A Tale of Wild Roses [ROUGH DRAFT]

Chapter 31

Oliver Adams missed Angel like hell. Any doubt that he had about him dissipated when he beat up Adrienne. Now all he could think about was how he majorly fucked up. He kept analyzing the three words that led to their break up. "Adrienne kissed me." Not "I kissed Adrienne" or "Adrienne and I kissed." It wasn't cheating when he hadn't been the one to bring it on. Oliver jumped to conclusions out of his personal jealousy that he didn't even realize he had initially.

Even though he had reached out to Angel, he hadn't gotten a text back. His phone probably got taken away, but still. What if he couldn't fix things with Angel? It had been two weeks since he'd gotten suspended. Angel would be back any day now, and Oliver would have to face him during gym class every day. Just another reminder of his mess up.

Oliver prepared himself for the day ahead, but once he got to school he felt completely unprepared. His first period dragged on by, and next thing he knew he was in gym class. They hadn't seen Angel yet, but Andrew had confirmed that he was coming back today. Oliver assumed Adrienne would be back too. The thought of seeing him again pissed him off just thinking about it.

As Oliver settled in on the bleachers, scrolling on his phone like he usually did, Andrew sat down beside him. "Have you seen him yet?" Oliver looked up from his phone, looking around the room as if Angel were on his way over. "No, I just don't know what I'd say...if I did."

"We talked before... the fight. It's pretty obvious that he cares about you, and not about Adrienne. You guys should talk."

"Well, talking's scary so..." Andrew rolled his eyes. "I am well aware, but you should at least try. He's probably under the bleachers right now." Oliver gave his friend a look. "Why..."

"Probably because he's just as scared as you," Andrew shrugged. With that, and a slight push from Andrew that nearly made Oliver fall flat on his face, he inched closer to the back of the bleachers. Sure enough, he was there. Angel looked better than he had two weeks ago, more sure of himself like he usually seemed at school. He was wearing a black t-shirt with khakis, and his glasses, slightly cracked from the fight. "Nice outfit." Oliver called out (and instantly regretted it). Angel squinted at him as he tried to figure out who was insulting his clothing style. When he realized that it was Oliver, his eyes lit up in recognition. Oliver couldn't tell if he was confused or pissed or maybe both. He shuffled his feet and quickly approached him so he could sit down. Standing around would have been more awkward for the both of them. "Sorry. It was a joke, it was an asshole move though. Um, I'm not usually this bad with words. People don't usually make me feel that way, but you...well I don't want to make things worse."

"Okay..." He replied. Oliver took a deep breath in, and let it all out. "I'm so sorry I jumped to conclusions like that. I don't know exactly what happened, but I know you well enough to know you would never cheat. I can't imagine how you've been feeling since that happened. I'm here, if you want to talk about it. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, so I can leave if you want..."

Angel gave him an apprehensive look, running his hand through his curls. "I don't know, it was so out of the blue. I hate him for it, I really do. I would never want him to do that, he never even asked..." Oliver noticed the way that Angel seemed to deflate while he was explaining it. Oliver may not have known Adrienne Miller for very long, but he still had him second guessing himself. He couldn't imagine being best friends with someone like that for so long. To put trust in someone who he realized he didn't deserve it too late.

"Angel, you don't deserve to be treated like that. I'm really sorry you had to put up with him for so long. Your body is your own, and he should've respected that. It's fucked up."

"High school is generally fucked up to be honest. I can't believe I used to love being here." Oliver winced. He knew the feeling all too well, but what helped was that he had friends to back him up. People who loved him for who he was, regardless of what happened. "I'm here for you. And so is Andrew, and Millie, and Hazel. We're your friends. We care about you. I'm sorry I made you feel like that's not the case. I seriously mean it."

"I know you do. Thank you for saying that. Are we...friends now?" Oliver thought about it. "I don't know, but we'll figure it out together." Angel smiled at that. "Yeah, we will." Oliver took out his airpods, and handed one to Angel. "Wanna listen to music for the rest of the period? I need to destress a bit." Angel nodded his head, and they started listening to Oliver's monthly playlist. "Does this mean I'm not kicked off the island?"

"What?" Oliver had no idea what he was talking about. Sure it was the end of the school year and they were both pretty worn out from their chaotic year, but still. "Like in the cafeteria. I can have my seat back?" Oliver laughed. "Oh! Yeah, no. I guess you can." Angel laughed too. "Okay, good. I've missed everybody."

"Missed you too." Oliver didn't care how Angel interpreted that. He knew how they felt. Oliver had no idea where their relationship would go next, but for once in his life he didn't mind that. One thing he had learned that year was that life's one big mystery box. You never know what you're going to get. "I'm assuming your parents were like extremely upset with you, right?" Angel sighed. "Uh, yeah. My dad especially. I'm seriously surprised they didn't yell at me, but they were scarily calm about it. I'm grounded for like two more weeks, and I don't have my phone so I've just been getting back into reading."

"What book are you reading right now?" Angel smiled. "Alice in Wonderland." Oliver gave him a look. "Really? Huh."

"What, is that a surprise to you?"

"No, I just wasn't expecting it."

"That's literally the definition of a surprise." Oliver rolled his eyes. "I've watched the animated movie, and the Tim Burton one. The live action kinda sucked ass though I'm not gonna lie. Anyways, I just find it interesting that this girl finds herself in a world unlike her own. She's now aware of this place that makes no sense to her, and she has the opportunity to explore as much of it as she can. I would love to go on a magical adventure like hers."

"Very magical." Angel picked his head back up and flipped Oliver off. He scoffed in response. "The disrespect." The boys proceeded to run after one another, eventually finding their way to the bleachers where Andrew was spectating their shenanigans. "Y'all are so dumb."

"Whatever, you're just jealous of our athleticism," Oliver replied. "Uh, I don't really know if you're athletic Oliver." Andrew laughed. "Angel, who's side are you on?" Oliver crossed his arms. "No one's side in particular."

Later on, everyone caught up at lunch. Oliver felt like everything was going back to normal. Despite all the problems that arose over his first year of high school, he persevered and ended up with new friends who would do anything for him. Oliver was definitely going to talk to Teddy, Hyacinth, and Jordan about his day when he got home. He'd have to wait a few hours because of the time difference, but it didn't matter to him. He was just glad they were all okay again.

Oliver looked around the table where he had first sat at all those months ago, watching as his friends talked. Andrew and Millie were arguing about some Trolls movie while Hazel and Angel were talking about soccer. When he looked at Angel, he knew one thing for sure. Angel Romero had become an incredibly important part of Oliver Adam's life.