Somewhere Only We Know

Fever Dream

Chapter Eight

Winston isn't stupid.

One of the first things he did the day after was call Noah and tell him what happened. Not exactly what happened, just that I needed to be kept away from Big Ben and Benny at all costs.

And I was. Noah wouldn't even let us in the locker room at the same time. He made some excuse about needing to talk to Big Ben before the game and only let him go when I was out on the field.

I glared at him all throughout practice. I hate him. The guy weighs about a tone and then goes around punching stick-thin guys. I'd love to teach him a lesson. But I promised Winston that I wouldn't.

We're still on to see a movie today. I wanted to cancel in case he wanted some time inside or something but he said he'd love to hang out with me. So I guess we're seeing a movie together.

It's my turn to pick this week. I've been trying to think of something all week, spending hours and hours watching trailers and reading recommendations to see if there was anything he'd like. In the end, I still couldn't decide. So maybe I was hoping he'd want to cancel.

After practice, I go to the cafeteria to get some disgusting coffee again. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a cup of coffee again without thinking about Alex and what he did...

I stand by the till as I wait for my coffee. I didn't get much sleep last night. Even after my talk with Winston, I couldn't sleep. I don't think he slept much either. I heard him sniffling all night but I think it's just because he caught a cold.

"I'll pay for that," I hear someone say just as the guy is handing my coffee to me.

It's Alex again. He looks apologetic, coming over to me with his tail between his legs. Does he want me to thank him? That's not going to happen.

I simply grab my coffee and walk away while Alex pays for it. But he manages to catch up to me. Obviously his 'bad leg' must only act up when he wants it to.

"Monty, wait!" he says and he grabs onto my elbow as if he could actually stop me. But he does look like he might apologise, it would be cruel not to give him a chance to.

"What?" I sigh and Alex looks even more embarrassed. He takes a step back as I glare at him. He can't expect me not to be mad.

"I... I just wanted to apologise for... You know," he says. Wow, what a shitty apology.

"Sorry for what?" I ask. "Sorry for hitting on me or sorry for kicking me out after when I rejected you?"

Alex blushes a deep shade of red. "Both," he says and he shakes his head. "I was... I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

I could ask him what he wanted to say just before he kicked me out. But it doesn't seem relevant anymore. I just nod.

"So are we cool now?" Alex asks hopefully. I don't see the point in making an enemy of him and maybe even ruining Noah's chances with Cassie in the process.

"Sure," I say simply and that seems to be good enough for Alex.

***

Winston is laying in bed when I come back. I didn't come here straight from practice, I went to Scott's first to see how he was doing because we haven't seen each other in a while. And when Scott and I meet up for a drink, we end up talking for hours.

I told him about Alex and he didn't seem weirded out. He just said something about how experimenting in college is expected.

I also told him about Winston and how he got attacked. I left some details out for whatever reason. The details that made it look like... I don't know. Me touching Winston's face, forcing him to talk to me, crossing my fingers when making a promise to him. I leave out all the details that I wanted to talk about. I want to tell someone about it because I'm tired of just talking about it in my head.