Floating Face Down (boyxboy)

Chapter Twenty Six

[A/N]  Sorry about the delay, I have a lot of other books to write and I try to write them in order. Then I decided the chapter needed some revisiting. So much to do... so much to do... 

Just for fun I searched around for a face to put to Arran. I usually don't because I know people have already got an image in mind. But I found a German model called Désiré Mia who feels like he fits my version of him. I would have added other images but it only lets me post one...

Thoughts?

The following morning Colby and I were bundled into the backseat to head off to the mall with our mother and father, for some quality bonding time at a restaurant called Bologna that employed a thirty one year old waitress that used to babysit us that my father stares at every time she's in view.

I never liked going there, the atmosphere was uncomfortable between us and the conversation nearly always dissolved into an argument where I was made out to be the bad guy, someone with an uncontrollable temper who would probably shoot all of them dead one day. 

Nearly every other time we went there I'd gotten red in the face and close to kicking something and stormed out, accompanied by the knowledge that they were definitely talking about me, agreeing on just how terrible explosive my temper was, and how much more calm the atmosphere was without me.

It got to a point where I really felt like the servers there must have felt the same way about me, they only saw me storming off and my parents were socially conscious enough to never argue with me while in front of others so it was just me arguing in front of them while they brought up the drinks. 

At some point I'd realised the slight sourness to their expressions when they addressed me. Only our ex babysitter smiled at me when she took my order.

This time I sat down and smiled at them as I ordered the food and saw them look a little surprised, but smile back.

It was around about when my food arrived that I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

We'd talked on and off throughout the night but Haley had clearly fallen asleep at some point.

Actually, we got on pretty well.

I wasn't entirely sure how good that was. 

She was a surprisingly genuine person, her love of poetry wasn't a half-hearted attempt to look deep or intellectual, she didn't get great grades and wanted to become an equine doctor and liked to crochet. She sent me pictures of things she had crocheted. They were very cute.

I couldn't quite wrap my head around the fact that she was dating someone like Pierson. 

The way they chatted about girls I'd have thought they'd be dating those ones that have those black feather boas for eyelashes and colour their lips a pasty pale white who laugh obnoxiously loudly while discussing how cliché one of their friends are.

I looked at the pasta in front of me and looked over at my family, Colby was busy picking out the pickles from his burger and my dad was cutting up his wife's steak while observed him closely, well satisfied.

I waited for a moment until I saw Colby sink his teeth into his burger, his first bite always the largest.

"Right." I stood up. "I prefer cold pasta, so I'm going to go look around for a bit and be right back, okay?" They all blinked up at me shock. "Colby, you wanna come with too?"