-AO-

"Alexander Dion, you can call me Alex. We will work together from now on as Noah and Michael, I hope we can be good friends."

Fuck being good friends.

Olliv threw the manuscript in his hand onto the table in annoyance; damn it, why couldn't he stop thinking about that haughty nuisance? He pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly, decided to sit in a folding chair and leaned his back against the backrest.

"Are you okay, Ollie?"

"Yeah, yeah." He angrily waved his hand, ignoring Harley's question. The two of them were in the studio right now, it was just them—there was no shooting schedule and they had promised to practice reading their script together. His brown eyes caught Harley's skeptical expression about the answer he was giving, then he sighed. "I just ... I don't know, I've had a lot on my mind lately."

He watched Harley smile faintly, placing his manuscript in his lap. "If I may ask, what are you worried about?"

Harley could be his personal therapist at this point.

"Don't worry about it." Olliv snorted, his hands reaching for a stack of clipped papers, his eyes starting to trace the lines of words. Frowning, he groaned. "Why is Michael so annoying here?"

"When is he not annoying to you?" Harley laughed, he scowled. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me? Is this about Alex?"

The edge of his eye twitched suddenly, he glanced at the man with black hair dyed red at the ends, an innocent face as if the guess was just an unserious guess but—goddamn how correct Harley was. There was no answer from him for a full minute, his brain trying to find an excuse to dodge the question, but Harley wasn't easily fooled. "I heard he's dating someone." His words were quiet, he pursed his lips, not understanding why the news made him feel so upset.

"Isn't that just a rumor? Hoax?"

"They were caught together more than three times."

"But that doesn't mean they're really dating, anyway," Harley replied casually, trying to make him feel calm but he only felt more uneasy. "You have a crush on Alex?"

Well, that made him widening his eyes.

He quickly straightened his sitting position. "Liking Al? That shopping maniac? Never!" Olliv snarled, a note of disbelief in his voice. "You're rambling rubbish, I don't like him, I'm just wondering if the rumor is true or not." His hands were folded in front of his chest. "It's none of my business who he's dating."

Harley leaned forward, his smile still plastered on his face. "I wonder who complained to me last week because Noah got less screentime then. Ouchie." He laughed, and his words made Olliv's cheeks turn red.

"I didn't mean to complain!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "Besides, acting as a couple with you feels more natural than with him."

"Oh?" Harley raised an eyebrow, purely interested. "Why? Is that because you're always nervous around Alex since you like him?"

A blush covered the entire surface of Olliv's face within two seconds, Olliv even got up from his seat to yelled in embarrassment. "Why do you always think that I like Al like that!? He's just annoying! A cocky shit!" His feet stomping on the floor, Harley laughed out loud seeing that his attempt to make him mad was a huge success.

"Even Michael is quite expressive and open with his feelings, why are you so tsundere?"

"Don't compare me to that corpse!"

He really wanted to hit Harley who was often cackling until he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, he turned around while gritting his teeth and knitting his eyebrows, a man came from the door, at the same time took off his sunglasses and his two-colored eyes met his wooden brown eyes right away.

So, he scowled. "Oh look, the princess has come."

Al rolled his eyes lazily, put his bag on the table and stood facing him. "I'm only five minutes late, the roads are jammed, you should take yoga or therapy that can relieve your short-temper, you'll get old and wrinkly quickly if you're always angry."

"You'll be the main reason I get my wrinkles on my pretty face."

When out of sudden Alexander was kicked lightly in the back; Olliv gasped in surprise when the man was pushed against him, they both yelped as they collided with each other. His feet slipped as his hands tried to support the body that was bigger than him. He could've fallen backwards if Al hadn't balanced himself as quickly as possible and caught him, embraced him closely. Laughter was heard again, they both turned to Harley who was half bent over holding his stomach, wheezing at this point.

"Harley! That's not fucking funny!" Al exclaimed in irritation, still holding Olliv's body so he wouldn't fall.

"You—you guys are always fighting all the times it's so hilarious," Harley answered between chuckles, not even able to get the words out properly because he was still laughing at them. "And you seem really love holding Ollie, Al."

That last sentence seemed to awaken Alexander, who turned to the black-haired man he was still embracing close, their faces turned completely red and Alexander reflexively let go of his hands; in the end, Olliv still fell backwards. What a jerk.

"Ack—twat!" Olliv screeched, feeling pain in his back.

Al exhaled heavily, rubbed his face for a moment before reaching out to help the Miller's only son. "Sorry, sorry, Ivan, let me help you." He pulled Olliv to get up quickly. "You're okay, aren't you?"

"I will you're okay you out of the window, my back hurts, asshole."

"You really need to take an anger management class."

Harley chimed in cheerfully. "And they say Ivorie is the one with anger issues."

"Shut your mouth, Harley."

"Yes sir."

Olliv pinched the bridge of his nose a few times, then glared up. His vision immediately caught Al's concerned expression clearly mapped on his pale face, directed at him alone, making the blood in his veins rush rapidly to his cheeks, warming them up to his ears. His bi-colored eyes showed pure worry, and it made his chest pound even faster. He could only stare at the sight of the man in front of him, froze in place and astonished unconsciously.

"... an."

"... van."

"... Ivan!"

The snap of fingers made Olliv flinch in surprise, Al waved his hand right in front of his face with a deep frown. "What's wrong?" Al asked in not understanding.

His mouth parted slightly, then he closed it tightly again, eyes turning away from Al as he pressed his lips together. His heartbeat was still faster than usual, his face still felt warm. Damn it, he would never admit this, never. "Nothing," he answered quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. He sat back down quickly and grabbed the script. "Never mind, let's just continue reading, I have an appointment with Hugo at three in the afternoon."

He glanced at Al briefly, and saw how Al's expression immediately turned sour after he said that name.