Not a Love Story

Nine // Escape Plan

Oliver Greene

We found a booth in the corner of the diner. I quickly glanced over the menu, already knowing I wanted mac and cheese. Cherry's was a famous hang out spot in this small town. They serve basically anything you can think of, and all of it is amazing.

"You know what you want?" Ben asked. I nodded. "Cool, let's go order."

"Oh, and I'll pay for yours." I said, pulling out my wallet. Ben raised an eyebrow at me as we headed towards the register.

"You don't have to do that." he said. I shook my head.

"You didn't have to help with the adoption drive, but you did. The least I can do is buy your lunch." I said. Ben just smiled and nodded.

"Huh, okay. Thanks, Ollie." he said, smirking. I felt my cheeks heat up at the nickname as he ordered. After ordering and paying, we waited by the counter for a few minutes while they made our food.

"Hey, Ben." a pretty blond girl greeted from behind the counter.

"Hey, Kelsey." Ben responded, a light smirk on his face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, leaning against the counter.

"Just grabbing some lunch before tutoring." he said, gesturing to me. Kelsey's eyes flitted over me.

"Aren't you Henry's brother?" she asked me, her head tilted. I nodded.

"Yeah." I replied, not sure what else to say. She nodded and hummed before looking back at Ben.

"So, are you free tonight?" she asked, an enticing smile on her face.

"Sorry, I've really gotta cram for an upcoming test. Maybe another time?" he offered. Kelsey nodded eagerly, still clearly disappointed from the rejection.

"Sure. Here's my number." she said, writing it down on a napkin before handing us our food. Ben smiled and thanked her as we grabbed our food and sat down.

"I don't think tutoring is going to take that long." I said, confused by Ben's rejection. Ben smirked as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah I know. I'm just not that into her. Thanks for being my escape plan." he said, nudging me with his elbow.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." I said before putting a forkful of mac and cheese in my mouth.

"Aren't you supposed to be at a workout today?" I asked Ben, trying to make conversation. He shook his head as he chewed.

"It's an underclassmen workout day. It gives them an extra day a week to work out and work with coach." I nodded in response.

"Henry always comes home complaining about how hard the coach works them over the weekend." I responded. Ben grinned.

"Yeah. Those weekend workouts are basically a rite of passage for the team. We all have to go through that. It really helps build everyone into a great player though, so it's worth it in the long run." Ben said. I nodded and hummed, taking a sip of my drink.

"Were you here last night?" Ben suddenly asked. I raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Yeah, I was here with some friends. I saw the whole team was here last night." I said, smiling as I took another bite of mac and cheese. Ben chuckled and shook his head.

"Yeah, it's pretty hard to miss us." Ben replied, looking over at me and smiling. I offered him a small smile in reply before dropping my eyes back to my food. We continued eating, mostly in silence except for the occasional small talk.

"Ready to study?" Ben asked, both of us done eating. I nodded and stood up, throwing our trash away before getting into Ben's car and leaving.

Ben rolled the windows down and turned the radio up as we drove to his house, Shake it Off by Taylor Swift playing. Ben bobbed his head along to the beat, quietly, and badly, singing along. I laughed at him, finding it harder and harder not to make it obvious.

"Are you laughing at my singing?" Ben asked, looking over at me and feigning hurt. I tried to say no but all I could do was shake my head, still laughing too hard. Ben laughed and sang louder and even more off key, making me laugh even more. He looked over at me and chuckled. "C'mon I'm not that bad, am I?" he asked, still laughing. I just nodded my head, still laughing too much to talk. Ben shook his head, smiling as he continued to sing.