Clearing things up (Part 1)

I told the girls we needed to have a serious talk. If it weren’t for the fact I was being serious, it would’ve been a funny thing. Seriously, can you imagine me saying the classic ‘We need to talk’ to someone? It did get the girls a little on edge, so I suppose it sounded exactly like they portray it in the shows.

During lunch break, Grace told us to wait for her at the door to the rooftop while she took care of something. Mila, Sarah and I waited, and five minutes later Grace arrived, showing us a key.

I raised an eyebrow.

“You said it was serious,” Grace said, “so we better not let anyone eavesdrop. I called in a favor with our student president, and she let me borrow the keys to the rooftop.”

“They let the student council president have the keys?” I asked, a little shocked.

“They let Alice have the keys,” Grace corrected. “I’ve said it before. Act like a proper student and people are less likely to notice when you break a rule or two. That said, it took some convincing.”

“I’d imagine,” Mila chuckled. “What did you tell her?”

Grace unlocked the door and giggled. “That we’d forgive her for asking our boyfriend on a date.”

Sarah snickered. “Nice.”

There it was. Another one of those. Half a joke, but only half of it. They were too comfortable with the idea of…

We went in… Or out, actually. We went out to the rooftop, shivering as a gentle, but cold gust flew past us. Grace locked the door.

The rooftop was enclosed on all sides by a tall chain linked fence, the top of which bent inwards to prevent people from climbing it. Another fence, this one with a door with a padlock, separated us from the ventilation system. Other than that, the rooftop was flat, gray and empty, almost mirroring the gray, cloudy sky.

“So?” Sarah asked, rubbing her arm. Whether she was cold or nervous, it was hard to tell. “What’s so important that you got all serious?”

I swallowed. Their expectant eyes on me put a lot of pressure on my shoulders, and it made me doubt my words. Thankfully, I’d spent a lot of time since the first recess thinking of how to approach this.

“I remember… that you girls said once or twice that there were times you had an idea of what I was thinking, or if I was lying.”

The girls tensed up and looked at each other. It was Mila who spoke. “Well… Yes. It happens sometimes.”

“It’s… a big reason we’re okay with…” Sarah cleared her throat, “dating you at the same time.”

I swallowed again. The lump in my throat was getting bigger, but I had already started. “I don’t think I ever told you, but… I get the same feeling sometimes.” I don’t like it, but I decided to keep the mind-reading to myself. If someone told me they could read my mind, I’d be really uncomfortable.

“Do you?” Grace asked with a small smile. “Can you tell when we’re lying?”

“...More like I can tell when you’re being honest,” I clarified. “I don’t think you’ve ever lied to me.”

Grace smiled wryly. “Maybe a small, white lie here and there,” she admitted. “Or little things we’ve kept secret.”

“Like Alice’s name,” Sarah said. “When we told you what happened to her.”

“Or talks we’ve had among ourselves,” Mila added shyly.

I nodded. “I don’t mind that. I don’t want to pry into things you don’t want to talk about. However… if it wasn’t for this… ‘sixth sense’ as I’ve come to call it, I would’ve had even more trouble talking to you at first. Does that… bother you?”

They all quickly shook their heads.

“It’s refreshing,” Grace said, chuckling. “A relationship so… open, so full of trusts. I love it, Oliver.”

“It’s strange, for sure,” Sarah said. “But so far things are working great for us, don’t you think?”

“Yeah.”

Mila laughed. “You always try to be as upfront as you can, so it makes us want to do the same.”

I smiled. “Thanks. This isn’t exactly what I wanted to ask, though.”

“Then what?” Mila asked, tilting her head.

“For a while, now, you’ve been… joking and teasing me with something, but… I think I can tell it’s not all jokes,” I started. The girls seemed to realize what I was talking about and tensed up. “I didn’t want to assume things, so I ignored what this sixth sense was telling me, but it’s getting to the point I can’t really ignore it anymore.” The girls looked at me expectantly. “So… When you ask things like… if I find a girl attractive, or say things like you want me to hang out with Noelle and Alice… What exactly do you mean?”

If this was a normal relationship, and if we hadn't made clear that we could feel things even when they were not said out loud, the answer would be obvious.

“We didn’t mean anything by it,” they could answer. “We just wanted you to make more friends.” Even then, that was the best one could hope for.

But the girls understood, knew what I meant. Their conflicted expressions when they looked at each other said that much without me needing mind reading powers.

“It means…” Mila started. “It means that… not only do we not feel jealous.”

“But we also find it… exciting,” Sarah said, arms crossed and looking down.

“We like the idea of you being with other girls, Oliver,” Grace said.

I couldn’t ask for anything clearer, could I?

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