Page 36 of Boys Like You

His shoulders drop. “I haven’t been sleeping well.”

“Nightmares?” I watch as he nods his head. I wish I could take some of his pain away like he does for me.

“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” He looks at me with his green eyes flecked with yellow.

“Not exactly.” Changing the subject, he says, “How about we watch a movie?” I look from Levi to Maximus, who nods. I follow the guys out into the kitchen. Maximus pops a bag of popcorn into the microwave.

Danielle walks in and smiles at us. “Just the three of you now?”

“The others needed to go. Is it cool if JD and I watch a movie with Maximus?”

“Of course, Rob and I are going out anyway. We won’t be back for a few hours, just be nice to the girls.” She grabs her bag from the bench.

“I’m always very welcoming,” Levi says with a smile.

“If you say so. It was so nice to meet you, JD, come around anytime.”

“I will, thank you for having me.” She kisses Maximus on the cheek and leaves the kitchen.

Once the popcorn is ready, we make our way to the lounge room. I trail behind the guys. When they both stop abruptly, I run into Levi’s back, forcing him to step into the room.

“What’s the hold up?” I ask, peeking around him. I see Savannah and her friends sitting on one of the couches, braiding each other’s hair.

“Oh yay, JD, I can do your hair next,” Savannah says in her sweet voice. Naomi rolls her eyes but doesn’t say a word.

“That would be nice. Do you mind if we watch a movie at the same time?” She shakes her head no. Maximus hands me the popcorn so he and Levi can go to the collection of DVDs and pick a movie. I take a seat on the free couch.

“So, where did you say you lived?” Naomi asks. Levi whips his head around, but I answer before he gets a chance to.

“I didn’t, but Morgan Bay, a nice house by the beach.” I doubt she knows anything about the guys’ backgrounds; they don’t seem like the sharing type outside of their group.

“What made you choose Edgewater?” the one I think is called Becca asks.

“The guys actually. We met down on the beach, and since I’m new I asked about the schools in the area. What can I say? They convinced me.” I pause, leaning in and speaking behind my hand. “And the eye candy doesn’t hurt, right?” Savannah snorts, and Naomi death stares me.

“Wait until you see some of the other guys, we have some good-looking seniors,” Mandy says. Naomi yanks a bit hard on her hair. “Ouch.”

“Stop yapping, the movie is about to start,” Levi barks, taking a seat to my right. Maximus stands awkwardly in the centre of the room until I tap the seat to my left.

“What’re we watching?” I ask Levi.

“Bio Dome. You can’t go past some old school Paulie Shore.”

The girls’ chatter dies down as they all take interest in the movie. About halfway through, my ribs start to ache. I try to subtly adjust myself, but I’m obviously not too good at it, because Levi removes the small pillow from behind his back and places it on his lap, gesturing for me to lie down. Maximus seems to be staring.

“Do you mind if I put my legs on you?” He shakes his head no and goes back to watching the movie.

I move myself so my head is in Levi’s lap, rolled on my side while my legs rest across Maximus.

I feel eyes watching me. And no wonder; Naomi is throwing daggers my way with the icy glare in her eyes. I roll mine in response and go back to watching.

I find myself relaxing more when Levi plays with my hair and Maximus wraps a hand around my leg. I feel like I belong for the first time in my life and that feeling unsettles me, because that only means one thing. My old life is waiting for me and what I have been through is only the icing on the damn cake.

I pace the hall of Edgewater high. The principal and a couple of teachers are going over my tests. Everything seemed basic enough, but that’s what worries me. If I found it so easy, wouldn't that be an indication it went horribly wrong? Surely the tests couldn't have been easy; it’s year twelve not year two. Damn it, what was I thinking? We need to leave before I make a total fool of myself.

“Okay, let’s go,” I say, grabbing Rocky as he paces past me.

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