CHAPTER 72: LITTLE LOVE BUG

Chapter Seventy-Two

**OLIVER WEST**

"Ugh, that sucks," William nodded in understanding why I tried not to focus on the fact that I was sitting next to the one person Kieran had warned me to avoid.

The bite on my ear still stung from earlier. Well, this wasn’t even my fault, it was William who invited him, and not me. But even as I thought this, I knew that Kieran wouldn’t care how Xander got to sit beside me.

No.

Wait.

What. The. Hell. Was. Actually. Wrong. With. Me??

Maybe I was the reason Kieran was being downright unreasonable, because I gave in to him easily.

A few months from now, I would be a legal adult, so why did I actually still need to listen to him? I gritted my teeth at the thought again, the soreness on my butt was the response.

This had to stop.

I had been saying this, but I meant it more this time.

It has to stop!!!

If he wanted a relationship with me, then there should be some understanding between us, equal rights for all!

Maybe I should write down the rules for him?

We could also sign a contract or something, one that wouldn’t allow him to spank or bite me?

I focused on eating my sandwich in silence, while William and Xander fell into easy conversations, talking about the party, mutual acquaintances, and other topics.

"Are you usually this quiet, Oliver?" Xander said suddenly, snapping me from my own thoughts, I turned my head at him, swallowing down my mouthful of sandwich before mumbling.

"Just tired."

Yeah, what was I supposed to talk about with the guy I danced with this past weekend, not to mention that Kieran had made things a whole lot worse.

"Long weekend?" He asked again.

"Something like that," I murmured, then, the guilt hit me.

He was merely a new guy trying to make friends.

Was I being rude with these clipped responses?

It wasn’t even about Kieran’s words, I was just totally awkward when it came to making friends.

I could feel his gaze on me, studying my face with an intensity that made it even more awkward.

Why was he persistent?

William was more social, he should just talk to him instead of boring me.

"That’s an interesting mark on your neck,"

I choked on my sandwich, my fit of coughs earning me a few stares. My eyes snapped to Xander’s to see him looking quite normal, as though he hadn’t blurted such an atrocity.

This bastard!

An unwilling image of his lips right there during the party flashed in my mind.

He was the one who’d given me the hickey in the first place, and now he was acting like he didn’t know where it came from!

Before William could hand me the napkins he was reaching for, Xander was already there, offering me tissues with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his hand hovering near my back like he wanted to pat it but wasn’t sure if he should.

I snatched the tissues, still coughing. "Fine. I’m fine."

I could feel William’s raised eyebrow from across the table as his eyes focused on the mark Xander had mentioned. His gaze moved between Xander and me with obvious curiosity and all I felt like doing right now was to smack his and Xander’s heads together.

I’d had to lie to Mom about the particular red spot I’d woken up to. She had believed it was a bug bite and not that her son was being irresponsible.

The cream she had given me had sort of diminished the redness between Saturday and now. I didn’t even think it was still visible, but apparently it was.

"A stupid bug bit me," I said when I could finally breathe again.

Xander chuckled loudly, "A stupid bug, is it? You have to be careful then, tell it not to hurt you next time,"

My brows scrunched in confusion, what did that even mean?

I just called him a ’Stupid bug’ why did he seem so pleased instead of getting offended?

Was I missing something?

"So, I assume that guy from earlier is really your boyfriend?"

The question hung in the air while my mouth opened and closed like a fish.

Was Kieran my boyfriend? We’d kissed, he’d said he liked me, but I’d said no when he’d asked, hadn’t I? Except he’d also said it didn’t matter what I answered... My brain felt like it was short-circuiting trying to figure out what we actually were.

I opened my mouth, wanting to tell Xander that it wasn’t his business.

"Yes, he’s my boyfriend," I heard myself say instead. And my voice had been fucking loud judging by the stares I got and the way the table next to us suddenly got quiet.

I tried not to look at William but it was impossible.

His brow was perfectly lifted, and he was studying me like I’d just announced I was secretly an alien.

The pair of gazes from both angles was making me uncomfortable, Xander nodded "He seems... um protective."

"He is," I mumbled under my breath, can he just drop it now?

I took a very big bite of my sandwich, but it was only so that I would no longer have to speak.

What better way to ignore him than to keep my mouth very busy?

Movement near the cafeteria entrance caught my eye. A familiar figure in all black was walking through the doorway.

Vince.

There was a boy with dark hair who had followed him inside, some junior that I recognized but had never interacted with before.

They weren’t standing that close, but this was also the first time I was seeing Vince with any other person than his usual friends.

My eyes narrowed deeply in concentration, this wasn’t the boy I’d seen in Vince’s bedroom.

That boy definitely had blond hair!

"Will, look," I whispered under my breath.

William’s head snapped toward the entrance, and I watched his face go through a series of emotions in slow motion.