I Have Been Chosen

Oliver 16

Friday 30th January

This time more prepared, Oliver had worked out a new bus route, one that avoided Miles; however, it did require more walking and waking up early, but Oliver was determined to walk for as long as he had to get to work if it meant seeing him less. The weather today was horrible, raining showers almost all day; the sound of the rain helped Oliver block everything; even whenever Miles' loud laugh could be heard across the office, Oliver barely reacted. This feeling of control came in momentary bursts. It seemed that it would take some time until Oliver stopped being silly and overreacting. Miles was keeping away just like he had asked, and yet Oliver wanted more; he wanted Miles completely gone but had no convincing reason for that to happen. He had nothing against him apart from the uncomfortable feeling and no concrete evidence either.

But at the very least, he wouldn't see him for the next two days, with it being Friday, which would be Oliver's favourite day if it weren't for Miles. As soon as Oliver headed out of the office and saw Cody in that damaged car, Oliver couldn't help but grin. He did not bother to use his umbrella to shield him from the rain as he rushed over and clambered into the car.

"You're looking particularly cheerful today," remarked Cody, smirking as Oliver shook his hair, slashing a few drops of water on him before combing his short curls with his fingers. "Good day?"

"Mid," replied Oliver. "Just glad it's the weekend."

They had their usual drive-thru coffee and headed back home, spending a few hours in their own apartments before meeting up again at the car to head to the venue for tonight's performance. Along the way, they stopped at Darren and Sasha's house. Instead of sending a text or knocking on the door to announce their arrival like a normal person, Cody instead put on a song, Shine by Take That, and sang along, or rather shrieked along, purposefully singing badly like he had done with Oliver before with Erasure's A Little Respect.

"Darren hates Take That," Cody explained in between an instrumental break before returning to howling.

"Alright! We're fucking coming!" The front door to the house slammed open, and out screeched an angry Darren.

Deadpan, staring at Darren, Oliver turned the music, prompting Cody to sing even louder.

Nearing the end of the song, Darren and Sasha finally came out of the house with Darren's bass guitar and gear, stuffing it in the boot or with them in the back seats.

"Our neighbours already hate you enough as it is," said Darren.

"Cody has thrown up in their garden multiple times," Sasha explained to Oliver.

"Do they know that I am three weeks sober?" Cody said proudly, puffing out his chest. "They might love me now."

"Oooh, congrats!" squealed Sasha.

When they arrived at the venue, the others had already beaten them to it. Working as a team, a few carrying coats and blankets to protect the electrical equipment, they hurried everything inside and began setting up.

Due to the poor weather, there were few customers, and the bar staff were not expecting much of a turnout, but the band were still getting paid the same, fortunately, no matter how many customers there were.

"Good evening, Old Beagle!" Cody called out enthusiastically into the microphone.

He received one 'whoo' from a likely drunk customer who waved at him. Cody waved back. "We are Common Anomalies," he continued. "We hope you are all enjoying your drinks tonight. Since it's likely going to be a quiet one, we will be open to requests and not following our typical setlist. If you have a song request, then please head over to our sound tech Oliver..." Cody motioned to the table in the corner where Oliver was set up; Zeke and Sasha were sitting at a table nearby drinking, whistling at the mention of Oliver.