“You never told me whether you're going to go to the party on Friday,” David said the next day, poking Louis hard in the arm.

“I told you I’m expected to go,” Louis pointed out.

“That’s not an actual answer,” David said.

Louis was quiet for a moment, studying him. “Do you want me to go?” he finally asked in an unnecessarily serious tone. It made David feel like this question was about more than just the party.

They had been floating in the gray area between friendship and something else for quite a while now, but David still wasn't sure he wanted to surface on one side or the other.

“I—” David started, tilting his chair back on two legs and letting it balance there while he tried to come up with a response.

“David, can I have a word with you?” Nabila asked from directly behind him. David almost tipped his chair backwards in surprise. Instead, he over-corrected and the chair crashed forward, practically spilling David into Louis's lap. Louis steadied him with a firm hand on his arm and David turned a sheepish smile at Nabila.

“You’re going to break the chair,” Louis scolded, though he was smirking.

“Yeah, of course,” David said to Nabila, then stuck his tongue out at Louis before following her into her office.

She sat down behind her desk and gestured for David to take a seat on the other side. David did so a little nervously. She rarely wanted to speak with David without Louis also present. Since starting working together, almost all of their decisions had been made in concert, and the sudden shift in that routine put David off balance.

“Don’t look so nervous,” she said with an easy smile. “It’s good news.”

“Good news?” David asked, brows raising.

“The show is green lit for a second season. The pre-release reviews have been so high, that they’ve given us the go-ahead to start filming.”

David smiled, genuinely pleased that the show would continue, even if he was a little disappointed he wouldn't be a part of it. “Wow, that’s great news. Congratulations! But what did you need me for?”

“That’s the other good news,” Nabila said. “Your character, and the dynamic between you and Louis on screen, has been commented on very positively. If you want the job, we’d like to keep Marcus around.”

David couldn’t form an answer for a full thirty seconds as he processed that information. “Wait, you want me to come back?” he finally asked.

“Yes,” she said. “If you are up for another season, we think you'll be an asset to the show.”

“Of course I want to come back,” David said, still a little bit in shock. The idea of working on this show—with Louis, too—was everything he’d ever wanted. “This has been the single greatest opportunity of my life. I’ve never worked with such an amazing cast and crew.”

“There’s no need for flattery, David, you already have the job.” Nabila chuckled, but looked pleased.

“I was being serious,” he insisted. “Really, thank you for this opportunity, Nabila.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Of course,” she said. “But, no telling anyone about it yet, I still have to finalize things.”

“Yeah, all right,” David said, blood buzzing with excitement. “Was there anything else?”

“No, you can go tell Louis now,” she said, waving him off.

David froze at the door, turning back to her.

“You just said not to say anything. I wasn’t going to—” David started, though he was. He hadn't even thought about it.

“You were. He already knows, anyway. It’s fine.”

David nodded. He supposed that it made sense that she had asked Louis if he minded, he was the star, after all.

But the thought that she had gotten Louis's permission still prickled at David a little bit. He didn’t want to need Louis permission, or his name, or anything else to get work. He wanted to earn it with his own skill and merit.

Louis said he was talented, and seemed to believe it, too, but David couldn’t help but take note of all of the things that suggested otherwise.

If he was so talented, then why would Nabila want to okay it with Louis before offering him the job? He was, of course, second rate to Louis—less experienced, practically unknown, less of an asset overall—but David wished he could, for once, be the one who decided what he did. It was ridiculous. He was ecstatic to have this opportunity, and grateful, too, that they'd decided to change the storyline to have him back, but it still bothered him.

David didn't get a chance to tell Louis as he was rushed off to makeup as soon as he left the room. He was almost relieved that they weren't filming any scenes together this morning so he could get his head on straight.

Regardless of his attempt, something must have shown on his face when he met up with Louis at lunch. Louis's brows drew together ominously as he turned to study David over an excessively colorful salad.

“Is something wrong?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, nothing,” David said, sliding into the bench opposite him.

“What did Nabila say this morning?” Louis prompted, the anticipation in his voice giving away any doubt that he already knew what Nabila had wanted.

For one instant, David considered telling him that she had just wanted to ask him how he had liked going over the show and fill out some final paperwork before David left in two weeks, just to see what Louis would do. David had no excuse for that, though, and it would be mean.

“She asked me back next season,” David said. “You already knew that, though.”

“I did,” he said, still watching David with something that was almost worry, “and you said...?”

A little of the iciness that had settled over him warmed at that expression. It was like Louis was worried that David didn't want to come back, which implied that Louis did want him to come back.

“Yes. Of course I said yes!” David rolled his eyes. It was a silly question, but he was... really glad Louis had asked it.

Louis grin was—if not literally, then at least very close to it—blinding as he reached across the table to give David’s arm a squeeze. David’s breath caught and he tried to focus on something other than the electricity that seemed to arc between them through that single point of contact.

“I’m glad,” Louis said, tone making it sound like an admission. “I wasn’t looking forward to another year of this without you. I told her from the beginning that she should keep you around. I’m glad she decided to change her plans.”

And, just like that, any resentment David might have had toward this whole situation disappeared.

His stomach knotted into that familiar but not unpleasant mess of emotion. Right then, he wanted to kiss Louis again, wanted to feel the scratch of his stubble against his fingertips, and inhale that unique scent that hovered just under Louis's aftershave.

“I do want you to go to the party, by the way,” David said. “I was hoping we might sneak off again.”

Louis eyes widened just a little bit, but his smile didn't leave, only turning into something quieter, tender.

“I’ll go. I’m expected to be there anyway,” he said.

David nodded. “Good. Now, I’m going to eat before they drag me off somewhere else to get the most that they can out of me before filming ends.”

“They’re probably going to have to shoot some extra scenes on this,” Louis said. “Now that you aren’t dying and all.”

“They could still use that death scene, though,” David pointed out. “I just have to be undead before then.”

“You just want to be a vampire so that Rosemarie will love you better than me,” Louis teased.

“She did tell me that I’m a better vampire,” he preened.

Louis snorted. “I told you. She wants you to stop by for dinner, by the way.”

“When?”

“Whenever. It was a rather non-specific invitation.”

“She should be careful or I’ll never leave,” David said.

Louis laughed at the joke, but David wasn’t entirely kidding.