Alleyway BxB

XXII (Blaine)

MONDAY, 22 OCTOBER
NATHAN COVINGTON

If there was anything I didn't want to do—it was wake up early that morning. It sounded stupid but it took a while for me to sleep that night. We had a king-sized bed and it was big even for a guy like me. There was so much spare room, not enough company. Silence. Void of Marcello's heavy snores after a tiring day of script reading. There was no one to wake up under when he rolled around in the middle of the night.

I'd given up at around three in the morning and sneaked downstairs to join the cluster in the living room. I squeezed myself in between Ryder and Cameron since they were the loudest. Surprisingly enough, it worked after an hour. They were a little surprised when they woke up and they were definitely going to annoy me about it—maybe text Marcello about. Maybe they already texted him about it.

"Alright, children. Get out and have a fun day," I yawned as I unlocked the doors. I was running on two hours of sleep and was the one chosen to make the early drive for Beaumont.

Smart idea. Isaac should have done it. Marcello didn't need to know who had really driven his cars around in his absence.

I peered into the rear-view mirror and noticed Matt opening his side door while grabbing his crutches at the same time. "Aiden," I tsked. "If he hurts himself today, I will crack your jaw."

"Roger that, big brother," Aiden said, getting out through the other door. He ran around and let Matt get on his back as he carried the crutches with his left hand.

Ignoring the big brother comment, I waved the rest of them off. Nodding, I accepted it. Ever since his first night at the house, I took a step back on him. Forgetting about Jace, I talked to Aiden instead and although we still went at each other's throats, and annoyed each other, we had gotten better.

All for Matt's sake.

I had even caught Ryder and Matt communicating a few times. Everyone finally got along nicely, and I couldn't be happier. Although, living in a house with both of my exes and boyfriend—not anymore—got a little strange at times. For the first time in ages, I felt at peace with the world. I was out, got Zach and Dallon back in my life, had friends outside of the team, lived with those friends...

As I stopped at a red light, I took in a deep breath. It was quick, turned green again after only a couple of minutes.

I met Marcello and Marcella, started dating Marcello... I was free from my family problems—almost.

In just a few minutes, Monarch High School came into view and I pulled into the student car park. I found everyone immediately. They were impossible to miss since there was a cluster of blue varsity jackets and a compelling pair of blonde twins.

No Marcello, though.

Zach scooted out of the way of an open parking spot and I was quick to pull into it with no curve. It was my best skill in driving. Reverse parking too.

"You didn't crash," Marcella said as she rested a hand on my bicep as I stepped out of the car. "How are you feeling?"

I locked the car, blew a stray strand of hair out of my face but it fell straight back down. "Depends on what answer you want to hear." I was about to start walking but I grunted when I realized how light my shoulders were. I spun around and everyone stopped to look back at me. I fumbled with Marcello's keys before unlocking the door. Crawling in, I snatched my bag from the floor of the passenger seat.

"How about both answers?" Isaac suggested as I crawled out again.

I almost bumped my head on the ceiling, but didn't. "I'm pretty sleep deprived," I admitted but was sure everyone knew it already. I did wake up to a camera in my face—two of them. Ryder and Cameron were taking selfies. Just more to show to Marcello.