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Ches was well aware of how Glam got whenever he decided to drink alcohol, but he doesn’t think he’s ever seen it this bad.
Glam was a very affectionate person, that much was obvious after living with him for as long as he had, but it was usually more behind closed doors. Hand-holding was usually the most affectionate he would get beyond the confines of his home.
Being drunk threw that out of the window. Victoria, forced to be sober so she could take him home on her motorcycle, had been carrying him around practically everywhere since his first drink was empty. The word clingy came to mind when we he caught a glance at the couple. He assumed everyone else in the bar was likeminded in that regard.
It was occasionally entertaining to watch, seeing how he could configure himself around her whenever she stood up to go somewhere else was always a spectacle. The blatant mix of love and annoyance in her eyes all the while certainly wasn’t helping the amount of people laughing at her expense currently.
Some people would be lying if they said there weren’t more emotions brewing beyond the laughter. For some, it was embarrassment their soberness held onto.
For the two currently sitting outside, taking a smoke break without a cigar, it was nothing short of jealousy.
“You okay there?” Ches asked Anna, sitting down on the bench beside her. She had left the bustling bar for a so-called smoke break and he decided to follow, getting bored of the shenanigans inside.
Between the slightly glassy eyes, set jaw and clenched hands he could answer that question himself easily, but it felt polite to ask. “Yes.”
He whistled slightly, though unintentionally. A wince usually resulted in a sharp whistle through his missing tooth. “You sure?”
She glared at him. Expected from her, even if he truly didn’t know her that well.
”What do you want?” Anna questioned harshly. It felt like an interrogation where they couldn’t decide the rolls of who was the interrogated and interrogator.
He put his hands up in a mock-surrender. “Just wonderin’ is all,” He said truthfully. “You walked out of a bar upset, wanted to make sure nothin’ bad happened.”
”I’m just taking a smoke break,” She rolled her eyes at him, despite the fact that there was a distinct lack of smoke and things needed to create it. She didn’t even remember if she had a pack or lighter on her at this point.
”Seems like more of a break than a smoke.”
She huffed at him, grumbling as she searched her shallow pockets for one. There wasn’t even a lighter accompanying the empty pack of cigarettes she had forgotten to throw away. Fantastic.
Ches offered her one from the pack now residing in his hand, one having already made its way to his mouth. She grabbed one from the pack, refusing to give a word of thanks. Though she did feel obligated to after he gave up his lighter too when she realized she still didn’t have one.
“So, what’s bothering ya?” He asked, a cloud of smoke falling from his mouth as he spun the cigar in his fingers idly.
”Him,” She responded flatly, as if that was any help. Half the people in the bar could be described that way.
He quirked an eyebrow at her but realization quickly dawned. “Public displays of affection hurting somethin’ in there?”
She sighed, watching the puff of smoke that came with it slowly disappear. “Yeah, yeah,” She responded annoyed.
“Jealous?” He asked, coming out a bit more teasing than he intended.
“Who wouldn’t be?”
”Fair point.” It went silent for a minute. “You’re not jealous of her though,” Ches stated.
“Hm?”
”You don’t just want a loving relationship like them,” Ches elaborated. “You want exactly what he has.”
Anna tried to not look too shocked, though it was easy to mask it with anger. “And what do you know?” She asked harshly. She saw him with a different girl every time she’s met him, though there was a distinct familiarity to each of them.
“I ain’t jealous of him, I’m jealous of her.”
Beyond the slightly annoying crafty way he had of saying it, she quickly understood what he meant. They were in the same boat though on opposite sides.
”Kinda ironic the bridesmaid and best man would rather be up on the podium with one of them, ey?” Ches quipped, attempting to lighten the mood a bit.
She smiled a bit at that, though a scoff did accompany it. “Didn’t know you swung that way,” She commented, keeping the slightly lighter conversation even if their previous one didn’t delve too far deep.
”I swing whatever way,” He shrugged, stamping out his cigarette. “Didn’t know you did either.”
“The masculine girl with bright blue hair?”
”I don’t like to assume.”
She laughed despite herself. She was enjoying her time with him surprisingly, she kind of just expected him to be the same type of conversation partner Glam was. Thankfully he was a fair bit more relatable to her.
”Did you ever tell him?” She asked after a minute of silence, getting back to their original conversation.
”Nah, never felt like it was the right time,” Ches admitted. “He was doing bad, then I was doing bad and when we were both somewhat okay, he fell for Vicky.” It still didn’t feel like the right time, after what had happened, but it was probably the most right it would ever get with them. “What about you?”
”I tried, once. She was too drunk to remember it.”
The air felt heavier suddenly after their admission, though both of them felt lighter.
“Is it bad that sometimes I hope they don’t work out so I get another shot?” Anna asked. It was something she did when there wasn’t noise to fill her head or road to pay attention to.
“Nah, I hoped that everyday when they first got together. That he’d come back alone, but it’s nice seeing them so happy together.”
She sighed, stamping out her cigarette now that it was at the end of its use. “Yeah, just annoyed-“
”It wasn’t you?”
She nodded. There was mutual understanding between them that they were both hopeless romantics that just hope to not grow bitter in the end despite the jealousy running through their blood.
They could be happy for them, even if it meant dying with the fact that they would be happier in one of their places.