4*TOWN

The Way It Was

continuation of 'A Flair for the Dramatic'

As Tae Young walks down the stairs, he's stopped at the bottom.

"Tae! We've been looking for you everywhere, you had me worried! Where's Robaire? Are you okay?"

T yells over the party's music, holding Tae's shoulders. Jesse and Z are with him.

"I'm okay, I was in AJ's room. I don't know where Robaire is."

"I saw him run outside, he looked mad. Did something happen?"

Jesse asks, and Tae turns red.

"Uh, yeah. Something did happen. I need to find him."

"What happened?"

T asks as the four of them walk towards the door.

"Um... Basically, we got into an argument and broke up."

"What?"

T says loudly, he stops walking and turns to look at Tae. Z and Jesse, who were walking behind them, stop as well.

"What is it now..."

"Why did you break up? How did that happen? Was it Justin?"

"Wait, you guys broke up?"

T and Jesse start questioning, and Tae tries his best to answer them both quickly.

"Robaire saw me talking to Justin and got mad, then we started arguing, and then it happened. And now he's out there somewhere."

"He's right there."

Z adds, pointing to a side of the room where Robaire has surrounded himself with a group of people.

"Oh. He doesn't even look upset..."

Tae watches as one of the girls kisses Robaire on the cheek, and he smiles at her. Another girl is holding onto his arm, saying something into his ear. Tae frowns, but doesn't look away.

"He's reverting back to pre-Tae Robaire."

T says, and Tae looks at him confusedly.

"What? You know, like how before you guys started dating, he'd been with a new person pretty much every day, he always had options, he didn't care for commitment, he-"

T cuts himself off, seeing the look on his friend's face, like he's about to cry again.

"Er, sorry. That's probably not making you feel any better. What should we do?"

"I got a few ideas."

Jesse says angrily, looking at Robaire with crossed arms.

"I... I don't know! What if he- He..."

Tae trails off, stopping when he and Robaire make eye contact. Robaire looks at him angrily. Tae watches in horror as Robaire turns his head and kisses the girl he was talking to.

"What the f*ck is he doing?"

T scoffs. Tae is still staring in disbelief, and Jesse puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Tae..."

Tae finally looks away from Robaire and leans into Jesse, crying hard. Jesse rubs his back while T and Z consult with each other.

"I can't believe he did that! And right in front of Tae! Who even are those girls?"

"I don't know."

"I'm gonna kill him!"

T starts to go toward Robaire, but Z stops him.

"I think I should go talk to him."

"Why?"

"Because, if any of you guys went up to him, he wouldn't listen. Obviously not Tae, and you're his best friend... And Jesse is, you know- he's Jesse. I think I'm the safest choice here."

"Okay, you're right. I'd rather not go to prison, actually."

Z laughs a little before going over to Robaire.

"Robaire."

Z says, and Robaire rolls his eyes and looks away from the girl beside him, making eye contact with Z.

"What?"

"Can you come outside real quick? It's important."

"I'm busy."

Robaire tries to turn away again, but Z is already pulling him along by his arm.

"Hey, let go! Why are you so strong, man, that hurts-"

Z stops once they're outside.

"Robaire, what was that? Who was that?"

"Why do you need to know? What, did Jesse send you or something? Stay out of my business, Z."

Robaire says, and tries to walk away. Z stops him.

"No. Start talking."

"Fine. He probably already told you this anyway, but we just broke up."

"Yeah, I got that. Come on, let's sit down."

Z gestures toward the chairs on AJ's porch, and the two of them sit across from each other.

"Continue."

"It's just... I'm- I'm mad at him!"

Meanwhile, Tae Young is with Jesse and T. They've been trying to comfort him, but he hasn't stopped crying.

"Tae, we're gonna take you home, okay?"

Jesse says, moving through the crowd with Tae safely tucked into his arms. T is shouting at people to get out of the way. They get outside, and walk past Z and Robaire on their way to Jesse's car. Jesse sees them talking, and sends T and Tae Young to the car by themselves.

"Wait for me, guys."

Jesse opens the door for Tae, then goes over to Robaire and Z.

"We're leaving. Robaire, when you get home..."

"I know. I'm sorry-"

"Save it. Good night."

Jesse is clearly mad, but holding back. Robaire almost flinches. Once Jesse leaves, Robaire looks at Z sadly, having calmed down from earlier.

"He's gonna kill me, Z. For real, this time."

"Maybe... Uh, do you wanna go home now?"

"Yeah. Let me just go say my final goodbyes to the rest of our friends, since this is definitely the last time I'll see them."

"Whatever, man. I'll be in the car."

They both head in opposite directions, Robaire going back into the house and Z going to wait in his car.

"Hey, Robaire! Where's T?"

Nick spots Robaire from across the room and jogs over to him.

"He went home with Jesse and Tae. I'm about to leave too, actually..."

"What? It's only like, twelve!"

"Well, something came up."

"Oh... Oh, right... Um, I'm sorry, I heard about- are you okay?"

Robaire shrugs.

"I'll deal."

"Alright, man. Catch you later!"

Nick smiles, pats Robaire on the shoulder, and leaves. With him, goes all of Robaire's social energy. Maybe he'll change his mind about saying his farewells to everyone, and just go home and take whatever lecture or beat-down that Jesse has waiting for him. As long as he doesn't have to face Tae Young again, he thinks he'll be fine.

He thinks.