Chapter 120 - A Peaceful Weekend

Fortunately, the weekend arrived before Evan knew it. With his dad's permission, he brought his sleepover stuff to school on Friday, saving himself a trip back to North Hallson.

After school, Lola, Aiden, Angie, and Evan headed to a coffee shop near school grounds to wait for Kieran and Josh, who had one more class. Then came the wait for Michael and Ryan to arrive in Marwell. Finally, once they all gathered at Josh's house, there was just one last person missing from their little pack.

This time, Rory's bus wasn't late.

"Hey, guys!" he called out, nearly tripping as he ran up to them, a wide grin on his face.

"Little Ro!" Angie yelled, and the rest of the group joined in with enthusiastic greetings.

Rory didn't know who to focus on first, but he quickly made up his mind. Dropping his travel bag to the ground, he stopped in front of Evan and pulled him into a hug.

"Hey, Shadow Wolfie," he murmured just loud enough for the two of them to hear.

Evan laughed at the new nickname and squeezed him in his arms just as tightly. "Hi, Ro."

Their embrace lasted a little longer than usual, and even though Rory didn't say anything, Evan suspected it was his way of offering support even without words.

After pulling away, Rory automatically turned to Ryan, hugging him next. One by one, he embraced each of his friends, his excitement growing with every hug—finally seeing them in person instead of just through a screen.

"I've got so much to tell you," Rory declared as he stepped back, giving all his friends a clear view of him.

"We can't wait," Lola assured him.

"We've got all weekend for shocking news," Josh added with a grin. He was rather proud of himself for managing to convince his parents to pack up and go away for the weekend, leaving a bunch of teenagers unsupervised.

"Believe me, this is more than shocking," Rory warned, though judging by his smile, it was good news.

Everyone was in a good mood, even Evan, who had decided to separate his worlds for the weekend and forget about the drama at home. His friends were fully supportive, so he gave them his full attention in return.

"I figured Kieran and I would take my parents' room, the girls could sleep in mine, and the rest of you could crash in the living room. We'll pull out the couch, and I've got an extra mattress, too," Josh explained as they all put their things down in his living room.

"A room for us? That works for me," Angie responded, and the blue-haired girl immediately shared her enthusiasm.

"The first thing I'll tell my friends when I get home is that I slept in a room full of hot guys," Rory said.

"Well, the hottest will be missing..." Josh instantly reacted.

"You're not even in the top three," Evan told him, while Angie said at the same moment, "You wish."

"Oh, wow." Josh clutched his chest theatrically. "All the most expensive art was unappreciated at first."

"You seriously compared yourself to art?" Lola sounded amused.

"Kieran agrees with me," Josh said, throwing an arm over his best friend's shoulder.

"Well," Kieran started when they all turned to him. "You're not bad-looking."

"You could have at least pretended I was your gay awakening." Josh took his arm off him and gave him a disappointed look.

His words, as well as his disappointment, brought laughter from his friends. Even after their laughter died down, however, the subject wasn't over.

"Who was your gay awakening?" Rory turned to Kieran.

"Nathan Ray," Kieran answered without hesitation. When several puzzled looks turned his way, he added, "He was a senior when we started as freshmen. He was on the basketball team."

"Kieran made me go to their games," Josh tattled with an amused smirk.

"I'd be suspicious if I went alone," Kieran immediately defended himself.

"Where's this Nathan Ray guy now?" Lola asked with interest.

Kieran looked surprised by her question. "Actually, I have no idea."

"We can find him on Instagram," Aiden threw in.

"I'm already on it," Angie assured them without looking up from her phone.

"I'm pretty sure he was straight," Kieran divulged, though instead of disappointment, an amused smile played on his face.

"So is spaghetti until it's cooked," Lola countered.

"Could be bi," Evan offered a better argument.

"Or pan," Ryan added.

"Or you could be his gay awakening in return," Rory suggested.

"If anyone can turn someone gay, it's my boy." Josh draped his arm back around Kieran's shoulders.

"Is this you admitting your crush?" Aiden asked, amused.

"Maybe." Josh didn't let that throw him off balance and kept up the same tone as his blond friend. "We're going to be the hottest couple at school."

"I'm pretty sure that title belongs to Rebecca and Milo," Angie said, briefly glancing up from her phone to deliver the devastating news.

"They're the hottest straight couple," Josh emphasized.

"I'm pretty sure everyone would agree the hottest gay couple is Natasha and Daisy," Evan pointed out. "You're forgetting that most guys have a weird fetish for lesbians."

With that argument, Josh had nothing to counter, so he resigned himself to reality and concluded, "Our school needs better taste."

"Maybe you just need better priorities," Michael suggested.

"Like a high school diploma," Lola offered bluntly.

"I'm graduating as best friend of the valedictorian," Josh announced proudly.

"Isn't that Kieran's accomplishment?" Ryan asked, amused.

"Kieran has no problem sharing," Josh assured him before turning to the brunet beside him. "Right?"

"I'm sure no matter what I say, you'll still scream the loudest when they hand me my diploma," Kieran replied with a smile.

"Of course." Josh nodded without hesitation.

"The bromance is real," Lola commented.

"We'll do the same next year," Angie immediately assured her.

"Hey! What about us?" Aiden pointed to himself and Evan. "You're not gonna scream for us?"

"You can scream for each other," Angie suggested.

"Gotcha, bro." The blond turned to Evan, slapping him on the back.

"We'll be the loudest," Evan immediately promised in return.

"Wait. Wait." Rory interjected. "Who's gonna scream for me?"

"Is this your way of inviting us to your graduation?" Evan asked, amusement in his voice.

"Hell yeah." Rory nodded without hesitation, his expression serious, as if it were a big deal. "I want to see you all there. Michael and Kieran will be driving. I'm counting on you guys."

"Hopefully, I'll have my license by then, too," Evan said.

"Oh, yeah." Kieran looked like he just remembered something. "We haven't had much time to practice. We should fix that."

"Evan can take you to see Nathan Ray," Angie suggested, turning her phone so they could all see the screen. "Looks like he's single."

"Before any of you say anything, my answer is no," Kieran was quick to react first.

"Why not?" Lola asked, leaning in to get a better look at the screen of Angie's phone. "He's hot. You have good taste."

At her words, Evan automatically grinned in satisfaction.

"I agree," Ryan added, pulling his boyfriend closer by the waist.

Lola rolled her eyes, realizing she and them were thinking about entirely different things.

"What school does Nathan Ray go to?" Aiden asked, steering the conversation back on track.

"I'm trying to find out," Angie assured him, tapping away on her phone again.

"I'm not gonna date Nathan," Kieran interjected. "And can we stop saying his full name?"

"But Nathan Ray is such a hot name," Lola replied, almost sounding disappointed.

"Hot name for a hot guy," Evan nodded.

"Yours sounds like a name for a vampire," Josh immediately retorted.

Evan opened his mouth as if trying to be offended but quickly realized Josh had a point.

"Mine sounds like one for a buff fireman you're trying to figure out if he's taking steroids," Rory said, his voice showing he was resigned to it but still not pleased.

Evan had to remind himself that Rory was, in fact, Roger to understand the point. Definitely not a name for a sixteen-year-old boy.

"My parents originally wanted to name me Loretta," Lola revealed. "Lola was just supposed to be a nickname. I would have had an old lady's name."

"My dad wanted to name me Robby after the guitarist of The Doors," Michael shared. "My mom's arguments were Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, George Michael."

"Every time I hear something about your parents, it sounds like they're the coolest people in the world," Lola stated.

"That's because they are." Evan and Ryan said at the same time. They exchanged surprised looks, which quickly turned into smiles.

"His mom's also hot," Angie remarked.

"If you don't stop, I'm going to hit on your mom," Michael warned her. He seemed to have finally chosen a new tactic after all of the black-haired girl's relentless remarks.

"You wouldn't dare," Angie replied without hesitation, sounding sure of it.

Michael shrugged. "On your dad, then."

Rory burst out laughing the moment after Michael finished the sentence. "You call him Dad, but Michael will call him Daddy," he said to Angie.

"Ewww," Angie almost dropped her phone, shocked—or maybe disgusted.

The combination of Rory's words and her reaction was too much for everyone, and a burst of laughter echoed through the room.

It certainly wasn't the last time it had been the loudest sound in the house that day, and Evan didn't even have time to realize how much he'd been able to relax and forget his worries. His friends didn't even have to try to make him feel good, they just did. Besides, having Ryan around all the time helped the whole situation a great deal too.

"They're 10 out of 10, but they don't like your pet," Lola said, holding a bottle of cheap vodka in her hand. Even though Josh had shot glasses, for some reason, they decided that this way it would be an authentic sleepover.

"Zero." Ryan was the first to respond immediately. "Actually, can I go into the negative numbers?"

"You're lucky you've gotten used to Mallow," Angie remarked, nudging her best friend with her elbow.

"Hear me out," Aiden stepped into their conversation before it could go off the rails. "What if they're afraid of dogs? Or allergies?"

"Get over it or you'll be a 5 out of 10," Josh replied.

"You don't even have a pet," Angie looked at him uncomprehendingly, piercing him with her gaze.

"I might have," Josh countered, shrugging. "It's part of the white picket fence, house and dog dream."

They were all in their pajamas, sitting on the pulled-out couch and two mattresses on the floor to make them all fit, forming a makeshift circle. Josh handed them some orange off-brand soda alongside the vodka, and they were eating PB&J sandwiches, a simple but satisfying choice.

"Okay, okay, I have a better one. They're a 10 out of 10, but they have a bad reputation," Aiden suggested.

"What do you mean by bad reputation? Like a bad boy or had the STDs ten times and everyone hates them?" Evan asked for clarification.

"That was oddly specific," Josh remarked.

"Okay, let me change the question—bad boy or Jacob type?" Evan corrected himself.

A sour look appeared on everyone's face upon hearing that name. They all hoped they wouldn't have to hear from him again, let alone see him, but Clara obviously had other plans.

"You really should have asked her out while you had the chance," Aiden said, turning to Josh and pausing their game for a moment.

"I didn't want to make a move on her while she was heartbroken," Josh defended his decision. "Plus, I didn't want to be a rebound, and obviously, I was right—she's still in love with Jacob." Then he quickly added, "For unexplainable reasons."

"What are the chances that he's a supernatural creature?" Lola asked, turning to the fivesome sitting closest together, who had the best chance of answering.

"He's not," Evan immediately assured her.

"Nothing supernatural about him," Angie confirmed. "I had the misfortune of seeing his dick pic, so I can double confirm that."

"What?!"

The brunette nodded. "Freshman year. He sent it to me via Snapchat, and when I didn't reply, he texted me saying it was a mistake."

"Gross," Lola summed up what everyone was thinking.

"How did you get on with the catfish plan?" Evan asked, remembering something Angie had mentioned to him the other day.

"We're still working on it," she said. "We need to give it some time to make it look legit."

"You girls are seriously scary," Aiden commented.

"You can still join the other side," Rory suggested.

"No offense, but I'm staying on the straight side for now," the blond replied.

"For now?" Ryan repeated after him.

Aiden shrugged. "Maybe I'll end up with a soulmate like you." He nodded toward Rory, Ryan, and Evan. "Or maybe I'll text Nathan Ray." He turned to Kieran with an amused smile.

Kieran rolled his eyes, but he wasn't the one to reply.

"No offense, but if Kieran didn't have a chance with him, there's no way any other guy will," Lola declared.

"Makes sense," Evan agreed.

"You're exaggerating," Kieran assured them, too modest as always to admit they were right.

His best friend wasn't going to let it slide, though. "You've got the looks, you've got the brains, and you're loyal as hell. You're a package deal," he listed.

"And too humble to admit it," Ryan added.

His remark was enough to make Evan realize just how far his life had come. His boyfriend was giving compliments to his ex. They were that comfortable with each other. If someone had told him six months ago, he wouldn't have believed it.

At least something in his life had worked out, and the thought put a content smile on his face.