just dive in [reed bishop spin-off] ✔️

nine

— n i n e —

AS OCTOBER ROLLED to an end and November drew closer, the yellowing leaves darkening to a musty brown as they drifted aimlessly from the branches they had once clung to, Oliver had come to the conclusion there were a few fundamental problems in his life.

The first, and least pressing, was that Adam was throwing a Halloween party. It was where Oliver was headed now – Adam's house was in the same neighbourhood as his, the far nicer part of the neighbourhood, but still within walking distance. Okay, this one wasn't a particularly significant issue, but Oliver kept circling back to it with the certainty that it wouldn't end well. He liked parties, as a general rule, but he didn't like dress-up parties and he didn't like awkward small talk. Given that it was Halloween and he didn't know enough people at Woodway yet, these were both unavoidable things. The real reason he didn't want to go had to do with two of his other problem, both of which would be there. Which led him to his second, slightly more concerning, problem.

That Clair was, almost definitely, trying to make a move on him.

He said almost because as with everything about Clair, there was an irritating sense of uncertainty. Maybe he was just delusional, reading into signs that weren't there, or maybe he was an idiot for not being more firm with her that he wasn't interested. The uncertainty made it difficult for him to know how to act. He couldn't say something to her about it if it was the former because it would just make him look like a complete prick but if she was actually flirting with him, ignoring it wasn't the best idea. She was awfully touchy feely with him, she'd laugh even when what he'd said was objectively not funny, and when she wasn't complaining about Adam to him she would return to the topic of the two of them, her and Oliver, dating. She'd push it and then spring back with a light-hearted, "Just kidding!" when she could see Oliver growing uncomfortable.

It was giving him a headache, trying to figure out what the hell kind of game she was playing, but she hadn't actually done anything. Oliver could hardly accuse her for her words.

Which led to his final, and arguably most troublesome, problem. Reed Bishop. Technically, he should have been happy. With every passing day, every swim practice and meet together, every lunchtime and trip to Juniper's together, the wall of ice that Reed had thrown up between them thawed a little more. Oliver was rewarded with a smile here, a short yet genuine laugh there. Things progressed from Oliver having to start every conversation, whether it was about something as mundane as the weather or how Lexie had learnt how to tie her own laces, to Reed offering up his own thoughts without being prompted. He didn't mind if the two of them were alone.

It was only when there was a reminder of that night they both religiously avoided ever talking about, or if their hands brushed or their eyes lingered on one another for a moment too long, that Reed snapped back into his cold, defensive shell with a scowl.

Oliver was happy but there was a sort of wretchedness in the happiness. Reed was happy to be alone with him now, but they rarely were. Charlie and Kessy and Dex when they were at practice, or driving down to a meet, and Adam and Clair when they were at school. Bailey was always there, of course – why wouldn't she be? She was Reed's girlfriend. He could hardly expect her to stay away because of his own traitorous feelings and he wasn't even sure he wanted her to. He liked Bailey, with her warm brown eyes and easy friendliness and ability to deal with Reed when he was in a pissy mood. It was fairly impossible not to like her.

He got to be around Reed, sure, but he had to watch Reed with his girlfriend and pretend it didn't bother him. Just keep smiling and pretend it didn't feel a little like dying every time he held her hand or kissed her, instead of him.