Strings Attached

Chapter Five

I grinned and left the kitchen carefully. Theodore was definitely very nice, and I felt utterly thankful that he cooked breakfast and offered to wash the dishes. At first, I thought he would only bring problems into the house, but maybe, just maybe, Theodore was going to become the solution to every problem we had, or at least to most of them.

***

After studying for what felt like decades, Theodore and I finally decided to take a break. We had been studying nonstop since the moment I woke up from my nap, and we were quite tired of reviewing strategies for the ACT.

It had not been completely bad, but it had gotten boring after a while, especially because the strategies were repetitive and not really helpful. It was better than nothing, of course, but Theodore still did not feel as confident as he wished.

"Maybe what we need is a break," he had told me after reading one of the reading passages and answering three questions.

I nodded. "We definitely need one," I said.

Theodore smiled. "How about a walk around the neighborhood?" he offered.

I sighed. "It sounds great, but I'd rather not change my clothes."

"You don't have to," he said. "People wouldn't judge you only because you walk around the neighborhood wearing pajamas, would they?"

"You already know the answer to that question," I replied, frowning.

"Well, who cares? We can wear whatever we want to," he said.

"You only say that because you're wearing normal clothes," I pointed out.

Theodore grinned. "What if I wasn't?"

He got up from the table and made his way upstairs. I just stared at him until he was out of sight and wondered what in the world he was going to do.

Minutes later, a grinning Theodore appeared in front of me, wearing nothing less and nothing more than his own pajamas!

I could not help smiling. Theodore was willing to go out in his pajamas just for me, and that really showed me how caring he truly was.

"What do you think?" he asked, pointing at his pajamas. "Not bad, huh?"

I smirked. "I guess now I won't be the only one," I said.

"Is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.

"That's a heck yeah!" I exclaimed, getting up and grabbing the house's keys. "Let's go move these legs!"

Theodore walked behind me, and we made our way outside the house, covering our eyes as the sunrays threatened to make us permanently blind.

"Oh, the light!" he exclaimed, hissing as though he were a vampire.

I simply made my way to the street and stretched my arms and legs. Theodore did the same, and then we stood there, wondering what way we should go. Theodore stared at me, as if asking me where I wanted to go, and I simply shrugged and started walking to the right side of the street. Theodore did the same, and soon we were casually walking through the neighborhood as though we had been born to do so.

We passed three houses, and then we took a left turn. Theodore pointed at a big tree and said it was beautiful. To be honest, I had never noticed that tree before, but Theodore was right. The tree was beautiful, with its long branches and bright green leaves.

"What if we climb it?" he asked, smiling with enthusiasm.

I shook my head. "No way! It's private property!"