CARNIVORE

Chapter 29

Tycho Black.

The next morning, I woke up to Alexei and Riley significantly more chirpy than usual. They seemed energetic, which I guess was a good thing. If only they could hide the not-so-subtle glances in my direction with worry etched onto their faces. Hell, I didn't even have a chance to take care of my own plate before Riley went out of his way to swipe it from me the moment I finished my food. As much as I wanted to shrug off their weird behavior, I couldn't. It felt like I was on suicide watch or something. 

Nevertheless, I wasn't going to say anything. The two could act as weirdly as they wanted because they treat me well when they don't have to. I'd be lying if I said it didn't follow me around campus all day though; kind of like a lingering smell. Wait, no, that was just my breath. Ew.

When practice came, I still expected the snarkiness and side-eye from Colton and his group of shit stains. But nothing happened. Not once. I know they respected Louis, but damn. Colton didn't seem like the sort of guy to listen so well. At least I knew who held his leash now. 

Speaking of Louis, he and I have only become better friends due to our circumstances. I slowly but surely found myself growing excited at meeting Louis at his car after every practice, and the conversations that came with it. 

That's where I was now, actually. Sitting in the passenger seat of Louis' car while we ate takeout in the parking lot. 

"So," Louis started between bites of his burger. "How's life with those guys that you live with now? What are their names again?" I paused momentarily, a little weary to be sharing information about my home life. Then I realized I wasn't home anymore and this wasn't some random person. This was Louis. 

"Their names are Alexei, Riley, and Mr. Mendoza. And it's nice. Definitely an upgrade." Louis' face faltered to a look of sadness for a fraction of a second. He looked like he wanted to say something to me, but he decided against it last second. A deep breath later and he was back to normal.

"That's nice that it's an upgrade. Alexei goes to our school, right? I wonder if I've seen him around."

"You probably have considering you're in all those complicated classes. He's short with blond hair and blue eyes." 

He seemed to be lost in thought a bit. "I don't think I have."

"He's loud." And like a switch, something flipped in his mind. I smirked, knowing Alexei would act so offended by my words. 

"Ah, him. Yeah, he might be in a class with me. Yeah, he's cute." His eyes went wide when he realized his slip-up. "Sorry, I meant he's cool." His cheeks brightened while he looked away embarrassed. I'll admit, when he called him that, that certain voice came back, buzzing in the back of my mind. 

But it was quieter. Much quieter than it used to be. So I tried my best to drown it out. 

"No, it's- it's okay. Don't think you did anything wrong." Louis looked at me, surprised. Not nearly as surprised as I was in myself, though.

Louis looked cautious like he knew I was pushing my limits. It was only that I realized that my hands had completely forgotten about my food and had started gripping my knees so hard my knuckles were white. I let go of them, slightly embarrassed. They still had a slight shake to them as I put them in my pockets. 

"Okay. You okay?" He had set down his food too at this point, his full attention on me. I felt bad for making him worry.

"Yeah- no, no seriously I'm okay. I... don't have a problem with what you said. You're gay, of course, you think guys are cute. That's..." normal. No, not...