#ted and alice friendship fic coming up sooooooon :'''3c

[displacedbias]

[pre-gala]

He can't be a coward again. Not this time. 

Deep breaths, Felix. It was hard to believe he'd gotten an invitation to the gala. Didn’t he embarrass himself last time? He recalled crying, moping, being upset that Teddy and Penny were together. While he was alone the whole time.

--No. No bad thoughts! If Teddy knew what he was thinking, he'd tell him to be nicer to himself. Not to dwell on these things. That this time, it'll be different, and that's what matters. Felix will not let himself be lonely and pathetic again. That's why he's here, after all. ...Even though every part of him was screaming not to do this, not to ruin their friendship with such a trivial whim.

Clammy hands rap on the door, not ready at all but forced to do it anyway. Felix couldn't stand stewing in such unbearable feelings for a second longer. He barely could stomach regular feelings. He couldn't help but think Teddy would handle something like this so much better in his place. Asking Penny out in the natural flow of conversation? So easily, so swiftly, without even an ounce of nervousness Felix was feeling right now? Right. That could never be him. Felix was much too inept for that.

"Felix?" --Goodness, he hadn't even noticed the door was open now, Ozzy's hands already quickly releasing its grip on the (already very clean) doorknob despite being aptly covered in nitrile gloves. His warm eyes met Felix's, a look of care piercing through the young Huxley's heart as he was reminded of everything he loved about Ozzy. The way his ginger hair caught the light of sunbeams, the way he stood at a bit of a distance unless you were someone he was comfortable with, the endearing love and excitement he harboured for that Destructotron franchise-- Ozzy blinked and creased his brow as he stood in the middle of the doorframe, "...You look like you really need the bathroom. Are you okay?"

And oh, how Felix admired how blunt Ozzy could be. ...Usually. Right now, however, he was mortified.

He could only hope his face didn't match Ozzy's hair as he shook his head frantically, "N-No! Not at all! I mean-- No to the first thing. I'm fine! Perfectly fine! Whyever would you think otherwise??"

Ozzy laughed awkwardly, "Uh... Well you're acting a lot more nervous than usual, for one thing. You're here without Ted, and you look like you reeeeally wanna say something. Which is, y'know. Rare."

Felix remained silent, glancing away long enough to completely miss the softened expression Ozzy was giving him.

"...So what's up? You can talk to me about anything, I promise. I'll listen." Ozzy concluded, smiling kindly.

How was it that everyone always seemed to know Felix better than himself? He took in a deep breath for what felt like the hundredth time in the past... however long he'd been standing on the doorstep, mustering the courage to knock. "Erm... So... You know the gala that Penny, Teddy, and I went to before...?" Felix fidgeted with his hands as he watched Ozzy nod, the silence urging him to continue, "W-Well... Would you... like to... bemydatetothegala--?"

It took Ozzy a second to process what Felix sped through saying. Be his date to the gala. Ozzy blinked. Felix blinked back. And then the panic set in. Ozzy wasn't saying anything. Why wasn't he saying anything--? ...Did asking that make him hate Felix!? Lord, please, no, Felix could not live with himself if that were the case. What if Ozzy shot him dead for daring to ask such a stupid question. Or worse, rejected him. And what if he tells him he hates him and that they can't be friends anymore and he's always secretly hated him and Teddy is so much better than he is and he is simply so unloveable and awful and pathetic and stupid and of course no one would ever like him and gets a restraining order against him for being so cringeworthy?? What the bloody hell was Felix thinking, doing this--

Ozzy smiled, a hint of shyness, and astonishment, and gratitude. He looked so happy. "You really mean it? You want to go with me?" Felix could swear his heart skipped a beat, and he wordlessly nodded. His entire mental ordeal had him so shaken that he was worried his voice wouldn't work properly if he said anything more. Ozzy held up some hand sanitizer. Felix took it, knowing what that meant. Vaguely, at least, because he wasn't at all ready when Ozzy gently grasped Felix's hands with the most tender touch after they were all sanitized up. "Felix... I'd be honoured to go to the gala with you. I'd love that. I really like you a lot and I... Well, I'm glad you asked me this time. Really. That means a lot to me."

For some reason, this reaction was a lot harder for Felix to wrap his head around than any other imagined scenario. "I... Ah... Huh...?" 

Ozzy chuckled and squeezed Felix's hand gently, "You're cute when you're confused." 'Cute'... Ozzy thinks Felix is cute...! "Anyway, thanks. I'm really excited, Fe. I guess... we could pick out outfits together, maybe? That'll be fun, right?"

And Felix smiled back, finally. Squeezed Ozzy's hand back too. That would be fun.