The Bet//roadtrip bxb

13//the tutor

"Hey, guys?" Andy greeted Rye and Brook as they sat down, although it came out as more of a question.

"Hey, what's up?" Brook asked.

"Not much, where have you two been?" Jack asked.

"Around," Rye answered vaguely. The other three got the idea, though. They didn't want to talk about it. It wasn't their business. They didn't need to know.

"What's new with you guys?" Rye asked. Sonny coughed, still emotionally on a high from telling Jack and Andy about his crush on Rye.

Andy, too, was questioning his feelings towards another person in the group. Jack, to be specific. Ever since that day in the ice cream shop when he saw Jack having a panic attack he'd been questioning it. He'd seen Jack in what he knew was a most vulnerable time. He'd had quite a few panic attacks in his life, as well. He knew how much they sucked and how weird it felt to have someone else see you in that state.

He questioned thinking about Jack as nothing more than a dick who bet him off like an object. Jack had feelings, obviously. He was a lot more of a person than Andy had originally thought. And honestly, what Andy had seen so far from Jack since then, he didn't entirely hate. In fact, he kind of liked him a little bit. Not as more than a friend, surely, but bit by bit he may have been getting there.

"Andy, yoo-hoo!" Brooklyn called.

"Huh, sorry, what?" Andy shook his head, in an attempt to get the thoughts of the Irish boy out.

"Rye asked you if you were still going to his house to study tonight after school," Brook informed him.

"Oh, uhh, yeah, sure. That's fine with me," Andy said. This bet. This bet was exactly what he needed to focus on right now. This bet. Rye. Not Jack. Not feelings.

Lunch went on. The boys ate their food, but mostly they talked. Brook and Rye kept sneaking knowing glances at each other. Brook was giddy because he finally was the one to know something first, to have a secret that hardly anyone else knew about. It was exhilarating.

Eventually, the lunch bell rang and they went off to the one class shared between them all. They worked on their project, and actually made quite a  bit of progress on it. Andy was a little quieter than usual, but other than that, all was well.

Jack and Sonny didn't really argue at all, which was a first, and Rye was amazed. It was a little weird to not have his two best friends fighting, but he wasn't going to complain. Maybe they were finally learning to get along.

At one point, Sonny made a change in the project that made the whole thing, as a whole, look a lot better.

"Wow, that's great, Sonny," Jack complimented. "Don't you think, Rye?"

Sonny blushed as Rye nodded his head in agreement. Andy smiled at Jack's gesture, though, trying to get Rye to notice Sonny a little more. It was sweet, and thoughtful. It showed he really did care about his friends.

But maybe not Andy. He knew Jack truly was a kind, sweet, and thoughtful person, but it was hard to remember that when you were the person he bet off like an object. If it was someone else, yeah, maybe Andy could've shaken off the thought. But if Jack was willing to just throw Andy around like that, did he really care? Probably not.

Eventually class ended and all 5 of the boys moved on to their next classes. The day dragged on, slowly for a few of them and quickly for two; Rye and Brook.

Their next classes were with each other so they made conversation with each other.

"So, do you like Andy?" Brook asked, at some point in class.

"Umm, well, kind of? It's complicated, Brooky," Rye answered. Of course, Brook already knew this, but he wanted to hear it from Rye's perspective.

"How so? It's a yes or no question."

"So, awhile ago, Jack kind of... Wow, when I try to say it out loud I feel like a terrible person," Rye tried. "Jack and Sonny made a bet with me that I couldn't get him to date me. So honestly, I don't like him as more than friend, but I do want to date him. Well, in theory, not actually. Wow, I'm a dick," Rye sighed.

"You're not, you're just an idiot, Rye," Brook laughed.

"Yeah, that is definitely true," Rye admitted.

"So do you not want to do the bet, then?" Brook asked, always wanting the latest tea on his friends.

"I feel like if I do get Andy to go out with me then I would just be playing with him. Messing with his feelings, and that seems like a dicky thing to do. I don't wanna be a dick, Brook," Rye mumbled.

"Is there someone else you like?"

"I don't know, not really," Rye answered truthfully.

"Beaumont, Wyatt, stop with the chit chat," the teacher called. Both boys sighed and turned back to their work, at least for awhile.

~

Later that night, Rye and Andy were studying together. Well, more like Andy was tutoring Rye, but they both felt a lot better about it when they called it studying.

"So what would be the answer to number 7?" Rye asked.

"Well, what do you think it is?" Andy tried.

"Umm, A and D are definitely wrong. And I think it's B, but it might be C," Rye explained his thinking.

"Take a guess. Which do you think it is?" Andy asked.

"C?" Rye tried.

"Yes!" Andy cheered, and continued on to explain why that was the correct answer.

The process continued for and hour or so until Rye was able to correctly answer all of the questions without hesitation.

The boys started to head downstairs, passing by Rye's mom as they left. "Hey, Andy!" she called.

"Hi," Andy mumbled shyly.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked.

"No, I have to get home. Sorry."

"No, don't apologize, we'll do it next time."

"Yeah, next time," Andy sighed, heading out to his car. If there even was a next time. He was so over this whole bet thing. It was exhausting.

1056 words
~Soph