Page 57 of Obnoxious Bad Boy

“Wow. This could be me, if I didn’t like watching sports. But yeah, living with Cass in some remote cabin in the forest would have been cool,” he muses.

“A hermit lives alone, Matt.”

He ruffles his dark blond hair with a thoughtful expression. “No, not for me then.”

Of course it’s not. He likes hanging out with his friends, his boyfriend, loves group sports, and is generally a golden retriever in human form. Which, to be fair, is kinda nice to have around when I’m down.

I grab a cookie and offer him some. He takes three. When he sits on my bed, I know I’ll have crumbs all over it, but that’s a price I’m willing to pay.

“It’s nice of them. I didn’t think they’d care.”

Matt raises his hand and mumbles, because his mouth is full of cookies.

“I’m not done,” he says and hands me a golden cup. It looks like an award of sorts, but when I find the plaque at the base, which reads Best Debut Actor, I’m not sure whether it’s a joke meant to uplift me or a slap in the face.

“That’s from Levi,” Matt says with a grin.

I let out a deep sigh and slide lower in the armchair. “To think that I wrote the specials for him on his blackboard all of last year. ‘You’ve got great handwriting’,” I imitate Levi’s voice, waving the trophy in my hand. “And now he’s mocking me at my lowest.”

Matt’s face jerks up. “Nooo! Sure, we were all a bit shocked when the news broke out, but no one thinks badly of you. Most people think it was kind of badass that you tried to do it at the museum at night. Levi was actually saying he didn’t think you had it in you, and that he’s happy you’re getting some.”

I scowl but hug the cup to my chest. I suppose for an adult dude like Levi, who doesn’t seem to give a fuck about other people’s opinions, this might not be such a big deal. “I’m not 'getting some'. Vex didn’t even bother to ask if I was okay.”

Saying it out loud makes my eyes sting, but Matt is there for me, and he squeezes my knee while his face twitches. “I want to beat him up so bad!”

I snort. “Please don’t try. This whole thing has been messy enough already.” And Matt is the only person I can tell the truth to, because while I hate how Vex treated me, I still wouldn’t try to out him. If he was lucky enough to not get recognized in the video, then who am I to try to ruin that?

“Why not?” Matt asks and helps himself to another cookie, chewing it with rage, as if it were Vex’s finger. “He deserted you. That’s not how you treat another person, even if they’re not your partner. He’s a coward.”

I shrug. “He didn’t promise me anything. But yeah, it’s definitely shitty of him. I’m gonna make him a villain in my novel.”

Matt grins and takes out a rectangular object wrapped in gray paper. “Your author image?”

I put away the cup and tear off the fragile packaging to expose a… painting. I’m stunned when I recognize my own face on a man sitting in a chair in front of a fire consuming an old-school movie reel. The illustration has a specific cartoon style I recognize as Kai’s, especially going by the red glitter in the fireplace. It’s a reference to what’s recently happened, but I love it so much!

“Wow, that is amazing. What—”

“Kai told me to give it to you,” Matt says, and I’m stuck with air in my throat, because this outpouring of care from acquaintances is beyond anything I expected. The gifts are definitely nicer than the cold way my parents have been treating me. Maybe there are people other than Matt and Snowley, who really care about me?

“This is so cool,” I say with a sigh. “I know I’ve been ignoring everyone, but I didn’t think they cared. And really… I’ve been so embarrassed.”

Matt shrugs. “It’s gonna be old news by next year, Aaron. Don’t worry so much. If anything, everyone is impressed that you’re fucking some stud muffin. Anyone mean to you is just jealous.”

“Only that he’s not mine anymore,” I grumble.

“No one needs to know shit. If asked about him, just smile mysteriously and say you’ve signed an NDA.”

I chuckle despite still being so sad about how things transpired with Vex. I know I won’t find anyone like him again, but life goes on.

And I have to as well.

“I miss him,” I confess with a sigh. “I think that’s what sucks so much. That I can’t hate him.”

Matt swallows, and I reimagine him as this sad golden retriever who desperately wants to comfort its master but doesn’t know how. “It’s such bullshit. You deserve better. Maybe we should find you the stud of your dreams once you're back? Maybe through a casting call thing at Rainbowology?”

I shake my head. “I guess everyone’s seen my ass now, so they know what they’re getting. Seriously though? No, thanks. I’ll be alone forever.”

“No, you won’t,” Matt says with a wide smile. “Some stud will sweep you off your feet and carry you away on his black horse, and you’ll live happily ever after in some castle in Europe. Mark my words!”