Can't See Straight (Maeve/You)

Chapter 5

I groaned as I rubbed my eyes, walking down the school hallway until I heard my name.

"Eric! Y/N!" I heard Otis yell as he ran towards us and grabbed our arms, practically squealing. "Sex pretzels! It worked!"

I furrowed my eyebrows and was about to ask for more information, but Otis took off down the hallway with Eric and I quickly following.

"We have sex pretzels!" Eric shouted as him and Otis giddily skipped into the asbestos toilet block. Maeve was sitting on top of the sinks with her knees up, smoking and reading something. I waited back a few steps and lit up my own cigarette before making my way closer to the group.

"Clients." Otis corrected. "We've got clients."

Maeve's eyes widened as she quickly shut whatever she was reading and set it to the side, waiting for Otis to explain as I released a small puff of smoke into the air.

"Numerous students have approached me today hoping to secure our services. And they're willing to pay." Otis grinned.

"Keep talking." Maeve encouraged as Eric looked at Otis who looked stunned.

"Actually, that's it." Otis weakly said.

"That's it." Eric quickly reiterated as Maeve shoved her book into her bag while nodding.

"Oh, okay. This is good." Maeve spoke and got up as we agreed. "Really good. Um, so... we're back on?"

"Yes! Yes, but, um, toilet cubicles aren't gonna work." Otis interjected as Eric nodded to back him up. "I'm not a priest, so I need to see people face to face."

"I thought you didn't want to be seen." Maeve wondered.

"Well, yeah, but it's not about me. It's about them, and it needs to feel like a conversation. Otherwise, it's just too much pressure for everyone."

I nodded as Maeve fiddled with her fingers as she spoke, "Okay. Okay. I'll be in charge of bookings, schedules."

"Yeah." Otis agreed.

"Y/N can do payments, security, that kind of thing." Maeve continued as I nodded as I took another hit.

"Great." Eric nodded and looked between us. "What shall I do?"

I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck as Otis and Maeve scrambled to think of something, "Ah... there's...."

"We could, um... try..."

"Uh..."

"Yeah." Otis and Maeve both kept stammering and searching for words as I just put a comforting hand on Eric's shoulder as he understood.

"Yeah, it's cool. It's cool." Eric said as he looked all of us in the eye to show he didn't blame us before chuckling and saying, "No problemo. No, I've got lots of things to be getting' on with, anyway."

Eric continued rambling and turned to Maeve and I, "I'm super busy, Y/N. Super busy, Maeve."

We both nodded shyly and said, "Okay."

"Um... but this is so great for you guys!" Eric tried to be positive.

"What does this mean?" Otis asked.

"We're open for business." I answered as I stamped out my cigarette while Maeve smirked and grabbed her bag before turning back to the exit.

"Let's go." She smiled and we all trailed behind.

We ended up at the swim meet with Otis sitting a few rows ahead of Maeve, Eric, and I. I was sitting on the end so that when our client came, she could just slip me the money. Otis turned around to look at us and Maeve mouthed something back, nodding to him as he turned back around. I noticed Adam was glaring daggers at Eric, but he turned around when he saw me looking. I scoffed lightly and noticed Olivia coming down the steps, so I held out my hand slightly and she slipped the money in it. I casually readjusted to slip the money into my pocket as Olivia slid into the seat next to Otis. The buzzer went off and all the swimmers launched into the pool as the crowd erupted into cheers.