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Henry thinks he can trust Jake and Drew, they've been friends for over a year, after all. But it doesn't matter how much Henry trusts someone, this situation was still scary.
"Ahaha... Don't you think we're too old to be obsessing over drama like this?" Henry asked, putting his hands behind his head. It was something Liam always did, and honestly, it looked way cooler when he did it than when Henry did.
"Maybe, but when have you ever been the judge of 'too old to do something'?" Drew rolled his eyes. "MHA fan."
Henry's hands drop, slamming onto the table with an ugly clatter from the lunch trays. "Actually! I'll have you know anime is enjoyable for all ages and can handle various topi-" Henry started. But before he could continue the fully fleshed out speech, Jake cut him off.
"I mean, you know about my crush on Daisy, and Drew's crush on Zoey," Jake stated, and Henry saw Drew looked away at that last part. "So, its only fair if we know who your secret crush is!" He continued.
Henry thought about it for a second. Technically, it wasn't fair, because his crush wasn't like Jake or Drew's. Like, it wasn't even a girl! So if he had to tell them about his secret crush on Liam, out of all people, he'd not only have to tell them his crush, but also come out. Which is a totally unfair deal!
He was about to say something and defend himself, but another voice answered instead. "You've got a secret crush?!" Liam said, placing his lunch tray on the table and sitting down. "And you didn't tell me?!"
"See, even Liam wants to know," Drew cut in.
Henry was cornered. And he didn't know what demon possessed him to even think about telling the truth, but he decided against it, because everyone's around them, and he and Liam have sixth period together and it'd be too awkward if rejects his feelings. "Uh..." he started, quickly glancing around the crowded cafeteria for a solution. Until he found one.
"Alright, alright! I like Lia!" Henry blurted out as he tried to stop the last 'm' sound from coming out. "Can you guys stop bothering me now?" Henry snatched the bowl of salad from Liam's lunch tray (which was basically a lunchtime routine). The other members of the group were silent, confused and surprised expressions across their faces.
A few seconds passed before Drew spoke up. "Lia. Like, Zoey's friend Lia."
"Yep!" Henry laughed nervously, as he poked at the stolen salad with a fork.
"Since when?"
Henry gulped, "Since, like, freshman year," he started. He hoped he sounded believable, because, technically, it wasn't a full lie - he liked Liam since freshman year. "I dunno, she's just... cool and pretty an-"
"Way outta your league!" Liam interrupted as he tried to hold back a laugh.
Henry let out an exaggerated gasp, "And what's THAT supposed to mean?!" He crossed his arms.
"Dude! Lia's so..." Liam twirled a piece of too-short-to-be-twirled hair and batted his eyes. "And you're so... you." He grimaced.
"Atleast I didn't ask Hannah from middle school out on a date by quoting a Fall Out Boy song!" Henry rolled his eyes, if Liam was going to play dirty, then so was he.
Liam's expression changed from mischievous to urgent. "We said to never bring that up again!"
-
Jake sighed. There they go again. At this point, Henry and Liam's banter was pretty much expected every lunchtime they group spent together. Jake was brought out of his thoughts by a vibration from his phone in his pocket. And when checked it, he was pretty surprised to see it was Drew, who was literally sitting a foot away from him.
Drew:
So we both agree that Henry's crush is totally Liam, right?
Jake looked back up at the pair across the table. Liam seemed to be whispering something along the lines of a sarcastic "Dude, she's right there! Go ask her out!", and the blush on Henry's face paired with his nervous smile read to be a little more than just embarrassment.
"You see it too, right?" Drew said, just loud enough so that only Jake would hear.
"Definitely."