Friday

Since Elio hadn't been in school on Friday either, Senn hadn't been able to talk to him and find out why he broke things off with Joyce. Or more so, to have Elio confirmed he did it for him, as he as hoping. It was frustrating, since Elio hadn't replied to his texts either, even though Senn simply showed interest and concern over his absence.

It was frustrating, but unsolvable in that moment. Which was the only reason he pushed it aside, silently went about his school day, and agreed on going to a party with Avan and Lucas in the evening to have some fun and clear his mind.

"But, no running off with any of your hook ups, okay?" Lucas said as he held Senn close by putting an arm around his neck. "We're actually going to start this evening together, and end it together."

"Technically you'd be cockblocking me," Senn said, which resulted in Lucas pushing him away before laughing. "But okay, deal. I'll stay and go home with you guys."

"Good, because you always seem to miss the funniest things. Once people end up beyond repair drunk, they get funny."

"Maybe it's just funny because by the time that happens, we're too stoned to realize it's not funny at all," Avan chimed in. "But whatever the reason, you miss out on a lot of laughter."

"I already said I'm going to stay. I promise," Senn answered, holding up his hands in surrender. "All yours tonight. I need a break from reality, and with that, boys, girls, any dating-related issues."

"Sounds like a plan," Lucas agreed, pulling him closer. "It's been way too long since we ended up at either of our homes shitfaced drunk and unable to climb stairs together."

Senn laughed, vaguely remembering a time when Lucas and he would end up drunk at his home about once a week. Lucas' older brother made sure their parents wouldn't discover, by cleaning up after Lucas when he threw up, and by getting them to bed without destroying half the house.

All plans in consideration, Senn stayed close to his friends as soon as they were inside the house, amidst other classmates and some of Senn's old soccer teammates. For a while, he kept busy with beer pong, talking to other friends he hadn't talked to in a while—without them once mentioning the accident or anything or anyone involved—and hearing the latest gossip about girls and guys he hardly knew.

Joyce and Elio was one of the subjects that passed, and Senn intently listened to hear if anyone knew why. They seemed to be clueless. Not just about him, but about Elio being bisexual as well. Which made him wonder if Elio was out or not. He hadn't even considered if Elio wanted others—in this case Lucas and Avan—to know about his sexuality.

"He probably has plenty of girls to pick from," Yannick said, taking a sip from his beer. "He needs to tell me how he got half the girls in our year swooning over him within the first two weeks of school."

"That's all in the looks, my dude," Edwin laughed. "Your ugly face isn't just gonna get you dozens of girls."

Senn chuckled, not even that surprised to hear just how popular Elio was. He hadn't exactly heard much gossip, since he had been focused solely on trying to ignore gossip about himself. Besides, ever since he returned to school, he seemed to be the main topic of the day, most of the days.

"But seriously, why did he turn Joyce down?" Edwin now turned to him and Avan, who had listened in silence as well. "Did you tell him to back off?"

"I did not," Senn shook his head. "Elio hasn't told me anything about it yet."

"Because I haven't seen you," Elio's voice sounded close by, whispering into his ear. "Gossiping, are we?"

"They asked a question." Senn smirked, turning around, away from Edwin and Yannick, to face Elio. His stomach made a weird summersault at the sight of him. As usual, he wore light-wash jeans with holes and a T-shirt with whatever image; in this case, Pikachu. Whatever people would think about wearing a Pokémon shirt, Elio made it seem cool. His All-Stars sneakers were old, but still decent enough to look cool.

"Like what you see?" he asked under his breath, wiggling his eyebrows shortly before taking a few sips of beer.

Senn bit his lip, deciding not to answer his question. "You weren't in school. Were you sick?"

Elio shrug his shoulder. "Can we not talk about it here?"

"So, you do want to explain later?"

Elio shrugged again, grabbing his wrist, pulling him slightly away from his friends. "Seriously. It's nobody's business. So, let's not make it their business, okay?"

"Okay, but just tell me, are you okay?"

Again, he shrugged, not exactly answering his question. "Now that you're here..."

Senn bit his lip again, feeling his cheeks heat up a little. "So, did you turn Joyce down for me?"

Elio stared at him, his face not giving away any hint of emotion. "We're at a party, can we leave the serious talk for later?"

"Can you just answer one of my questions with a serious answer?"

"Yes."

"Yes, to what?"

"I answered one of your questions," Elio said with a cheeky smile. "You figure out which."

Senn rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything, Elio had already turned around and left in the direction of the dancefloor that was created in the living room. Senn stared after him, chewing the inside of his cheek while taking Elio in. Something about him was off, but he didn't know what. It worried him, though Elio had insinuated that he was okay now that he saw him; which could be flirting, right?

For the rest of the night, Senn kept bumping into Elio, who wasn't really drunk, but acted weird. He hadn't given him any clear answers, not about his absence, not about breaking things off with Joyce, not about being okay or not. But since they were in fact at a party, Senn decided not to push for answers, and allow Elio to drag him along with him while he was having fun. Avan and Lucas had also joined them when Elio went outside, but for the most part, it seemed as if Elio was constantly trying to get Senn alone, only to leave him behind after flirting or quick—yet innocent—touching.

It was driving Senn crazy.

He just wanted to drag Elio away from the party and kiss him, and it was very tempting to do so, until Julian showed up, and he was reminded about the conflict in his feelings. Instead of leaving with either one of them, he returned to his friends, and tried to ignore the need to figure out exactly how much he liked both guys.

For one night, friendship was more important than any of his issues. For one night, he was forcing himself to just have fun.

Everything else could wait until morning.

* * * Chapter 30.2 (Bonus chapter) and chapter 31 are now available on Patreon. * * *

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Love, June