It's Called Sarcasm [1] ⌲ Twombly

15 | stupid little things

"Well, that's great. Another win for team Graham." Stuart murmurs into my hair as I lean into his side. After the challenge we all came back up to Lyle's office, per the usual.

"There's only one challenge left," Yo-Yo says. "Even if we're perfect it wouldn't be enough."

"We had them too." I say, burying my nose into Stuart's shirt.

"We did. And we had a little hiccup, a little adversity." Nick says.

"Nick, come on, face it," Stuart says, looking up at the blonde. "Billy's a great guy and everything but he kind of blew it for us today."

"Guys, I know, but-"

"He's right, Nick." Billy says from the doorway. "I just wanted to come by and let you know that I did study last night. I really did try my best. Today on the phones was just my fault. And um...he was right when he said you guys deserve better. I'm really sorry that I cost you."

Billy then disappears down the hall, leaving us in silence. Nick sighs, getting to his feet and following him.

Stuart sighs, pulling away from me and rubbing a hand over his face. "Damn."

"Indeed." I whisper, tucking some hair behind my ear. "I'm going to get some coffee. Anybody want some?"

"That's what you're thinking about right now? Coffee?" Stuart raises his eyebrows.

"I'm thinking about getting something to help me not burst into tears right now." I say snippily.

"Can I get some then too...?" Yo-Yo requests.

"You got it. I'll be right back." I say before heading down the hallway.

"Mack," Stuart says as he jogs after me. "Do you really think now is the best time for this?"

"I'm getting coffee, Stuart, I'm not getting a car." I say, throwing a hand up.

"You're very clever." He snaps. I stop in my tracks and turn to face him.

"What is your problem?" I ask, folding my arms over my chest.

"My problem is we are in the middle of something and you just walked out! For coffee."

"What do you want me to do, Stuart?"

"We need to start thinking about how we're going to turn this around."

"God, Stuart, don't you get it? Yo-Yo was right! Even if we nail the next challenge, there's no way it'll be enough! We're not getting these jobs either way." I say, turning on my heel and continuing down the hallway.

"Wow. You know, maybe you should have taken Graham's offer!"

I freeze, turning around to face him with dangerously narrowed eyes. "What did you say?"

"I heard you guys talking earlier. Something about an offer?" Stuart says, folding his arms over his chest.

"Look, what does this have to do with our situation right now?"

"Did Graham ask you out?"

"What?!" I exclaim. "Why in the hell would you think that?!"

"Oh, I don't know, Mack! Maybe because he called you stupid for turning down an offer?! Maybe he thought that if you said yes, you'd move to his team!"

"Oh my God, do you know how stupid you sound?!" I exclaim. "He asked me to move to his team, okay? He asked me, and I said no, because I didn't want to leave you guys hanging! I didn't want to leave you hanging." I say before storming off to get my coffee, leaving a wide eyed Stuart in the middle of the hallway.

***

I sit at the café table outside Google, trying to concentrate on my book. Finally I give up and sigh, slamming my book closed and resting my head on my arms. How do we get into the stupidest arguments?

"Hi."

I look up to see Stuart sitting across from me, looking down at me with apologetic eyes.

"Hey." I say, looking down at the table as he took a seat beside me.

"I'm sorry." He says, looking up at me. I look up and meet his eyes before he continues speaking. "I was an idiot."

I nod. "A big idiot."

Stuart chuckles. "A big idiot." He gently takes my hand into his and threads our fingers together. "It's just...I had a girlfriend from my Freshman year to my Senior year of high school. I-I really liked her. And then the second we set off to college, she met another guy, and I lost her. And I really, really don't want to do that again. Especially not to Graham."

I stare at Stuart before moving forward and pulling his lips onto mine, gently holding him by the collar of his shirt. We pull away after a minute and rest our foreheads together, bringing my hand up to stroke down his cheek.

"Stuart, I'm not going anywhere. Okay? I'm not." I murmur, rubbing his arm. "Especially not with Graham."

Stuart chuckles and nods, pecking my lips once more. "Okay."