My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 95

MILO’S P.O.V.

I’ll never understand the weather in Westbrooke. Last week it was so fucking cold you could piss ice but now it's so hot I feel like Zoe’s bedroom is a fucking sweat shop rather than a place for us to do a bio project.

Why the fuck Luke decided to wear a long sleeved top today is beyond me, you can see the sweat dripping down the back of his neck under the thick mask of the air and I’m half tempted to give him my own shirt out of fucking pity.

There’s so much humidity here you could drink it, and let’s not mention what it’s doing to Zoe’s hair...

There is no denying that girl is beautiful but her hair has increased in volume at least tenfold since me and Luke first got here. She has a serious mad scientist look going on; crazy hair, spinning potions away in glass bottles, lab coat and goggles - a bit of lightning and the reanimation of a body is all she needs to complete the aesthetic.

“Why the fuck won’t you just go bang?! Maybe I should add some more of the acid this time?” She shouts back from the bathroom, we decided it was safer for her to perform her experiments in their after she almost burnt a hole in her comforter with an accidental spillage.

“Add any more acid and you’re going to blow up this fucking house. Are you sure you added them in the right order?” Luke asks for the third time as Zoe just rolls her eyes at me and throws her hands up in disbelief, she's a bit distracted today but I can’t quite tell why.

She stomps around in her bathroom again before swinging the door open fully and popping her head out, her goggles clouded so the only thing I can see moving underneath them are her weirdly long fake eyelashes.

“Okay, I think I’ve got it this time. I’m just doubling everything, what’s the worst that could happen? Luke get your phone, hopefully this time you can remember how to use it when it’s not just to take photos of girls without their consent.”

Burn.

In the entire time we’ve been doing this project Zoe has hardly said two words to Luke, but apparently she’s really on one today because that’s the fourth snide comment she’s made at him since we got here.

“You’ve got to let that go Zo, I said sorry like fifty times now.” She ain’t letting it go mate, you clearly haven’t seen Zoe with a bee in her bonnet. Although I don’t think they make one big enough to cover all that hair anyway...

Luke takes his phone off the bed and steps up to the adjoining door from Zoe’s room to set after recording, the last three have failed so I don’t even bother looking until suddenly a bang draws all my attention away from research and I see Luke almost falling to his knees in fits of laughter against the door frame.

Oh no...

Running to the door, Zoe’s bathroom looks like the Ghostbusters just came in and killed one of those fucking creatures that explode because almost every inch of the place is covered in a foamy green liquid, Zoe included.

I desperately try not to, but I end up on the floor with Luke in hysterical laughter whilst Zoe tries desperately to scoop the foam out of her abundance of curly hair.

“Please tell me you recorded that!” I howl whilst clutching my stomach and trying not to bring up the pasta May made me for lunch through my fit of giggles.

“Didn’t miss a fucking thing!” He cackles now laying on his back on Zoe’s bedroom floor as she manages to use her fingers like windscreen wipers to clear her goggles.

“Glad you two think this is so fucking funny! You pricks are helping me to clean up! Malditos idiotas...” She's trying to stay mad but when Luke scoops up a dollop of the foam from the floor and smashes it straight into my face, she gives up and begins to laugh herself. I guess the fact my face isn’t melting off is a clear sign that we succeeded in neutralising the acid. Project success at its finest.

Me and Luke finally manage to prise ourselves off the floor, I tried to grab onto his wrist to pull myself up but he immediately winces and draws his arm away so I end up falling back onto the floor.

“Oh shit Milo, sorry,” He apologises reaching out his other hand to help me get onto my feet, looking suddenly uncomfortable again. “I ummm...  I injured it in practise this week.”

I nod but don’t say anything, Coach said that it was probably better that I didn’t come to practise while I’m injured, he didn't want to rub it in my face that I can’t play with everybody else. Eli has been keeping me updated on everything but he hadn’t mentioned Luke had hurt his wrist.

We start to wipe down the surfaces, this stuff disappears pretty quickly when you add water but when Zoe tries to help she just ends up making more mess as the foam drips and splatters away from her hair back over the surfaces we’ve just cleaned.

“Zo, I love that you’re trying to help here but seriously, you’re just making it harder. Go shower that shit out of your hair, we’ve got this.” Zo looks around, splattering a bit more of the foam off the end of her natural curls. She always straightens them out but I always thought they were kind of cute on her.

“Fine, can you help me with the zip on this?” Why the fuck she always insists on wearing dresses that she can't get in and out of on her own is beyond me. I swear I spent half our relationship doing up and undoing the zips on her dresses, and not for the good reasons...  most of the time.

I try to get a good grip on her zip but this foamy shit is everywhere and it just keeps slipping out of my hand.

“Luke, hold this bit so I can pull this one down.” Luke leans over to hold back the piece of fabric but Zoe immediately steps away from the two of us.

“Nope, Nah, not happening. It’s bad enough I need my ex boyfriend to help me get out of this fucking thing, I don’t need some randomer doing it to.” She is seriously fucking cranky today.

Luke cocks his eyebrow at her, a suggestive smirk curling its way between his cheekbones.

“Randomer? Zoe, I’ve had your legs wrapped around my head, I’m hardly a fucking randomer.”

Does he want her to hit him? Because I’ve seen her when she angry and it isn’t pretty... Don’t bait the beast when you can see it’s fucking hungry Luke!

She flips towards him, her Spanish coming out so fast I hardly it catch most of it, but the words I do get I know are not the ones they teach us in school. I manage to get a grip on the zip with my now tacky fingers and pull it down quickly before shuffling her out into the other bathroom while she still screams abuse at Luke.

I don’t know if it’s comforting or not to have the feisty Zoe I remember so well starting to peak back through the veil of despair that seems to have been following her everywhere for the last few weeks.

Luke is still chuckling to himself as we wipe down all the surfaces, I’m glad we’re all at a point where this doesn't need to be so fucking awkward anymore. I don’t think the three of us will be spending time together after this project is over but at least it doesn't have to be an us versus them thing everyday in the locker hall.

I ask Luke about what I’ve missed at practise this week but he pretty much tells me everything Eli already has, thankfully without the run down of the girls that turned up to watch in order of fucking hotness. When I mention Eli Luke gets a bit stiff, and from his reaction I’ll guess that boy has been taking his role as temporary captain a bit too seriously.

The appointment should have been Leanna’s since she is the secondary to me but she's been a bit distracted with her own girl over the last few weeks so dumped the role on Eli instead.

Not having to be at practise three times a week has actually been a really good fucking thing for me, I even managed to crash at Josh’s place once this week. Coach mentioned to Jayce about wanting to set up a new schedule so I went over to Eli’s to do it and Mum said it was cool for me too stay because her and May were helping Brie with wedding planning anyway.

I was so fucking happy to be with him again, I didn’t even care that we only actually spoke for about ten minutes. We ordered take out and both fell asleep watching the second Rocky film on the couch, before crashing into his bed and finally resting peacefully for the first night since we were last together.

Waking up late in the morning didn’t help matters, I hardly got my tongue down his throat before he was shuffling us both into the car to make sure I wasn’t late for school. Sometimes sneaking around is actually really fucking fun, having him park in the deepest corner of the car park so we could make out until the bell was a really fucking good way to start the day.

It’s not like I need things to happen whenever we’re alone together but it’s hard to be around the guy and keep my fucking hands off him. It’s starting to become a problem that I can’t truly sleep without him anymore too, on the nights he's not there it's like I can’t rest completely.

We both agreed that we wouldn’t tell anyone else about us until after the lake house this weekend, we just want one final weekend before everybody starts getting involved with their opinions on us. I know he’s worried about Lee and Jayce but I couldn’t care less what he thinks. In all honesty I’m more worried that I’m going to give Mum a fucking heart attack.

Him being a guy isn’t going to be an issue, well at least I think it isn’t, neither Mum or Dad have ever given me any reason to believe they'd have a problem with that, but the fact the guy I’m with happens to be Josh may not go down as easily.

Zoe slams the door, shutting me and Luke in the bathroom together so she can get dressed. Ever since I said about the team again Luke has been off, I really think this guy might have some kind of personality disorder because he runs way too hot and fucking cold for it to be regular fucking hormones.

“You going to Eli’s party?” I ask, trying to ignore Zoe doing her best Selena impression on the other side of the door with her hair brush. It’s like that girl can’t put clothes on unless she’s singing, it's actually kind of sweet when you think about it.

Luke shrugs. “Maybe, I don’t think I’ve ever been to one at his house before. I’m away with my brother so maybe if I get back. You going?”

I nod. “Yeah hopefully, I’m going away with my family this weekend too but I should be back for it. His mum hasn’t let him have one there for like a year, last time we all ended up throwing up in the pool and he just pulled the cover over to hide it. She didn’t find out about it until the next summer when she went to clean it, I thought she was going to kill him.”

Luke chuckles, but when he checks his phone all signs of a smile disappear from his face.

“Shit, I’ve got to go. Is she going to be long?” Why is he so antsy? He looks like he’s just been delivered a death sentence.

“If she plans on leaving us in here until her hair and makeup are done, at least two fucking hours. Hold on.” I knock the door between the bathroom and Zoe’s bedroom. “Zo, you decent? Luke has to bounce.”

A mumbled ‘whatever’ comes through the door and Luke takes this as his opportunity to escape, not looking back and almost leaving behind his school work in his hurry. What the fuck was all that about? He actually looked... worried? Scared? What’s going on with him?

I start to pack up my notes, glancing over at Zoe as she huffs and puffs trying to drag her hairbrush through her hair like the stuff isn't even attached to her fucking head. How do girls fucking do that? If you pulled on a guys fucking head like that he’d be screaming. Weaker sex my fucking ass.

“You going to tell me what's got you in such a mood now?” Zoe glances back at me in her dressing table mirror, the front she’s had up since I got here was firmly in place but when she looks around and realises it’s just the two of us, she finally lets it drop.

“That obvious?” She chuckles lightly, lowering her hairbrush and trying to detangle it with her fingers. “We got the showcase.”

They did? “That's amazing Zo, why the fuck are you pissed about it?” Zoe and her performance partner have been trying to get on the club circuit for a while, this is the first time they've been given the showcase spot.

“Because he can't do it. His family are down in Mexico for his sisters wedding that weekend and it's in two weeks so it's not like he can rearrange this shit before then.” She’s trying not to sound upset about it but I know how much this would’ve meant to her.

I walkover to where she sits, picking up the brush off her desk and moving all her hair to behind her back so that I can make my way through it far more gently than she was trying to.

“I’m sorry Zo, will the club give you another weekend?”

She shakes her head. “They only gave us this weekend because their first choice had to drop out last minute, they said if I could get somebody to step in for Zachary then...”

Her eyes pier up at me through the reflection in the mirror and I instantly pause brushing through the knotted mass that she calls hair.

“No.”

“Milo, please just listen –”

“No. Zoe Don’t ask me.” Her plump bottom lip pokes out further as she opens her eyes to their widest. I can’t believe this shit used to work on me.

“Please my love! You did it for me once before, and you're really fucking good!”

Nope. It’s not fucking happening.

“Yeah I did it once before in a tiny fucking club where nobody knew either of us. Doing a showcase means doing fucking solos and shit, no.”

She continues to pout all the way until the brush is easily sweeping through her knot free hair.

“Will you please just think about it? They have a back up in place so we wouldn't need to give them an answer until the weekend before anyway.”

She may try to keep me captive if I don’t agree, but we both know that I’m not going to change my mind here.

“I’ll think about it.” But the answer is still no.

She gives me that smile that used to make me fall to my knees before her, but now it just makes me smile back. This is the closest we’ve been to finding the friendship we lost before we split up. I really want to be her fucking friend, I’ve missed her.

Resting my chin on the top of her head, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and she reaches up to hold them there.

She doesn’t look at me like she used to anymore, somethings changed and I’m really grateful that it has.

“We’re good now, right?”

This smile on her face says it all before she nods her head and leans it against my arm.

“Yeah Milo, we're good.”

I just hope we still are after she finds out about the only person to kiss my lips since her.

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