A few days passed before I saw Ollie again. Ben spent most of the weekend after Jade's gathering moping around at home because Ollie didn't want to see him after work.

But eventually he got so miserable that, late Sunday night, he came into my room and laid on my bed.

"What?" I asked, barely looking at him over my book, unable to stop the venom seeping into my tone.

He flinched in response. "What did I do to you?"

It's not me, you Scheisskopf, I thought back. It's what you did to Ollie. But instead, I shook my head. "Nothing," I muttered.

"Oh-kay..." He pressed his lips together. "I think Olivia is upset about something."

I put my book down immediately, staring at him in disbelief. Is he that dense? "Yeah. You literally said you can't kiss her."

"But I did. On her head."

I scoffed. "Half-heartedly. She saw that."

Pressing his lips together, his cheeks tinged with pink as he turned his head away from me. "It was my first time kissing someone. It felt weird doing it in front of everyone."

Had I read him wrong? I wondered, starting to question the plan that I had been plotting over the weekend. Is he just that stupid with relationships?

But we don't want to coach him in this... he will keep hurting her if he's that naive. And he can't turn to me every time he messes up with her... I can't counsel them. I can't root for them when I want her.

Heaving a sigh, I dog-eared my page and sat up. My movements caused his iridescent blue eyes to flicker to mine, swirling with an indistinguishable cacophony of emotions.

"When you said you couldn't kiss her, that was the chance for you to tell her about the bond," I explained.

But no surprise or realisation shifted his face... as if he knew the opportunity I had handed him. His gaze just became more focussed on me. "It wasn't the place in front of everyone."

"You could have pulled her aside and asked to talk with her then and there."

"It would have been rude—"

"Ben. What are you avoiding?" I finally asked.

He pressed his lips together and his eyes began to well tears. "If I tell her... then it's really real."

"Yes?" I asked.

"I'm not ready," he whispered.

My stomach started to knot as I wondered where this was going.

Clearing his throat, the water began to subside in his eyes as he took some breaths, regaining his composure. "I just want to focus on our mission. I want to help you."

My nostrils flared over the fact that even though he was supposed to put the woman whom he had a bond invitation with first, he was still worrying about me.

But before I could retort to his statement, he added, "You're my priority."

Uneasy with where the conversation was turning, I decided it was time to be blunt. "Do you not like Ollie?"

"I... I do."

"But?"

"I don't know her that well."

"You can still tell her about the invitation. Get to know her over time rather than stringing her along. What you are doing is hurting her."

He shook his head. "I need more time to think about it."

But I wouldn't hear it. "You need to apologise to her for what you did."

He pressed his lips together again, eyes searching me, pleading with me.

"You need to commit to her, Ben. You need to show her that you want her. And you need to stop hurting her. Otherwise you need to let her go so that she can move on."

But his next words made me despise him even more. "But we need her," he whispered.

"Are you..." Though I took a moment to gather my thoughts, unsure what I wanted to say back. In the end, I said, "How do you even have a bond invitation to her? Your feelings for her barely seem romantic in the slightest."

He flinched away from me, sitting up on my bed as he turned his gaze down to my sheets, drawing circles in the fabric with his finger. "She's a really kind person. She sees so much too... like... when she looks at me, it's like she's looking for me."

I know the very feeling...

"She's ridiculously gorgeous too," he said, a grin taking hold of his face.

I couldn't help but smile alongside him, absolutely agreeing with him there—a myriad of memories of Ollie flashing through my mind at that moment. Her with makeup. Without. Hair wet in the shower, eyes glowing even more green thanks to her hair tinting a darker shade of red. The way her skin reflects under the glow of the summer sun...

But as his eyes flickered up to mine, I quickly hid my expression. His brows furrowed slightly—almost as if he had noticed—but if he did, he quickly threw the suspicion aside. "It's just... there's someone I like more," he then confessed, averting his gaze again.

My stomach sank as the realisation set in.

I was ready to give her up to him.

To let them be together so that she'd have a safer life.

But even after all this time.

Even though they have a bond invitation.

He still likes—

He shyly glanced up at me once more, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times before breathing, "Lukas... I—"

"You know you're like a brother to me, right?" I cut him off, not wanting him to ever say it.

I watched his face falter—either he realised I was trying to stop him before he said something he regrets, or he was losing his confidence by my sudden intrusion.

Nevertheless, I continued. "I just want to see you happy. I want to see my little brother glow bright. And well... I've never seen you smile so much before like you do when you're around her. But she is clearly not happy because you're keeping her at a distance." I had to try once more. As much as it hurt to push them together and as much as I wanted her to myself... she would be safer with him. That bond invitation has to exist on his side for a reason... maybe he just needs me to encourage it.

His brows furrowed as he guiltily looked back down again.

"Either confess, Ben... or let her go and get on with her life."

"I just... Can't she and I be friends for a while... at least while I figure out those other feelings?"

Shaking my head, I said, "Holding her hand all the time, making her heart flutter... that's not being her friend, Ben."

His eyes snapped to mine, full of hostility this time. "You held her hand and made her heart flutter during truth or dare."

I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, unable to find the words to say back to that.

What is he implying?

Is he jealous because she was moved by me?

Does he somehow know more?

Does—

But then the anger in his gaze subsided, and he got to his feet. "Thanks for the talk, Lukas. I'll think about what you said."

Before I could question him further, he left my room, leaving me to replay his expression over and over in my mind... trying and failing to unpack the intent to his seeming threat.