Oh Boy! (BL)

20 - Like A Dream (1/3)

"Are you completely nuts?!"

I winced even though I had expected as much when facing Cooper the next afternoon inside the Blitz!office. After he finished pacing back and forth in front of his desk for ten minutes straight, he stopped and stared at me with disbelief in his eyes. He waited until the twins had left for their interview with the cafeteria lady before he locked the door and called me out.

He ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair. "Does he know?"

I gulped. "Know?"

Cooper murdered me with his eyes. He wasn't just mad at me; he was furious. I'd never seen him in this mood before. As GoldenBoy92 he usually kept his calm and called Horny to order if necessary. But now...he was boiling inside, and I totally got why. "Does he know that you have sealed a deal with Holland!"

"Had," I said. "The deal I had with her."

He frowned. "Explain."

In few words, I told him about her change of heart after the feature. But I didn't tell him about the Glimmer Ball thing.

He snorted. "Oh, then you decided that it's perfectly fine to go ahead and bang the guy you used to get some extra cash, or what?!"

I looked down at my hands. "It's not like I did it for fun..."

"I know." He sighed loudly. "Sorry, I take it back."

Cooper grabbed his office chair and sat down opposite me. "Now, tell me, boss, in unmistakable clarity: Are you dating Clay Prescott?"

I blushed.

"Guess that's a yes." He frowned. "And did you, or did you not tell him about the deal you had going with Holland?"

I shook my head.

"Do you intend to?"

I hesitated. Did I? I knew it would only be fair if I told him, but just imagining the hurt wash over his face made my heart aching. "I can't," I whispered. "I can't hurt him."

"You really like him, don't you?" Cooper mumbled more to himself than to me. Then he got up from his chair and began pacing back and forth again like a hungry tiger in his cage. "This is a mess, Kenji. A royal mess."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean it to turn out like this."

Cooper stopped in his pacing and shot me a surprised look. "I never took you for such a coward, boss. In Wizard's Quest you always seem to be so tough and sorted out, but IRL?" He made a disgusted sound and tears of shame shot into my eyes. He was right. I was nothing like the BlackZ who I pretended to be when I went online. He was tough, I was...pathetic. "If you like him, you should tell him."

I didn't reply. I didn't know how.

For a long time, the only sounds inside the office were Cooper's heavy footfalls until he cursed and headed behind his loaded desk. "Let's just get to work, okay?" He mumbled without so much as looking at me. I could feel his disappointment.

"I'll go get us something to drink," I mumbled instead; desperately trying to hide the tears in my voice. Before he could react, I rushed out of the room and into the lonely hallway.

It was no surprise that there were no students here at this hour, as they were either busy with their own clubs or had already gone home. And even if there had been students, without the Thunderbirds by my side, they wouldn't notice me anyway.

Though I slowed my steps drastically to get as much time alone as I could, the walk to the vending machine went by far too fast and I punched in the number for two water bottles with much more force than necessary. How come that yesterday, I had been the happiest I'd been in a long, long time, and now...? My life was a disaster. And – this time – it was my own fault.