NO Love Club (Boy × Boy) ✔

41) THE WHOLE TRUTH.

X Bélizaire's POV 

I studied Wilder while he sat behind the wheel of his beaten-up car. He tapped his fingers against the gearstick, but made no effort to start the car. For a long time he didn't talk either, despite his earlier eagerness to tell me everything. 

"You know that Declan's parents are, like, filthy rich?" Wilder asked eventually, keeping his eyes forward and face angled away from me. He didn't wait for me to answer, although I could have told him I had guessed that much by Declan's fancy car. As if Wilder could read my mind, he waved his hand to gesture at his car: "And that my family is.. not?"

"Yeah, I guess." I admitted, waiting for him to get to the point.

"Where I'm from, people aren't exactly the sort to excel academically or, well, in life in general. But Theo, my brother.." Wilder grit his teeth together, glaring at the empty parking lot. "Everyone said he was going to be something. He was the captain of our school's football team, and he was going to get a scholarship so he would have been the first Hughes ever to get into a good university."

I could hear the but in his words, so I asked: "What happened?"

"Declan." Wilder huffed, turning to glare at me. "Declan and his lying, manipulating mouth happened."

Wilder told me more about Theo, his big brother who was adored by everyone. Back when Theo was still in secondary, in his last year, he was already known for his legendary athletic talents. He was dating a popular girl, Abby, from his class and they were the British version of highschool sweethearts. Basically it was just the typical story of a flawless golden boy, with the exception of him coming from a poverty-stricken family.

"My parents, they were so fucking proud of him. I was nothing compared to Theo, but I couldn't even envy him, because he was way too nice for that." A small smile tucked up the corners of Wilder's mouth as he thought back to his brother. Then he shrugged, his face turning solemn again. "He was just about to graduate and he already had the scholarship secured, when Declan's parents appeared behind our door. They were the most condescending people I've ever met, thinking that they were some kind of royals for having all that money."

I stared at Wilder's profile, holding my breath. I had seen the hatred in his eyes, but I had never really thought how big the reason behind it could be. Wilder had called Declan a liar, so what had he lied about?

"They marched in, ready to start a war, demanding to see Theo. They actually had the nerve to say that my 18-year-old brother was dating their 14-year-old son, that Theo was molesting Declan. Like what the fuck." Wilder threw his hands in the air. "There's no fucking way Theo was into Declan. My brother isn't gay."

"There's nothing wrong with being gay." I muttered, frowning.

"I know there isn't, but the point is that my brother isn't one of them. He was dating Abby", Wilder reasoned, like Theo would have been the first gay person who ever had a girlfriend to keep them comfortably in the closet. "And Declan was this nobody, who hung out with other nobodies. No one ever saw Theo and Declan together or had any proof that they even knew each other, but there Declan was claiming that they were in love."

Wilder chewed his inner cheek, still glaring at the empty parking lot like it was his nemesis. I was trying to put the pieces together and do the math: if Declan was fourteen back then, he would have been in his 10th year whereas Theo would have been in his 13th. When I thought about Theo being our age back then, I couldn't imagine myself ever having a crush for someone Maddie's age. 

"But why would Declan have lied about that?" I wondered. Wilder let out a heavy sigh and raked a hand through his hair.

"The hell would I know." He admitted eventually. "Maybe he was jealous of Theo and wanted to sabotage his life?"

"But why? Declan isn't an athlete and —" I insisted, trying to make more sense of the story.

"Like I said, the hell would I know." Wilder snapped. He yanked the gearstick and the engine grumbled to life. "But his parents made sure Theo would lose his scholarship and that he would never see their innocent little boy again. Theo is living with my uncle and fixing cars in some stupid garage because of Declan. He fucking ruined Theo's life."

"Oh." Was all I could say, but Wilder didn't need encouragement as he fumed on. 

"Theo never even graduated. He just left and never talked to our parents again." Wilder huffed. He was driving too fast for my liking, but I couldn't tell him to slow down before he continued: "Then Declan started acting out like some negative aged teenager. If you ask me, it was his own damn fault no one wanted to hang out with him anymore."

My frown deepened as I listened to him, as I couldn't stop wondering whether Declan had told the truth all along. That he had suffered either from whatever was going on between him and Theo or losing Theo, and that that was the reason for him to act out. It just made too much sense to me to immediately discard the idea. Wilder's humorless laughter brought me back from my thoughts. 

"And then your Cole took Declan's side like some knight in shining armor. He took it upon himself to ward off all Theo's friends, who tried to pay back to Declan. They probably have nothing else in common but Cole's hero complex and Declan's will to manipulate him to stay by his side." Wilder's words were bitter like they tasted of acid in his mouth.

I didn't like the way he talked about Cole, but for once I kept my mouth shut. Cole had said something about wanting to save Declan, when he couldn't be there for Cody when he needed help, and I thought that maybe Wilder wasn't all in the wrong. At least I knew that Declan could be manipulative when he wanted to, making sure Cole did what he wanted. But it wasn't the whole truth.

At first I hadn't understood Cole and Declan's friendship the least, but over time I had started to see it wasn't purely dysfunctional. Even if I couldn't understand all of it, I knew they were good for each other and just as Cole had Declan's back, Declan had his.

"So, whose side are you on now?" Wilder pressed, while parking the car in the library's parking lot. 

"I don't.." I started, then stopped and took in a steadying breath, before trying again: "I need some time to think about this."

"Just don't think too long." Wilder said, shrugging. I could tell he was cautiously optimistic about me taking his side, like it was the only choice I could reasonably do. He believed so strongly in his truth that the possibilty of Declan actually telling the truth didn't even cross his mind.

"But", I started firmly, as I was done letting Declan and Wilder's issues complicate things between Cole and I. "I won't stop hanging out with Cole, no matter what I think about Declan."

"But.." Wilder breathed, scowling. I didn't let him finish, but opened the door and got up from the car. 

"I mean it. You have no idea what we went through together in that hospital, and he isn't just some fool with a bad taste in friends and a hero complex. He's nice and funny and way kinder than you'd expect." I told Wilder, glaring down at him.

"Shit, dude, you really are into him." Wilder exclaimed. When the first shock faded, it turned to a grin.

"Yeah." I admitted, then turning on my heels and leaving Wilder to deal with his epiphany alone. 

Perhaps it was about time for me to confess my feelings to Cole as well. At this point, I didn't even remember what the bet was all about. About me not wanting to take back my words? Or just pure stubbornness? Whatever it was, I didn't always need to be the one with the final word. 

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Question of the day:
What's your dream road trip destination?

(Me: Norway 🇳🇴 I've always wanted to go there and you can drive there from Finland. Lapland could be nice too, I've only been there once.)

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Whose side are you on? Wilder or Declan's? Any thoughts?