The Boy Next Door

Chapter 20

Past

It's been almost two weeks since my stupid confrontation with Damon, and since then I've been kind of distancing myself from Grayson. Not by a significant amount, but I'm not around him as much, and it sucks a little. Despite that, nobody seemed to notice since I was closest to him to begin with. Not that any of that mattered right now as I'm at work, serving the groups of people at the concessions.

"Thank you." The middle aged woman said as she handed the slushy to her son.

I smiled back as they rounded the corner, leaving me alone with my co-worker, Jason. This moment of downtime was needed since I've been working for the past five hours. Looking over, I see Jason grabbing a cup, filling it with the red icy drink.

"You want some?" He asked, reaching for another cup.

"You know we are not supposed to be drinking right now," I said while wiping the counter down. He gave me a bored look while pushing his curly, shoulder length hair back. I sighed, "Fine, fix me a blue one."

"See," Jason chirped while filling the cup, "I knew you were fun."

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the cup and savored the icy substance in my mouth. Both of us were leaning against the steel counter, almost forgetting we're at work. We talked briefly, before I caught someone walking over to the counter out my peripheral. For a split second, my eyes go round as Grayson leans over the counter with arms crossed. His hazel eyes are narrowed slightly as he peers over at an oblivious Jason.

"H-hey." I stuttered out as I tried to not choke on my drink.

"What's up?" He replied, his tone dry.

I can't help but assume he's confused or mad about my sudden distancing. Standing straight, I place the drink under the counter and somewhat awkwardly stand there.

"You good, Cam? I gotta take this." Jason said while holding up his phone.

After nodding my head, he pats my shoulder and heads to the joined break room behind us. Just as I'm about to speak, a small family comes up, causing Grayson to move to the side. After handing them their snacks and drinks, I turn my attention back to Gray.

"Haven't seen you in a while." Grayson muttered in the same tone, mindlessly picking at his nail. The black beanie on his head somehow accentuates his jawline, as does his entire black ensemble.

"Yeah, just been busy-"

"That's bullshit." His voice is low as he interrupted me. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out what his problem was, because it's clearly something more. As if he had an epiphany of some kind, his hard features relax as he stands straight, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I bet you are," I sarcastically muttered before turning my attention to the approaching group of teens.

Most of them I recognized from school, in a lower grade of course. I kept glancing over at Grayson, who was now acting. . . normal? I don't know, his sudden mood swings have me pissed off.

"Thank you." The two brunette girls said in unison, the three boys nodding their heads.

One eyed me up and down slightly, but I acted as if I didn't notice. I didn't care, although Grayson had other thoughts. Glancing over, I see him giving the poor boy the hardest glare, causing him to scurry away after his friends.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked, clearly fed up with his actions. Grayson dumbly looked at me while lifting his hand in the direction of the boy.

"He was clearly checking you out; for someone with a boyfriend I thought I'd help you out."

His voice is calm, not all that fazed by my angry tone. I closed my eyes and breathed in heavily, really trying to stop myself from saying something I'll regret.