On the Other Side [Len x Oliver Fanfiction]

Chapter 16 - Sugary Attacks of Surprise

~Oliver's POV~

I didn't really want to stay any longer than I already had, so I quickly packed up my things and headed out. I'm 100% sure it would've been embarrassing for me to have stayed any longer, anyway....

When I walked out of Len's room with my things in my arms, I saw Rin lying on the couch in their living room. I blushed furiously when I remembered what I had said last night. T-that was just a dare, nothing else. I said to myself, quickly shaking the thought from my head and heading out the door quietly so I wasn't heard or seen.

The walk to my house wasn't far, so I decided to drop my stuff off there before going out again.

"Oliver, you're home early," my mother remarked as I walked through the door and headed upstairs.

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to get out of there," I replied back quickly. I opened my bedroom door and tossed my things in the room before I closed it again and headed downstairs.

"You didn't have fun...?" My mother asked worriedly, her expression clearly showing it.

"No, I did. I was just...." I shook my head. "I just missed everyone, I guess."

My mother smiled at me, her face still showing a bit of worry. "Thank you sweetie...." She hugged me tightly. "We're having eggs and bacon for breakfast, so come sit down."

I nodded and sat down at the table, waiting for my father and Hio to come down and eat with us.

After a while, my father came down. "Ah, Oliver. You have fun?" I nodded in reply, staying quiet as I swung my legs a bit.

"That's good," my father replied, nodding as he picked up the newspaper my mother had set out for him.

Finally, Hio came down. "Oliver!" He smiled brightly as he ran over and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back, laughing a bit.

"I missed you! Did you have fun?" Yohio let go of me to take his seat at the table.

I nodded. "Yeah, it was fun."

He smiled. "Good, good." Why did everyone say 'good' when someone says they have fun? Like, is that all there is to say? Really?

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to go out to lunch again today. Is that alright?" I asked, thanking my mother as she placed my plate in front of me.

"Really? As long as you're not doing anything bad.... We trust you, Oliver." My mother smiled at me, and my dad nodded along in agreement.

"Thank you!" I smiled brightly at them, taking a few bites of my eggs.

"Who're you going with?" Hio asked, a faint smirk appearing on his face. "Got yourself a girlfriend?"

I blushed, frantically waving my hands. "N-no! I'm going by myself, I swear!"

Hio raised an eyebrow at me. "You sure about that, lil bro?"

I flinched. He never called me that before.... New nickname, maybe. "P-positive!"

"Right, right, sorry." He laughed a bit, taking a bite out of one of his bacon strips. "Make sure you don't spend all your allowance this week just going out to lunch."

"I know...." I puffed my cheeks out in annoyance, crossing my arms. "I'm gonna go out, then," I said, standing up.

"Oliver, finish your breakfast," my mother demanded, looking a bit concerned.

"It's only one piece of bacon!" I whined, picking my plate up from the table.

"One piece of bacon that could feed a starving child. Now eat." My mother narrowed her eyes at me as I sighed, picking up the bacon and eating it.

"Now can I go?" I asked with a bit of a whine as I made my way to the sink, carefully placing the plate down.

My mother nodded hesitantly. "Yes. Now go have fun." She smiled at me, and I smiled back, running over to her and hugging her.

"Thank you, mum!" I said happily, placing a kiss on her cheek before I ran out the door.

"Bye Oliver!" Hio called to me with a wave as I raced out the door.

"Bye Hio!" I called back, giving him a wave as well before I headed out and closed the door behind me.

Since it was a nice day out, and I didn't have anything else to do for a while, I decided to head to the park. There weren't a lot of kids my age there, and most of them were toddlers, but that didn't really matter to me.

I made my way towards a large tree that would shade me from the sun, and sat back against it. I pulled out my notepad and began to sketch some small drawings.

"What'cha got there?" The leaves rustled violently above me when a familiar figure swung down, hanging onto a branch by his feet, laughing softly. I flinched, quickly closing my notebook.

"L-L-Len?!" I asked, looking up at the older blond in shock. "H-how did you...? W-when...?" I couldn't form a complete sentence, but my confusion was painfully obvious.

"I was here before you...." Len pursed his lips slightly, playing with his tie a bit before he continued speaking. "So? Are you gonna tell me what was in that notebook or not?"

I shook my head. "Two things: one, no. Two, I can't take you seriously while you're hanging upside-down." I stifled a small giggle, and Len huffed.

"Fine, fine," he said, pulling himself back up to the branch and hopping down. "Why can't you tell me?" Len asked, taking a seat next to me.

"I-it's not done...." I mumbled, blushing a bit.

"Will you show me when it's done then?" Len asked, grinning as he patted his lap to a tune that sounded very familiar.

"Sure...." I looked down at my notebook for a moment before glancing back up at Len. "Was there...something you needed from me...?"

"Nah," Len replied casually.

"Then why are you still here...?" I raised an eyebrow at Len, narrowing my eyes a bit as well.

"Well, I was here first," Len remarked. "But isn't spending time with friends important too?"

"W-what does that mean?" I huffed, puffing my cheeks out as I did so.

"It means you're my friend, dummy." Len laughed and reached a hand up to punch my cheek playfully.

"H-hey!" I pulled away quickly, rubbing at my face. "That hurt...!"

"Sorry, sorry," he said, waving a hand at me in apology. "You just looked so cute, I couldn't resist."