NO Love Club (Boy × Boy) ✔

47) WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, FUCK YOU.

Cole Walker's POV 

The walk to Declan's was short, but awkward. Silence hung heavily over us, weighing down our shoulders and slowing our steps, as no one was eager to arrive at the destination. I had seen the streets and the three floor houses with their big yards countless times, but I tried to see them from X and Wilder's point of view. 

I knew Wilder was from a poor family, and not just by making assumptions about his beaten-up car and worn clothes. I knew it because people liked to talk and gossip about the least interesting things of all. About X's wealth I didn't know, so let's just have another thing to add in the long list of stuff I don't know about him. I imagine his mom's position pays well, though.

Whereas the look in Wilder's eyes grew more and more bemused the more he saw, X only gazed around in mild interest. He, like me, was paying more attention to Declan and Wilder's reactions. I guess we were just waiting for another fight to break between the two. And yet, by some miracle, we got to Declan's home without incidents or a trail of dead bodies.

Declan held my gaze when he gestured towards the spacious living room, which was straight out of a magazine with no spot or dirty mug in sight. While Wilder and X took a few hesitant steps into that direction, Declan started pushing my chair to the kitchen instead, and for once I didn't object or complain about it.

"Are you sure your parents won't notice?" I worried, my eyes taking in the sight of Declan pulling out a bottle after a bottle from a glass display cabinet. "Or catch us red-handed?"

Declan didn't answer, but just rolled his eyes and started pouring a small amount of liquor into the four glasses lined on the table. Then he studied the bottle and turned to add some water in it, before moving to the next bottle. Soon the glasses were filled with a mixture of.. I don't even want to know.

His movements were jerky and he was grinding his teeth together, reminding me of mom. That sent a jolt of panic through my veins, making my heartbeat accelerate. How difficult was it for my body to let go of those danger signals whenever something even relatively reminded me of mom?

"They won't be back before Friday." Was all Declan said to me, before storming out of the room with two glasses in his hands. After a short while he came back and took the remaining glasses.

I followed after Declan in silence, watching him as he sat on the couch, leaving a generous gap between him and X. Wilder was sitting in an armchair, frowning down at his hands. The room was filled with a suffocating silence, which was only broken by the sound of Declan gulping down his drink in one go.

Wilder followed his example, grimacing as he downed his glass. X sent a questioning look at my direction, but I only shrugged and picked up mine from the coffee table. We sipped our drinks, which tasted about as good as I had expected, to have something to do with our hands.

"So.." X started, looking more than a little lost and out of his element. He glimpsed at Wilder and Declan, but then locked his gaze with mine. "Wilder told me what happened between him, Declan and Theo. He wanted me to pick sides, but I figured I shouldn't do so before asking Declan's version of the story."

"Who's Theo?" I asked, frowning. When I turned to look at Declan, he averted his gaze. It looked like he wanted to sink into the corner of the couch, just so that he wouldn't have to talk about it.

"I used to date him." Declan muttered eventually, rubbing his hands together and refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

"Date him? That's bullshit and you know it." Wilder spat, laughing humorlessly. I waited a beat for Declan's answer, but he just kept rubbing his hands together.