The next day at school didn't feel any different from the last. Classes blurred together in the usual rhythm. Lunch was the same: me sitting with Dan, Tyler swooping in to interrupt, and then leaving to sit with his not-so-favorite teammates.
But the thing that really stuck in my head was the threat from yesterday. The one telling me to stay away from Tyler. It kept replaying in my mind, scratching at me, making me itch to tell someone—someone who wasn't Tyler. Which really just left Dan.
I figured I'd start by asking about his own drama first.
"How's it going with you two?" I asked, nodding toward Micah across the cafeteria.
"We're good," he said, but it sounded more like a bad thing than a good one.
"That's not the tone of someone who's 'good.'"
"Ben, don't… don't start."
"Start what? I'm just worried about you. Is that a bad thing?"
"You know… sometimes I think it is." He set his spoon down and looked at me.
"Fine, I'm sorry."
I hesitated for a moment before just saying it. "Someone threatened me yesterday. Told me to stay away from Tyler. Said Tyler's getting back with Katie. Oh, and apparently, I'm 'trying to seduce him.'"
Dan raised an eyebrow. "Yep, I knew it."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, thrown off by his reaction.
"I just had a feeling this conversation would end up being about you."
Well, there went my chance at getting actual advice.
"I know we haven't been okay for a while," I said quietly. "But can you at least pretend to care? Someone is threatening me, Dan. And you're the only person I trust enough to tell, but you just want to turn this into… whatever this is."
His face softened, guilt creeping in. "I'm sorry, okay?" His eyes looked sad, tired.
Before I could say anything, he continued. "A lot's been going on. Micah and I… we're not really okay."
"What do you mean?"
"He doesn't want to be seen with me in public. It's like he's ashamed of me or something."
"Oh," I said, because honestly, I didn't know what else to say.
"Yeah, 'oh.' At first, I thought I could handle it. The sneaking around was… fun, I guess. But the other day, I tried talking to him about something important, and he just ignored me. Didn't even bother to apologize."
"That's bad," I admitted. "Have you tried talking to him about it in private, since he doesn't want the public attention?"
"No, I haven't."
"Then maybe you should. If he doesn't respond well, you'll figure out what to do next."
We got up to head back to class. Just before we walked in, Dan stopped me.
"We didn't get to talk about who's threatening you."
"We can talk about that later."
He just nodded and murmured a quick "thanks" before heading in.
After school, I tried to avoid Tyler, but that never works. He caught up to me anyway, and we ended up walking home together.
We hadn't talked about Brayan in a while, which was… okay. Not great. But okay.
At home, Tyler decided to cook us something,our parents had a date night, so it was just us.
Dinner was good. Afterward, we curled up on the couch to watch something. It was going fine until Tyler started getting handsy. Not that I was complaining.
But then, out of nowhere, he asked, "How's it going with you and Danny boy?"
"Seriously?"
"What?" he said, feigning innocence.
"You think it's normal to be touching me while asking about my best friend?"
"Getting jealous, are we?" He chuckled.
"I'm not jealous. Get over yourself."
"You sure?" He planted kisses along my neck, up to my temple, and finally my lips.
"Ye...yes," I breathed out.
Tyler will be the death of me.
Then the front door clicked open. We jumped apart like we'd been electrocuted. Our parents were home already. Too soon. Way too soon.
Mom stepped into the living room. "You boys are still awake? Don't you have school tomorrow?"
"We do!" we said at the same time.
"Then you shouldn't be down here this late."
I stood, adjusting myself carefully but not too obviously and tossed Tyler the couch pillow as a silent signal: upstairs, now.
He got the message instantly. We said our goodnights to our parents and headed up.
Tyler didn't even wait for me to open my bedroom door all the way before pushing me in. I didn't blame him. My patience was running out too.
He slammed my back against the door, one hand wrapping lightly around my throat, restricting just enough airflow to make my pulse spike. Hot.
His other hand yanked my shorts and briefs down. He paused for a moment, eyes roaming over me like he was seeing me for the first time.
"You are… fucking beautiful," he growled.
Before I could process the words, his hand was back on my throat and his mouth was on mine,slow, biting, tugging at my lower lip. His free hand teased the tip of my already aching length, moving painfully slowly.
"Fuck," I muttered, because that was the only word I could form.
At some point, his pants had disappeared. He spit into his palm, mixing it with the precum already leaking from me, and stroked us both together.
"You ready?" he asked, breathless.
I nodded, and then he wrapped his hand around both of us, stroking slow at first, then faster, rougher.
It hurt in the best way.
"Stop thinking. Just feel," he said, his voice cutting through every thought in my head.
"Don't… you… stop," I gasped.
I was close. Too close.
"Yes… oh God…" My release hit hard, my body shaking, and I felt him spill against me seconds later.
He kissed me through the aftershocks, slow now, until our breathing evened out.
Tyler disappeared for a moment, coming back with a warm, damp towel. He cleaned us both, then guided me to bed.
"You okay?" he asked, brushing a soft kiss over my forehead.
"Yeah."
"Then sleep. Don't think too much about anything."
"Okay. Night night."
"Night, Angel."