NO Love Club (Boy × Boy) ✔

7) JUST LIKE THE OLD TIMES.

Cole Walker's POV 

Declan refused to talk to me, when we were walking to the cafeteria. I had to hurry my steps to keep up with his pace, to make sure I got to the lunch line right after him. Even if his behaviour pissed me off, I didn't want to get separated from each other and end up eating alone.

When we were at the line, I was gripping the tray so firmly my knuckles turned white. By the time we were walking across the cafeteria, I was gritting my teeth. Annoyed. 

Maybe I had a better time than I had expected with X this morning, and maybe I didn't hate every second of it. But I had returned to my hostile state towards him when I noticed my mistake, and still Declan was acting like I had stolen his favorite toy.

"You know, I hate silent treatment." I snapped at Declan's back.

That used to be one of mom's tactics to make us do what she wanted, before she got into all those self-help books. She sometimes binges a book a day to 'strengthen the journey of bettering herself', and the silent treatments are mostly in the past.

"You hate everything." Declan pointed out dryly, taking a seat by the table.

"Start talking, or I'm having lunch with someone else." I demanded. Declan glanced up at me, looking defiant like he was going to keep ignoring me, until he decided not to risk me being serious. Declan, just like me, didn't like eating alone. He let out a heavy sigh. 

"You two seemed to get along just a tad too well." Declan insinuated and pointed at me with his fork. Before I could defend myself, he spat: "You know what he said to me and still —"

"I have idea what he said to you." I frowned. Declan's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, only to close it again. "What was it again? Because you only told me what he didn't say."

I had been in the same class with Declan for three and a half years before we started to hang out. I was much more of a loner back then, and I wasn't really looking for friendship when I interposed the first real fight Declan got into.

Declan was the quiet nerdy type back then, hitting puberty late. He was tiny for his age and he wore oversized clothes as a futile attempt to hide how scrawny his arms were. When I caught the older student red handed, picking a fight with Declan, I had just found out about Cody's bullying. So, when the guy ended up calling Declan a faggot, I kicked him in the nuts so hard he cried for his mommy.

It was purely on selfish purposes. I was in the mood and the idiot just happened to be there. I didn't expect anything in return. I especially didn't think it would be the beginning of my and Declan's friendship. I didn't know he would start tailing me, looking for support and safety from me.

But where I stood up for him, I could always count on him doing the same. 

Like when my depression hit its peak, and he let me copy his homework for a month. When he sneaked into my room just to kick me out of bed and drag me to school. Back then most of those things only pissed me off, because I just wanted to be left alone in the comfort of my bed. But once the worst was over, I realized I wouldn't have made it through the courses without him.

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Declan insisted, glaring at me under his knitted brows. "He's rude and I don't like him, so whatever happened to us sticking together?"

"It's you and me against the world, I know." I gave in with a sigh. I didn't voice my doubts about X not being a bad person and I didn't call Declan out about his fickle version of their fight. 

What did it matter anyway?

I wasn't planning on becoming friends with X, so I had no reason to oppose Declan's demand to stay away from him. Maybe I didn't know the whole truth, but knowing Declan's version had to be enough. Besides, I hated fighting and I just wanted to make things return back to normal with Declan as soon as possible.