With Or Without You (Completed)

Chapter 17

The next day of his arrival at Montpelier, Oliver found himself eating breakfast while conversing with baby Julius strapped into a high chair right in front of him. Julius was staring at him in awe with his little mouth agape. The ethereal sight had Oliver miss a beat of his heart, it was true that babies were irresistible creation of God.  Some of the food came out of the corner of Oliver's mouth, he grimaced. Sometimes he wondered if something was wrong with him!

He shrugged. May the devil care!

Oliver then concentrated on the scowling Evan next to Julius. The father and son, Oliver noticed were two different things - one extremely innocent, lovable and over the top cute as an angel while the other was a replica of Beelzebub the demon prince straight out of hell.

Oliver called Evan's name, tapped on the table top, stole a spoonful of Julius's garbar mix which tasted utterly disgusting... and then again he called Evan several times. Finally Evan snapped out of his demonic lala land of fire and frustrations.

"Evan, dude! What's up with you? I've been calling you for a while now, eh," then with a teasing smirk he added just because riling people up was quite a fun way to begin a day besides a lovely breakfast. "By the way, I saw you almost knocking down the poor door of your neighbor's house. There's something seriously bugging you and by the look of you sulking around since then, this is probably a... girl bug, right? So who's the lucky chick? Come on man... now tell me all about her, and did you guys do it already?"

"It's nothing like that, Oliver." Evan's nose flared.

Ah! Denial.

Something snapped it Oliver's mind. Denial? Is it possible that he was himself spinning round that same object too? However, the very next moment Oliver sidestepped from that dangerous ground digging a hole in his brain when Evan grudgingly admitted, "I just wanted to apologize to Ramona for my misbehavior earlier."

Now that was a bum-steer!

Oliver gaped. As far as he knew of the list of people Evan had ever apologized to was an extremely short one. And that just proved that there was some developments or was going to be in the near future between Evan and this neighborhood girl of his - Ramona, who Oliver later knew was the same girl that beat him up with two other boys at his first night in this town.

And Oliver suddenly was enlightened with this cerebral insight that, with the grand entrance of woman species - problems begin but without the presence of that very same woman species - those problems intensify and lead men to a volatile fate of endless torment. Something that he was experiencing himself.

The only difference between Evan and him was that Evan was quite a brooding victim being the Beelzebub and all, and Oliver was still the subdued sufferer covering heart diseases which could be no more said as mere acidity with laughter and humor.

But this subdued status of Oliver's was just not meant to remain like that.

More days passed by and Oliver's determination to somehow compete Elli and enjoy a vacation himself faltered drastically. The only thing that stopped him from setting out like a blood hound and begin the search of his wicked witch was the very adventurous development of neighborhood romance between Evan and Ramona.

At first, Oliver had thought that this exciting saga of of tug and pull romance would be enough distraction that would help his mind to put aside Elli's thoughts. But unfortunately it did not.