Between the lines

Chapter 13

Elliot

I blinked long and hard at Maude, trying to discern if she was being serious or not. To Bennett's credit, at least he looked just as awkward and unsure about the arrangement.

"Why are we having breakfast together?" I said.
Maude crossed her arms indignantly. "I invited him to eat with me. He's my friend now."

"You really love the underdogs, don't you?"

"Come off of it," she scoffed and pushed the empty chair back with her leg. "Sit."

I rolled my eyes and placed my tray on the round table. It suddenly started feeling like I was back in grade school, except Bennett was calmer and much quieter. It was odd, but I guess I couldn't complain.

Bennett glanced at me awkwardly before he dug into his food. Maude and I started eating as well, but the silence was awkward. I'm not sure why I made the decision to chew loudly, but it seemed to be pissing off Maude more than Bennett.

"Could you shut it?"

"Well, fucking talk of something!" I groaned. "I'm not used to this, okay? Let me come to terms with it."

"So dramatic," she chided. "Bennett, how was footy yesterday?"

"Shite."

"Ah, must be difficult when playing with people that are actually skilled," I muttered.

"Better than trying to look fancy when falling."

"Hey, diving is an art form!"

"Alright, enough!" Maude snapped. "Have a civil conversation, please. Bennett, tell him about your play."

"What?" he and I said in unison and stared at each other. Bennett didn't look like he wrote plays. It didn't make sense. He didn't have the brain capacity! Sure, he wrote wonderfully but coming up with a plot and executing it was something entirely different!

"You truly have no faith in me." he said, and I shook my head.

"I'll have to see it to believe it."

"I guess that's fair"

And we fell into a weird silence once more where we pushed our food around in our trays. The food was starting to get cold so I decided to shovel it in before it was ruined.

"What is it about?" I asked, eyes still on my food.
I caught him looking at me uncertainly from my periphery. "I don't quite know yet, to be honest."

This was the first conversation we'd had outside of animosity, and it was very strange. The unfamiliarity was as uncomfortable as being bloated. I couldn't tell exactly what was wrong.

That was the thing though. Nothing was wrong.
I was so used to Bennett being some kind of an asshole that I couldn't see him as anything else. I felt like I was talking to a stranger. My mind probably could forget the things he did, but my body couldn't.

The silence was growing overbearing.

"I can't do—"

I was cut off by someone appearing at our table and calling for Bennett. The three of us looked at the boy we couldn't recognize, and I was slightly taken back by him. He was tall, dark, and rather handsome. What was a guy like him doing here talking to Bennett? He was confident about it too.

"Hey, Levi," Bennett said. "Didn't expect you here so early."

"I thought you and I could get a head start on our presentation," said Levi. "Are you free after breakfast? No pressure, though."

"He is," I piped up. Maude kicked me under the table and Bennett sucked his lips in distaste.

"I am," Bennett said. "See you in the library?"