Byron's Secret (Slenderman Romance)

Chapter 68. Simple Joke

Droney gave me a look, "Why do you think I ditched your brother and joined the sports team in high school? Or why I hang out with those assholes?"

"My brother?" My curiosity spiked, "What?"

"What?" He returned my confusion.

"What?" I unintentionally repeated, "Ditched who?"

"He didn't tell you?" He asked and I nodded, "We're sort of friends during our freshman year."

That means I was still in middle school while Dylan and Darwin were together in high school, Darwin being a year ahead of Dylan. But, when I became a high school student, Droney was already a douche, so I never really saw him and Dylan together, "He never said anything."

"It's not a big deal. He probably still hates me." Droney nonchalantly said with a shrug, "If I were in his shoes, I'd be pissed too."

"What the hell? Why haven't I heard about any of this? Not even from Darwin." I complained, scratching my head. After seconds of silence, I turned to him, "Do you regret it?"

Droney just gave me a bored look, "No. My high school years were great. So were my college years." He cleared, "You see? That is why reputation is important." He smugly said.

"But you lost a 'friend' for that." I added. Honestly, I can't even imagine the two of them ever being friends. Dylan hates Droney's guts, possibly more than I do. Whenever I say something about Droney in front of Dylan, his reactions aren't strange either. I never would have guessed.

"We weren't that close anyway. We just hang out during lunch and whenever we need to pair up in class, we end up together since we both don't have any friends." He gave another shrug, "I think our relationship is more of classmate-to-classmate."

I stopped walking, making Droney turn to me, "I need a minute to process this." I said, slightly annoyed that no one told me about it, "You actually let your new friends beat up your old friend and his brother?"

He raised his hands in front of him, "It's not like I could've stopped them."

"You could've tried." I said with a tint of desperation in my voice, "After finding out about that, you actually seem more of an ass now."

"Wha－Well, not gonna deny that." Droney nodded to himself, "And like I said, we weren't friends. Purely classmate-to-classmate."

"Oh, that's a load of bull." I dismissed, "You're basically friends."

He groaned, "Whatever you say."

Just like that, we were already in front of the diner, but I was too occupied to notice. Lost in thought, I followed him inside. My eyes unknowingly tracked the usual table and saw the others sitting in their usual spots. Meeting Rachel's gaze is the only thing that made me snap out of my thought process about my brother's high school life which, apparently, isn't what it seemed.

I realized Droney was already wearing that 'I'm a totally cool and awesome guy' kind of smile. The smile that always pisses me off because he looks so smug. Switching personalities, hm? What a joke.

Droney and I walked side-by-side towards the group and he immediately gained their attention. I decided to opt for a proper introduction, "So . . . This is Droney."