Oh.
All of the band.
Well, shit.
Oli’s the only one of the five of them who stayed friends with everyone else after the split, so that makes sense. He just hadn’t thought about it.
But Oli’s giving him a painfully hopeful look, so he pushes the dread of coming face to face with Noah after all these years aside and forces a smile. “Yeah, of course. It’s your day. Don’t stress about it.”
“Are you sure it’ll be okay for you?” Oli asks. “With Skyler—I mean, er…”
As Oli flounders, Trevor realizesthat’swhat Oli’s worried about. Him and Skyler.
And it’s crazy how that’s not where his mind went. A few weeks ago, that would have caused him a meltdown. But now he and Skyler are friends again, right? So both of them attending the same event shouldn’t be an issue. Not thathe wants the world to know they’re spending time together, but he should probably fill in Oli, because the guy looks like he’s about to give himself an aneurism.
“So,” he starts, “I guess I have something to tell you too.”
Oli quirks his head to the side and Trevor picks up the pace, keeping his eyes on the trail ahead as he tells his friend about how he’s reconnected with Skyler. Oli’s jaw is hanging open to an exaggerated degree by the time he finishes.
“How could you keep this from me?” Oli squawks loud enough to make a couple people’s heads turn their way.
“I didn’t keep it from you. This is the first time we’ve talked since it started.”
“You could’ve called me!”
Trevor kicks a stray rock off the path in front of him as he walks. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
Oli grabs his forearm, jerking him to a stop. “Don’t even give me that shit. Not that big a deal? This is like the freaking universe reuniting soulmates! It’s amazing!”
They’re in the way of the other hikers again, and so far, nobody’s seemed to recognize them, but Trevor would like to keep it that way and Oli’s getting too excited. And when he gets excited, he gets even louder than usual.
He pulls out of Oli’s hold and resumes walking. Once Oli’s fallen into step beside him again, he tells him, “It’s nothing like that. We’re just friends.”
Even as he says it, he doesn’t know if he believes it. At least on his end.
And Oli clearly doesn’t believe it either, because he asks, “Can you really be just friends with someone after you’ve had your tongue up their ass?”
“Dude, what the fuck!” He smacks Oli’s shoulder as his eyes dart around to make sure no one heard that. Everyone around them is moving at a brisk pace, minding their own business. But still, that’s not something you should shout in public, even if you’renotfamous.
Oli at least has the sense to look abashed. “I’m sorry! I’m not trying to be crude, I swear—”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“—I’m being serious,” Oli continues, ignoring his comment. “I’m happy for you guys that you’re reconnecting. But it’s hard for me to imagine the two of you as only friends and nothing more. I’ve never seen you together andnotallover each other flashing heart eyes everywhere. Even before you officially got together, everyone could see it coming. And even when you were fighting, you still looked painfully in love.”
“But that was a long time ago,” Trevor reminds him. “Just because we’ve never been only friends doesn’t mean we can’t be.” He’s afraid he’s trying to convince himself as much as Oli.
“True, true,” Oli relents. “Nothing’s impossible. I just think—”
“Can we drop it? Did you already tell Skyler about the baby and the wedding?”
“Yeah, I called him last night. And, by the way, he also forgot to mention you two are talking again. Now I get why he was strange when I asked if he’d be okay with me inviting everyone. I thought he was worried Noah would punch him.”
“Drop it, dude. Please.”
Oli holds up one hand in surrender. “Okay, it’s dropped. You’re friends. That’s totally normal.”
Trevor groans and quickens his pace again until his legs are burning. But Oli’s also panting too hard beside him now to carry on a conversation, so he keeps it up.
