Chapter 43

OLIVER

I had made it past the kitchen where someone was in, rushing towards the front door.

I didn’t want to look back. I didn’t want to face what I’d just done. Hugging Jude had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. And every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was that confused look of his as I pulled back from the hug.

I shook my head, determined not to let that bother me. Not at the moment. My mother needed me.

I opened the front door, my eyes fixed on the ground before bumping into someone.

Only it wasn’t just someone

“Shit, watch where you’re going – ” Rick muttered with a mild sour expression before his eyes scanned me and an incredulous look replaced it. “Oliver?”

He was wearing a dark bomber jacket and black cargo pants. Coupled together with the black cap on his head, he looked like he was going to rob a place.

It had been like two weeks since we last saw each other but looking at him now, the weight of how much I missed him made it seem like it was months.

It seemed that way for him too because one second later, his arms were wrapped around me in a bear hug. I closed my eyes as my head rested on his shoulder.

We stayed like that for a minute before I pulled back from him.

“Missed you, Ollie,” he said, shooting me a genuine, small smile. “How have you been?”

“Good.”

“How’s Casey?”

Mentioning Casey left a sour taste in my mouth. It hit me that, for the first time ever, I’d more or less not talked to both my friends in such a long time.

“He’s…” I shifted on my feet. “…fine.”

Rick’s eyes narrowed by a minuscle amount. He was always very perceptive and he knew me better than most people so I hundred percent knew he caught the hesitation in my voice.

I also knew that if he pushed hard enough, I’d actually tell him the truth about how tumultuous our relationship has been. I was never able to hide things from him for long.

But, strangely enough, he didn’t. He studied me for a moment, his gaze like a piercing dagger, before completely changing the subject. “Have the panic attacks stopped?”

That knocked the air out of my lungs. The fact that I had completely forgotten about them made me wonder if that was a good thing. I wanted to tell Rick about that. I wanted to calm the beginning rapid pulse in my ear.

Instead, I crossed my arms. “Oh, now you care. Where have you been these past few weeks?”

Rick’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”

“You never returned my calls that night I was stranded in a club. Do you even know that? Do you even know that I was stranded with Jude?”

At the mention of Jude, a dark cloud swept over his face making me take a sharp breath. It was almost world-ending how Rick and Jude sometimes looked so similar in certain situations you couldn’t deny they were brothers. At the moment, his glower made the curve of his eyes identical to Jude’s.

“I know,” he murmured. There was a dark torrent underneath his voice, something like bitterness, pain and another thing I couldn’t decipher.

Coldness tiptoed underneath my skin. I should have felt sympathy for him. I should have.

Instead, a hot pit of anger was growing in my chest. The more I looked at him, the more I saw Jude’s miserable look as he confessed to me about Rick hitting him. It was like I was back at their house, standing beside Jude at Rick’s room, watching pain bloom across his face like deadly nightshade.

I knew I had no right to rear my head into their issues but after seeing Jude’s face stricken with hurt, hearing his voice littered with cracks of emotion… I couldn’t shake this weird sense of protectiveness and vindication. I didn’t know who was right between them but I knew Jude wasn’t supposed to feel what he felt.

But I didn’t say any of that out loud. “Where are you coming from right now?” I inquired.

Whatever pain he felt seemed to vanish. I watched as the stormy look in his eyes ran away from an uncomfortableness beginning to set in. “I was…running some errands.”

“Where?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does. You look like you’re going to be on the set of a murder mystery series. And you smell like fresh rose and Candy.” I pointed out

Rick flinched. He grabbed a fistful of his jacket by his chest, bringing it to his nose. His eyes widened by a fraction.

I hoped the smug smile threatening to appear on my lips was masked by how neutral I was schooling my face. “You never wear sweet perfumes. Ever.”

“Well, maybe I’ve changed,” he grumbled, pursing his lips. His eyes avoided mine.

“You know,” I drawled in the curious high – pitched tone I knew he sometimes hated. “Vanessa’s currently wearing Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium.”

He raised an apprehensive eyebrow. “How would you know that?”

“We met up a couple days ago. Coffee date but that’s not relevant.” I waved it off. “The point is Black Opium is warm… spicy…”

Rick was now shifting on his feet, looking as if he wished to be anywhere but here. His fingers tapped his waist impatiently.

“…not at all sweet,” I finished, making sure to drag out the last word.

When he didn’t speak, I continued, “You know your jacket doesn’t smell like her -“

“I didn’t know this was supposed to be an interrogation,” he snapped.

We locked eyes, the air between us going taut with tension. My neck was getting hotter by the minute but I didn’t relent. “Well it wouldn’t be if you were smelling like Vanessa.”

His mouth curled into a snarl and I knew I had pushed him too far. He was suddenly moving on his feet, bulldozing right at me. I thought he was about to knock me down but at the last second he brushed past me before opening the door. He stepped inside and slammed it shut, leaving me staring blankly at the spot he had been standing.

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Turns out, my mom’s ’emergency’ entailed looking for a lost vintage dress from her highschool prom that she supposedly saw me last with. How that could happen, I had no idea.

By the time we found it – hidden under a dusty mound of lost clothes in our basement – my body was screaming and I was gritting my teeth. I didn’t even return her good night before going to my room. She had interrupted my time with Jude for this?

I flopped hard on my bed after that ordeal, feeling so exhausted I decided I wasn’t going to change into pajamas.

My eyes began fluttering as I checked the time on my phone. A notification had popped up thirty minutes ago while I was helping my mother search for her dress.

A flurry of hope surged in my chest, thinking it was Rick. My heart was feeling so heavy after what had happened. Why had I said that? Why had I pushed his buttons?

I opened the notification. It was three messages from an unknown number. Unfortunately not from Rick. A part of my chest ached at the fact that I also wanted it to be Casey. I missed him. I missed my friends. This was the first time I was talking to neither of them.

And it was all my fault.

Releasing a heavy sigh, I clicked on the messages from the unknown number expecting it to be spam…

Unknown number:
Hi.
Did you reach home safe?
It’s Jude.

It was like I’d suddenly taken ten cups of concentrated black coffee. I sat up straight, my eyes never leaving the screen. My mind immediately jumped to how I’d hugged him for the millionth time that night. I thought he would never talk to me again after what I did. He must have thought I was a weirdo who didn’t respect personal space.

Then why did he text me?

He actually texted me.

Oh my gosh. Holy shit.

I immediately saved his number before replying:

Me:
Yeah. Thanks for checking on me. And for listening to me today.

Jude:
No problem.

I waited for another text but he went silent, much to my disappointment. Then three dots appeared on the screen after a moment, signifying that he was texting something. His text later popped up.

Jude:
Really liked the book you told me about.

I replied in a millisecond. It felt like I was within his control, like he was absolutely positively pulling my strings because I wasn’t usually a fast replier. What had gotten into me?

Me:
Seriously?

Jude:
Yeah.

My fingers worked furiously as I texted another reply. I considered using an emoji or two but I thought that would scare him away.

Me:
I thought I was annoying at some point.

It didn’t take two seconds before he replied.

Jude:
No you weren’t.

The three dots appeared again. My heart felt like it had dropped between my feet.

Jude:
I want to hear the other one you were telling me about before we got interrupted.

Me:
Where? When?

I bit my lip as I awaited his response. This time, it took almost two minutes for his reply to come.

Jude:
Whenever you want.

I almost kicked my feet in the air but I restrained myself. Barely seeing the letters on my screen, I typed my reply.

Me:
Ok. It’s a deal.

A second later, he replied.

Jude:
Aight.

The three dots didn’t appear again. I must have spent five minutes staring blindly at my screen for another reply before I sighed. I considered asking him whether he felt creeped out about me hugging him but I didn’t want to bring anything weird between us.

Deciding that I would never hug him or initiate any physical contact with him again, I shut my phone before allowing myself to sink into the depths of sleep.

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THE NEXT DAY

The Glee Club certainly hadn’t changed, not that I hadn’t seen it for more than two days. It also didn’t help that I’d forgotten my backpack in that particular rush to talk to Jude.

I stepped inside and immediately ran into Francis, who appeared to be leaving.

“Oh, sorry. This hallway can be extremely narrow at times…” he trailed off the moment his eyes landed on me. “Oliver?”

He beamed, grabbing my arms in a flash, the quickness of it all leaving me almost breathless with surprise. “You’re back!”

I stared at him for a moment before forcing myself to regain clarity. He was adorned in a loud purple silk shirt and green shorts, along with dozens of jewellery.

I earnestly prayed that he wouldn’t sense the apprehension growing in me. I’d basically ditched them in the middle of whatever club ritual they had subjected me to. I wasn’t exactly expecting such a warm welcome after what I did but it felt like he greeted everyone like this -maybe even his enemies.

That thought definitely did not make me feel better.

I realised I hadn’t spoken and Francis was still looking at me, his eyebrows slowly bunching together in a frown of concern.

He suddenly let go of my hands. “Did we do something wrong to make you leave like that? I understand that we like to make people feel welcome and what we did may have been too much for newcomers but – “

“Relax,” I lightly chuckled. “It wasn’t you.”

His concerned frown turned into a confused one. With a small start, I realised he was wearing light make-up, the frown highlighting the mascara in his eyes. “Then why did you rush off?”

“I…” my voice left me as I remembered calling an uber to Jude’s place, wanting more than anything to hear his answer to the question that had been burning me since the moment I lashed out at him.

I smiled an awkward smile. “Family emergency.”

I wasn’t a very good liar, and Francis could tell that, but he apparently decided not to say a thing. Instead, he gave me a bone-crushing hug that left me wondering if I were leaking some kind of pheromones based on how many people were suddenly randomly hugging me.

He pulled back, his eyes gleaming with something like cheerful gratitude. “I’m just glad you’re back. Oh and just in case you’re wondering, we did away with that tradition as soon as you left. Thought it might be too much for self-conscious people.”

“Oh.” I blushed. “I’m not… self-conscious.”

It sounded more like a question than a statement, even to me. Francis gave me an endearing skeptical look before a group of people behind him walked up to us, causing me to focus on them.

One was the guy who had been wearing a T-shirt with a batman logo – Marcus the secretary. He appeared to be in deep discussion with Trina, the Vice President of the club and the long-haired guy who I quickly realised had said how pretty my voice was after that embarrassing solo I did. I wracked my head for his name but it eluded me.

They stopped short in their tracks the moment they saw me, looks of surprise dawning on them. They were no doubt remembering how I’d run away like a scared deer.

Beads of sweat prickled my skin. I couldn’t even utter a hi for the life of me.

Francis saved me. “Guys, Oliver is back!” He cheerfully exclaimed. “He’s applying for the soloist role.”

“What?” My eyes snapped to him.

Marcus was the first to get over his shock. “He is?” His eyes slinked from Francis to me, his gaze sharp and appraising. My spine tingled.

Trina’s lips pressed into a large smile. “I’m so glad you’re applying. But between us, I think Francis doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Shut up,” Francis grumbled. “I’ve always won every year I applied.”

“What application?” My head was spinning. It felt like we were all in a large, expansive sea with only Francis and the rest knowing how to stay afloat, leaving me floundering for air.

Marcus pointed at a poster on the wall next to him that I hadn’t seen until now. It entailed a picture of music notes and microphones decorated in glitter. I couldn’t make out a lot of the words but several clearly stood out – Pitched to Perfection: A battle of Campuses’ best voices.

“Pitched to perfection?” I murmured.

“It’s this prestigious annual musical competition hosted for all campuses in the state,” Francis explained. “Hamptons Campus is hosting it this year.”

“And Hillsbury has been participating in it every year,” Trina chimed in.

“Have you guys ever won?”

“Weeeeelll,” Francis rubbed his neck. “In 2015 we did.”

That was like eleven years ago. The embarrassed tone in his voice told me more than enough that they hadn’t won since.

“The competitions are tough,” Marcus confessed. “We’ve tried winning but something always happens. Some of our vocalists back out, others get sick on the day of, it’s a nightmare. Plus, we’re short of good soloists.”

That last statement befuddled my mind. I’d only heard them sing once and that was enough to announce them asnone of the best singers I’ve heard. He had to be downplaying their ability.

“Why is being a soloist so important?” I inquired, voicing a question that scratched the back of my mind.

“It’s a mandatory position in the competition. No Campus can participate without one,” Marcus clarified blandly.

Trina huffed with impatience. “That’s not the main point of all this. Oliver, we care so much about winning because if we keep failing to win, the school administration will… will eventually stop funding this club.”

Silence landed amidst the space like an anvil. For a moment, I could almost hear their raging heartbeats.

I clutched my shirt. “That’s… that’s horrible.”

They all nodded with grim agreement.

“Even with Francis joining, we haven’t won these past three years,” Trina added, her face falling slightly. “And he’s an amazing soloist by the way.” She added rapidly, following Francis’s slight glare.

They all shot me an expectant look, what they were implying not dawning on me for a moment.

“You want me to be the soloist?” I whispered, trying my hardest to hide the horror.

“I mean you can apply,” The long – haired guy suggested shyly, “You have a great voice.”

“A really, really great voice,” Trina nodded in agreement. “You might just give Francis a run for his money.”

Francis rolled his eyes. “Haha.” He turned to me. “We always have applications. Our vocal coach, Ms Lambrook, gets to vet each application, and I’ve always won these past few years.” He announced proudly, warranting a few rolled eyes from his friends. This must have been nothing new to them. “You should apply, Oliver.”

It was bad enough that these guys heard me sing. I remembered how I’d almost died in front of them. Now I was expected to sing in front of hundreds of people, in front of snotty, mean-gazed judges?

The thought made me want to pass out.

“I… I don’t know.” I admitted, lowering my gaze to the ground.

Marcus crossed his arms. “You really should apply. You have an amazing voice. Needs some control but the talent is definitely there.”

I raised my head, my eyes meeting theirs. They absolutely loved this club and I could see how much this truly affected them. Even though they were trying to hide it, their faces were long with sadness at the fact that if they didn’t win this year, the school might shut down this club.

And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was beginning to like the members of this club already. They had treated me better than I could ever expect. I didn’t want to see them downtrodden.

I looked at my hands for a moment before balling them into fists. “I’ll apply.”

“Great!” Francis shook my shoulders. The rest gave me grateful smiles but something about the long-haired guy that struck me as more profound than the rest.

Flavian. The name finally hit me.

His eyes danced with a certain weight to them that made my stomach flutter.

“Where can I apply?” I asked after a moment.

“I have some applications forms here,” Marcus said, unslinging his bag to forage for them. I tried my best to avoid Flavian’s gaze as Marcus finally brought out the papers.

“Here,” he handed me one.

I studied it. “Thank you.”

Francis turned to open the door. “Now that we’re done with this, I can finally go try that amazing quesadillas in the cafeteria that everyone has been raving about! Bye, Oliver.”

I watched him disappear, the door snapping shut in his wake.

Trina, Marcus and Flavian moved to leave too.

“Where can I leave this after filling it?”

“You can come with it tomorrow,” Marcus instructed. “Just don’t miss the deadline. It’s in three days.”

I nodded. We all said our goodbyes. As they left, Flavian stopped and gave me a smile that lingered a little too long. A feeling bubbled in my gut and I didn’t know whether it was discomfort or nervousness at what I’d just agreed to do.

I brushed the feeling aside as soon as he left and glanced at the Application form again before turning to leave.

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I’M BACK BITCHES!!

Got held up with a lot but I basically have a lot of free time now that I’m done with whatever I had. I can finally lock in.

This chapter was supposed to be way longer but I didn’t want to drag it out so I plan to write the next scene in the following chapter which is a shame since I was really looking forward to adding the scene here.

Anyways, what did you think about the chapter? About Rick and Oliver’s fight? About Oliver applying for that important position? Let me know your thoughts.

See ya❤️