Denial

Questioning

It's only been a day, yet Norman already felt a little bit... queasy? 

His insides were spinning at the fact that he attempted to date his boss. And it didn't help that Norman felt like he wasn't wired for it; and not when he got all of Theodore's hints. The looks his own leader gave him were now far too noticeable, and Norman just couldn't seem to return them. It felt rather one-sided and not too much fun. Not to mention, being this 'type' of person seemed really awkward; the awkward stares from Snake Pit children told him everything.

Norman clenched his fist as he walked alongside Theodore, strolling through the Snake Pit. Yes, one of those rare walks Theodore takes here. The kids knew that he rarely took a stroll through the place, considering he remained within the most secret rooms. 

No kid knew why he was appearing all of the sudden now; they probably assumed that their leader was in the mood for a walk. Let alone, a walk with one of his co-leaders, slow and nice and easy. 

But I know why he's doing it. He clenched his fist even harder, keeping his glares to himself. This was clearly intended to be Theodore's subtle dates. 

Norman have never hated the word date until now. When he thought of the word, he thought of a normal straight couple going to Starbucks or a movie. Or doing something normal by society standards. He never thought about some same-sex couple out in the streets, unless it was those joke relationships between friends.  

But hey, he lived in New York City. He should have known all of those whack things outside, but didn't care to know about it.

"What's wrong?" Theodore noted, and Norman looked up to see his mask's cold lenses. "You look a little down, Norman." 

Ugh. Even when they're in their Snake Pit attire, he still referred to Norman by his actual name. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." he muttered, looking away again.

Theodore had stopped walking, and then had Norman rest against a wall. His head turned both ways to check their surroundings, before his attention averted to Norman. "It's alright; you can tell me. You don't have to keep it to yourself all the time."

"Ashtem, I said I'm fine." 

"Remember, I told you to refer to me as 'Theodore' when we're alone. There's no harm in saying my name, Norman."

"Ugh."

He even decided to come up with petty couple rules, like what most lovers would do. Norman was a little baffled at how quick he wanted to advance in this relationships. When would Theodore even slowly down for him?

Suddenly, he frowned. "Actually, no need to answer. I'm going to guess that you are still uncomfortable with this, right? Maybe I should let you go for today, and give you some time again." he sighed out.

Time? Maybe that would be worth it, since Norman could use it against him... But then he suddenly remembered that going against Theodore wouldn't be fun at all. "I guess you can say I'm still feeling off about this." he confessed to his leader. "I don't think this is right at all."

His head turned away yet again, and he heard Theodore's voice again. "I should have figured. Perhaps my theories were correct after all; maybe you aren't bisexual or homosexual after all." he chuckled lightly.

Norman felt his heart explode periodically before he almost shouted out, "What?!" he felt himself heating up a little as well, followed by a sudden jerk back. "Don't tell me you enjoy theorizing your Snake Pit members' orientations." 

"An amusing thought," Theodore leaned a little too close to his face, smirking in a teasing manner. The more Norman looked at Theodore, the more his heart went a little faster.