Travis Vs Jasper

The days following my declaration of love to Jasper seemed to blur together in a haze of excessive attention and affection. Jasper, ever the devoted husband, had taken my words to heart in a way I hadn't quite anticipated. He was by my side constantly, attending to my every need with an almost alarming level of attentiveness.

It was as if he had decided that I was a fragile piece of glass that needed to be handled with the utmost care. He hovered over me like a protective shadow, making sure I was always very comfortable, well-fed, and happy. He wouldn't let me out of his sight for even a moment, insisting on accompanying me everywhere, even to the bathroom. He'd tuck me into bed at night, holding me close as if I were a precious treasure.

I found myself craving solitude, moments of quiet reflection where I could gather my thoughts without the constant buzz of Jasper's doting presence. I wanted to be able to do things on my own, to assert my independence, but Jasper seemed determined to smother me with his love and care.

As much as I wanted to tell him to back off, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew his intentions were pure, his actions driven by love and concern and I really enjoy it. But still, I couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped.

When I awoke, the room was empty, devoid of Jasper's usual presence. The only interruption to the morning silence was the persistent ringing of my phone. With a sense of resignation, I answered.

"Hello?"

""How's your imprisonment going?"" Travis's voice came through, dripping with sarcasm.

"For the last time, I'm not a prisoner Travis," I grumbled, irritation creeping into my voice.

""Come over! And don't bring your boy toy!"" Travis snapped before I could reply.

With a heavy sigh, I hung up and dragged myself out of bed. What could Travis possibly want now?

An hour later, I found myself standing outside his luxury apartment, knocking on the door.

"Finally!" Travis greeted me as he swung the door open, ushering me inside. He placed a plate of calamari in front of me.

"Ah, it's been so long since I've had any fried food," I remarked, digging in eagerly.

"Why not ask for fried things? You have a cook at your home!" Travis asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

"Well, Jasper said fried food isn't good for the body and I'm not used to choosing my own meals. I just usually eat what's there," I said.

"Wow."

"Anyway, thanks for the calamari. I love the way you make this, you should try Jasper's too," I told him.

"Hell no! Why would I eat anything he serves me?" Travis turned his lip in disgust.

"I thought you guys got along."

"I've been keeping my mouth shut since I was happy about you finding love and you knew he was obsessed with you, but Jasper is a real asshole," Travis told me.

"What'd he do?" I asked. Why the sudden change?

"A few days ago, around 11 p.m., I called you," Travis said.

"I didn't see it."

"Of course you wouldn't, Jasper answered it for you! All I did was ask to talk to you, and he said, 'Could you stop calling to have late-night talks with Alex. I get that you two are friends, but he's exhausted so you need to chill. Isn't it inappropriate to call a married man this late?' and he said it with so much attitude! Like I was some random bitch in the street! Is he mentally ill?! I remember why I hated him again!" Travis snapped. "I knew something was off the moment he approached us! Fucking ridiculous!"

"Well-"

"How are you not more angry that he disrespected me?!" Travis snapped at my calm demeanor.

"I get where he overstepped, but in all fairness, I was probably very tired. Things are really hectic at work and I have meetings up the ass. He wouldn't try to stop us from speaking," I told him. "Plus, he's been clingy and pushy since I met him."

"Stop letting him push you around!" Travis shook me, putting more calamari into the fryer for me. "Then again, you would marry a psycho like that! You couldn't just find yourself a normal guy like a normal person! You had to be different."

"Hey! I originally wanted nothing to do with him at all! You're the one who consistently pushed me into it regardless of what I had to say!" I reminded him of his involvement. "You even said I needed to give this a serious chance!"

"Well I was wrong! You can live with me after the divorce," Travis huffed.

"How depressing," I sighed, digging into the second plate of fried calamari served to me.

"You're way too happy-go-lucky about this. This'll eventually get beyond your control," Travis said.

"Like you would know, Mr. single for life. I know about how he is, I just love him."

"More than me? Your bestie? Your mother?"

"Yes. Anyway, I'm going to take a nap, this food made me tired. Wake me up in an hour," I said. I'm sure that it was nothing to worry about. They've had problems in the past but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle themselves.

"Sure, sweetie, your room is just how you left it," Travis waved me off.

I went to Travis' spare room and flipped down on the bed. I deserved a nap, and it felt nice to be out of the house, full of fried food, and worry-free. I'm sure once I get this nap in, everything will return to normal.

I slept deeply, the kind of rest that erases all fatigue and leaves you feeling reborn. When I woke up, though, the room was enveloped in darkness, a stark contrast to the daylight that had been streaming through the window when I had laid down.

Confusion clouded my mind for a moment until I checked my phone and saw the time—11 p.m. How could I have slept for so long? I must have been more exhausted than I realized, or perhaps it was the stress of everything weighing on me.

My irritation flared up when I noticed I had over sixty missed calls. Why hadn't Travis woken me up? That petty bastard! Is he trying to get back at Jasper through me? Is that why he invited me over? I hurriedly got out of bed and made a beeline for the door, intent on giving him a piece of my mind.

As I approached the door, voices reached my ears. Two voices, both angry, one of them unmistakably Travis'. Curiosity mingled with my irritation, and I hesitated, eavesdropping for a moment before I made my presence known.

"This isn't a matter a friend should be involved in. It's between me and Alex, butt out," Jasper's irritated voice sounded out.

"No, I'm worried about my bestie. How'd you know he was here? Did you put a tracker on his phone again? What a stalker," Travis retorted with just as much venom.

"So it was you that removed it the first time?"

"Of course, why would you need to track him at all?"

"It's for Alex's safety. A lot of people have been after him! Didn't he tell you about what happened recently?" Jasper defended.

"Well, it's still weird! Weirdo!"

"Whatever, can you just hurry the hell up and send Alex out to me?" Jasper sighed. "I'm getting sick of looking at you."

"The feeling is mutual and you make it sound like I forced him to come over! Jealous of the best friend?" Travis taunted. "That's low, even for you."

"You're really starting to get on my nerves, Travis."

"The feeling is mutual, bitch."

"What's going on?" I decided that now was a good time to step out. There was obviously some tension I wasn't aware of. "Are you two fighting?"

"Sugar!" Jasper pushed past Travis and speed walked over to me. "You didn't answer any of my calls. Do you know how worried I was?"

"Bullshit," Travis scoffed.

"I meant to only take an hour," I shot him a glare.

"Are you that exhausted you didn't hear the phone?" Jasper looked at me and turned my attention back to him.

"Let's just talk about this at home," I sighed leading the way out. "Sorry about the commotion, Travis."

"Jasper can fuck off. I'll call you tomorrow," Travis rolled his eyes. I knew he was stirring up trouble because Jasper gave him an attitude, but I guess if I were on the outside looking in, I'd hate Jasper for being so rude too.

"Don't be like that," I sighed.

"Then you go fuck yourself too. I'll call you around noon," Travis snapped before slamming his door on us. I've never had Travis ever be this pissed off at me before, and it made me feel awful that he slammed a door in my face.

Maybe I should've defended him a bit more in the moment against Jasper, or taken his side a bit, but he didn't explain anything too bad happening between them. For fucks sake, it was just a bit of attitude, it's not like I could make Jasper suddenly like him and want to be friends!

What do I do now?