"I'm the one who's supposed to be mad at you, not the other way around! You actually punched me, and it still hurts every time I remember it." Quinn snapped, shooting to his feet. His hands shook as he adjusted his hoodie, trying, and failing, to keep his voice calm.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed, cool and unbothered in a way that made Quinn's chest twist. "That's what you get for kissing my best friend."
He yanked on a sweatshirt. And Quinn noticed he'd been holding his breath the entire time.
He let out a broken laugh. "Oh, great. Did you tell him to ignore me too? Because that's what he's been doing. It's not fair, Seb. I don't stop you from parading around with your girlfriends."
Sebastian didn't argue. Didn't scoff. Didn't even roll his eyes. He just stared at him.
That silence hurt more than the punch.
He sat on the edge of the bed, towel still around his waist, drops of water still clinging to his skin. Quinn hated that he noticed. Hated that looking at Sebastian made every emotion inside him feel too loud.
He moved closer until he was standing right in front of him.
Sebastian finally looked up, jaw tight. "What do you want, Quinn?"
"You know what I want." His voice cracked. "What happened after you punched me? Did you threaten Niko to stop talking to me? Why do I keep seeing your necklace whenever I try to remember?"
Sebastian's lips pressed together so hard the skin went white. He bit the inside of his cheek like the truth tasted bitter.
"I don't want to answer any of that. It's not the first time you've gotten drunk and blacked out, so why are you suddenly bugging me?"
Quinn's hands curled into fists, nails digging into his palms. "Are you fucking kidding me? Why are you acting like some possessive brother?!"
"I'm not your brother."
The words slammed into Quinn like another punch.
Sebastian rose, towering over him, but Quinn refused to step back. His breath came fast and shaky, his ginger-and-white hair falling messily over his eyes, anger and confusion burning through every inch of him.
"Then stop acting like you own me!" He shot back, his voice cracking. "Just answer the damn question! And stay out of my and Niko's business. He likes me, and I like him too."
Sebastian's face didn't change, not at first. But something in his eyes did.
The moment Quinn said "He likes me, and I like him too," those eyes went dark.
He looked away. Took a slow breath like he was trying not to snap the room in half.
Then, he whispered. "You don't like him."
Quinn froze. "What the hell are you talking about..."
Sebastian's head snapped back toward him, his eyes sharp and furious.
"You don't like him," he repeated. "You're just lonely."
Quinn blinked, stunned. "Fuck you..."
"You want someone, anyone, to look at you like you matter." Sebastian stepped closer, the towel slipping dangerously on his hips. "And he's convenient because he smiles at you."
Quinn shoved him. Hard. "I know how I feel! Don't twist it just because you..."
Sebastian grabbed his wrists, slamming them against Quinn's chest, not hurting him, just stopping him.
"I'm not twisting anything. I'm telling you the truth."
Quinn's breath stuttered. "I don't want your fucking truth!"
"Stop lying to yourself," Sebastian hissed. "You don't like him. You just don't want to feel… unwanted."
Quinn's voice cracked. "Everyone does treat me like I'm unwanted. So what? He was the first person to..."
"He is using you."
Quinn flinched. His lips parted. His eyes glassed instantly.
Sebastian inhaled sharply, like he regretted it, but didn't take it back.
Quinn's voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't say that."
"He is."
"You don't know that." His voice trembled. "You don't fucking know that."
Sebastian's jaw tightened, the muscle jumping. "I do know. He knows you...."
Quinn shook his head violently. "Shut up! Stop... stop making it ugly just because you don't want him near me! You hate me, remember?! So why the hell do you care?!"
Sebastian's hands dropped.
Quinn instantly felt the cold. He stepped back like Sebastian was something toxic.
He stared at him with red, wet eyes and a cracking voice. "You disappear for two days without a word. You punch me. You treat me like trash. You tell me we're not brothers…"
He raked both hands through his hair, trying to calm himself. "Look. If nothing happened, then why did you disappear?"
"You threw up on me." Sebastian's tone was flat, clipped. "Nothing happened, Quinn."
Quinn froze. His eyes widened. "I… threw up on you?"
Sebastian let out a deep, exhausted sigh, like this whole thing was draining him.
"After I ripped you and Niko apart, I brought you back here and you threw up all over me. That's why you didn't have your shirt on."
"Oh."
Relief hit Quinn so suddenly his knees almost felt weak.
That was it?
He didn't know what exactly he feared, he just knew he'd imagined far worse.
"So you cleaned up my vomit?" he asked quietly.
Sebastian scoffed again, sharper this time. "You wanted me to leave you in your own vomit?"
Quinn shrugged helplessly, not knowing what to feel anymore. He walked to his bed, climbed under the duvet, and turned to face the wall. He could hear Sebastian moving. The drawer sliding, fabric rustling as he pulled on pajama pants, before Sebastian's bed dipped on the other side of the room.
Silence settled between them.
But Quinn's chest still felt tight.
"Is Niko really using me?" Quinn finally asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Sebastian didn't hesitate. "Niko has a boyfriend, Quinn. Get over him."
Everything inside Quinn went still.
He slowly pushed himself upright, his heart pounding.
"What?" His voice cracked. "How long… How long have they been together?"
Sebastian let out a low and irritated sigh. "Do you really want to know that?"
Quinn blinked hard, like he was trying to force the words to make sense. "So he flirts with me, tells me he likes me… only for me to find out he has a boyfriend?"
He let out a small, shaky laugh that wasn't really a laugh. "Damn. I have so much bad luck."