The Perfect Balance

Chapter Sixteen

"So, like, is Diego your boyfriend?" Calum asks on the car ride to school.

"What?" I ask, trying to sound as shocked as possible. Nate and Benji look at each other in the backseat and roll their eyes.

"Diego-is he your boyfriend?" Calum repeats and I make a noise of disgust.

"No, he's my friend," I retort.

"Are you sure?" he asks and I look at him.

"Yes, I'm sure," I reply.

"I was just asking..." he mutters. "I wouldn't tell mom and dad."

"No, Calum, me and Diego are not dating," I explain. "Now can we just drop it?"

He shrugs and I glare out the window, listening as my two younger brothers snicker and giggle in the backseat. I'd turn and glare at them if it wouldn't make things more obvious. We get to school and I rush out of the car, only to be beckoned by Diego and friends. I hesitate slightly. Will it be awkward? The whole situation is fresh and the last thing I want is to be treated differently.

"Come on! I'm hungry!" Quincy calls and I sigh before speeding over to them. They're all surrounding Diego's bike and he's leaning up against it. Once I reach them, we all share short greetings before heading in the direction of the diner. Diego goes to put his arm around my shoulder but I stop him.

"My brothers," I whisper and instead, he places his palm on my head.

"To make sure you don't get hit by a car," he tells me as he guides me across the street behind everyone else. I roll my eyes at him but repress the urge to smile.

"We're just getting your coffee and then we're going to class," I tell him and he smirks at me.

"Okay," he replies.

"Okay?" I say.

"Yeah, I love it when you tell me what to do," he says with a grin and I roll my eyes even harder.

We enter the diner and he places his order. He smiles widely at me as we wait. "What?" I ask when he won't stop staring at me.

"Nothing," he replies and it's my turn to look at him. His coffee is delivered and we tell everyone else that we'll see them later.

"Let's go," I say as I grab his arm and drag him in the direction of the school. I'm still gripping his forearm as we wait to cross and he maneuvers so our hands interlock. I don't complain and instead, begin swinging our arms. We cross the street and basically jog to class. I break apart our hands as I open the door and we enter, just as the late bell rings.

I stand in confusion for a second when I see Diana sitting with some other girl. She nods at the projector with wide eyes and I look. I'm assuming seats have been changed. My eyes scan the screen for my name and I blink a few times when I see it. Orion. Roman. I look to Diego to see if he noticed it. He hasn't. He's still looking for his name. His name is written in at the table in front of me. I watch as he continues looking and I can see on his face when he finds my name.

"Oh..." he says as stares at the board.

"Take your seats," our teacher says and Diego and I walk side by side towards our tables. He walks to the table before mine and sits down next to his lab partner, a particularly intelligent girl who I have a couple AP classes with. I look at Roman, who's sitting as relaxed as ever with his legs stretched out in front of him and his arms resting on the table. He sees me and grins as if he knows the trouble he's stirring up.

"Well, fancy seeing you here," he comments as I sit down tensely. My back is as straight as a stick and I'm pressed against the lab table.

"Hello," I greet him dryly.