Fuzzy brain

 Alfie didn't see this coming. He looked at Poppy wide-eyed that said 'what do you mean you're going out..what about me'. But he was stunned and looked at Poppy and her date, the so-called guy from the diner who turned out to be a postman.

Still, it made him cringe at the thought.

"Don't..don't you think I should..should go pumpkin patching with you guys," he bit a grin. Of course, he got a big unison of NO.

"What would you do..if...you know, this happened to you?" He asked Steve as soon as the two left on their afternoon date.

"I dunno if I'd do anything much, I mean Poppy is just your roommate," Steve winced and went to get Alfie a  cold rootbeer in the fridge. It was organic too and Alfie didn't even really want to open it. Not that a rootbeer was going to make him feel any better.

"I just..I just felt I needed to be there for her," Alfie said sitting down on the couch.

"Like a big brother?" Steve looked him over as if Alfie was a big idiot.

"Yes," he thought that was the right answer.

Steve rolled his eyes at that. "Maybe you have a lot more feelings for her than you want to admit."

"I don't admit anything," Alfie winced. "I just care."

"I'm pretty sure she can take care of herself." Steve shrugged. "She talks a lot. He'll get bored. It'll be fine."

Alfie wasn't so sure about that. "Well, he talks a lot too."

Steve just smiled.

"I think they might deserve each other," he shrugged. "Besides, you said she was just a friend and nothing more. Don't try to make it something that it's not."

"OK," Alfie looked distant. He hoped his best friend was right. He needed to be Poppy's friend. He didn't want her to get hurt. After all, they lived together. He didn't want it to get weird.