Alleyway BxB

XXXV (Hidden Quirks)

SATURDAY, 3 NOVEMBER
NATHAN COVINGTON

I raised a steady finger to my lips, as I stopped dead in the doorway to the backyard. A light step forward, I inched closer to a particular brunet in a chair next to Corbyn. A particular brunet I hadn't seen at all the night before.

I dropped my hands quickly onto Nick's shoulders. "Are you avoiding me?"

And he nearly jumped straight out of the chair—his fork slipped from his hand, clashed with his plate in front of him in a series of clanging. A string of curses in Spanish tumbled out of his mouth.

I snorted at the reaction, glad I could still understand every word he said. "Since you missed the party last night, you better be at the dance tonight." I took the vacant seat next to Nick.

"I told you he wouldn't hold a grudge," Corbyn elbowed him in the side as he continued his breakfast.

"He's definitely coming to the dance. He's on the roster for performances," Marcella said. "Good thing too. It means I can dance with Isah."

"It's not like I had much of a choice," Nick muttered before he turned to me. "It's great to finally see you in person... and realise you're not as intimidating as I thought you were going to be."

I shrugged. "I'm not that intimidating. You want to know who is though? Those two." I pointed at Isaiah and Dallon. "They could take me down no problem." Especially together. They didn't even have to touch me. Their glares were enough to make me run in the other direction.

"We appreciate the compliment, Nathan." Isaiah said, voice low, but it was laced with slight amusement.

"Care to tell us about your night before we make fun of you for it?" Dallon added as he slung his arm around a grinning Zach.

That entire side of the table was giggly, and they all stared directly at me with the same amused look on their face.

"You guys weird me out sometimes." I stacked a couple pancakes onto my plate and went wild with the maple syrup. Now that the season was over, I didn't have to watch my diet as closely anymore.

"You didn't wake me up," a deep and groggy voice muttered from behind me.

I spun around in my chair to get a good look at him. Marcello had no shame in looking like a cave man. His hair stuck out in every direction as he slowly walked towards our table. But at least he shaved that unruly stubble from earlier this week. It looked uneven, and Nick always mentioned how scratchy it was to smash his face against every day.

I couldn't imagine how it would have felt last night.

Now, the other side of the table began to snicker, save for the Lockhearts.

What is so funny? Does my hair look worse than Marcello's?

After a few more seconds of blatant confusion, Marcello began to stare me down too. But instead of snickering like the rest of them, he stood in front of me and gripped my hair. He tilted my head to the side with a sharp tug. Then, he ran his thumb against a couple particularly tender spots on my neck. "Yeah... You really made me lose control last night."

I immediately swatted his hand away and pulled my phone out, opened the front camera. Just halfway between my shoulder and jawline, I gawked at the apparent red spots on my neck.

How am I supposed to hide that?!

"My money's on Nathan," Zach announced. "His walk to the table looked a little stiff."

I ignored them as I groaned. "You just had to do it there? It's so obvious."

"I don't normally leave those..." Marcello only furrowed his eyebrows. "If it makes you feel any better, the other one isn't as obvious as that one."