A Tale of Wild Roses [ROUGH DRAFT]

Chapter 3

Angel had been waiting for a possible follow back for a few hours now. He was starting to get sleepy as the day persisted, but he didn't give up. Just a few more minutes. And if he didn't get anything, he'd let himself pass out.

Dinner was a bit of a train wreck, and he did not in fact get to hang out with his friends. Angel's parents weren't exactly the biggest fans of his friends, and for good reason. I mean who could possibly like spending time with a bunch of "hooligans" as they've called his friend group before. As he thought about the not so great events of today, he heard a ping on his phone.

He scrambled to find his phone, which had just been buried in his sheets. He managed to get his hands on it and flipped it over so the screen was facing him. A bright light emanated from it, slightly blinding Angel for a mere few seconds. His eyes adjusted to the bright screen.

Adrienne

Down for sneaking out and going to the spot?

    Angel sighed. That was not the message he was expecting.

Angel

Yeah ig

See you soon

    After quietly sneaking out his window, Angel was on his way to the abandoned parking lot. There used to be a bowling alley near it, but unfortunately it had burnt down. The building was so damaged that not one business owner wanted to buy it. How could they have a thriving business in such a small, minuscule town like the one in which Angel called home?

    And while Angel didn't mind the place he lived at, he wasn't exactly content with it. He always dreamed of moving somewhere more interesting like New York City or San Francisco! The majority of buildings were now behind him as he moved further away from the center of town. A cool breeze lingered through the air. Fall was surely on its way, but knowing Pennsylvania weather the temperature would fluctuate for a few weeks before getting colder for sure.

    Angel took in his surroundings. Walking to that dreaded parking lot was one of the only times he got to just be with his own thoughts. And at that point, he really needed it. He didn't exactly know why, but he was longing to talk to the new kid. Well to Oliver. After asking around he not only found out what their instagram account was, but also their name. God that name was so fitting.

    "Heyyyyy, look who's here?" Angel had arrived. He tried to push his thoughts of Oliver out of his head as Adrienne handed him a clear plastic cup. His hand lingered on Angel's momentarily before he said "What is this exactly?" Adrienne stepped back and shrugged. "That is for you to find out!" He looked around to see a few other people sitting around on the curb.

    Then someone caught his eye. Millie was there. He hadn't really talked to her ever since they broke up, but she was the only decent person to talk to. He slowly walked up to her. "Um, mind if I sit next to you?" She looked up momentarily before responding with a sure. "So what have you been up to lately?"

    "Nothing much, I mean I've been doing a lot of baking recently." Angel perked up with excitement. He loved baking which meant he had something solid to talk to here about. "Oh damn. That's cool, I like to bake too. Maybe we could make cookies at some point?" Millie looked up from her phone and said, "Maybe."

    They both fell silent. Angel nonchalantly got up and walked off to go and talk to other people. That could've gone better.

                 * * *

    They couldn't stop thinking about the whole ordeal. Why does Angel want to talk to him so much? And why was he even considering following him back in the first place? Damn it. He could fall asleep until he figured out more about this boy. Oliver knew that he should've just stayed away from someone like that, but maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe.

    He followed him back and a plethora of videos and pictures popped up on his account. Now Oliver could see what he was like without having to talk to him which felt somewhat relieving. He started from the top of the list, which was a selfie of him and a boy with dirty blonde hair. They both had aprons on and it seemed like they were in a kitchen. It was an absolute mess. Pots, pans, and a variance of different ingredients were lying around on the counters.

    The description read "Me and @KingMiller08 are great at baking!" So that's what they were doing. Oliver let out a reluctant giggle. How was it possible to make things so messy? He continued to scroll through everything, and by the time he made it to the end it had passed 12. He put his phone down for a moment, thinking about all he had just learned.

    Even though Andrew said he wasn't a very good person, his instagram account said otherwise. Or maybe Oliver wanted him to be a decent human being because he was actually kind of pretty. But not just that, he was funny and sarcastic. Hisinterest ranged from classic books like Pride and Prejudice to sportsy anime.

    There was just something about him that seemed appealing to Liver and they couldn't exactly put their finger on it because what wasn't there to like? Well maybe the fact that he's probably one of "the boys." Once again, Oliver tried to get his mind off of him. They thought about their first day of school. It was fucking sad, scary, and nervewracking.

    Sad because he wanted to be with his friends back in California. Scary because he didn't really know anyone besides his acquaintance Andrew. And nerve wracking because school in general made their anxiety go haywire. He racked his brain for something positive to think about. Maybe a funny memory of his friends back home. No. That would make him miss them even more.

    Angel. His mind kept on circling back to the boy. I mean he didn't seem to be perfect that's for sure, but what was the harm in talking to him? Everything! Oliver thought. But he couldn't resist. They went to message him when he got a notification. A text box had popped up on his screen, displaying the message Hey so I just thought I'd add you cause you seem pretty cool :)

    Well that didn't seem like a typical straight boy message. What boy sends a smiley face on their first message? Maybe Oliver was reading too much into it. His hand, now shaky, reached the messaging icon. He tapped on it carefully and began to work out a good reply to Angel's seemingly care free message.

Oliver

Heyyyy

You're the kid from art class right?

Angel

Yeah I believe so

I was just curious...do you have Snapchat?

I usually text people there rather than on insta

Oliver

Ah yep I do

It's uh @ukelovingolive

Angel

Haha

That's a great user ;)

    Shortly after giving him their snap, Oliver accepted Angel's friend request. They continued to text each other throughout the night. Before the boys knew it, it was 2 in the morning. Oliver looked at the time for the first time in a while and let out an audible gasp, which he immediately regretted. He was now worried that his parents might find out that he was up late and that wouldn't be good in any way shape or form.