Chapter 8 (Happy birthday, Molly)

Mitchel

It didn't matter how many times Mitchel tried to talk to Christian, he always found a way out. He avoided Mitchel for two weeks, and it crushed his heart in an inexplicable manor, no matter how many times he did it. In fact, it hurt even more each time he ignored him. 

It was all Mitchel thought about. He thought of the taste of his best friend's lips as he ate his food (nothing could compare to how delicious Christian was) and he thought about his strong but delicate hands as he watched Christian strum on his bass.  Nothing could suck him out of his void. 

Still, he kept trying. Mitchel waited for Christian to wake up and offered to make him food, only to be turned down with the excuse of meeting Molly at the Grill for breakfast. He asked when he was free so that they could go to the record shop, but Christian was busy. He was always busy. With Molly.

Her.  

It was always Molly. Christian lived and breathed for the woman, and it was sure that he'd leave Mitchel in the dust. He'd go all over tarnation for his girlfriend, and it was always as if Mitchel meant nothing to him. As if he were an afterthought. Naturally Mitchel grew to resent her, but that didn't matter. It was not like she or Christian noticed anyway. Even Clinton wasn't there to notice- he was too busy wedding planning with Sydney.  

After a few weeks of constant rejection, Mitchel lost hope and came to the conclusion that Christian was just drunk that night, or maybe high or something, and didn't know what he did. He started to question if what happened really did happen. What if he dreamt it? What if he imagined it? But even after two weeks, Mitchel's lips still tingled and the image was still so vivid in his mind. If he was crazy for imagining such a thing, he was really good at it. 

+ + +

"Hey," Christian said. He was leaning on the doorframe to Mitchel's room, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Mitchel had his headphones on but as soon as Christian stepped into his line of vision, all of his attention was turned to him. He knew that it was pathetic, but he couldn't help it. Just as Christian lived and breathed for Molly, Mitchel did the same for him. 

"Hi," Mitchel said a little too eagerly, and he couldn't keep the stupid smile off of his face. Christian pushed off of the door frame and stepped in closer. When Mitchel waved his hand in approval, he slid onto his bed and crossed his legs. 

"I know its a bit of a late notice, but it's Molly's birthday tomorrow," He said. Mitchel's smile faded. Of course he came into his room after avoiding him for two weeks, only to talk about his girlfriend! Mitchel sighed to himself in disappointment for expecting anything else. 

"Yeah," He replied. "I sent her an early birthday text like, an hour ago." 

Christian nodded, wrapping his hands around his shins. "I know," He said. "That's not all, though. We're going out tomorrow. Clubbing. She likes that type of thing, so we're going to get a whole table and everything.""Cool," Mitchel said. He pulled his phone off of his bedside table and looked at it to seem disinterested. He loved his best friend's company, but when all he talked about was his girlfriend, chatting with Christian felt like a chore. 

"Will you come?" Christian asked. Mitchel flicked is eyes upwards and stared at his friend. "What?" "Molly's bringing all of her girlfriends and they'll be together the whole time. Won't you come? Please? I'd really like it if you were there," He said, reaching for Mitchel's knee. 

Mitchel dropped his phone and a switch flipped within him. His smile was back on his face and he beamed brighter than a lightbulb. "You want me there?" He asked, and Christian nodded in reply. "Of course, man," He said and returned the smile. "Sure, I guess I'll go," Mitchel stopped, and looked at his phone. "If I'm free," He added, because he knew that he came off as much too eager. 

"Great," Christian said and stood up. "Wait," Mitchel said. He tucked a few of his braids behind his ear. Christian halted. He looked away as if he already know what Mitchel was going to say. He didn't care though. He had to know. "About that night..." He trailed off, swallowing and folding his fingers. "What was that all about?" 

Christian didn't reply for a long moment. Then he said, "to be honest, I don't really know. Let's just... forget about it, okay?" 

Mitchel let his words sink in for a brief moment. His happiness faded just as quickly as it came.  "Okay," He said after a while. He swallowed thr growing lump in his throat. "Yeah, don't worry about it." 

Christian turned to leave, but he stopped in the doorframe once more. "We're good, right?" Christian asked. Mitchel nodded. He could feel unwanted tears pricking is eyes. "Yeah, we're good." "Great," Christian said, and left. They didn't talk again until Molly's birthday party. 

+ + +

Just as Christian said, all of Molly's friends came for her birthday. Some of the girls even flew overseas for the occasion, showing up at the club dressed in slim spaghetti strap dresses and heels that would break any normal woman's ankles. And they were loud, too. Molly wasn't the loud type. She was usually more quiet and relaxed. She was the voice of reason in her friend group, and brought everyone together. On her birthday, however, she had a few drinks too many and was ready to celebrate her day with all of her friends that she hadn't seen in ages. 

Molly was quickly sucked into the compact crowd of dancing bodies, surrounded by all of her girls. They jumped and grinded on each other while Christian sat at the table with his drink and watched all of their stuff. The music boomed and thumped louder than it should have, but Christian gave the DJ a little tip to make sure that Molly had a good time. 

"I doubt anyone will steal their purses," Mitchel said, resting his chin on his hand. He was sitting next to Christian and watching the girls form a circle around Molly. "Nah, there are some really low people out there," Christian replied. He took a sip from his beer and sat back, looking at Mitchel."Are you sure? You should be out there with her." Mitchel looked back at Christian and watched as the LED lights pulsed and danced over his skin. It made him sparkle. They flashed from blue to purple and then red. Somehow, Christian's green eyes glowed underneath all of the lights. Mitchel wanted to reach up and place his hand on his cheek, and he almost did. His hand was half way there before he realized what he was doing and let it fall to the table.  

"Don't worry about it," Christian gave him a small smile. "Besides, I'd rather be here with you." Mitchel looked away harshly as he felt heat flood to his cheeks. Christian had a way with words and he always knew how to make him flustered even if he didn't realize it. "Oh," Was all that Mitchel could say without his voice cracking. He continued to look away, his face not getting any less red. 

His eyes focused on the dancing people: couples swaying together and swinging their hips, young women and others bopping and twirling to the beat. They moved over to look at the DJ who really seemed to enjoy what he was playing by the way he danced and threw his arms. Eventually his eyes found their way back to Christian who was turned back to face his girlfriend. He tucked some of his hair behind his ear and ran the tip of his pointer finger around the circumference of his glass. 

From the corner of his eye, he could see Clinton making his way through the crowd along with his fiancé. Sydney smiled and waved as soon as she saw the both of them, motioning for Clinton to follow her. Seconds later, they slid down in front of them in the booth, holding onto each other as if the crowd would come over and sweep one of them away. Mitchel envied that. He wished that Christian held onto him like so, but the thought was quickly banished when the music faded away and he could hear the dull hum of the crowd. 

"Hi!" Sydney said, grabbing a few chips and crunching on them. She ate them carefully as not to ruin her lipstick. They chatted for a few minutes about Molly and then the engagement while Clinton went to get the two of them a drink. "So how are you two doing?" Sydney asked. Mitchel hadn't seen her in roughly a month and a half because she was out playing with her band in Texas and the surrounding States. Her and Clinton had been unable to see each other often because of their schedules. Somehow, that never affected their relationship. 

"Not bad," Mitchel said, because it was the truth. It felt good to get out and be surrounded by sweaty people, despite their stink. For a long time, all he did was stay in the house and write songs. He became a homebody after he and Jordan broke up, and this outing was like a waft of fresh air. "We actually plan on coming here for my birthday," Christian said, glancing at Mitchel. When he looked at Christian in confusion, he only smiled and placed his hand on his knee under the table. 

"But it will probably be just the boys," Christian said. Clinton sat down with their drinks and said, "What's just with the boys?" "My birthday," Christian replied. "I want to come here." "First time I've heard this," Clinton said. Mitchel nodded in agreement. 

"I forgot about how much I like it here," Christian explained. "And I always liked the views," He said, looking at Mitchel. When he met his eyes, it took him a long moment to understand that Christian was talking about him. "What?" Mitchel asked as Clinton and Sydney stood and headed over to wish Molly a happy birthday. He had to make sure that he heard him properly. 

"I said," Christian leaned in closer, his hand sliding up his thigh just a bit. "I really like what I see." His last words were barely a whisper, but it was enough to send Mitchel's heart rate straight through the roof. 

His face hadn't quite recovered from before, and Christian's comments were certainly not helping. "Really?" He breathed. All that he could focus on was Christian's hand and it was like nothing else mattered. Just Christian. "Of course," he replied. He was so close that he felt his breath on his ear. From far away, it looked like Christian was simply trying to talk to Mitchel in a way that would beat the loud music. It looked perfectly normal. "Oh, well, uh," Mitchel swallowed. He could hear the blood in his ears thudding to the beat of the music. "Me too," He said. His voice shook in an embarrassing manor as he spoke, but Christian didn't seem to mind. 

Christian's breath tickled his ear as he said, "I'm sorry, Mitchel. I lied to you yesterday." Mitchel pulled back to look at his best friend in the eyes. "What? What about?" He asked. He could tell that Christian felt guilty by the way he didn't really look at him in the eyes. "About the kiss," he explained. Mitchel could feel his fingers lightly squeeze the flesh of his thigh as if he were nervous. This was unusual. Christian was almost always confident and at ease. The last time he saw him this way was when he and Molly were in a fight, and that was almost half a year ago.  

"I did it because, well..." Finally his eyes met Mitchel's. "I miss you," He said. Mitchel widened his eyes. "Really?" he breathed. Christian nodded and he could tell he was speaking the truth. It was in his tone, and the look in his eyes explained it all.

"I didn't know how to tell you, Mitchel, but I miss us, and I miss... I don't know. The closeness, I guess. We were so close before Molly, and I know I shouldn't be saying this but I can't help it. She'd be livid if she heard this." Christian said the last part and glanced at his girlfriend who was still in her circle of friends. He gave a little laugh and looked back at Mitchel who was staring at him with wide eyes. 

"But I'm right here, Christian. I always have been. If you missed me then you should have just said so. Instead of leaving it for the both of us to worry and think about," He said. Christian took his wrist. "The both of us?" He asked. Mitchel nodded. "I missed you too," He said, and he could tell it made is best friend happy. He smiled his big toothy smile, the one that lit up the entire room. 

"I just didn't want to overstep is all," Mitchel said, but Christian wasn't listening. His hand dropped his wrist and he leaned forward. Before Mitchel could think about it, he met him half way and then they were kissing. It was light and easy but it was everything. When their lips connected, Mitchel felt complete like he had found his missing puzzle piece that he'd been searching for for years. He'd known Christian for more than a decade, and it was perplexing how he only realized it then. 

He thought the kiss would only last a second, just like the ones they used to exchange onstage just over a year ago. But when Mitchel moved to pull way, Christian gently held onto the back of his head. The loud club music faded away, and all he could hear was his racing heart and the sound of his heavy breathing. Mitchel cupped the sides of Christian's face while the kiss deepened, and Mitchel was only dully aware that Christian had guided him down onto the soft red booth seat where he laid on his back with his arms around him. 

His mind flooded with excitement and joy as they kissed, despite the situation. There he was, kissing his best friend at his girlfriend's birthday party. It was messed up, Mitchel knew, especially because he knew that he would most definitely take it further if only Christian said the word. But he never did and he didn't mind. He probably wouldn't have been able to handle the joy if they did. 

As happy as Mitchel was, he couldn't help but also feel a sense of triumph. Even though Molly hated it when they kissed, Christian couldn't help himself. He craved Mitchel. He said it himself. 

"Fuck," Christian lowly mumbled. It sent shivers through his spine and he knew that if they kept kissing, something would grow in his pants and nothing would be able to protect him then. But Christian's hands roamed Mitchel's body as if he had their own minds. They found their way under his shirt and gripped his bare skin. Mitchel exhaled shakily, his heart thumping hard against his rib cage. He thought it would explode.

"You're playing a dangerous game," Mitchel managed to say. Christian chuckled against his lips. "You think I'm playing?" He asked in-between kisses. The small question sent Mitchel to the clouds where he stayed for a few moments before reality set in.  

"Wait," Mitchel mumbled. He pushed Christian's chest, and he stopped on command. Even though he did as he asked, his lips already felt lonely and he wished that he hadn't told him to stop. But he got up anyway, chewing on his lip as the music started to get louder in his head again. He looked around to see Molly pulling out of the crowd and waving at Christian.  

As soon as Mitchel saw her, he frowned. Did she see them? No, she looked much too happy to have noticed. "Go to her," Mitchel said. Christian looked at him for a long time as if he didn't want to. Then, he slid out of the booth and strode over to Molly. They exchanged a few words before Molly grabbed his hands and started wildly dancing. She pulled him in closer, and then he was swallowed up by the sea of girls. 

Mitchel sighed to himself. It was like the little moment he had with his friend hadn't even happened. But that was okay. It was fine. Really. Mitchel knew how Christian felt, and his lips said more than enough. 

He smiled to himself. Maybe Molly didn't have as much of a chance with Christian as he thought she did.