Another talk with Thomas.

First period went slowly, but I tried my best to focus. It was better than letting my mind go back to my snapping at Isabelle for the 10th fucking time. The bell rang and I put my notebook away. I looked to the girls, and they were also getting ready. I was having my usual dispute with myself, wondering if I should approach or wait for them to come to me, when a familiar voice grabbed everyone’s attention from the door.

“Oliver, you here?” It was Thomas. He searched the room with his eyes until they fell on me. He smiled and waved. “Sorry man, can you help me with something?”

I gave him a silent nod and stood up. I looked at the girls, but they just waved at me with easy smiles. I walked up to Thomas and had to look up at him.

“The P.E. teacher wants me to get some things out from the storage room for the next period,” he explained. “Are you free or am I interrupting something?” His eyes traveled with curiosity toward the spot where Sarah, Grace and Mila were talking.

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and started pushing the big guy in the direction of the storage room, with him laughing as I did.

Thomas and I walking together must have made for a funny sight. I didn’t know his exact height, but he was at least a head and a half taller than me, if not a bit more. I was already short by usual standards, but next to him I looked like a dwarf. Not to mention his overall build was about twice as big as mine, with bigger arms, broader shoulders and muscles that made his shirt a little tight. And of course, there was also the fact that he was a pretty well-known and popular guy in school walking next to… me.

The P.E. storage room was outside the main building, right next to the gym. There were all sorts of implements in there, from balls for different sports to mattresses and springboards.

“We need the cones, the agility ladder, the springboard… Ah, and I think your class will be playing volleyball, because the teacher asked me to check that the net was okay.”

Volleyball? Of all things? I wasn’t good at sports to begin with, but volleyball was such a different kind of beast. I couldn’t even get the ball over the net.

“Anyway, I asked you to help me mostly as an excuse,” Thomas admitted, smiling sheepishly. “How are things going? No troubles in paradise, I hope.” I began thinking of a way to answer that, but my brow furrowed while I did, and that seemed to have given Thomas the wrong impression. He grimaced and asked, “Oh no. What happened?”

I had to quickly shake my head. It was difficult finding the words to explain the entire situation, but maybe I didn’t need to explain EVERYTHING.

“…They asked me to hang out outside of school.”

“Oh!” Thomas smiled enthusiastically at that. “That’s great!”

“T-The thing is… I don’t really get it.” I swallowed. “They asked me out… separately.”

Thomas narrowed his eyes, now puzzled. “Sorry man, I’m gonna need a bit more here. Did they all ask you out without the others knowing?”

I shook my head and took a deep breath. My ears were hot just from talking about this. “I’m going out with Mila later today, with Grace on Saturday and with Sarah on Sunday.”

“Oooooh, that’s what you meant. And they all know?”

I nodded.

“But wait. Are these like… dates?”

I flinched. “I… don’t know.” I swallowed, trying to get rid of the knot on my throat. “I don’t think so. They said ‘hang out’, not ‘go on a date’.”

Thomas held his chin in contemplation. “Alright, I can see why you’d be confused now.”

Wait, really? So it wasn’t just me being socially inept?

“Have they been fighting among each other? Getting possessive over you or the like?” he asked, to which I shook my head.

“…The opposite, actually.”

“Really?” Thomas raised an eyebrow, looking truly surprised. He thought about it a little more, but in the end… “I’m sorry man, but this is completely outside my field. Whatever you have going on there, is totally different to any relationship I’ve ever had.”

That wasn’t very surprising. I knew from the beginning this wasn’t normal. “S-Should I… go through with it anyway?” I asked hesitantly.

“Hm? Well, of course you should!” Thomas said, patting my shoulder with enough **** to almost knock me down. “If it’s fun, you like being with them and they’re okay with it, then I don’t see why you should be afraid. Just be aware that if they want to push for something more serious, you’d be responsible for the happiness of three girls.”

I flinched.

“Okay, it might be way too soon to be thinking about that,” he laughed. “Sorry, sorry. Let’s get this done quickly so we can at least go pee before next period.”

I started gathering the cones while Thomas searched for the springboard. Then all of a sudden, I heard him curse. I looked at him and he was glancing down at his phone with a scowl.

“Sorry Oliver. Could you finish up here? I’m being called for something important. I promise to treat you to a burger tomorrow.”

He looked genuinely guilty, and I already knew Thomas was a busy guy. I didn’t mind, so I nodded to him and he smiled in relief.

“Thanks man. Seriously sorry about this.”

He took off running, and I was alone in the storage room. I decided to get the springboard since it looked like the heaviest and wanted to get it done sooner rather than later. To my surprise, carrying it wasn’t difficult at all. I got it all done even before the bell rang.

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