After Hours (boyxboy) | ✓

Chapter Thirteen

I had just pulled into the parking lot when I spotted Laura sobbing in her car. Her blonde hair was an unruly mess, and she seemingly didn’t have any makeup on. It was… upsetting. Almost as upsetting as whatever was making her cry. I exited my car and jogged to hers.

“Laura!” I tapped the glass of her window, trying to get her attention. Finally, she turned towards me. Her eyes were red and watery. She unlocked the door, then gestured for me to get in the passenger’s seat. I had a few minutes to kill before work, so I ran around the car and hopped in.

“I’m so — so sorry that — that you h—had to see me like — me like this!” she sobbed as she locked the door again. I patted her back. She curled up in her seat.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, “What happened?”

“I s—saw that prick D—D—Donny! He was talking to — to Claire.”

“He was talking to her?” I raised my eyebrows. She must’ve really had it bad for him if she was upset over him talking to Claire.

“Y—You think I’m nuts, r—right? I’m s—sorry. It’s been boiling up inside me for wee—weeks!” she wailed. I rubbed circles on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. She cried, and wept, and — you guessed it — sobbed. She stopped when we heard another tap on the window.

Brendon was peering into the car, both his hands pressed against the window. He mouthed, “Let me in.” Laura unlocked the car and buried her face in her hands. He jumped into the back seat. We locked eyes.

Laura interrupted our staring match. “Brendon — p—please don’t tell D—Donny about this.”

“Um, I won’t… What’s going on?”

“He’s such a d—dick! I’m sick of him!” she yelled. I shrugged at Brendon. He winked. I couldn’t help but smile. “You two — you can j—just go on without me.”

“Coolio! Feel better!” Brendon eagerly jumped out of the car. After giving her one last hug, I left too. She looked miserable. I felt terrible for her. But she’d probably be back to her peppy self later on.

Brendon and I walked through the parking lot in silence. I think we were both waiting for the other to speak first. Neither of us did. We reached the gates and checked in, then started down the long brick pathway.

Suddenly, I felt his arm wrap around my shoulder.“Miss me?” 

“Nope,” I answered jokingly. He rolled his eyes with a smile, and we continued walking. His arm felt hot against my neck. It was a warm day, too. I fought the urge to pull him closer (I was overheating) and instead, asked him about his day off yesterday.

“Wonderful. I had a hot date,” he answered.

“With who?”

“Myself. We had a great time.”

We reached the shack. Waiting there for us was Donny, Claire and Theo. An odd group, to say the least. Claire looked to be in a good mood. She was smiling and watching Theo and Donny argue about something. Theo didn’t look happy. He looked annoyed. Probably because of Donny. Hey, I’ve been there.

“Hi, guys,” I said. Claire and Theo faced me eagerly. They clearly had something to say. 

“Hi Emmett! Brendon. We were just talking about our plans for this weekend. You guys want in?” Claire batted her eyelashes at me. I already knew what was coming next.

Brendon entered the shack. I followed him. “What’s the plan?” I asked.

“We’re staying at our dads’ vacation house upstate,” Theo explained, “Brendon can come too, since we have an open spot.”