Mr. Lone Boy /BoyxBoy/

||Four||

Tom and I were dragged into another date by none other than Devin.

I always knew I wouldn't be single forever and as much as I wanted to be dating Devin, I also knew that there was a possibility that would never happen. I just never imagined he would be so enthusiastic about me dating.

It sort of hurt.

It hurt that he couldn't see I wasn't happy, and that that was because I wasn't dating him.

But he always seemed to express how happy he was that I was finally dating. He would smile this secretive smile every time he saw me, occasionally wiggling his eyebrows which made me highly uncomfortable, and would say the most cheesiest sentences ever.

One time, when we were casually talking on the phone about the most random things, he would bring up Tom.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I'd say you two are in love," he said at the time.

I almost gagged.

"I mean," he continued, "You're so right together, it's almost surreal."

I rolled my eyes at that one.

I would mention more of those cringe-worthy moments, but they only made me feel worse.

There was another thing too; he was smiling all the time.

I should have anticipated that he would be so bubbly. He did say that Ian made him happy when he came out to me.

But I didn't expect him to be this happy.

It left me in a foul mood, and I've learned from my past mistakes that that was definitely not a good sign.

I knew as soon as we walked into the bowling alley that I would have no fun that night. Not one bit.

Ian and Devin held hands confidently, laughing and exchanging smiles occasionally.

It made me sick.

I must've been scowling because I felt a sharp jab at my side and quickly turned my head to the initiator, Tom.

He sent me a fake smile before stepping up on his tiptoes to whisper something in my ear.

"At least try to pretend that you're happy?"

I glared at him, but he jabbed me with his elbow again and I almost hit him back.

How could I pretend to be happy when it was the only emotion I couldn't feel?

Still, I managed to calm my nerves and push the thoughts of Devin and Ian to the side as I focused on making my relationship with Tom more real.

I couldn't find my self to smile just yet, but the tension between my eyebrows had eased and I could finally look at Devin without wanting to rip him away from Ian.

"Let's get our shoes," I said.

Tom agreed and the two of us headed to the counter as Ian and Devin slowly trailed behind us.

Tom and I had our shoes on before the other two, so we headed towards a lane and sat on the plastic seats as we waited for Ian and Devin to catch up.

"Nate?"

I looked up from tying my shoes to glance at Tom, "Yeah?"

He sighed, rubbing his hand against the bak of his neck, "How long is this going to last?"

I didn't meet his eyes as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Look, I know that I agreed to this, but I don't think I can keep lying like this forever," he whispered.