Page 12 of Defend Me

Tilian turned to look at him. “Oh, hey.”

Dean smiled in a way that I didn’t know existed in his arsenal of expressions.

“Hey, Tilian. How’s it going?”

“Fine, I guess. Oh.”

He held up a finger before he dug in his bag. The thing was a mess with no folders, just papers shoved inside. That should be a crime. He pulled out what I easily recognized as a dab pen and passed it to him. Dean’s smile widened and he squeezed Tilian’s shoulder.

“You’re the best. I’ll send you some money.”

“Yeah, whenever. I’m not too worried about it.”

“Remember when I said to be more assertive? Don’t let people walk on you, man. I’ll kick their asses.”

Tilian brushed his fingers through his hair again. I was intrigued by this relationship. It was sort of surprising now that I’d met Tilian. They seemed easygoing together and since he showed up on Dean’s Insta once in a while, they hung out.

Speaking of… Dean seemed to have just noticed that I was here, leaning on Tilian’s desk. His expression returned to that stoic one he’d blessed me with during the entire plane ride. I smirked and winked at him before I sat back in my seat and pulled out my notebook.

Mr. Pritchard stood from his desk. He looked tired. It was the end of the first week of class, so I imagined he needed the weekend desperately. Teachers definitely deserved better pay to deal with all of our shit. They were literally helping to shape the future.

I noticed Tilian stealing more glances at me throughout the class, but I tried to ignore it so that I could pay attention. Even though I’d earned my two-year degree while in high school, it was still hard to come in here as a junior, and I couldn’t start slipping.

Perfection was the only option in the Elrod house. I would not be the one to break that streak.

*****

Where Broke College Students Congregate

“When do you guys move into your place?” I asked as I twirled some shitty spaghetti around my fork. I didn’t need to eat the food the school offered, but it was a way to hang out with the guys, so I took one for the team. If I came in here with outside food all the time, West would definitely give me shit for it.

He was the one who groaned like he had the hardest life ever. “Next weekend. I’d rather die.”

“That can be arranged,” Kai said. He maintained eye contact while he brought a meatball to his mouth in a way that somehow spoke of a challenge.

“Alright, douche nugget. You should go check on that boyfriend who’s secretly living in your dorm.”

“It’s just for a couple weeks until we get into the place. What are they gonna do? Kick me out?”

“How’s he doing?” I asked.

It had been less than a week since they’d gotten back from Maine. They missed the first couple days of classes since there was some debacle involving Kai’s car, West being a thief, and Sen’s family deserving a cell in the underworld. It was a whole thing.

All of us knew about Sen’s history with conversion therapy and the deal his dad made with him over the holidays. He was supposed to keep his sexuality a secret and, in turn, his relationship with Kai. He went home for Christmas but didn’t last two days before things went to shit. Now, for all intents and purposes, he had no family- at least, not connected by blood. The one he’d found here was infinitely better, but the couple of times I’d seen him this week, I could identify the pain in his eyes that he tried to hide.

“He’s okay,” Kai replied, then he shook his head. “Not okay, but he will be. He had his first appointment with a therapist on Wednesday.”

“That’s good. I don’t think it’ll ever be easy, but he’ll get better. Plus, he has, like, the best boyfriend on the planet.”

The way Kai tried to stop himself from smiling was pretty adorable. He really was god-tier. Early in the school year, I’d cut myself off from considering anything romantic with him because I’d been seeing Sadie. I was glad for our current dynamic anyway. He and Sen were the definition of soulmates.

West was noticeably quiet and when I followed his gaze, I saw the senior quarterback, Lincoln Porter, talking to some people across the cafeteria. He was hot as hell, but they had some weird feud going on. Too bad because Lincoln was gay and I had a feeling he was a nurturer like Kai, but I wouldn’t pursue anything there either because my friend hated him.

The dating pool was really damn thin these days.

“Stop,” Kai scolded, nudging West’s shoulder with his. “He’s not bothering you, so stop glaring at him.”

“His existence bothers me,” West returned.

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