Straight Until You

Chapter 5 — The Dare

Nathaniel Anderson had become the main source of entertainment on campus.

He realized this Friday morning when three separate people smiled at him knowingly before he even reached the student center.

Disturbing behavior honestly.

Very disturbing.

Nathaniel walked toward his usual table with coffee in one hand while checking emails on his phone.

Jordan looked up immediately.

Then grinned.

A dangerous sign.

Nathaniel: “No.”

Jordan: “Good morning to you too.”

Dylan looked equally entertained.

Which somehow made everything worse.

Dylan: “So.”

Nathaniel sat slowly.

Suspicious already.

Nathaniel: “I don’t trust that tone.”

Jordan leaned forward dramatically.

Jordan: “People are calling you the track star’s boyfriend.”

Nathaniel nearly choked on his coffee.

Jordan looked delighted instantly.

Jordan: “OH?”

Nathaniel: “That is literally not happening.”

Dylan shrugged casually.

Dylan: “You followed him to practice before sunrise.”

Jordan: “You smile every time he speaks.”

Dylan: “You stare at him like he invented happiness.”

Nathaniel frowned deeply.

Mostly because none of that sounded inaccurate.

A serious problem.

⸻

His phone buzzed before he could defend himself.

A message from his mother appeared on screen.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Nathaniel opened it immediately.

💜 Mom

Your father says you looked distracted at dinner yesterday.

💙 Nathaniel

That feels dramatic.

💜 Mom

Nathaniel.

💜 Mom

You answered a question about business projections with “track practice.”

💙 Nathaniel

…

💜 Mom

So who is he?

💙 Nathaniel

Excuse me?

💜 Mom

I raised you.

💜 Mom

I know what your interested face looks like.

💙 Nathaniel

You are all emotionally exhausting.

💜 Mom

Is he pretty?

💙 Nathaniel

Goodbye mother.

Jordan leaned across the table immediately.

Jordan: “Was that your mom?”

Nathaniel locked his phone.

Too late.

Dylan already looked horrified.

Dylan: “Even your family knows.”

Nathaniel suddenly wanted to disappear.

Briefly.

⸻

Across campus, Asher’s morning somehow wasn’t better.

Mostly because Marcus had apparently decided to dedicate his entire life to being annoying.

The second Asher entered the athletic building, Marcus looked up dramatically.

Marcus: “Good morning, Mrs. Anderson.”

Asher stared at him.

Calmly.

Murderously.

Asher: “You’re very brave today.”

Marcus grinned instead of looking afraid.

Psychotic behavior honestly.

Marcus: “Nathaniel was asking about you yesterday.”

Asher opened his locker aggressively.

Asher: “That sounds unfortunate for him.”

Marcus gasped dramatically.

Marcus: “You smiled again.”

Asher froze slightly.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Because apparently he had.

Annoying.

Very annoying.

Before Marcus could continue speaking, Asher’s phone buzzed.

A family group chat notification appeared instantly.

Which usually meant chaos.

🖤 Luca

Emergency family meeting.

🤎 Mateo

No.

🖤 Luca

Mateo scared another neighbor.

🤎 Mateo

He deserved it.

❤️ Asher

What happened this time?

🖤 Luca

The neighbor complained about your motorcycle.

🤎 Mateo

So I complained about his face.

❤️ Asher

Mateo.

🖤 Luca

Anyway.

🖤 Luca

How’s your rich boy situation?

❤️ Asher

Not a situation.

🤎 Mateo

Who’s the rich boy?

Silence.

Real silence.

Marcus immediately looked suspicious beside him.

Asher regretted opening the chat publicly.

Immediately.

🖤 Luca

OH MY GOD.

🖤 Luca

HE DOESN’T KNOW.

🤎 Mateo

Asher.

🤎 Mateo

Explain.

❤️ Asher

There’s nothing to explain.

🖤 Luca

That sounds fake.

🤎 Mateo

Are you in trouble?

❤️ Asher

No.

🤎 Mateo

Did somebody bother you?

❤️ Asher

No.

🤎 Mateo

Then why are you typing like it?

Asher locked his phone aggressively.

Too late.

Marcus looked emotionally invested now.

Terrible.

Absolutely terrible.

Marcus: “Wait.”

Marcus: “Even your brothers know about Nathaniel?”

Asher grabbed his bag immediately.

Asher: “I’m leaving.”

Marcus followed beside him anyway.

A nightmare honestly.

⸻

Meanwhile, Nathaniel had become aware of another issue.

He genuinely wanted Asher to like him.

Not flirt with him.

Not admire him.

Actually like him.

That realization felt dangerous immediately.

Because the bet was supposed to be fun.

Easy.

Now Nathaniel found himself thinking too much about tiny details instead.

The way Asher relaxed while texting his brothers.

The way his face softened when talking about family.

The way he instinctively pulled away from attention.

Nathaniel wanted to understand him.

Which somehow felt more intimate than flirting ever had.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

⸻

By lunchtime, Nathaniel found Asher exactly where he expected.

Outside the athletic building beneath a large tree with headphones around his neck and a notebook resting across his knee.

Sunlight filtered through the branches above him while students crossed campus nearby pretending not to stare.

Nathaniel walked toward him automatically.

Hopeless behavior honestly.

Asher noticed him halfway across the courtyard.

Then sighed softly.

Like Nathaniel had already become a permanent inconvenience.

Nathaniel smiled immediately.

There it was again.

That weird feeling in his chest whenever Asher looked at him.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Nathaniel: “You always hide out here?”

Asher looked up slowly.

Asher: “You always appear without warning?”

Nathaniel sat beside him anyway.

Bold.

Very bold.

Nathaniel: “Probably.”

Asher rolled his eyes slightly before returning to his notebook.

Nathaniel leaned closer instinctively.

Then paused.

Nathaniel: “Are you drawing again?”

Asher immediately angled the notebook away.

Suspicious.

Very suspicious.

Asher: “Mind your business.”

Nathaniel smiled helplessly.

God.

He really liked this attitude.

A dangerous realization.

⸻

For a few moments, neither spoke.

Surprisingly—

the silence felt comfortable.

Easy.

Nathaniel noticed that immediately.

Most silences around people felt awkward.

Forced.

But beside Asher?

Everything somehow felt natural.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

⸻

Then suddenly—

Jordan and Dylan appeared out of nowhere.

A disaster.

An actual disaster.

Jordan looked between them dramatically.

Jordan: “Wow.”

Nathaniel frowned immediately.

Nathaniel: “No.”

Dylan: “You’re sitting together voluntarily now.”

Asher looked suspicious instantly.

Nathaniel noticed.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Because Jordan sounded exactly like someone discussing relationship drama.

A terrible sign.

⸻

Dylan sat dramatically across from them on the grass.

Dylan: “You know what I think?”

Nathaniel sighed deeply.

Nathaniel: “Unfortunately yes.”

Jordan smiled slowly.

Dangerously.

Jordan: “I think Nathaniel should prove he’s brave.”

Asher looked mildly interested now.

A mistake.

Definitely a mistake.

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes.

Nathaniel: “Explain.”

Jordan pointed dramatically toward Asher.

Jordan: “We dare you to survive one Friday night with the Reyes family.”

Silence.

Real silence.

Nathaniel blinked once.

Asher blinked twice.

Then—

Asher laughed.

Actually laughed.

Warm.

Real.

Beautiful.

Nathaniel forgot how breathing worked for a second.

Because that was the first time he had heard Asher laugh properly.

And suddenly—

nothing else mattered.

Jordan noticed immediately.

Jordan: “Oh my God, he’s gone.”

Nathaniel ignored him completely.

Mostly because Asher was still smiling.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

⸻

Asher shook his head while laughing softly.

Asher: “Absolutely not.”

Nathaniel finally recovered slightly.

Nathaniel: “Why not?”

Asher looked at him like he had completely lost his mind.

Reasonable honestly.

Asher: “Mateo would bury you somewhere.”

Jordan looked delighted immediately.

Jordan: “See? That’s exactly why this is interesting.”

Nathaniel leaned back against the tree slightly.

Still watching Asher.

Still distracted by that laugh.

Nathaniel: “I can survive one dinner.”

Asher stared at him longer this time.

Like he was genuinely trying to decide whether Nathaniel understood what he was volunteering for.

The answer was no.

Absolutely not.

⸻

Asher’s phone buzzed again.

Unfortunately.

He glanced down automatically.

Then immediately regretted.

🤎 Mateo

Who is Nathaniel Anderson?

❤️ Asher

How do you know his full name already?

🤎 Mateo

Answer the question.

🖤 Luca

HAHAHAHA.

🖤 Luca

He’s investigating already.

❤️ Asher

You people are insane.

🤎 Mateo

Is he bothering you?

❤️ Asher

No.

🤎 Mateo

Do you like him?

❤️ Asher

Absolutely not.

🖤 Luca

That response sounded emotional.

🤎 Mateo

Very emotional.

Nathaniel glanced sideways slightly.

Curious.

Dangerously curious.

Nathaniel: “Your brothers sound terrifying.”

Asher locked his phone immediately.

Too late.

Nathaniel already looked amused.

Wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

Asher: “You should be afraid of them.”

Nathaniel smiled slowly.

Completely fearless.

Which honestly made Asher nervous for him.

Because Nathaniel clearly had no idea what Mateo Reyes was actually like.

And somehow—

Asher wasn’t sure he wanted him to find out yet.