Bed Sheets II

7. We're Not Enemies

Eric appeared hostile, his gaze immediately narrowing the instance the door shut behind Draven. Draven made his way around the desk, still startled by Eric's sudden appearance but nonetheless, he had control over his composure. It was difficult, seeing Eric an arm length away from him after this many years and not being able to embrace him, an act he had longed for ever since he left.

However, he did not want to show any weakness, and reached for the mini fridge under his desk, pulling a bottle of whiskey from inside. His other cabinet had a few glass cups and he placed them on his desk.

"You want some?"

"I wouldn't mind, yes." When Draven finished pouring him half a glass, Eric thanked him and grabbed it from the desk. He took a few sips, not a grimace forming on his face as he placed it back on a coaster.

From the way Eric's eyes never left his blue ones, Draven knew this conversation was filled with animosity, and he took a few sips from his own glass before placing it on the coaster.

"Do you want to start?" Draven asked politely.

Eric kept his lips shut for a moment, before saying, "I think you know what this is about."

Draven tilted his head; the challenging scowling look Eric was sending him was cold, filled with venom that he thought they would cause burns on his face. And he had a soft spot for Eric, unable to hate him. However, even with a soft spot, he hated feeling undermined, and Eric believing that he even had a chance to intimidate Draven, was taken as undermining him.

He cleared his throat, "You tell me."

"First, I want to formally apologize for what Kyle did and said to you. He told me he showed up at your house and returned a new suit. It was completely out-of-line and uncalled for, and although I haven't heard everything he had said, I know that you didn't deserve to any of his rude comments."

Draven eyed Eric carefully, before saying, "He said that after you left, you never mentioned me. And the times that you did, you said that you hated me." He took another swing of his glass, and poured himself a bit more.

Eric lowered his eyes for a moment, needing to withhold the rage he was feeling roaming his stomach. "Refraining from mentioning your ex to your new partner is considered...wrong?"

"I guess not, if you put it that way."

"And yes," Eric leaned forward provocatively, his blond curls appearing darker, "I did hate you. When I released that book and you went to every single media outlet to berate me, you were a topic of conversation in my home and I did say I hate you. Is that supposed to be a surprise?"

Draven shook his head, "You wrote the book in the first place, you should have expected a backlash."

"I did expect a backlash, but I never thought you would start talking about our sex life on television, Draven." Then, he noticed Eric inhale a sharp breath, shaking his head and close his eyes for a moment. His adrenaline cooled down, and when he opened his eyes, his breathing had relaxed. "I didn't come to argue about that."

Draven reached over, poured Eric more alcohol and asked, "Why did you come then?"

"I heard about this new project that is due to be released tomorrow; Losing Us over Selfish You."

Draven raised an eyebrow: someone had leaked the new project to Eric.

"I had the chance to take a swift of the comic myself," Eric took a sip of his alcohol, "Ellic, the main villain. A manipulative, disgusting, immoral, judgmental, sickening psycho, basically, is taking advantage of the successful Lance Herts."

"Mhm," Draven nodded his head smugly, drinking more of the alcohol and feeling a bit of a buzz at that point.

Eric chuckled quietly, "And from what I've been able to read so far, there are a few scenes directly correlating to moments in our lives, from five years ago."

"Yes, indeed."

"And it's not farfetched to assume that I'm supposed to be Ellic?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Draven smirked.

Eric exhaled a sharp breath, before saying, "I'm here to ask you to cancel the publication."

Draven laughed, which caused Eric's lips to tighten into a thin line, and his jaw was noticeably flexing. "And why should I do that?"

"I'm asking you as once your closest friend, as once being your lover, please don't release—"

Draven's senses were being inhibited by the alcohol, and he waved his hand in annoyance, "Don't bullshit me with that. That's not going to work on me. If you want me to cancel this publication, then you give me a good reason to."

Eric squinted his eyes, examining Draven's darkened irises, his disheveled black hair and the rage he tried to keep hidden behind his eyes.

"Draven, as much as you want to make it seem that way, we're not enemies. We had a few battles over the years we were apart, but I'm not your enemy, at all."

"I never said you were."

"Then why are you doing this? You know this comic will bring more press, more attention on us, attention that we both don't need right now. I don't want to battle with you again—"

"What are you so afraid of?"

Eric raised an eyebrow, "I'm not afraid of anything."

"You sound like you are."

"I'm telling you that we're better than this—"

"Are we?" Draven sniggered, rolling his eyes and pouring himself more alcohol. "Why weren't we better than this when you wrote your own book?"

"It was never meant to create tension with you."

"It ruined my name. You made me the toxic one—"

"Both characters were toxic and it was exaggerated because it's a damn story." Eric storm to his feet, "And it was never meant to hurt you, it was to help me move on from you. I didn't come here to argue about things that happened years ago. All I asked is to cancel the publication."

"And I said no."

"Then so be it," Eric shrugged his shoulders, "print it as much as you'd like. But you know what, Draven?" He leaned forward, "I'm glad I left. If this is who you became, then thank goodness I'm not apart of your miserable life."

Draven sprung to his feet as well, "Then why the hell did you come back! You knew it would make me miserable, so why did you come back?"

"I didn't come back for you, I moved on Draven. My fiancé started working near here, and he was nominated for an award the other night. Whatever 'us' you keep referring to, you need to realize that it's never going to return. I'm done with you, I moved on and I love my fiancé. Whatever comic book you write or how many times you want to mention how I hurt you, it's never going to change."

Draven's breath was heavy, and he had no response to that.

Then after a short pause, a strenuous sigh that escaped his lips, Eric said, "I don't love you anymore."

And before he knew it, Eric turned on his heels and bolted from the office, slamming the door shut behind him.