So this is what it's like to have a social life.

So… school life was this busy for everyone else all the time? Up until a week ago, I came to school, paid attention to my classes, went back home and repeated that the next day. It sounds stupid, but now I was finding out that everyone here had so much more going on, and the reason I was realizing this was that I was getting involved.

It wasn’t just classes, assignments, homework and tests. It was people, relationships, problems, events… Everyone around me in that classroom, in that building, had a million things to worry about, so how could they even pay attention to the teachers? I supposed a lot of them didn’t, and I couldn’t either.

If my mind wasn’t showing me pictures of the time I had spent with the girls, then it was reminding me that Thomas had broken up with his girlfriend and that I shouldn’t be feeling happy when a friend was going through a rough time.

I thought I owed the girls an explanation for not hanging out with them before, so during the second recess we went together to the old music room.

“So Thomas and Lyla broke up, huh?” Grace said the moment we went in. “What a bomb to start the week to.”

“W-What? How did you know?”

“Thomas only told you, and you can keep quiet about something like that. The people Lyla told? Not so much.”

“Half the school already knows,” Sarah said. “And of course they do when it’s about arguably the most popular guy in school.”

“It’s such a shame. They looked so cute together. Do you know why they broke up?” Mila asked me.

We sat down at the gym mattress again, only this time Sarah took the spot on my lap. We had plenty of chairs available, but we still chose the mattress. They liked being close to me, and of course I liked having them around me as well.

But regarding Mila’s question… I wasn’t going to tell them about Thomas’ sex life without his approval. “He doesn’t sound completely sure, either. He can think of reasons, but I think a part of him is still bitter about it. He says she broke up with him.” I turned to Grace, and with a bit of apprehension, I asked her, “Do you know anything about Lyla?”

“That she’s a quiet girl that stood out very little,” she said, “Until she started going out with Mr. Popular, that is.”

Mila raised an eyebrow. “You think she was with him for the clout?”

“Can’t say.” Grace shrugged. “But her social media pages got more followers after she started dating him. Whether she cared about that or not, I couldn’t tell you.”

“Come on, Grace. You have dirt on everyone,” Sarah said.

“On the people I need to have dirt on, yeah. I’m not gonna meddle in other people’s affairs for no reason. This is between Thomas and Lyla.”

I was glad to hear that. We shouldn’t be meddling more than we were allowed to.

“...I’d like to cheer him up, if possible,” I told them. “How does one help a friend who’s going through a breakup?”

Mila hummed in thought. “My first thought would be to not assume you know what the other person needs.”

“Oh yeah,” Grace agreed. “We all cope in different ways. Better to ask how you can help than assume you know what’s best for him.”

“Also, I bet you’re not the type to do this, but don’t make things about yourself,” Sarah told me. “Remember Amanda? When Grace broke up with someone, Amanda kept going on and on about how she had handled her own most recent breakup.”

Grace groaned. “I wanted to shut her up so bad…”

“Basically, just be there to support him, Oliver,” Mila told me. “Sometimes that’s more than enough.”

“Should it even be me, though? We haven’t known each other for long.”

“And yet you’re the only one he’s told this to,” Sarah said. “Thomas trusts you.”

“You don’t tell personal things to people you don’t care about, Oliver,” Grace said.

I nodded. “Okay. I’ll go to the park with him after school. We'll play basketball.”

“That’s a good idea,” Sarah said. “That should help him get his mind off things.”

“That’s what I hope.”

Mila then rested her head on my shoulder. “So we’re not doing anything together today, then?” she asked, sounding a little disappointed.

“A friend’s troubles come before pleasure, Mila,” Grace told her. She then turned back to me. “Hang out with him today. Maybe tomorrow too, if he needs it. We can go watch movies when he’s feeling better.”

For half a second I wondered why not tell him to come hang out with the four of us, similar to how he had offered me before. But I immediately realized that was very likely a TERRIBLE idea, considering the kind of… relationship the girls and I had. Sarah was sitting on my lap, for god’s sake! I got jealous of happy couples when I had no one. I didn’t want to put Thomas through the same.

However, knowing that the girls didn’t mind me hanging out with him instead of them made my chest feel lighter. Yeah, we were all disappointed that we couldn’t hang out and do… stuff, but leaving Thomas alone felt wrong. If he didn’t mind me being there, I wanted to help however I could.

“You’ve gotta make it up to us, though,” Sarah said, poking my nose. By her grin, I could tell she was joking. Rather, half-joking. Like she was saying it just to see how I’d respond. And you know what?

“Then… maybe I could invite you three to my house one day. I-I m-mean… if you want.” For some reason, that left them all speechless. “...Too boring?” I asked.

“NO!” the three quickly shouted.

“I want to go!” Grace said, suddenly all excited. “You promised to let me listen to you play guitar.”

“I want to listen too!” Mila said, grinning ear to ear. “And I’m curious about what your room looks like.”

“And didn’t you challenge me to play fighting games?” Sarah remembered. “I’m gonna kick your butt like I did at swimming.”

My heart suddenly started racing. The thought of these three girls in my room was too stimulating. I’d have to ask mom for permission, and try to find a day when Isabelle was out of the house with her own friends, but… I wanted this. I wanted to have friends over at my house.

I wanted to have the girls I liked in my room.

…

I wanted to have sex in my own bed.

…

…

My head was gonna burst.