Oliver is a manga artist, but he was once an angry little boy with a sunny best friend: Ian Miller. Then, one day, they weren't friends anymore. Oliver doesn't know when was it exactly that Ian disappeared from his life, and refuses to remember why...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Jack..."
"Yeah?"
I reach for his shirt, pulling the traitor aside. "What the hell is hedoing here?"
Jack's eyebrows raise through a sip of his beer. "Uh... Who?"
"What do you mean 'who', the only guy that's new tonight," I hiss, now pointing through the door slit. "Him. Did you invite him?"
And now he's amused. Seriously— am I a clown? What does everybody find so funny? "You mean Ian?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah! I mean, he's cool."
Since when. Since when the idiot's just making friends wherever he goes? Wherever I go.
"Why?" He frowns, drinking again. "What did he do? He stole your girl or something? Or your guy, whatever floats your boat."
"No. He— " It's... I can't put it in words. He didn't do anything, he's just...
"Yeah?"
"I never liked him."
"Right... But why?"
Why does it matter. "He just rubs me the wrong way, I don't need a reason."
"Sure, but... I don't know, stay away from him? I can't just tell him to leave now, you see what I'm saying? Besides, damn! The boy's got a pretty good record!"
I just stare at him. "Where."
"MK." Damn it, damn it— he must have kept on playing since we were kids, too. "Little dude's a savage,"he keeps going in a tone that almost sounds like he respects him. "He beat the shit out of Ethan on the first round. It was fucking funny."
"Wait— what first round?" Did he already come before when I couldn't or—
"Just now, when we were waiting for you. Bro, chill," Jack tells me with a light chuckle, trying to put a hand on my shoulder again, but I don't let him this time. "He's not taking your spot or anything."
"I know that," I mutter.
"Cool, so we're good?"
I can feel my jaw starting to clench, so I squeeze my hair with both hands in an attempt to calm myself down that usually works. "Fine. Yeah, whatever."
Jack nods and is about to leave but then he comes back. He has that look in his eyes that says he's gonna ask: "You...sure there's not something you're not telling me?"
I just glare at him.
"Alright, alright! You don't gotta go all Cyclops on me," he chuckles, showing me both palms as he backs off. "Just come when you're ready. It's Monopoly night."
