Mirage

Lookalike

Keefe rolled his eyes as he paced at the foot of the bed. "The guy was basically a older, slightly less hot version of me. Who's to say he wouldn't like me too?"

"You're saying he wasn't hot?"

"God, no, he was gorgeous," Keefe snorted. "But if I don't lie to myself about how superior-ly sexy-in-a-nonsexual-way-because-I'm-ace-I am, who will?"

"That was a mouthful." His eyes would have been spinning is they were in a cartoon. "I mean, it's not actually a lie."

"Now's not the time to hit on me, Dizznee."

Dex ignored him. "You do know that Tam's asexual too, right?" he informed him while tapping at a unusually-shaped, silver device with a small tool.

Keefe froze. "Dex. Need I continue to ra-"

"-Rant about how perfect he is? No," Dex laughed. "Might wanna rant to him next time, though. I'm pretty sure he still thinks you hate him."

"I haven't hated him for months!" Keefe complained, tearing a had through his hair.

"Yeah, I know that—but 'Bangs Boy', Keefe? And literally any other nickname you call him? Come on! You're supposed to be the one with game in our friend group."

"I panicked okay! And I hate to admit that Biana has more game than me," Keefe dramatically sighed, flopping back on Dex's bed. "I could ask Bi how she asked Foster out," he mused.

"Hot-faced, stuttering and fifty- no, fifteen dozen red roses. Reference to a song Sophie likes by some human," Dex explained when Keefe opened his mouth to question the oddly specific, and outrageously bountiful, number of roses. "I wouldn't say no to that either."

"Well played, Vacker," he whispered.

Dex, full on, cackled. "Yeah, she beat you to it didn't she?"

"That was months ago, don't rub it in," Keefe was saying when the door swung open.

"What'd he do?" Sophie jokingly asked, opening her box of Prattles as she spoke. She took a seat on the floor near Dex and squinted at the number on her new kraken pin. "Krakey has family, now," she smiled pocketing it.

"We need a name! How about-"

"After," Dex interrupted him.

"Yeah, why did you press the Keefe is being a dumbass alert?" Sophie asked with a laugh at the name.

"Now, that's just rude."

"You're just special."

"We been-"

"Focus," Dex said. "I swear, you're like little kids."

"I'm actually a big kid, thank you very-"

Dex rolled his eyes. "HE LIKES TAM! He likes Tam, and he doesn't know how to ask him out."

"God-expose me like that."

"Oh, I know," Sophie said. Keefe's eyebrow shot up. "Is that it? 'Cause I was kinda in the middle of a date."

Keefe gasped and shook his hands. "Is that all I mean to you? Not even a 'Jeez, Keefe, I didn't think you'd move on that fast. I'm totally still hung up on you!'?" he joked with a perfect replica of Sophie's voice and fluttered his eyelashes.

"I have a wife, weirdo," she said simply.

"You have a girlfriend," Dex corrected.

"Tell that to this ring she gave me." She held her hand out for them to see the yellow, crocheted circlet on her ring finger.

"Story checks out," Keefe affirmed. "But, for once, I'll be the one to pull us back to the actual topic." Dex send him a deadpan stare. Keefe ignored him. "I was just going to be like 'Hey Bangs Boy, I-'"

"Don't call him Bangs Boy," Dex reminded him.

"'Hey, Tammy-'"

"Try again." Sophie laughed.

"'Hey, Tam, wanna be boyfriends?' but this one said that was too simple."

Sophie cocked her head. "What's wrong with simple?"

"Exactly!"

"It's just-" Dex was interrupted by someone clearing their throat at the door. "Sure," Tam said.

"What?" Keefe was willing to admit that he was straight up staring at the blush stretching over Tam's nose instead of panicking like a sane person. "'Sure'? 'Sure' what? 'Sure', yes?" He consciously clamped his mouth shut before he started rambling.

"Is this where we leave?" Dex asked.

"No way," she whispered back.

Tam walked up to where he sat on Dex's bed, took his face in his hand and squished his cheeks. "What are you doing?" Keefe asked, squinting at him and ignoring the flips his stomach did.

"You really can't get less appealing, huh?"

"Is that a yes, then?"

"You're the Empath."

"You know, you could just say what you mean," he said, already taking the chance to read his emotions.

"But where's the fun in that, right?" he said with a slight smile. Before he changes his mind, Tam leaned down and pecked Keefe's lips, moving before he had the time to react. "I left Linh giving Princess Purryfins a bath—she splashes, so I'm gonna go," he said, headed for the door. He stopped and looked at Sophie and Dex who were just looking on innocently. "Not a word."

"Who? Us? Never!" Dex gasped, fighting a smile. Sophie threw a hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks. Tam shot them a  playful glare and closed the door. 

The directed their gazes to Keefe who was still staring at the door in shock. "What. Just happened?" he mumbled.

At that, Dex completely lost it.

"You just got a boyfriend," Sophie told him.