A/N: no worries, Haruto will return for the next few chapters ;)

Ollie's POV

Of course, they chose a crappy mainstream coffee shop to talk things over with me. The coffee there always tasted burnt, which is why the cold brew I ordered remained barely touched. Even the chairs were unbearable, let alone the obnoxious music they played on the speaker. Mason was sipping on his iced latte while Benjamin had gone to add some milk to his black coffee.

"Talk," I said after taking the tiniest of sips, cringing at the bitterness. "You asked to meet me, so talk."

Mason cleared his throat. "Thanks for meeting with us."

"Just make it quick," I told him, training my eyes down at the table as Benjamin returned, still stirring the wooden stick in his coffee. "I made plans after this."

It was a lie that they probably didn't buy, but I didn't care.

"About the wedding...."

"You're still welcome to come," Mason finished for him.

Setting the drink down a bit roughly, I rolled my eyes. "Why should I go? I've told you I don't want anything to do with it."

"My mom..." Benjamin said just above all the noise from the coffee shop. "She wants you to come."

"Your mother? I haven't seen her since high school, Benjamin. What would she want to see me for? I doubt she remembers what I look like."

He gulped before taking a long sip of his drink. Mason placed a hand on his forearm to comfort him, and I nearly scowled at them for the umpteenth time. "She wants to see you, Ollie. She misses you."

"She never liked me before, remember?" I chuffed. "Ever since my mother confronted her about you, they stopped talking. I think that's the last time I saw her."

"She wants to see you—"

"Why?" my voice raised. "Why now. After everything, what could she possibly want with—"

"My mother is dying, Oliver."

I stopped halfway from bringing my drink to my lips. "What?"

"She's dying, Ollie." He sighed shakily before rubbing his temple. "Cancer. Stage four. They're giving her to the end of the year."

I blinked, watching as Benjamin shed a tear for the first time in a long time and probably not since we were children. Mason was quick to comfort him, squeezing his hand. "Is...is that why you're planning a wedding so soon? For her?"

"Yes..." He breathed. "I wanted her to be there, even if this isn't the best time for us financially. She always wanted to see my wedding; you know that."

I did know that. She hadn't married Benjamin's father and openly regretted it. Whether wishing to marry was because she needed more money for her gambling or whether she truly did love him at one point, I hadn't known.

"And you want me to go to it for her?" I asked, letting the pieces fall in my head. Of course, I felt sorry for him, his mother—regardless of how she behaved towards the end of our friendship. But strangely, it still hurt knowing the whole reason behind why he was here, why they had gotten engaged. He invited me, for her sake, for her to see me and see his wedding like some picture-perfect scene. It wasn't for me. It wasn't a genuine invitation at all. He only cared about how he'd be perceived. Of course, he would comply with his mother's wishes, even if that meant forcing his ex-friend to attend. She hadn't known the hell he put me through or how or why we had fallen apart as friends. As far as she knew, we were still friends.

It felt wrong to feel this way, so enraged at him when his mother dying was a serious thing. I probably should've said my condolences and should've agreed to go on that basis alone, but it wasn't fair. I didn't want to see him happy; I didn't want to see the people who had basically ruined my life walk down the aisle and paint this pretty picture of love and acceptance. It was all for show, just like our "friendship."

"She'd love to see you again. Even if it's the last time," Benjamin replied quietly when I didn't respond. He brushed a couple of tears with the back of his hand from his cheek before staring intently at their intertwined hands.

"I don't think I should. I hardly know you two anymore. I wouldn't know the people there, and knowing you two, you invited the team."

Mason's jaw clenched as he turned to me. "Ollie, we just thought you would—"

"Would what?" I cut him off. "Want to be in a room with the people who hurt me the most? Who are a bunch of hypocrites?"

He flinched. Benjamin frowned. "I'm sorry, alright, Ollie? I just want her to see you again; it's what she wants."

"No," I frowned. "You don't get it. You're not sorry! And I can see that I was sorely mistaken for thinking that maybe you two had changed. You don't want me there at all."

"We do," Mason insisted, biting his bottom lip from how loud his outburst was. "We want you to be there, Ollie."

I shook my head. "No. You want to put on this show, this facade that we are still friendly, still something to each other, all for your mother's sake. This wasn't a genuine invitation at all. You wanted to impress these people, create a lie for your mother, so she thinks you're this perfect son."

"Ollie—"

"Stop with that nickname, would you?" The whites of my knuckles were showing as I clenched my fists on the table. "You know what, maybe I should go, tell her what a perfect son she's raised. One who wouldn't quit hurting their childhood friend all for his stupid reputation. I'm sure she'll be glad to know that the only reason I'm there is that you're trying to guilt-trip me into coming."

"Oliver, that's not—" Mason interfered but stopped himself. "We are sorry for hurting you, for bringing you into this, alright? I do want you to be there for what it's worth, not just because of Benjamin's mother. We're sorry if it feels like we're trying to guilt-trip you, but that's not what this is."

"Don't look at me like you're sorry," I scolded, staring at Benjamin's face. "You're not sorry. That's exactly what you're trying to do."

"No, I am sorry."

"No, you're not." I shook my head. "If you were, you wouldn't be here. You would've left me the fuck alone and let me live my life without trying to butt in and get me to go to a wedding."

"Ollie, I'm truly sorry, alright?" Benjamin rubbed the back of his neck. "I am. I don't know how else I—"

"No," I said firmly before gesturing between them. "Tell me, Benjamin. When did this start? The two of you. Is this all a lie too? Some trick to get me to pity you?"

He blinked. Mason gnawed on his bottom lip, nervous about answering a simple question.

"Answer me, dammit!" A few heads turned at my outburst, but I could hardly care about manners or etiquette at this point. "When did this start?"

"Prom."

I veered my head towards Mason, who didn't move, his eyes fixated on his drink in front of him as that four-letter word escaped him.

"What?" I asked. Benjamin chuffed before nudging him.

Mason gulped before looking past me. "Senior prom."

"Seriously?"

"We were drunk, Ollie," Mason said softly. "Very drunk and stupid. One thing led to another, and—and we made out. It spiraled from there."

The wind got knocked out of me by his confession. Benjamin's harrowed face was enough for me to know that what he said was true, not some silly joke or lie. They had that night. It wasn't just that that got me, though. I knew exactly what date that prom was held; I had been on the planning committee before transferring schools. And I know that that date was not even a week from that football game I had attended. The bastards had made out a week before belittling me for being gay in front of his football team. Before, he and his buddies broke my camera and my arm.

Driven by rage and hurt, I laughed, unsure what to say. It wasn't a small laugh; it was a maniacal one, one on the brink of hysteria as that ugly hypocritical side of them reared its ugly head once more.

Glad for once that this wasn't Haruto's cafe and wouldn't waste a perfect cold brew, I gripped the cup tightly before hurling it at Benjamin's face. Other patrons gasped and turned towards us as I leaned forward on my elbows, hoping he'd see the amount of rage coursing through me.

There were so many things I wanted to say. Had I known this would have gotten this ugly, I would've prepared a whole speech.

Saying that I hated him, or that I won't go to their wedding, and I won't even send a card. That, while it's sad about his dying mother, I will not go to a fucking wedding to play pretend, to parade around as nothing happened between us. And I'm not going to act and be this happy person like they hadn't bullied me just as much as their football buddies. And the fact that they've turned out just like me takes the fucking cake. That he'd think I'd easily forgive something like that? That I'd let them blatantly belittle me over every fucking thing. From being gay to my parent's divorce to God knows what.

Or that was what I wished to say, but the rage was so blinding that all I could do was hover over the table.

Benjamin didn't even look up at me, trying to pat the coffee away like it would do something. Mason quickly handed him some napkins, but I could not care less about either of them. Mason glanced at me apologetically, but I was furious at him too. He was just as bad, if not worse, for playing with my emotions after the Winter Formal.

"Listen here, Benjamin. For once, listen to me. Think about my perspective, Benjamin," I said. "Because I don't think you have. We aren't friends anymore. We don't go to the same school either. I get how important a wedding is, trust me. But I can't just put everything on hold to go to a wedding where I know will just...."

I gulped, trying to remain calm and composed. I let out a sigh. "I'll just get hurt again."

He leaned back in his chair, almost as if in defeat. He reached up to rub a hand up his face.

"Benj," I said, letting the nickname slip. "I told myself the day I left that school that I'd stop letting you and people like you ruin my life. I still let it happen, but I'd be a fool just to let it happen repeatedly."

"Some friendships aren't meant to be." Mason met my gaze before looking away. "We need to move on from it—I need to move on from it."

"As awkward as it is, I'm happy you found someone. Even if that someone is...." I looked at Mason. "It's just; I want to move past it all, Benji. I want to be with someone and be happy, and maybe even think about marriage—obviously not as fast as you two...."

Benjamin pursed his lips as I continued. "But I can't do that if everywhere I turn, it's you two sucking me back into the past. And with your wedding, it'll only make it worse. Maybe in some other circumstance, I'd say yes, go to the wedding and just stay on the outskirts, but I can't do that to myself. I'm sorry about your mother and maybe some of the harsh things I've said, but I can't. You've hurt me enough."

Pushing the chair back, I decided to leave, determined to cut them out for good. I would even unfriend them and block them on social media if I had to. Before leaving, I turned to Mason, giving him a stern look. "Don't think you're special. If I had another drink, it would be dumped on you too, Mason."

They didn't have anything to say as I stood up. I doubt they really had anything in either of their brains to say any string of sentences to counter the truth in my words. But that was probably for the best, as walking away from them for good wasn't as easy as I worked it out in my head.

And despite the aching in my chest, it finally felt like I was taking the right path instead of circling back to them. I shut the cafe doors behind me, letting the resounding noise signal the start of a new beginning.