Tell Me You're Jealous Without Telling Me You're Jealous.

°♡°

The Arcane Festival is one of the biggest events here in Arcadia, especially during Summer. A lot of musicians and street performers come around this time to perform. Plus it's being hosted at one of the theme parks near the beach.

We had a good time and by "we" I mean mostly Vinny and Feenyx. From rapping Jay-Z's verse in 'Drunk in Love' when we drove to the festival, dragging me and Sid into doing the entire choreo for 'Boy with Luv' by BTS while Toni was recording and winning almost every prize at every game stand they set their sights on.

"Those are a lot of prizes." Sid comments, staring at the heap of prizes that are all stored in paper bags that are underneath the table.

"We could have won more if Urie hadn't stopped us." Feenyx pouts at me.

"There ain't no way all that is going to fit in my car," I remark.

"You just hating 'cause you didn't win a single thing."

"Please! As if I'd get mad over you winning against a scam."

"Hater."

"Fuck you!"

"You're welcome to try, pretty boy. I wonder if you'll fuck me hard enough to make your girlfriend jealous."

"AYO!" Vinny exclaims, hi-fiving her. "Will you be able to walk after that though?"

"Depends on him since he's offering."

"That's what I mean and you know it!" I blush furiously, glaring at them.

"We know. We just don't care." They both give me innocent smiles.

I growl, gritting my teeth. Why and how I'm still friends with them will forever be a mystery to me.

"You two act like a couple."

All eyes are on Toni.

"Who does?" Vinny asks.

"You two." She nods toward both of them. "You guys have such great chemistry together. People at work think you two are together and I can definitely see it."

I feel a strange twinge in my chest at Toni's comment. I don't know why the thought and idea of Vinny and Feenyx being anything other than friends is making me feel uneasy and a certain type of way I can't even explain. Maybe it's because I feel like Feenyx can do better than dating Vinny let alone a human for that matter. She is a nymph after all. I'm pretty sure she would prefer dating other deities or even gods if she hadn't already dated a god. So why lower her standards?

Vinny and Feenyx's laughter breaks me out of my thoughts.

"Honey, no. It's not like that." Feenyx chuckles, wiping away a tear.

"Sure, I would smash Nyxxie if I was given the opportunity to. Heck, I can even dare and say that she's my other half and soulmate, but it's all platonic." Vinny explains. "I would never date her. No offence."

"Nah, I'm with you." She agrees. "You are attractive too, but dating you is just as good as dating my sibling and that's a whole lot of weird to unpack."

"Yeah, that would be weird now that I think about it." I agree, hiding the relief in my voice.

"Oh...  well I think you two would make a great couple. You have a lot in common." Toni says.

"Sweetie, males and females can be friends without any romantic entanglements." Feenyx smiles at her. "I'm friends with Vi-Vi, Sid and pretty boy here."

"Why do you call him that?" she asks. "He has a name, you know?"

"I'm aware. I call him that because he is a pretty boy." Feenyx answers.

"It's in the name. Come on now." Vinny chimes in.

"Look at him. Nice hair, a strong jawline, a youthful face even for a man in his early thirties, dazzling eyes." She lists. "If that ain't a pretty boy, then I don't know what is."

"Don't forget he has a smile with supernatural healing abilities," Vinny adds.

"And a nice body," Sid says.

"Especially the body." Feenyx agrees.

I blush at the sudden compliments but smile, nonetheless. "You guys are exaggerating. I'm average at best."

"Average?!" Vinny and Feenyx exclaim with disbelief.

"Dude, you have any idea how many women find you attractive?" Vinny tells me.

"You really need to be a little confidence in yourself. Your parents didn't donate their genes for nothing, boy."

"You do know that you're sexualising him and making him uncomfortable, right?" Toni comments.

"Wow! Tell me you're jealous without telling me you're jealous." Feenyx says, raising her eyebrows amazed. "We're just hyping up our friend and how beautiful he is. How is that sexualising him? It's not like we're telling him to strip naked or make a thirst trap."

"Women can also get jealous of men prettier than them? Now that's a new one." Vinny remarks.

Toni chuckles, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I'm not jealous."

"Sure you're not." Vinny rolls his eyes.

"Aren't you the one who keeps saying 'I'm not his girlfriend' whenever I poke fun at you being his girlfriend?" Feenyx asks.

"That's because I'm not and I hope you understand instead of making such assumptions."

"You also assumed Vinny and Feenyx are dating." Sid reminds her.

"Honey, notice how you're the only one who has a problem with me calling him 'pretty boy'. Matter of fact, you're more bothered about it than he is and this is about him. If that doesn't scream 'jealous girlfriend', I don't know what does." Feenyx points out.

"I'm just saying – "

"And I don't care about what you have to say about and I certainly don't care that you don't like me calling your precious boy toy nicknames." The fake smile disguises the venom in Feenyx's voice. "Remember that you're engaged. You have no business speaking on how I address Urie unless he tells me himself. And I'm pretty sure you'll rest easy if you know your place."

The two women continue staring at each other and all we could do is helplessly watch them in silence as the tension starts suffocating the atmosphere.

"I'm starving." Feenyx glees with a smile as she picks up the menu, changing the atmosphere. "Order whatever you want y'all. I'm paying."

I turn over to Toni. She appears calm and lost in thought, but I can see her clenched fist clutching the hem of her dress from underneath the table. My first thought is to place my hand on top of her to calm her down, but I decide against it. There's no telling if it will help her or if she even wants me to touch her.

♡

Toni decided to call it a day and head back to her motel. She said that it was getting late and she was tired of today's festivities. I already knew that she didn't want to stick around and deal with Feenyx any longer than she had to already and I don't blame her. It is tiring fighting with Feenyx and once you start with her, there's no end to it until she wins and has the final say.

I was upset that Toni had to leave so soon and hoped she would stick around a little longer to see the fireworks. But surprisingly, I was kind of relieved that she decided to leave. I'm not sure if it's because it meant that I won't have to deal with Feenyx and Vinny bickering and picking fights with Toni or that I can finally enjoy the festival without Toni sulking after losing an argument against Feenyx.

"So what now?" Vinny asks, throwing his hands behind his head as we stroll around the theme park.

"How about we go to that photo booth over there." Sid points at the photobooth not too far from us.

I sense Feenyx tense beside me. As I turn to check on the sudden mood shift, I notice something odd. Her jaw is clenched and her throat is bobbing nervously despite her calm and nonchalant demeanour.

"I'll pass." She deadpans.

"Why?" I ask, arching an eyebrow at the sudden change of tone.

"Photobooths are lame," she answers vaguely, crossing her arms to her chest, avoiding my studious gaze.

"Come on, Feenyx. Just one round of photos. They'll make great souvenirs." Vinny insists.

My eyes shift back to Feenyx, reading her closely. She may be playing it cool, but her body language is betraying her. Her shoulders are stiff and tense. Her fingers are digging inside her jacket as she tightens the grip around her arms. Her eyes are guarded.

Vinny and Sid may be blind to these small details, but not me. I can tell that she's hiding how uncomfortable she is with the suggestion and she doesn't want anyone to know about it.

"Fine." She reluctantly relents. "But I better not regret it."

Vinny grins enthusiastically as he grabs her wrist. "You won't. Now come on."

He pulls her towards the photo booth. Sid and I follow not too far behind and enter the machine.

"Nyxxie," I whisper, catching her attention. "Are you comfortable?"

"I will be if all of y'all stop moving around so we can get this done and over with." She rolls her eyes and smiles assuredly. "I'll be fine."

"Alright, beautiful people. Smile for the camera and say 'cheese!'" Vinny pulls all of us into a hug.

Don't forget to vote and comment ♡