'We'

Chapter Six

For hours now Erik had lain awake in his bed. He shifted his head, looking over at the clock on his bedside table. It was only eleven. He thought back to earlier, at the café. Felix had promised to call him, yet his phone sat silent.

He was angry. Not at Felix, but at himself for getting so worked up about it. Seb's earlier words were still playing greatly on his mind, and as such he could not settle. He rotated between sipping the glass of water beside his bed, staring up at the ceiling and glancing over at his phone, sat nearly beside his empty cup of apple tea. It had sat on his desk since their first meeting. The man let out something that could only be described as a growl, self-hatred welling up inside him.

There was a ping.

Erik shot up from his bed faster than he believed possible. It made him dizzy, and he had to hold his head for a moment until the room stopped spinning. He grabbed the phone like it was a lifejacket on a sinking ship, and flicked the screen on in seconds. A text. A text from 'F'.

The message was short and well spaced, which Erik was immensely thankful for. It took him a while to comprehend nonetheless.

'Sorry for the text. I know you'd prefer to call.'

That was certainly true. It was incredible how much Felix was able to guess about Erik. It would have scared him if he weren't so fond of the man.

'It's late. I didn't want to wake you.'

It wasn't as if the man was asleep, but he genuinely appreciated the gesture. It brought a small smile to his face as he looked down at the blinding screen. He clicked his thumb into the small panel at the bottom of the screen, bringing up the virtual keyboard. Slowly, Erik typed out his reply.

'I'm awake.'

A few silent moments passed as Erik stared at the bright screen of the phone, waiting for a reply. He became anxious with each passing second, wondering if Felix had already fallen asleep. He debated turning the phone off or slipping into the darkness of slumber, but the thought of Felix's reply pulsed adrenaline through him. Finally, Erik was rewarded for his strange patience with a single 'F' appearing on the screen. He was not sure how he had clicked the green button so quickly.

"Hello? God, that was fast," Felix opened, laughing down the phone. Although his friend could not see, Erik dropped his eyes to the floor.

"Sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Felix insisted, a twinkle in his voice. "Why aren't you asleep?"

Erik shrugged, before realising Felix would not have known. Blushing harder, the older man took an intake of breath.

"Dunno," he managed to stutter. "Couldn't get to sleep." There was a pause for a moment, as the two men thought in silence. Finally, it was broken by Erik. "Why did you want to call me?"

"Wanted to see what your friend thought of the coffee."

Erik felt a twinge in his chest again. Anger flared within him, and he tried desperately to push it away.

"He didn't really say."

"Shame. He seemed nice."

Erik blood boiled. Again, it took all the man's effort to dispel the feeling. If he hadn't spoken of Seb today, he was sure he would not have been able to identify the feeling. Now, however, he had to convince himself that the jealousy he was feeling stemmed from primarily platonic feelings.

"Why are you so happy all the time?"

The question caught even Erik off-guard, and Felix had to take a few moments to comprehend an answer. Erik had thought this ever since their very first meeting - that whoever walked through that door into his friend's workplace was met with a smile. No matter how rude they were being, they would receive the same sentiment. Erik wouldn't say that it irritated him, but he was confused by the mindset.

"I'm just a happy person."

"Doesn't it get to you?" Erik pushed. "Doesn't your face hurt?"

Felix laughed at that, and Erik joined in a moment behind, and tension being dispelled. A short silenced settled over the men once more, the only sound in the room the gentle noise of Erik's breaths.

"What's the point of getting mad at people who don't know they've done anything wrong?"

"But-"

"It comes with the job, I guess," Felix interrupted. His friend could almost see the smile on his face through the phone. He laughed to himself.

"I don't understand you."

"Maybe-" Felix began but stopped himself. He took a moment to recollect his sentence. "Are you working tomorrow?"

"Until then."

"Want to meet up after? I get off work at five."

"Isn't the coffee shop closed by then?"

"No, I-" Felix paused again. Erik found the situation strange. They had only met up a few times, but he had never found his new friend to be this hesitant. "There's a bar nearby. We could go there."

"Oh." The sound escaped Erik's mouth before he realised, and the blush made its way once more to his cheeks. "Sure. We can do that." The man was once more reminded of Seb's words. This was something that friends did, right?

"I'll pick you up at half ten," Felix informed him, regaining his usual mannerisms.

"Pick me up?" the black haired man attempted to ask but was cut off the click as the phone was hung up. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion overcame him. It was close to midnight now, and he had work in the morning. The man fell asleep clutching his phone tightly.

***

At precisely ten, just as Erik had exited the grey office building, there was a sharp tone from inside his bag. Unused to the noise, it took him a few moments before he realised that the noise was the signal of a text. He had brought his phone to work today for this precise reason, realising that in the dreariness of their late-night phone call, Felix had neglected to ask where to pick his friend up from. He laughed as he extracted his phone, flipping it on to reveal the exact message he had expected. With a sign, Erik decided he was getting better at this whole 'reading texts' thing.

He typed his address back quickly, reaching to put his phone back into his bag, but was interrupted by another beep. He fumbled the phone, taken aback by the immediate reply. In the next moment, Erik took his previous statement back. He wasn't so good at reading text messages after all.

"Thanks, x"

He squinted at it, but the letter would not move away from where he had first seen it. A sharp exhale of breath left his mouth in his anger, and he shoved the phone back into his back. Erik's belongings were swung onto his back, and he continued the walk home.

The man wasn't too sure what you wore to mutual meetings of friendship at the local bar, and as such he had been searching his closet since he got home. He had intended to wear his hoodie as per usual but realised with a spark that a place like this might have a dress code. He scanned every garment that one that might be fitting - formal, but not too much so in case he was mistaken about the code. This was harder than he anticipated. He was sure Felix would have no trouble picking out what he was going to wear. He was too perfect for that. Stupid perfect Felix.

There was the thump of a knock on the door, and Erik panicked. He was still in his shirt and tie from work, and he rocked on his heels as he tried to decide what to do. Another knock sounded.

He rushed over to the door of his flat, flinging it open in a panic. There was Felix. Perfect. Flawless. Smiling.

In a suit.

At least Erik had been right about the dress code, he decided, looking at the situation with his friend's positive attitude. He looked down at his own tie. Maybe this would do after all.

"Ready?" Felix asked. His hand twitched as if he wanted to hold his arm out, but Erik did not notice. The black-haired man nodded, still slightly overwhelmed, and trailed his friend out into the hallway. He locked the door quietly behind him and turned back to see Felix smiling.

"Where is this bar, then?"

Felix bit his bottom lip, faking though. Eventually, he spoke again, a mischievous smile adorning his face.

"You'll find out soon enough.