Wolf frowned and moved so that he was right next to Ollie. He snaked an arm around him so that he was hugging him from the side. "Hey, sorry. We can talk about something else." He felt bad for bringing it up, but he wanted to help. And if using Tess was the way to go, then he would use her story. Maybe even have her talk to him if that would help.
Ollie shook his head a little, waving a hand like he was waving away the apology, "I-It's fine, you don't have to be sorry," He sighed and leaned into Wolf a little, "Do all of your friends go to Woodcroft?" he asked, changing the subject.
He bit his lip as he thought about it. They didn't really see each other during school. "Uh… Tessa's the one I told you about. Demitri… And Junia. They're the only ones that go to school."
Ollie nodded a little, "what classes are they in? I doubt I have any with them but still, you never know." Honestly Woodcroft was a big school. He thought he'd seen Wolf around once or twice but that's really it.
He snorted. "Hell if I know. Tess is in my math class, but that's about it. My sister is in every class I have." He looked over to Ollie. "What about you?"
Ollie giggled, shaking his head with a small sigh, "I'm in as many visual art classes as I can take. Oh, and science." He grinned, a faint redness to his cheeks.
He nodded. "Tess is more into the arts as well. Dance and singing mostly. Cin too. You might bump into them occasionally. Junia would probably be in the science and history area. Geography and foreign cultures mostly. Demitri… I honestly have no clue." He shook his head with a small smile. "That's at least their interests. Dunno if that's the actual classes they took. Cin is in at least one class without me. That I know of."
"I couldn't do dance or singing," He scrunched his face up in disgust, "I'd freak out on stage and have a panic attack. At least with visual I can sit at a desk and paint all day and not have to talk to anybody."
He laughed. "True. But you'd probably see them in that general area. They're not hard to spot once you know what you're looking for."
Ollie nodded, "Yeah, probably. I spend most of my time in a corner in the library… no one bothers me there and I don't bother them."
"Definitely a Cinthia spot." He nodded. "She runs away from her duty as babysitter as much as possible. If it's quiet, she's there."
"Why would you want to be a babysitter? Kids are annoying…" He grumbled, huffing and blowing a strand of hair out of his face.
He chuckled. "Cin loves kids, but that's not what I meant. She's like the big sister of our group, despite being one of the youngest. She looks over everyone's shoulders, settles disputes, is the main threat we use when one of us is getting on our nerves, the like. By the end of each day, the sheer exhaustion of keeping everyone in check overrides her insomnia, and she's out cold."
"Makes sense I guess. I feel like having a big group of friends would be exhausting. I mean, yeah you have people to look out for you and have your back but when it's just you, you don't have to worry about other people, just yourself and making sure you get through the day." He sighed a little.
"There are pros and cons to both," he said. "Yeah, friends are great for keeping busy and being entertained with their antics, but it can get a little too busy and hectic. Being alone lets you just relax and have some time to yourself, but it can get too quiet and lonely."
"I'd rather be lonely then get hurt only in a different way," He muttered, "I guess no one notices me anyway so even if I had tried I doubt I would have succeeded in joining or forming a group."
He fell silent, not sure how to respond to that. He never really had any friends growing up. And then he finally met his twin sister. Then she was like a magnet that drew people to her until they had the group of 15 he now knows today. They were a tightly knit group, despite how many rivalries that should be going on. Hell, Junia and Jamir were supposed to be mortal enemies, and they were like brother and sister.
At one point in Olle's life, there had been a time where he might be able to make friends. But with his dad slowly, or quickly, feeding him lies and poisoning his thoughts, the idea seemed impossible to him now. Even with Wolf right next to him, offering him a place to stay and asking to hang out, the doubt were still there, saying that he'd ;eave him eventually and take back everything he said when he got annoyed with his presence.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, then Wolf gently pulled Ollie to a stop in front of a somewhat large and nice-looking house. "We're here," he said, looking to Ollie and seeing if he was still okay with staying the night.
"Wow…" His jaw dropped but he quickly closed his mouth. It was a lot, a lot nicer then his own home and just standing outside made him feel like he shouldn't be within a mile of the building, "Nice place."
He rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "Yeah… my parents have money. If I had it my way, we'd just be in an open apartment. But they bought this place when we moved out, so we kinda had no choice."
"Lucky, I'd kill to have a place like this." Ollie replied. He didn't have nice things. Nice clothes, shoes. He had alright art supplies but only because he'd taken double punishments for a month to earn them. His house was small, crappy and was barely being held together.
"Wanna trade?" he joked, then hopped up the stairs and pushed open the door. "I'm back! And I brought a friend!"
A female voice answered. "The parasite is asleep on the couch!"
"Oops," he muttered, then ushered Ollie into the house.
Ollie tilted his head in slight confusion but he didn't ask questions. He stepped inside, muttering a quiet 'thank-you' as he did so.
They stepped into a spacious living room with carpeted flooring. To the right was a wrap around couch with a glass coffee table. A golden-haired girl with cuts and bruises along her arms and knuckles drooled on one of the fluffy pillows, a blanket lazily thrown over her sprawled body. To the right was another girl with a mass of dark curls sitting cross-legged on a roller chair at a large desk. Papers, notebooks, and two laptops were scattered over the desk haphazardly as the girl frantically wrote on one of the papers, then typed on a laptop, then flipped through a notebook. She didn't even look up at the two as she said, "Got into another fight. Don't ask." She then waved at Ollie–again, not looking over at them. "Hi. I'm Cinthia. That drooling mess over there is Tessa."