A large smile was spread over Matt's face as the door opened but it faded slightly when he was faced with Joseph rather than Hannah. "Hey..." he greeted, his brow furrowing in confusion. "I was just..." he glanced down the hall, almost as if he was expecting to find that he'd wandered to the wrong dorm room. No, he was in the right place... the wrong person was just answering the door. "I was just... is..."
His words trailed off as he peered further into the dormroom and found Hannah sitting in the middle of the floor with roses, candles, wine and dinner.
It was almost as if time stood still.
He knew that Joseph and Hannah were friends but that was quite the romantic set up... and exactly Joseph's style. Maybe a part of him had always known that other boy had a bit of a crush on Hannah but he never would have thought that he would have acted on it... not when he knew just how much Matt cared for the girl.
The longer he stood there, staring at the pair of them, the clearer the situation became.
When they'd all be home at Christmas, Joseph had been so busy that he and Ed hadn't really seen him. Once they'd gotten back to Chicago, that hadn't changed. If Matt had been the worrying type, he would have wondered if his best friend was ignoring him but, instead he'd dismissed it as the boy being caught up in school and work.
It was only moments but It seemed like hours passed before Hannah pushed her way to the door and hugged him. He returned the hug but his eyes were focused on Joseph. Once she pulled away and stood at his best friend's side, everything became suddenly clear.
He laughed quietly, though, it was obvious from his tone that he wasn't remotely amused.
"I thought you'd been busy," he spoke directly to the boy in front of him. "I guess I just didn't realize how busy you'd been."
Matt glanced back and the wine and candles and he suddenly saw red. One of his best friends... with the only girl he'd ever loved.
"You really are a bastard, aren't you," he snorted. Before he even realize what he was doing, he drew his right hand back and sent it flying directly into his friend's face. Sure, Hannah was still between them but not directly so and he was able to hit the boy, the traitor, easily.
"Yeah, Happy Valentine's Day," he muttered as he dropped the roses in his left hand to the floor and turned to go.