| Micah at the top! x ahh |

On a Saturday, there are only a few scattered people bustling about the spacious coffee shop. However, come here on a weekday and you'll be struggling to find a table. The Iced Café quickly became our favourite place to hang out in between classes at the start of the year and it seems to have stuck. Especially if we're venturing here on the weekends now too. But Lucille's reasoning earlier was sound - the pricing is extremely affordable and the food is decent compared to other cafés in the area.

I mean, who expects a student to pay eight dollars for a coffee? 

At least I don't have to question the sanity of the barista here when they only charge me four dollars for a large caramel cappuccino with extra syrup and whipped cream. Sometimes I swap out the full-fat milk for coconut just to shake things up. 

Speaking of coffee, the scent of the roasting beans grace my nostrils, instantly dulling my headache. "Now that's what I'm talking about," I mumble, drifting on autopilot towards the counter to order. Through single thoughts about getting my coffee, drinking my coffee, and getting another one, I hear the others call out to me as I walk away from them. My mind processes somewhere in the back that they're letting me know they're getting a table, but my sole focus is on the coffee I'm ordering. 

After another few minutes, I'm taking my seat at the small table with my coffee in hand, already half empty. 

"...and then he vomited all over her! It was equally as hilarious as it was disgusting." Micah exclaims with a huge grin. With me only catching the end of the story, I immediately perk up.

"Who emptied their stomach on who?" 

Keilyn groans, Lucille giggles, and Micah's amusement visibly grows. Based on their reactions, I connect the dots and before I can stop myself, a laugh bubbles through my chest. "Dude!" I gape as Keilyn covers his face with his hands.

"I know, I know."

"Wait, was this before or after the bet between you and Micah?" I ask, smirking. Lucille seems to zone out of the conversation, taking out her phone to entertain herself. However, Micah leans forward onto the palm of his hand, fully enthralled by the situation. 

After sliding a hand down his face, Keilyn looks at me with embarrassment clear in his expression. "It happened way after. The party was dying down so it was just me, Micah and some girl who I was trying to chat up standing outside." He pauses briefly to glance at Micah, "Shit, what was her name again? Linda? Lilly?" When all he gets is a shrug in response, he shakes his head and continues. "I was, well, hammered at that point. I had the shots from earlier and all the mixing of drinks I mentioned. Since the bet took place, I had consumed a further eight drinks and a jello shot."

"What flavour?" I interrupt, tilting my head.

Keilyn gives me a weird look. "I don't see how it's relevant but I think it was grape."

I shudder. "Gross. Sorry, keep going."

Ruffling my hair, Micah laughs. "You're so random. I'll take the pleasure of finishing the story." Keilyn's eyes narrow into slits and Lucille remains to only be concerned with what looks like Twitter. "As he was getting at, he had a lot to drink and had already vomited earlier in the night. The girl was flush against Kei while we were talking - it was pretty awkward."

"Hey." Keilyn slaps his shoulder playfully. "You didn't have to hang around."

Micah rolls his eyes. "Well, it's probably a good thing I did, considering you puked all over her when she went to kiss you."

"Seriously?" I ask, erupting into laughter so fierce that I have to put down my coffee and grab the side of my waist. The star of the day pouts as both Micah and I continue guffawing at his misfortune. "What happened? How did she react?"

Keilyn huffs, turning his head away in rebuttal and Micah tries catching his breath to answer. "She-" He starts but can't seem to get the words out straight away, so takes a second to continue,  "She screamed, slapped him and then ran off! It was so funny. He barely got anything on him which just made it that much more hilarious. We called it a night after that."

"I didn't even get laid! That was the real misfortune."

"Jesus, is that all you care about?" Micah chuckles, shaking his head at him in bewilderment. His smile doesn't quite reach his eyes though, which reminds me that not everything is fine between them and I find myself frowning. 

I just wish they could go back to how close they were. It was nice there for a second.

I'm not sure if Keilyn is a mind reader or if he notices the same thing, but I watch as he closes off. His laugh fades, his shoulders grow tense and his gaze flickers away from his friend.   

As to not dwell on the awkwardness settling in, I decide to change the subject since Lucille is clearly too occupied to notice the stiff air. 

"So, I met Jett last night."

Everyone's heads snap to mine in shock and Lucille scoots her chair closer to mine in earnest. That got her attention. "The infamous Jett? The one roommate of Raidon? Micah's friend?" After every question, I nod my head obediently until she finishes with, "How? When? Where?"

I send her a dubious glance, "Where do you think?" Her mouth forms an 'O' shape as understanding filters through her bright eyes. "I met him last night at the party after I left you and Raidon."

Keilyn perks up at this with an amazed, wide-eyed look accompanying his next words. "You met Raidon? I didn't even see him there last night."

I barely catch the scoff coming from Micah before Lucille starts talking again. "I met him too. We kissed while playing spin the bottle," She shrugs with that magnetic smile of hers while Keilyn basically chokes on nothing over the admission. 

"What?" He exclaims loud enough that the barista looks over at us angrily. Honestly, Keilyn's expression is priceless. 

Lucille just waves her hand. "It didn't mean anything. He said he's gay," She reveals carelessly, causing Keilyn to make an indescribable noise.

"Lucy!" I chide, "You shouldn't go around telling people that. What if he's not out to everyone?"

"He said that he's not trying to hide it and that he doesn't care who knows." 

Lucille starts gossiping and giggling with Keilyn about Raidon while I sip my coffee in thought. There's a feeling coursing through me that's hard to swallow. I know what it is but I don't understand why. I don't understand the jealousy that's trying to eat me alive in my small café chair. I'm happy for Raidon and that he's able to be so secure in who he is. But I think that's the same reason I'm envious of him. Pushing away any thoughts or emotions that are too deep, too much, is what I do best. 

The fact is, I don't know who I am. 

And that's fucking scary. 

"Fabes?" 

Keilyn's questioning voice has me shaking away my thoughts and looking into his green eyes. "Yeah?" I reply as Lucille slings an arm over my shoulder, shaking her head. 

"You have a habit of zoning out," she teases, flicking my forehead lightly. My hand flies up to the rub at the spot as I stick my tongue out at her. She just rolls her eyes. 

"Anyway, we were talking about having a games' night at Micah's next weekend, maybe with some movies too," Keilyn informs me, tapping his fingers on the table with a tilt of his head. "You in?"

Shrugging, I glance at Micah, "Sure but can you do me a favour?"

He nods, "Yeah, man, name it."

"Invite Jett?" I chew on the inside of my lip, feeling suddenly nervous. Maybe it's a bit weird to want him to come when I've only met him once, but I'm intrigued by his personality - or the mystery of it.

Micah's eyebrows rise high but he bobs his head with another nod, "I can do that. But I'm warning you now, he'll probably say no since it's a get-together and he doesn't usually do those." 

I frown. "If he doesn't want to come then don't try to convince him, I don't want to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do. I just want to get to know him better, he's interesting." When everyone's eyebrows are meeting their hairlines, I feel the need to clarify, "He seems like he would be a cool friend and addition to the group. Um, tell him he can bring Raidon too if he wants." 

This time it's Micah who's shrugging, "Why not? I haven't hung out with him much lately so it'll be fun."

Grinning, I finish off my coffee. "Thanks!"

Keilyn leans forward on the table, chin on his palms. "I thought you guys hang out all the time?"

Micah shakes his head.

"Nah, he's been pretty busy and so have I. I've only really caught up with him in my Psychology classes but that's it." 

Oh, so he studies Psychology. That's awesome, I was pretty interested in it and almost picked it when deciding on my minor, but I changed my mind last minute. 

"Wait, are you not close friends with him then?" I ask Keilyn curiously. 

He shakes his head slightly. "Only met him a few times near the start of the year when I would meet Micah after class." He glances at a tense Micah before pouting at me, "Unfortunately, he's straight according to Micah."

I chuckle lightly in response. "Not everyone's into the same sex, Keilyn."

Still tense, Micah mumbles, "Maybe you shouldn't be so thirsty." And it's obvious Keilyn hears him when he lowers his head. The former does the same, seeming to display an emotion similar to regret as he rubs the back of his neck. 

That's one way to make it awkward. 

Not seeming to notice, Lucille jumps into the conversation, beginning to talk about her crush again. When I'm about to join in to smooth out the tense air, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I fumble with unlocking the screen. 

From: Lela

Fabey! I know it's only been a couple of days but I already miss you! I hope you're doing well and know that I'm only a text, call or Face Time away xx I just wanted to update you that I've settled in and am really excited. I know this is hard on you, especially with next month coming up fast, but thank you for being supportive. Love you, Bro xx 

***

Ａｕｔｈｏｒ＇ｓ Ｎｏｔｅ

Hey everyone! Sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter, I was kind of in a rush when writing it. While I'm in 'the zone' with my writing, I wanted to quickly get this out so I could start on my short story for the LGBTQ contest this month! It's going to be a multi-chapter short story, so if you're interested in that, stay tuned on my profile! I'm just waiting until I get time to make a cover for it, then I'll post the first update! 😊

I'm so excited for the future of this book 😍 With me having it all planned out, I know that even if life gets busy and I take a hiatus, I won't forget what I was writing because of my plan and character outlines. 

This is probably random but... my neck hurts dude. My bed is basically my desk so it gets sore pretty easy from the way I'm positioned. Ughh 😪

QOTC: Favourite song right now?

Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ＇ｓ Ｓｏｕｎｄｔｒａｃｋ:

22. Coffee Shop Soundtrack - All Time Low

23. Big Plans - Why Don't We

24. Awkward Silence (갑자기 분위기 싸해질 필요 없잖아요) - Stray Kids 

25. Hey Girl - Lady Gaga, Florence the Machine

(Access complete soundtrack on Spotify by searching 'Game Face Soundtrack', my account name is xchloexkaydeex - there will also be a link on the inline comments -->)