Tiny Little Details (bxb)

chapter fourteen

Milo was listening to the Arctic Monkeys throughout math class on Monday, trying to drown on the sound of Mr Gregson rambling on about how the things we're learning will apply to life after school, something Milo doubted. He didn't think he'd ever need to know how to find x and y on a linear graph, calculators were around for a reason. He was slightly annoyed at the curriculum for teaching such useless things instead of what students would actually need for the future – like how to pay taxes and vote. That kind of thing.

He had the volume on the highest setting, and he knew his deskmate could hear it through his earphones, but Milo didn't mind. He probably should have, but he didn't. Milo was trying to focus, not on the lesson taking place in front of him, but something entirely different.

Milo's seventeenth birthday was coming up and he was trying to decide whether to do something. His birthday was close to the cut-off date for the school year, meaning he was one of the youngest in his grade. This was something Paige and Sam taunted him for relentlessly, as they turned seventeen ages ago. He was the little baby of their group, though he liked to think that he gave off more of an older vibe. In reality, he was still sixteen.

He didn't want to throw a party at his house, not with Amelia there, but he also didn't want to do nothing. Knowing Paige, she was probably already planning something that Milo would have no choice but to attend. Paige was a big fan of surprise parties, she'd managed to pull one off for his fifteenth birthday but failed miserably last year seeing as Amelia told him like, two days before. Being the good friend he was, he acted surprised anyway – just to humour her. Each year she tries to outdo herself, something that stems from the competitive edge she was born with. Milo smiled to himself and continued looking on Pinterest for ideas. It was still three weeks away, but if he was going to plan something himself, he needed to make up his mind sooner rather than later.

Pinterest was pissing him off though, his feed was filled with downright unrealistic ideas for a seventeenth birthday, but what else do you expect from Pinterest? People posted the minuscule portion of their lives that seemed camera-worthy, that seemed perfect. What you don't see are vulnerable, insecure moments from people's lives since those are deemed unworthy of being shared anywhere. Milo was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a bell ringing through his ears. He shot up, eager to escape the suffocatingly quiet classroom, Milo didn't really like silence. Well, that's a lie. It just depends on what kind of silence it was; if it was awkward then he hated it, but if it was comfortable, then he enjoyed it.

Thinking of comfortable silence always brought him back to Jamie, especially yesterday afternoon where they just...laid quiet in his room, satisfied with each other's company. That was the kind of silence Milo enjoyed. He enjoyed anything when Jamie Montgomery was involved, but especially that. That was special. He didn't know why. It just was.

Sam was sitting at the table when he arrived at the lunch spot and he tried his best to ignore the disappointed look from Chelsea when he moved past her group's table. Milo was a terrible friend to Chelsea, there was no doubt about it. He was leading her on, like, a lot. Sure, they hadn't talked about what happened at the party, but it was implied that they both thought of it as a good thing. Apparently, word was floating around that they were an 'item' of sorts, a rumour that no doubt started from Jason Bentley.

"Nice to have you back," Sam commented when he sat down, "we missed you, man."

Milo shrugged, "I guess I missed you as well."

He chuckled, "We both know you did."

"It's nice to be back, Chelsea's group is way too hectic for me."

Sam glanced over at the swarm of teenagers all huddled around one singular table, "Yeah, I'm happy with our little group."

"It still surprises me that you opted to sit with Paige and me when most of your friends are over there," Milo smiled, "I mean, I get it...we're amazing, but still, do you miss sitting over there?"