Chapter Ten - Making The Headlines
"I'm afraid that's what you get for drinking so much." Jonathan wasn't much into chastizing Ray, not after making so many mistakes of his own at that party, but his roommate's constant whining about how his head was killing him was getting a little on his nerves. He had never been one to overdrink and had no idea how to deal with a hangover, not firsthand anyway, so he didn't know how to make Ray feel any better.
They sat on the grass, chilling, while watching the other students pass by. In all honesty, Jonathan's nervous state was more related to how he didn't want to see Maddox, not Ray's current predicament. Therefore, he had convinced his roomie to sit as far away from the more populated locales as possible, close to an old oak.
"Dex was so impressed with me," Ray said proudly only to groan the next moment and press his fingers against his temples.
"Well, I don't want to sound like your mom, Ray, but you shouldn't let yourself become a victim to peer pressure and do stupid things. Dex is like thrice your size. Of course, he can drink anyone under the table. It's all a matter of who has the biggest liver. And how come you're still hungover on Monday?" He pushed Ray's hands away and began to apply his own brand of massage. His roommate groaned, but more in pained pleasure this time.
"Okay, mom, but where were you and what did you do at the party? You practically disappeared."
"I was around," Jonathan said brusquely.
"Were you around with Connor? The guy kept asking about you."
Jonathan did feel guilty about Connor, leaving him like that, but Maddox had the uncanny ability of making him forget anyone else existed on the face of the planet.
"No, not with Connor," he blurted out without thinking.
"Really?" Ray's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Who with?" he asked.
"Doesn't matter," Jonathan said quickly.
"Seriously? Where is the roommate code so that I can rub your nose in it? You need to tell me everything."
"No, I don't."
"Hmm, that means that I'll have to figure it out. Was it one of the guys on the lacrosse team?"
"Ray, I doubt any of those guys is gay."
"Right, right, hmm, hmm. Who else disappeared at the same time as you?"
Jonathan needed to stop Ray before he figured out the truth. "Look, Ray, it's not important because nothing will ever come of it."
"Really, why?"
"Because," Jonathan struggled to find the right words, "he's a bad boy, and, well, it wouldn't work out. I wouldn't be able to date him, have a relationship out in the open, and all that. You know, the things any good guy would want."
"Ugh, keep it up like this and people will start thinking that you're actually dating me," Ray said with a roll of the eyes.
Jonathan ruffled his hair. "And how would that be bad, huh? Didn't you want to play the 'who's gay' game with the girls on campus?"
Ray pouted. "With all due respect, JJ, I think I could do better if I were gay."
They both burst into laughter at the same time. Jonathan grabbed Ray and began to wrestle him. "Take that back or it's only ramen for you all week."
"I'm not negotiating with terrorists," Ray declared while pretending to fight back. "I'm just giving up."
Jonathan finally let go of his roomie and straightened up. They both turned as they heard a short swish coming from behind the tree.
"What was that?" Ray asked.
Jonathan shrugged and got to his feet. He walked around the tree but saw nothing. "The wind, probably."
Ray leaned toward him and threw him a conspiratorial look. "Sometimes, I have the weirdest sensation that someone is watching us."
"Come on, Ray. Everyone's watching us since we're playing the fools." Jonathan gestured at the students walking by who sometimes cast a glance in their direction. Nothing that appeared to be out of the ordinary, as far as he could tell. "Don't tell me drinking too much made you paranoid, too."
Ray shrugged. "I don't know. I've never had a proper hangover before."
"I doubt proper hangovers exist. Aren't you a little too proud of getting drunk with Dex Solomon? If he gets all the fun and I get to treat your hangovers, I'm going to have a word with that guy."
"Ha! Feel free to try. I bet you're no match for him."
"What are you even thinking, Ray? That I'll challenge him to a fight? I'm just going to tell him politely to stop plying you with alcohol at any given chance, not go against him."
"And he'll hug you so snugly that you won't be able to breathe anymore."
Jonathan shook his head. "All right, I won't then since he sounds so scary. Now how about heading over to class?" he said hurriedly.
When it came to Maddox Kingsley, he had a special sense developed, he had noticed. The guy was just walking through the quad with his friends, and by his body language, he had already seen him. That meant that he needed to make a run for it, and fast.
***
"Is that your boyfriend over there?" Kane asked and pointed shamelessly at Jonathan who was just standing and offering his roommate a hand to help him up.
"Shut up, dumbass, he's not my boyfriend," Maddox mumbled. Since the party, he had expected at least a text or something, but his phone had been annoyingly silent. And he had behaved like a perfect gentleman, allowing Jonathan to get away when he'd been practically at his mercy.
"So make him your boyfriend if that's what you want," Kane insisted.
"Who said that?" Maddox snapped.
"Do you want just to hook up?" Rusty butted in.
"I thought it was more serious than that," Dex intervened.
"Ugh, guys, just stop bugging me," Maddox groaned. "I don't know what I want, 'cause this guy just slips through my fingers every time, and I don't have time to figure it out."
"Did he manage to get out of my famous hitch?" Rusty asked. "How?"
