Rage With Benefits

Chapter 35: Goodnight

"Locker room?"

"Yes," Ian answered as he chugged another round of soda Blake brought along with the tacos. "Multiple times actually."

"Bathroom?" Blake spoke again as Ian hummed a 'yes', to which the dark-haired boy responded with a shiver.

"What?" Ian threw him an offended look

"The sink is actually pretty comfy," Bryce backed him up, throwing an arm around the brunet before nuzzling his face on his shoulder. Ian nodded proudly.

"Okay, would you please stop that?" Blake grimaced, waving his fingers at the two, but the slight tug on his lips told otherwise. "Dean's office?"

Both boys answered at the same time, chuckling with surprise as they pointed at each other's faces. "Kinda."

"Dean's office..." Blake pinched his fingers on his chin. "Bold."

"Cafeteria?"

Bryce nodded. "Yep."

"Wow. You guys are weird," Blake blurted, wiping his mouth as he threw his empty can in the plastic with the other empty cans.  "How can someone possibly fall asleep in the cafeteria?"

Bryce shrugged, his arm intent on staying on Ian's shoulder as the brunet pulled his phone out and made a choking noise at the sight of half a hundred notifications.

"It's been an hour since I left the house," he voiced out his thoughts while Bryce kept himself busy by playing with the fabric of Ian's jacket. "Your brother's probably worried sick about you."

"You think he's still there?" Bryce asked before shoving a bite of taco in his mouth.

"Are you kidding? Mom's probably already offered my room for the night after she karate-chopped his face."

A mouthful of the taco's insides threatened to lodge his throat when Bryce started bursting out laughing. "She what?" he coughed out.

"Long story. I'll explain later," Ian grabbed what was left of the tissue to wipe his face clean, including the chunks of lettuce that fell on Bryce's lap. He then turned to Blake, who was watching the two of them with a huge grin on his face. "How about you, Blake? Do you want us to drop you off?"

"Are you asking me if I want to go home?" Blake let out an awkward laugh as he took another bite. "I'm just gonna go ahead and say no."

Bryce took the dirty tissues out of Ian's hands and used the clean sides to wipe the brunet's fingers clean before chuckling at his best friend. "You're not supposed to be outside tonight are you?"

"No, not even a little bit," Blake smiled, staring at his drink with fearful eyes before gulping the whole thing down. He finished with a satisfying sigh before darting his eyes outside the car. "I can literally feel death waiting for me with a rolled-up magazine at home."

Ian frowned at the two of them as they both laughed at Blake's expense. "Come on, it can't be that bad."

"Have you met my mother?" Blake asked as the laughter died out, though Bryce was still chuckling in his seat. "With her, you always assume that it's gonna be bad until told otherwise."

Bryce leaned in to whisper the following words to Ian's ear. "You can't tell, but he's a Mama's boy."

"Shut up," Blake hissed, and although the interior light of Bryce's car altered the pigment of his skin, Ian could tell his cheeks were flushed. "Point is, she's Satan."

"Wow," Ian rested his weight against Bryce before placing a hand on his thigh. "What an honor it must be to have you as a child."

Blake rolled his eyes at the both of them as Bryce chuckled. "How long are you two gonna be like this? Just give me a heads-up so I'll know whether I should stab myself with a plastic fork or not."