Chess [Opening Move]

[wasafreak]

Teddy feels like something out of a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel. The townhouse is huge and the fireplaces keep it warm, and the kitchen's stocked and there's tea and aperitifs and so many books. The fact that they're entertaining, sort of, is pleasing in a silly domestic way. The fact that Teddy is wearing riding boots, rather fitted black trousers, and an overly romanticized white blouse while they entertain is silly in a pleasing historical way. All in all, it's not a bad time.

He sets down a bottle of cassis and a carafe of water before taking his own seat again.

"So it was like... the big bad wolf?"

Comments

[halfscarlet]

"Weeeell, it's not like she can blame you for taking advantage of her?" Billy tries, unsure what to say, and he looks over to Teddy for help. "You like her, right?"

[wasafreak.livejournal.com]

He's not sure if that's the brightest possible silver lining they could find, but at least it's something.

"Was it that kind of a talk leading up to it? An I-Like-You talk? Or was it an I'm-Curious-About-Making-Out-With-You kind of talk."

[apoorupbringing.livejournal.com]

Chase looked up, suddenly perturbed.

"Holy shit, are those different things? Yes, I like her," he admitted, sounding not very happy about it.

"I have liked her. For a while. And now we don't speak, unless we absolutely have to in class. I just give her as wide a berth as possible, I mean what the hell else am I supposed to do?"

[halfscarlet]

"Uh...hunt her down and talk to her," Billy says, as if it's as simple as that. He hasn't had much in the way of difficulty in any relationship (all two of them), always finding some way to talk about things if entirely necessary. "Or something. You can't keep pretending it never happened if you like her, Chase. Do something about it."

[wasafreak.livejournal.com]

Teddy points at Billy.

"Everything he said."

[apoorupbringing.livejournal.com]

"You guys suck," Chase groused.

"No. Are you insane? Is that how things work in gay world? Because in Older Guy Straight world that is definitely not even kind of how shit works. This isn't a romantic comedy or some period romance where I ride up in my top hat and say something cool and she just throws out the whole 'ignoring shit went down' routine. She's ignoring anything happened for a reason, and all the evidence suggest that reason is she thought it was a stupid fucking idea." He sulked for a few seconds, although it was mostly a front to cover up how much it genuinely hurt.

"Which it was, by the way," he added.

[halfscarlet]

Billy rolls his eyes, stopping just short of throwing his hands in the air. "I'm not saying you talk to her and it all gets better, I'm just saying that trying to talk to her is the adult thing to do, since you're so freaking old and all."

[wasafreak.livejournal.com]

"Although you could talk to her and it could all get better," Teddy points out levelly, holding one hand briefly up in place of shrugging.

"The real point is, you won't know, unless you do it. If nothing else, you deserve to know why she acted that way. Why she kissed you and then pulled away. I mean, maybe it's just me, but I'd want to know."

[apoorupbringing.livejournal.com]

Chase looked over at Teddy. He didn't know the guy real well, had mostly seen him fight, and he usually seemed about as level headed, but, well, angrier. And significantly more green.

"...yeah," he said quietly, dropping his hand and nodding absently.

"Yeah, I want to know. But it wasn't like, it was awkward and she pushed through it. It was like nothing happened. And no one else got amnesia from that weekend. So." He shook his head again.

"I dunno. I mean you guys are right, I just... I dunno."

[halfscarlet]

Billy gives the top of Chase's head a sympathetic look before turning his gaze on Teddy. There'd been some awkwardness at the very start of their relationship, sure, but he'd never had to deal with the agony of kissing someone and then having it completely ignored.

"I could ask her for you," he suggests, his tone light and meant to get a dig in at Chase to cheer him up. "Give her a note that asks her to circle yes or no."

[notaparker]

I do knock, because it's not like I don't know that Billy has a boyfriend and all. I'm not about to just go barging in.

But I do then stick my head around the door, because it's also not like the Green Arrow Estates (Victorian Edition) don't have several rooms, and if they're up to Stuff in the entranceway we'll all learn a valuable lesson.

"Hiho," I say. "Everyone decent?"

Everyone is, indeed, decent. Billy, Teddy, and... Chase. Because that's not going to be as inexplicably awkward as Chase has been the last while. Great.

[wasafreak.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Jess," Teddy says, looking up and smiling, and then immediately looks at Billy continuing, much more quietly, "sssica Drew. Right. Got it."

[apoorupbringing.livejournal.com]

Of all the fucking moments. Chase straightened a little, most notably in his shoulders, eyes going straight to Jess. His face, if not blank, near enough, and after a moment his jaw worked a little and his eyes dropped away.

"Thanks for the drink, guys," he said, standing, grabbing up the warm old-fashioned cap he'd been reflexively crushing in one hand and slinging it over his hair.

[halfscarlet]

Billy, for his part, manages to keep a mostly straight face when Jess walks in, as if a cloud of teenage awkardness hasn't suddenly sprung up around them. He widens his eyes at Teddy, then gives Chase a smile and realizes he can't force him to stick around.

"Any time," he says, standing up to show him out.

[notaparker]

See, that the slightest bit awkward.

It was a very large bit awkward, that's what it was.

I step aside as Billy shows Chase out. As soon as he turns back, I look between him and Teddy and just throw my hands up in the universal symbol for 'what the hey!' and gape at them, inviting them to also gape at whatever the hey that was.

[wasafreak.livejournal.com]

"Wow," Teddy says, wincing, having caught the look that Chase shot Jess as he passed her. He knew that look, had flashed it more than once at Billy when they were just super powered friends who happened to be on the same team. Before Billy had had the courage to make them something more.

"That was brutal."

[halfscarlet]

There's a part of Billy that, when he comes back into the room, wants to walk over and shakes Jess and ask her what the hell's going on. But it doesn't seem right to butt into Chase's business like that, so he keeps his mouth shut.

It pains him to do so, but he manages it.

"Yeah...so...hi?"

[notaparker]

"Right?" I say, ignoring Billy in the face of finally having absolute evidence that someone else noticed Chase being totally weird. "Right?! He's been doing that for ages, I don't know what his problem is. Uh, but, hi."

[wasafreak.livejournal.com]

"...Wait, seriously?" Teddy says, eyebrows raising. He gestures for Jess to grab a seat wherever- they have a fainting sofa, if the need arises- and glances at Billy.

"You have no clue why he's acting that way?"

[halfscarlet]

Billy shares Teddy's surprise and confusion, managing to hide it well only because Jess isn't actually looking at him when he shares a look with Teddy.

It's like they're playing musical chairs except with feelings and hormones.

[notaparker]

"Because he ate some bad mangoes and now he has the mango-crazies?" I say, walking up and down the parlour before taking a non-fainting seat on the fainting couch.

It's probably technically more of a perch, since I'm sitting on the raised end with my feet tucked in beneath me on the actual couch portion. "No, I have no clue."

[wasafreak.livejournal.com]

He's not about to get into everything Chase just divulged to them, but it can't hurt to comment on things that are readily observable by an outsider, right? Teddy glances at Billy again before sitting forward and focusing his attention on Jess.

"Jess, he likes you."

[halfscarlet]

"What he said," Billy agrees, walking over to sit on the far end of the fainting couch, in case Jess did any fainting of her own. "I didn't know you and Chase were that close in the first place."

[notaparker]

"Um, I thought he did, what with us being friends, but clearly he doesn't," I say, again flailing my arm at the direction he exited in.

Wait.

"Wait, when you say likes..."

Oh, no. That can't be right.

[wasafreak.livejournal.com]

"Likes like," Teddy clarifies, "as in, would like to kiss and date you, likes."

He watches Jessica, waiting for that to sink in.