Page 7 of One Lovely Lie

We’re still best friends, that hasn’t changed, but it feels like everything else has. We’re both eighteen now and in our final year of high school. We take separate classes but still manage to see each other every night, and we’ve made our own friend group with Avery, Ozymandias, and Carter. As it turns out, all those guys are pretty okay.

No, what’s changed is definitely Magnus who, for some reason, can’t keep his cock to himself. I’ve had to watch our high school years go by with his never-ending turnstile of boy toys, and none of them last more than a few months at a time. I’ve sat and suffered in silence as he’s lived his romantic life to the fullest with just about everyone but me.

It’s hopeless, I know, but that still doesn’t stop me from dreaming about his lips on mine. While Magnus has been busy fucking anything that walks and breathes, I’m still holding on to my virginity because of this ridiculous infatuation. It’s pathetic, I’m aware—holding out hope that one day he’ll just wake up and realize we’re perfect for each other. That I’m the one he really wants.

I yearn for him to hold me the way he’s holding Thaxton right now, running his hands down the planes of his body, one hand anchored in his hair as he tips his head to just the right angle to plunge his tongue down his throat.

When Magnus rolls his hips against Thaxton,fuck, I can’t watch anymore.

“Ugh, why can’t he just do this somewhere else,” I mutter under my breath, stabbing into my chicken with too much force. “He has a perfectly good room. He should use it.”

“If it bothers you that much, you should do something about it.”

I narrow my eyes at Avery. He knows there’s not a damn thing I’ll do about it. I never have and I never will.

Avery, for some weird reason, is now a close friend of mine, and we’ve gotten along well as roommates since freshman year. He’s…interesting to say the least. He stays up all hours of the night, always doing something new and never settling down. I guess I’d say he’s eccentric, but despite that, he’s been a great friend.

He’s the only friend that I’ve told about my secret, deep longing for Magnus.

“Out of curiosity, what would you do? If you were me, I mean,” I ask, making sure to pointedly look everywhere else but at Magnus. Nope. No. Not going to watch it. No reason for my heart to break even more.

“I’d go over there, tell Thaxton to fuck off and hump him,” Avery explains as if it’s the simplest thing in the world. “Well, humpMagnus. Not Thaxton. You don’t want to make that mistake,” he snorts.

“Avery,” I say slowly, shaking my head at him. “You know I could never do that, right?”

He shrugs, scratching at his chest as he stuffs his mouth full of salad. “I would.”

That’s one of the things I like about Avery. He doesn’t have a filter. He does what he wants without a second thought. That bravery is appealing, but in reality, I’m a fucking coward.

I can’t believe there was a time when I thought Avery was beneath me. If I’ve learned anything in the four years at Armory Prep, it’s that I was a complete snob when I came in, thinking Avery was some poisonous leech trying to worm his way into our social circle.

Thank god I realized how wrong I was. He’s been there for me in more ways than one. He listens to me rant about Magnus, infinitely patient on those nights that I can’t take it anymore and cry on his shoulder.

“Is Daniel swooning over Mag again?” Ozymandias asks as he joins us at our table, perfectly put-together as always, a cruel smirk on his lips.

“Oh, fuck off,” I hiss, but it’s half-hearted at best. Oz really isn’t the most terrible guy in the world. There’s more underneath that cold exterior, like his undying devotion to his friends. Although I’ve never outwardly told him about my crush on Magnus, he’s smart enough to put two and two together.

“Has Avery made any crazy suggestions yet?” he asks, reaching over to steal a fry from our brawny friend. “Are you ready to confess your undying love?”

“Shut up,” I say, eyes widening with fear that others will hear him.

“Please,” Ozymandias drawls. “He’s too busy inhaling that guy over there. He’s not going to hear you.”

“It doesn’t bother me.”Lie. “He can do whatever he wants.”Another lie that nobody believes.

“Sure, it doesn’t bother youat all.”

“Ozymandias Rupert Clark!”

We all snicker as Carter makes his way—marches, more aptly put—to our table.

“Did you fucking replace my body soap with lube?” Carter barks angrily, pushing his thick, black-framed glasses up his nose.

“Sure,” Ozymandias chuckles. “I figured you needed some help getting laid.”

And…there it goes. I tune out the rest of their fight because it’s always the same thing with them. I’m not too sure why he and Oz still hang out together with us when it’s clear that they absolutely hate each other. I have no doubt in my mind that they’re going to be fighting the whole time, per usual. It’s not even playful banter either. Magnus and I think they should just hate-fuck already and get it over with.

It’s now that Magnus chooses to join us, wiping a spot of saliva off the corner of his lip as he smiles. “Nice, Carter. What’s that face for? What did he do now?”

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