After All, I'm Your Secret Admirer~!!

Ch29 - Poetry's Not My Strong Suit

Eventually, at some point Paige manages to get back into his room without waking anybody up this time. OJ had gone back to sleep too, so slipping into his bed was much easier than he was afraid it'd be.

Paige is banging his head lightly with his hands. Ughhhh... I can't believe I blew that so badly!

"It could've been worse," Leaf shrugs. "I'm sure he doesn't actually care about that."

"That's almost worse!" Paige pouts.

"Ugh. There's no winning with you, is there?"

Paige doesn't reply, just whining. Soon, he frets himself to sleep.

When Paige blinks awake the next morning, the beams of sun in his eyes are the culprits. That was odd, though. Paige usually kept his blinds closed.

Sitting up, he sees none other than OJ sitting at his desk.

"OJ?" Paige yawns, causing the other to yelp. "Oh! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

"I-it's quite alright," OJ breathes. "Sorry if I woke you."

"No, no," Paige shakes his head. "The sun got in my eyes."

"Ah..." OJ smiles awkwardly. "That... would still be my fault. I always open my blinds in the morning by habit."

"Oh, it's alright," Paige waves off playfully. "I'm up now." He looks down at the others, still knocked out. Sue is curled around a stuffed bunny while Brandon and Bro were sleeping with one held by the other. "It looks like the same can't be said for everyone else, though."

"It is rather early," OJ comments. "Ah, but let me finish what I was doing so I can get out of your way. I'm almost done."

"You can take your time," Paige says, stretching. "I don't use my desk in the morning, really." He jumps up and moves over to OJ. "Whatcha doing, though?"

"Ah!" OJ gasps, covering his station with his whole upper body. "It's—it's a secret!" he panics. "My—my secret diary!"

"Oh!" Paige gasps, pulling back. "Sorry! I didn't know!"

OJ sighs heavily. "It's quite alright." He looks off to the side, a wry smile on his face. "It's not like you'd know it just by seeing it."

Paige hums. "I guess so. Unless it said 'OJ's Diary' in big text, I would've probably thought it was one of my old books."

OJ's face drops for just a moment, smile forced. It's almost like hearing that scared him.

It's a good thing he didn't get to see anything about it! He would've hated to upset OJ for something like that.

"Oh, don't worry! I didn't see anything, honest!" Paige promises.

...Well, that was only mostly true. No, he hadn't seen the contents, but he did see the cover. It was a nice pastel orange embroidered leather. It looked like it would feel good to rub his hand against.

But, surely OJ had only meant the contents. Surely.

+++

The Crew go to school the next day, having brought their uniforms with them for the sleepover. It's a surprise to Quinn in the morning, and there's barely enough space for them all in the SUV. They manage, though. Sue sits in the front while Paige, OJ, Brandon and Bro are squished together in the back.

When the kids all pile out of the car, Quinn wishes them all a good day and they all thank them in varying ways.

"Note," Brandon requests as the small group disperses into the crowd.