Owen

Manipulation

"You did what?!" Max spat water everywhere, a coughing fit following.

Dramatic. And now my bed was covered in spit water.

"Well what'd she say?" Alec asked, in a much calmer demeanor, perched at the end.

I shrugged, "that I was wasting my time."

"I mean, you are." Max said. "She's my best friend and I want the two of you to fall madly in love with each other and have beautiful little babies but I told you. Mina has more will power than a nun."

That was a weird analogy.

"What are you going to do?" Alec asked, his forehead creased as he stared at Max.

I'd grown accustomed to his weirdness, his over the top personality and theatrics. Alec was still warming up to it.

"Wait."

I didn't see anything else I could do. I was in love with her.

"Man, I give you props." Max told me, he was sprawled out on my bed like he owned the place.

Alec was starting another round of Halo, the sound of gunfire our back drop.

"If it was me, I'd shit my pants before I'd confess my love for someone." Max continued.

I laughed, shaking my head. "I mean I'm pretty used to Mina rejecting me by now."

Alec and Max both chuckled in agreement, they knew how Mina was. How Mina was toward me especially. What they didn't know was the moments in between. The moments where she softened slightly, where she almost let me in. Where she texted me in the middle night because something was on her mind and she didn't want to be alone. I knew Mina didn't love me, but I was pretty certain she liked me, even if she wouldn't admit it.

"I already knew she wasn't going to tell me she loved me back." I added.

There was not going to be some great epiphany on her part. And I wasn't going to fool myself in believing that there might.

"You must have enormous balls." Max said.

"They're pretty average at best." Alec told him from where he sat glued to the tv.

What the...? "Thanks a lot Alec, you could have at least talked me up a little."

"You've seen them?" Max inquired.

Alec shrugged. "I've seen more balls and penises then I want to admit. Happens in a locker room, a lot."

"I knew I should have played sports." Max whined.

"You'd get helmet hair." Alec told him.

I burst out laughing, the thought of Max trying to deal with the tragedy that would be his hair after sweating in a helmet playing out in my head.

"Fuck that." He muttered. "You know how long it takes me to make it look like this?"

Alec and I just shook our heads. I'd put money on it that Alec cared even less than I did. And I didn't care.

"When are you going to come to the bbq?" Max asked me.

I watched Alec somehow defeat a three person ambush, all without growing tense as his fingers hit the buttons on the controller. The tv announcing "killing spree" to solidify his skills.

"When's it start?"

"3."

"So I'll be there at 3 or shortly after if Jase drops me off." I told him, Jase had been less and less punctual. I realized now that it must have been Brandy that kept him on time.