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Nikandros looked around the bar as he noticed it was well past the agreed time of their meeting. Damen was supposed to introduce his new boyfriend to him, Pallas, and Makedon after meeting the guy's parents and older brother for the first time. Damen had never been as nervous and eager to impress his partner's family as he was then which, to Nikandros, was another clue that something was extremely wrong.
"Finally!" exclaimed Makedon as he saw Pallas balancing a tray full of griva and various other substances Nikandros had an inkling he'd need plenty of tonight. "If I had to hear one more drunk person thinking they're the next Celine Dion, I'd start chugging this poor excuse of a thing they call beer".
"I'd be worried someone had replaced you while I was gone if that happened," chuckled Pallas. "What's with the long face, Nik?"
"Damen's never late. This new boyfriend of his must be the reason for his sudden time management issue", said Nikandros, reasonably. He hadn't even met Laurent and he already disliked the man, which had to be some sort of record for him.
"Relax, it's been just ten minutes," Pallas said while rolling his eyes. "Besides, even if the boyfriend was the cause, wouldn't you be happy for Damen? He hasn't been in a relationship since Jokaste, let him have fun."
Nikandros huffed, ready to state exactly how happy he was when a familiar figure entered the bar. Damen wove through the crowd easily and led someone at his side. Despite his best efforts, Nikandros couldn't see the 'Laurent' Damen never shut up about these days. With a sense of foreboding, Nikandros took a gulp of Griva.
It didn't take long for Damen to spot the group and make his way to them. He took his hand off Laurent's waist and started apologizing, but Nikandros couldn't hear a single word. His eyes naturally traveled up until they, alongside his already muddled brain froze and stopped functioning.
'Gorgeous' wasn't adequate to describe the guy. He had a lean but well-sculpted body, blond hair, blu e eyes . A pretty face. Nikandros felt sick.
As Damen began introducing his boyfriend to Pallas and Makedon, Nikandros screamed mentally and glared at the couple without trying to hide how he felt. He vaguely took note of how Laurent tried to disguise his true nature by acting polite. His friends might be gullible enough to buy it, but not Nikandros. When Laurent stuck his hand out for a handshake, Nikandros looked at it, then stared right into his big, doe eyes until the fake smile turned strained.
"Sorry, he's usually not like this", said Damen, while nervously rubbing the back of his neck and telling Nikandros to behave with his eyes.
"Oh, yeah he took a shot of Griva earlier and you know how he is. I bet Laurent could drink more than Nikandros", Makedon laughed, unaware of the effect his words would have.
Nikandros would have brushed the comment off as one of Makedon's toothless jokes if not for Laurent's small chuckle.
Oh, so the game was on. It was so on.
As the night progressed, Nikandros took a careful note of everything Laurent did. How he clung to Damen like a kitten, how he tried to turn his charm on Pallas and Makedon, probably trying to flirt with them. But most of all, he paid attention to the number of shots of griva he took, determined to prove his superiority over him.
Without noticing it, Nikandros started laughing more and more, until he couldn't say a word without bursting into laughter. Meanwhile, Laurent only looked flushed and dazed, which made Damen cuddle and fawn over him like he was some sort of baby cow in need of pampering. But not until he managed to receive a wholly undeserved compliment from Makedon.
Not even Jokaste had managed to make Damen look this soft and loving. Nikandros knew that the more vulnerable his best friend was, the more it would break his heart when Laurent inevitably did something not even Damen could forgive.
Nikandros nodded to himself as he came to the natural conclusion as to what his next step should be. He stood up abruptly and shook off Damen's hands as he tried to stabilize him. He could walk just fine. In fact, he could even take the stairs without falling, which felt like the biggest achievement for some reason.
Nikandros had warned Damen over and over again about dating blond vipers with blue eyes, but he never listened. He even told him in confidence that Laurent was different. The worst part was that he truly believed that.
Fine , thought Nikandros as he bent down and painstakingly typed in the song's name, if he doesn't want to hear me out, I'll let Carrie herself explain it to him.
As the first second of the song started and the beat dropped, he saw the look of pure horror appear on Damen's face. He also noticed Pallastaking his phones out and recording something in his direction. Weird.
Damen stood up, undoubtedly so he could stop Nikandros from giving him the cold hard truth in front of the whole crowd, but Makedon stopped him. Of course, he understood the need for the public lesson as he often witnessed Damen's inability to listen to his pleas in private .
"You better take it from me
That boy is like a disease"
A couple of people cheered from the crowd and Nikandros felt a little better about his singing after nearly missing his cue to start. He almost grinned until the next lines made him remember the great peril his dear best friend was putting himself in.
"You're running, you're trying, you're trying to hide
And you're wonderin' why you can't get free"
He looked directly at Damen in case he missed the very subtle meaning of his choice of song . Unsurprisingly, Damen was trying to hide his face in his hands, no doubt in repentance. The leach, though looked amused. Not for long, Nikandros reminded himself with a giggle.
"He's like a curse, he's like a drug
You'll get addicted to his love
You wanna get out, but he's holding you down
'Cause you can't live without one more touch"
Thinking about his friend's predicament made Nikandros incredibly sad. He had a big heart and was quick to give it away, trusting the person to treat it tenderly. Nikandros bravely held back the tears as he sang the words and at the same time, tried to reassure Damen that he wouldn't let him get hurt. Not anymore.
"He's a, a good time cowboy Casanova
Leaning up against the record machine
He looks like a cool drink of water, but he's candy-coated misery
He's the Devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't wanna fight
You better run for your life"
As he sang the last words, he pointed his finger at Damen and Laurent. Ignoring Pallas and Makedon's Laughter, he could see that Damen wasn't taking his (well, Carrie's) words to heart. He wasn't even looking at the stage. A moment later, he could see the reason. The culprit was, of course, Laurent. He had his bright red face in his hands and his shoulders were shaking violently. Damen seemed to be worried he was crying but Nikandros knew his type better.
"I see that look on your face
You ain't hearin' what I say"
Sure enough, as Damen placed his hand on Lauren's shoulder and asked if he was okay, Laurent gave up trying to hide himself and showed his true colors. Disguising laughter as crying was low, even for him. He even had tears in his eyes. He was a good actor, Nikandros would give him that. So good , in fact, that Damen didn't even look angry. He grinned and pecked Laurent on the forehead. Gross.
"So I'll say it again , 'cause I been where you been
And I know how it ends, you can't get away-ay-ay
Don't even look in his eyes
He'll tell you nothing but lies
And you wanna believe, but you won't be deceived
If you listen to me and take my advice"
Nikandros tried his best to hit the high note, but this was no time to worry about such trivial matters when Damen's stupid smile finally budged and gave place to a grimace.
As Nikandros repeated the chorus he couldn't help but think that he had a gift that made him so great at reading people. Even though Nikandros - or Carrie Underwood (as far as he knew) - hadn't met Laurent before and admittedly didn't know him very well, he could swear this song was written about him. Therefore, as Damen's best friend since childhood, it was his mission to use his superpower to help him.
"Run, run away
Don't let him mess with your mind
He'll tell you anything you wanna hear
He'll break your heart, it's just a matter of time..."
Now Laurent took the face of a sad puppy, hugging Damen's side and kissing him on the cheek. Maybe he knew about Damen's dating history and how often people took advantage of his kind heart , maybe he didn't. One thing was sure , he was determined to play the part of an innocent little lamb.
For good measure, the third time Nikandros sang the chorus, his tone was even more pointed and his moves more exaggerated. That made the serpent break the character and burst into laughter along with the others at the table. Nikandros made sure to finish the song as it held the main message: Damen should run for his life before Laurent ruined it.
Once the music stopped, he was met with some drunken cheers and some boos that he ignored. They probably thought Laurent was an angel who could do no wrong, so what did their opinions even matter? He patted himself on the back. There was no way Damen could continue dating Laurent after this.
He successfully made his way to his seat and immediately passed out. He was sure he wouldn't regret any of this in the morning.