“Oh, really? Do tell me what I’m missing out on,” Sebastian said. “Because back pain from long hours of sitting and artificial light doesn’t really do it for me.” Whatever it was that Jacob was getting at didn’t really bother Sebastian, but eventually the conversation took a different turn. He put on a smile, but it was tense and restrained as Jacob placed a hand on his shoulder. He was very familiar with that move. It was a power move. It was patronizing. He pressed his lips into a thin line as he felt that Jacob had more to say after his congratulations for them making it one year. He had to resist the urge to punch Jacob in the fucking face. Sebastian scoffed as he brought up June’s name again. He didn’t understand the guy’s obsession with her and he made a note that it was borderline creepy and he’d have to make sure the guy didn’t do something to put June in danger. He didn’t think that Jacob would try and kidnap her or anything, but he also wouldn’t put it past him to harass and stalk her. Sebastian was about to say something back until Jacob patted his shoulder again, in a much more patronizing manner with another little dig and a sly smile. He knew it was probably true that May would leave him before he left her, which was why he always thought he’d make sure that he’d leave her first. It was why he always left first in a relationship. He didn’t want to admit that it’d actually hurt if someone left him, especially if May was the one who’d leave him first once she realized she’d grown out of dating him. He was probably the guy her whole family would be disappointed in if he ever met them.
Any other time, Sebastian would have started swinging immediately, but as he was already on thin ice… “Alright, man, that’s enough. You’ve had your fun. Maybe you should take a walk now,” Sebastian said, roughly pushing Jacob’s arm away. He really hoped that Jacob wouldn’t try and touch him again, because then he really would come out swinging his fists.
Jacob clicked his tongue and glanced down to look at Sebastian’s ankle, where the bracelet was hidden under his pants. “No wonder you’re in that position if that’s as far as you can see,” he simply said, not even trying to be subtle with his patronizing tone at this point. Reyes’ cocky attitude was the sort of infuriating thing that was like a slow-acting poison. The first few comments and that whole ‘I don’t give a fuck’ schtick didn’t bother Jacob right away but after a while of being in his presence, he could tell that he had gradually begun to get annoyed by him. He just didn’t like this guy. Given other circumstances, he might have given it a shot at becoming friends with him, and sure they had some fun with June and May at the arcade, but then Reyes stepped out into Jacob’s lane... That scene he’d witnessed between Bas and June felt a bit like a betrayal on both ends, frankly. How could a damn embrace hold that much power? The fact that it did spoke volumes about the sort of scene it had been, intimate, deeply personal. Just friends didn’t hold each other like that. Oh, and he’d done some digging on Reyes after that, trying to get some dirt that he might have been able to use to win June’s attention back. He never went ahead with it, though, aware that June was also a waste of his time, but boy did he find dirt. Reyes was bad news and that ankle bracelet was the cherry on top to confirm that notion.
That gradual irritation he’d been feeling during the conversation, which had been easily masked by fake charm and condescending remarks, stopped being subtle at all the moment Bas pushed. He didn’t think it twice before he returned the action, pushing him back as well. “What’s the matter, tough guy?” he asked with a thinly veiled grimace “You can’t handle a conversation unless you start behaving like the thug you are?”. Another step and another push. “I did some digging, you know? And all this time I’ve been wondering if June knew you’re a criminal. If May knows. And if they do, why the fuck they welcomed someone like you into their lives”.
