A few days had passed and Kris and I started steadily hanging out with Luke's group. I still hadn't given Kris a proper earful for saying I was a Knightley Camey fan though.

Knightley Camey was the pseudonym I used and saying I was a fan would inadvertently lead to conversations about her books. That is, my books. So if I ever slipped up and said something I wasn't supposed to, Kris would the first one to hear from me. 

She could have covered it by saying that she's read Knightley's works but noooo go ahead and make my life more complicated, I thought as I checked a notification on my phone from Erin, my publisher. 

She sent a text saying, 'We've updated your social media with details of the release' with a bunch of exclamation marks that made the sentence three times longer.

Sigh... She was more excited than I was. I mean having a surprise test in the very first class is enough to knock the energy out of you for a few hours tops. 

I found an empty table at the cafeteria and sat down as I waited for Kris to come and join me. Class representative duties and responsibilities, I shrugged. 

But I could see why the majority of the class voted for her. She was an outgoing, cheerful and friendly person who radiated positivity and determination wherever she went. And it never ceases to amaze me, her levels of energy to pull through any issue no matter how grim.

My thoughts abruptly stopped as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to a grinning Luke.

" Yo. " he smiled as he tilted his head slightly. " Heyy, finally done? " I asked as he took a seat next to me. " Yep! I'm lucky I only have the morning session today. " He replied. 

We chatted away for a bit and I finally saw Kris walking towards us. With her eyes glued to her phone she approached us and mumbled " Congratulations Bran my boi- " and suddenly her face scrunched up, evidently confused.

" Wait what? " She said seriously and she read through the rest and laughed out, going, " Omg, Whaaaaaattt? Bran you nev- " She started but stopped as soon as she lifted her head and saw Luke sitting right next to me. " Oh, Hi Luke. Didn't see ya there. " She said quickly.

" Hey! No issues... What happened though? Why are you so excited? " Luke asked. After a momentary glance between the two of us, she said, " Knightley Camey's new book release details. " with a sly look at the corner of the eye as she glanced at me. My eyes widened cautiously as Like said, " Woahh, really? Sweet!! Read it out! " 

Smiling widely she read the announcement. " - And so preorders are now open. And we are even more pleased to inform you that, to compensate for the amazing response and patience that her fans have shown her, Knightley has already started working on her next work and this time to spice things up a bit, the concept for this book is BL ( Boy's Love ) !!!! So stay tuned and keep supporting g Knightley!!! "

I sat stunned. When it finally sunk in, I looked at Kris and went, " What??!!!! " Looking at my reaction, Luke asked, " You're excited about her new book? " 

" No, I mean, yes. But wait read the last part again. " I said as I turned to Kris. " The BL part? " Luke asked, his brows slightly coming closer for a frown. " Yes!! " I said exasperated, that was the first I was hearing of this myself. 

" Um... Are you homophobic? " Luke asked as he looked straight at me. 

Realising how this must have sound to someone who didn't know what was happening inside my brain, I quickly replied, " No no no no. Absolutely not. I completely support the LGBTQ+ community. It's just that I'm shook that Knightley is suddenly writing BL, that's it... I'd still read it of course! " I added at the end and covered it as I tried to settle the misunderstanding. 

Luke's frown disappeared and he smiled again, " Oh that! "

 " Alright, I'm gonna get some food. Be back in a bit. " He said as he left the table. 

Kris took the seat next to me quickly and as I expected, hurled a volley of questions at me.

 " You never told me your next novel is BL!!!!! " She exclaimed excitedly. 

" Well, I would have, that is only if I knew in the first place!!!!! " I whisper shouted back.

Errrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I screamed in my head. 

A sudden chill passed down my spine.

Like somebody was thinking about me. 

I laughed and shrugged the thoughts away as I rechecked the activity on the announcement post. 

...