How I survived in an all boys glade

Chapter Thirteen

- the inside joke -

"Hey, what are you two laughing about so much?" Justin's voice cut through the chatter, pulling my attention toward him as we made our way to the eating area.

I glanced at Theo, silently urging him to come up with some clever excuse. Before he could say anything, I jumped in with my own response. "Oh, nothing important, really," I said quickly, hoping to brush it off. I didn't want to give away the real reason we were laughing.

Justin raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying my excuse. "Come on, you can't leave me hanging like that," he said, the playful glint in his eyes signaling he was determined to get the truth out of us.

Theo and I exchanged a glance, both of us holding back grins. The secret smile between us was enough to say everything we needed to know — some things were just better left unsaid, at least for now.

As Justin's curiosity grew, he continued to pester us with increasingly dramatic attempts to uncover the reason behind our amusement. We dodged his questions with vague responses and cryptic remarks, finding comfort in the unspoken understanding we shared. The more he pressed, the more fun it became.

When we finally sat down at the table, Justin's persistence hit a peak. "Seriously, guys, spill the beans! I promise I won't tell anyone," he pleaded, glancing between Theo and me, trying to catch us off guard with his hopeful look.

Theo, never one to back down from a little mischief, grinned widely. "Well, let's just say it has something to do with Gally's special bonfire drinks," he said, his voice teasing.

At that, Justin's face twisted in confusion. "What about my drinks?" Gally suddenly called out from the other end of the table, making Theo and me burst into even more uncontrollable laughter. The rest of the group stared at us, their confusion only adding to the absurdity of the situation.

Newt leaned in from across the table, his voice low and barely audible as he whispered, "What in the bloody hell are they on about?" The other boys exchanged puzzled glances, trying to make sense of our cryptic conversation.

Theo and I continued to giggle, the absurdity of it all making it even harder to explain ourselves. Between fits of laughter, I managed to gasp out, "It's a long story, trust me."

But Justin wasn't ready to let it go. His curiosity was piqued, and I could see him imagining all sorts of wild scenarios. "Come on, spill it already! I need to know what's so funny about Gally's drink!"

Theo and I exchanged a look, both of us silently agreeing to continue the charade. I quickly made an excuse to go get some breakfast, and Theo followed me toward the table laden with eggs and bacon.

As I reached for a plate, I heard Theo lean in, whispering in the highest, girliest voice he could muster, "OMG, you're SO HOT, Newt..." He dragged the words out with dramatic emphasis."Oh my god, would you stop?!" I laughed a bit too loudly, drawing the attention of the others again. The room went silent for a moment as they all stared at us in disbelief.

"Okay, now you have to tell us!" Clint demanded, clearly intrigued, as we made our way back to the table.

"Sorry, no can do," I said with a playful shrug as I took a bite of my eggs, trying to act innocent despite the smirk tugging at my lips.

But the others weren't going to let it slide that easily. "Come on, tell us!" Justin insisted, leaning in closer, while Minho joined in, "Yeah, now we're curious!"

The entire table kept their eyes on us as we tried to enjoy our breakfast, but the relentless questions kept coming. They wanted answers, but Theo and I weren't about to spill our secret just yet.

With every attempt to deflect, the laughter and playful jabs only grew louder. It felt like we were in on a joke the rest of the group just couldn't crack, and honestly, I was enjoying the banter too much to give it up anytime soon.