Pieces of Love

Chapter 10- Anime

Oliver and Cameron were seated on the couch together, Lia on the end, making the two boys sit squished together on the three-seater. Brandon was perched on the edge of the coffee table looking very serious with his hands folded, elbows leaning on his knees.

Maddy walks into the lounge with two mugs of tea, handing one over to Lia and placing the other beside Brandon's thigh on a coaster.

Usually, Lia was the one to be the rule enforcer. She was firm and liked to discuss whatever it was that upset the others, but not this time. This time Brandon was taking the lead. Cam thought maybe it was because it was Brandon's jumper that got caught in the crossfire, but Oliver knew better.

It was because they'd had that little chat about his behaviour towards Cam already, and rather than solve the issue... Oliver had gotten into a fight. He didn't mean for it to happen, but the phone call he'd had with Cameron not that long ago had simply added too much fuel to the fire and his anger had burst from him without control.

He was usually better at controlling it. But when he'd apologized to Cam, he wasn't forgiven, in fact he was reprimanded again for 'not listening' or being 'too controlling'. Oliver didn't understand what else he was supposed to do! He apologized, wasn't that enough?

"I don't want to be the parent here and tell you guys off, but I am going to tell you some hard truths because this is getting ridiculous." Brandon begins, his face softening into sadness as he runs a hand through his hair.

Lia twists so that her back is against the arm rest, her body positioned so she can face the two troublemakers. "Brandon's right. If it keeps going on like this, you two aren't going to be friends for much longer."

Cam frowns.

"Cameron, did you not have any of your own clothes to wear?" Brandon asks.

Cameron shrugs. "Nothing that was clean."

"You always borrow Oliver's, so why did you take mine?"

He lets out an angry breath of air, "Since when did anyone here care about whose clothes I wear? Maddy always wears Lia's clothes, and Lia is always wearing mine or Brandon's things. Oliver picks up anything off any of your bedroom floors and wears it too. Why does it matter?"

Oliver's jaw clenches down, his arms tightening in their crossed position across his chest. Maddy notices from her spot on the floor and reaches out to rub a soothing hand up and down his shin.

"You didn't answer the question."

The air is suffocating as they all wait for Cameron to speak up, his eyebrows furrowing deeper. 

"Fine! I wore Brandon's jumper because I didn't want to wear Oliver's stuff."

"Why?"

The dam bursts and Cam's anger bubbles over. His voice raises as he points aggressively at the man beside him. "Because he's such a controlling asshole! He doesn't let me do anything I want to do, I don't get to make any decisions, I don't even get a say in paying my own rent!"

Oliver refuses to retort, his lips sealed shut as he stares at his work pants. He was helping Cam, why couldn't he see that?

"Ollie, you wanna say something to that?"

Oliver shakes his head.

Cameron scoffs. "No, of course not, because he knows I'm right. It's because I'm the youngest here, he treats me like a child."

Lia makes a noise of disapproval. "Cam, that's unfair. You know that's not true."

"Yes, it is!"

Maddy winces. No one liked to admit it but all of them babied Cameron a bit. It wasn't that they saw him as the baby though. There was more to it than that.

"No." Oliver speaks up, "I don't see you as a child, Cameron. I'm just trying to look out for you, help you –"

"Helping me doesn't mean taking over my life."

Brandon keeps his eyes on Oliver, prompting him to keep talking.

"No, you know what, for me, yes it does. Do you not remember high school?"

Cameron blanches. That was a few years ago now, why would he bring that up? "That has nothing to do with –"

"It has everything to do with now. You may not be having panic attacks every hour like you used to, but you still need someone to take care of you! Do you not remember how hard it was for you to speak to strangers? To leave the house? Do you not remember that the reason you haven't gone to university these past two years is because you thought it would be too overwhelming?"

Cam's throat closes up, his chest twisting in pain at every question pointed at him.

"Oliver, I think that's enough," Maddy whispers.

"No!" Oliver sits up, arms flying as he gestures, "he needs to hear this. You say I'm controlling, fine, but if I weren't here, where would you be?"

Cameron shrinks back into the couch.

Lia puts her hand on Oliver's shoulder. "We get it, Ollie. I don't think Cam is telling you to stop loving him, but high school was years ago. He's grown up, he's gotten better. Look at him."

She tilts Oliver's head until he has to look over at his friend. "He's not little Cammy anymore. He leaves the house regularly, he goes to the park, he talks to people, he's not helpless.

"All we're asking is that you let Cam live a little. Let him make mistakes like the rest of us so he can continue to grow and get better."

Maddy decides to pipe up, a hand coming to rest on each of the boy's knees. "If any of us lost our job, you wouldn't wrap us in bubble wrap."

"We're not saying it's all your fault either," Brandon addresses, sipping at his tea. "Cam has been relying heavily on you for years. You both need to learn to respect each other's space."

The room falls into silence. Cam chews on the inside of his mouth, feeling a weird mixture of shame and guilt as he stares at his pink pants. Maybe he was relying too much on Ollie. Maybe he'd been encouraging him, subconsciously, to baby him and look after him.

Lia claps her hands together. "Now, Maddy, Brandy, and I are going to watch anime together while the two of you go to Brandon's room and have a private chat. Okay?"

Cam nods, slowly rising from the couch and shuffling into Brandon's room, hands in his hoodie. Oliver follows him, shutting the door softly behind him with a click.

They both stand in the room for a moment, neither saying a word as Cam takes a seat on the bed, his pants riding up to show more ankle.

"I have a spare pair of sweats... if you want them." Oliver rubs at the back of his neck.

Cam sighs. "Yeah, that would be good, thanks."