Chance Encounters

sixteen

Dedicated to @Sweetandtoxic for her sweet comment on the last chapter and I hope you're feeling much better after that crappy day you said you had hahaha 

Chapter 16

It was awkward.

For some reason, it just was. Austin had been polite and cordial just a few hours ago when he'd met Alyssa and Warren, as well as when he met my great uncle and aunt. This time, however, he was quiet and stiff, bordering on hostile.

I would have cracked a joke about him being jealous of Will, but it didn't seem like that was the case. He just seemed wary of him in general.

Will felt it too.

After telling Austin about the whole camp thing and how the Idiots might have ended up there, he quickly excused himself to talk to his friends about going back early, looking awkwardly between Austin and me, before scurrying to a table on the opposite side of the room. I watched his retreating back until he was no longer in sight.

I nudged Austin. "Hey."

He looked at me. "Huh?"

He had that look on his face—kind of disoriented and lost. I realized I snapped him out of his thoughts. It wouldn't take a genius to know that there was something that was bothering him.

"You look stupid," I told him.

"Shut up."

"Seriously," I said. I wasn't sure how to ask if something was bothering him without sounding like I was worried of him. Because I wasn't. Really, I was just... curious, at most. "Just ten minutes ago, you were all, the guys seems pretty okay, and everything, and now you—"

He held up a finger.  "Did you—did you just try to imitate my voice?"

"What? No. I—no."

"I don't speak like that," he said. "And my voice sounds nothing like... that. Whatever that was."

Flustered, I looked away pointedly. "Shut the fuck up, I'm asking you what's wrong here."

There was a pause, in which I proceeded to try to not look at him while he, however, seemed intent on looking at my face. From my peripheral vision, I could see his lips move until a small smile had painted his face. "You're asking me what's wrong."

"No."

He nudged me. "You're concerned."

I looked at him with mock horror. "No. Why would I—how can I—I'm not—" I stammered out, which only made his smile grow wider. "You—you suck. You suck monkey balls."

Forcing myself to shut up, I took in a deep breath and tried my best to ignore the amused grin on the dickhead's face.

"Monkey balls," he repeated, sounding exactly like he enjoyed the situation.

"Fuck off."

"Red." He smirked, one corner tipping higher than the other. "You're blushing."

"Am not."

"Are too."

Annoyed, I raised my injured hand to his face. He recoiled instantly, almost as a reflex. It was enough for him to drop the amused expression, reverting back to his scowl. "If you don't shut up, this handkerchief is going to your face."

He took a step away.

I fought the urge to smile.

"I'll stop," he said for good measure.