The Other Side - A Boys of Tommen Fanfic

Chapter 55- Here Comes Trouble

Ethan

"Here comes trouble," Hughie teased, his voice carrying a familiar playful edge as he caught sight of Marci and I.

He leaned casually against the doorframe, his eyes twinkling with mischief, already starting in on Marci before either of us had managed to step fully into the living room.

Marci's laughter bubbled up softly, a sound that was warm and genuine.

She walked beside me with an easy grace, her honey blonde hair cascading over her shoulders as we made our way toward my best friend, who was sprawled comfortably on the far end of the sofa, an ice bag settled on his inner thigh.

"You're just jealous he likes her better than you," Johnny quipped, his tone light and subtly laced with a friendly undercurrent. He looked at Marci with a grin before shooting me a knowing glance.

Patrick, who was sprawled in an armchair nearby, jumped in with a smile. "And thank God he does. I don't think I could handle either of you if she wasn't around," he mocked, gesturing between Gibsie and me, his teasing aimed to rile us up, which we clearly didn't need any help to do properly.

"Both of us?" I gaped, deeply offended as I turned to glare at Patrick, my eyes narrowing in exaggerated disbelief.

Rolling my eyes dramatically, I let out a long-suffering sigh before dropping onto the couch next to Marci.

As I settled my arm around her shoulders, I could feel the warmth of her skin beneath her shirt, her presence somehow soothing the sting of Patrick's playful jab, which didn't really sting at all, I just wanted a reason to touch her.

She subtly adjusted my arm to her comfort, sliding it further back from her neck and closer to her shoulders, trying to make herself comfortable.

I was so focused on Marci that I nearly forgot the conversation that I was having.

But Gibsie clearly didn't.

"Oh, she's always around. Just ask Ethan. He can't go five minutes without wanki—"

The whole room collectively exhaled, a symphony of sighs as everyone processed Gibsie's unusually annoying brand of humor.

"Yeah, you're right—it's just him," Patrick amended, raising his hands in mock surrender, his honesty disarming as Gibsie smacked him over the back of the head from the armchair beside him.

Then Pierce, who had been lounging on his beat up beanbag with an air of casual arrogance, decided to stir the pot, since two petty remarks at the hands of my friends just wasn't enough.

"You know, you're way too good for him. What's in it for you?"

Pierce's voice was laced with playful antagonism, his eyes flicking to Marci with a challenge hidden in their depths.

I opened my mouth to defend Marci, but she was already ahead of me, her eyes sparking with a rare mischievous glint.

"Speaking of too good for someone, aren't you supposed to be with Lizzie?" she shot back, her tone sharp and precise.

Damn.

When Marci was surrounded by guys, much like she was now, she seemed to gain a newfound level of confidence, almost as a defense mechanism.

It was mildly worrisome, but also pretty undeniably badass.

Pierce's expression shifted, the teasing edge in his eyes dimming as he narrowed them at Marci, clearly just as caught off guard by her comeback as the rest of the room was.

"Yeah, well, some of us have standards," he muttered, his voice faltering slightly as he attempted to deflect, his confidence momentarily shaken as he tried to gage Marci's intent.