"Of course he did," Axel muttered under his breath, peeved in a way he couldn't explain by the idea of Jayde and Harlan's soft date. Hadn't he warned Harlan about the danger that Jayde presented weeks ago? Of course Harlan hadn't listened. Now it seemed like all those fights Axel remembered Jayde getting into, all those secrets, the hole of his life after high school, disappeared next to Harlan's charm. What a joke.

Biting his lip, Axel tried to summon his scowl again but Harlan's tone went soft, and with Axel's own darkening mood, it made the task impossible. "I mean, that's all fine and well if you say it, but you know how I am with people," Axel scoffed back. He couldn't sit still any longer so he slid off of his car and started to pace the parking lot. The frustration rolling off of his kept even the most drunk and flirty stranger from approaching, even if Axel sent the club a longing stare. His mood was too ruined for that but god did he like drowning in more tasteful ways when the waters of life started to creep over his head. Maybe that was why he spoke so honestly to Harlan, someone he used to barely respect, but maybe somewhat liked? "I'm supposed to be a one man show. Friends just...hurt later. Besides...I....don't know how to be a friend back..."