Opening the Can of Worms

"We are not a real couple, according to Jeremy, because he hasn't given an answer to my question," he said. He had asked Jeremy countless times to be his boyfriend, even if it was in secret, he wanted to know that they were something worth all this sneaking around. He frowned, looking down, "You've known him longer than me, and I simply want to know if you think I'm doing something wrong?" he was starting to doubt himself, all the process he had made with therapy and getting himself to a better place mentally. He had done all of it to better himself, to be someone that Jeremy could be proud to be with, but it seemed that he would never come close. "He's different when it's just him and I; He tells me he cares for me and he shows it too, but as soon as we step outside my apartment it's like he can't wait to get away from me," or at least that was how it felt for him.

"Wait he's avoiding the question?" Kurtis asked a little surprised. He knew Jeremy but even this was a mystery to the lycan. He pondered on it just for a moment, hearing Damiano's question but frankly he had to shrug. "I havent known or seen him as a romantic or someone in a relationship." he sighed. He couldnt say if the hybrid was doing something wrong. The doubt in himself was however not something Kurtis could just ignore, mostly because he didnt think he deserved to carry it. "That's fucked." he scoffed. "If Zaira acted that way around me, I'd set her straight." he shrugged. But of course, he could be quite confrontational with stuff like this. "But I also dont have to worry if her parents would cut her off or disapprove." he also pointed out. "Fuck." he swore, rubbing his nosebridge a little. "It's a mindfuck - I dont know what to say."

Damiano just nodded as a reply. The seraph had just been avoiding him, not wanting to lock down on anything. At first he had thought it was simply just his internalized homophobia that was the reason, but the closer they got, and for each time he asked, it seemed like the seraph got annoyed more and more. Humming along, he smiled slightly as Kurtis mentioned how it would've been if Zaira had done that. Luckily for him he had a partner that didn't seem to keep any secrets from him or hold back in showing affection. "Well, even today when we were planning for our date, a literal double date, he still got defensive when I asked how I fit in," he sighed, shaking his head. He was really starting to like Kurtis and Zaira too, but it was rough when things were rocky between him and Jeremy. "Could you talk to him? I don't know, see if there's something that bothers him, because he won't talk to me," he said. He was usually head on and ready to handle confrontation, but lately all it had resulted in was him getting hurt and Jeremy trying to apologize.

The hybrid's frustrations were reasonable and frankly tame considering that he really didnt deserve any of the treatment he had received. But Kurtis also refused to believe that Jeremy was doing this out of ill intentions. The nephilim was probably scared shitless about the whole situation and in some attempt to protect Damiano, only kept on hurting him. Kurtis however couldnt think that far, so he just thought that Jeremy needed to pull his head out of his ass. He hummed at the request but ended up grinning and chuckling as if it was somehow funny to him. "I dont know if you've noticed. But he's not talking to me right now." he remarked. "I can ask Zaira to figure it out. He talks to her about everything." he said with a shrug. He noticed then that his cigarette had been out for a while. "I dont even know if they'll know we've been out her for longer than a cigarette." he said as he thought it through, before he just popped another to smoke. He really needed the nicotine.

Not talking to Kurtis? "What do you mean? He constantly texts you?" he said, clearly confused, because whenever Damiano asked who Jeremy was texting it was always either Kurtis or Zaira. "I'm pretty sure he only has a phone to text you two every day?" he was clearly feeling his heartrate rise. If Jeremy wasn't texting Kurtis, then who was he writing with? And that was when worry and doubt started to set in, frowning as he looked down, scoffing to himself. He felt played and betrayed. To him there was only one reason why Jeremy would lie about who he was writing with, why he insisted on not becoming a couple.
"He's seeing someone else ... Isn't he?" he scoffed, running a hand through his hair, trying to contain his jealousy and anger. He was probably just waiting until the other was available and then he would just dump Damiano on the floor. "I'm heading home," he just said, pushing himself off of the wall he was leaning against, placing his hands in his pockets. "I'll catch you later," he needed time to cool down. He didn't want to hurt anyone, even if he wanted to tear apart whoever Jeremy was texting.

"No? Not me at least." Kurtis said with a shake of his head. No, the communication he had had with Jeremy lately was quite scarce. Only a few updates on like school notes, not even anything substantial or meaningful. But Damiano seemed to have another impression of it. And Kurtis frowned as the hybrid seemed more confused than he should've been when Kurtis had told him that. Then the scoff. Damiano seemed to have realized something or come to some sort of conclusion. Kurtis frowned, thinking it all through, though it wouldnt make sense. "Damiano, why would he be seeing someone else?" he had to ask, but he didnt know if he was talking to someone right now who would listen or rather stay in their own beliefs. He wanted to stop him from leaving but also couldnt think of anything that could clear Jeremy's name because they werent really talking! "Fuck!" he hissed at himself, tripping from one foot to the other, snuffing out the cigarette. He went inside to sit down. He felt Jeremy's eyes on him which made him a little angry. "You gonna keep staring?" he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. He felt agitated already, like he was somehow a middleman in something that wasnt his business.

Kurtis returned but Damiano was gone. Jeremy was frankly a little confused by that, which was why Kurtis caught him staring the way he did. Maybe he had been a little too busy talking to Zaira about all and nothing to notice that there had been a vibe. Or maybe he had really just been trying to avoid the vibe altogether. "Is Damiano still out there?" he asked but Kurtis didnt answer. He would just have to go look himself. He however hadnt expected to not see Damiano at all. Which explained why he was a little frustrated when he returned. "Did he leave?" he asked, pulling out his phone to call the hybrid. "Kurtis! Stop being such a dick." he groaned in annoyance, but the lycan was dead silent.

Kurtis returned, but there was no Damiano in sight. It confused Zaira for a bit, and as Jeremy left to go check on him, she turned to the lycan. "What's going on?" She asked, but she never got to hear a reply before Jeremy came back in. Had he just left? Zaira didn't like this at all, looking from Jeremy to Kurtis with a confused brow, but then Jeremy started growing annoyed with Kurtis, "woah, chill Jere, I'm sure Kurtis didn't do anything," she said, defending her boyfriend. It felt odd now.

Damiano soon enough saw the caller ID light up his screen, but he was still too frustrated to even talk. He just hung up, turning off his phone. He didn't want to talk now. Not when he was this angry. He might just end up saying or doing something he would come to regret once more.

Zaira didn't know where to stand. She could understand Kurtis' anger, but he was playing a bit too holy for her own liking. He hadn't been much better before her, but maybe he held Jeremy in a higher regard? She gathered her things, wanting to follow Kurtis, but was stopped by the nephilim. She looked down to where he was holding her hand, pleading with her and she sighed, the touch agitating her body in a way, but it was only because she could feel the blood rush under his skin. Trying to distract herself she hummed, looking up to his eyes to see how scared he looked right now. Could she really leave him now after everything he had done for her? "Alright, Jere, I'll hear you out ... But I can't help you with Kurtis, you know how he is," she sighed. She moved over, sitting down by their table, gesturing for him to sit down and explain himself.

Before? Like before Jeremy and Damiano had gotten together or had he been making out with this guy while still seeing Damiano? But then again, did it really matter to her? That was something that the two guys would have to figure out for themselves. She was here to hear him out, and as he mentioned blackmailing all kinds of red flags went off in her head. "So you're talking to him, because if you don't he's going to leak the voice memo?" she asked, just to clarify but also to show how disgusted she was that this was going on. She leaned over the table, looking at him, "who is he?" He had to have a name, and through that she might be able to help. Maybe set the record straight or figure something out that might release Jeremy from that disgusting hold the other guy had over him.
Sighing she leaned back, shaking her head a little, "this is heavy shit ... But why didn't you tell me?" she felt like a bad friend now. Jeremy had helped her through so much shit that now she felt like she couldn't even return the gesture. Did he really think he could do this himself? "Why didn't you talk to Damiano about it? If he's upset you better come clean to him." Her and Kurtis could fight too, they had explosive personalities and that clashed, but at least they were good at talking things out once they had cooled down.

"But if you don't tell him you might end up losing him anyways," she reminded him, shaking her head, no, to her it was worse to stay silent. "I know if Kurtis was writing someone all the time and I didn't know why or what they were talking about I would be very hurt," she said, but that was an understatement. She would fight with claws and teeth to keep Kurtis in her life. No, if he had been acting as Jeremy had, she would've confronted him way earlier just to set the record straight. "You're not tired of Damiano, right? I mean, just because he's into you you don't have to stay with him if you feel like you've lost interest," maybe that what this was about too? Maybe he was just scared of being alone.

Zaira looked rather surprised as he told her that he loved him. But that also made her think; had he told the hybrid that? It all just seemed a little hectic to follow. And then he brought up the fact that Damiano had bit him, but she already knew that. Did he think that meant that the hybrid owned him or something? Sure, after her change, her and Kurtis had maybe gotten a little too heated in the bedroom and he had chomped on her, but all she had felt in the moment had been good. Of course the lycan had to apologize afterwards, but she couldn't imagine how much it would've hurt if she hadn't been what she was now.
"There's no need to raise your voice at me," she said in a sigh, scooting closer to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, just holding him close, "I'm just trying to help you, Jere." Being this close to him wasn't good for her. His scent was so alluring and she knew the taste of seraph blood already. She knew what it was doing to her, but she was still in denial. "I still think you should go talk to him; Even if you don't want to admit to it all, maybe just showing up and getting to talk will help."

"Hurt you?" she repeated, pulling out of the hug to look rather seriously at Jeremy. Was Damiano hurting him? Had he done more since the bite? What was really going on? He clarified it but it didn't make it any better. "Jeremy, I don't want you to go alone if he's going to hurt you ... That's fucked up," she insisted, getting up, reaching her hand out to him. "I'll go with you; I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because of my advise," on one hand what she was suggesting was rather tame, but would you really want to corner a hurt animal? Zaira of course didn't see it like that, besides, she was strong now so if it came down to it, she would defend Jeremy.

Zaira didn't like this one bit, but as Jeremy put it, it was perhaps best if he did go alone. He got up and she pulled him in for a hug as he told her that he would keep her in the loop. "You better," she muttered before letting him go. She had to find Kurtis either way, and she was sure he was going to have something to say about her staying and hearing him out. But then again, she seemed to be the only one of the two who could calm their temper - at least a little.

Damiano had gotten home to his apartment, unlocking the door and loosened his shirt up. His hair was a little wild from walking home, but his make up was still nice and he didn't want to ruin it. He moved over, sitting down on the end of his bed. It still smelled of Jeremy, and despite being angry, he was actually more sad. Sad because the scent still made his stomach tingle with delight and his heart beat faster. He couldn't understand this. He had done so much to work on himself, he actively went to therapy, took his meds, hell he had even gotten Jeremy a key to the apartment!
They weren't a couple. They weren't anything, and Damiano had convinced himself that it was alright for so long. But it wasn't. His inner self wanted to have the seraph all to himself. He wanted to do anything to have him always, but he couldn't. He felt restless, getting up, opening the fridge only to see nothing within it besides some vegetables that Jeremy had insisted on them buying. It was good for their health. Gritting his teeth he closed the fridge, pacing around his apartment for a while. Maybe he needed to break something? But then again it felt too primal, especially with his medication working overtime to subdue his violent tendencies.

The knock came as quite the surprise. He was sitting on the floor, his shirt a little disheveled as he had tossed himself around, trying to distract himself, not act on his aggressions. There was no reason for violence, he told himself. No he was better than this. But the knock made him recoil, moving away from it as he feared whoever might be behind the door might end up getting hurt. If he just remained silent, then they would eventually give up, right?