Now You Know ✅

Chapter 28: Storm and Thunder

A/N
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It's official, Pelham thought after two weeks of being cold-shouldered by his own best friend. He doesn't like me.

There was hardly any interaction exchanged between the two boys. Even if they did, it was merely an "Excuse me" from Roshon whenever Pelham was blocking his way. For instance; when they were filing out of the Chemistry lab and Pelham lingered at the doorframe in the hope of talking to Roshon. Not that the hope got any better. Roshon might not manifest his animosity towards Pelham, but Pelham would prefer that over acting as though they were complete strangers, as though they were less than acquaintances. He would rather have Roshon look at him as a nemesis, because at least they acknowledged each other's presence.

If Lucio had the faintest idea that the two best friends were standing at opposite ends of the spectrum at the moment, he hadn't uttered a single word concerning such matter. That was what Pelham appreciated about the boy. It was as though Lucio knew better than to interfere, especially since he didn't have anything to do with it. Amid the silent treatment given by Roshon, Pelham just knew he could talk to either Lucio or April.

Was it bad, thought Pelham, when he turned to Lucio when his own best friend was shunning him out? Because he didn't want to make Lucio Alves some sort of a back-up friend when all things went downhill, yet he seemed to be doing the exact thing; having Lucio over in the house to play video games, eating with him during lunch, chatting with him at night whenever he couldn't bring himself to sleep. They were all the things that he normally did with Roshon - maybe not the late-night chat. Is it bad? he kept thinking.

Then again, Pelham wouldn't know whether Roshon was also doing the exact same thing. After all, Roshon was the first one to get himself a 'substitute' - someone who neither of them rarely ever hung out with. Still, Pelham couldn't deny the fact that it had somehow gotten him pondering over who was being more inequitable here; him or Roshon?

Every now and then, Pelham couldn't help but think that he was simply spending his time with Lucio just to make Roshon envious. Am I, though? he thought, feeling more ill at ease than he normally was, and he couldn't absolutely tell whom that he was entirely concerned about. Am I using Lucio? He especially didn't want that, for he himself liked Lucio's company as immensely as possible that the thought of having him just to replace Roshon wasn't a necessity. He could spend his time with Lucio whenever he wanted.

But that had been the issue for seventeen-year-old Pelham over the past few weeks; he just couldn't settle down. Every time he talked to Lucio, he had the sense that Roshon was stealthily watching them from a corner, thereby the overwrought impression that he was somehow using Lucio. No matter how hard Pelham tried to ward such foul notion off his head, it kept coming back, causing him to think of Lucio more as some sort of a bait just to get his best friend at his side.

He didn't like where his mind was wandering off to for the past few days. It wasn't right.

Pelham felt like a monster as he sat there on the bench at the school compound, fiddling with his pencil while doing so. Lucio was sitting beside him with his head bent low, poring over his abnormally thick Mathematics textbook while the pen in his other hand scribbled down some formulas into his notebook that sat on his lap.

Pelham had gotten tense ten minutes ago when he saw Roshon walk past with his chin up, clearly not acknowledging his presence. Either that, or he hadn't realised Pelham was there at all. Pelham hoped for the latter, though he knew the odds for such wish to be true was running adequately low.

"Hey!" There was a light jab of a pen on Pelham's thigh that he let out a startled wince.

Pelham looked towards Lucio, rubbing his thigh as he did so. "That hurt," he remarked. "What was that for?"