𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 || 𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐫 ✓

Chapter Eleven

A/N: sorry this chapter is short. it's taken me (no joke) a total of three weeks just to write this chapter because I've been a little stuck! but I know where I'm headed with the rest of this story now. I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. a lot has been going on in my personal life, and I've just started back uni as of yesterday. I hope you enjoy this filler chapter!! again sorry it's kind of bleh. but I don't want you all to think I've abandoned this story <3

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August 2020

"You know, you never answered that one question I asked about Austin a while back."

"What question?"

I'm currently curled up on the couch underneath a blanket while on the phone with Luke. As much as I wish I didn't, I know exactly which question he is referring to. I've been preparing to tell him and Olivia about Austin and me and how I already knew him before the movie. But I wasn't expecting it to be brought up so soon, despite me only having about a month left before we go back to filming. Still, I worry about Luke and Olivia being upset about me not being entirely truthful and not wanting to be in my life anymore.

"Have you ever thought about Austin that way?"

I inhale deeply, watching Austin flip through a book on Elvis as he sits on the floor.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you because I haven't been since we met," I say, silently hoping this doesn't ruin the friendships I've built with Luke and Olivia, "But yes, I have thought about Austin that way. In fact, I've been thinking about Austin that way for nearly seven years."

"Seven years?" Luke repeats, his voice teeming with disbelief.

"Yes, seven years. We dated for five, we were split for one, and we have been back together for a good part of this year," I twist my face up in preparation for Luke to hang up or yell.

"Wow," Luke sighs and is quiet for a moment before chuckling, "Olivia owes me fifty dollars."

My face quickly turns into one of shock, my mouth hanging open, "What?"

Austin turns his head to investigate my outburst, his eyebrows furrowing in curiosity.

"We all kind of figured there was something between you two," Luke says casually, "Besides, we figured if you two were together at some point, there was a reason you were saying you'd never met him before. We just didn't know what it was."

I'm still far too stunned to form a coherent sentence, so I just laugh in surprise.

"The way you look at each other and sometimes act around each other is pretty obvious, Roman," Luke is now laughing as well.

Austin still looked confused about my conversation, so I put my hand over the speaker and whispered that I'd tell him about it later.

"Alright, then. That was a little less painful than I thought it would be but much more shocking than I thought it would be, too," I joke, pressing my hand to my forehead to regain my senses.

"I'm glad you cleared it up, though. Everything makes a little more sense," Luke says with a chuckle, "Too bad I can't ask you to go out for drinks now."

"Oh?" I raise my eyebrows in surprise, "What do you mean by that, Luke?"

"I wanted to get to know you more, but I wouldn't want to overstep since you're with Austin," Luke confesses.

"I understand," I say, "We can still hang out when we start filming again, though!"

"Yeah, of course," Luke clears his throat, "I'll leave you to it, then. Lots of work to do still. Talk later?"