Picture of Alexander Winston :-D
Chapter 8 - Scramble Vs PS4
Oliver
I laid lazily in bed watching anime the entire morning, it was Sunday and I really wasn't a church person even though my mum would love me to be. I always followed her to church on Sundays cutting my sleep short on these days but not anymore, I would go, maybe once a month, it's not mandatory for a university student to attend service every Sunday. I'm very certain that it's not.
I had lots of chocolates for breakfast, why? because I could, I also had so much chocolates the ones Khalid bought. I couldn't resist them, they just sat in my fridge giving me puppy dog eyes, you know I had to. I had eggs and bacon for lunch after which I emptied a medium sized box of orange juice into my stomach.
What I was supposed to be watching on my laptop continued playing in the background as I wasn't paying attention to it anymore, I was on my phone instead. Jess made a bunch of videos which she sent to me, a bunch should mean like ten or twelve but she sent a total of twenty-five videos of her gibbering.
They did make me laugh multiple times, Jessica was my own personal clown and I was her muse. It also worked the other way around sometimes, we helped, inspired and encouraged each other. She had crazy make up on and talked about how wannabe slay queens start acting once they get into the university.
"I'm going to snatch that ugly wig, bitch!".
That cracked me up so good, she said it with such intensity that made it seem like she was directly affected by them.
I got a new text message from Khalid, we'd exchanged numbers yesternight at the terrace downstairs when I went to the back to dispose the little dirt I had accumulated during the week, I saw him on my way up. Despite how chilly it was he wore just shorts but had a sweater over it, we engaged in a little chat and exchanged numbers in the elevator on our way back up to our floor.
Khalid
Come to B21 ASAP there's such an emergency.
He sent with a bunch of exclamation mark emojis.
I knew there was no sort of emergency but I replied anyway, giggling at his feigned distress.
Me
Stay calm, do not panic, I'll be right there's with you but first state your emergency.
I replied, grinning at my response.
It didn't take long before his reply came in.
Khalid
My friend is presently choking, he's already turned purple, which is his normal complexion it was a little difficult to tell.
I scoffed before actually laughing, this dude.
Me
You know the Heimlich maneuver?
I replied as I put on a short after changing from my large size boxers to boxer briefs now, I was taking precautions against unexpected or uncontrollable erections. I was going to Khalid's room anyway
Khalid
Yeah but he's choking on Oxygen, he has really big nostrils so he took in a lot, greedy bastard, I did warn him not to hog all the Oxygen.
I had a smile plastered on my face as I read that. He was so nice I couldn't even imagine him being offensive so reading this really cracked me up
Me
Try using Helium to empty his lungs.
I replied as I got my keys and left my room locking it behind me.
He sent a number of laughing emojis.
Khalid
Just bring your paramedic arse here my friend is dying is this how you work?
Me
No sir, I'll be there in a flash.
I replied as I put my phone away into my pocket, my face still bright with a smile. I felt really chirpy that Khalid just invited me to his room, which surprised me. I had no idea that something so little would make me this blissful.
Finding his room wasn't easy though, where even was B21? It was supposed to be on the same floor but I'd walked through almost every hallway on this floor. I had to retrace my steps following the route I'd previously seen Khalid go through before I found it. B21 was boldly written in a bright red colour on the far top of the large fibreglass door.
I knocked over three times before the door was finally attended to, the first two times were a bit too soft so I made the third one louder. The door was finally pulled open gently, revealing Khalid in a big pink t-shirt and pyjama pants. His face lit up with a smile which he turned into a frown just as quickly when he saw me.
"Ten minutes Olly, Ten frigging minutes" he said holding up his phone to my face for me to see "don't worry, my friend is dead you can go now" he joked closing the door a little before finally pulling it open and stepping aside for me to enter as he tapped my lower back close to my waist region.
I jerked a little when I felt his hand come in contact with my body, this was something very ordinary to regular guys but for some reason it didn't feel so normal to me and coming from Khalid, I had silly ideas coming into my head now.
I've been told so many times of how effeminate I was so I just rolled my eyes at him in the most masculine way possible as I got in and stood close to him by the door.
"Come in man" he said putting his hand over my shoulder gently pulling me in with him after he'd shut the door.
His arm felt so warm and muscular, it fit so perfectly around my neck mainly because of the height difference between us. I dismissed these thoughts just as briskly as they came to mind.
I refused to lead myself to walk on a path that would trail off at a dead end, hurting myself emotionally was like a habit for me in highschool, I kept letting myself have stupid crushes that only remained that, crushes. The worst part of it all was that these crushes I had were for the most confirmed straight guys I knew.
People usually say sexuality is a spectrum but I had a common belief that boys had certain people they could be gay for, and if you're not the right person who can bring a straight guy to the other side of the spectrum, you're in for a world of hurt and possibly bullying and shame for the rest of your life if you act blindly on those feelings.
I couldn't help but admire the room as I shifted my attention to my surroundings, the relaxed ambience of the room made it easy for me to loosen up. The walls of the room were covered in soft complimentary colours, a large bunk bed with well polished wood, I wonder who stays on the top bunk and who stays on the bottom bunk, the thick dark curtains of the room were drawn blocking all the sunlight out while the light bulbs which matched the colours the room was coated in were on.
All of this in no way made the room look less macho, I wondered how that was even possible or maybe it was because of the number of guys present. Chris, Justin, Patrick and Alex were all there. Their attention wasn't on us, in fact they hadn't even looked back to see who entered the room, they were all focused on the television. I also suck at knowing video games but I could tell it was FIFA they were playing.
I cooed before I could stop myself, "Nice room. And this compliment is very genuine trust me," I assured him as I tried to make sure he believed I meant it, then I continued, "It's lacking wallpapers and it's less Otaku-like but it's very comfortable," I finished, earning a nod from Khalid.
"Sure, there are no wallpapers or manga or novels," he sniggled. "Seeing as you were probably all alone doing nothing in your room and we were all here, I decided to call you to join us. I leave nobody behind," he finished, praising himself as we walked to the sofa at the other end of the room where he sat and tapped the space beside him, motioning for me to come sit.
I occupied the space on the sofa scooting to the far end as I tried to keep a little distance between Khalid and I.
"Whoever said I wasn't busy?" I arched a brow at him which made him gasp as he put his hands over his mouth stifling his laughter. "What?" I asked confused, do I look that weird when I raise one brow, but people look so hot when they do it.
"You were watching porno and wanking!" He said the last word a lot louder than he said the rest of the sentence, putting emphasis on it.
I widened my eyes in shock as I looked around to make sure no one heard what he'd just said, luckily for me they were all too interested in the game as the two boys who were not playing shouted and ordered the other two who had the game controllers. Chris rooted for Justin while Patrick supported Alex.
I slapped Khalid's shoulder playfully "shut up" I told him as I felt my face heat up because sometimes I actually do think about wanking and pornography whenever I was alone and idle and most times when the thought came to mind I just went ahead with it, giving in totally.
I gave up trying to fight it when I read that masturbation wasn't a taboo or a disorder, it only becomes one when that's all you ever want; you touching yourself. Khalid wasn't judging me though but he did notice my blush and gasped again, louder this time.
"God you actually were or you were about to?" I screeched as I reached for him, hitting him continuously like some girl beating her boyfriend who has been bothering her, he tried to block my slaps with his hands while still laughing and teasing me.
When I felt less flustered and realised how not dude-like what I was doing was, I stopped and scooted back again putting the same distance between us as I ran my fingers through my hair, trying my best to look calm and feel less heat in my face.
"Well it happens to the best of us, you can't persecute me" I defended myself as I looked back at the guys, they still had all their attention on the television except Chris who was looking at me with a look in his eyes, I couldn't quite tell the information he was trying to pass across with that look on his face but it got me feeling uneasy at once.
Wiggling where I sat scratching the back of my head, I tried my best to avoid his gaze. He looked away after a few more seconds and I felt like a weight had just been lifted off me.
What was that just now?
Casper just had to be around to always make my life miserable and of all days for that encounter to take place it was the one day I walked home with Chris, my first day of school. It was very likely that Chris has serious suspicions of me being gay, I could feel it off him and the look he just sent my way affirmed that.
I felt myself get defensive as I began to think of ways to make his doubts go away, I didn't know how exactly but I just knew I had to, Chris was one of the few people I regarded as potential friends.
Maybe I'll get a girlfriend and show off to him and Shirley.
I mentally cringed at the idea, all my straight highschool relationships ended really badly. I had to demean myself by saying I wasn't good enough just to get out of my last relationship and make her feel good about herself thereby not hating me but pitying me.
"Olly!" Khalid called out I'm guessing this was not the first time seeing as they were all staring at me, I was seriously lost in thought I didn't even notice when he left the sofa to join them on the chair bags which sat on the floor close to the television.
"Sorry yeah" I apologised as I blinked a couple times in an attempt to make sure I didn't have tears coming on.
"Wanna play?" He asked me.
"Dude I was gonna play against Patrick next" Chris complained, he seemed unhappy about Khalid offering to let me play when he hadn't gotten his turn yet.
I felt anxiety and sadness wash over me the second I heard Chris complain, I saw only the worst case scenario; he doesn't like me anymore therefore he doesn't want me to play or be involved.
"No don't worry about me, I'm fine with just watching" I replied as I tried to read all their expressions without looking at them for too long. I felt really insecure, I had no idea why I did but I couldn't blame myself, I was in the midst of five guys, including Khalid.
Chris reached out and snatched the controller from Khalid whispering a thank you to him as he began to set up a match for Patrick and himself. Khalid frowned at him as he playfully smacked the back of his head before turning back to me.
"But watching is not as satisfying, it's like you're here but you're not really here" he said to me as he taunted Alex by trying to drag the chair bag from under him as Alex tried to push him away with his foot glaring at him for being such a disturbance. He had been on his phone since after his last match with Justin.
"I'm not really a fan of video games, I'd feel more comfortable playing Scrabble" I replied regretting what I just said the instant the complete sentence left my mouth.
I can't believe you still surprise me Oliver.
Everyone just fell silent as they all stared at me, horror written on their faces, even Alex looked up at me tearing his eyes away from his phone. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the song playing from the game which Chris and Patrick were about to start. Alex was the only one who stared at me with a disgusted expression and he was also the first person to speak.
"That's just stupid, you sound so fucking stupid man" he said with a blank expression as he kicked Khalid who just gave in and sprawled out on the floor, laughing.
Everyone joined him to laugh, they were all now laughing at me or maybe at what I said, there's no big difference between the two anyway.
"What? It's not even funny, he just said the stupidest shit ever he deserves an award" Alex added sharing them blank looks, wondering why they were all laughing at what I said, disdain staining his voice.
This only intensified their laughter, Chris took breaks snorting after which he resumed laughing immediately again. I felt like a piece of stupid shit now. The thought of running to my room and burying my ugly face into my pillow seemed so comforting and exactly what I needed right now, but I knew this was just a normal thing for guys, it was though, it has to be. I mean I do know that they sometimes tease themselves and make fun of each other and I just ended up being the unlucky subject today because of my loud mouth.
I've never flourished in the company of guys and here I was thinking it was time to change things, Alex made it a lot harder than I expected it to be. I could imagine that Alex didn't mean to be offensive but his words made me feel so attacked and I had absolutely no defensive strategies because I wasn't expecting this; me saying something so inappropriate given the place I was and him reacting this way to it.
"I can't believe you people, that didn't sound like a joke to me" Alex continued to spit out his words venomously.
Khalid finally broke his laughter as he sat up sending an apologetic look my way trying to settle my racing mind as beads of nervous sweat formed on my forehead.
"Stop it man" he finally spoke up as he tried his best to keep a straight face but he still giggled a little which made Alex disregard his seriousness.
"What did I do? I'm just saying the truth nobody wants to tell him" he dropped his phone down on his laps as he narrowed his eyes at Khalid
"That's enough" Khalid repeated the glow in his eyes fading as his voice got deeper shadowing his eyes which made them look darker. He was completely humourless now as he glared at Alex with a straight face.
I felt heat all over my body, I could bet I had the exact colour of a tomato as I watched Khalid defend me. I couldn't even defend myself against just Alex and I'd been thinking of ways to fend off Casper if we ever met again and he tried to duff me. My palms were sweaty and my heart raced sending blood all over my body with such a speed that made the throbbing of my veins visible.
"I don't want to th-" before Alex could finish his sentence, Patrick cut him off
"That's quite enough Xander. I don't think it's stupid, it's just preference you can't mock him for having different preferences from the rest of us" Patrick spoke this time, giving Alex a look they both understood.
Alex heaved a sigh and went back to his phone ignoring the rest of us.
Patrick was Alex's roommate and the only one he seemed to listen to and get along with, at least most of the time. They had inside jokes and Patrick understood his vile humour a lot more than the rest of us.
"I'd love to play though, do you've the game here with you?" Khalid aaked me as he returned to the sofa.
I did have the board game I brought it to school alongside monopoly, these were my two best board games so I just answered with a nod, I didn't trust my voice I could already hear it cracking. I didn't want to let them know how vulnerable I could be, Khalid seemed to notice though same with Chris but he didn't spare an extra second to dwell on it as he resumed the game he set up for Patrick and himself.
"Well I'll play, go get it" Khalid said tapping my shoulder gently as he continued to send that beautiful smile my way, the effect on me was almost instant and I could feel my nerves settle.
My face lit up with a smile but dimmed just as quickly when it occurred to me that maybe he didn't really want to play, he just wanted to make me feel good after spewing the rubbish I just did from my mouth.
"Umm you really don't have to play i-if you do-don't want to" I stuttered through the sentence, I'm already a burden on the one person who's trying to make me feel among.
He scoffed "pfft go get the game Olly and I don't feel like I've to, I really want to play. If I felt like I had to play then I wouldn't play just to please you, trust me" he said changing his smile to an evil smirk as he placed his hand on my back, pushing me up from the chair.
Well that's very reassuring.
I got up and straightened my shirt, before I could take the first step Alex looked up at me.
"Oh I'm interested, I'll play too" he chimed in waving at me as he flashed me a very wide smile, it was too wide to be real.
Shut up you bitch.
I faked a smile back at him as I laughed nervously before leaving the room. I fetched the board game from my room, when I got there I did not miss screaming into my pillow - five times, I really needed that. On my way back to Khalid's room I saw Sam who tried to engage in a conversation with me but I cut him short as I hurried back.
Was I really this excited to play scramble with Khalid... and Alex.
I wondered why Alex was even in the picture. We played three rounds; I won two while Alex won the last one. Khalid always got the lowest points with his weak words and his lack of knowledge of the game but I was pleased that he was trying to learn and I offered to help him after.
I was back in my room. It was around 6:15pm now, Chris had gone for his dinner date with Shirley we all watched as Khalid dressed him up and teased him about being a lover boy in just a week. Justin was the next to leave and just like that we all got bored and returned to our respective rooms. I remembered how Khalid screamed whenever he made a wrong word and we deducted points from his already poor score. I did enjoy my time playing with Khalid, Alex was a good competition but he was not good to beat me obviously.
I had a particular love for photography, so I had been taking pictures of the nice statues, views, structures and paintings I had seen around the parts of campus that I'd been to, I still had a whole lot to see, Denberg was a very big school. I edited two out of the many and posted on my Instagram adding the location with the caption: Denberg isn't so bad after all with a skull emoji behind it.
I just scrolled through my feeds watching as the likes and comments came in, as slow as they were at least I did get likes, when I received a text. I swiped to my direct message section and was taken aback when I found out it was a text from Mason, I couldn't believe he was still following me.... and texting me!
I opened the text.
Mason
This is Oliver right?
Mason
You're in Denberg, Jega state University too?
"Holy shit!" I cussed as my phone fell from my hand and landed flat on my face.
_
AN: I have just one question; who do you think Oliver confessed to in the prologue? ;)
Please don't stop voting! 😩❤️ Thank you so much! Stay happy!
Till next time <3