Love, On Read (MxM)

Chapter 15: Pinky Promise

A/N: I'm getting excited for the next few chapters, hehe. Thanks for reading <3

Chapter 15: Pinky Promise

Ollie's POV

It was difficult not to look at Benjamin's table at lunch or what once was our table at lunch. Granted, it had been a couple of weeks that I had last sat at the table closest to the front of the cafeteria stage. But after years of sitting there with Benjamin and his gang of football boys, my eyes still wandered in that direction, even if I knew it was potentially asking for trouble.

Benjamin hadn't even spared a glance as I walked past after grabbing my lunch, which, maybe that was better.

Lauren sat between the two, in the same spot I once sat, nearly eye-fucking Benjamin. Her arms clutched his elbow, squeezing her chest out as if to attract his attention to her, obviously not in a dress-code shirt that revealed way too much, even by cheerleading standards.

Her, I could ignore; it was the blatant stare Mason was giving me from across the room that I couldn't help but to glance back.

Harvey, who sat beside me and the rest of our gaggle of queer people, had noticed my fleeting glances towards that table, earning me a nudge to the tender spot on my side. I hadn't told any of them about the bruise or the hurtful words, and I planned on keeping that way. Pinching my thigh to mask the excruciating pain and resist the urge to jerk away, I sent him a glare and hissed. "What?"

"Somebody caught your eye?" The corner of his mouth upturned into a grin. Eva had turned curiously at Harvey's words.

"You hiding a fat boy crush and not telling us?" She interjected before Harvey could say anything. Her arm jutted out, nearly taking out Harvey to grasp my shirt sleeve. "The audacity. Ollie, you never tell us anything; who is it?"

"Nobody, alright?" A simple lie, I told her. Jeering a thumb in the general direction of Benjamin's table, I said snarkily, "I'm just spotting our school's most dignified couple. Aren't they just regal?"

She snorted as we gawked at Lauren's desperate attempt at trying to get Benjamin's attention all to herself, while the boys most likely lost in some rant about their last game or practice.

Aside from her blatant advances, the team did what they usually did, stuff their faces and talk shit about whoever they decided to bully that day—that or the latest hookup or video game match.

Yet Mason was engrossed in none of that. Another teammate had snatched his food as he held up his phone, his eyes still trained in my direction. If I was honest, it was surprising that Benjamin hadn't turned to see what his new best friend was staring at; or, he had seen and instead pretended I was some insignificant ant.

Mason tapped on his phone, quite obviously too, not caring that any of his teammates could see the gesture and make an assumption as to who he was directing the motion to. Pretending not to notice, I turned to Harvey, hoping no one had caught the secret exchange. My phone chimed twice, two other messages that Mason had probably sent after he saw I hadn't looked at my phone.

Harvey had looked at it briefly, and I only hoped he didn't see the name. For added measure, I diverted the conversation before he could say anything about it. "Harvey, how's the musical going?"

He tilted his head puppy-like, one of his dark locks falling over his face dramatically. "Okay, I guess? We were talking about the Winter formal. The musical isn't until February."

"Ah, just curious. I'm sure you're all working hard, though. Memorizing lines and whatnot."

"Yeah, I guess. It's mostly songs, by the looks of it—well, not for Seymour. But I think I can manage; I already knew a couple of the main songs. I think the staging will be worse."