Peaches 'N Cream

8. Liar

Jericho finished packing up the food and putting it into the refrigerator for his mom when she got off work later.

He leaned against the small island and sighed, trying to figure out the exact moment everything went to shit. Joseph originally came over to talk, but before he knew it, they were tearing into each other. It was mostly his fault because he didn't try to stop it when he had the chance.

That blond angel asked Jericho for consent twice, and he still let him do whatever he wanted. At least it was the beginning of the weekend, and he wouldn't have to see Joseph in class until Tuesday.

Unless, of course, he figured out that he was planning on avoiding any one-on-one time and confronted him. He needed time to think. Every single time they interact when no one else was around, it's like a switch is flipped and Joseph's all he's ever wanted and all he can think about.

He did manage to avoid being alone in a room with him for an extended period of time. Yelling from the hall that he was done and would leave his stuff in the bathroom then snuck upstairs to do his homework after. Jericho heard the shower cut on, so he probably got in after his clothes dried; it was around 9:30 pm when he actually came back downstairs.

The blond told him that his dad wanted to have a family dinner, and he had to get to the restaurant by 10:00, so when Jericho rounded the corner, he was putting his shoes on and pulling his keys out of his sweats.

"C'mere."

He outstretched his arms, and the brown-haired boy walked into them, letting Joseph wrap them around his waist. The taller boy kissed his forehead and then mumbled against it.

"How you holdin' up? Be honest."

He let the silence stretch for a moment before he answered.

"I... don't know. We can't take it back. I just don't want to lose you."

Joseph sighed quietly, loosened his grip and backed up, Jericho tried not to look too closely at the frustrated expression on his face.

"I'll go so you can think, okay? Text me, please. If you go MIA after all this I don't like to think about what I might do."

He gently tapped a knuckle underneath his chin and gave him a crooked smile before opening the door and closing it behind him. Jericho locked it, watching the headlights of the blond's truck fade through the blinds of the front window.

To keep a long story short, he really wanted to cry again, angry with himself for taking the easy way out. If he'd just said something maybe none of this would've went down today. Or, even if it still did, they'd have done it with clear minds and at least some idea of what was to come after this.

He half-limped, half-walked upstairs into his room, grabbed his phone off the bedside table, and flung himself onto his bed. Jericho texted Angelica because he had to tell someone, or else he wouldn't be able to sleep. The heavy feeling in his gut prevented him from getting comfortable.

She FaceTimed him after he stressed how serious the situation was and explained everything to her for about an hour. The full truth about the party, the gas station incident, earlier at school, what happened a few hours ago, and apologizing about lying. Her wide eyes and shocked face filled the screen, and she started to slap him through her camera.

"Why didn't you tell me?! Jericho. I swear to God, what in the world am I going to do with you."

Jericho tried to bury his face further into the cream-colored pillowcase. He lied to his friends, why? To feel worse about everything? To add to his misery? He was a lost cause.

"So you're telling me all the shit that happened since the beginning of summer was building up to this one moment, and he left your house less than an hour ago after blowing your back out? Three times?! You two were acting odd the other day too."

Jericho sighed frustratedly while wrapping his hair, pulling on his bonnet before grumbling out a 'yes.'

She sighed.

"Jericho, you lied to me. Seriously, if you think this is going to keep happening, you just need to keep your distance for now. Your well-being comes first."

He knew she was right, but if it were that simple, he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. It was just hard to stay away now, he did it the entire summer break and it was absolutely shitty. In turn, she told him everything she knew about the rumors and who might've been spreading them.

The homecoming thing wasn't that big of a deal because even it was supposed to be a joke, he would probably still go with Joseph. He's a genuinely fun person to be around in a group setting. Plus, he had already talked down Angelica and Cadence and is forcing them to go with, so it worked out.

Franky's party, now that was a bad situation because even though no one had proof they were doing anything, It's not hard to guess what they were doing the whole time. He'd still deny any accusations, though, and Joseph hopefully would too, for his sake. He couldn't handle anymore on his plate right now.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

He racked his brain, other than studying? Nothing. So, that's what he replied with. She was great at changing the subject.

"Okay, you are going to love this. A new sushi bar near the mall opened a few days ago, but it's the first sushi place to open this area, so it'll be packed. Do you still want to go with me? I haven't had fresh sushi in weeks, and that store-bought stuff is starting to taste racist."

He nodded, his mood lightening, said bye, and hung up. He connected his phone to the charger on his nightstand, texted Joseph 'your big ass dick is never coming near my ass again.', and pulled the blankets over himself.

His jaw was sore, his thighs were aching, and if his limp weren't gone or better by tomorrow, there would be hell to pay.