Strings Attached

Chapter One

"I don't really want to bother anyone. I can stay on the couch. Really."

"Whatever," I said, scoffing. "Just stay in my room. It's not like I'm letting you sleep on the couch for half a year. I'm not that much of a bitch."

"I never said you were," he said, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

My mother gasped. "That language! Put a penny in the 'swearing jar'!"

"Shit!" I exclaimed. Okay, maybe that one was kind of on purpose.

My mother gasped again. "Put a quarter!"

"No way. We haven't used the 'swearing jar' since forever!" I remarked.

"I'm telling you to put a penny in the fucking jar!" she said accidentally. "Oh, fudge!"

I laughed. Theodore looked amused as well. Maybe he was not so bad, after all.

"I apologize for that," said my mom, blushing. "Sometimes we get a little bit carried away."

"That's fine, Ms. Walker," said Theodore. His deep, grey eyes were staring firmly at me.

I rolled my eyes. Perhaps he thought I was going to fall for his rebellious hair, but I was not going to do that. Not only because he seemed like one of those airheads in my school, but also because he simply was not welcome in this house, or at least not by me. I had problems of my own, and babysitting bad boys was definitely not one of them.

"Why don't you show him the room, dear?" My mom stared at me with kind eyes, and I felt terrible because she was making an effort to be kind to me, even when I was being a total bitch.

"Sure," I said. I sighed and motioned for Theodore to follow me. He smiled and started walking behind me.

"So you and I are going to the same school?" I asked as I sat down on my bed and watched Theodore unpack his stuff.

"Yes," he said. "I hope you do not mind. My old school is too far away from here, so your mom told me that she would talk to the principal to see if he could accept me. He said it was okay as long as all my credits were transferred from my old school, so tomorrow I am going with you to your school."

"That's cool," I said, even though it was not.

"I know, right?" Theodore said as he folded his underwear and placed it on the desk where my computer used to be before I sold it. I thought we needed the money, but apparently we did not because my mom was inviting strangers to stay over.

"Pink?" I asked as I noticed the color of his boxers.

He smiled and nodded. "It's a neutral color. Boys can wear pink, too!"

"But they are not girls," I said, raising my eyebrows. "Those are definitely for a girl!"

He shook his head. "That's sexist, you know? Colors do not define your sexuality. Colors are simply a part of life. They are all for everyone. If I think pink is beautiful, that does not mean that I am a girl. It means that, regardless of my gender, I have learned to appreciate every color's beauty."

I chuckled. "That is very cute to say, but the boxers say XOXO over the borders."

Theodore blushed. "Okay, okay. Maybe I just grabbed the first pack of boxers that I saw, but so what? I am a boy! Boys don't spend hours in the mall trying to see which boxers are cuter!"