Dark Hedges

Ship of Theseus

The more time Tripp spent with Teddy, the more he liked the young man.

The two couldn't be more different, though. While Tripp was laid-back and relaxed, Teddy lived in a perpetual state of rush. Tripp was a realist with both feet set firmly on the ground; Teddy, a daydreamer who hid behind a coat of cynicism, which seemed to come off every time they were together. Tripp liked Marvel, Teddy preferred DC; Tripp loved chocolate and Teddy vanilla; Tripp was iTunes and Teddy, Spotify.

Perhaps those fundamental differences made them fit so well. For the past week, the two spent every afternoon together, studying and playing. Mostly playing; Tripp initiated Teddy on Halo and FIFA. For his part, Teddy displayed his Nintendo collection, which included every single console dating back to the NES. During Mario Kart races and Smash battles, Teddy became Tripp's first real friend at Royalwood.

Sure, Teddy had his issues. A perfectionist to a T, he was extremely judgemental and sometimes outright cruel to others whom he considered below him, which was basically everyone else. And while Tripp couldn't say he particularly approved of Teddy's attitudes or methods, he admitted they worked for the guy. After all, and more often than not, his new friend always came out on top.

On this particular morning, as they both prepared for the Rutherford Brunch, Tripp caught his friend eyeing him in a very peculiar way. This wasn't the first time that Teddy became lost in his own thoughts, something that both intrigued and somewhat disturbed him. This, however, was the first time that Tripp himself became the object of Teddy's attention. Loudly clearing his throat, he spoke, or rather screamed.

"Teddy!"

The boy immediately snapped out of his trance. His big, brown, blinking eyes stayed fixed on Tripp's, while his hands opened and closed in the way they did when he got particularly stressed, which was almost always.

"What?" His friend asked in the worst fake relaxed tone ever.

Tripp drew a Cheshire grin. "You went away again. Look, your bowtie came undone."

He walked over to his friend and picked him up from the bed. For a second, it seemed like Teddy shivered at his touch, but it was probably just the cold. Standing in front of the considerably shorter boy, Tripp bent and started working on the bowtie.

"This is nice," Teddy muttered, his Adam's apple bouncing behind the shirt's collar. He quickly added: "You being so good at tying a bowtie, I mean."

"Well, I've been doing it since infancy. It'd be kind of sad if I didn't dominate the task."

He bent further, to give the bowtie the final touches. Making sure it was symmetrical, he raised his eyes, proud of his work. He smiled at his friend, who released a deep sigh when their gazes met.

Unlike before, Teddy looked at him with unblinking and somewhat mournful eyes. Tripp often wondered if it was sadness that hid in that pool of liquid brown; if it was, then Teddy did a wonderful job at pretending. Except for moment like this, when the sadness seemed to float out of that deep-set darkness. Tripp stared at those wide-opened eyes, strangely fascinated by what hid behind them.

Suddenly, he realized just how close they were and confusion set in. He blinked, slowly and opened his mouth, but Teddy spoke first.

"Thank you," he babbled through heavy breaths.

Tripp shook his head, getting rid of all inner turmoil, and slapped his friend's shoulders, slightly throwing him off balance. "Don't mention it."

He walked back to the mirror and continued styling his hair. Teddy spoke again, this time in his usual confident tone.

"This Fall Colours Party looks like it'll be quite the event, right?"