Night Souls

Mask Off

"So, aren't you going to tell us what's up with the two of you?" Stacey nudged Fredrick a bit, he was seen spacing out after they saw a clown passing by.

He finally came to his senses, "Okay let's get this straight, the three of us were great friends and our families were the closest among each other." 

"And you know when boys grow, they have these feelings they can't explain?" 

Emma understood what he was saying, "Mhmm." 

"You mean puberty?" Stacey questioned, she wasn't clear if that's what he was referring too. 

His face can be seen turning red, "No...okay maybe...." he continues telling the story, "I developed a little crush on Caroline during elementary school. During that time I liked playing pranks on her whereas Nicholas would protect her from my shenanigans." 

"Hmm, you were a young prankster too," Emma comments on his childlike behaviour. 

Stacey chuckled, "I see that now." 

Jenni and Danny found them by the table, they brought their cakes and joined in listening. 

"In high school, I didn't like going out most of the time so I usually stay in and play with my three cuties."  

"Huh?" There was an echo in the conversation, Jenni and Danny along with Stacey were taken aback by Fridrick's last word. 

"His puppies." Emma cleared the misunderstanding among them, they were thinking of something else. 

Fredrick laughed a little before going back to his story, "Nicholas and Caroline loved going to parties and so on, but I usually weren't part of the equation at that time." He took a deep breath in, it was difficult to talk the past that he had made peace with. 

"I still had these feelings, I thought it was a crush but I wanted to confess to Caroline and she kissed me. Then one day, I heard they were a couple but after a few weeks, things happened. I couldn't remember."

Emma comforted him, seeing how the past was taking a toll on him, "It's okay to not remember." She gently rubs his back.

"No, I was so high that time I really didn't remember anything." 

"Oh." Emma exchanged looks with Stacey who was trying not to laugh, "Okay...what happened after?"

"We went on a double date, Nicholas set me up with someone but during that time Caroline was coming on to me." Thinking back on it, he was disgusted by her actions. "A week later, she broke things off with Nicholas and start going out with me."

"Woah, you went out with your best friend's girl?" Jenni was terrified by the idea that she accidentally flung a piece of cake onto Danny's face.

He brushed it off with his finger and stuck it in his mouth, "Yum."

"We were kids that time...and we knew each other for so long." Fredrick tried to defend himself but it's hard to say, "It's complicated."

Jenni wiggled her finger towards him in disapproval while backing down to her seat. He was a bit stiffened from her look.

"Please continue." Stacey implied after that little disturbance.

"In the end, Caroline was just playing with us, our feelings." Fredrick went on to say, "I told Nicholas but he was blind-sighted by her 'charm', so for the rest of high school...I barely talked to him because I wanted to avoid Caroline."

He took a glass of champagne from the tray when the server had passed by, he was parched and so were the others. "In college, Nic and I got to be roommates but when I found out he was still seeing Caroline." Fredrick took a break to sip on the champagne.