Chapitre 3: Chapter 3: Group Hang
Grayson studies his outfit in the mirror, quizzically unbuttoning and buttoning a single button on his emerald green floral shirt. He ruffles a hand through his ash brown hair, wondering when the last time was that he got a haircut. He begins to take his belt off when he hears a buzz from his phone. Amelia's name is emblazoned across the screen.
"If I send you a picture of my outfit will you give me your honest opinion?" he answers, grimly.
Amelia laughs comically and loudly. "What? You are so… silly. I'm sure it's fine, don't worry about it!" Then, she pauses and in a hushed tone continues. "Send a video, so I can see what the movement looks like. Don't forget to do the shoe pop thing."
Grayson smiles. "Will do. Anything else?"
"Wanted to let you know we were heading out soon, we'll meet you out front."
"Sounds good, see you soon."
After some stern advice to switch out his belt for something more plain, he finally feels at ease. He tousles his hair one last time and tosses his empty coffee cup in the trash before making his way out.
Amelia waves to him as he approaches, her brother a step behind her. She looks different than he's seen her before—her hair not shoved in a messy up-do and jeans not stained with whatever mess of the day she had to clean up. She covertly points to the belt and gives a thumbs up as Jude turns to face him.
Jude's wearing a long black coat that covers most of his outfit, but Grayson can see a navy blue turtleneck peek up out of the collar. He looks a bit uncomfortable, switching his stance every few seconds. Grayson was grateful for a moment that these two didn't have a habit of wearing only flannels and overalls in their casual wear, an irrational fear he had been fighting with the whole drive over.
"Well well, don't we all clean up nice?" Grayson ribs, nudging Amelia.
"Fishing for compliments never got anybody anywhere, Carter."
"Au contraire, Ms. Williams, it gives me the peace of mind to not have to fish for compliments. It lets everyone in the room know I'm fully aware of how stunning I am."
He feels Jude's eyes burning a trail as he looks Grayson up and down. Neither make eye contact with the other, and neither say a word.
They all sit down at their table, briefly exclaiming how glad they are that their town isn't a big party spot. Even so, the club is in decently full swing. They can hear music faintly from their table outside.
"Alright, boys. I'll get the first round since this whole thing is for you," she gestures at the two of them, sitting across from each other. " I'm going to snag some kind of appetizer too, because just drinking gets sad, quick."
The two nod, but don't speak, and Amelia continues on. "Which is the exact reason I opened my very own bar. That serves food. Which we could have just stayed in, instead of going somewhere where we have to pay for overpriced drinks and make me hunt down an appetizer."
Jude lobs an empty peanut shell left on their table in her direction. "Get out of here!" He chides gently as Grayson chuckles next to him.
"Fine, fine. Drain my already limited finances, I see how it is." She winks back at them as she opens the door and walks back into the bar.
"She's in fine form tonight," Jude notes as he looks down at his hands for a moment, before finally looking up to meet Grayson's gaze.
"It's nice to see her not in work mode…" Grayson clears his throat. "It's nice to see you too. I was under the impression that you'd be around a little more." God, his eyes are dark. Grayson can't seem to make himself look away, so when Jude's eyes flit down he's almost grateful for it. Almost.
"Yeah… I've been a bit preoccupied, I guess."
"You avoiding me, hunk?" Grayson leans in, desperately hoping it comes across more comedic than flirty.
Jude's ears turn pink. Then he leans forward, his eyes dancing with an emotion Grayson couldn’t put a name to.
"Do I have a reason to avoid you, pretty boy?"
"You think I’m pretty?" A grin breaks out on Grayson's face.
"I… I think you’re fully aware of that. You don’t need me to tell you."
Grayson hums. "Surprisingly, I don’t live in an 80s movie, so I don’t get called ‘pretty boy’ that often. Or ever, now that I think about it. You might be the only person alive who thinks I am both pretty and a boy."
"I get it," Jude chuckles nervously. "I’m not good at the quipping thing. In my defense, you started it. Not a lot of people that still call people ‘hunks’ either."
"You’ve got me there. And for the record? I think you’re alright at the quipping thing."
The two migrate closer to each other, not quite holding eye contact but inexplicably drawn in as they speak.
"Hey! Someone help me open this?" A voice calls from the other side of the door.
Jude jolts back, his posture going rigidly straight. His eyes dart over to the door before settling back on Grayson. He sighs and his face drains all emotion.
"Look… I just wanted to say something. Stay away from Amelia, Grayson. She's been through enough." His voice is exhausted, almost pleading.
"S-stay away? Wait, what do you mean by that?" Grayson's voice edges on panic, completely thrown off.
Jude shakes his head and stands, turning his body towards the door.
"Hey, wait–" Grayson starts.
Jude ignores him and steps towards the door.
"Jude, stop!" He reaches out, grabbing Jude’s wrist.
Jude snaps his head back, eyes set in a hard glare, the playful air in the room turning to ice instantly. "Don’t." He shakes Grayson off and strides to open the door.
Amelia stumbles through, both arms full with plates and cups. "About time… Alright, Carter, I don't know what you drink so I got you one of those awful cocktails that bartenders hate so much." Amelia moves to their table, her bright energy a direct contrast to the discomfort radiating off her two companions. She slides the drink his way with a cheeky grin. "Jude, your single tap beer that I doubt you'll finish. I also snagged us some soft pretzels."
"Do they normally serve those here?" Grayson offers, nervously.
"No. Why?"
He shakes his head and takes a pretzel. Amelia was his boss, and also the first friend that he had made in town, Grayson couldn't wrap his head around what it was that he'd done to piss Jude off so thoroughly. Either way, he was pretty positive that he hasn’t done anything actually wrong.
"So, how’d you end up in this neck of the woods, anyway? Where’d you come from?" Amelia either willfully ignores the energy in the room, or genuinely doesn’t pick up on it. Whichever it was, Grayson was grateful.
"Chicago, actually. Though, I suppose I had only been there two months… It was New Jersey before that. And New Orleans before that."
Amelia and Jude look at him, dumbfounded.
"I move around a lot, I guess? I don’t know, I was an army brat growing up. I changed highschools… Five times?"
Amelia shakes her head, "That sucks, Carter."
Grayson shrugs. "It worked out for me just fine. I tend to…" he pauses, eyes flitting over to Jude. "Rub people the wrong way, I think. So the less time I stick around, the better impression I tend to leave."
Jude flinches almost imperceptibly and looks to the side, resting his head in his palm.
Amelia puts her hand on Grayson’s, her eyes soft. "That’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard. For what it's worth, I think you’re a good dude and I hope you stay. And I’m not just saying that because my business would collapse without you."
Grayson smiles and gives her hand a single squeeze before pulling away. He hadn’t thought of it as sad before, it was just the way it was. He bounced from place to place and learned quickly that making friends was pointless. People would try to take pity on him, force him to try and fit into their friend groups—it was like jamming a puzzle piece that wouldn’t fit into the wrong spot over and over. Eventually, the edges got torn and damaged. They would invent some perceived slight and he would be out. He learned quickly that staying to himself meant less people hated him. Though, even that had its drawbacks, bullies loved a loner.
Grayson drags himself out of the thought with a weak, "thanks," before turning his focus to the food on the table. He makes light conversation with Amelia, not letting any questions get too personal as the night progresses. Amelia’s a January Capricorn, Grayson’s never been hiking, Jude used to have a stuffed bear named Soup (Jude barely reacts when Amelia reveals this).
Grayson spends the rest of the evening tentatively glancing in Jude's direction, hoping that he would jump up and say, "Gotcha! It was just a prank!" But he didn’t. Nor did he open his mouth at all; instead, he just runs his thumb along the rim of his untouched drink.
He watches as Jude walks off into the parking lot, his stomach a rock. Grayson had misjudged people before, but he had never been this…caught off guard. Jude stops for a moment and looks back. They watch each other for what feels like an eternity, before Jude gives a two finger wave and disappears into the night.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone