"What, sitting on my lap does not show people we are close?"

Will laughed. "It shows, sure, but there is closeness and then there is closeness. I want to learn more about you so that if people tell me things about you, I will not get caught off guard. That way we can pretend to be a couple for longer."

Taylor nodded. "I get it. How about we start asking each other questions, and the other one has to answer honestly?"

Will smiled. "No problem. But total honesty. You ask first."

Taylor thought for a few minutes. There was something some students had told him, and he wanted to check if it was true.

"I heard that in the mornings you hang out outside the school with the students who smoke. What do you do there?"

"The same thing everyone does. A cigarette before going into school."

Taylor stared at him, surprised. "You smoke? Since when? Do your parents know?"

Will chuckled. "Yes. I dont really remember since when. And yes, my parents know. You are lucky I am counting all of that as one question—otherwise you would owe me a few."

"Why did you start smoking?" Taylor asked, genuinely curious. If Will wanted to charge him another question for it later, he would not mind—he really wanted to know.

Will looked a little embarrassed. "It is something I picked up from my ex. He convinced me to try my first cigarette, and it stuck."

There was something in Will’s eyes when he mentioned his ex that made Taylor say,

"I take it things did not end well between you two."

"You mean dating me and two other people at the same time, then calling me narrow-minded when I found out? Yeah, things did not end well between us."

Taylor mouthed a silent "wow", his face clearly showing shock at what Will had said.

"My turn," Will said. He took his time thinking of a question, and it made Taylor a little nervous.

"Why are you afraid to tell Morgan? He seems like the kind of guy who—even if he does not believe you—would not get mad. He would try to understand where you are coming from. He seems like someone who would actually listen. So why not just talk to him?"

Traffic was still crawling, and a few impatient drivers had started honking.

Taylor bit his lip and looked at Will, worried. Will said, "I will not tell anyone," and made a scout-like gesture with his hand.

Taylor thought for a moment and looked at Will. For some reason, Will gave him a feeling—a feeling he could be trusted.

He opened his mouth and began telling Will why he was afraid to tell Morgan the truth, the truth that was the main reason his family had to move.

"When I was around eleven, I had a good friend—not Morgan. Someone else from the last city we lived in. It is actually not that far from here."

Taylor paused, trying to figure out how to word the rest of his story. Will did not rush him. He just watched him quietly.

"So, when I was about eleven, a girl showed up. She gave me the feeling she liked me, like she wanted to be more than friends. What I did not know was that she was doing the same thing with my best friend—and they started telling everyone they were dating. I was a little hurt, but I did not say anything.

"But then she told everyone that I was the one who hit on her—all while she was with my best friend. I tried to defend myself, said it was not true, but no one believed me. He did not believe me. Things got so out of control that no one at school would talk to me.

"For months, not a single word from anyone. And then they started throwing other things at me..."

He paused again, his voice lower now.

"I could not hide it from my family anymore. They were so hurt for me... It was not just that I did not talk about it—the teachers at school did nothing, and the parents of the kids who bullied me refused to apologize. So in the end, we moved away."

Taylor finished his story and felt a strange mix of tightness in his chest and relief—like he could finally breathe again.

Will was stunned. "What awful kids," he said.

"I am so sorry you had to go through that. I understand you better now—thank you for telling me. That must have been really hard."

Taylor let out a sound somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh.

"Yeah, it was hard. But right after we moved here, I met Morgan, so things got a bit easier."

They managed to slip out of the drive-in line with their car, Morgan and Megan right behind them.

They drove in silence for a while. Will was thinking of more questions to ask Taylor, but his last answer had covered most of them.

They kept driving for a bit, until Taylor took an exit.

"This is not our exit," Will said. He turned to look out the back window and saw Morgan had followed them off the road.

"I know—" Taylor began, but was cut off by the car’s speakerphone ringing. It was Morgan. Taylor answered from the steering wheel.

"This is not our exit," Morgan said. Will gave Taylor an amused look.

"I know," Taylor repeated, already beginning to regret his decision.

"I just thought we could grab something to eat before heading home. Someone recently recommended a burger place over here."

Will’s face lit up. "Really? You will not regret it."

Morgan laughed on the other end. "Sounds good, we're in."

They arrived at their destination. When they met in the parking lot, Will couldn't stop praising his favorite dish.

As they were seated at a table with vinyl benches, Will already knew what he wanted. It took a little time for the others, but eventually, Megan chose a different hamburger dish, and Morgan and Taylor took chicken salads. After the waiter left with their order, Will shook his head and said, "Who comes to a hamburger joint and orders a salad?"

"Coach put us on a strict diet," Morgan said with a half-smile.

Will looked at Megan and said, "More fries for us."

"I do love both onion rings and french fries with my burger," she said in a playful tone.

Morgan and Taylor tried to justify their food choices, but Will wasn't convinced. "I think the dish I ordered has all the nutrients: protein, carbs, and vegetables."

"I think that a few slices of vegetables can't count as a sufficient amount of vegetables."

"That's why I also ordered French fries and onion rings; they both come from the ground, so they can both be considered vegetables. Which means I'll be eating two servings of vegetables while you'll only be eating one," Will said mock confident.

"With that logic, you must think chocolate is a fruit," Megan said, laughing.

"Of course. After all, it grows on trees," Will replied confidently.

They laughed at Will's way of thinking.

Will asked the boys about their basketball team, and they answered his questions until two waiters arrived with their order.

Taylor shifted uncomfortably on the bench he was sharing with Will.

Will asked if everything was okay, and Taylor said that maybe it had been a mistake to drink both of the large cups earlier.

Morgan said he needed to go to the bathroom too, so they left Will and Megan alone at the table.

Will felt a little awkward. He looked up and glanced at Megan.

It seemed like she felt almost as awkward as he did.

Now that he thought about it, he had not expected to end up alone with Megan.

Even at school, there was always Barney around. And from what he had seen, Megan was either buried in textbooks or stuck to Morgan.

"Megan, can I ask how long you and Morgan have been dating?" Will asked.

Part of him was genuinely curious, and the other part just wanted to break the silence.

She looked at him, as if weighing whether or not to answer.

In the end, she said, "We started dating during his first year of high school."

"So you have been together for a year..." Will said quietly.

"I guess... I do not really keep track of dates and all that," she laughed awkwardly, like a girl who knew she should remember the exact day her relationship became official but just did not.

"It is okay," Will said. "I know a lot of girls who forget dates. A few years ago, my dad wanted to surprise my mom for their anniversary, so he asked for leave from the army. When he showed up at home, my mom had no idea why he was there... and in the end, she had to comfort him because she was the one who forgot the date."

Will added the story without really knowing why—maybe to make Megan feel better.

"Your dad is in the army?" Megan asked, surprised.

"Yeah, but I cannot say where he serves."

Will was used to giving that answer whenever someone asked. It usually helped avoid follow-up questions.

Megan looked at him with a kind of expression that made it clear she was genuinely impressed.

"Wow... your parents must be something special," she said warmly.

There was something in her tone—gentle and sincere—that told Will she meant it, not in a flattering way, but honestly.

Will gave her a genuine smile and said,

"Yeah. One of a kind"

When Morgan and Taylor returned to the table, Morgan asked what they had been talking about.

"That is classified," Megan said.

Will laughed, and Morgan tried to get his girlfriend to spill, but she would not say a word.

Megan grabbed a French fry and popped it into her mouth.

Will took a bite of his burger. He had been craving it so badly—every flavor mixed perfectly in his mouth, creating something absolutely amazing. He let out a small moan with each bite.

Megan looked at him, clearly amused.

"Wow... that must be one hell of a burger," Taylor said, laughing.

"It is," Will replied. "Want a taste?" he offered.

"No thanks. I think I will stick to my salad," Taylor said.

Morgan also turned down the offer.

But when Will offered Megan a bite, and she said she did want to try it—Taylor froze.

Megan and Will were sitting across from each other, so they both leaned in a bit.

Will held up the burger, while Megan used one hand to pull her long hair away from her face. She took a bite from the spot Will offered her.

They sat back down, and her eyes lit up.

"Wow... it is really good! A little bit spicy, but delicious," she said.

"Now I am kind of regretting what I ordered," Megan admitted to Will.

"Do not worry—what you chose is actually their signature dish. It is one of their most popular items," Will reassured her, since she had not tried hers yet.

Taylor started to feel uneasy.

He tried to convince himself it was just his imagination—

but something about the way Will and Megan looked at each other,

the way they smiled,

the way they leaned in—

It felt like they were getting a little too close.

And as much as he reminded himself that Will was just pretending to be his boyfriend—

he could not shake the feeling that something was about to change.