tell me a secret...i'll tell you mine (editing and rebranding)

Chapter 8: best friends

            Lucas. Lucas is type of person you either love or hate, there’s no in between. Me, I hate Lucas. I hate him so much. And I know he probably doesn’t even give a shit about my existence which proves his earlier point at the point that I’m paying too much attention to him. I wish I can deny that fact. He just vexes me with his presence.
     What is he even doing here? Isn’t he like a successful musician or something? So he must have a fancy house, not that Daisy’s house was shabby but go home, dude. Why does he stay here all the time?
He hasn't noticed me yet because he's preoccupied with typing on his laptop by the kitchen island.
      I close the front door loudly to startle him. I know I’m doing too much. And of course, I don’t get the reaction I’m looking for because he simply turns and nods at me. God, I hate him and I hate his face.
I walk in further in the direction of my room, intent on ignoring him.
"Daisy left some leftovers for you in case you’re hungry." His statement stops me in my steps.
      I want to say I’m not hungry and I’m not but instead I murmur a thanks and I’m rushing out of there for reasons that are vague to me but I think it's to avoid another conversation which I’m not interested in. 
    I think an hour has passed since I arrived home. I have taken two showers as if it’ll help me forget the occurrences of the day. I’ve also tried to get some sleep but my mind is much occupied with the occurrences of the day. I sit up on my bed and take in the sight. My room is still too bare for my liking. I have gone shopping a few times for home appliances but it’s still not enough. Ah fuck, I can’t sleep. 
      I get out of bed and walked towards my door. I’m just going to watch a movie and see what happens. I can’t stay in my room and do nothing. I don’t have a big social media presence to say I want to browse the internet. I hope to God Lucas has gone to his house but who am I kidding? Sometimes, they all spend the night here. There was one time when Lucas spent the night alone with Daisy. I wonder if they're sleeping together. Maybe. But wait, Lucas is gay. No, he's bisexual so it makes sense.
         Speak of the devil or devils and they shall appear. Lucas is still around but so is Daisy now. They're seated on the couch cuddled up watching some movie on the TV. My assessment may actually be right. They might be friends with benefits or more vulgarly, fuck buddies.
I turn to leave to give them some privacy but of course, when have I ever been lucky?
"Victor, bestie," Daisy calls to me and I have no choice but to turn to face her.
"Hey." Daisy has been calling me bestie since we met and I think it’s an internet thing.
"Come, join us. Come sit"
No thank you but I can't say that out loud. Saying no would mean Lucas' presence bothers me. And while it does, I will not admit defeat.
   Lola did used to say I fought imaginary battles with myself and this is one of them. I move towards the couch and seat next to Daisy who immediately moves to cuddle with me.
"Is this okay?" She asks.
It's too late if her head is already on my shoulder. I nod my head and turn my head in Lucas' direction and ah! He's staring at me. I also think he has been indeed been staring at me all the time I said he has and he only denied it to mess with my head. That's when I realize I'm still staring at him. I look away in mortification. What is up with me today?
        I turn to face the TV then to see what film they're seeing and if I recognize it, not that I watch TV like that. As expected, I don't.
It doesn't take long to realize it's a LGBT movie when two guys appear and they give main characters vibes. What did I expect? I'm not sure if Daisy is somewhere on the queer spectrum but I know she's a vocal ally and Lucas is one so it makes sense.
     Rationally, I shouldn't have issues with people being gay but I grew up in the most bible-loving, most conservative place on earth, it gets to one. I know I’m not making any sense but my mind is set on finding beef with the gays.  It’s mostly because gay men won’t stop hitting on me but you didn’t hear it from me. I focus my attention on the TV again. The two guys are kissing now. Well, shit.
        I feel Lucas’ eyes on me from time to time and I know I’m not imagining it. He’s messing with me and he isn’t bothering to hide it anymore. He might seem like this cool person on the outside but on the inside, he’s rotten. He enjoys making me uncomfortable. He’s a sadist.    
“Are you hungry Victor?” Daisy asks me a few minutes later. The movie is actually not bad. It’s a comedy series with a gay couple as the leads. It’s actually funny and I’ve chuckled a bit. Right, Daisy’s question. 
“No, thank you. We had a company dinner earlier”
“Oh, that’s nice. How is work going? I don’t think I have asked you that. Silly me.”
I smile at that. “It’s fine. It’s going fine. What about you? You are usually out by this time on Fridays,” I ask because she is. She’s always at Jeremy’s frat house. Lucas too. 
Daisy looks up at me with a frown on her face, “Is that judgment I hear in your voice?”
I quickly shake my head. Normally, I would be judgmental but not this time.
“No, no, I didn’t mean it that way”
Daisy chuckles, “I know and you are right. Usually I would be but cramps got me bad this time”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I’ve heard about how terrible it is for some women during their periods. That sucks.
“It’s alright. Lucas volunteered to stay with me but mostly he just wanted to avoid the dirty, smelly germ ridden college kids. His words, not mine”
“Which is a valid excuse.” I turn to face Lucas after his comment. As if feeling his eyes one, he turns to face me.
He raises an eyebrow and gestures to the TV as if saying 'watch the film'. The audacity of this man.
I look forward feeling my face heat up. I don’t think I’ve ever blushed so much in a day ever.
   Suddenly, Lucas groans,
"You swore that this series had plot and they wouldn't just fuck away their problems."
I turn to take a peak at the telly and immediately look away because yes, they were about to have sex. How people are comfortable showing their nudity in films is baffling to me.
“But it does.” Daisy protests in response.
“Remind me to never ask a cisgender heterosexual girl to recommend a gay series.” he mumbles to himself.
This is the most I’ve seen Lucas speak at once. He’s introverted, it seems. I would even say more than me but Lola did say I’m a shy extrovert. At that moment, my eyes catch the ring on his ring finger. Wait, his ring finger?
Lucas is married?!
     What in the world is happening here on this day? Today is without doubts the longest day I’ve heard since I arrived in London. Lucas must have felt my gaze on him because he hides that hand from me a second later. I really need to learn how to discretely stare at someone.
   The series goes on. I pay half mind to it. I am not the target audience. I could easily excuse myself and go up to my room giving the excuse that I’m exhausted because I am but I don’t. It’s moments like this I understand why human interaction is important even if one of the human is infuriating. 
      That doesn’t stop the sudden drowsiness that overtakes me and at some point, I feel myself drifting off to sleep.
I swear if I wake up and I’m cuddled against him, in Sia’s words,
I'll 'bang my head against the wall'