Dancing Delinquents

Chapter 12

"You know you can refuse the dare right," Tobi said, glancing cautiously at a fidgety Angel.

"And be seen as a wuss, no thanks," Angel replied, his voice strained.

He and Tobi were on the way to the dinning hall for lunch, seeing as school dismissed a while ago.

Angel was dreading the possibility of seeing Diego during lunch, he didn't know if he'd be able to control himself. Angel had been avoiding Diego all Monday, even going as far as smuggling his food from the dinning, which wasn't allowed.

He would have been fine doing it, but Tobi made it clear that he couldn't avoid Diego forever. He had low-key been planned to do that.

Once the familiar glowing wooden door was in sight, Angel fought down the rising nausea, willing himself not to do anything out of the ordinary. To other people, if might seem like a harmless dare, a prank if you must, but to Angel, it was something more.

He knew there'd be laughter when he turned up for their Halloween party in a dress. He knew said laughter would be good natured, and he was fine with it. But then, his whole life's controversy has revolved around proving his masculinity to his dad. He wasn't going to be doing that if he wore a dress.

It was more than clear, Angel had a problem. The person he was trying to prove himself to, wasn't even present in his life anymore. Or was it himself he was convincing. Was his dad only an excuse, a cover. Angel wasn't sure, he wasn't sure of anything anymore. His brain was haywire, and it was all Diego's fault.

He wouldn't back down from the dare, no, he'd wear a dress on Halloween. But, he'd make Diego pay, dearly.

After collecting their lunch, they navigated their way through the precariously arranged seats, trying to spot their table. Once they did, they made a beeline towards it. Luck wasn't on Angel's side because Diego was sat at their table, looking hyper and chatty as he munched on a chocolate cupcake. Must be desert.

At least his second favourite snack was being served today, Angel mused.

He took the empty seat beside Dwight, seeing as both of them had grown quite close over the week. They mostly bonded on Dwight's unrequited love, and even with that, they were great company for each other.

Angel threw him a small smile which he returned, except with one wider than Angel's.

Angel had gotten pasta, and he was currently mixing it with the sauce that was provided. It was in a small fancy glass bowl that had Angel frowning. He had also gotten a bottle of hot sauce, so he was adding that too.

"How can you handle so much spices," Idalgo asked with a shiver, munching on his mashed potatoes.

Angel shrugged, "I got my Mom's hot Thailand genes," Angel replied, wiggling his eyebrows at Idalgo so he could catch the joke.

Idalgo did burst out laughing, but for a different reason. "The fact that you don't usually make jokes, makes it endearing when you try to," he said. There were murmurs of agreement as the rest of the table who had been listening, let out small chuckles. Angel's face turned bright red. From the attention, or the comment, he couldn't really tell, probably both.

He went back to eating his lunch, as silence settled on the table. They had unintentionally reverted back to their table manners.

The silence was destroyed by a chair scraping the tiled dinning floor. Olivia had just arrived. She looked as prim and proper as she usually did, it unnerved Angel.

She had found a seat for herself beside Diego, a little too close if you ask Angel, and was showing him something on her iPhone. Diego didn't look too invested in what she was saying. It was understandable, she was probably showing him something on her Instagram feed, making him give up the conversation about basketball he was having with Dallas and Nigel.