Pitbabe S2, Chapter 7 pg6

 Pitbabe S2, Chapter 7 pg6

   “But saying that makes me nervous.”

   “Everyone gets like that with what I say,” Jeff’s eyes dimmed, maybe because I’d accidentally touched a sore spot. “Anything I say feels like it might come true, even though it’s just a possibility. Anyone could say it, but when it’s me, everything sounds terrifying.”

   “I don’t mean to make you feel bad, but it really does feel that way.”

   “No, it’s understandable.”

   “But you really didn’t see anything, right?”

   “I haven’t even touched you. How would I know?”

   “What if you touched Charlie?”

   “You live in the same house as Charlie and barely touch him. When would I have the chance?” Even in his gloom, this kid still managed to take a jab at me. I wasn’t entirely sure if Jeff was sympathizing with me or secretly enjoying this. “Relax, I didn’t see anything. I was just saying it out of concern.”

   “You’re concerned about me?”

   “Well, Charlie doesn’t give me anything to worry about.”

   In the end, I became the “guy to worry about” for these two. Despite being older than both, having these milk-scented kids constantly warning and fretting over me was pretty embarrassing. Looks like I need to bring back the old, tough Pitbabe pronto.

   As I was plotting how to resurrect the strong Pitbabe, a loud, chaotic chatter from a group nearby shattered my thoughts in an instant.

   “Here come the troublemakers,” Jeff muttered before immediately walking away as he spotted North, Sonic, Dean, and someone else approaching the garage. That noisy bunch was talking at the top of their lungs. North, as usual, had a GoPro in hand, probably filming some content. That’s why a peace-lover like Jeff fled the moment he heard the troublemakers’ voices.

   “Yo! Phii Babe!”

   I wasn’t quick enough to escape. North shouted my name, his voice echoing through the garage. Eyes wide, he ran straight toward me with his camera, thrilled as always to use my face to boost views on his channel.

   “Pitbabe, you are taking on a side gig, everyone!” North chirped, zooming the camera in on my face so close it felt like he wanted the audience to admire Pitbabe’s pores. “Who says being a celeb is easy? Even the top dog has to hustle polishing wheels. What’s left for guys like us?”

   “Look at his face first,” Sonic, standing nearby, whispered, pretending to warn his friend but giggling with delight at my visibly annoyed expression.

   “A face full of fondness,” North said, pinching my cheek like he couldn’t resist. Dean and Sonic clapped and laughed, clearly enjoying themselves. “Phii Babe, say something! Everyone misses you so much. They ask about you in every video.”

   “Hey, good,” I said, staring into the camera with a flat tone, unsure what else to say. Honestly, I don’t even get why people keep saying they want to see me on North’s YouTube channel more often. What do they expect from me? If they know me at all, they’d know I’m the furthest thing from an entertainer. “It’s I; Babe. Nothing to do today, so I’m here polishing wheels at the garage.”

   “Such a fitting hobby for a racer,” North said, chuckling.

   “Where’s your boyfriend, Babe? Why’re you here alone?” Dean jumped in as co-host. The trio was having a blast ganging up on me. But then I noticed someone else standing outside the circle, arms crossed, watching. He looked at me, smiling like he was amused just by observing. It wasn’t exactly wrong, except that his face irritated me a bit.

   What’s with that grin?

   “Charlie’s at school,” I said, avoiding the gaze of the guy I didn’t like and focusing back on North’s random show. “He’s been busy lately, so you might not see him around much.”

   “Man, we barely see him as it is,” Dean teased with a mock whine.

   “What do you expect? With a boyfriend that good-looking, he’s not gonna let him show up on camera too often,” Sonic said, poking fun. That made me realize I actually don’t like Charlie being on camera much. Sure, it feels good when people compliment his handsome face—who wouldn’t be proud of their partner getting praise? But it’s not just nice comments, and that’s what’s annoying. I trust Charlie’s strong enough not to care about the pointless hate, but as his partner, I’m not exactly thrilled seeing those hateful messages. “A handsome face like that’s gotta be kept for private viewing.”

   “One word: handsome. Two words: super handsome,” I said, squinting suspiciously at Sonic, the fashion-forward guy who wouldn’t stop praising my boyfriend. “You trying to steal my man?”

   “Crazy!” Sonic squealed, dramatically waving his hands like he was flustered, easily drawing laughs from everyone, including me.

   No matter when, this place always feels like home. Maybe because I don’t have a family like others do, X-Hunter is the only family I’ve got—the only home I can return to, whether I’m Pitbabe or just plain Babe. It doesn’t feel any different, because this is the one place that embraces all of me without conditions.

   The YouTuber gang kept messing with me for another five minutes before they all scurried out of the garage, hearing that Phii Alan was taking a newly tuned car to test at the track. Now it was just me and the one person I wasn’t too keen on talking to, alone.

   “Still mad at me, huh?”

   Even his voice was annoying.

   “Come on, I already apologized.”

   Despite seeing me deliberately ignore him, Willy wouldn’t give up. The foreign kid squatted next to me, tilting his head to look at me, trying to shove that irritating face into my line of sight.

   Willy’s mischievous eyes and annoying, hard-to-read smile caught my attention.

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