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Why shouldn't he laugh? It was funny. Absolutely hilarious even. Not that Ladon was dating someone -- no, that wasn't funny. It would probably have been adorable if he'd been standing there with some sweet girl, or a guy who wasn't Billy Roadinger. Really, it was Billy who made the whole damned thing so funny, mostly because it was so unexpected.

Of course, it wasn't funny for long. The amusement was quick to die down, to be replaced with a feeling of betrayal. Paris's laughter softened and then died completely, his eyes growing a little more narrow as his mouth formed a small frown. He didn't appreciate the fact that he was the one being labeled rude, when neither of them had felt like telling him that they were dating, or whatever it was they thought they were doing. He supposed he shouldn't have expected to receive the information from Billy, but Ladon, at least, should have said something.

"Oh, shut up, Billy. Don't even start with me," Paris said, propping his hands onto his hips. He ignored Billy for the time being and focused on Ladon. Billy should watch his mouth around him anyway; Paris had certain information he was sure Billy wouldn't want Ladon to hear.

"Let's not even worry about this whole dating thing right now," Paris began. He still couldn't quite grasp that concept -- Lady and Billy dating. "Let's talk about how you didn't even tell me you were gay. I mean, I know you don't like talking about yourself a lot, but don't you think that's one of those things you should have told me? Look at me!" he said, motioning to himself with one of his hands. "How hard would it really have been for you to admit something like that to me? You think I wouldn't get it or something? That I wouldn't understand?"

Who better for him to talk about it with? Billy? He thought Billy was an acceptable individual to help him work his way out of the closet? Hadn't Billy just come out of the closet himself? And now he was "dating" his formerly closeted best friend? It was insane! Absolutely insane!

"Paris, if you are and friend of Ladons you would recognize that you are doing nothing but hurting your friend with your selfishness." Billy tried to make it sound like a plea.

Oh, so poor little Paris was hurt. Poor baby~ Billy thought it was amusing how Ladon could think of himself as not being gay, but here he was, dating another male. Yes, how cute. Billy had this poor boy right where he wanted him. Now Billy had to make sure Paris didn't say anything to ruin that...
It would be hard to find another target like Ladon... Honestly though, Billy had Paris to thank for showing him that he himself preferred the male body - no squishy boobs, and a more aesthetically pleasing form really appealed to his artistic eye - and at this point Billy probably wouldn't be....too pissed if Paris ruined this opportunity for him. It wasn't like Billy couldn't simply start his game anew with someone else.
He'd simply see how this went. He'd continue to play the protective boyfriend.

This was going to heck in a hand basket and Ladon didn't know what to do to stop it. Billy just seemed mellow, but his best friend was clearly upset. Al previous thoughts that they had and might get along were tossed aside, leaving him confused as to what these two thought about each other. Billy just seemed upset that Paris was making a commotion, while Paris hated Ladon for keeping secrets from him. He knew it was a touchy subject with Paris ever since that time in Crystal, which Paris JUST SO HAPPENED to bring up. The threat struck hard and he shook his head quickly. "You promised!" He said, but instantly regretted those words. He promised to not lie to Paris. "I wasn't lying. I just – I didn't know yet. I wasn't sure. I'm still not sure. I'm not sure about a lot. How was I supposed to tell you when I just started going out? That I MIGHTED be…ya know." Gay, Ladon. The word was gay. "I didn't MEAN to keep it from you. It's just…personal and I was just getting used to it and I didn't know how far things were go and please don't hate me. You're my best friend. I really, truly didn't mean to keep it from you. I just needed more time to think it all out." He was more or less pleading with Paris to understand, not wanting to loose Paris as a friend, but wanting to defend Bily and their relationship too. It was just so hard and complex and now dinner was ruined after he spent all this time thinking what to make! THIS SUCKED!


Taking a big breath, he went from a mix of sad and worried, to confused. Billy…..bite people? Why would he bite people? He stopped a moment to look at Billy, clearly wondering what the heck Paris was talking about and how they even knew each other. "You bite Paris? Is that why he's angry with you? I thought you only punched people." Did Billy leave that detail out because he didn't want to show he had more anger issues?

Under normal circumstances, Paris would do his best not to hurt Ladon. He liked Ladon. Ladon might lecture him sometimes, but he was still somewhat accepting, or he'd grown to be, whether or not he had been in the beginning. He wouldn't have brought any of this up if he weren't feeling so betrayed. He could understand Ladon not being sure about himself, about the dating issue, but he'd thought there was enough trust and friendly feelings between them that Ladon would have come to him for help.

He could have answered his questions, calmed him down before a date, helped him pick out what to wear, listened to him gush about it when it was over. Those were the sorts of things friends were supposed to do, right? The fact that they might even have the similarity of liking men should have been a bonus! Paris knew how men were. He could have helped Ladon through his confusion or... or fear.

Instead, he'd been left in the dark, and he hated that. He'd had too many people pull that crap on him to accept it when it came from his supposed friend.

"You don't want to start bringing up promises, Ladon. You lied to me before and I let it go. I've never lied to you. Not once." If Ladon was going to start breaking his promises, Paris didn't see why he should keep his. He would, though, whatever Ladon thought. He was at least a decent enough person not to reveal the things Ladon wanted kept secret.

"Do you even have any idea what you're doing with him?" he asked. Paris suspected Ladon didn't even have a clue about dating guys. Ladon couldn't think or talk about sex without his face going red, so Paris was going to assume they hadn't progressed to that level yet. Again, he didn't see any of the tell-tale hickeys. He was almost grateful he'd caught them before they'd gotten that far.

"So you didn't even bother to tell him that you knew me? Don't I feel flattered," he continued sarcastically. He wasn't even sure who he'd meant the comment to be directed to, but he soon turned to Billy again. "You're so full of s**t, Billy. Is that the sort of stuff you've been spouting off to him? Because if it is, you might want to work on coming up with some new lines. Maybe you can fool Ladon with that crap, but I'm not buying it. What the hell are you really up to?"

Paris looked at him suspiciously, trying to read him. It wasn't that he thought Ladon wasn't worthy of someone finding him attractive. He wasn't exactly Paris's type, but he was cute, and he was a nice guy, so why wouldn't someone like him? No, it was that he didn't believe Billy at all capable of feeling anything for anyone. Their fling certainly hadn't meant anything, so why should this?

"Who's really the one hurting him? Me or you?"

Billy narrowed his eyes at Paris and was about to reply when Ladon threw his bit of a fit. Perhaps if Billy saw Ladon as a person, he'd of felt bad. Billy had done self-convincing, long bouts of self convincing to objectify him so that he was fairly unaffected. Billy had to act like he was though. When Billy finally answered Paris, it was cool and calm.

"You think you know me well enough to make such assumptions, Paris? What? Do you think that..think that I would toy with Ladon?" Billy took the boy's hand again, lacing their fingers together and kissing them. "What am I really up to? How about getting some balance in my life? Ladon is everything that I am not."

The fight was fun. Billy didn't care if he ended up losing Ladon because of it. He had already determined that, no matter how hard it was to find a replacement, he could do so, and succeed again in worming his way in to the other poor fool's heart. Confident. It wouldn't be a true loss. Merely an unexpected and thrilling set back. Even greater though? To keep Ladon. It would give his loving possession more value. He'd be even more worth his place at his side.
So things could go both ways and Billy would be content. He was aiming, though, to keep what he had thus far worked for. Ladon was a possession - like a figurine or precious doll. A trophy. Love? There was no love. Not in this recess of his mind.
It was only deep down, in reflection that would happen later that night when Billy was back in his dorm room, that he would recall tonight's actions and words and find perhaps the smallest bit of human endearment, and maybe that doll, that prized trophy would become a little human to him, too.

(Jumping post order because it needs to be said))

If Paris thought that in this place, in the mood all parties were currently in, that Billy would be at all attracted, then he was wrong. When Paris walked his way, gave him that look, Billy scoffed, and amused grin on his face as he shook his head. Oh, Paris. Such an amusing little rat. Billy would exert little effort to keep his trophy. The fight was thrilling, but he wasn't about to stoop to win. Billy didn't stoop. And as mentioned, he was already fine with moving to another victim. Later his mind would probably disagree, as he'd realize that Ladon had, in a way, worked his way into his own hard, stony, heart. After all, not all of those compliments had been lies. They were more sugary than Billy probably would have really delivered them, and certainly more frequent but...there had been truth. Billy didn't realize how much. Sometimes when you get used to a recipe you stop measuring, going on feeling and whatnot. Cooking similes and metaphors were not his forte. Soon he would realize though. Very soon.


"You are despicable, Paris. I hardly thought you capable of such heartlessness, such...ruthlessness." Billy said the last word with a vigorous flourish. "I commend you for that, and for showing me where my preferences lay. I am not proud of how it was discovered though, I'll have you know that, Ladon. We all make mistakes. It was good, yes, but a mistake. Without that mistake though, I doubt I would have ever ended up with you. Boys are expected to court girls. I merely went on doing as expected until my first fateful encounter with Paris. ...We all do things that can never be corrected. "
Now came the lie, disguised with a painful expression on the face of one Billy Roadinger, "Things we regret. You are so pure, I knew it would hurt you. That is the last thing I wanted. I had hoped..." Billy stopped, letting that last sentence hang there. He had let his gaze drop, looking to neither. All part of the act.

He continued, this time with truth, "Ladon's innocence is merely a bonus. It provides...provided me a feeling of power. Leadership. Yes, I very much had control. I'll admit to enjoying watching the look on his face every time I made even the most vaguely intimate move. I even said such to him, albeit in not quite those words. Despite that he still said he liked me. Someone as dark and manipulating as I." He looked up, a bitter smile on his face.


If, despite all this, Ladon could find it to 'like' him despite all that was being layed out on the proverbial table...then perhaps it would be worth it to lose the game and fall... Ladon's forgiveness for Billy's past transgressions would no doubt resonate in the young man's mind. Despite any dehumanization, that someone could care that much about him would be a shock to his system.

Billy thought - or would think - about what it would be like to fall in love. Would it be losing his game if he did it intentionally? Ladon was good looking enough. Ladon's personality gave him a feeling of power. That was really beneficial. Ladon was idealistic enough that billy had no doubt he would have a loyal pet. No, if he was to fall in love he couldn't think of him as an object, or even as a pet. Partner. That worked. Could Billy be content with Ladon? Billy had never loved anyone. He couldn't quite calculate any further.

That was all getting ahead of the game though. Ladon hadn't even reacted yet. Billy should be expecting the boy to be appalled. To detest, even hate him. He should expect to be sent out of the house without a word, never to hear from Ladon again. And that thought shouldn't hurt him. It wouldn't. No. If that were to happen then none of this would resonate in his mind later. Any connection that had wormed its way into his heart would be squeezed out and sealed away never to seep in again. Billy wouldn't spare him another thought.


Everything hinged on Ladon and his reaction.

“It didn’t seem like so much of a mistake at the time,” Paris spoke over Billy, refusing to allow him to belittle what had happened. Their fling might not have been special in the way Ladon wanted his relationship with Billy to be special, but it certainly hadn’t been a mistake either. It wasn’t as if Billy had accidentally slept with him. He’d meant to do it. They both had. There was no way Billy would be able to deny that believably to Paris’s face, and therein lied Billy’s problem. Paris knew, and he would not be fooled by the pathetic act Billy was currently employing.

Paris hadn’t a clue why Billy was doing it. It couldn’t be for the sex. Ladon surely wouldn’t be giving him any anytime soon, and with the convenient arrangement they’d had at school, Paris didn’t see much of a point in Billy looking elsewhere. They might not be friends but they had their similarities, and they hadn’t gotten along horribly before. Unless Billy was seeking some sort of sick amusement from screwing with an innocent guy like Ladon, Paris saw no reason for him to be engaging in this sham of a date -- except for his search for “light” and “balance,” which was such a load of crap Paris didn’t understand how anyone could possibly believe it.

Well, he knew why Ladon would. Ladon, like Paris, was lonely; unlike Paris, he sought to cure his loneliness in a different way. Paris went to whomever would give him the attention he craved, but Ladon was more naïve, less open to the idea or sex without love, so he looked for love instead, and in his love-starved mind he believed the first guy to say a kind word to him, the first guy to show an interest. It was no wonder he couldn’t realize he was being played.

Paris’s face fell when Ladon responded to him, his twisted smile vanishing, to be replaced by a tortured expression, hurt and confused. Why didn’t Ladon understand? Maybe Paris wasn’t going about this the right way, but he’d thought they were close enough friends -- that they’d been through enough together -- that Ladon would believe him over a guy he’d only met however many days or weeks ago.

“Why am I doing this?” he parroted back, anger warring with distress. “Why are you doing this? You’ll choose to believe him over me? What has he ever done to prove to you that he means what he says?”

Paris took a step back, moving away from Billy, but he didn’t stay away for long. He grabbed onto Ladon’s shoulders next, nearly shaking him, as if doing so would force some sense into him. “When have I ever lied to you? When have I ever given you a reason to think that I would try to ruin something for you without a very good reason? I’m trying to help you, Lady!” he exclaimed, using the little affectionate name this time as a means of forcing him to actually listen. “Don’t push me away when I’m trying to help you! Don’t kick me out!”