Did you ever love me?(Book 1)

6

"Do I look okay?" Nash asked Tan, as he was feeling weirded out because he hadn't worn a suit for God knows how long.
"Yup, babes, you look good. Now let's go." Tan said, held his hand, and started walking to the door.
"Don't you dare call me babe. We're not a couple." Nash hissed and pulled his hand away from him. He walked off to the car.

Nash was wearing a white vest top with a brown coat and black straight jeans. He had done his hair nicely and was wearing a gold earring, white sneakers, and, of course, his precious mask. Tanner was wearing a black suit with a white shirt. He styled his hair perfectly with a ring in his hand.
"So, where are we going? And whose party are we going to?" Nash asked as he tried to start a conversation on the awkward car ride.
"My brother, well, he is getting engaged," Tan said as he spared a glance at him.
"Oh, congratulations, I guess."
"Thanks," Tan said as he held his hand and kissed it. Nash just pulled his hand away after slapping it.
The rest of the car ride was filled with silence. Once they reached there, Nash's jaw was on the ground, seeing the luxury and lavishness of the banquet.
"This. Is this where the party is held?" He asked, still in awe.
"Yeah, I know he could have done much better." Tan shrugged as they walked towards the gate, not before grabbing his hands and draping them over his right arm.
"What the...." He tried to speak but was cut by Tan's fingers on his lips above the mask.
"Sh...... Remember, you're here as my plus one. So, act like that." He said that and gave a kiss to the lips over the mask. Nash stayed still because of the embarrassment. His ears were a little red.
'Cute' Tan muttered as they entered the main hall.
The banquet hall was lavishly beautiful as compared to the outer area. It was a shade of pink and sea blue, with a hint of white in a lot of places. There was a glass floor, and above it was a chandelier made of glass lamps. The roof of the hall was covered in blue glass. On the opposite side of the glass floor was an oval-shaped stage, surrounded by white flowers. And then there were chairs around it. A mic stood tall in the center of the stage. A large piano is in the corner, with a violinist standing there.
"It is so beautiful." Nash awed the hall with glitter shimmering in his eyes.
"Yes, it is," Tan said hazily, looking at him. "So beautiful." He muttered under his breath.
"Why is no one there in the room?" He asked as he piqued interest.
"Well, that's because they're all in the ballroom for now." He said as he grabbed him into the other side of the hall, where there was a door. As they entered the hall, everyone was looking at them. Nash shivered a little as everyone looked at him. He slightly hugged Tan.
"It's fine; no one will hurt you here as long as I'm with you," Tan assured him as they walked further into the ballroom. By this time, everyone has their eyes on the other guests.
"Wow," Nash muttered as he saw the beauty of the ballroom. It was a golden shade with a royalist style. At one corner, there stood, in all glory, the piano and violin again. It was magnificent.
"It's so beautiful.'" He spoke with enthusiasm.
"I know," Tan said as they walked further to the ballroom.
"Tanner." Someone called for him. As he turned around, he saw an average guy coming in a white suit with a bouquet in his hands.
"You came." He said that and beamed a beautiful smile.
"I was forced to come, to be honest," Tan said as he secretly rolled his eyes.
"Gosh. Don't be like that to your brother." The man said a small blush appeared on his face.
"Don't tell me what to do and what not to do, Aizel."
"Don't talk like that to your brother-in-law, Tanner. And where were you? The party started half an hour ago." Silas said as he came out of nowhere. He slowly draped his arm over Aizel's waist and pulled him over to his side. A small blush tinted Aizel's face.
"Don't talk like that to your brother, Sunny," Aizel said as he punched him a little on the shoulder.
"Whatever. Tell me, where were you? and who is that guy with you?" Silas just shrugged as he continued talking with Tan.
"Nothing; I was at home. And this guy here is my 'friend'. I tagged him along because he is an exchange student and new to here. Though I might help him." He shrugged his shoulders as if everything were normal. He looked at Nash, only to see a hint of disappointment on his face. He didn't know what the cause was, and he didn't even ask.
"Nash, he's my brother Silas, and he is my brother-in-law, Aizel. This is Nash." He introduced me to everyone.
"Now that you know each other, let's go somewhere else." He said that and pulled Nash with him, not giving anyone time to talk.

"So, what would you like?" Tan asked as they went towards the refreshment area.
"Anything is fine. I'll just come back. I need to go to the washroom." Nash said as he looked around, like he was looking for someone. He wasn't fully paying attention.
"Umm, yeah, sure," Tan said, looking unsure about him going there alone.

"Tan, come here." Silas called for him. It has been 10 minutes since Nash went there. He might come anytime soon, and even when he comes and he doesn't find him, everything will be right. He can wait here.
"What now?" He asked and walked toward them with disinterest.
"Meet Kreios Berskhire, my business partner and my good friend. And Kreios, this is Tanner, my younger brother." Silas introduced them, but he could see the lingering tension in the air that came just a second after their eyes met.
"Yeah, I know; I met him the other day. The one intruding on my love life." Kreios commented on him as they glared at each other.
'Isn't he with the guy that I mistook for Nash in the mall? What the fuck is he doing here? How does he know my brother?' Tan thought to himself, still glaring at each other. Tan doesn't know, but he hates this guy for no reason; it's not like he took his partner. He doesn't know he hates this guy's guts for no fucking reason. Because he is with someone who looks like Nash.
"Your love? You are in a relationship, and you never told me. That's too mean of you, Kris." Silas said as a mischievous grin lingered on his face.
'Did I just see Silas smile? He smiles only in front of Aizel.' Tan thought as he looked back and forth at each other. They looked at each other playfully, looking like best friends.
"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you about my fiance. Castor, come here, sweets." Kris called for him with a small smile plastered on his face. His eyes were shining, and he was looking at the guy lovingly. A look of love. When Tan saw Kris like this, he felt jealous for no reason. Why? Because he still thinks that the guy is Nash. Of course he is not, or is he?
A tan-looking boy with light brown eyes and lightly tinted cheeks came wearing a beautiful suit and an earring on one of his ears. He was looking both beautiful and handsome at the same time.
"Castor, come meet my friend, Silas Amorin, and Silas; this is my soon-to-be husband, Castor Whitlock. Ain't he the cutest thing in the whole world?" Kris said as he snaked his arms around a little shorter guy and kissed his temple. The tanned boy got all flustered, but he still punched him in the shoulder. Tan heard a small 'shut up' that the guy muttered. But his whole interest was in the surname of the guy, Whitlock; that name is way too familiar for his good.
"You are going to get married. No way. You're inviting me, 'cause you better." Silas wondered as they started talking. But at the back of his mind, that name was somewhat familiar, but he chose to ignore it.
As they stood talking there, Castor, who was making small talk for a while, called for Kris to go home.
"I think we should go now. He has to start a university, and I'm also joining one as a professor." Kris said as he tried to bid goodbye.
"You're going to teach? But then what about the company?" He asked as they started walking towards the door.
But before Tan could hear them completely, he heard the guy saying the university's name. Wait, was it his university? No fucking way. This guy better not be at my university. He thought to himself as he internally groaned.
A small ping from his phone made him open the text, only to be furiously angry. The text was an audio that Tan had no clue was there, and now he doesn't know what to do. Why? because if the chats get leaked, he might have to go to jail. But there was no way he was allowing it to happen at any cost. He called Knox and asked for the location of the runway guy, only to be disappointed.
Angrily, he went outside the hall, leaving Nash all alone there.
As Nash looked for him, he couldn't find the guy anywhere. He internally groaned.
"Where the fuck is that guy?" He asked himself. As he was walking, trying to find the missing person, he bumped into Aizel.
"Is everything okay? You look lost." The guy asked as he worried for him.
"Yeah, I'm. I just can't find Tan. I have work to do, and he isn't here." He asked as he looked for the guy in the bustling crowd.
"I saw him going outside 10 minutes ago. I thought he was with you." The boy answered him as he took pity on that guy.
"Ugh, that guy, seriously. First, he forced me to come here and now left me all alone here. How the fuck am I supposed to go home now? I have work in the early morning, and it's already 1 a.m." Nash kept talking, not knowing he spoke too much.
"If it's too much, I can tell Silas to drop you. And I'm sorry for what he did to you. He is so reckless." Aizel said this as he called for Silas.
"No, it's fine. I can go by myself. I'll call for a cab or something. It's fine." Nash politely answered him as he walked to the gate. Before Aizel could say something, he was out of there.
As Nash was walking, a car passed and stopped just to his right.
"It took you long enough. Now let's go. Gosh, I'm so tired." He said this as he buckled himself.
"You should sleep. You're in need of that." The guy said that and kissed him on the head.
"I think so too. Goodnight." With this saying, he was dead-ass sleeping.

~Eera