Alleyway BxB

XIII (Assistant)

THURSDAY, 4 OCTOBER
MARCELLO LOCKHEART

"You got everything?" I opened the door to find Corbyn stood on the other side.

"It's what you pay me for." He handed me my card along with a bag. "The phones are in the bag, the clothes are all in the car, and I definitely didn't buy myself a coffee and breakfast with your card." He kicked off his shoes. "Where would you be without me?"

"I'd probably have a coffee and a breakfast." I let him inside before we moved into the kitchen where I pulled the two small boxes out. Black for Nathan and gold for Matthew.

"Don't you have seven new roommates? Why is the house so quiet?"

Last night, I watched Matthew give Zach his phone back after borrowing it. He told me his was broken and had been thrown out the window before they escaped. On the other hand, Nathan's wasn't any better; the screen was covered in so many cracks, it was hard to read any text. What baffled me more was that the phone had been like that for a month and it still managed to function.

"School. Also, nine. We had two more people move in while you were out."

"If there's school then why are you at home?" He leaned over the counter. "Do I have to tell your parents about this?"

I placed the phones back into the bag before I rolled my eyes at Corbyn. "They'll forgive me; I'm taking care of their golden child after all. They're in my room, actually." Matt decided to stay with Zach and Dallon overnight and Nathan had passed out in my room. He looked so tired, so I chose not to disturb him.

"A rebound already? Is she psychotic like the last one?"

Back when I first moved to Australia, I met Corbyn at Manly. He was my first friend outside of the industry and helped me get around like a normal teenager. It was probably the only reason why our friendship—business or not—was so casual. Corbyn had seen it all, been with me through all my major problems.

"Firstly, it's a he-"

"You met him at school? Are we talking about the nerd who happens to be hot or a jock in the baseball team? Please tell me you didn't buy these to bribe him over." He nodded to the phones.

"Football team, actually, and no. These are secrets, but I had to convince them to let me buy the clothes."

They always borrowed stuff from their friends, had phones with screens too shattered to properly stay on the frame. I never understood why they were so against the idea. It wasn't anything crazy. It wasn't like Marcella and I would be affected in any way.

Corbyn nodded, moved the bag aside. "As a friend, I'm looking out for you always. Are you ready for another date? Two weeks ago, you broke up with Sarah. None of your relationships have lasted over three months each and it isn't a good look if it happens again now."

Nothing to deny, I had gone through a lot of partners, more than I wanted to admit. "Forget about her. Remember when we first met, and you treated me like a normal person?"

He still looked unconvinced. "Because I didn't care who you were."

"That's why we're close now. He isn't afraid to tell me off. I haven't had that before."

"I'm right here, Cello."

"You wouldn't date me."

"You just pulled the he's different from the rest card."

When you say it like that...

"Hear me out-"

"Is he a dark blond?" He asked before motioning to his face. "Strong jaw, blue eyes, looks damn good in sweats, and around one-ninety-five in height if I had to guess?"

That was... oddly specific. "Yeah?"

There was a snicker behind me. "I told you he was into you. You're too stubborn to listen sometimes."

This piece of sh-

Matthew hopped by slowly on crutches, to the kitchen island. Zach was on his tail, no more words spoken, and helped him silently by scooping a few pancakes onto a plate.

That left one.

None other than a red-faced Nathan. His good half was leaned casually against the wall with the other masked in a galaxy of red and a pale purple. To be fair, he looked better than I thought he would.

Corbyn had everything right. Especially those sweats. There was no reason to be embarrassed.

"Eavesdropping?" I teased.

Nathan bit his lip and concealed an obvious smile. He moved himself away from the wall. "Talking about me behind my back?" He took a step forward but the sudden weight on his left leg threw him into a limp.

Without a single thought or a wasted second, I sprung from my stool. "How did you even get down the stairs?"

When I got him into one of the chairs, Nathan smacked me in the chest. "I didn't! You never told me this house had an elevator. I've been letting you carry me up and down the stairs all night."

He found out about the elevator. I'd been exposed. Quick, play dumb. I squinted my eyes, tilted my head in a confused manner. "We have an elevator?"

At this point, Zach had just helped Matthew into a chair. They kept quiet and watched on.

Despite my impeccable acting skills, Nathan didn't take my answer. "You're a shit actor."

I broke the mock confusion for a look of actual hurt. "You really do like my pants more than me."

He paid me no mind, Nathan looked away and turned towards Corbyn—deadpanned eyes brightened into a welcoming smile. "My name's Nathan."

Clearly amused, Corbyn nodded to him. "Corbyn, I'm his personal assistant and friend from Australia."

Nathan made a face—a scrunch of distaste. "You were his friend for that long... and you chose to willingly work for him? Why?"

"That's a great question." Corbyn leaned over slightly towards me. "I take it back. I'll let this one slide." He cleared his throat as if everyone in the room was incapable of hearing the verbal memo. He turned to Nathan again and continued to do what he did best—interrogate my partners in the nicest way possible. He was a cynical father, really. "What's the story? How did you meet? You guys aren't dating but I'll pretend you are to get it out of the way for later."

Nathan looked to me for assistance. "Was I supposed to prepare a resume?" He said it jokingly but I could tell that he didn't want to say the real story and Matthew wasn't aware of it either.

So, I jumped into the conversation. "We met through Zach, right there, actually."

Zach took the baton and continued the story. "Yeah. Nathan and I were... going through an argument, as friends do, Marcello really helped us get past it."

Corbyn nodded and he looked impressed. "Cute. So, you two are close." He pointed between Zach and Nathan. "I assume that's Matthew? You two weren't in the initial house plan."

"Yeah... parents. You know how they are." Nathan cleared his throat, looked to me instead. "Believe it or not, I came down here to talk to you. Are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

Was this the moment I was waiting for?

"Are you asking me out?"

Nathan shut his mouth, stayed quiet for a second. "If you consider going to school for a team meeting and game a date, then... yes."

I gawked at the other three. A triumphant grin plastered on my face. "Boys, I've done it!" I stood up and took the bag of phones with me. I planned to set them up and wrap the boxes up for later, but instead, I told them: "I'll go find something cute to wear."