Jock Next Bed (BL)
Chapter 228: Chat with Rachel

Chapter 228: Chat with Rachel

Sky stood by the counter, mug in hand, the faint clink of his spoon swirling against ceramic filling the silence. Rachel sat on one of the bar stools, fingers curled around the rim of a glass of water she hadn’t really touched.

He turned slightly to glance at her.

She had asked for them to speak, yet, she was quiet. Saying nothing.

Anyone who knew Sky knew this was not his kind of thing; this awkwardness with someone he barely knew.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, not exactly warm, but not unkind either.

She didn’t look up. "I’m hanging in there."

The silence returned like an old friend. Sky didn’t fill it.

"Have you... spoken to Noel?" he asked eventually, his voice low.

Rachel shook her head. "Not yet."

It was a flat answer. No bitterness. No heat. Just emptiness. Like she’d burned through every emotion and now there was nothing left but ash.

"It’s inevitable now." He said quietly. Because Noel was going to be here soon.

"Probably." Her voice was eerily calm. Detached.

Sky studied her. It was strange, seeing her like this. Quiet. Deflated. She used to be so... happy. Orbiting Chris like he was her sun.

She suddenly looked up at him, as if feeling his stare. "You still give me that look."

Sky blinked. "What look?"

"Like I’m trying to steal what belongs to you."

Oh.

Well, damn.

"You’re still suspicious of me, aren’t you?"

He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.

"You were always around him," he said after a beat. "Always."

Rachel laughed—soft, short. "That’s not a crime."

"I just thought... you wanted more than friendship. Especially before Noel."

She tilted her head, something unreadable in her expression. "What would it matter to you if I did?"

That stopped him. For a second, Sky didn’t know why he asked—why it had suddenly clawed its way up from somewhere tight in his chest. But now that the words were there, he couldn’t take them back.

"...Do you like Chris?"

Rachel looked at him for a long moment. Then she gave a small, slow nod.

"Yes," she said simply.

Sky’s eyes narrowed, the muscles in his jaw tensing. But before he could bite back, she continued.

"Not like that," she said, voice quiet but steady. "I love him. As my best friend. The kind of love that doesn’t need romance to feel deep. The kind that stays when everything else leaves."

Sky frowned, arms tightening across his chest. "...You’re serious?"

"I’m not trying to compete with you," Rachel added, sensing his disbelief. "I never was."

"You expect me to believe that?"

She gave a half-smile. "Whether you believe it or not, I don’t really care about that." She said flatly. "Look, I know I’m not your favorite person. Maybe I never will be. But I care about Chris. That’s real. I want to be there for him. Like a sister, or a bodyguard, or his overly honest caffeine dealer. Whatever he needs."

Sky didn’t say anything. His gaze dropped to the floor, brows furrowed.

"You don’t look convinced," she said softly.

"It’s hard to tell," he muttered. "Anyone would want him."

She snorted. "Fair. But I’m just... grateful. For his friendship. When I needed to get away, needed somewhere safe, the first person—I mean—only person I thought of was him. That’s when it hit me. ’Ah. He’s your buddy.’"

Another beat of silence stretched between them.

Sky wasn’t sure what to say about that. To be honest, that sounded sus. But he could not control Chris’s friends, and if Rachel really did like Chris genuinely, then he was glad someone cared about Chris like this.

However, it was one thing for him to think about it like this, but the madness in his head won’t let him be.

Rachel looked at him then. She held his gaze for a moment, then tilted her head slightly, like she was seeing something she hadn’t before. "What about you?"

Sky’s guard snapped up. "What about me?"

"Do you actually care about Chris?" she asked, softly but seriously.

The question hit like a dart. Sky froze, mug halfway to his lips. His pulse stuttered. His stomach coiled.

She didn’t let up. "You’re here. You spent the night. There’s a faint hickey on your neck—by the way, you might wanna do something about that. And the way you’ve been acting around him in school? Yeah. A lot of things are making sense now. But... is this real? Or are you just playing with something you’re not ready to own?"

Wait... what?

He touched his neck self-consciously. He hadn’t freshened up this morning. When he woke up, he looked around a bit and came out to get a cup of coffee before everything started.

Did that explain the other kind of look Wilson and Jack had given him earlier, but hadn’t commented on? And when he said Chris was still sleeping because he was tired?

Rachel was still looking at him, patient, like she’d already decided not to judge—she just wanted answers.

"I don’t know how to explain it," he finally muttered.

"Try."

Sky glanced down at his mug. "I mean... I do. I care about Chris. Obviously. But it’s not... simple. It’s never been simple."

She nodded slowly. "Because he’s Chris."

"Because he’s Chris," Sky repeated, almost like an echo.

Rachel set down her glass gently. "That wouldn’t be enough of an answer soon." She said quietly.

"People love you to shit. I’m sure you know you have a big fanbase in school. And as embarrassing as it is to admit this, I am one of them. Was." she quickly clarified.

Okay, Sky hadn’t expected that. He looked at her in confusion. But then he reminded himself he was not supposed to be surprised. He did notice the way she was staring at him the first time they met. And also the few times they hung out with Chris, who tried to shove her in his face and made her take the front seat after he offered to drive Chris from the racetrack back to his dorm. But then, he hadn’t been thinking straight lately, so yeah. Pun intended.