Byron's Secret (Slenderman Romance)

Chapter 74. Pasts

【Brian's POV】

。。。

4 years ago . . .

Music was blaring from the speakers in the diner. Well, technically, it is a bar tonight. I hear friendly banters and muffled voices all around. I decided to hang out with my friends after school here. It seemed like the perfect way to end the week of hellish high school exams. Although, it's not like I studied anyway.

Tim wouldn't come with us though. He said he prefers the 'solitude' of our home. What a loner. Him and Byron both. Speaking of the two, they are probably at our house currently, being boring as usual. Maybe Byron is even staying up late at the high school or college. Who would've thought that he'd ever become my and Tim's professor? While it's true that he's older than us, the guy still straight up skipped college and got a free job, thanks to his dad's connections.

It's already been three years since he passed, it's still rough without his dad.

He even left a will to me and Tim even though we are technically not his sons. Legally adopted, but technically not his sons nor were we treated like so. But he treated us with respect and that was what we needed after a rough childhood. He left each of us a house, though the three of us currently prefers to live together. I plan to live on my own after high school though.

But for now, things with Byron is chaotic. He needs us.

I felt my mood drop when I remembered Byron's . . . whatever you call it. A curse. A disease. A parasite. It's never anything good.

His father would've known what to do. Now, we're just three people who are trying to make it through. Trying to be good people.

Although for Byron, it's a little too late to be called a good person.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt a slap on my back, "Dude, you alright?" One of the guys asked.

I forced a smile, "Yeah, just a bit tired."  I said honestly.

"Hey, hey," another one nudged us both as he gestured to the bar in the middle of the diner, "You guys know her? My sister hangs out with her." I followed his gaze to a redheaded girl sitting on one of the stools in the bar, though I couldn't see her face because she was facing up front.

"What about her?" I muttered, uninterested. I think I'm starting to prefer the solitude of my house too. It's getting noisier by the passing second.

"She's so hard to hook, man." He added, "I asked my sister to set me up with her."

"Why?" I scoffed, "She doesn't seem like much to me." Girls would be the last thing on my list after all that's happening with Byron. It's not like it's easy for us to get close to people too. When people get too close, they start asking questions, and when they find out more than they need to, we'll have to find ways to shut them up for good.

"Oooh, says the guy who never even had a girl in his entire life." He mocked, hitting my insecurity right at the center. I'm not interested in dating, but even if I were, I know deep down I won't be able to get a girl and sometimes, the weight of that fact is crushing me. "Go on, then, dude. Talk to her." He taunted in a non-serious way.

Well . . . it's not a big deal. He's not serious, I'm not serious. We're a bunch of high schoolers going out, drinking. Maybe I've had a bottle or two already too. I can always blame the alcohol if things get embarrassingly bad. Why not?

After a minute of mulling it over, I gave the two a nod and walked right up to the redhead, earning a covered-up laugh from them. Here goes nothing, I suppose.