Page 5 of You Started It

CHAPTER FIVE

It’s Tuesday, the first day of school, and for the first time since starting Maple View High, I won’t be walking through the front doors with Ben. I’m seated at the kitchen table with Mom and Amo Eli. Not wanting to draw any attention to my current state, I have my phone opened to my favorite book. Rereading it helps ease some of my nerves. At least I know how this story ends.

“I like your friend,” Amo Eli says as he pushes the bowl of cereal Mom put out for me closer. But I can’t risk another stomachache. I’m anxious enough as it is. I don’t need lactose aiding me.

“He’s a hard worker,” Amo Eli goes on.

I look up from my phone to find both my mother and uncle staring at me. “How could you possibly know that already? You spent one day with him, training in an empty restaurant.”

“What friend?” Mom asks. She takes a slow, controlled sip of her coffee.

“Jamie didn’t tell you? She made a friend.” Eli tilts his head and smiles at me.

“Jamie tells me nothing,” my mother says, as if I’m not literally sitting across from her.

I exhale and take a big gulp of my orange juice before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “He’s new. And I just agreed to show him around.”

“He’s cute,” Eli says to my mother with a knowing grin.

“He’s in eleventh grade. And boys mature at a slower rate than girls. That’s not me being sexist. It’s science.”

“So?” My uncle stands and glares down at me before collecting the dishes. “Eric is three years younger than me. Anyway, this kid has more style in his pinky than Benjamin could ever dream of.”

“I don’t think we should be coming down on Ben,” Mom says, also rising from the table. “Lucy is one of our closest friends.”

“Yes, but Jamie is my favorite niece.” My uncle winks at me, but I’m too riled up at Mom’s response to appreciate his kind words.

“Then you’re taking Ben’s side?” I ask her. “Did you know that he’s dating someone else?”

“No,” Mom says, her shoulders dropping.

“Already?” Amo Eli replies, turning from the sink.

“Yes. Already. So I really don’t care about protecting his feelings, since he clearly didn’t care about protecting mine when he blindsided me.”

Mom lowers her head, shaking it slightly before pouring the rest of her coffee into the sink. My uncle playfully shoves her away while he does the dishes. She turns to face me again. “Hey,” she says, her voice oozing fake cheerfulness. “It’s the first day of your senior year and you’ve already made a new friend. Things are looking up.”

“Right. And with that encouraging pep talk, I’ve got to run.” Leaving behind my soggy, uneaten breakfast, I head to the front door, backpack in hand. I slide into my Converse sneakers, which Amo Eli has lined up for me, and make my way to my car. If I can just go through the motions and not ruminate over everything that’s happened, I may be able to get through today without completely breaking down. Once in the driver’s seat, I take a deep breath and release it slowly as I turn the engine on.

You’re fine. You’re not going to get a stomach attack. You didn’t even have breakfast. It’s all in your head.

I’ve got this. I’ve got this. I’ve got…nothing. I don’t even have a plan. I’m basically heading into a war zone without any weapons, just some curly-haired kid with fancy feet.

A few minutes later, I turn onto Ben’s street. Olivia’s car is parked out front of his house again. She’s waiting in her car, filming something on her phone. She posts something like five hundred stories a day and they’re all fifteen-second glimpses into her superficial life. Yesterday she chronicled her Labor Day at the beach with Ben. Can’t lie: seeing Ben in his trunks lying on the sand next to Olivia made me feel some kind of way. Like a wanting-to-punch-a-wall kind of way.

I squeeze my eyes shut as a stomach cramp zaps through my lower abdomen. The beach would be a nightmare location for someone like me. It’s probably why we never went together. Ben must find it refreshing to be dating a girl who doesn’t need to take inventory of the nearest toilet every time they go somewhere new.

When I pull up to Axel’s house, his twisted-up bike is perched against the garage. It looks worse than I remember. He comes out just as I’m about to text him. We exchanged numbers over DMs last night. His mom follows him out the door, like the two of them have just stepped out of some family sitcom from the eighties.

Axel opens the car door and he widens his eyes as he forces a smile. “Mom, this is Jamie.”

His mom bends down to catch a glimpse of me through the open passenger door. Should I get out of the car? Shake her hand? Before I can decide what to do, Axel slides into the front seat. His mom is still bent over, staring at me with a wide grin.

“Hi,” I finally say. “I’m Jamie.”

“I already said that,” Axel says as he buckles his seatbelt.

His mother slaps his shoulder. “Don’t be rude. She’s beautiful,” Axel’s mom says, as if I’m not sitting right here. I must have some sort of cloak of invisibility on me today or something.

“She’s not bad,” Axel says as he reaches for the radio knobs. “We’ve got to go.”

“Fine, fine. Have a good day. Make sure to thank Jamie for the drive,” she whispers loud enough for me to hear before tossing another smile my way and closing the door.

“I’m okay?” I repeat, once his mother’s out of earshot. “I thought we were supposed to convince your parents I was your girlfriend.”

“We are.”

A mix between a laugh and a sigh escapes me. “Very convincing.”

“I’m not the kind of guy to fawn all over a girl. They know that. Especially my mother. She’s got like a sixth sense or something.”

“Whatever you say.”

Just as I’m about to drive away, Axel places his hand on top of mine and stops me from shifting gears. He leans in; his warm breath is minty. “Ben’s getting into Olivia’s car but he’s looking over here. Pretend you know how to flirt and touch my hair.”

“Your hair?”

“Just do it. He’s watching.” His lips tickle my ear and I swallow, resisting the urge to pull away (or lean in farther).

I bring my left hand up and run it through Axel’s light-brown curls. They’re soft. Really soft. And he smells nice. Like clean laundry and maple syrup.

“That’s good,” he says, nuzzling his face into my neck. He’s not actually doing anything, aside from pretending to…I don’t know, smell under my earlobe, but it’s been over two months since I had any real interaction with a guy and, well, it’s kind of nice being close to someone. A car passes and Axel leans back in his seat. “He totally fell for it. Couldn’t keep his eyes off you,” he says, as he fingers his curls back into place.

I sit with my body still slightly angled toward his, frozen. “Oh. Good. Good.” Shaking it off, I face forward and shift gears.

“Mind if I reprogram your stations?” he asks as I begin the short drive to school, still in a bit of a daze.

“Yeah, whatever.”

He settles on some obnoxious pop song that I recognize only because my mother made me set one of her reels to it.

“We need to figure things out,” I blurt, letting the nerves take hold of me. “Eli assumes something’s going on, and I presume your mother does as well based on how much she was cheesing at the sight of us. I think we should come up with a contract or something so that neither of us gets screwed.”

“A contract?” he asks.

“You have just as much at stake as I do. Possibly even more. You wouldn’t want me to scam you out of your money or rides to school or fake-girlfriend-ing in front of your parents.”

Axel sighs. “How about you draw it up and I’ll just sign it.”

“No.” I pull into the school parking lot. “That’s not going to work. If we’re going to pretend to be in a relationship, we have to learn to work as a team.”

“Partnership.”

“Fine. Partnership.” I put my car into park and unbuckle my seatbelt before reaching into the backseat and grabbing my notebook and pen. I open the book to a fresh page and jot down the word CONTRACT in upper-case letters.

“Do we have to do this now? I was kind of hoping you’d show me around.” There’s a softness to Axel’s voice. Vulnerability maybe? He’s nervous, which makes sense since it’s his first day at a new school. I’m nervous too. Nervous this will blow up in my face.

“Fine, but let’s set some major ground rules first. Orally,” I say, closing the notebook.

He twists in his seat to face me. “Lay it on me.”

“Okay, first rule, we don’t tell anyone about this fake relationship. All it takes is one set of loose lips and the whole plan falls apart.”

“Got it. What else?”

I bite on my lip, trying to figure out what the most important rules are. It’s not like I’m well-versed in faking relationships. “Rule number two: limit your flirting with other people while we’re doing this thing.”

He shakes his head. “That might be a challenge. People kind of flock to me.”

Holding back an exasperated sigh, I force myself to speak in a nonthreatening tone. “I really need your cooperation. At least until I can win back Ben. And fix your bike.”

“How long do you think it’ll take to get him back?”

“I figure a few days. A couple weeks tops. Once the fog of his camp-induced haze lifts and he sees Olivia in her natural habitat, he’ll come crawling back. The ultimate goal is to go to winter formal together.”

“Shouldn’t the ultimate goal be getting back together? Wait,” he says before I can respond. “Winter formal…as in December?” Axel wiggles in his seat like it pains him to have to sit still for more than two minutes.

“Yeah.”

“That’s four months away,” he says, studying me. “This is kind of a long commitment.”

“Don’t worry. It won’t take that long.” He stares at me, not quite believing my words as much as I am. “Worst-case scenario, and we need the full four months, I’ll make it worth your time.”

“How? This is a business arrangement, correct? Not a friends with benefits relationship.”

“We’re not friends,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. “And like you said, it’s a partnership.”

“Rule three,” he interjects. “You need to pretend to like me in front of other people. That means being nice and not recoiling every time I touch you.”

“I don’t recoil, and I don’t not like you. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“It’s nothing personal.” It’s just…he’s not Ben.

“You did play along really well back at my house,” he says. “For a second there, I thought you may have enjoyed yourself. It was my hair, right? Reeled you in? Or maybe the smell of maple syrup left over from breakfast.” He grins and all his perfect white teeth show.

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Incorrigible?”

“It means beyond hope.”

“Rule four: no big words.” Axel smirks. “And from where I sit, I’m the only hope you have, so I wouldn’t bite the hand that feeds.”

“That’s not even…” Before I can finish, Axel has stepped out of the car. He appears at my door and opens it for me.

“M’lady.”

I suck in a sharp breath and grab my bag from the backseat before slamming both doors shut. Axel takes my hand in his as I shoulder my backpack. I debate pulling away, but we’re surrounded by people and, to be honest, walking into the building with someone next to me beats the alternative.

“It’s time we hard launch this…partnership,” he says, pausing at the end of the parking lot. He grabs his phone and holds it out in front of us before whispering, “Pretend I’m Benji.”

“It’s Ben! Just Ben.” I grit my teeth and tilt my head to his, giving off the biggest smile I can muster.

“Ooh, nice teeth,” he says, staring at the picture. “Now let’s do another, a little poutier this time. I know you can do that.” Just as I’m about to flip off the camera, Axel nuzzles my neck and it catches me off guard. He takes another picture and shows it to me. My eyes are wide. My mouth opened slightly. I look like I’m in heat.

“That’s the one,” I say. “Tag me.”

Once he’s done, I take his hand and head into the building with my secret weapon. Axel’s right. He’s all I’ve got right now so I’d better play nice.

After I showed Axel around the school before morning bell, we parted ways and agreed to meet in front of the cafeteria at lunch. It was weird walking the halls with someone else. When I was with Ben, I didn’t notice other people and, surely, they didn’t notice us. But this morning, it felt like me and Axel were at the premiere of a movie or something. All eyes were on us. There was whispering too. I used to whisper to Ben. That’s when everything felt like an inside joke.

By second period, there are over a hundred likes on the picture Axel posted. I’ve never received a hundred likes on anything. I made my Instagram profile public yesterday, like Axel’s. It was a strategic decision. Even if Ben were forced to unfollow me because of Olivia, he’d still be able to keep track of what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with. It’s kind of comforting that he hasn’t unfollowed me. Maybe he still cares. He must. You don’t just forget about someone you were with for three years that easily. At least, I couldn’t, even though I tried to convince Ben otherwise.

Before meeting Axel for lunch, I stop at my locker to unload my calculus and chemistry textbooks. The hall is empty and it feels like I can finally turn off the act for a second. The day isn’t even half over and I’ve had more than ten people come up to me to ask about Axel, like he’s some sort of celebrity. A few of them recognized him from the TikToks he used to do with his friends. It’s preposterous. I dated the most intelligent, handsome person in all of Maple View and no one ever thought to congratulate me on my choice in partner. They’d rather celebrate someone with “sick moves” and a big following.

Ben appears from around the corner. “Hey,” he says, casually strolling up to me, like he’s done a hundred times before. He leans on the locker next to mine. “How’s the first day back?”

“Fine.” I shrug half-heartedly and continue organizing my belongings, fighting my smile and reminding myself to stay cool.

“Hashtag Jax?” he says, scratching at his jaw.

“Sorry?” I ask as I shut my locker.

“You and that new kid have a hashtag.”

“Yeah, so? I seem to remember seeing a #bolivia post from all the way back in July.”

Ben clears his throat and swallows. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“I went on your girlfriend’s VSCO account. Right there, for the world to see, was a photo of the two of you, your arm around her shoulders—#bolivia, and it was dated July 28.”

Ben rakes his fingers through his hair and raises his shoulders. “That’s just what the camp kids called us. We were counselors for the same age group so we did a lot of activities together. Her girls with my boys. They’re the ones who came up with the hashtag,” he rambles.

“And the reason for your arm around her shoulders?”

“We were just posing for a picture, Jamie. You’re blowing this up into something it’s not.”

“What do you expect me to think when you return home from camp, break up with me, and then I see you out with Olivia the next night? How am I not supposed to think something happened between you two over the summer?”

“I never crossed any physical lines with Olivia. Not until after we broke up.”

“We,” I say, moving a finger between my chest and Ben’s, “didn’t break up. You dumped me. Which makes it very hard for me to believe anything that comes out of your mouth.”

“Jamie, come on.” He sighs, and I’m annoyed. I’m no longer excited that he’s standing in front of me. That he’s made the effort to come and speak to me. Like I should be grateful. Because I’m not.

“Come on, what?”

He leans in and says in a quiet but stern tone, “You don’t expect me to believe you’re dating this Axel guy, do you?”

“I don’t care what you believe,” I reply, and in this moment, I actually buy what I’m saying.

“I spent a few minutes on his Insta. He’s not your type. It’s almost laughable.” He lowers his head. “You can drop the lie,” he says. “I didn’t tell my mom or dad about seeing you guys together.”

“Do you even hear yourself? How condescending you sound?”

Ben squares his shoulders. “I’m not being condescending. I’m being honest. This is how I always sound. He’s just…not right for you.”

“And you get to decide that?”

“I do know you better than anyone else. You hate dancing, you hate social media, and you hate when guys are obsessed with their hair.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “You used to know me better than anyone else. But I’ve changed.”

“In four days?” Ben raises a brow and one side of his mouth goes up with it.

“You were away all summer.”

“Are you saying you cheated on me?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I didn’t. I wouldn’t .”

This entire interaction is going south. Fast. I have to stop letting my anger get in the way of the big-picture goal. Get Ben back. But how am I supposed to do that when it’s still so new and there are so many unanswered questions? Do I want to be with Ben? Yes. Am I angry with Ben? Yes. Both things can be true. I just need to learn how to play it cooler like…

“James,” Axel calls from behind.

I turn around and relief flows through me. “Axel.”

“What’s going on? I was waiting for you outside the caf.”

I shift my eyes back. He does a slight nod and grin as he walks toward me and Ben. “Benji, right?”

“Ben.”

“Right, right. Benji, I’m going to steal Jamie for lunch.”

“We were in the middle of a conversation,” Ben says, slightly stepping to Axel. Despite Ben’s towering height, Axel doesn’t flinch.

“The thing is, you don’t really get to occupy her time anymore. That’s my privilege.” He turns to me and smiles. “As long as you’re okay with that?” he asks, waiting for my approval.

“I’m more than okay with it.” I smile back.

Axel grabs my hand and nuzzles my nose with his before tipping his forehead to mine. He winks and I can feel my cheeks flushing.

Maybe there are benefits to fake-dating someone the same height as you.

“Then off we go, James.”

“She hates when people call her that,” Ben says, an edge to his voice.

“That may have been true in the past,” I reply, my eyes moving from Ben’s to Axel’s. “But I like when he does it.”

Axel raises a shoulder at Ben and cocks an arrogant grin. “She likes when I do it.”

We turn and make our way down the hall. I can almost feel Ben’s eyes searing onto the backs of our heads.

Axel’s good.

He’s really, really good.

“Don’t,” I say, as Axel reaches for the chicken breast. “You’d be better off eating rubber. Go with the burger. Trust me.”

“Noted.” After we fill our lunch trays with barely edible food from the caf, we sit at an empty table by the stage. “Is this your regular spot?”

“I don’t have a regular spot. Ben and I used to eat lunch in my car or in a quiet hallway.”

“Is that why…” He stalls, opening his can of pop.

“Why what?” I ask, with a mouthful of burger. My body is weird. When I’m anxious in the morning, I can’t eat because it will mean a trip to the toilet. But for some reason, it’s not the same for me later in the day. I do tend to be more anxious in the mornings. And before bed. My mom likes to remind me that a lot of this is “in my head” and that I have the tools to manage it. As if I would choose to live my life this way.

She keeps pushing me about talking to my therapist again, but like I’ve told her a million times before, I’ve gotten everything I can out of Dr. Mueller. Anxiety is something I have to learn to live with. I’ve accepted that. Talking about my triggers or breathing exercises is not going to make it go away. What does help is crafting a life and future that not only meets my goals but gives me a sense of control. It’s what I had with Ben and it’s what I need to get back.

“It’s just, I’ve noticed that you don’t really, you know…”

“Have any friends?” I finish Axel’s sentence so he doesn’t have to. “You’re right. I don’t.”

“What do you do when you want to go somewhere?” he asks in earnest.

“I always went places with Ben. Actually, over the summer, I created this sort of bucket list of dates that he and I could go on together when he got back. Mostly, like, cheesy tourist attractions. I don’t know,” I say, picking sesame seeds off my burger bun. “I guess I thought it would be fun AND help rebuild some of what was lost.”

“What was lost?”

I swallow and press my finger into some crumbs on the table. “Well, he was away for two months.”

“Did distance make the heart grow fonder?” Axel asks, straight-faced.

I glance up to see Ben taking a seat at a table a few rows away. It’s filled with Olivia’s followers…I mean friends. Olivia sits on Ben’s lap and I know he must be cringing inside with such an overt PDA. Except on the outside, he looks just fine.

“Not for him clearly.”

Every now and then, people pass our table and wave or say hi to Axel. A few even invite him to sit with them. Once again, it’s like I’m not even here.

“Why do you go by Axel?” I ask as he takes the last bite of his burger. “I heard you tell my uncle your name is Alexander.”

“Would you buy it if I told you it’s because I used to play the guitar?”

“Not when you phrase it like that.” I wipe my face with a napkin and slide away my tray, sneaking another glance at Ben and Olivia. They don’t even make a cute couple. Their sizing is all wrong.

“I didn’t learn how to spell my name correctly until second grade. I kept getting the ‘X’ and ‘E’ mixed up. Eventually, it stuck. Besides, I think it kind of suits me.”

“What do your parents call you?”

He lets out a laugh as he leans back in his chair. “I can’t repeat those words in front of you.”

“Your mom seems nice.”

“My mom’s great. My dad on the other hand…we don’t really see eye to eye on things. You’d get along with him though. He’s a real stick-in-the-mud.”

“That’s how my uncle describes me.”

“I know.” He laughs. “Eli’s your mom’s brother, right?”

Olivia and Ben get up. I reach across the table and hold Axel’s hand, stroking his skin. “Yeah. My mom’s younger brother. By one year.” I keep my eyes on #bolivia as they walk, fingers interlocked. It’s like Ben has transformed into someone I don’t even recognize. “And my mom is nothing like him. She’s like a fish that’s been plucked out of the water in the dead of winter and left to die on the ice. But doesn’t. It just flops around, making everyone feel sorry for it.”

“Damn, girl,” Axel says, eyes wide. “That’s harsh.”

“What’s harsh?” Ben asks as he and Olivia stand by our table. Instinctively, I pull my hand away from Axel’s.

“That hairstyle, bro. What’s going on with it? Is it coming or going?” Axel asks before shoveling a spoonful of chocolate pudding into his mouth.

Ben runs a hand through his overgrown locks. Axel’s right. Ben looks like one of those emo kids from the 2000s.

“It’s growing out,” Olivia says as I take a sip of my water. “We’re going for a nineties grunge look but with a Gen Z twist meets hipster revival.”

I just about choke on my drink and end up spitting water across the table at Axel, who cracks up. We both laugh as he passes me some napkins to wipe my face and the table.

“Anyways,” Olivia continues.

“It’s ‘anyway.’ Grammatically speaking.” I blink excessively, holding in a grin.

“Are you going to Wonderland for Seniors’ Night?” Olivia asks, ignoring my grammar tip. “I’m in charge of selling tickets and I need to get a rough estimate.”

“Jamie would never go to Wonderland,” Ben pipes in. “She hates roller coasters.”

“You,” I say, looking up at Ben, “no longer get to speak for me.” I glance across the table at Axel, who seems to be enjoying himself a little too much. “Do you want to go?”

“When is it?” Axel asks.

“A week Saturday,” Olivia responds.

“The event is for seniors,” Ben says.

“He’d be my plus-one,” I state.

“Ignore Ben. You can bring whoever you want,” Olivia says, almost sincerely. “Cutoff to buy tickets is this Friday. They’re fifty dollars each and include transportation. I hope to see you there.”

“Yeah. I’m sure,” I reply dryly.

Olivia offers me a strained smile before walking away.

“Did I upset her?” I fake-whisper to Axel.

“You could try being a little nicer,” Ben says, looking down at me. “She’s working overtime organizing this event.”

“It’s kind of hard being nice to the girl my boyfriend cheated on me with.”

“We’ve been over this already,” Ben begins but stops himself. He looks around, unable to make eye contact with me. “I’ve got to go.”

I watch Ben walk away and that twisty feeling in my stomach returns. It’s like every time we interact, things get more strained. But I can’t seem to control my temper, especially whenever he’s with her.

“Hey,” Axel says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You handled that great. Ben is clearly second-guessing his decision to dump you.”

“You think?” I can almost hear hope spring into my voice.

“Totally. The opposite of love is indifference. Him getting riled up shows he still has feelings for you. So, Wonderland, eh?” He pauses, his eyes on mine. “That’ll be a great place to film more content. I’ve been working on one set to the new SZA song. I just need someone to hit Record.” He winks, and I can’t help but smile.

“I am my mother’s creative director for her salon reels. So I got you,” I say, sucking in my cheeks.

“And I’ve got you. See? We’re good at this partnership thing.” Axel takes a sip of his drink. “So, your mom, what’s her story?”

“You don’t have to do this,” I say.

“Do what?” Axel shakes his head.

“Ask me questions about my life. It’s not part of the deal.”

“What if I want it to be?” he says, a kind smile sneaking out.

“Okay.” I sit up straight. “Let’s trauma bond. My mom grew up with strict Arab parents. Rebelled by dating and, subsequently, sleeping with my father as a teen. Which resulted in me.”

“Did her parents disown her? I have older sisters and to be honest, I have no idea how my parents would have reacted to something like that.”

“I don’t think my mom gave them the chance to. She took off with my dad right after telling them about me.”

“Did your parents end up getting married?”

“Oh yeah. They did the whole domesticated thing until my father had an early mid-life crisis and walked out on us three years ago. But I don’t fault him, entirely. Living with my mother isn’t easy. She blames everyone for everything that’s ever gone wrong in her life. But she does it in a way where you don’t even know she’s doing it until after the fact. She’s got skills, I’ll give her that.”

“If it makes you feel any better, my father doesn’t support my love of the arts. He thinks anyone who doesn’t get a degree as a doctor, engineer, or lawyer is wasting away their potential for greatness.”

His father’s not wrong, I think, but I know enough not to say it aloud. Axel’s so young and immature. He still has stars in his eyes. No need to pop that bubble just yet. The world will do it for him one day.

Happened to me when I was fourteen.

“Is there anything outside of the arts you’re interested in?” I ask.

Axel looks around dramatically, then leans in. “Who sent you?”

“Excuse me?” The bell rings and people rise from the tables and begin to make their way out of the caf.

He runs a hand through his curls. “Just thought for a second my dad put you up to talking me out of pursuing my passions.”

“I would never do that.” Mostly because I don’t care enough about this person to worry about what he chooses to do with his life. “But if you ever need someone to help you make a plan or a list of life goals, I’m your girl.”

“Noted.” He stands. “Meet you in the parking lot after school?”

“No.” I rise and smile. “Meet me at my locker. We’ll walk out together.”

“Sounds good.”

Despite the caf being almost empty, Axel leans over the table and places a kiss on my cheek. His warm lips press against my skin and, reflexively, I place a hand over my face.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “Was that not okay?”

I remove my hand and think on his question before answering. I wasn’t expecting that. I also wasn’t expecting it to make me feel so…safe? Cared for? Valued. Instead of unleashing my current Russian doll of emotions onto Axel, I lean over and kiss him on his cheek.

“It’s fine.”

He looks down, burying a smile. I think I just made him blush. Wasn’t sure that was possible, considering how cocky he is. Maybe there’s more to Axel than I initially thought. He’s nothing like Ben and, I don’t know, that doesn’t seem to be such a terrible thing.