Chapter 178

" Here you go, " 

I instantly looked up and found Austin standing in front of me. Switching off my phone, I tucked it into my pocket and took the smoothie he offered. And I poured out all my concentration on it because I didn't want him to realize that something was off. We were having so much fun, and if I told him about the texts then he was just going to flip, which was something I didn't want. I was just going to temporarily keep it from him, and then later on, when he was less likely to do anything crazy, I was going to show him the text and make sure he reacted reasonably. 

" Wanna sit?" He asked, and then held my hand and led me out before I got a chance to respond. There was a bench a couple of minutes away and we sat on it. When my phone buzzed again I pretended I couldn't hear it and just ignored the sound. 

" Did you attempt those questions in the test? The ones we went through the other day?" 

" Nope. I just wrote down my name and handed over the paper. I already know I have an F. "

" You're joking, right?" 

He leisurely took a sip of his smoothie and closed his eyes after leaning against the bench. I shifted my entire body to face him, not believing that he could do such a thing but knowing that he was very much capable of it. And if I found out that he had done that then.... God! I don't even know what I'd do. He played around so much that I had run out of possible threats to use against him. 

" Austin!" I strictly called out. He slightly opened one eye and asked me what was up. I had been ready to fire some very serious and judgy words at him when he smiled and told me he was joking. 

" I did just what you told me, so if I get them wrong it's entirely your and the teacher's fault. " he said,then he asked me what I would have done had he really not attempted any questions, an amused look on his face. 

" Probably tied you down to a desk and-"

" Foreplay! I like where this is going already. "

" I swear I'll strangle you one day. "

" I always suspected you were into the kinky stuff, I'll let you do whatever you want baby, you won't have to stop at just strangling. "

" Another day I find myself wondering what exactly I saw in you. " 

He laughed it off, then I watched as he cautiously shook the smoothie in his hand before proceeding to take another sip, then he handed it to me and grabbed mine. I didn't even complain, I just took his and acted as if nothing had happened. There was silence for a while, I was just observing the people that would pass by, and the ones that were having fun all over the place. A group of them were from school, I never even talked to them or interacted with them but they still waved at us and I waved back. 

" Hey Kyle?" Austin called out eventually, I frowned at the hint of seriousness in his tone, and on turning to him, I found his expression to be just as serious. I was weary of responding only for him to crack some stupid joke, but I just went ahead and did so. 

" What's up?" 

He inched closer, then he wrapped one hand around my nape and held my hand with the other. He suddenly seemed like he was drowning in his thoughts and I began to grow concerned. I wondered whether he was going to bring up my phone and demand the truth or someone..but that wasn't the case. He actually ended up talking about something that I had been trying to ignore and live past,but which was still affecting me somehow.

" About what Miles' mum said the other night, I know it upset you, "

I blinked and looked away. I had been sure that I'd been able to properly hide my actual feelings towards that incident, but I had obviously been wrong. I asked him not to worry about it because it was already in the past, but what I really didn't want was to have to think back to it. We had just gone on with our lives, and I was aware that to most, it would seem like a petty incident, but her preferred choice of words had been insulting to say the least. Incidents such as those had been one of the main reasons why I had been so against initially coming out. We resided in a world that viewed us as targets even though we hadn't really done anything to harm anyone. 

" You hated what she said, didn't you? How she talked about us like we were aliens or something?" 

He was using his sweet and considerate voice. The one he reserved for really specific occasions when I was genuinely hurt or upset. And I both loved and hated that voice in equal measure because although it comforted me, it also made me feel bad. Like how some people hated to be told "sorry" when they were hurt. It was a word meant to make then feel better but it ended up doing the opposite. 

" I just hate it when people try to make me feel like I'm not normal. I think I did that to myself for long enough and I'm just fed up. "

" You can't pay attention to those people. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with you..with us. You can get pissed off but you should make sure you never cower, okay? They'll just assume you feel guilty which will be proving them right. "

I wrapped my arms around him and tucked my head I to the crook of his neck. I liked how safe and comforted he made me feel. Which was why he was completely irreplaceable. Even if there was someone out there who looked or dressed or spoke like he did, that person would still never make me feel how Austin did. He was my family, and the tight manner in which he held me confirmed that he was well aware of that. 

" Cheer up! I'll buy you the largest peanut butter we can find!"

" And crackers?"

" Stacks and stacks of them. "

" How are you both sweet and unbearable at the same time?"

"I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you Stevens. "

I relaxed entirely in his hold. During the next hours, he made sure we completely exhausted all the activities in that place, then we went to a really cozy and small restaurant and had our lunch. We could have gone to watch a movie but I had work. And I couldn't make up an excuse to not go because I had been doing that a lot lately. I however took consolation in knowing that we'd have quite a lot of free time together in the days that followed. And I couldn't wait to spend them with him. We went all the way to the planetarium afterwards. I had been there once before, some years back on a school trip. And I had always wanted to return, so I was glad that I got the chance to do so with him. Once we got there, he left me standing at the entrance and said he was going to ask the guard something but he'd only take a second. I wanted to accompany him to keep him away from trouble but he insisted I stay put. I kept my eyes in him, but once he was a step away from the guard, he stopped and took out his phone, placing it next to his ear afterwards. But seconds later he retrieved it and glanced at the screen. I could clearly see his expression and he looked like he wanted to smash the phone against the wall. I immediately concluded that it was probably Chris that has called and angered him so much. But when he walked back to me, he said, 

" Can I use your phone? Khloe just called but mine literally just died on me. He waved the phone in front of me for emphasis. I didn't want Khloe to worry when she couldn't reach him, so I took out my phone and handed it to him. 

" Don't get nosy, I'm watching you!" 

" Have some faith in me!"

" Never. "

He took my phone and stepped away. Then he pointed at a small booth to my right and suggested I go and grab a manual if I wanted. Just Incase we saw something but didn't quite understand what it was or how it came to be. I narrowed my gaze at him, but he looked entirely composed so I ended up doing such that. He gave back my phone not long afterwards, and when I tried to spot anything weird about his expression I found nothing. I decided to give him more credit because he actually deserved it. 

And as we were busy admiring space, I was reminded of my impending BluePrint concert and how I had to break the news to my sometimes unhinged boyfriend. That was definitely going to be a hard one.