Accidentally Bent (Boyxboy) ✔

Chapter 7: Eli

We were in Science class and I glanced towards him, wondering if he had told his friends about me and Steven.

He turned to the side and noticed that I was staring. A smile quirked on his lips, revealing those pearly sets of teeth, and he winked so fast that I almost didn't see it.

I scowled at him, wrinkling my nose as if I was disgusted, and he let out a silent chuckle. I looked away, annoyed.

How dare that rat wink at me? Who does he think he is?

I waited a few minutes before my eyes trailed back towards him. He was facing the board and taking down notes. I expected him to be the type of student who dozed off in class, but he actually seemed serious. He was focused during the entire hour while I couldn't help but wonder if he'd told someone.

At the cafeteria, Thomas caught my eye again. He was sitting at a table with other students who looked like him, commoners. Our social status was definitely not the same.

He was laughing with his friends. I think they were fighting over food. The apple pie if I wasn't mistaken.

"Eli," said a voice, snapping me out of my thoughts. We were now at the cafeteria and Steven gave me a gentle nudge. "Eli, why are you spacing out?"

He followed my gaze and noticed that I was staring at Thomas.

"Him again?" he scowled scornfully.

"Hm? Oh, sorry."

"Why do you keep looking at him?" he whispered, low enough for only me to hear.

"It just bothers me," I mumbled. Steven tried to put his hand on my thigh but I quickly pushed it away. I wasn't going to let someone else catch us.

"I'll deal with him later so stop staring at him." I could hear the pang of jealousy in his voice and looked at him with a small smile. Having a jealous boyfriend was nice, but before I could say anything, one of his friends clapped his shoulder.

"Hey, Steve, I heard that you and Payten are a new item," he grinned cheekily. My heart sunk.

"Oh, yeah, Payten," Steven said with a dry smile.

"Captain of the cheerleading team? You lucky bastard."

"Payten? You mean that chick with the Kylie Jenner lips? Dang, Steven," smirked another. I rolled my eyes. "You sleep with her yet?"

I looked up towards Steven with narrowed eyes. Yeah, Steven, did you?

He let out a nervous chuckle. "Come on, guys, it's only been a couple of days."

I snorted.

Really? That's your answer?

I angrily poked at the carrot while Steven's friends continued to tease him, telling him that he should "shoot his shot" and to try something with her at their next party.

Steven was definitely better at playing the straight game than I was. When we were together, he'd act like the loving best friend and "boyfriend" that I knew. But when he was with his friends, he could be a complete jerk.

He's dated a couple of girls while we were together, saying that it was a cover-up. And I believed him. I still do.

Besides, even if I didn't believe him, what was I going to do? It wasn't like we were going to come up and tell the world that we were together. Steven was the only one who knew about me and if I didn't have him, I'd have no one else. He could easily find a girl as pretty as Payten, but that wasn't the case for me.

He was all I had.

I felt left out at the table. The girls were talking about shoes and fashion, and as much as I wanted to join their conversation, I was stuck with the boys. Tired of listening about their next match and how they were going to "beat the bloody hell" out of their opponents, my eyes wandered to Thomas's table.

There it was. That wide, chummy smile of his. He was laughing so hard, he almost fell off his chair. Idiot.

What was so funny that he was laughing like that? What great conversation could a bunch of poor people have anyway? Did they talk about how the city raised their taxes or how a pipe had broken in their houses? Were they bonding over the holes in their shoes or the second-handed clothes that they bought?

I knew that I wasn't being fair, but I was jealous. Why did a bunch of poor kids, especially Thomas, look like they were so much happier than us? Than me? What made their awful lives so great anyway?

I picked up my tray and decided to leave.

"Wait, ba-" but Steven quickly cleared his voice. "Eli, where are you going?"

"Not hungry," I answered and he frowned.

"Come on, stay a little longer, just until the girls finish their salads," he insisted. I pulled away.

"Not hungry."

"Eli, you act like such a princess sometimes," snorted Joe.

"Sometimes? You mean always."

"Hey, back off," snapped Steven, shooting them a dark glare. Joe smirked.

"Why are you getting so defensive, man? Is he your boyfriend?"

And at that, Steven immediately let me go. I felt a pang in my chest, but it wasn't like I expected him to say, 'yes'. Though, I would have liked it if he did...

"Come on, don't be a creep. You know we're just best friends," laughed Steven. I stared at the ceiling, counted to three, before forcing a smile.

He's going to have to use his right hand for the next few days.

"Yeah, besties." My enthusiasm sounded just as dead as roadkill. I caught Steven frowning, but left nonetheless.

When I turned on my heel to leave, I still secretly wished that he'd call my name and run after me, hold my hand and give me all of his attention and tell me that his friends were douchebags and that all he cared about was me.

But he never did.

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