Stupid Boys

05 My Lover

Now I've cleared up the whole 'kiss' thing. Well, for the most part. Nothing like that has ever happened before.. not really. Well.. one thing 2 years ago when we went camping but we don't talk about that. We don't talk about it.

And we just get to my house on a Friday afternoon, ready to raid my desk drawer full of takeout menus.

"Hey Kelly!" Olly shouts to my mum, she looks up from her laptop and smiles back.

"Hi Olly, hi Jacob." she shouts back kindly and I wave to her just as a reminder that she has a son in the crowd of three of which two she named. I walk up the stairs, Jake behind me and hiss at Olly who stares at my mum for two long. Olly may have a girlfriend, but he says that his heart goes out to my mum always. He thinks it's a compliment, I think it's creepy.

"Oh darling, could you come here for a second?" she calls out again and I roll my eyes before walking back down the stairs just as I reach the top. Olly walks towards my mum and I punch him in the arm.

"She means me, dumbass." I say and he frowns before charging up my stairs like a kid on christmas eve.

"Okay, so I just wanted to ask if you can get your sister to go to the hospital next month." she says sadly.

"Next month?" I ask, raising one brow.

"It may take that long to convince her." she nods along and puffs out her top lip. My mum is definitely a character. But she only becomes herself when dad leaves. I just wish she could keep him gone. Because she becomes this person, this funny, kind and loving person who is the mum I grew up not really knowing. My dad, however, is the opposite. I didn't realise it when I was younger because I just wanted to spend time with him.

Like when I was eight and he used to take me to football practice. I was the best on the team. But most of the time he wouldn't come back to pick me up for hours. I remember shivering in the clubhouse that the practice belonged to, doing my homework. And when dearest pa would finally turn up, he would always be on a call. As if he had planned it because he didn't want to talk to me. I found try to tell him how I scored all of the goals and carried the team and that coach said I should be in the leagues but the call would last the whole drive back so I would just wait to tell Bee. But Bianca was the same as him - playing with her blocks and barely listening. Mum was too busy.

Dad doesn't like Jake. He calls him every homophobic slur in the book just because he can. I'll die before I ever talk like him.

Okay, creepy monologue over. I walk up the stairs then, slowly making my way to my room where Jake has already claimed my bed. Sometimes I wish I was Jake. His dad is just the best guy and his mum is great. They both love me and always let me talk about football to them. And Jake has a normal sister. She may be thirteen but is like his personal guru - listening to his stories and weighing in. I forget that she's thirteen most of the time because of the way she swears from being close with Jake - who I think forgets her age too.

"Kings, come here my lover." Olly slurs, pulling me forward with an imaginary fishing line.

"Oh, don't make me jealous." Jake leans forward on my bed and grabs onto my hand, pulling me towards him.

I pull away anxiously. Is it me, or is everything in my friend group kind of— gay?

"God, you're gonna lose me one day, Kings boy." he rolls his eyes and slumps back on my bed.

"Possibly quite soon." Olly nudges him with an elbow as he rolls around on my desk chair. I lean against my bedroom wall with my hands behind my lower back and look at my best friend.

"What?" I chuckle, suddenly breathless.

"Jacob has a date." Olly says for Jake and my eyes widen in only surprise.

"With who?" are my first words to say upon this matter and they come out all squeaky and dry.

"Doesn't matter." his cheeks go red and Olly laughs, leaping over him.

My cheeks feel pink as well. Oh.