"I know you're hiding something."
Dylan was taken aback at what he heard. "What do you mean, hiding something?"
Flynn exhaled deeply before speaking, his tone calm, almost devoid of any emotion. "You're really rich, aren't you? The house you're staying in... it belongs to Nathan's relatives, and they're renting it out to you."
"What?" Dylan could only manage a stunned response.
"I've actually known for a while. Back in the first days of school, I noticed a luxury car picking you up. And your phone... it's a limited edition model."
"Eh? Why didn't you tell me you already knew?" Dylan asked, surprised.
"I'm not the type to pry," Flynn replied. "And I thought maybe there was a reason you were keeping it to yourself."
Dylan adjusted his position, letting out a long, heavy sigh. "Alright... you've found me out. I never planned on hiding my background. But when you shared with me how much you dislike the wealthy people, I lost the courage to be honest. I was afraid you'd get mad at me and push me away."
"Why would I be mad at you? You haven't done anything to me. And I'm not really angry at wealthy people. I'm only mad at my mom's family because of what they did to us," Flynn said calmly.
"Ehhh?! You should've said that properly before so I wouldn't have had to pretend. Do you know I sold all my expensive things just to pay rent and to make sure you wouldn't notice?" Dylan replied.
"Haha, that's on you. You got it all wrong," Flynn said with a small laugh..
Dylan only shook his head in disbelief.
"About Aunt Mary... that was you, wasn't it?" Flynn asked.
"What do you mean, me?"
"Don't hide it. I know you were behind it. It's not normal for someone to suddenly have such luck like that. And I noticed the officers seemed scared of you when they came to the hospital," Flynn said.
"Alright, fine. It was me. Can you blame me? She's like an aunt to me, and she's been good to me... and to all of you," Dylan explained.
"No problem. But next time, no more secrets, okay? I don't like lies or things left hidden," Flynn said firmly.
"Yeah, alright. Besides what you already know, I'm not hiding anything else," Dylan replied.
"So... why don't you go home?" Flynn asked.
Dylan took a deep breath. He didn't want to discuss it, but he also didn't want to hide anything from Flynn.
"Remember when I told you my mom passed away when I was fifteen? Ever since then, I've grown distant from my dad. He wasn't there when my mom was in the hospital. Then, just two years later, he replaced her with someone else. Now he's back home, and he's making that woman live there. They're even close to getting married."
"So... you don't want to live with your dad's new woman? Is that why you left home?" Flynn asked.
"Something like that," Dylan replied. "I have my own condo, but we had a big argument the last time I was at home. He wanted me to stay at the house and even planned to send me abroad to continue my studies. I didn't want to go, so after that fight, I decided to leave for good."
"Looks like we have something in common," Flynn said with a small smirk.
"What do you mean?" Dylan asked, curious.
"My mom's sister has been annoying me lately. She wants me to study abroad as well," Flynn explained.
"And you agreed?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not. I try to stay as disconnected from them as possible. I don't want to end up like them," Flynn said firmly.
"Good. Don't let them control your life," Dylan said, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "By the way... want to come out with me tomorrow night? We'll do a little night out. I want to introduce you to my friends."
Flynn simply nodded, a quiet acceptance in his eyes.
The next day, Dylan called Jake and Cholo to organize a reservation at the club. Both of them were ecstatic—finally, Dylan was showing up after a whole month of hiding from them.
That evening, Dylan and Flynn arrived at the location Jake had sent. Flynn was immediately overwhelmed by the line of luxury cars parked outside the club, their polished exteriors gleaming under the lights.
Soon enough, Jake and Cholo spotted them.
"Dylan!" they shouted in unison, sprinting toward him. Jake leapt forward with a grin, practically tackling Dylan in a playful headlock, while Cholo laughed and followed close behind.
"Finally, you show up! Took you long enough to stop avoiding us," Jake teased, still holding Dylan in the headlock. "And because of that, you're on the hook for tonight!"
"Yeah, seriously. You know, your girlfriend's been pestering us non-stop while you've been MIA. So, have you guys met yet?" Cholo asked, smirking.
"We have," Dylan replied calmly.
"Wait... I thought you brought someone with you?" Jake said, glancing around.
"Ah, yeah... Guys, this is Flynn. Flynn, meet Jake and Cholo—my buddies since freshman year."
Jake immediately crossed over, wrapping Flynn in a friendly half-hug. "Hey man! You're tall! You play basketball?"
"Ah... yeah," Flynn nodded.
"Did you know Dylan was our team captain?" Jake added with a wink, playful but impressed.
"Yeah, he mentioned it," Flynn replied, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Cholo elbowed Jake lightly and threw his own arm around Flynn. "Alright, alright, enough small talk. Let's head inside before we miss the fun." He glanced back over his shoulder at Dylan. "Come on, Dylan! Everyone's already waiting inside."
As they entered, they passed a long line of people waiting outside, but as VIPs, they didn't need to wait.
The moment they stepped inside, Flynn couldn't help but be impressed by the crowd and the lavish, vibrant interior of the club. Without wasting a moment, they made their way straight to the private room where the rest of Dylan's friends were already gathered.