I Have Been Chosen

Oliver 1

Friday 2nd January

"I think we both knew that this was coming," said Arden, letting out a sigh, his fingers clasped together.

Oliver did not say anything. Instead, he sat opposite, staring blankly, back straight, hands rigidly at his sides. He did not know that this was coming, perhaps not now and here, but with Arden's tone of voice, he knew the only thing it could be.

"I love you, Ollie, I really do," continued Arden. "But I always felt I loved you much more than you loved me."

Again, Oliver did not say anything.

Arden stared at him momentarily as if waiting for a response, but Oliver's face remained still. "You not even going to defend yourself? Is it true, then?" His hands tightened their grip, his knuckles whitening.

"I do not know," replied Oliver flatly. "I do not know how our feelings differ if they are on different levels-"

"I'm breaking up with you, Ollie." Adren sighed. He rested an elbow on the table, his head in his hand. He then finally glanced at Ollie. "You don't even look upset about it."

Olliver blinked. "Did you want me to be upset? Is that what you wanted from this conversation-"

"No! Of course, fucking not!" Adren bit his lip, glancing around as he saw the other customers in the cafe staring at their table. He waited until those prying eyes looked away before continuing quietly, "if you actually liked me, though, you would look upset about this, which was my whole point. Even now, you look like nothing has happened, looking so fucking blank and expressionless."

"You said you liked that about me-"

"No, I said I like stoic men, not an emotionless robot!" Arden hissed, and then his eyes fell away, unable to look at Oliver directly. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, his voice cracking. "I didn't mean to..." Arden straightened himself. "You rarely smile or laugh; I don't think I've seen you cry or get angry before; it's like you don't care about anything." He shrugged. "Maybe you do care, but I'm not a mind reader, and trying to work you out is exhausting."

Oliver paused, then said, "you also said you liked mysteries."

Arden almost let out a spluttered laugh. "Yeah, maybe for a one-night stand, someone stoic and mysterious, but it doesn't exactly work in a relationship, does it? No, because in relationships, you need communication, and you do not communicate with me."

"What do you want me to communicate with you?"

Arden flipped his hands in the air in frustration. "Your feelings? Your thoughts? Come on, Ollie! What are you thinking right now?"

Oliver paused for a moment, then stared at Arden directly. "I think that this breakup was calculated."

Arden froze up, blinking incessantly, his hands returned to his lap, hidden underneath the table. "Well, yeah, you have to think a lot before breaking up with someone. You can't just do it on a whim."

"I mean that you chose this day specifically," replied Oliver. "It is the 2nd of January. You could not have done it yesterday as we were recovering from a hangover. And you did not want to do it on New Year's Eve or anytime before because it would mean you would have no one to kiss during the countdown. All the rest of your friends are in relationships, and you did not want to be the only single person there because you value keeping face than being in a miserable relationship." Oliver paused. "Was I correct?"

Arden griped his knees, scowling at Oliver. "You knew that I was miserable being with you?"

"I had a feeling." Oliver shrugged.

"And you didn't end things?"

"You were the one who had the problem, so why did it have to be on me to break things off?" Oliver blew on his cup of peppermint tea before taking a sip. "I was having a grand time."

"See, even now, I can't tell if you're being serious or making fun of me."

"And after ten months together, you still do not understand me," said Oliver, taking another sip.

There was a long moment of silence. Arden glared at Oliver as he continued to enjoy his drink.

"Well, we're broken up, I guess," Arden finally said, standing up and putting his coat on.

"Yep," said Oliver, still concentrating on his drink.

Arden stood still for a moment, then huffed and left the cafe.

"Enjoy the New Year!" Oliver called out.

He did not receive a response.

Oliver put down his peppermint tea and stared down, using the spoon to swirl the liquid absently. Then he remained still in thought. If anyone saw him, it would seem like he was frozen, a mannequin perhaps. Oliver was like this for a long time, and he only finally snapped out of his daze when he heard a notification from his phone ping. He retrieved his phone from his coat pocket and found a message from one of his friends consoling him on his breakup. Arden seemed to have already told people, and the news had spread. Soon, Oliver's phone was constantly a buzz with messages and a few calls, and then he found out that Arden had blocked him on all social media. One of Oliver's friends had screenshotted an Instagram post Arden had made just a few minutes; it was a picture of Arden walking alongside the river, paper cup of coffee in hand with the captions 'New Year, new me, time to cleanse all of the toxicity out of my life and focus on living my best self' followed by a series inane hashtags about being single.

There were already several comments despite how new the post was. Arden had made a considerable following from his series 'me and my grumpy boyfriend', which were pictures of the two of them together going to cafes, theatre shows, and any other dates; Arden would be centre picture, taking a selfie of his exaggerated excited smile with Oliver in the background looking 'grumpy'. But that was just Oliver's face, that deadpan expression. The latest one was, of course, New Year's Eve, taken during the countdown as everyone else chanted and screamed in joy meanwhile Oliver silently sipped his mojito amidst the excitable crowd.

Arden had kept those posts up, likely because they had gained so much more likes and comments compared to the rest of his content. Oliver wondered if Arden would lose followers with the breakup or if he would find another boyfriend to monopolise. He never asked permission to post those pictures on social media. Oliver had always thought he was taking commemorative pictures until one of his friends told him. But it had made Arden happy to have this account, so Oliver did not complain.

Perhaps he could sue him over using his image without permission?

No, that would be too much effort.

Oliver looked over to the other side of the table, where Arden's drink remained untouched. The barista had done such a beautiful piece of art with the foam, creating a swan with a heart-shaped head and yet Arden did not take even a sip, only taking multiple pictures from different angles. Arden didn't even like milk in his coffee; he preferred it black.

"Such a poser," Oliver mumbled, glancing from the undrunk coffee and the Instagram post.

Though both drinks were now frightfully cold, Oliver didn't want the baristas at the cafe to think that their work was terrible, so he first drank Arden's coffee and then finished his peppermint tea, wincing at the bitterness and cold that not even the peppermint could overpower. Finally, he picked up both empty cups and returned them to the counter.

"Thank you, it was delicious," he said to the barista that had served him, then put some coins in the tip jar.

The barista, at first surprised, smiled, thanking him as he left the cafe. 

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Beloved Freak By Garbage

[The very first song. Cody's voice is soft and low as he sings closely into the microphone, each word careful and delicate. He looks out into the empty bar, searching for someone.]