The Squad Effect

Chapter 15 | Truth

Shawn Mendes

"Guys. I have something to tell you." I braced myself for one of the biggest reveals that I have ever had to do. My mind was running at a mile a minute, trying to predict their reactions to my news. I couldn't hide my relationship anymore, especially since Taylor was pushing to take me on our first date in public. Sure, we had gone to the movies where it was dark and hung out in my room, but we had never gone anywhere that offered even the possibility of getting caught, save for the library. My heart raced as I inhaled shakily, trying to muster up the last remaining bit of courage.

"What is it?" Matt, Nash and Hayes ask unison. Jay just c***s an eyebrow at me, as if he was questioning whether I was going to do it or not.

"I've been seeing someone." I admitted.

"Really? Who is she?" They all asked at the same time.

"He's a boy... but not just any boy. He's Taylor. Taylor Caniff." I specified quietly, finally biting the bullet.

"You're kidding, right?" Nash chuckled nervously.

"No, I'm not. If you guys don't want to be friends anymore, that's fine with me." I sighed, unable to take my eyes off of the shaded table.

"Dude, you could be dating a mailbox and I wouldn't want to stop being friends with you." Matt smiled at me.

"My thoughts exactly." Jay agreed. Hayes simply nodded silently while leaning back. Now, all eyes were on Nash. He's a notorious homophobe, and my best friend, which unfortunately means that his opinion matters to me the most, yet it might be the harshest. Nash stayed silent for a few moments.

"Does anyone else have any confessions?" Nash sounded annoyed already.

"Well, I know that that information must have been hard for Shawn to pass on, so I'll share something that's even more shocking." Matt said before clearing his throat.

"I was being sarcast-"

"I had s*x with Carter." Matt stated, cutting off Nash. Everyone at the table's eyes widened. We sat in silence for an extended period of time until Matt spoke again. "But, I'm not dating him or anything. I don't like him romantically, so much so that I'm actually dating someone else. A greaser. His name is Jacob. Jacob Whitesides." Matt went on, "Look, there he is." He pointed over to a dude with moderately thick eyebrows and dark brown hair that was messily styled. He was pretty muscular and had a navy v-neck sweatshirt on. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

Jacob sat right next to Matt and nodded to the rest of us nonchalantly.

"Hey! I'm Jacob, Matt's friend from gym class." Jacob explained calmly while smiling charmingly at the rest of us.

"Jake, it's okay. They know now."

"Thank god!" He sighed while wrapping his arm around Matt.

"Well, with that said... I'd like to say something." Nash interjects. "Cameron and I... are kind of intimate, right now. Not to the point of s*x, but we've made out a few times." Nash reveals shakily. Matt and I shrieked in excitement as we shook Nash between us, excited that he wasn't going to kill us. I noticed Taylor walking by and flagged him down to come and sit with us, eager to share the good news.

He walked over to me with a confused look on his face, c*****g an eyebrow once I gesture for him to sit down at the table.

"Everything's on the table. We don't have to hide anymore. They know." I smiled. Taylor smiled back at me warmly before holding my hand in his.

"Great, so now, I can tell you that I missed you and I'm so sorry about what happened last night." He whispered while kissing me on the nose.

"That's okay. I'm not mad at you. Did you speak with Cameron though?" I ask.

"Yup, actually he's on his way over here." Taylor says.

Cameron comes over and stands behind Taylor.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted last night, Shawn." He apologized.

"It's alright." I shrugged.

Nash stares down at his feet. I nod my head in Nash's direction to let Cameron know it's okay for him to talk to Nash. Cameron sits down and next to Nash. He holds his boyfriends' chin gently with his fingers. He turns Nash's head so that they're staring into each other's eyes. Cameron leans in and kisses Nash gently on the lips.

"I f*****g hate you." Nash says while smiling and hugging Cameron.

"Yay for relationships!" Jay rolls his eyes. The entire table laughs briefly, but I stop as I feel someone poke my shoulder.

"Yes, Tay?" I ask him. He puts his hand on top of mine on the table, pushing his fingers in between mine.

"Let's have our public date tonight." Taylor states. I could feel myself blushing.

"I'm good with that." I replied happily, remembering my situation last year.

"How about we make it a double date?" Cameron asks.

"I have no problem with that." I say truthfully. Taylor nods in agreement.

"How 'bout it? Wanna go on a date tonight?" He asks Nash. Nash nodded.

"Can Matt and I tag along?" Jacob asks. We all nod in unison.

"Great, it's a triple date." Taylor says.

"That's fine. Jay and I can be loners together." Hayes pipes up. Everyone at the table laughs as Jay and Hayes high-five each other.

*

I sat in our black bean bag chair as Nash ran a brown, thin-toothed comb through my hair. He styled it effortlessly to the side, just how I liked it.

I'm so glad Nash does this for me because I cannot fix my hair to save my life. Nash is the only one that can tame the squirrel nest on my head.

"How do I look?" I ask while gesturing to my whole being once he was finished.

"Amazing."

"Thank you! Open your mouth really quickly!" I order.

He opens his mouth awkwardly. I pull my breath spray out of my pocket and spray it into his mouth, before promptly spraying some into mine as well.

Nash grabs his key. He throws me mine, just in case we don't come back at the same time, before we exit the dorm room together. We crossed through the dormitory and out the door. We traversed the quad, and then the street, heading towards our destination which was a park right outside of our local diner, which was currently filled with students picking up their coffee for late night studying.

I looked up at the darkening sky, sighing when I realize that the overbearing light pollution would prevent us from seeing any stars this early. When my attention turned back to the ground, I noticed Cameron, Jacob and Taylor sitting on a huge picnic blanket in the grass, watching as other students passed by on a nearby sidewalk. We walked over to them and sat down next to our respective boyfriends.

"Hi baby." Taylor whispers to me.

"Hey Taylor." I replied while planting a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Are we just waiting for Matt?" Nash asks. Suddenly, as if on cue, we see Matt hurrying across the street towards us.

"Sorry, I'm late. Carter was hassling me about where I was going and what I was doing and everything." He explains.

"That's fine Matthew. I don't blame you for being 40 seconds late." Jacob jokes. "You make up for your tardiness with handsomeness." He tells Matt. Matt blushes and kisses Jacob sweetly on the lips. Taylor reaches forward and opens the wicker picnic basket that was in the middle of the blanket, preparing to serve us our food.