Hey Pretty Stranger

・❥・ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ-18 Party Bash (1) : Green eyes in neon lights

"How's it going, Mrs Moore? You look beautiful today as usual," Ben greeted the old lady who had a stick and a leash in her hands attached to a collar which went around the neck of her bulldog with a large head, folded ears, a short muzzle, a protruding lower jaw, and loose skin that formed wrinkles on the head and face when she glared up at Ben grudgingly. Ben gave him a nervous smile and backed away a little. "And you too Bailey."

"Stop with that cheeky behaviour, laddie," the landlady waved her stick in front of his face. "Ye ain't gonna get no clemency from meh if ye don't pay your rent on time this month," she said in her usual half Scottish and half American accent.

"Yeah, yeah, Mrs Moore. I remember that," he said while he passed through the gates which lead him to the not-too-large of an apartment building owned by the Scottish old lady. He and Max have been living here since many years now, but still that old woman doesn't trust them completely.

She looks at me as though I've stolen her cheese sandwich or something, Ben thought while climbing the set of old wooden stairs. But still, she wasn't too bad after all. She had let them live here when they didn't get any place elsewhere.

After Max had an argument with his parents, he moved out to live alone and that was the time when Ben had also just shifted in this city to study and was searching for an apartment. They met in the same university and became best friends, plus roommates.

"Hey matey," he said as he entered inside their shared apartment but frowned in confusion when he found the television on but the sound muted and Max sitting on the couch with his hands over his head like he was in some kind of questioning session with himself and he was almost out of all the answers.

Oh I forgot the cold bastard fell in love not so long ago, Ben thought recalling how he had been acting strange and refusing to accept that he has a crush on Sarah.

"So, you figured out what you gonna do yet?" He asked, taking a seat on the couch and laying his arm over the headrest comfortably.

Max let out a small sigh before rubbing his eyes and removing his hand from his face to look at Ben. "What're you talking about now?"

Ben raised his left brow and twisted his face. "About you and Sarah obviously. You certainly must not have done a very polite thing to make her yell 'fuck you' at yourselves. So, what're you gonna do now to apologize to her?"

"Me? Apologize?" Max asked in a quiet tone which showed that Ben had just made a bad mistake for asking for the impossible.

Ben groaned, "Why do I forget again and again that you're still a cold heartless bastard? Of course you won't let your pride down, even if Jesus comes down from the heaven and tells you to. What was I thinking!" He said sarcastically but there was no response from Max as he straight up ignored him and lied back on the soft cushions.

"Fine then, don't ask me what to do when that Christopher guy asks her out. And I'm sure she won't stay back just because of your contract, you can call me on that," he said, challenging him and stood up, slamming his feet to the way to his room because he knew, he knew that challenges can make this smartass do anything and surely soon enough Max called out from behind.

"Alright alright. Tell me what to do. I don't want mom to think that I fooled her by bringing a fake fiancée anyway if she breaks up the contract," he muttered looking away and Ben smirked.

"Get up and choose a nice outfit first," he ordered him.

"For what?"

He received a sharp reply and a completely defying look from Max's face.

"For your wedding."

"What?"

"Of course not for your wedding idiot! You received an invitation for the party today, didn't you? Or did you forget about it already?"