Fear (TordTom)

Chapter Four: Idiots

Tom didn't know why Tord would flirt with Tom when they fought. It was probably because Tord liked seeing him flustered, not because he was cute, but because he would laugh his head off every single time. And if Tord did like him, well, screw him.

After their little "fiasco", Tom walked away from Tord with Edd close by. Every time him and Tord would fight, Edd would always stick close by to make sure Tom was alright because some of the stuff Tord said could be quite offensive.

"I wish you two could get along," Edd sighed as they walked into the building. The office was in front of them while a few hallways were on both sides. Lockers could be seen everywhere you turned, and the ceiling felt lifted above their heads. A few classrooms could be seen, buried behind the lockers in little spaces.

"He did it to himself," Tom growled as they walked around the school. They could see some people already checking out their lockers. Tom remembered his combination and locker number from when he got it off the school website: Locker 367, combination 14, 34, 10. He knew his schedule would be posted inside the locker, so he didn't bother to go back to the office and ask.

"Tom," Edd stopped the shorter boy from walking away. "You have to make the effort too. It's not just him, but it's also you."

"How can you not respond to his crap? He insults me, he wants to fight me, and he calls me cute!" Tom hissed out the word.

"Then maybe you should ignore him," Edd shrugged. "If you ignore him, he won't get a reaction out of you, so he'll stop."

Tom was about to say something, but stopped himself. Edd did have a point. When Tom would try to ignore Tord, usually the commie would stop. Although it was kind of hard to ignore him for a few minutes, especially when his last comment made Tom angry.

"Yeah, you're right." Tom sighed. "If I ignore that little prick maybe he'll leave me alone."

Edd smiled so sweetly that Tom's cheeks heated up. He liked seeing Edd happy. When Edd was happy, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of joy. Edd just had that effect on people. Edd saw Tom's obvious blush and turned a bit red too. The two friends shared an awkward silence.

The bell saved them. Edd rushed away. "Well gotta go Tom see you in class bye!" The green boy yelled as he ran to the opposite hallway. Tom just smirked a bit and turned around, heading off to his locker. School was starting, and he didn't want to be late.

...

As soon as Tom had his things, he headed off to his homeroom. It was a teacher named Mr. Vells, and he seemed nice enough. He looked young, about 28, and he gave kids a nod and a hello every time they walked into his class.

Tom walked inside after saying hi to the teacher. The classroom was a bit bland, however the boxes around the room indicated he was still moving things around. The seats were assigned two to a table, so Tom took a seat in the front.

A couple seconds later Matt walked in. As soon as the ginger spotted Tom he called, "Hi, Tom!" Tom smiled at him. Usually Matt would get his name wrong, calling him "Tim", but Matt must've caught himself early enough before he said it.

Matt hanged around Tom's desk for a minute. He didn't say anything. He must've been waiting for somebody.

As soon as Tord and Edd walked in, Matt jumped to his feet. "Hey Edd, come sit with me!" Matt smiled, gesturing to a table next to Tom's.

Edd looked uncomfortable for a second. "Actually, I was gonna sit with Tom. You guys don't mind, right?" As soon as he said this, Tom could feel the tension. Tord looked a little pissed, while Matt looked genuinely sad. The ginger trudged to the table he wanted to sit at and slumped in his chair, while Tord made a low grunt like an animal and stalked toward the table, sliding the seat loudly out so he could sit. He glared at Edd as the slightly chubby boy sat himself next to Tom.

"Thanks," Tom whispered.

Edd nodded and smiled playfully. "Who was gonna save you from the big bad Tord anyways? I've got your back." Tom blushed a little and turned away. That was a mistake. Tord saw his obvious red face and connected the dots. He sent a scowl towards Edd and huffed loudly, crossing his arms. Matt saw it too, and with sad eyes, looked down at his shoes.

Tom was confused. Tord looked ready to kill while Matt almost looked ready to kill himself. What was going on with his friends? Edd was just being nice, right? Edd didn't...like him, right?

Well, Edd is nice...he's sweet, and he always helps me when I'm sad. Tom shook his head in frustration. All this was happening on the first day, and Tom didn't know how to deal with it. He hoped that nothing else would happen today. Just a normal day would be fine, thanks.

The tardy bell rang and the teacher stepped inside. Mr. Vells introduced himself and allowed the students to talk and walk around while he relaxed in his desk, a book propped open. As soon as that happened, the class erupted into small chatter.

"Edd, can we talk?" Matt asked in a low voice. "Y'know, just us two?" Edd shrugged and nodded. Tord got up and so did Edd. The two switched spots, and as soon as Edd sat down Matt began to talk to the boy in a hushed whisper.

"What was that crap that I just saw?" Tord growled, giving a menacing glare. Tom felt a spark of fear, but buried it inside his mind. Be tough. Be fearless.

"Why do you care?" Tom snarled.

"You and Edd were flirting, I know it. Whatever the hell is going on, it needs to stop."

"Flirting?" Tom scoffed. "It wasn't flirting. We were talking. Jeez, you and your superstitions." Tom rolled his "eyes."

Tord growled again, turning his head away from Tom. Tom just scoffed again and pointedly turned away from the Norwegian. He glanced over at Matt and Edd, who were...arguing. They both looked ready to kill each other, and their whispers were beginning to become audible.

What the hell is going on today? Why is everybody acting like complete idiots?