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Friday, November 21, 2014

Channel 5 (Merlin fanfiction): Chapter 12

I should note that this chapter has some language in it (not a lot, so unless you're really sensitive to that kind of thing, you should be fine). I tried not writing it in, but it just didn't sound right. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

They had rehearsed their parts many times and Merlin had cast a spell to ensure they remembered all their lines. It was time to go. Arthur and Merlin took a deep breath.

People walked by on a crowded street. The camera cut to a businessman carrying a briefcase and wearing an expensive suit, a determined, self-important look on his face. He looked at his wristwatch and changed from walking briskly to running, somehow continuing to look stately and dignified as he did so. Of course, he wasn't paying attention to whet he was going. He ran headlong into a man carrying a cup of coffee. The scalding coffee spilled all over the businessman and his briefcase. The businessman jumped back. 
"You idiot!" he shouted. "Why weren't you looking where you were going?"
"I could ask the same of you."
"You'll pay for that!"
"Pay for your inconvenience, yes. Pay for my response, no."
"I'll have you know, I've been trained to sue since birth."
"Oh really? And how long have you been training to be a prat?"
"You can't address me like that."
"I'm sorry." The man bowed his head in mock apology. "How long have you been training to be a prat, Sir?" he said, emphasizing the word "Sir" to make it sound like an insult. "Listen, mate, I'm really sorry about the coffee..."
"Do I know you?"
"Sorry, what?"
"Do I know you?" the man asked again, sounding even more irritated. 
"No..."
"Yet you called me 'mate'."
"My mistake."
"It certainly was."
"I would never have a friend who could be such an ass."
"Nor I one who could be so stupid."
"I'm really sorry, though. I can pay for the dry cleaning, buy you a new briefcase, whatever you need..."
"No, you'd only mess it up more, you incompetent git."
"I may be many things, but incompetent is not one of them."
"I could take you apart with one blow."
"I could take you apart with less than that."
"I. Don't. Care. I have much more important things to do than converse with lower class imbeciles who can't even carry a cup of coffee without spilling it all over someone!"
"Oh, so you think because I'm poor, I'm stupid?" the man yelled, his temper rising. 
"I don't have time for your nonsense. You are a waste of space! You're completely useless! Worse, you ruin the lives of everyone around you! You..." the businessman halted his tirade to look at the other man. "Are you... crying?"
"It has nothing to do with you; don't flatter yourself. I've had enough arrogant bullshit for one day. Enough for a lifetime! Leave me alone!"
"Oh, you're telling me to leave? What makes you think you're in charge?"
"Oh I don't know, how about the fact that I get to decide who I don't want to be with? I'm done!"
"I hope to never have the pleasure of seeing you again," the businessman said bitterly, turning on his heels. The two men stalked away in angry silence. 

The door of an apartment slammed open and the man who had spilt the coffee walked in. 
"What is it, Merlin?" asked a woman in the room. 
"Nothing."
"Come on, I know you better than that."
"I don't want to talk about it." Merlin crossed his arms and sat on the couch, facing away from her. 
"Is it about Cenred?"
"Sort of," Merlin replied, lowering his eyes to the floor. 
"Tell me all about it." She sat down next to him.
"Oh, I don't know where to start, Gwen. I..." he sighed. "I ran into this guy..." Gwen raised her eyebrows. "Not like that!  I literally ran into him. Spilled my coffee on him and everything. And he was such a prat about it! It... it reminded me of Cenred."
"He can't have been that bad!"
"No, he wasn't. But he was bad enough. I just couldn't take it. The painful memories keep coming back. I've had a miserable day." Gwen nodded sympathetically.
"So, how about we drown out the memories with ice cream and chick flicks?"
"Gwen!" Merlin then launched into a lengthy argument about how chick flicks were sexist and why does the girl 'get' the guy (or vice versa) anyways, why can't they get each other, and why do girls have to be called 'chicks', it's so degrading.
"I was kidding, Merlin; I know how much you hate them."
"You're really not making my day any better."
"Sorry." She laid a hand on his shoulder. She thought for a moment. "You know what you need?"
"I'm afraid to ask."
"You need a night out."
"What?"
"You heard me. You need a night out. You haven't had any fun since you broke up with Cenred. He ruined your life enough when you were with him. You can't let him keep ruining it now that he's gone." Merlin sighed.
"I suppose you're right. What did you have in mind?"
"How about Avalon?"
"The gay bar?"
"Why not?"
"You're only saying that because you want to see me get drunk. You know how much of a lightweight I am."
"I still think you'd like it."
"Oh, fine."

The businessman angrily stalked into his flat.
"What's wrong, Princess?" his flatmate asked.
"Nothing, Gwaine. And don't call me Princess!"
"I'll stop calling you Princess if you tell me what's wrong."
"There is nothing wrong."
"Come off it, Princess; I can smell the sexual frustration from miles away."
"That's only because you'll have sex with anything that moves."
"Who says it has to move? And yes, it does make me more adept at noticing these things. But you still haven't told me, what is it?" The businessman sighed.
"I met a guy..."
"Oh?" Gwaine's eyes lit up in vicarious attraction. "What's he like?"
"Really hot. He's got messy jet black hair, an amazing... well actually I didn't see him smile, so I don't know, but I assume he has a nice smile. He's lean, but not too skinny. His lips are gorgeous..."
"Does he have a nice arse?"
"Gwaine!" the businessman blushed. "Yes, he does have a nice arse."
"Well then, go for it!"
"That's just the thing. He hates me."
"Oh, Arthur."
"Why do I always have to fall in love with the wrong people?"
"Maybe you don't."
"What are you saying, Gwaine?"
"What you need, mate, is a good shag. That'll release some of your frustration. And who knows, maybe you'll find someone else to fall in love with!"
"Father would have my head."
"He doesn't have to know."
"And besides, where would I go to find someone? All the guys I know are straight."
"You forgot me!" Gwaine protested.
"Right, sorry, but I'm not dating you. You're my obnoxious friend, nothing more."
"Fine."
"So, where would I go?"
"Have you ever been to a gay bar?"
"What? No!"
"I'm telling you, it's the best place to pick up a guy. And I know a real nice one 'round here."
"But... but..."
"Come on, Arthur. We're going to Avalon."

Gwen was driving Merlin to the bar. "So other than the annoying guy, how was your day?"
"He kind of ruined my entire day. Other than that, fine!" Merlin said with a false smile on his face.
"What did he do?"
"Oh, not much, just said that I was stupid and stuff like that. I hadn't been having a great day to begin with, so that was enough to tip me over the edge."
"Ah."
"Oh, and he said he'd been trained to sue since birth. Like, seriously?"
"Funny, that sounds like something Arthur would say. Wait a minute - this man, what did he look like?"
"Blonde, blue eyes, muscular... stereotypical jerk. He was carrying a briefcase that said 'Pendragon Attorneys'..."
"That's got to be Arthur."
"You dated that jerk?"
"He's actually not that bad once you get to know him. He just has a hot temper."
"Is that why you broke up with him?"
"No, no, I broke up with him because I found Lance, and Arthur broke up with me because he found out he was gay. We were both like 'I have something to tell you', and then we laughed for a few minutes at the convenience of it and parted, no hard feelings."
"But wait, if he's gay, does that mean..."
"No, he doesn't drink."
"Thank goodness for that."

They pulled up to the bar and walked in. Merlin sat down next to Gwen and began to drown his sorrows. A few minutes later, Arthur walked in. Neither of them saw each other, and Arthur got on the dance floor. After changing partners several times, Arthur began dancing with a man who looked a bit like Merlin.
"Hello," the man said.
"Hi."
"You here for the dancing, or are you actually gay?"
"I'm actually gay. It's funny, my friend dragged me in here because he said I needed to pick up a guy."
"Oh?" The man raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah. I'm Arthur, by the way."
"Mordred."
"Hm."
"What?"
"In the legends, Mordred was Arthur's bane. Mordred kills him, in the end."
"Well, I certainly hope that doesn't happen."
"Agreed. You're too handsome to be a murderer." Arthur's face fell.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just... my friend brought me here because I fell in love with someone I can't have."
"Oh? Why not? Is he straight?"
"No... well, I don't know; I didn't get to asking about his sexuality. The problem is, he hates me."
"I'm sure a charmer like you is skilled at persuasion."
"Maybe, but I doubt I'd see him again. It was just a chance meeting."
"Well, if it's meant to be, I'm sure you'll find him again." Arthur shook his head.
"I don't believe in destiny. I'll never..." Arthur stopped mid-sentence.
"What?"
"That's him." Arthur gestured to Merlin. Merlin turned around, saw him, and instantly blanched.

Merlin turned back to Gwen. "Gwen, we need to get out of here."
"Why? What's wrong? Are you in danger?" Gwen asked, worried.
"No. It's him."
"Cenred?"
"No. Arthur." Merlin turned to Gwen suspiciously. "I thought you said he doesn't drink."
"He doesn't!" Gwen replied, as surprised as Merlin.

"Go for it!" Mordred encouraged Arthur.
"What if he rejects me?"
"I'll be right here waiting for you. Or if you prefer, you could go to the friend who got you into this in the first place. I assume he came with you." Arthur nodded. "Now go!"

Arthur walked over to Merlin, who became increasingly worried.
"If this is about the coffee, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"It's not about the coffee." Merlin looked confused. "We got off to a rough start earlier today. Let's try again. I'm Arthur." Arthur extended his hand and Merlin shook it reluctantly, looking even more confused.
"I'm Merlin."
"You're kidding me!"
"I know Merlin isn't the most common name, but my mum really likes the birds, and..."
"Merlin. Arthur and Merlin."
"It's like destiny," Gwen said, turning around.
"Oh, Gwen. I uh... didn't see you there."
"It's alright Arthur. This is Merlin, my flatmate. We're very close friends, so if you do anything to hurt him, I will rip you to shreds."
"I would never..."
"That's what they all say. Not all guys are kind to the people they date."
"Date? What? I'm not..."
"Sure..." Gwen said sarcastically. "I'll just leave you two then," Gwen said, walking away.
"Wait!" Merlin called, but Gwen had already gone. "Now listen," Merlin said, turning to Arthur. "I know you talked about starting over, but I can't forget the way you treated me. And don't try to say the coffee I spilled on you makes it even."
"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to make it up?"
"You can stay away from me."
"Oh." Arthur walked away, heartbroken.

"So it didn't work out?" Mordred asked. Arthur shook his head sadly.
"Listen, you're really nice and all, and I would totally go for you if I wasn't in love with Merlin, but as it is, I can't stay here."
"I understand. Good luck!"

Arthur walked over to Gwaine. "I found Merlin. He said no. I can't think about anyone else. Let's go home."
"Come on, Arthur! You haven't even had any fun yet! We need to get you drunk."
"I told you, Gwaine, I don't drink."
"Well at least dance or something. Hey wait, they're about to announce an activity!" It was blindfolded kissing.
"No way I am doing that."
"Oh come on, you know you love kissing guys."
"Yes, but not now. Not strangers."
"I'll come with you, so you won't be the only one."
"No."
"If you're the first one to kiss a guy when the music stops, you get twenty pounds!" Gwaine reminded Arthur of the rules.
"Oh, fine. But if I don't win, you owe me ten."

They got on to the dance floor, and the music began to play. Arthur danced with random couples until the music stopped, and then he grabbed the nearest man and kissed him. The man recoiled at first, then reciprocated. The blindfolds were removed, and Arthur saw Merlin. They both stared in shock for a moment, then Merlin frowned and Arthur blushed. Not knowing what else to do, Arthur ran away. Merlin walked over to Gwen. "What the fuck just happened?"

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