Chapter 76

" Mr. O'Grady? Mind putting that away?" the teacher asked in reference to my phone. I hadn't been able to put it down since she walked into class. I had way too many fucking questions and Kyle was the only one that could give me the answers. But then my ego was still encouraging me to ice him out until he approached me first. 

I reluctantly put the phone away, I didn't want to act irrationally. I knew that's what he expected me to do, but no, I was going to play it cool, act unbothered and see what he would do in return. 

The class ended, Miles offered to buy me something from the vending machine and I accepted because it was either that or stay behind and wait for Stevens. I left him still seated in class, he was putting down whatever had been written on the whiteboard, I sensed his eyes on me while I walked by, but I still didn't look back. 

We got to the vending machine, I leaned against its side while Miles looked at the contents inside. 

" Cola?" he asked and I nodded. He bought two, handing me one before he stood in front of me and opened up his, I did the same.

" Got a hot new deal. Denver, next Saturday. You down?" 

" Did you look into it?"

" Come on, you know how I roll. It's legit. "

" What time?"

" Same as always, but it's better if we get there earlier. My dad lent me his truck, sounds good?"

I nodded, taking a sip of the cola and realizing how thirsty I had actually been, so I drank down more than half of it in one gulp. Miles even asked me whether I wanted another one but I shook my head.

" Dude, where's your head at?" 

Miles and I didn't necessarily have the sort of bond where we talked about our personal issues. He helped me out when it came to certain private things and in return I gave him a reasonable cut of what I ended up getting. But he sometimes liked to ask me questions about myself, and for some reason I always replied honestly. 

" He's driving me insane..." I admitted in a low tone, my eyes focused on the empty space ahead of me. 

" Who? Kyle?" 

I slowly nodded. Miles seemed like the type of guy who played around with every girl he could get his hands on. I had initially thought the same thing But with time I was slowly realizing that he was more interested in money than anything else. I took another sip of the cola, then I realized that I had drunk it all and I sighed. 

" What's the deal with you two, like really?"

I looked at him, wondering what sort of response to give. He had asked me something similar not too long ago and I had replied. 

" Who the fuck knows?" Is what I chose to go with, because I was also completely clueless. All I knew was that I loved him and he loved me back. That I wanted everything with him but he still wasn't completely sure about what exactly he wanted. 

" Here, " Miles got me another drink, taking my used can and throwing it into a trashcan a short distance away, it successfully got in and he smiled, seeming proud of himself. I thanked him and opened up the can, holding it in my hand for a while before taking a sip. 

" Love's just fucked up. But Kyle's cool, I'm sure you'll sort it out. "

He wasn't the best at giving someone hope, but he was trying and I gave him a subtle smile. 

" And Incase it doesn't work out between you two, I told you I have like ten people hitting me up asking about you. There's Roxy from cheer squad, that trio from my art class..oh!..." he moved closer, a suggestive smile on his face. Then he clinked his can with mine and raised his brows, " Remember Chase? We met him last weekend, "

" Was he the one with the Kawasaki Z125?" 

" Damn right!" 

" Not interested. In any of them....but if Chase ever considers selling his bike then give me a call. "

I had been thinking of purchasing another, slowly starting up my own collection. And that bike had been something else, but at least I now knew why the guy had been looking at me like that. 

" You sure? You have so much in common. He wanted your number but I thought I'd ask you first, "

" Since when are you a matchmaker?" 

He shrugged, moving aside because some students wanted to use the vending machine. I wasn't sure which class I had next but I really didn't feel like attending. I was drained enough as it was, I wanted to rather be somewhere else doing something that I actually liked. 

" Can we talk?" I suddenly heard Kyle's voice ask. I turned to face the other side and found him standing there, his eyes fixed on mine. He gave Miles a passive glance, then he waited for me to respond. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved, or that him being there didn't surprise me. I had expected him to hold out for at least a couple of days, but it hadn't even been three hours. 

" I'll get going. See you after school?" Miles asked and I nodded and watched as he walked away. Then I stood up straight and took another sip of the cola. His eyes fell to it, then he slowly looked up at me. 

" It's not alcohol, I assure you, " I lazily commented. It was just a sarcastic comment but he must have thought I was being serious since he shook his head and assured me that's not what he had been thinking. He glanced around, then he asked me whether we could go somewhere else and talk things out. I knew him well, but I really hadn't expected that from him. My first thought had been to agree and let him lead me to wherever he wanted, but instead I stayed put. 

" I'm fine right here, " I said. He looked at me with hidden anger that was just starting to form. He knew I was doing it intentionally, but I never got a chance to be on that end of the argument. There was something thrilling about it, not that I was psychotic or anything, but I felt awfully good knowing he was trying to solve whatever was wrong. 

" Fine then, " he gave in, then he ran a hand through his hair and moved closer. Someone else came by the vending machine. I liked how those students would act as if they couldn't see us even though they definitely had. 

" I'm sorry, I agree that I might have overreacted earlier, "

" Might have?"

" Don't push it, " I smiled to myself. Then I watched as he reached over and took the cola from me, taking a sip and swallowing hard. 

" What were you and Miles talking about?" He asked out of nowhere, and his tone suggested he was really curious. I told him it was nothing, and although that answer clearly didn't satisfy him, he chose to stay quiet. 

" Well, I don't know who Chase is but I don't like him. " The statement made me feel like laughing, but I held it in. His eyes fell on these students standing a few feet away, then he looked at me and once again asked whether we could go somewhere else. The bell rang, but he didn't seem bothered by it. 

" Where?" 

" Storage room?" 

I didn't bother hiding my shock. He didn't wait for me to reply but rather held my wrist and began pulling me along. The thing with the storage room was that even though we'd be alone inside, there was no way to get in without being noticed. It was impossible, unless we waited for everyone to get to class first. And I thought that's what we were going to do, but Kyle literally opened the door and pulled me inside along with him. 

" You're still mad, aren't you?" He inquired. I wasn't, not really, but I was having way too much fun watching him regret his actions. 

" I'm not planning on ending up like your mom Stevens. I know what I'm doing. "

He was still holding onto my hand, he eliminated the space between us by moving closer, then he pressed his forehead against my shoulder and wrapped his other arm around my waist. It was pure instinct for me to hold him back. 

" Why didn't you tell me about the concert last night?" 

" I didn't see the need. Plus I only went because a friend of mine got us tickets. It would have been rude not to. "

" You're basically trending on the internet. "

" You're exaggerating. "

" What was up with that though, you know those artists personally or something?"

" Of course not. Max and I just had a run-in with one of them before the performance began. "

I still had a ton left to say in that topic, but I let it be. It was all in the past after all. He had class, and even though I was completely okay with missing my own, I knew it wasn't the same for him. But when I was planning on asking him whether we out to go, he kissed me. I had no clue where he got all that fire from, but the kiss was a lot more passionate than I would have expected. It was as if something was actually troubling him, I kissed him back at first...but then when he pushed me back against the wall I was forced to break things off and ask him what was wrong. I could sense that something wasn't how it ought to be. His palms were as usual, on my back, underneath my shirt and on my skin. I was wearing this white t-shirt with about three buttons dow it's front from the neckline. He let me go and undid them. 

" Kyle?"

" You've never been mad at me before. I didn't like that feeling one bit!"

Once those buttons were undone, he parted the shirt slightly and then kissed my newly exposed skin. 

" I wasn't mad, "

" Yes you were! You wouldn't even look at me!"

I regretted my recent actions immediately. Sometimes I forgot just how truly sensitive Kyle actually was. No one knew that better than me. If something meant a lot to him then he was definitely going to be affected by it. 

" I'm sorry, "

" Stop apologizing. You know I love you. "

I was used to Kyle getting angry at either the things I did or said, but that's because our relationship just worked like that. It was easier for him to be mad at me than the other way round. And I was also aware of how skilled he was when it came to overthinking. He had probably thought out all the worst possible outcomes of me being upset with him. That was why even if he said and did things that I wasn't too happy with, I had always swept them under the rag and ignored them completely. 

" I threw away your flask...did it have sentimental values or something ?"

Laughing, I shook my head. I was just going to blame his reactions on drowsiness and exhaustion. Two things which he definitely was. And it sucked when I recalled he still had to work after school.

" Will you have lunch with me today?" I decided to ask. We could find somewhere not so crowded to talk. And I was sure he hadn't eaten anything yet so it was also my way of making sure he didn't skip any more meals. He nodded without putting any thought to it. 

" And next time you wanna go to a concert make sure you tell me first, okay." 

He chuckled and nodded, but I was pretty serious about it. 

" Relationships are hard, " he lightly commented, then he nuzzled his face against my neck and sighed. 

" I feel offended, just one day in and those are your thoughts on us?" 

Technically, they were my thoughts as well. I realized that there was absolutely no difference. The word relationship did really make any difference when it came to us since we were the same people we had been. 

" I love you, " he whispered the words close to my ear. It didn't matter what happened between us or how upset I got, as long as he told me those words I believed there was nothing I couldn't get over. He was always in a touchy mood, but on that day it was a lot more than usual. I literally had to stop him from taking off my jacket. It was true that he was the most important person to me currently, but it was better off to let him relax first before I allowed him to do anything. He was still functioning on that initial fear of possibly losing me. It sounded silly, but I could relate. 

When we had been kids, I had always wondered where his actual limit was. He'd stop talking to me because of something silly I had either done or said and I always began wondering whether I had managed to really push him away.  

" Let's get to class, " I curtly stated, buttoning up my shirt and gesturing towards the door. Holding both his hands in mine afterwards and placing a soft kiss on them. I felt a lot better knowing that we had cleared things out. 

We didn't have the same class, but I assured he got to his first before I went to mine. And during lunchtime, I had gone over and booked a seat just for him. I watched as he went over to his friends, probably to say hi and that he wouldn't be joining them, then he came over to me and sat. Miles asked whether he could join us, and I went ahead and told him to do so. I liked the fact that Stevens sat next to me instead of the opposite side of the table. And that he had actually sat as close as possible. Those were all major steps, proof that he currently cared even less about what other people thought than how he used to. I had served one they of food which I placed between us. 

Miles pretty much acted as if he wasn't even there. There was no way for everyone to not realize that something was indeed going on between us. 

And just Incase there were some who were still in doubt, the quick kiss he placed on my cheek confirmed it all for them. And I was also caught off guard by it that I ended up a little frozen,but I was able to quickly regain my composure. I didn't know whether he was completely aware of what he was doing and what it implied. Because he was basically just coming out to the entire school.