Maya says, exasperated, bringing a pale manicured hand in front of his face, "Harvey!"

"Huh?" Harvey jumps and snaps his head up to look at his boyfriend's best friend.

"Are you even listening?" She asks with furrowed brows, "God, I spend every waking moment playing Dr Phil to you two morons, but you can't even pay attention for one minute of my problems."

"No, Maya, I'm sorry, I'm listening." Harvey apologises, putting his phone into his pocket, "Is that when you saw the hot guy?"

"Yeah." The PA confirms, disinterested. Her eyes follow his hands to where his phone had disappeared, "What's got you so distracted anyway?"

"Don't worry about it. I wanna hear the rest of your story."

"Oh. Well... When I turned around, there was this stunning Polynesian guy holding a cup out to me."

"'Stunning', huh?" Harvey says with a smirk.

"Yep. I promise you, Harv, I was speechless." Maya's face goes uncharacteristically dreamy, which throws Harvey off quite a bit as she continues, "He had really tanned skin that looked like it was shimmering I swear to God. And his smile was blinding. I thought I was dead."

"Did you get his number?"

"Baby boy, I don't get numbers." Maya makes a face.

"You don't give numbers either, My." Harvey laughs heartily at her.

"I gave him my Instagram." She concedes, sipping slowly from her coffee cup with a mischievous expression.

"Look at you, branching out!" The brunet grins teasingly, "I feel like a proud parent."

"Yeah, whatever, loser." Maya rolls her eyes, "Are you gonna tell me what's upsetting you?"

Harvey sighs and looks away, staring at the wall on the other end of the shop they're sat in.

"It's just all this drama with Jeff's co-star."

Maya frowns, taking a sip of her coffee, "I wouldn't exactly call a few over-zealous fans 'drama'."

Harvey shakes his head, "It's not the fans who are shipping them that's the problem."

The PA tilts her head, "Then what is?"

"It's the 'Harverson' shippers"

"Oh, wow." Maya raises her eyebrows, "You're really embracing the title now, huh?" She laughs delightedly.

The brunet pouts and grumbles in protest, but elaborates all the same, "Some of them got really angry at the idea of Jeff and Danielle. Like, really angry."

"What did they do?" His friend squints.

"They started a hashtag."

"A... hashtag. What hashtag?"

"They trended 'Jeff Loves Harvey'."

Maya nearly spits out her coffee with the laugh that threatened to come out, "Aww!" She exclaims, giggling, "That's cute though! They're defending you."

"Yeah, I thought so too!" Harvey starts, mortified, "but then they started saying some really weird shit?"

"Shit like what?"

"Like how they hate seeing Jeff with a girl." He furrows his brows and grimaces in discomfort, "I don't know, it was just a little weird."

"Jeez. Wait till they remember he's bisexual." Maya scoffs and shoots Harvey a smirk.

Her friend rolls his eyes. It's really sweet that Jefferson's fans support their relationship so much. But sometimes it feels like Harvey is a prop. Like you could switch Harvey out with any 20-something white twink and the fans would still lap it up.

"He once told me that stuff like this makes him question if he really is bi."

Maya screws her face up in confusion, "Does... Does he know that's not how it works?"

"You're his best friend! You tell me!" Harvey exclaims, bemused, then frowns, "I dunno. It's like he's a slave to the will of his fans sometimes."

"It was a big deal to him. Coming out as bisexual." Maya muses, "Maybe he's just overwhelmed with the freedom being out has given him. Let him explore his identity a bit."

"Of course! I want him to be free to be however he's comfortable!" Harvey assures her, "But sometimes he talks as though he's doing it all for the fans."

Maya regards him, noticing the pained expression in his eyes, "Something tells me this isn't just about Jefferson."

That makes Harvey pause. He feels a little taken aback. Like he's been stripped bare, and Maya can see all of the inner workings of his mind.

"Well..." He begins, still not entirely sure what he wants to say, "Do you think that dating me is good for Jeff's brand?"

"Are you kidding?" Maya laughs, "It's great for his brand. The fans love you."

"That's what I'm talking about." Harvey sighs, staring into his coffee cup, "Sometimes I wonder how Jeff would've reacted if the fans hated me."

The short woman's mouth turns down, displeased, "Why are you fretting over something like that? They love you, and so does Jeff. That's all that matters."

"I know. I know he does." Harvey brings a thin hand up and drags it down his face, "I'm just not good with this sort of thing."

"Fame?" Maya asks.

"People." Harvey replies, "I'm horrible at understanding people. I get angry at how difficult they are to read. I thought I got better since I met Jeff but...Jeff is an even harder case, because his fame means the face he wears for the public is completely different to the one he wears for me."

"After two years, you can't distinguish between the two?" An accusatory frown is directed at him.

"No, no, I can! It just throws me through a loop how easily he can switch it on and off. Jeff is so good at fame. He always knows exactly how to be at all times... It just reminds me that I only know one side of him."

"Don't feel bad, Harv." Maya sends him a comforting look, "You haven't been doing this for long. Eventually it'll become second nature; understanding the different sides to Jeff."

"I hope so." Harvey smiles back at her, shyly, "I want to be able to love every version of Jeff. Not just the one he shares with me."