Falling For My BestFriend

Chapter 04

When Kevin walked in class on Monday morning he was surprised to see Arthur and Noelle already there and happily chatting away. He approached them and sat next to Arthur.

"Hey man." Arthur said and moved his hand towards Kevin to do their handshake.

"Hey. Hi Noelle." He greeted them and Noelle waved at him with a smile. After the teacher did attend and gave some unimportant announcements they were free to talk until the bell rang.

"I have to tell you guys something!" Noelle exclaimed with a bright smile and they both looked at her curiously.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"I met a guy! And we're going on a date Saturday!" She said and both boys were stunned.

Kevin was surprised because he knew she was in love with Arthur but he guessed she decided to move on so he was happy for her.

"I'm happy for you Noelle. I hope it works out." He genuinely said and Noelle beamed at him.

They both glanced at Arthur who was awfully quiet and noticed his stiff form.

"Where did you meet him?" He asked quietly.

"I met him at the grocery store. He helped me carry my stuff and then he bought me coffee and asked for my number." She answered.

"What if he's dangerous? You don't even know him!" Arthur suddenly shouted and people looked at them while Noelle glared.

"I'm not stupid. I would know if he's dangerous. He told me he goes to Ridge High and I saw his school ID when he opened his wallet to pay for coffee. He seemed like a really Jamese guy who treats girls the way they deserve to be treated." She muttered the last part in anger which was clearly directed at Arthur.

"What's his name?" Arthur asked, ignoring her jab at him.

"Leon" she said and both boys' eyes widened.

"You can't date him!" Arthur exclaimed and Kevin silently agreed.

"Why not?" Noelle asked, completely confused when Kevin nodded to what Arthur had said.

"He's a douchebag! He almost got me kicked out of the soccer team because of a stupid fight he started for no reason and he's the captain of the soccer team of Ridge High. You know our rivalry with them!" Arthur exclaimed.

"That doesn't concern me." Noelle said with a dismissive shrug and Kevin's eyes widened in shock while a flash of hurt passed through Arthur's eyes and just at that moment the bell rang.

Arthur grabbed his bag and roughly got out of his seat and left the classroom.

"Why would you say that?" Kevin asked Noelle as they walked out of class.

"He did the same exact thing last week. He "dated" a girl I hated. I don't have anything to do with his feud with Leon." She replied and Kevin sighed.

"Look Arthur broke things off with the girl. He wasn't serious about her and the rivalry he has with Leon is far deeper than your problem with the girl." Kevin answered knowing that the only reason she hated the girl was because she made them get a bad grade on an assignment and blamed it on Noelle.

"Look, I'll talk to Arthur about it. I'm going now." She said and left while Kevin shook his in exasperation and left to go to math class.

He entered the class and sat next to James who was scribbling on his notebook.

"Hey." Kevin smiled and James closed his notebook to give his full attention to the boy next to him.

"Good morning." He gave a small smile back to him before asking him how his morning went. Kevin went on to explain the new arised problem between Arthur and Noelle while James intently listened.

"So Arthur was already acting weird before he found out it was Leon?" James asked and Kevin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah? But what's that gotta do with this?" He asked dumbly and James chuckled ruffling the clueless boys' hair.

"I think Arthur likes Noelle a little more than we first thought." James explained. "It doesn't matter if the boy was Leon or anyone else Arthur would still have been against it. The fact that it's Leon just made it worse for him."

Kevin's eyes widened in shock and he replayed the moments that happened in the homeroom in his brain, how silent and stiff Arthur got when he found out about Noelle's date.

"Oh my god! He likes her!" Kevin exclaimed with big eyes and James smiled at the boy's excitement.

"He's so stupid." Kevin groaned. "He could just tell her and then they could be together and no girl or guy would be able to come between them."

"I know. But I think Noelles should still go out with Leon. She's been chasing after Arthur for years and the way he treated her wasn't the best. He needs to see what he could lose and she needs to see there's more to the world than just Arthur." James said wisely but Kevin thought otherwise.

"Shouldn't we just tell Noelle that he likes her?" He asked and James shook his head.

"I don't think Arthur knows himself. And it's not our place to tell her about his feelings. He should figure it out himself and tell her" James told him and Kevin sighed.

"I guess you're right. I just don't want to see those two suffer." He said with a pout.

"I know b—Kevin, I know." James said softly and grabbed Kevin's hand under the table and started stroking his knuckles with his thumb as a comforting gesture.

Kevin's worries instantly washed away at the comforting touch and he relaxed facing the front of the class where the teacher was rambling away. They spent the rest of the class holding hands under the table and working on a math worksheet with their other one.

-

At the end of the day Kevin left the school and found James and Arthur talking. James, as usual, was the first to notice his presence. It was an odd thing he could do but every time Kevin was in the same room or around James he could feel his presence immediately.

"Hey." James smiled at him when he walked over to them and ruffled his already messy hair like usual.

"Hi!" Kevin beamed at him before looking at Arthur with a smile which was different from the one he gave James. Arthur chuckled to himself and smiled back at Kevin.

"Do you guys want to go to the pizza place?" Arthur asked. "It's been a while since we hung out. My treat."

"Yes!" Kevin chirped excitedly. "Free food!"

James smiled at Kevin's excitement before agreeing as well and they all started walking to the small restaurant which was right around the corner.

"Are you nervous for your first game of the year?" Kevin asked Arthur as they sat down in one of the booths.

"No." Arthur smirked and James rolled his eyes at his cockiness. "We're going to beat their asses."

"Who are you playing against?" James asked and discreetly grabbed Kevin's hand under the table. They don't show too much affection in public since Kevin easily got anxious when people looked at him.

They hug once in a while and ruffle each other's hair which James mostly does, but other than that they show their affection when it's only them or around Kevin's family since they're used to seeing them so affectionate since they were young.

"Ridge High." Arthur sneered with anger and the atmosphere in the table shifted at his tone.

"Oh." Kevin mumbled.

"I'm sure you guys will win." James said supportively and Arthur's tense shoulders relaxed and he shot James a quick smile.

"Thanks man."

Their conversation got cut off when a waitress walked towards their table. "Hello, I'm Rebeca, your waitress for the day, are you guys ready to order?" She asked politely.

"We'd like one large half cheese and half pepperoni pizza please." Arthur said and she nodded, noting it down before asking about drinks.

"I'd like a coke."

"Sprite."

"Can I have-um- a sprite as well?" Kevin said and the waitress looked at him before her eyes raked over his face to his body with a flirty smile that made James's hand tightened around Kevin's and Kevin awkwardly coughed.

"Yes I'll be right there with your drinks!" She said and left the table which made Kevin sigh in relief as her attention went away.

"She totally just checked you out dude!" Arthur exclaimed then slyly glanced at James who shot him a deadly glare that only made him smile in amusement.

"Oh.." Kevin said, unsure of what else to say.

"Why don't you try to get her number?" Arthur egged on and James growled under his breath and harshly kicked Arthur's leg under the table.

"No she's not really my type." Kevin said oblivious to James's anger and Arthur's amusement.

"Then what's your type?" Arthur asked with a grin and Kevin shrugged.

"I don't know, I've never really liked anyone." He answered but his eyes strayed to James who was still glaring at Arthur with anger.

"Are you okay?" He noticed his best friend's expression and James glanced down at him.

"I'm fine." His glare melted into a soft smile reserved only for Kevin.

Just then the waitress returned to the table and set down their drinks and left the table but not without shooting another sultry smile at Kevin who only shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Kevin told me what happened this morning." James said and Arthur's mood immediately changed.

James wasn't about to bring it up but after what Arthur did he figured some payback wouldn't hurt.

"Don't you think Noelle deserves to date for once?" He said innocently while Arthur's eyes filled with fury.

"But not with that jackass!" Arthur exclaimed loudly and Kevin flinched at the noise while some people around them looked at them with annoyance.

"Okay maybe I'll set her up on some blind dates if it doesn't work with Leon." James continued to push Arthur's button and Kevin sighed.

This side of James only came out around Arthur. They loved to anger each other out and see who would explode first and since James is better at controlling his emotions it was always Arthur.

"She's not going on dates with anyone!" Arthur hissed and James smirked.

"Why not?" He retorted and Kevin squeezed his hand in warning.

"Because because..." Arthur trailed off not knowing why she couldn't go on dates.

Thankfully the waitress returned with their pizza and saved Arthur from his misery.

"Here you go. Enjoy." She smiled directly at Kevin and then dropped a napkin from her hand on the table and left.

Kevin grabbed the napkin and glanced at it to see a number and a small note written underneath it.

-Call me, Rebeca ♡

Before he could even read the note properly the napkin was ripped from his hand. Kevin looked at James with surprise to see him tightly clenching the napkin in his fist, making his knuckles turn white.

"What are you doing James?" Arthur innocently asked but was internally laughing his a*s off.

"He doesn't need it." James growled and Kevin's eyes widened. It was the first time that James reacted like this, but then again it wasn't every day that someone flirted with Kevin so openly in front of James.

James crumpled the paper before getting up and throwing it in the trash can and made sure the waitress could see him doing it. He shot her a deadly glare that made her scurry back in the back room and he returned back to sit next to Kevin feeling satisfied.

He calmly opened the pizza box before grabbing a pepperoni piece and giving it to Kevin and then grabbing a cheese one for himself.

"Thanks." Kevin murmured with a racing heart. He didn't know why but the thought of James being angry because someone was trying to catch his interest pleased him.

He didn't feel angry that James threw away the number, instead he felt weirdly overjoyed at it.

"Well that was entertaining." Arthur laughed and grabbed a piece for himself, trying to shove it all in his mouth, making the boys scrunch up their faces in disgust.