Pitbabes2, Chapter 3 pg10

 pg10

   “I invited him,” North said, looking proud. “Went to interview him the other day, and we hit it off. So I asked him to come today.”

   “Oh…” I nodded, not minding that an outsider was joining the party. Sure, Phii Alan said this was an X-Hunter party, but having a new face every now and then could be fun.

   “Charlie!” Babe waved me over when he saw I was back, his face brighter now, maybe from the lively chat he’d been having with the rival team’s racer. “This is Willy. Recognize him?”

   I walked over to sit in the empty spot next to Babe, which wasn’t actually empty, but Phii Alan gave it up because he knew I’d rather sit next to my boyfriend than Phii Kim, who was busy chatting with the ice bucket.

   “Jaa’s doing great, racing every round,” I replied, then turned to smile and nod at Willy as a greeting. “I’m Charlie.”

   “I remember. I’ve been sneaking looks,” Willy replied with a grin, his mischievous expression making Babe’s jaw drop. He then smacked the rival team guy’s thigh with a loud whack. “Ow! What’s that for, Phii?”

   “Checking out my boyfriend, huh?”

   “Well, I’m screwed then,” Willy laughed. I thought he instantly became more charming when he flashed that wide, crescent-eyed smile. Light brown hair, sharp features clearly showing some mixed heritage—high nose bridge, freckles across his cheeks. Seeing him up close, I could understand why he was so popular with the girls. “Phii Charlie’s a star. Who wouldn’t look?”

   “Hm… true,” Babe quickly softened when Willy’s words hit the right spot. Of course, anyone who says nice things about me gets themselves on Babe’s good side. Sometimes he acts like a proud relative showing off their kid or grandkid. I don’t love it, but it’s not a big deal, so I just let it slide. “He’s a big deal now, even bigger than me.”

   “Oh, come on,” I couldn’t help but brush off Babe’s exaggeration. “How could I be bigger than Babe?”

   “You’re more famous than you think, pretty boy.”

   “Don’t really care about that. As long as you got eyes for me, that’s enough.” I thought I said it quietly, but judging by the teasing hoots from everyone around, I guess I need to recalibrate my volume.

   “Yeah, let him be single for me alone,” the drunk Korean guy, hugging his beer bottle, shot me a blatantly annoyed look.

   “What? I’m single too,” North chimed in, joining the single club. I’m not sure if he was announcing his single status to the world or just testing the reaction of the guy next to him. If it was the latter, it didn’t seem to work, because Phii Sonic didn’t even bother listening. He’d been glued to his phone for a while now, probably something about school, judging by his serious expression. “Sonic’s single too… right?”

   “Huh?” Lightly nudged in the ribs, Phii Sonic, who’d been engrossed in his phone, looked up at everyone with a confused expression. “Oh! Yeah, I’m single. Foreigners aren’t really my taste.”

   Hearing that, the guy next to him smirked. I genuinely don’t get what’s going on with these two. Sometimes they seem like best friends with nothing more to it, but other times there’s this weird vibe that makes me root for them. It feels like it could turn into something deeper, but as you can see, it’s still the same old push-and-pull, blurry, and confusing. I really admire how they’ve managed to stay in this limbo for years. If I were them, I’d have gone crazy on day one. I’m the type who’s terrible at hiding feelings like this and absolutely hates ambiguity.

   “How old are you again?” Babe turned to continue chatting with Willy, clearly uninterested in other people’s love dramas.

   “Twenty-two.”

   “Whoa! Younger than Charlie?” Babe acted excited. I don’t get what’s so thrilling about it. You could tell just by looking that Willy’s young. That team’s full of kids. “So, how long have you been driving?”

   “Since I was eighteen. Actually, I’ve loved it since I was really young, but my dad only let me drive later. When I was a kid, me and my dad were obsessed with F1.”

   “Hey! I watch F1 too!” Babe’s excitement showed no signs of fading. The more they talked, the more he seemed to find Willy interesting, especially now that the topic was Formula 1 racing. Of course, racers are all obsessed with F1. I’ve watched those races with Babe countless times myself, and I don’t see what’s so thrilling about it. “Who do you root for?”

   “Mercedes.”

   “Ugh! What’s that?!”

   “Who do you cheer for, bro?”

   “Why, bro?”

   “Ferrari, obviously.”

   “It’s just a matter of taste, isn’t it?” Willy flashed his usual bright smile. At first, I thought his smile was charming, but now it’s starting to feel a bit different—a little annoying, a little irritating, and a bit too excessive. That’s definitely a real change in his smile, not just my personal feelings, of course. “I went to the Grand Prix in Qatar too.”

   “No way, really?” Once again, Babe got overly excited. I was starting to find him as annoying as Willy. No, Babe wasn’t that annoying, but Babe with his wide-eyed stare at Willy? That was annoying. “I wanted to go so bad, but my schedule was a mess. Such a shame.”

   “Next season, let’s go.”

   “You’re going again?”

   “Planning to. Wanna come along, bro?”

   Right now, I’m reminded of fourth grade when I transferred to a new school. I sat with a group of kids, listening to them talk about a popular anime at the time. I watched it too—heck, I’d even read the manga ahead of everyone else. But since they were all close, they chatted so animatedly that there was no room for an outsider like me to join in. They’d invited me to sit with them, sure, but it felt like it was just because there was an empty seat, not because they actually wanted me there.

   I know it’s not exactly the same. Babe isn’t ignoring my existence like those fourth graders did, and back then, I didn’t feel this burning unease like I do now.

   But one thing’s the same: I chose to walk away from it. Whether it’s anime or F1, it doesn’t matter. I understand it, but I don’t want to listen anymore.

   

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