Write Me A Letter

32 | pizza

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO | P I Z Z A

        PIZZA. IT WAS THE LAST THING that Brie thought could make boys shut up. Who would've thought that Paula's joke about ordering food to shove down their loud pipe holes was the reason why Troy, Ollie, and Xander were all sprawled over the floor of her treehouse, peacefully munching on pizzas as they watched an action film on Brie's laptop. Ollie was on his stomach, nibbling on the edge of his thumb and alternately sipping on his can of Pepsi. Troy was sprawled all over a neon blue beanbag. He didn't look a bit ashamed of devouring half the box of the pepperoni pizza they ordered, eyes glued on the screen. Paula was on the floor right next to Troy, her back pressed against the wall that was decorated with their handprints. She was texting someone and based off on how much she smiled, Brie was sure it was Noel. Xander was on his side, his arm was curled and used as his pillow. Then, there was her, sitting crossed leg on the floor in the farthest corner with her book in her lap. It was a relaxing sight; it was almost like how it used to be before things hit the fan. The only people missing were Simon and Jean.

Back then, things were easy. They'd all meet at the parking lot, Simon and Paula would argue about pizza and burgers, then they were off to her treehouse. Sometimes, it was definitely frustrating how she couldn't tell Xander how she felt for him. It was always in secret when she'd cry or laugh at an expired joke that he said hours ago, afraid that their friends would see how much she enjoyed his presence. 

Ollie would always crack a joke in the middle of the chaos. Looking back, Brie felt disappointed in herself when she always ignored the look he'd throw her way after a funny line. It always happened, but they weren't really as close before as they were now and at that time, it felt weird to take special notice of it. Until now she wasn't sure what those lasting looks meant. Ollie never really made things clear, but a part of her regretted that she didn't try to find out, or at least stopped herself from pulling away every time. 

Maybe if she did things differently, things would be easier⁠—fewer people would get hurt. But how could she go back in time when there wasn't even an exact point she could go back to?

She closed her Physics textbook with a sigh. Her brain was fried and the words on her textbook were no longer making sense. Xander looked up at her with a frown. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I hope I pass tomorrow's quiz. I flunked the last three."

He gave her a sympathetic smile. Aside from Paula, Xander was the only other person who knew how difficult Science was for her. How could he not when she always asked for him to tutor her? She wanted to pull at her hair. Now, she was finally realizing how desperate she looked.

"I can tutor you if you want," he offered, propping his chin on his palm. 

"Tutor?" Ollie interjected. He gave Xander an incredulous look before picking up the empty pizza box that laid on the floor and tossing it to the bin right next to Troy. "If it's tutoring, I can do it. I'm in AP Physics with Troy."

Brie snickered when Troy perked up at the sound of his name. "I heard my name," he said, giving both Xander and Ollie death glares. "I refuse to be pulled into either one of your games. The next time you guys do it, I'll charge by the hour."

"Oh, come on." Ollie clapped Troy in the back who shoved him away. "It's just a bit of tutoring. We can help out Paula and Brie. Besides, I'm sure Xander here is gonna prepare for the same quiz anyway." 

"Which is exactly why I'm the one who should tutor them," Xander confidently said. He was sitting now, back straight and eyes steady on Ollie. "We all share the same class."

"But we're better at Physics, hence why we're doing AP classes unlike you Mr. Mathematician," Ollie replied with a smirk. 

Her eyes automatically flew to Xander whose jaw and eyes were tight with obvious anger. This had always been a sore topic for him. As someone who had always been dubbed as intelligent and superior, everyone expected Xander to share the same AP Physics class with Ollie and Troy. It came as a surprise when he was mixed into the regular and boring Physics class along with other mediocre kids. He pretended to not be bothered by it, but Brie saw how his shoulders tightened every time someone would ask why he was there during the first week.

It was a choice he made that angered his parents a lot, and he didn't go to school for a day after they heard from Simon how angry Mrs. Liu was. Despite that, Xander stayed by his choice anyway. And that was something she always found very impressive about him. Xander Liu always knew what he wanted, and he was always straightforward about it as well.

His parents wanted him to become a Science guy, but he had always dreamt of becoming an engineer. It was an open secret among them, and Brie felt a stab of dismay when Ollie used it against him.

It would've been a tad bit dramatic if Brie announced to them how she felt the tension thicken inside the treehouse, but it did. It frizzled like freshly minced garlic in a hot pan. They were doing it again, this battle of words that were laced with mild insults and drizzled with glares. She couldn't understand it; she couldn't figure out why it was happening.

A small voice in her head was telling her that they were competing for her attention, but doubt and her insecurities held her back from completely surrendering to that insane idea. It didn't matter how much these two bickered back and forth, the facts remained: Xander rejected her and was with Izzy. Ollie never said he liked her and never denied being with Yuki.

Her finger curled around the hem of her shirt, lips pursed and eyes downcast. "Guys, please stop arguing. We're all friends here and this is the first time we hung out in months. I appreciate the offer of tutoring but Noel taught Paula really well so I'm sure Paula here can help me out just fine."

Brie smiled at Paula who shot a finger gun and a wink in her direction.

She looked up just in time to see both boys ready to argue with her. She frowned at them, smiling in gratitude when they both chose to shut up. 

"Okay," Troy said, dragging the word only to cough at the last syllable. They all laughed when he started to smack his chest to catch his breath. "Wow," Troy coughed out the word, his voice hoarse and dry. "Glad to see you guys enjoying my despair, you dirty sadists."

"Dramatic," Paula scoffed which made everyone laugh again.

"Excuse me! I am not dramatic! I could've died there and you were all just laughing like hyenas on drugs and energy drinks!"

Paula blinked. "Like I said, dramatic."

Brie shook her head, but a smile began to blossom on her face. She missed this, the easy banter and the light atmosphere. It would probably take longer than it should before they would all be okay again, but this was already a start. Something not everyone was given.

A vibrating sound pulled her out of her thoughts. Frowning, she looked down when she felt her book shake. She plucked out her phone that she lodged between the pages she was studying. There, a glaring message from an unregistered number almost blinded her, and just like that, all the happiness that she felt seeped out of her body, replaced by fear as her stomach fell.

Stay the fuck away from my boyfriend or you'll regret it. Bitch.