The Exit - Oscar Piastri FF

14. - Jealousy?

After having a great dinner with Oscar's parents, Oscar, Logan and I went out to the bowling hall. It was a disco bowling hall with a linked arcade and loud music, which was perfect for the three of us. When we arrived, Oscar told Logan and me to wait by the shoes, while he went and got the information for our lane. I watch as he walks over to the female employee and notice how she immediately goes to hug him. They then proceeded to talk for a while, and I guessed that they both knew each other already from the friendly banter and small moments of contact. I don't know what it was, but something about the way she smiled at him gave me a weird feeling inside. I tried to shake it off and brought myself back to reality by looking over at Logan. "So, you ready to get beaten in bowling?" I taunt, and he rolls his eyes with a smirk on his face, "You wish, Conner. I'm gonna bury you!" 

I laugh along with him until Oscar joins us again, together with the girl from before. "Guys, this is Ally, one of my old classmates!" He introduced and I smiled at her politely with a nod of acknowledgement, but the only thought in my mind was 'What is she doing here?'. "Nice to meet you both, Oscar has told me a whole lot about you!" She said in a somewhat too sweet voice while nudging him in the side. "Anyways, I told Ally that we're going to the zoo tomorrow, and she said it's been a while since she's been, so I hope it's okay that I invited her with us?" Oscar says cheerfully, while I, on the other hand, had to fight with every fibre in my body, to not show how disappointed I felt inside. For the first time in forever, I was able to fake a smile at him and gave a nod of approval, while Logan hesitantly let out a "Sure, of course,"

"Thank you guys, that's so kind of you! I can't wait for tomorrow!" Her whole era was a bit too much on the cheerful side for my liking, and I think Logan could tell as he put an arm around my shoulder and immediately ended the conversation, "Well, see you tomorrow then, Ally. If you'll excuse us, Yn and I are going to go find some shoes!" He spoke, and I looked up at him with a smile while he turned us 180 degrees to walk in the opposite direction.

"Don't like her, do we?" Logan leaned down and whispered in my ear, to which I shook my head. "Not that, I just hoped we would be just the three of us. Like old times," I say, letting my disappointment show on my face. Logan then ruffled my hair and stopped to look at me, "We have more than a week left, I bet we'll find the time. And if she's too annoying tomorrow, the two of us can run off and just have fun together," he said with a wink and I smiled in defeat. He was right, it wasn't like she was going to join us every day. Maybe one day would be alright. 

"What are you talking about?" Oscar asked as he joined us after a few minutes. "Nothing, mate," Logan smiled at him and I left to go and find the right shoe size. While I was doing so, I overheard the boys whisper behind me, and I couldn't help but try an listen in while putting on the shoes. "So, that Ally girl, you guys close?" Logan asked. "Kind of I guess. We hang out whenever I'm here in Australia," Oscar replied and I felt a sting in my chest. "She looks like you like she's crushing on you, mate," Logan said, this time a little quieter. I don't know if Oscar replied or what he said, but shortly after, Logan spoke again, "Just be careful man. We're both here to spend time with you, not her,..." I couldn't hear any more than that, so I stood up and went back to the boys, watching as they stopped their conversation when I approached again.

"So, which lane are we on?" I asked and Oscar told me it was number 27, so I gave him a quiet nod and went there without further conversation. I really didn't know why, but my mood had been completely killed, and at this point, I would much rather be back home, in bed, asleep. After a minute or two, the boys joined me at the lane with shoes on, and I had put our names in the machine in the meantime. "Want me to go get us some drinks before we begin?" Oscar suggests, but Logan quickly breaks in, saying, "I'll do that, I'll know better what to get," He said and left before any of us could get another say in the matter.

"Logan expressed that he wasn't too keen on bringing Ally tomorrow, can you believe that?" Oscar said after a moment of silence, his voice filled with disbelief. "Yeah, I can actually," I said, trying to seem unbothered, but failing. "What? You don't want her to come either?" He asked, looking at me with a puzzled look, which only made me irritated. "Yeah, Logan and I both thought that this was time for us to hang out like old times again, just the three of us," I explain, and his expression doesn't change as he says, "Well, it is!" I roll my eyes and watch as Logan arrives with three sodas for us, "It's not just the three of us if you bring her along," I explained and noticed how Logan's face changed into a more serious one as well. "It's fine, we obviously just had different ideas about this trip," I said and sighed, taking a sip of my soda before sitting down on the couch.

"I can uninvite her if that's what you want," Oscar says defensively, but obviously getting irritated as well. "No, you clearly want to go with her, so let her come. Yn and I can have fun by ourselves, right Con?" Logan joins the conversation, but this only seemed to piss off Oscar even more. "Yeah, we can," I reply, then get up and take the first bowling ball to take my shot. I do so and try to channel all my bad energy into the throw, ending up with a strike on the first go. 

For the rest of the evening, we barely talked to each other. Only Logan and I shared a few awkward smiles and looks when passing by each other. Even the car ride home was quiet, and when we got back, we all went to our separate rooms, again without a single word. It didn't take long though, before there was a knock at my door, and Logan came in without waiting for a response. "Well, that was intense..." He said and flopped down on my bed while I was finding my pyjamas in the closet. "Tell me about it..." I scoffed and sat down beside him. "Wanna watch a movie on the PC or something?" He suggested, and I looked outside the window. The weather was nice, and I needed to somewhat clear my head, alone. "Actually, I think I might head out for a little late-night run," I said and looked at him again. He smiled at me, and without any further conversation, he left the room and I got changed.

When I got back from the run, I noticed how most of the lights in the house were turned off. I looked at my watch and it was already past midnight. I had done 9 kilometres, and it was really nice to take a look at the area. When I entered the house I went straight to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. After a minute of catching my breath, I heard footsteps down the stairs, so I turned my attention towards the hallway and in came Oscar. I could tell he didn't know exactly what to do or say when he stopped at the end of the kitchen counter, just looking at me. "You went for a run?" He asked, and I nodded before swallowing the water I had just poured in my mouth. 

I then noticed his eyes. They were red and slightly swollen. Had he been crying? I felt the worry rise inside me immediately and I put down the glass of water. "Did you cry?" I asked and he did nothing to avoid my eyes. He almost stared me down as he took a few steps closer, his body language showing defeat. He didn't say anything, but his eyes were pleading, and I knew exactly what he needed. Therefore, I took a deep breath and took the last few steps in his direction, being met instantly by his arms wrapping around my waist, whilst mine wrapped around his neck. 

"Why?" I asked after a while and felt him squeeze my waist harder. "I'm sorry for earlier..." He mumbled into my shoulder. "I'm sorry too. We came off too strong," I admit, not knowing how to be mad at him for that long after all. Oscar became silent for a little, and I pulled away from the hug after a while to look at him. He stared into my eyes, but I could tell he was thinking hard about something. "What?" I asked. "She's just a friend, Con," He said as if he knew what was bothering me so much earlier. I knit my eyebrows together, trying to act as if I hadn't had exactly that worry earlier today. "That's what you said, yes," I paused, "But so am I, no?" I asked, my heart dropping to my stomach just at the thought that he saw me just as a friend. "No," He said, his voice stern, as if there was not a doubt in his mind about it. "No, you're not just a friend," He repeated, but it came out only as a whisper this time. 

"Good..." I whisper back and then step up slightly on my tip toes, to place a kiss on Oscar's cheek. I then take a step back before leaving him in the kitchen, to go upstairs and take a shower, before heading to bed.