just dive in [reed bishop spin-off] ✔️

twenty-six

— t w e n t y - s i x —

"REED," OLIVER SAID, APPALLED. "You just killed me!"

Reed jabbed furiously at his controller, not even sparing him a single glance. "So?"

"I'm on your team!"

"Oops," Reed said, without even a hint of apology. He smirked as if he could sense the accusatory look Oliver was shooting him. "Don't get in the way of my gun next time, then."

Oliver kicked him in the foot and Reed kicked him back without even looking away from the screen. Oliver was tempted to shove him off his beanbag and kiss him stupid, as punishment of course, but that probably wouldn't be the wisest idea with Adam on the beanbag on Oliver's other side. Things seemed to have settled down into a familiar sense of routine now that both Adam and Reed were talking to him again. New Years had been a wild and somewhat traumatic experience; the three of them had gone into town for drinks with some other friends from school, which was as packed as Oliver had ever seen it. They spent far too long queuing to even get into a bar but everything was plain sailing once they were inside.

They got trashed on too many shots and all slept over at Adam's house, whose basement was large enough to hold them all. Oliver and Reed were drunk enough to risk sneaking into one of the bathrooms upstairs after everyone had fallen asleep to fool around. Oliver could only imagine how much of a heart attack either of Adam's parents would have if they knew what had occurred in that bathroom.

School had started up and with Clair out of the picture (who blatantly ignored all of them in school, and moved to sit on the opposite side of the classroom from Oliver in English), the three of them were hanging out far more than they had last term now that Adam's attention was no longer monopolised by his girlfriend. It meant hanging out after school was split between Adam and Oliver's houses now, more often Adam's because it just had more ways for them to entertain themselves. Reed's mother was home now but his house was still off-limits and none of them ever suggested it. Since the conversation in the park, Reed seemed much more willing to talk about his mum and Oliver was just relieved to know he would come to him if he needed to.

As for the intimate aspect their friendship has taken on, Oliver and Reed kept stealing any moment they could alone. They never spoke about making anything official or dating or even Reed's sexuality, forget telling anyone about the two of them, but none of that lessened the intensity of Oliver's feelings. If anything, they only grew stronger with each passing day, a bone deep certainty that this was what he wanted. Oliver had always known he needed Reed in his life, even if it was only as a friend. Now Oliver didn't think he could ever go back to anything less.

"Motherfucker!" Adam scowled in frustration as his avatar was riddled through with bullets and collapsed in a gory puddle of it's own blood. He turned his scowl on Reed at his loud snickers. For someone so calm and composed, nothing riled him up as much as a video game and it was almost as entertaining as the game itself. "Oh, go to hell. I hope you die a painful death."

"Reed or his avatar?" Oliver asked, amused.

"Both, at this point."

"You wish," Reed scoffed, tilting far over to the left as if it had any bearing on the direction his avatar went in. He had this habit of playing with his whole body, so caught up in the game that he didn't even seem to realise what he was doing. "It's not my fault you losers suck at this game."

"Pipe down, Judas," Oliver said. "I don't suck at this game. I just had a traitor on my team."

"Sounds like a whole bunch of excuses to me, Sterling."