Aurelio's Dilemma

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINE:

Matt turned away from Blair with the tips of his ears red. Embarrassed? Shy? Neither made sense. Matt was as unabashed as a cat with a god complex. Normally he wouldn't have given a shit, and he'd just have gone all feral on Blair.

"I'm starving," Matt said, pressing an arm to his stomach. "Anyone got anything to eat?"

Aurelio took the granola bar out of his pocket and gave it to Matt. "Here."

Matt smiled. "You're the best," he said, then he glanced at Leslie with an impish frown. "Learn."

Not two seconds after he'd spoken and he choked; a strained cough ripped his chest, and he bent a degree forward. Blair patted his back. Aurelio could only focus on how rough his cough sounded.

"You good?" Aurelio asked when Matt recovered. Matt nodded. "That's one hell of a cough."

"He just choked," Blair said, fair brow arched with accusation. "Don't worry, he doesn't smoke. Not everyone does."

Um...

Okay?

There was heavy implication in her voice, and it was confusing as shit. Who the hell was she shading? Aurelio's dad?

"Hey, Leslie?" Blair asked. "Where's your boyfriend?"

The word flipped a switch, and a fuzz enveloped Aurelio's brain. He frowned. "Her what?"

"Boyfriend." Leslie gave a Aurelio a weird look, then turned to Blair. "He had to leave."

"You..." Aurelio's voice was low, unsure. "You have a boyfriend?"

Matt snickered. "I know. It's so hard to believe."

Leslie gave Matt an annoyed look, then she faced Aurelio. "Uh, yes, Elio. I do," she said. "He was here just two minutes ago, and he was literally talking to us."

Oh. Oh, shit. Right. That ridiculously tall, ridiculously attractive, insecurity-inducing guy. That was Leslie's boyfriend. How could Aurelio even forget that? It'd been bothering him ever since...wait. How long had they been dating?

Aurelio realized everyone was staring, everyone worried. "I'm running on, like, less than two hours of sleep," he quickly supplied. "Not so focused."

"Two hours!" Matt's blue eyes widened. "How? Eight aren't enough for me."

"Not everyone's like you, sleepyhead," Leslie said, chuckling at Matt's incredulity. Then she took a step towards Aurelio and lowered her voice an octave. "For real, though. You don't usually stay up late. Are you sure everything's under control?"

Girl didn't even bother asking if everything was okay first-she already knew the answer to that. "Yeah," Aurelio said.

"You really think so?"

"Personally. Yes."

"Personally, no."

Aurelio looked at Leslie and smiled the slightest bit. "To each their own."