From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 207: Friday at the Auditorium (part 2)

They were standing near the auditorium, talking. fгeewebnovёl.com

Micah’s foot tapped on the pavement. The memory of that stupid bet burned in the back of his head. "Where is Archie?" Micah snapped, voice low but seething. His eyes darted around the venue like a hawk searching for prey. His fist clenched at his side. "Did he crawl into a cave or something, hiding from me?"

Russell gave a nervous laugh, his mouth twitching as he tried to keep things light. "Please don’t explode here. Let the tournament end before you two act out again! My brother’s name might not survive it."

"Oh? His reputation matters? Not mine?" Micah shot back.

Russell’s eyes widened. "No, no, I didn’t mean that!" he stammered, hands up like a shield.

Darcy tilted his head, brows drawn together as he processed their words. "Wait. What acting out? Did something happen between you and Archie?" he asked. His voice was calm, but there was real curiosity there. And a hint of concern.

Micah exhaled sharply through his nose and glared sideways at Russell. Then he turned to Darcy, forcing a tight smile onto his face. "Nah. Nothing serious. We had just a misunderstanding. And I wanted to clear that up."

"Hah! With a punch!" Russell blurted before he could stop himself.

Micah’s expression went flat. He took a single, deliberate step toward him.

"Okay! I’m sorry!" Russell yelped and immediately ducked behind Elly like a frightened rabbit. "Don’t come any closer, man."

"Tsk," Micah muttered, rolling his eyes.

Darcy chuckled softly. "Don’t be mad. I will take care of Archie today. Win the match, bring back your honour."

Micah turned to him with an unamused look. "You too? What honour? What am I, a maiden in need of proving my honour or something?!"

Darcy laughed, warm and easy. He stepped closer and reached out, gently wrapping his fingers around Micah’s wrist. "Come on. Let’s go register. No point wasting your fire on the innocent. Save it for the match."

Micah pouted, cheeks puffing slightly, but let Darcy pull him along. His fingers twitched slightly in Darcy’s grip, but he didn’t pull away. "Fine," he muttered. His voice was soft now, almost sulky.

The four of them moved toward the registration table, waving through the buzzing crowd. Students chatted in groups, organisers barked directions, and the tapping of keyboards and screens echoed from every corner. Inside, it was all energy and tension but Micah barely noticed.

He was too aware of Darcy’s hand still wrapped around his wrist.

He glanced down at it, the warmth from the touch making his pulse jump a little. He wanted to pull back, but part of him hesitated.

He didn’t want to make Darcy uncomfortable. Still, the awkwardness gnawed at him, settling like static under his skin.

It wasn’t until Elly spoke up that the contact broke.

"You two are really close, huh?" she said with a playful tone, her eyes practically sparkling with mischief.

Micah winced like he had been poked. He knew that look too well. "Don’t even think about it," he said quickly, voice sharper than he meant.

"What?" Elly said, blinking innocently. "I just said what I saw."

Micah didn’t bother trying to argue with her. It was pointless. He turned instead and aimed a narrowed glare straight at Russell.

Russell immediately looked away, whistling loudly as he studied the ceiling, not looking at Micah.

Darcy, meanwhile, felt the loss of contact in his palm. His fingers curled into a loose fist, then he quietly slipped his hand into his jacket pocket. His chest felt oddly tight. The way Micah reacted to Elly’s teasing, it unsettled him.

Did Micah really oppose being seen like that? with him?

Darcy’s thoughts raced. Was Micah really straight? But Darcy always felt Micah’s behaviour toward girls was too indifferent. He never heard him talking about how sexy and hot a girl was. Never once caught him ogling anyone or cracking the usual jokes Eddie liked to make.

But that didn’t mean anything, did it?

Still, Micah’s embarrassment and anger towards the forum post were not the behaviour of someone straight. Most boys would laugh it off or shrug. Just make out with a girl and be done with it. Micah’s reaction... it felt too personal. Too raw.

Was Micah open to being with guys or not? Was Darcy just reading too much into everything?

The mixed signal puzzled Darcy. It was driving him crazy.

Micah huffed and turned toward him again, pulling Darcy from his thoughts. "Hey, are you still going to use your alt account? You know you can’t beat Archie with that. You need to use your main account."

Darcy blinked, his expression softening. "Which one do you prefer? I’ll go with whatever you think’s best."

"Wow, such a henpecked husband..." Elly muttered under her breath, her eyes glued to the two.

Russell leaned in toward her, speaking in a low whisper. "Elly, tone it down. Micah will go nuclear and take us all with him."

"But they are so sweet together," she whispered back. "What about your brother? You told me last time they were getting along. Was it like this?"

"Of course not," Russell snorted. "Most of the time, Micah wants to murder him. Darcy is special. I don’t know their history, but everyone knows these two are close."

"So your brother doesn’t have a chance?"

"Please. Not every guy here is gay, okay? Especially my brother."

"I know that," Elly said with a playful pout. "But can’t I ship them in my head?"

Russell sighed. "Micah really is sensitive about that stuff. I am just saying it for your own good."

"Fine," Elly huffed, folding her arms. "I won’t comment on it again. But I can enjoy their candy, can’t I?"

Russell rubbed his forehead, resigned. The first time he saw Elly, he had fallen in love. Never thought the girl he liked was a hardcore Bl Fan, matching every boy with another, making stories about them.

But still, he wasn’t put off by it. Elly was just such a sweet girl, always helping others without expecting anything in return. He found that... fascinating.

Even though Ashley had pulled off that shit on him, Russell never blamed Elly because of that.

And when Elly found out he knew about her special hobby, the girl had dropped all her pretences and just showed him her real self. Honestly, Russell was happy knowing Elly was comfortable with him.

He glanced at her now, eyes sparkling with intensity as she watched Micah and Darcy, and smiled.

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