BESTIEZ

Kryoz: MY LIFE SUCKS :((((

Four07: what happened???????

Terroriser: swagger and john talked and it did Not go well

Four07: yikes

Kryoz: he and cam DIDNT break up

Kryoz: hes just playing with me :( they BOTH are wtf

Kryoz: evan was right i shouldnt have gotten involved with a taken man

Kryoz: i need to go to church

Terroriser: i dont think you're going to really do that

Four07: wow what a dick

Four07: i see why evan hates his coworkers thats literally evil

Kryoz: im gonna DIE ALONE

Kryoz: scott lets get married for tax reasons i think it could work

Four07: ngl im kinda tempted by that idea

Terroriser: NO ONE IS GETTING MARRIED

Terroriser: plus its stupid for you to be thinking about marriage right now like you can NOT be that desperate

Kryoz: :( but i am sad

Four07: did evan say anything after the talk?

Terroriser: he came back to the room and immediately fell asleep i dont think hes said anything

Kryoz: yeah idk i dont want to bother him he seemed kinda weird energy earlier

Terroriser: im gonna ask u about that later

Four07: id be exhausted too after having to deal with you

Kryoz: hey :((

Four07: sorry

Kryoz: its fine like i dont even care like who cares that every person whos ever liked me didnt actually mean it and ill never be someones first choice like that doesnt even matter

Terroriser: youve been sobbing for like an hour on the floor

Kryoz: WHAT ELSE AM I MEANT TO DO?

Kryoz: i shouldnt have even come

Four07: dude just go home like why are you even staying there

Kryoz: ik im like miserable as fuck but im not going home okay i need all the good karma i can get which means i need to pay my dues to those ive wronged and no matters whats happened i fucked up and slept with swags bf and that was wrong

Kryoz: so ill do him this solid and be his work trip boyfriend or whatever the fuck and then ill go home and never speak to either of them again

Four07: maybe tyler is still interested?

Kryoz: fuck him

Kryoz: hes still caught up on craig that much is painfully clear

Kryoz: and im sorry but even if theyre never getting back together i cant feel comfortable knowing that he's gonna keep seeking out updates and answers about his life

Kryoz: i cant be second place like that

Four07: oh :(

Four07: fuck i wish i was there dude

Four07: maybe you should leave the hotel, go shopping or something, theres gotta be like tourist shit right

Terroriser: i gotta stay here with ev but john maybe you should

Terroriser: theres a bunch of stuff nearby i can text u a list of

Terroriser: do you have a car?

Kryoz: swags got a rental

Terroriser: id lend u mine but its not a rental and i dont trust you

Terroriser: can u call an uber? or i can drive you to a rental place

Kryoz: maybe ill go be emo at the pool

Terroriser: fuck okay ig i can take you or whatever

Terroriser: i just dont want to wake evan up

Four07: brian acting like he has plans

Terroriser: fuck you you're not even here

Terroriser: get ur shoes back on john

—

Now showing private messages between RoastMasterV2 and Terroriser

RoastMasterV2: where'd u go

Terroriser: i was sick of seeing john mope around and cry and that fucker doesnt have a car so i drove him to mcdonalds and now we're at a mall somewhere

RoastMasterV2: bring me back nuggets

Terroriser: we're gonna have dinner

RoastMasterV2: idc

RoastMasterV2: you left your boyfriend alone during his depression nap the least you can do is bring me nuggets

Terroriser: youre right

Terroriser: im sorry ev i didnt want to leave you

Terroriser: are you feeling better?

RoastMasterV2: ik the note you left me was so sweet :(( wish u were here

RoastMasterV2: i feel a little better honestly

RoastMasterV2: sorry ive been sleeping so much ik its a lot

Terroriser: dont apologize you have nothing to be sorry for

Terroriser: youre on vacation not just a work trip you can do whatever you want

RoastMasterV2: speaking of

RoastMasterV2: swagger texted me the details for the reservation he made for us

Terroriser: he what

RoastMasterV2: its payment for helping him out with john even if it went south

RoastMasterV2: i think thats what it was idk i cant think rn

RoastMasterV2: its for the first free day on our itinerary i sent u that right

Terroriser: yeah i got it

Terroriser: alright well ill go find john and see if hes ready and ill let u know when we're on the way back okay? miss you. so much

RoastMasterV2: im gonna take a really long shower and maybe nap again

RoastMasterV2: we're sitting with my assigned group tonight so expect a lot of questions and stares

RoastMasterV2: and please ignore blarg hes just gonna be asking why you like me

RoastMasterV2: hes so insufferable i hope something terrible happens to him

Terroriser: evan you cant just say that

RoastMasterV2: we'll see

Terroriser: dont drown in the shower

RoastMasterV2: ill do what i can

RoastMasterV2: fuck what time is it

RoastMasterV2: it's almost five?? fuck

RoastMasterV2: my three hour shower just turned into an hour and a half ig

Terroriser: we can be late to dinner who cares

Terroriser: just dont stress okay?

RoastMasterV2: ill try

—

Now showing private messages between Swagger and RoastMasterV2

Swagger: question

RoastMasterV2: OH FUCK OFFFFFF

RoastMasterV2: this better be good i want to have an existential crisis in the shower for two hours

Swagger: yeah im not unpacking that at all

Swagger: okay so lets say hypothetically a man wants to write his feelings down because he doesnt trust his mouth but he also doesnt trust the man he's writing the letter for to actually read said letter...what would you say to that?

RoastMasterV2: sorry i just woke up from a nap like not even ten minutes ago youre going to have to speak more clearly

Swagger: i dont trust myself to not freeze up again around john and i wanted to write him a letter instead i just dont know if he'll read it

RoastMasterV2: fuck

RoastMasterV2: okay

RoastMasterV2: just write the letter i can get him to read it

Swagger: really?

RoastMasterV2: ive been known to be extremely persuasive

RoastMasterV2: do you remember that one time with that guy and the window?

Swagger: i actually had a nightmare about that the other day

RoastMasterV2: excellent so is that it?

Swagger: yeah its good

Swagger: you got the reservation details right? i gave them my card over the phone to put on file btw so it should be taken care of

Swagger: and i just paid my bill so the credit limit is all yours

RoastMasterV2: yeah we got it

RoastMasterV2: thanks

Swagger: its the least i could do

Swagger: you seem stressed

RoastMasterV2: is it really that obvious?

Swagger: unfortunately yes

RoastMasterV2: well i think ill feel a LOT better after dinner tonight so

RoastMasterV2: but anyways back to my shower

Swagger: alright fair enough

Swagger: WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN-

-

HelpMate

Swagger: evan said if i write a letter he'll make sure john reads it

Swagger: and i think he just suggested that he's gonna murder a man at dinner but yk thats normal

iMat: okay im gonna ignore the scary part and focus on how ur using his actual name rather than coworker !!

Swagger: what the fuck should i say in this letter

Tobi: wow not even gonna TRY to use your words huh man

Swagger: i cant i just know ill say something stupid and worthless and make it all worse

Jay: man im seeing a whole new side of you these past two days

Swagger: im gonna kms

—

LOCATION: Hotel Ballroom

TIME: 8:13 P.M

Evan had managed to wrench himself out of his shower after only an hour and was already half-dressed by the time Brian had returned with John. He took a break to eat the food that his boyfriend had brought him, hoping his still-present exhaustion wasn't too evident. He had to go to dinner, despite everything in his body screaming at him to get back under his covers.

So, the two of them had arrived a bit late, which was fine since no one was really going to be eating  until eight thirty, but it still stung a little.

At least he had Brian. His boyfriend, who was, of course, in awe of the decor and the level of ritz on display just for a company function. He tasted the wine the servers had brought out and immediately recognized it as something expensive, just by the label on the bottle. The brunch earlier should have clued him in, but this was really selling it all.

"Ev, this place is crazy." He'd whispered during a moment when the rest of the table was distracted, leaning towards Evan. "And I thought the caviar from earlier was nice. Where the hell have you brought me?" Evan chuckled, smiling at him with his usual fondness.

He really didn't know what he'd do if Brian wasn't here. Probably not be at dinner but instead would be rotting away in his bed, hating himself.

"We haven't even gotten to the main course. Trust me, that'll be much better. This really isn't much." Evan waved off Brian's comments, trying to school his features back to how he usually was in front of his coworkers. He didn't mind being soft with Brian, but it was hard enough to get his coworkers to shut up. "The entertainment hasn't even started yet." He sent a glare across the table at Blarg who almost instantly tensed under the sudden attention, his head snapping around to find Evan's face flattened into something neutral and non-menacing. "Hi, Blarg." He smiled without it reaching his eyes.

"Hey, Evan. Good to see you again. Really sorry about....about that stuff that happened."

"I bet you are."

-

"Evan, this is so fucking good. Holy shit." The entrees had started coming out and Brian was actively losing his mind. It was surf and turf (most of the office didn't feel like picking between lobster and filet mignon) and he knew for a fact he'd never had anything so expensive in his mouth before. "Are you tasting this? Is this, like, real life?" His eyes were wide as he ate and Evan watched him with a soft expression he only ever used on his boyfriend. "And I went to the bathroom earlier and its one of those places thats got like an actual person in there to hand you a towel or whatever. Concierge, maybe? I'm not sure it's called that. Whatever. It's sick."

-

"Yo, Swagger!" Blarg, Soup, and Cody walked up as Swagger was getting another drink from the bar. He acknowledged the trio with a nod. "Are you still freaked out by that, too?" He gestured to where Evan was talking with a couple of the higher-ups, Brian standing right next to him and presumably introducing himself before jumping right into conversation. Evan still had that fond expression, but it was mostly in his eyes as the rest of his features had been (mostly) schooled into his typical look of contempt.

He nodded as the bartender handed him a glass. "Definitely."

"Isn't it nice that he's enjoying himself?" This is why everyone found it hard to like Cody, the kid had no survival skills.

Swagger thought about the edge in Evan's voice from the day before as he mediated his and John's conversation. "I wouldn't say enjoying." He sipped at his drink, not even caring what it was. As long as it kept his thoughts away from John, who had made himself scarce almost as soon as the dinner portion was over. They still had dessert and a few speeches, but now it was the time in the evening where they fully socialized now that all members had arrived. "I don't think that boot is comfortable." He had seen Evan be visibly annoyed at his injury a few times already on the trip.

"Yeah, but it's probably kept him from killing someone." Soup said. He turned to the bartender to get his own drink.

Swagger turned to Blarg. "I'm sure you're grateful for that."

"What do you mean?" Blarg had turned his head fast. "Do you know something?"

"Well. Didn't Evan say he was going to ruin your life?"

The color drained from Blarg's face. "Yeah, but...b-but he said that over text! He wouldn't-He wouldn't actually do that, right?"

Swagger shrugged, watching Evan continue to introduce people to Brian. His expression had hardened now, studying the people they were conversing with as if Evan was trying to see what the other man was thinking.

Oh. There was zero way that Evan forgot what he said to Blarg, or that he hadn't meant it.

"Yeah, sure, buddy. Keep telling yourself that."