Question: if you could get into a relationship with your first crush would you take the offer or is it a hard pass for you now because you're not young and blind anymore?

Answer: it depends on sooo many things, but still, I'll frigging pass! I don't know what I was thinking. XD

Chapter 38 - Out and Proud.

Oliver

Just like that, the weekend had brisked past me. I wasn't even shocked by this anymore, it had become way too familiar. The week crawled so slowly while the weekend ran by at the speed of sound, light would be an offensive exaggeration. 

Mason and I had finally gotten the chance to redo our first lunch at the Ledbury Basque lounge and eatery, the only decent, actual restaurant around campus. The rest were just small diners. Our first lunch there had taken a dive and I ended up sending him home, preventing him from dropping me off at Lighthouse. 

This time, he stopped me right in front of my gate like the gentleman he was. The lunch was a success, more than a success even, because after that we drove around streets for a while, talking and exhausting gas. I could say my day was well spent because it really was. 

Going up to my room, I realised it was already evening; 5:46 p.m. I spent a few hours on FaceTime with Kevin while doing some assignments together. I was way too full already, so I was just going to eat chocolates. I probably wasn't going to have dinner for two reasons. 

The first one being: I was too tired to enter the kitchen and get something done. While the other one was a little more complicated than the first. I hadn't seen or spoken to Jess or Yadiri since Friday after I walked out of the game we were all playing. They hadn't come to see me throughout Saturday and I hadn't left my room to see them either, or anyone, in fact. 

Shirley was probably still in Lighthouse, staying with her boyfriend in his room while Khalid was sleeping God knows where, because I didn't care. I tried not to care, my efforts weren't blossoming, however. 

Sunday was almost over and I hadn't seen or spoken to them yet. I didn't want this to turn into something bigger than just a disagreement between Alex and I, Alex and Khalid, and then ruin my friendship with the girls. 

An hour or two after hanging up from the video call with Kevin and getting some studying done, I got into shorts, picked my phone and keys then walked out of my room. Locking it behind me and walking straight towards the girls'. 

I took one deep breath, then another before knocking and pushing the door open. It was locked this time so I had to wait for someone inside to respond. About a minute later I heard the bolt softly slide open and a crack appeared in the door, revealing an inquisitive Yadiri. 

"Oh hey, Olly," she beamed, relieved, before opening the door a little more and stepping aside for me to enter. 

"How're you doing?" I smiled back, quickly tapping her shoulder.

"I'm alright," she chatted, closing the door. "You came to see us." 

Now, I knew exactly what she meant by saying that, she didn't mean it in the colourful, friendly way. It was somewhat sarcastic because I hadn't come to see them since Friday and it was Sunday already. 

"Umm, yeah I did. Any problem with that?" I tried, looking at her with clueless eyes. 

She scoffed while walking over to her bed, I followed closely behind her and joined her to lay on her bed. Jess wasn't in the room though. The first thing that came to my mind was that she went out with Alex, but it was already past seven now, she should've been back. 

"What about Jess?" I voiced my question after contemplating in my head. 

"She's in the bathroom, shampooing her hair, I think. She's been there for almost an hour now," Yadiri griped, pursing her lips before taking her eyes back to her laptop. 

"Oh," I muttered, chuckling when I realised I was so off. "I thought she was out with Alex or something similar to that," I mentioned, letting Yadiri in on the first thing that came to my mind. 

She instantly turned to me with wide eyes before a muzzled laughter escaped her throat. "I understand why you would think that." 

"Yeah, of course you do. You've been seeing everything that has been happening lately," I fell back on the bed and dug my hands into my pocket when I felt something. It was a chocolate bar I'd left there the last time I wore this shorts. 

I wasn't even surprised that I'd found a chocolate bar in my pocket. This was the norm for me now, it'd been happening frequently lately. Tearing the wrapper open, I started eating it. 

"They went to see a movie yesterday, though," she reported and I nearly choked on the chocolate passing through my oesophagus. 

Coughing slightly while tapping my chest, I tried to get it under control.

"Are you seriously choking because of that?" She giggled mockingly, eyes still fixed on her laptop. 

"It's just," I swallowed one last time, "That was a surprise," I admitted, getting my breathing back under control. "We were just talking about how surprising it would be if they went out together and you just dropped that on me."

"Why is it surprising though?" She took her eyes away from her laptop and narrowed them at me, thoroughly concerned. "You went out with Mason earlier today, didn't you? That's surprising," she objected and took her eyes back to her laptop. 

I froze in my movement, I wasn't even munching the chocolate in my mouth anymore. I couldn't help but wonder how she knew that I'd gone out with Mason earlier today. We hadn't spoken since Friday, and I hadn't seen her since then. Mason probably told her. And if she knew, that simply implied Jess was aware as well.

"How did you know?" I asked, voice flat. 

"I saw you leaving the dorm and entering his car," she answered plainly. 

"Oh," I mumbled to myself, fiddling with the wrapper of the chocolate in my hand. "It's not wrong though, and it's not what you think. It was just a redo of our first lunch together in Denberg which took a big L," I explained, attempting to overcome the guilt which enveloped me. 

"Yeah?" She idly threw the question at me. 

"Yes," I answered firmly and somewhat truthfully. It was a half-truth anyway. 

"Anyway," she leaned back and flexed her shoulders, massaging it gently, "I didn't say it was wrong, now did I? I just asked a simple question. Let your conscience judge you," she beamed at me and I swear that smile sent a message that pierced through my heart. 

My conscience was doing a good job judging me, alright. I hadn't been thinking about it much, but now I was, ardently. I suppose this was one of the reasons I stayed away from the girls this weekend. 

"You didn't have to say it like that," my voice fell and so did whatever joy I felt. Wrapping the remaining chocolate, I put it back into my pocket. I'd lost interest in it. 

"Olly," she cooed, setting her laptop aside and coming to sit above my head, stroking my hair. "I didn't mean it the way you thought I did. Permit me to say this, but it's just your conscience exaggerating things, as it should, by the way. I can't say I understand what you're going through because I haven't been in this situation before, but I know what you're going through. Weird, I know. And yes, you need Mason, but be transparent with him. That's all you need to do," she spoke calmly whilst stroking my hair. 

"You don't think I know that?" I shot back, sounding colder than I intended to. 

"I know you do. It's probably just hard for you, that aspect I understand," she assured, brushing hair out of my face. 

"It is hard," I asserted, sighing. 

"You bet," she agreed with a voice softer than the one I'd nearly attacked her with. "Could this be like a situationship kind of thing?" She suggested, raising her eyebrows at me.

"Bloody no," I scoffed, sitting up and scooting to lean my back on the headboard with her. "It can't be a situationship when nothing ever existed between us," I pointed that out, rubbing my hands on my thighs. 

"Oh, true," she clicked her tongue and nodded her head in agreement. "What the actual hell happened on Friday though? Between Khalid and Alex?" 

"Honestly, I've absolutely no idea. But Khalid seemed pretty mad, I haven't seen him that upset before," I admitted, recalling everything from the game on Friday. 

"He just… pushed Alex, like that!" She shoved me and sent me falling to the other side, laughing. 

"No joke, he actually did," I laughed, bringing myself back up. 

"Then Alex tried to put you in an uncomfortable position, that arsehole. I understood why you left, but I don't think Jess did," she informed me.

"He really did," I muttered under my breath before snapping my head in her direction. "I hope you didn't tell Jess anything about what happened in the hallway," I blurted hastily, worried. 

"No, I didn't. That's why she went out with Alex. She thinks you guys just have a tiny misunderstanding, so she's trying to get it from Alex. He's obviously going to fill her head with misinformation, ugh," she groaned, annoyed. "She doesn't understand."

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. This was a source of great frustration for me. "Just let it be. I don't want to stop her from being friends with Alex."

"Friends?" Yadiri arched an eyebrow at me and forcefully let out air from her nose in a displeased huff.

"Whatever it is they want to be," I corrected myself, spreading my arms and bringing them back to gently slap my thighs. 

"I sincerely loved the way Khalid shoved Alex aside. It was appropriate, not sufficient, but appropriate," she pulled on a wry smile, a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

"It was," I acknowledged, snickering at the look in her eyes. 

"I was just so upset when I saw him saying trash to you in the hallway. I was even more upset when I noticed you were about to cry, yet he didn't just shut up. I would've—" 

Yadiri was cut short when Jess emerged from the bathroom in a bathrobe, her hair tied in a towel. 

"Oh hey, the queen is done," she cheered, smiling brightly at her roommate. 

"Hello Jess," I called out, waving gawkily because I knew we weren't in the best of terms at the moment given the lasting issue with Mason and the recent one with beefing Alex; her new found whatever-the-fuck it is he was to her. 

"Hey," she greeted back, dryly, walking to stand in front of the mirror. 

"Okay?" I muttered under my breath and swallowed nervously. 

Yadiri and I shared a look, and I swear it took everything in me to stop myself from laughing.

"Jessica, I greeted you," I repeated, firmly this time.

She spun around to face me with a blank face which fell when she met my expecting gaze. 

"I'm sorry," she grumbled and slumped her shoulders. "I'm just annoyed at my hair, I need to visit a saloon soon. Very soon, or, I swear, I'll lose my mind here in Denberg. School is just so stressful and engaging, I don't even have time for my beauty sessions anymore," she vented her frustration. 

"Girl," Yadiri dragged, clapping her hands. "I feel you on that. I'm weak," she whined, supporting Jess. 

Applying her face cream, Jess walked over to her bed and sunk into it. She was still in her bathrobe. 

"So what's up? You've been AWOL since Friday," she turned to her side and propped her head up with her elbow. 

"Yeah, I've just been busy with assignments and all. Still trying to catch up," I relayed, scooting to the other end of Yadiri's bed so I could face Jess properly. 

Yadiri had resumed what she was doing on her laptop before I came in. 

"So you've been in doors since morning?" She asked absentmindedly, rummaging through her bedside table for her phone. 

Jess didn't seem too interested in the question, she just wanted to make conversation. Since she asked that, it simply implied that Yadiri hadn't told her about seeing me leave with Mason this morning or she was trying to get it out of me herself.

Looking over at Yadiri, I wondered if I should tell the truth or just evade the inevitable storm of advice that would come afterwards with a lie. Yadiri peered at me from the side of her eyes for a millisecond, making sure not to influence my answer to her question. 

Jess finally found her found phone and turned back to me. "Huh?" She asked again, bringing my attention back. 

"Oh yeah, just indoors. Studying and stuff," I lied, taking my gaze down to my hands. 

"How's that working for you? Have you covered up all you missed out on in the last two weeks," she queried again, tapping on her phone.

"Yeah, frankly, I wouldn't have without Kevin," I giggled at the thought of my friend. 

"Yeah, he's…" she mumbled, trailing off, preoccupied by her phone which, just then, started ringing. She chuckled at the caller ID, holding it up to me. "Alex, give me a minute," she informed, picking up the call. 

My mouth fell open and I froze. Staring fixated at her as she giggled and made soft noises to the other person at the other end of the call, who apparently was Alex. I actually couldn't believe my ears, and it seemed I wasn't the only one who couldn't. 

Yadiri tapped me and brought me to look at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed in utter confusion as she mouthed a "what?" I shrugged and pursed my lips, shaking my head. 

Minutes later, Jess dropped the call and turned back to me.

"So you were saying?" She smiled so brightly at me, leaning closer. 

I tried my best to keep quiet about it but my inquisitive side made it difficult to ignore what had just happened. 

"Excuse me, but what was that just now?" I raised an eyebrow at her, nonplussed.

"Oh? It was Alex, I told you," she mentioned, the smile fading from her face. 

"Yeah, I know you did. But like, you guys are now talking on the phone… when he's just a few hallways away," I wisely added the last part in an attempt to not sound offensive. 

"He went back to his state today, he's not going to be back in, like, two weeks," she informed bluntly, taking her attention back to her phone. "Even if he was in Lighthouse, it's not a crime to talk with him on the phone, is it?" 

Stiffening and gently biting down on my lower lip while cringing at the question, I scanned through my head for the perfect response. 

"No, I didn't say it was. It's just… sudden, I guess," I mused, licking my lips. 

"Sudden," she muttered to herself in discontent. "He's not a demon, you know. I know you disagree with him on some issues, he does too, he told me, but he doesn't hate you. I don't think he does, he's actually kind to those who aren't so defensive with him."

Defensive with him? What the hell was she talking about? The main question was: what exactly had Alex told her to make her say these things? Automatically, I opened my mouth to defend myself but I stopped myself before I could finish, deciding against doing that. It would only drag this conversation a lot longer and I didn't want that. Not in my current situation with Khalid and Mason and everything else I was faced with. 

"Not a demon, got it," I repeated her own words as a murmur while nodding my head, trying my best to make sense of it. I couldn't. "I'll try to stop being defensive with him then," I announced. "What about school though, won't he miss school for these two weeks?" 

"I don't know why he decided to go back home and miss school. I guess some things, like family, are way more important than school," Jess sighed, the concern in her voice true and unfeigned. 

"Do you like him now?" Yadiri wondered, finally joining our conversation. 

"I can't ascertain if I do like him or not, but soon I'll be able to tell for sure. Truly, he's still not my type but let's see," a grin formed on her lips as she said the last words, blushing slightly.

My mouth still hung open and I stared at her in disbelief. This was seriously heading somewhere. However, I couldn't intervene or come in front of this fast moving train. I was just going to watch this from the sidelines. A train wreck? I hope not.

"Girl, I'm greatly surprised but okay. You better be careful though," Yadiri advised harmlessly, tapping her laptop keys. 

We spent some time talking about casual and regular things before I decided to go back to my room. Tomorrow was the start of another school week and I needed to get enough rest for the day ahead of me. 

***

"We don't have school tomorrow and next tomorrow!" Kevin jubilated on our way out of the closest student library. 

I was walking with the gang; Shirley and Kevin. We'd been in the library trying to study slash charging our laptops and using free, fast internet service. It was Wednesday today and they'd sent out emails before the end of school, notifying us that all Thursday and Friday lectures had been cancelled because of some conference. 

On Monday, Shirley had confronted me about why Khalid had acted that way, why I'd reacted the way that I did, and why Alex had been spewing rubbish in the first place. I noticed she didn't like Alex much, but it was much expected from her. Her boyfriend didn't like him much either so it was very normal for her to dislike him as well. All things considered, it was very normal for anyone to dislike Alex. 

At least the side of him I knew, not the side he was showing Jess. I wondered what that side even looked like because I couldn't imagine Alex being anything but… Alex. 

In regards to Shirley's questions on Monday, I'd evasively told her that I had absolutely no idea why all of that happened, or why Alex had said all that rubbish that night. I couldn't go into details, I couldn't even tell her anything because everything circles around the kiss with Khalid. 

That was the last thing I wanted my two school friends to know about. I was scared of how they would react when they hear I might like boys more than I like girls. Hell, I was scared of myself for being this bi-curious. 

Chris was fully aware of the struggles I was currently having with identifying my sexuality, yet Shirley knew nothing about it. Because of some 'bro code', or maybe just common sense, he'd kept it all to himself and not yapped about it, not even to his girlfriend. He even knew I had kissed Khalid on the night of our matriculation party. 

These were more reasons to respect and appreciate Chris. He was such a good friend who respected my privacy and knew it was my story to tell, not his, and definitely not anyone else's. Alex had just eavesdropped on a tiny conversation and came straight to me to blurt out a series of unreasonable words. 

This, I'd been doing this a whole lot lately; overthinking and blanking out. Khalid was still heavy on my mind and I couldn't deny it. I'd stopped trying to deny that he was. 

"Earth to Oliver," Shirley snapped her fingers in front of my face to bring my wandering mind back. 

Gasping and flinching at the sight of her fingers so close to my eyes, I chuckled nervously and sent them looks. 

"If you keep blanking out like that, you'll float out of this planet," Kevin warned, shaking his head. 

"That's a lie," I objected, furrowing my brows at him. 

"It's not, it's a proven fact: if one keeps getting lost in their thoughts, they start levitating, defiling gravity until they leave earth's magnetic field," Kevin spoke confidently, but I knew it was just a bunch of made up lies. 

"Bloody hell, if that's how it works then I need to start getting lost in my thoughts more often," Shirley half crowed, buying the idea. "How cool it would be to levitate."

"Oh please, spare me all of that shite," I giggled, slightly nudging Shirley. "What did you say?" I directed my question to Kevin who, seemingly, had said something that I'd missed while being all up in my head. 

"I asked about how you're going to spend your free days," he repeated, still walking closely beside the rest of us. "God has blessed us with a very short holiday."

"I'm probably going to halt studying for a while, then binge watch animé and stream BTS since our weekend starts early. I can get these assignments done later," I concluded, tutting at the professors who just won't stop with these homeworks or, at least, take a break.

"That's an ideal way to spend a weekend, isn't it," Kevin chuckled derisively, shaking his head. 

"It is, just in case you don't know," I approved, disregarding the sarcasm in his voice. 

"Yeah, yeah," he brushed it off, turning to Shirley. "What about you Shirley, what are you doing with your short holiday?"

"I don't know," Shirley raised her shoulders, answering sincerely. She really had no idea, it was written all over her face. "I will definitely go over to my boyfriend's, he'll have something for us to do," she finished. 

"Yeah, of course he would. You don't even come to Lighthouse because of me anymore," I complained, eyeing with a fake scowl. 

"I never did that, I never visited Lighthouse to see you in particular," she corrected, laughing at me. 

"Rub it in, why don't you?" I rolled my eyes at her. 

"Ouch," Kevin blurted a muzzled laughter. 

"Stop that, don't join her to laugh at me," I started attacking his arm, making him shuffle away from me. 

"Okay, okay, I won't. Sorry," he pleaded and tried to dodge a few times before I finally stopped. "I don't have anything to do or anywhere to go these few days," he uttered softly when the laughter had cleared from the air. 

"You could come over and spend the holidays and eventually the rest of the weekend with me, if you like," I suggested, optimistic. 

Just like his was, my schedule was empty and painfully open. I didn't have plans like Shirley did, so I thought I should invite him over. My relationship with most people in Lighthouse was turning sour, I needed him with me. Although Alex was gone for two weeks or maybe more, I still couldn't talk with everyone else. I still had the issue with Khalid. 

Alex not being around Khalid anymore, even if it was for a short while, made me happy. I couldn't deny that it did because it greatly did, I was overcome by relief on hearing the news. 

"Really? I can come over?" His voice rose with excitement. 

"Of course, you can.  I stay alone and we both have nowhere to go, so let's spend it together like the brothers we are," I confirmed, throwing an arm over his shoulders. 

"That's great," he grunted, getting pulled down by my height. "You know you always weigh me down when you do that."

"Don't say it out loud," I hissed harshly under my breath so only he could hear. 

"You boys are just adorable," Shirley commented, beaming at us. 

"I don't object," I agreed, smiling back at her. 

"We know," Kevin bragged. 

***

I wasn't entirely surprised when I woke up even before my alarm went off on Thursday. I'd spent the last couple of weeks disciplining myself once again, and getting out of the dark pit Khalid's rejection had plunged me into. It was exactly 6:03AM and my alarm was set to go off at 6:30AM, that was my waking time. 

Sitting at the edge of my bed, my mind wandering to wherever, I realised attending lectures and meeting up with a few friends in school was the only 'fun' activity I was engaged in. I wasn't into sports or any clubs yet. I had once sprinted past the LGBT club, thankfully, without dying of sheer awkwardness. 

The way all the members were so out and proud scared me more than people finding out I was contemplating joining them. I wasn't ready to be amongst them, not while I was still trying to figure out what the hell my sexuality actually was. 

I spent a few minutes in bed scrolling through Instagram, checking Mason's new posts and all, his free spirit was something to admire. I wished I could be as free spirited as he was. Khalid was still on my mind, he never left my mind. I'd only managed to set my priorities right, but he was still there and so was my dimming light of hope. 

Getting out of bed, I said a quick prayer before I proceeded to brush my teeth and fix my morning face. I decided to take a morning stroll  around Lighthouse in my pyjamas. Grabbing my Bluetooth headset and my phone, I opened my door and stepped out. 

The morning breeze and the mollifying sight of the rising sun was incredibly soothing and calming, I felt safe, I felt relaxed, I felt at ease in every way possible. Locking my door behind me, I connected my phone to my Bluetooth headset and began my stroll around Lighthouse. 

Making sure to stay away from the alluring garden because it bore so many memories I wasn't ready to revisit, I strolled to almost everywhere else. The compound was big and beautiful so there were countless alternatives, the pool for example, but I didn't go to the pool. It was too early to be staring at a large mass of water, I didn't trust myself on that. 

The morning stroll had me royally frazzled a couple of minutes later so I settled in the outdoor lounge, swinging on an egg chair with my headset still over my ears. I certainly am the only one who gets tired from taking short, luxurious steps so early in the morning, hence the reason I never participated in the occasional group morning jogs. 

Lost in the acoustic songs playing in my ears and the ravishingly serene environment I was absorbed into, I didn't notice when someone sat on the egg chair beside me until they gently tapped my arm. Fidgeting, I turned my head to the source of the hand while pulling my headset away from my head.

"Hey there. Good morning," they greeted, relaxing into their chair and causing it to slightly oscillate. 

My facial expression softened when my brain registered who it was.

"Good morning," I uttered a greeting back, taking my eyes back ahead. 

"How has the week been for you?" He asked, blowing warm air out of his mouth. 

The morning was cold as usual and that was why I came out fully draped in my blue pyjama overall with rabbit ears, and furry flip flops to keep my legs warm. 

"It's been alright. No lectures for the rest of the week so I must say: best week ever," I replied, forcing a ghostly quick smile up to my face. 

"I still have your underwear, by the way," Mako laughed softly, reminding me of the silly dare we had to carry out last week. 

"Blimey, that's true. I still have yours," I chuckled, turning to face him fully. 

"Yeah, of course. That was one crazy dare," he stated, nodding his head in realisation. 

"Indeed it was," I supported, snickering at the thought of actually exchanging underwear with someone else. 

"It's washed though, you can take it whenever you want," he mentioned, gripping his knees and visibly shivering at the cold.

"Same here, I had yours washed as well. You can get it whenever you want," I let out calmly, placing my headset properly in my laps so it doesn't fall off. 

"I will, unless you want to keep it?" Mako teased with a smirk. 

"Oh don't be silly," I waved his words aside, hiding my blush with a fake frown although that wasn't very successful, my ears were burning. 

"Aww," he cooed, placing a hand over his chest. "You're such a cutie."

"You're still calling me that?" I wondered, turning into a darker shade of red. 

"I won't stop unless you want me to stop. Do you want me to stop?" He inquired, only managing to tease me a lot more. 

"Ummm," I mused, evading his question. 

"That's a no, so I won't stop," he noted to himself. "What exactly happened between you and Khalid?" He asked after a short while of silence between us. 

My jaws twitched and I tried my best to make that the only outward sign of tenseness. "Nothing," I replied dismissively. 

"I don't think it's nothing, I think it's something. Something bigger than I think," he argued. "So now tell me, what happened?" 

"I said it's nothing," I rebuffed, fiddling with my headset. 

"Oh Olly," he sighed calmly, wearing a wide, somewhat professional smile on his face. "Just tell me, what happened?"

I exhaled loudly and rubbed my eyes. I was tired of revisiting this topic over and over with different people, I'd managed to bring thinking about him to the minimum. The smallest slip up could render all my efforts futile and I dreaded that, so I came up with a simple explanation instead. 

"It was just a small misunderstanding. We'll be fine, hopefully," I mumbled a lie, looking everywhere but at him. 

Keeping my eyes ahead, I was scared of looking at Mako because then he might see the lie in my eyes. But when he remained silent for so long, I slowly turned to look directly at him. His eyes were fixed on me, that proud smile still tugging at his lip. It felt like he was looking past my eyes and staring directly at my soul, my insecurities, and that made me more tense. 

Vulnerability was a luxury I didn't have, not in front of Mako, so I tightened my jaw and wore a mask. The same mask I'd been wearing for so long and convincing everyone, including myself. 

Mako clicked his tongue and started, "I don't think it's a misunderstanding, I think you've a crush on Khalid, if not more than a crush," he finished, shrugging so casually. 

His words formed like a rock in my throat, choking me and blocking the passage of air to my lungs. I turned and stared at him in disbelief, but that was just half of what I felt. I was overcome by utter fear of being dumped by him as well. 

"What? What are you saying right now?" I faked confusion, calling out with a dry, flat tone. 

"I said I think you like Khalid," he repeated then continued before I could say anything, "It's not bad. I mean, I understand why you would. He's hella attractive, I used to admire him as well before I stopped myself because I'm already taken," he revealed all at once, so casually. 

"Wait, wait, wait, please hold on a minute. What exactly are you saying?" I was genuinely confused now. 

"I said I once had a quick crush on Khalid and I'm taken," he fearlessly clarified.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes at him, bewildered. 

He laughed knowingly at my confusion and tipped his chin up. "It's funny you didn't find out for yourself. I'm gay and Damian is my boyfriend," he revealed, a proud glint in his eyes as he said every single word. He wasn't scared or embarrassed to say who and what he was and I envied that. 

My mouth fell open and I ran out of thoughts. 

"What?" I repeated once again.

***

AN: I'm sorry announce but this might be my last update in a while. I'm going off the grid so I can concentrate and finally put an end to this book. But don't worry, when I come back updates will be frequent and satisfying because by then I must've finished writing Can't Stay Tranquil! News, yay? Yay!

I'm really sorry I'm going to leave you guys on this cliffhanger though. I really am sorry.

Leave a vote to support and encourage me to write more so we can get to the end of Olly's story!

Stay happy, stay safe!
Much love, DrillBurger.