6.
Water ran down Owen's body as he stood under the shower in the locker room. Other boys around him were changing and getting their things together since practice had just ended. The cold water felt euphoric against his heated skin from running so much. He had been a bit off a show off during the races- he couldn't help himself.

After he was done he turned the level and grabbed his towel to dry off before changing into his original clothes. He scanned the room to find Conan. He was planning on asking him to hang back so he could 'give him some pointers' for meets. In actuality, he just wanted to spend time with the boy.

Owen enjoyed Conan's company. Most high schoolers were fake or just assholes but Conan was different to him. He couldn't quite place his finger on what it was about him, but he liked being around him more than he should've, especially when they barely knew each other.

But he didn't see Conan anywhere in the room. He was sure he would've come back to change and return his clothes. Maybe he wanted to wash them first? Owen didn't mind, but Conan seemed like the courteous type who would do something like that. He found it kind of sweet actually.

"Gavin, have you seen Hill?" Owen grabbed the elbow of his best friend, Gavin, as he walked by.

The two had been close since they were toddlers and used to be around each other constantly. Until Owen started dating Tara. Their relationship had created a gap between their friendship and Gavin hated her for it but never mentioned it to Owen who was oblivious.

"Who?" Gavin pulled his shirt over his head and used it to wipe the sweat off of his face.

"Conan Hill," Owen corrected. "The short brunette. You seen him?"

"I have no idea who that is." He shook his head, running a hand through his damp hair. "By the way, are you going to Sophie's party this weekend?"

"I didn't know she was throwing a party." He rubbed his towel over his head to dry his wet locks that were dripping down his forehead.

"You should come." Gavin shrugged casually as he pulled on a new shirt that was in his locker. "We haven't hung out in a while."

"I'll have to see what Tar's plans are first. She's always scared I'll cheat on her with any chick I make eye contact with," he snickered.

"Yeah, whatever man." Gavin slammed his locker shut. "Tara's a manipulative bitch that's changed your entire personality. We never even see each other anymore because she's fucking psychotic and doesn't let you do anything! Just fucking forget it," he snapped and stormed out of the room, leaving Owen stunned and confused from his friend's abrupt behavior.

"Uhh, good talk I guess," he muttered to himself.

He gathered his belongings and slung his backpack over his shoulder. The thing was practically weightless with only one (empty) notebook and broken pencil inside.

He left the gym and looked around the parking lot in hopes of being able to catch Conan before he went home. A wide smile grew on his face when he found him standing next to a tree, but his face hardened when he noticed the girl he was talking to.

"Oh wait, that's that lesbian chick," he mumbled and the grin was back in an instant.

No girl with blue hair was straight.

"Conan!" Owen called as he jogged across the street, almost getting hit by a car that beeped at him angrily. He just flipped the driver off and kept going until he was next to Conan.

"Hey," Conan greeted nervously and twiddled his thumbs together.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to stay a little longer?" Owen asked with his happy expression that everyone was so used to. "I can give you a few pointers. And I could give you a tour of the school if you wanted. There are a few spots everyone goes to skip classes that the teachers don't know about, if you want to see it."

Conan was still trying to get used to the fact that Owen actually wanted to talk to him. His peppy attitude was almost overwhelming though he couldn't help finding it endearing.

If it were anyone else he'd immediately hate them.

"I would but my mom's about to pick me up," he replied lamely, blushing at how nerdy he sounded. Though it was the truth.

"Oh." Owen's smile disappeared until he acknowledged Cailey standing next to Conan, watching their interaction and silently coming up with ship names for them. "Hey, you're Sophie's girlfriend right?"

"Yeah I am." She beamed, "I'm Cailey."

"Isn't she having a party this weekend?" His eyes lit up. "Do you want to come to that? I'll be there," he said despite what he had just told his best friend.

He was bewildered by his eagerness to be around Conan. There was just something about him.

"I'm not really the party type," Conan spoke shyly as he averted his eyes from Owen to stare at the ground instead.

"But I'll be there," Owen pouted, "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"We'll be there," Cailey answered for him, making Conan's heart convulse in his chest.

He did not consent to that.

"Great!" Owen chirped and Conan didn't have the heart to protest, seeing how happy Owen looked. He couldn't ruin his smile when it looked so good on him.

"Yeah, great." He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, copying the enthusiasm in Owen's tone.

"I swear you'll have fun." He tilted his head as he spoke, looking at Conan with his eyes that made him look like a puppy. It was fitting with his personality.

Their gazes locked for a moment too long to be considered platonic despite neither of them noticing. Owen was thinking about how pretty Conan's blue eyes were while the latter was admiring Owen's messy hair that gave him a rugged, sexy look.

Cailey was silently screaming in her brain about how cute the two would be together as she sensed their feelings for one another before either of them did for themselves.

Conan jumped ten feet in the air when a car honked. It was Lillian, waving at him from the driver's seat. Seeing him talking to two people filled her heart with happiness. He was finally making friends.

"I've gotta go," he said awkwardly and gave Owen a sheepish smile. "I'll give you back your clothes tomorrow."

"Nah, you can keep them," Owen told him without thinking twice. He liked seeing his clothes on Conan's smaller form, though he doubted he'd ever actually wear them to school again.

He could hope.

"Okay," he whispered with a blush. "See you guys later."

Owen's wide smile never left his lips as he watched the boy walk to his car, laughing at his mother's giddy expression and the way Conan blushed, teasing him.

"So," Cailey said casually, "how long have you guys been friends?"

He scratched the back of his head in thought. "The first day I guess. He gave my girlfriend a bloody nose." He snickered. "It was one hell of an introduction."

Though he didn't particularly care for the conversation since his real interest had left, he could talk to anyone. Owen was a natural and wooing people was his strong suit. Being so charismatic and charming was what made him so popular in the first place. And his looks. That was a pretty big bonus as well.

"Girlfriend?" She dug for information that she was totally going to spill to Conan later.

"Tara McKenna. You know her?"

Cailey tried not to scrunch her face up in disgust. She hated that fake bitch. "Yeah."

"Not a fan?" Owen laughed at her reaction.

He was used to people not being too fond of Tara so it wasn't very surprising. She was a hard girl to like. She was the kind of person you had to adjust to.

"Definitely not a fan." She nodded. "No offense."

"None taken. She can be a handful, but I love her. Y'know?" Owen sighed as he thought about Tara and how soft her hair was. Though this time it felt more out of habit than admiration.

"Makes sense," Cailey drawled, wondering if Conan knew about their relationship and if he'd be upset about it. Neither of the boys seemed to quite understand their feelings.

"Owen!"

Owen looked over his shoulder at the sound of his name being called. And, coincidentally, it was Tara.

"Hey, babe." He smiled at her and left Cailey without a second thought. He had the attention span of a goldfish. "What are you doing here? I thought you had ballet practice."

"I came to see if you were with some other bitch." She glared at him and dodged her boyfriend's greeting hug.

"Tara," Owen groaned. "Why are you always so paranoid I'm going to cheat on you?"

"Because always talking to other girls!" she whisper-yelled so that Cailey, who was watching their argument with wide eyes, couldn't hear her.

"Cailey? She's a lesbian! You can't be serious right now," he huffed in frustration.

Sometimes he wished he was gay.

"Is that why you're hanging out with her?" She squinted. "You want some lesbo threesome with her? That's fucked up Owen. Real nice!"

"You're fucking crazy." He shook his head, pushing past her to find his car and leave. He didn't want her to ruin his day when he was in such a good mood.

But she followed after him. "Are you seriously walking away from me right now Owen Wilson?!"

"Yup." He fished his keys out of his pocket to unlock his car.

"I swear to god if you get into that car, we're done!" she threatened as Owen popped the driver's door open. He stilled for a moment and she smirked to herself in triumph.

She knew he wouldn't leave her. He was dependent on her for the validation his own parents wouldn't give him. Even though he never talked about it, she could tell how much it affected him and used it to her advantage to win fights and arguments. It worked like a charm.

He was frozen, but not in fear of breaking up like Tara thought. Instead he was realizing how right Gavin was about what he said earlier.

Owen wasn't exactly gifted in the intelligence department so his mind couldn't connect the puzzle pieces behind it all, but he did understand that Tara wasn't treating him the best. All he did was love her and she made him feel like a dick in return when he hadn't even done anything wrong.

"Then I guess you better find a ride home," he muttered, getting into his car and slamming it shut.

He turned his radio up full blast so that he didn't have to hear her screaming like a lunatic from outside the window. She banged her fists on the window so he pulled out of his spot and drove off.

"Good fucking riddance," he grumbled.

Cailey was watching with her lips parted at the couple having the world's most ridiculous fight. She didn't understand what Tara was mad about, but whatever it was, was funny as fuck.

She held her phone up to record their scene. She and Conan exchanged phone numbers a little before Owen had walked up to them and she was planning on sending it to him.

Cailey: You've gotta see this video!

Conan: What the hell?

Cailey: I told you tara is crazy. But... guess who's single now then :)

Conan: You are aware he's straight, right?

Cailey: No straight man keeps his car that clean.

Conan: True.

Tara turned around to see people staring at her and her face turned bright red. Everyone was either recording or laughing at the little tantrum she threw.

Owen couldn't deny that it hurt that their relationship was really over. It hadn't completely sunk in yet, but he really did love the girl. Crazy and all. But what he was mostly feeling was free.