𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧' 𝐆𝐮𝐲 ➺ 𝐵𝓇𝒾𝒶𝓃 𝑀𝒶𝓎 & 𝒬𝓊𝑒𝑒𝓃

(15) 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯

"I swear I'm going to kill that blonde bastard." I clenched my jaw, arms folded as I moped my way down the firework aisle of the shop. Freddie emerged behind me, grabbing my arm.

"Darling, you're not even looking."

"Fred, I can't concentrate on shopping for fireworks now that I know that my best friend is being fucked over, once again, by a little boy that bangs drums for a living!" I raised my voice, attracting the attention of people around us.

Freddie hushed me, pulling me back and facing me directly. "That boy doesn't know how to keep it in his trousers, I am aware of that. But he likes Emma. You can tell it, darling, it's undeniable. So, you cannot... No matter what... You cannot tell Emma about this."

"Are you insane??" I whisper-shouted at him, leaning closer to him. "Do you realise how much Emma likes Roger? This will break her, and I can't let her go about her life like nothing's wrong."

"I know, I know, dear, I honestly know." Fred whispered back. "There's nothing I want more than to slap that boy silly, but you can't mention it. It'll only make things worse. Roger does this all the time, and if he spends more than one night with someone, he really does like them."

I sighed, turning to look at the fireworks on the racks. "That Daisy was too quiet for my liking, I knew she was fucking shady."

"Unfortunately, darling, she will be hanging around us a lot more now that Mary is friends with her. My suggestion is you make sure Emma is present whenever we're all together. That way, Daisy will get it through her head that Rog is taken and is most definitely not up for grabs." He gave me a toothy grin. "Now, let's look for some real bangers, so to speak." He winked at me and nudged me. "Speaking of, how's Brian?"

"Seriously, Fred?" I had a hard time transitioning from the intense conversation about Emma to the boy I was essentially seeing. "H-He's fine, I think? He seemed fine when I saw him last, but that was also when he told me about Roger and once he told me, I flipped. Naturally. And he gave me a huge lecture about not telling Emma, like you did." I rolled my eyes.

"Maria, we have known him a lot longer than you have. I'm sorry, darling, but it really doesn't mean anything." Freddie practically pleaded, furrowing his eyebrows. Perhaps he did have a point – they did know Roger inside out, after all. And at the end of the day, the less Emma knew, the less she would hurt.

-

I shot up from my position, leaning on Brian. My eyebrows furrowed in pure rage and I'd never seen Brian's eyes widen that quickly. "I'm sorry, come again?" My voice had raised, alerting Brian even more.

"Love, calm down, ok?" He sat forward, holding his hands up. "I-It's... It's normal."

"Normal?!" I yelled, my hand flying out and almost whacking Brian in the face. "How can that be a normal fucking thing to do?! He's literally cheated on my best friend, this is not okay!"

"Maria, please." Brian pleaded, his hand grabbing onto my wrist and bringing it towards him. "Please. Just listen to me." He looked deep into my eyes, the orbs practically begging. "Roger cannot control himself." He started with a shaky breath, looking down at my hand and interlacing his fingers with mine. "It's extremely rare when Roger gives a woman a second look. It most likely meant absolutely nothing. Okay?"

"So... Am I supposed to just not say anything to Emma about this then?"

"No! No, no, no... You can't tell her a single word." He whispered, shaking his head, leaning closer to me. "Promise me, you won't tell her about this."

I scoffed, shaking my head, looking away momentarily. "Bri..."

-

"O-Okay... Fine..." I sighed, nodding slowly. "I'm sorry, Fred. But I'm relying on you and I'm trusting that you and Brian know what you're talking about." I pointed a finger at him, giving him a stern look. "Now..." I slowly looked back at the firework boxes, picking one up. "How about this one?"