The Andrew Complex

TAC: 7

psssst picture on the side is collin maloney! 

~3 MONTHS LATER~

“Shut up, Andrew. No one cares about your opinion.” Tessa groans, throwing a handful of M&Ms at Andrew’s unnaturally beautiful face.

“All I said was that I wanted to watch Finding Nemo!” Andrew whines, sitting back on the couch, pouting.

I roll my eyes and pick up the tray of hot chocolate and shuffle towards the couch where my two friends were sitting. “Elena, honestly. Why do you even deal with her? She’s abusive and abrasive and mean and - and -”

“He’s just grumpy because Lacey doesn’t reply to his text messages anymore.” Tessa says simply, a grin in her voice.

“I’m not grumpy!” Andrew snaps, still pouting.

I roll my eyes, “Shut up, Andrew. You’re totally grumpy.” I set the tray on the table and turn to him, shooting him a look. “Tessa is going through a hard time and you said you’d come over and help me cheer her up so no, we’re not gonna watch Finding Nemo, we’re gonna watch She’s the Man.” Andrew grumbles irritatedly and slouches even more in his seat.

In all honesty, getting close to Andrew meant getting closer to Lacey and I found that they had a pretty strong relationship - I guess 10 years of friendship does that - and they were practically always together. It hurt at first but then again, I’d always been good at suppressing my feelings while they festered inside of me. We were nearing their 5 month anniversary and Andrew was starting to get anxious about something everyday, often looking at things that weren’t really there and generally just jumpier than usual. Being a Wayne hadn’t really influenced our friendship at all; in fact, I found myself more interested in him and my complex had started to grow even larger around him. As for Tessa, she had started spiralling out of control. She started mystery dating some guy she had met in school and they had broken up, which is why she’s on my couch, where half a year ago I was sobbing in a fetal position after Stephen had broken up with me.

“She texted me back!” Andrew yelps, sitting up quickly. I glance at him just in time to see his face falling and his shoulders slumping.

Andrew nudges me and points at Tessa who had somehow managed to knock out after 15 minutes into the movie. “Elena, I need you to drive me to the Heights. Lacey said she’s home. At my house. Mine. In the Heights.” He stammers, shock clear in his voice.

I lean forward and grab my car keys, slipping into my super warm pair of Uggs (I’m a white girl, don’t judge) and pushing the door open. “Come on, if Tessa wakes up and finds out I’m not here she’s gonna freak.”

Having a Mother Theresa complex couldn’t possibly be bad, they think. How could it ever be bad? Having my complex lead me to drive Andrew all the way into the Heights where I was leered at after driving the gates and witnessed someone getting shot while I was trying to park. Somehow, I ended up inside Andrew’s decrepit apartment, sitting on his lumpy couch beside Adam while they - and by ‘they’ I mean Lacey and Andrew - had a shouting match.

“You brought her? Are you serious? What is this, a party? What part of URGENT, DON’T BRING ANYONE did you not understand?” She yells, getting redder with each word.

“Obviously, he didn’t understand the ‘don’t bring anyone’ part.” I mutter.

“What’s wrong with bringing Elena? Lacey, what’s even going on?” Andrew says calmly, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Elena this, Elena that. It’s always Elena, Elena, Elena. Everyday, Andrew. What happened to, ‘How was your day, babe?’ or ‘What happened, babe?’” She screams, her arms flailing around.