It was Friday afternoon when the Bad Kids burst through the door of Seacaster Manor. “Popcorn and then movie!” Kristen yelled like it was her house, though she and Adaine were the reason everyone was there. Over lunch that day they’d all discovered that neither of them had ever seen Star Battles. They’d all agreed that it needed immediate fixing and Fabian had a theater room at his house where they always had their movie nights.
Riz was a little surprised when Cathilda didn’t appear suddenly to offer them popcorn already popped and perfectly salted. Instead, the whole group moved into the kitchen and sat on the counter or at the stools while Gorgug started popping the popcorn at the stove. They had quickly discovered that Gorgug and Riz were the only ones in the group who knew how to cook. Fig and Kristen were better if it was a campfire, but Adaine and Fabian were totally useless beyond sandwiches.
Riz was sitting on the counter listening to Fig and Fabian argue about which order to watch the Star Battles movies, chronological to the story or release date, when Hallariel swept gracefully into the room. “Fabian, I thought I heard you come in,” she said kissing Fabian on the cheek. Then turned to Riz said “The Ball,” and kissed him on the cheek as well.
Everyone froze, staring at her but she didn’t seem to notice any of them. Not even Kristen who was mouthing “what the fuck” over and over again just a few feet to her left.
“Fabian’s friends,” she said waving her hand at them but still focused on Riz. “Is your mother still working night shifts?”
“Mama,” Fabian cut in.
“What? I just thought of it today but if she’s still working night shifts we can have them over for breakfast,” she said, looking a little confused by his interrupting her. Or by his blatant nervousness. She turned back to Riz. “Cathilda thought it was a marvelous idea.”
Riz nodded because he didn’t know what else to do with her focused on him. Fabian did not get his intensity just from his father. “She’s not working nights anymore.” He tried to ignore everyone else because now Fig was standing behind Hallariel having joined the silent chorus of “what the fuck?”
“But she’s still very busy,” Fabian said. He looked panicked as he stared at Riz over his mother’s shoulder, silently begging for something. He was also blushing so hard it looked like he might faint. “Isn’t she, The Ball?”
“Yeah. She is. Busy,” Riz said. Distantly, he registered the smell of burning popcorn but couldn’t turn away from Hallariel to mention it to Gorgug who had also frozen to watch this.
“Oh, well ask her for me, dear, about dinner on Sunday. Say seven o’clock? She can bring Gorthalax as well, of course.” Hallariel patted him once gently on the cheek with a smile before turning back to Fabian. “I’ll be on the patio if you need me.” Then she swept back out of the room.
Everyone was frozen in silence for a minute until the smell of burning popcorn got stronger. “Shit,” Gorgug said, moving it off the heat.
“What the fuck?” Fig and Kristen asked in unison. Except they were looking at Riz who did not at all have the answers they were looking for.
He turned to Fabian. “What the fuck?”
“Forget it. Your mother doesn’t need to come to dinner. Just forget any of that happened,” he said, waving a hand around the way he did whenever he got flustered.
“Uh no,” Kristen said.
Fig turned to Adaine. “Is that what it’s like to have a parent like a sibling more? Like it hurt so bad when she called us all ‘Fabian’s friends’ but Riz gets his name.”
“She called me The Ball, that’s not really the same thing.”
“I mean it’s like that but less confusing. Because at least I knew my parents liked Aelwyn better. I have no idea what just happened,” Adaine said, completely ignoring Riz.
“Riz, did you or your mom solve a case for her?” Gorgug asked.
“That would make sense. Yeah, did you?” Kristen asked, leaning forward.
“Yeah, is that why you’re the favorite now?” Fig asked.
“Okay, I’m still clearly the favorite,” Fabian said, but everyone ignored him.
“I don’t think so? But maybe my mom did and she didn’t tell me.” That didn’t feel like the right answer. His mom solved lots of cases without telling him about it but if it had involved the Seacasters she would have mentioned it. A little. Probably.
“Text her! Ask her,” Fig said.
“Absolutely not!” Fabian said.
Riz turned to him. “Why not? Do you know why your mom wants us to have dinner?”
Fabian opened his mouth but no noise came out as he waved a hand around and shook his head.
“Fabian?” Adaine asked slowly.
“My mother is under the impression that The Ball and I…” Fabian started only to trail off into incoherent mumbling.
“What?” Riz asked.
“You heard me.”
“No one heard you,” Fig said.
“My mother thinks that The Ball and I…” he said only to trail off again. He wasn’t looking anyone in the eye anymore and was instead staring at the far wall.
“We still can’t hear you,” Gorgug said.
“Dating!” Fabian shouted.
“Your mom thinks you and I are dating?” Riz asked, his voice going much higher pitched and nearly cracking at the end. He started sweating.
“Are you?” Kristen asked, eyes wide.
“No!” Fabian and Riz yelled together. For very different reasons. Fabian was probably embarrassed that someone thought that he would date Riz. Fabian was out of Riz’s league by such a long shot that it wasn’t until after Spring Break of their sophomore year that he even publicly admitted to being best friends with Riz.
Riz was embarrassed because he very much wished that he was dating Fabian and was desperate for no one, especially Fabian, to ever find out.
“So, why does she think that?” Gorgug asked, putting on another batch of popcorn.
“I don’t know,” Fabian snapped.
“You don’t know?” Adaine asked.
“No, I don’t,” Fabian lied with his head held high.
There was a moment of stunned silence – except for the sound of popcorn. Then Fig whistled. “Wow, you’re a bad liar.”
“I am not!”
“Oh yeah, you are. Now I’m even more sure that you know exactly why,” Fig said.
Gorgug turned to Riz. “Popcorn bowl?”
Riz hopped off the counter and pulled it out of the cabinet where he knew the two large bowls that they used for popcorn were kept. Kristen looked at him as he did and cocked her head to the side.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Kristen said with a smile. “You just know your way around Fabian’s house really well.”
“I know my way around your house too!” Riz argued at the same time Fabian said “We’re here all the time!”
“Just saying. Maybe you are dating and forgot to tell us?” Kristen said. “We’d forgive you.”
“I might not,” Fig said.
Riz put the bowls on the counter next to Gorgug.
“Thank you,” Gorgug said, pouring the popcorn in.
“You’re welcome,” Riz said like he was making a point to the rest of the group.
A little butter and salt later while Fabian continued to deny knowing why his mother thought he was dating Riz and they were off to the theater room.
All the couches in the room were mismatched because they had all been the products of Bill Seacaster’s raiding. Why he stole couches was beyond Riz but it worked out well for them. Everyone had a spot that they liked and was comfortable. Kristen always sat on the same couch as Gorgug, leaning up against him. Fig sprawled out on her own with her feet kicked up on the armrest. Fabian did the same on another that was close enough that they sometimes started kicking each other if the movie got boring. There was a large overstuffed armchair that Riz liked to curl up in. And Adaine sat curled up against the arm of a chaise lounge, sometimes with her books spread out on the rest as she only half-watched whatever was on the screen.
Everyone took their usual spots but before Fabian could get the movie started Adaine spoke. “So let’s pretend that we don’t all want to know why your mother thinks you’re dating Riz. Why does she want to have dinner with him and Sklonda?”
Fabian sighed and burrowed a little into his sheet. “I think it’s part of her whole trying to take a more active interest in my life after papa died thing,” he said flippantly. Everyone knew it wasn’t flippant though. Fabian loved his mother and needed her and missed his father so much sometimes it nearly knocked him back. He was always pleased when she showed an interest, even when she just asked about his day. And the times she’d come to his bloodrush games even the members of the Bad Kids who were in the bleachers could see how much harder he was pushing himself to impress her.
“Okay,” Riz said, taking out his phone and texting his mother to see if she was busy on Sunday.
“What?” Fabian asked, suspicious.
“I’m asking my mom. I’ll have to tell her the score because if she thinks we were having sleepovers while I was lying about dating you she’ll kill me. But she’s cool,” Riz said, shrugging. He was trying to be cool because a good best friend who wasn’t totally in love with you would be cool about a fake date. Totally cool. And not at all sweating like Riz was. He loosened his tie a little just to be able to breathe.
“You’re a genius!” Fig yelled. “You can find out at dinner!”
“Absolutely not!” Fabian said.
“I won’t dig! Promise!” Riz said throwing up his hands. “Mom says I have to start leaving some things as mysteries and this would be a great place to start.”
Fabian eyed him suspiciously. Riz was able to look away because his mom had texted back.
Dinner with the Seacasters? I guess if you want to do that I was just going to chill at home.
Cool! Fabian needs me to pretend to be his boyfriend for his mom. I promise we’re not really dating.
The three dots popped up and disappeared a few times before she settled on a message. I’ll be cool about it. Are you okay?
Yeah. I’m fine. Love you. ttyl
“Mom said she’ll come,” Riz said looking up at Fabian whose whole face had closed off.
“Fine,” Fabian said in a tone Riz couldn't decipher. Then Fabian pressed play and the room was quiet.
Riz tried not to take it personally, it was a weird situation and all their friends were just watching it happen, waiting for more information. Still, Riz felt a sliver of self-consciousness settle in his chest. Maybe it’d been the wrong move to accept the invitation. Who knew how long Fabian had been dodging the invitation on their behalf if Hallariel thought his mom was still on night shifts. He couldn’t help shooting looks over at Fabian the rest of the night, and he caught a few of the others doing the same thing, but Fabian’s eyes never left the screen.
It was a much more awkward movie night than usual, dead silent in the room except for the crunching of popcorn. They were never that quiet even if everyone liked the movie. They turned it off after only one movie instead of starting the next, they’d planned to get through at least one of the trilogies tonight. But after one Kristen started yawning dramatically and so did Gorgug.
“I’ll drive The Ball back. We have to work out some logistics for dinner,” Fabian said quietly as the rest of the group started to leave in the Hangvan.
“Cool. See you two Monday,” Kristen said with an awkward wave.
“Try not to have too much fun at dinner without us,” Fig said with a wink as she left.
Then it was just them, sitting in a room with too many couches not talking.
“I didn’t even know you could plan logistics,” Riz tried to joke, but it was strained and awkward even to his own ears.
“Fuck off. Let’s go. We can talk at your place so my mother doesn’t overhear,” Fabian said, grabbing his sheet and jacket.
Riz followed quietly, feeling more unsure around Fabian than he had during spring break after he caught pneumonia.
He got on the back of the Hangman and held on to Fabian’s waist, keeping his grip as light as possible. The Hangman knew he was there and despite his general dislike of Riz he never actively tried to throw Riz off. He was careful with all of them because Fabian loved them.
When they got to Strongtower Luxury Apartments Riz got off the bike and turned back to Fabian who still had a vaguely distant look in his eye.
“She thinks we’ve been dating since winter formal,” Fabian said suddenly. That had been in early December. Now it was late February.
“We didn’t go to winter formal.” The Bad Kids, the Seven Maidens, and all their respective partners had taken a road trip to the beach and had a bonfire instead. They’d stayed up until the dawn started to break and then fallen asleep in their vans until people had sobered up enough to drive home. It had been a lot of fun, and Riz hadn’t had to worry about finding a date.
“She won’t care about that. But she thinks I asked you to be my date,” Fabian explained.
“Okay. Then we started dating then. Are we serious?” Riz asked, mentally separating himself from the problem as best he could as if it were a case and not his life.
Fabian shrugged but nodded. “I guess. I haven’t told her that you told me you love me or anything if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Okay. Do we have to hold hands or kiss or whatever?” he asked trying to be cool. So cool. He was being a friend. God, why couldn’t Fabian have pretended to be dating Ragh instead?
“If you want. If she asks I can just tell her you’re very private. And we’re in front of our parents so it’s like weird.”
They were quiet for a while neither of them looking at the other. “I’m sorry,” Riz said suddenly. “I can call it off with my mom if you want. I thought it would help but now you’re mad at me. We don’t have to do this. It’s weird isn’t it?”
“A little,” Fabian agreed with a laugh. “But I started it. And I...appreciate the help.”
“Of course. What are friends for?” Riz said with a laugh he hoped didn’t sound as weird to Fabian as it did to him. “Will you tell me why your mom thinks you asked me to winter formal?”
Fabian shook his head. “I really don’t know.”
“You’re so full of shit.”
“Bye, The Ball. I’ll see you and Sklonda on Sunday. Don’t forget to invite Gorthalax,” he yelled as the Hangman started to take off down the street.
Riz stared after him for a long time. He was so totally fucked.
Riz really was trying to leave things as mysteries. Especially when it came to his friends. They were allowed to have secrets and he wanted to respect that but he couldn’t help what his mind wanted to think about right before he fell asleep. And all he wanted was to unravel why Hallariel thought that Riz and Fabian were dating.
So, logically, Riz didn’t go to sleep. He just stayed up focusing on other things so that he would never have time to think about it. He was doing research for their Junior project, making sure everything would be ready for their spring break adventure. Maybe if he’d been better prepared their sophomore year would have gone a bit better.
But Sunday evening still came faster than he was expecting. He put on his best shirt-vest-tie combo, combed his hair, left the hat sitting on his dresser, and tried not to fidget whenever his mother looked at him. She’d been giving him odd concerned looks all weekend like she was waiting for him to break. The not sleeping hadn’t helped that.
“Why are we doing this again?” she asked. They were just waiting for Gorthalax and then they’d be on their way. He was in on it too and had agreed not to tell Fig anything that happened at dinner.
“Fabian’s mom thinks we’re dating and she wants us all to have dinner,” Riz said with a shrug.
“Yes, but why?”
“I don’t know why she wants to have dinner with us.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You know what I’m asking.”
Riz sighed. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, but Fabian needs my help. What if she finds out he was lying and decides not to get involved like this again? She’s already kinda distant and weird and Fabian doesn’t do distant and weird. He does close up and weird,” Riz said his hands moving a bit too fast as he explained.
“First of all, I’m not being dragged into anything, I agreed to do this,” she said, gently grabbing his hands. “Second, it’s nice that you want to protect your friends. But you also need to remember that you can’t fix everything for them.”
“I’m not fixing anything!” Riz said, trying to stuff down the rise of emotion that came up at that. Nothing was being fixed tonight. Everything was still going to be as weird and uncomfortable as it had been the last few days. And what was worse was that now Riz’s crush was going to be truly out of control. A whole night of knowing what it would be like to be Fabian’s boyfriend could only make that worse.
“That I will agree with,” Sklonda said with a sigh. There was a knock on the door and she went to the door to open it. Gorthalax was there in a suit jacket instead of his usual coach’s windbreaker and kissed Sklonda on the cheek.
“Are we ready to go?” he asked.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” she said grabbing her purse. As she was locking the door behind them she turned to Riz. “Have you asked yourself why Fabian told her that he was dating you?”
Riz shook his head. “We don’t know that he did that.”
“Hallariel doesn’t seem the type to jump to those kinds of conclusions, kiddo,” Gorthalax said with a smile and a shrug.
Riz sighed. “Can we just go?”
The ride to the house was uncomfortable as Riz had known it would be, sitting in the backseat, staring out the window and trying not to think about what his mom and Gorthalax had said. He texted Fabian to let him know they were on their way and got a thumbs up emoji in response.
When they arrived Riz barely stopped himself from just going in and yelling to let Cathilda and Fabian know that it was just them and not to attack. Cathilda opened the door with a wide smile and Fabian stood a few feet behind her with his biggest fakest smile.
“Right on time,” she said letting them in. “Dinner will be ready in just a tick.”
“Thank you,” Sklonda said with a smile.
“Master Fabian, can you show them to the dining room while I finish up? Your mother and Gilear are already in there.”
“Yes of course. This way,” Fabian said without moving. His smile faltered as soon as Cathilda wasn’t looking.
Riz laughed at him.
“This isn’t funny, The Ball,” Fabian snapped at him.
“It’s a little funny,” Sklonda said, barely stifling her own laugh.
Riz walked up to him and in a flash of courage grabbed his hand. Like a boyfriend. It sent a rush of electricity down his spine. “Are you going to show us to the dining room? You have like twelve.”
Fabian squeezed his hand and scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic, we only have three.” He started to lead them down the hall and whenever Fabian looked over at him Riz made sure to smile his most reassuring smile. Which he knew was a little lacking in the reassuring part, but Fabian seemed to accept it.
“Only three dining rooms,” Sklonda said quietly to Gorthalax.
The room was the same one that they usually used when the Bad Kids had dinner over at Seacaster Manor. It was kind of comforting to be in this room; like he wasn’t quite so out of place. Fabian sat next to his mother on one side of the table, Gilear on her other side. Gorthalax sat across the table from him, Sklonda across from Hallariel, and Riz across from Fabian.
“I’ve been so looking forward to this,” Hallariel said with an easy smile. She looked like she really had, like having this dinner was important to her somehow. Fabian was fidgeting with his fork. Not for the first time Riz wished he had the message spell so that he could reassure Fabian that Gorthalax and Sklonda were in on it.
“Me too. I’ve been so busy with work but it’s nice to finally get together,” Sklonda said with an easy smile.
Cathilda arrived a second later with six precariously stacked bowls of soup and a bottle of wine. They could do this, Riz reminded himself. It was easy. He had everyone on his side and they were already starting dinner. It couldn’t take that long.
Two hours later and they were just finishing up dinner. They moved into a sitting room while Hallariel recounted a story about her fencing to everyone. As it turned out Hallariel and Sklonda got along surprisingly well and had spent the night chatting about their own past adventures while making the occasional jab at Fabian and Riz. Usually, it was Hallariel mentioning how easy it was to fall in love when on an adventure, or it was Sklonda saying something about how easy it was to get in over your heads and agree to stupid things.
Fabian sat in the corner of one of the couches and Riz sat next to him because that’s what a boyfriend would do. Fabian smiled at him tightly but pulled him a little closer so that Riz was pressed up against his side, warm and comfortable. Like a boyfriend.
Two days was not the longest he had gone without sleep, but he found himself drifting while Gorthalax started to tell a story about something he did before he’d been trapped in the gem. The first gem. It was something about a restaurant he’d been to a few hundred years ago and Hallariel had mentioned in her story.
He woke suddenly to his pillow jostling and sputtering something like “No, of course not, he’s The Ball.” Which didn’t make sense until he realized he’d fallen asleep on Fabian. Riz pretended to still be asleep because he was curious and sometimes he was still bad at letting mysteries be mysteries.
“Fabian,” Sklonda whispered from somewhere in front of them.
Fabian sighed and Riz felt fingers gently run through his hair. “We’re really not dating,” he said quietly. Hallariel and Gilear must not have been in the room. He wondered where they were.
“I know,” she whispered.
“I didn't mean for this to happen. I told mama about my crush one day and then she just wanted me to ask him out, saying we weren’t cowards in this family. So I told her I did. And when I started to say that he said no she started to get mad at him and I didn’t want that. He wasn’t supposed to find out,” Fabian said, his hand that had been running through Riz’s hair going to rest on Riz’s side instead.
Riz pressed himself closer while still pretending to be asleep. His heart was threatening to beat out of his chest and his mind was racing so fast he was dizzy. Crush? Fabian had a crush on him? What? When? How? What? Crush?
“Oh kiddo. How did you think he wasn’t going to find out?” she asked.
“I was going to pretend to break up with him,” Fabian said.
“Instead of just asking him out for real?”
Riz felt Fabian shake his head. “What if he said no and then never wanted to hang out because he thought it was weird and I made it awkward. He’s my best friend. I’ve never had a best friend before,” Fabian whispered.
Something deep in Riz’s chest ached. How could Fabian think that he would ever lose Riz over something so stupid? How could he not know that Riz was absolutely one hundred percent head over heels for him?
Riz felt Fabian's leg shake and he thought his mom had probably patted him on the knee. “Lying wasn’t the solution to that.”
Fabian nodded. “I’m sorry he dragged you into this.”
“You dragged him into this and he dragged me,” Sklonda said. “And I dragged in Gorthalax who I should probably go find. It’s late and I have work in the morning.”
“Yes, Gilear will talk for hours about the yogurt-making process and all the flavors. It’s gross and weird,” Fabian said. For a second the arm wrapped around Riz’s side tightened. “The Ball can stay here tonight.”
Sklonda sighed from somewhere above Riz. “This is the first he’s slept in days. Alright, but no funny business.”
“Yes ma’am.”
She ruffled her fingers through his hair and then she was walking away with her steps growing fainter by the second.
Riz couldn’t wake up now, then Fabian would know he heard all of that. And then he’d deny everything and act weird and they’d be stuck like that forever. He started to count back from five hundred. When he hit one it would be enough time that he could pretend to wake up and they could talk and then maybe Fabian would be his real boyfriend.
Gently, Fabian started to move around, and then the battle sheet was draped over both of them, plenty warm from the fire elemental living inside of it. Fabian settled further into the couch and pulled Riz closer again before kissing him lightly on the head.
Riz didn’t even get to four hundred before he was asleep again.
He woke up the next morning to the sound of Cathilda setting down two mugs on the coffee table in front of them.
“Good morning. You’ll have to get ready for school soon, but you’ve got time for a nice breakfast first,” she said when she saw him open his eyes.
“Thank you,” he croaked, voice rough from sleep. He sat up and reached for the coffee. He loved having coffee here in the morning. It was always perfect.
“I’ll come get you when it’s done. There’s a spare toothbrush in the guest bathroom across from Master Fabian's room. Bottom drawer. And I believe you left a change of clothes the last time you were here. It’s in Master Fabian’s closet. Bottom shelf on the right.” She patted Fabian on the shoulder twice before she left the room, startling him awake.
“Oh, The Ball. You woke me,” Fabian said, reaching for the coffee.
Riz opened his mouth to correct him but it didn’t seem worth it. Suddenly he remembered the conversation he’d overheard the night before and burned himself taking too big of a drink. “I’m gonna go change for school.”
Fabian nodded. “You left clothes…”
“Bottom shelf on the right, Cathilda already told me,” Riz said before escaping upstairs with his coffee. Once he had his clothes and had escaped to the bathroom he took a deep breath. Okay, he needed a plan.
Goal: get Fabian to be my for real boyfriend instead of just lying to people about it.
Step 1: ????
He could just tell Fabian that he’d overheard him the night before and if he talked fast enough maybe Riz could get out that he wasn’t mad before Fabian started to talk over him. Riz didn’t know if he could talk that fast though.
After he’d finished changing he went back downstairs to the kitchen where Cathilda had laid out their breakfast already. Fabian joined him before long and they ate breakfast in dead silence, Fabian shooting him odd looks like he was trying to read Riz but couldn’t. Riz decided to tell Fabian after breakfast but as soon as they were done Fabian rushed off to find his keys so they could leave.
On the Hangman Riz let himself rest his forehead between Fabian’s shoulder blades when they started to go a little faster, smiling a little to himself when he felt Fabian go tense and then relax completely.
They parked in the spot next to the Hangvan that they always parked in and hopped off. “Uh,” Riz said, breaking the awkward silence between them. If it got any worse Riz was never going to get this out.
“You’re not going to tell anyone about last night, right? They know but they don’t need to know,” Fabian asked, looking a little more desperate than he probably wanted to.
“No, they’re gonna be obnoxious but it’s no big deal,” Riz said with a shrug.
Fabian’s shoulders relaxed again.
“I was gonna say that…I liked being your fake boyfriend. If you wanted to be my real boyfriend sometime that might be fun,” Riz said, already kicking himself. Fun? That wasn’t how you asked someone out.
Fabian just stared at him, eyes wide.
After nearly a full minute of silence, Riz started to consider stealth-ing under the Hangvan and hiding until the end of the day. Riz had to look away from Fabian’s staring and saw their friends were watching them from the other side of the parking lot waiting. Fuck, now he was going to get rejected by Fabian – who he had just spent his night cuddling with – in front of all their friends.
The bell rang.
“We should probably-”
“Yes. I would. Yes. After school. We could go to the movies. If you wanted. Or Basrar’s? Or whatever. Or not. No big deal,” Fabian said in his this-is-a-big-deal voice.
Riz smiled and nodded, then started walking towards the school. They really were going to be late. Fabian scrambled to pat the Hangman goodbye and then catch up, his hand slipping into Riz’s like Riz had done to him the night before.
Across the parking lot, their friends started screaming.