33. Nate

Nate's POV

I  heard somebody arguing in the bathroom, and there are only two people  that came to mind when it comes to that action – Billy and Tom. Lo and  behold, there they were, pushing each other like those male goats.

I  watched them argue for a little bit, not wanting to interrupt their  little bromance, but what struck me was when Tom said, "Nate's mine."  What did he mean by that? Am I some sort of object to him that can just  be "claimed"? Or do these guys think they're werewolves? Tom has never  even asked me to be his boyfriend. You can't just claim somebody as  yours when you haven't even gone on one proper date, let alone them  being your boyfriend.

Although  I do like the idea of Tom belonging to me too, there are still... rules  that need to be followed. And Tom was not following those rules. I did  not like that.

"I  don't belong to anyone," I said. "I don't belong to you, Tom, nor to  you, Billy." I was actually really pissed off at them. I was tired of  being stuck between their problems. They need to stop using my name  every time they have a fight from now on because it really isn't fair.  And it sucks.

"N-Nate,"  Tom said, "H-how long have you been standing there?" He moved himself  towards me, the distance between him and Billy growing bigger. My best  friend was staring at Tom with hatred and disgust the entire time.

"Long  enough to have heard all your bullshit," I said. "I'm tired, guys. It's  not fair. It's not fair always being in the middle of your fights. It's  not fair because sometimes I wonder if I was the reason your friendship  ended."

"You were not," Tom denied, "our friendship... ended," he said, with bitter sadness in his voice, "because it was meant to end."

"W-well, can't you try and... just be friends again?"

Tom  stayed silent for a few seconds before he took a deep breath and held  my hands in his. "It's... not that simple, Nate. We're never gonna be  friends with each other again. It's just... not how it works... it's not  that simple."

Of  course, 'it's not that simple.' I mean, I've never really even had  friends, so how would I know? I looked over at Billy, who, despite the  fire in him, looked down for a second. Was he upset because of his  friendship, or was he upset because Tom was holding my hands?

Billy's POV

I  can't stand seeing Tom hold Nate's hands like that. Tom doesn't deserve  Nate, not even a little bit. Tom is a piece of trash who's just going  to end up hurting Nate. Fuck. What do I do? How do I save my one true  friend from Tom before he becomes another one of his victims?

I  don't want to have to hold Nate crying in my arms because I don't want  to see Nate cry in the first place. Especially not because of a shit  like Tom. I fucking hate him so much. I fucking hate him from the bottom  of my heart to the point it burns. Tom, you are one of the most  despicable people I have ever met. FUCK!