The Test of Time

Thirteen

           OK, HEY GUYS! Wattpad has been literally broken for me for the past like three weeks. I am so sorry, I don't know what happened! I know I promised daily chapters, but they wouldn't publish! So, that's starting now. 

           "Well," Eddy sighed, "Firstly, I think you're right. I am in love with Brett. Why? I have no idea. He's my best friend, I shouldn't be feeling these things for him. Yesterday, he sent me texts about this girl he met at a family thing, and I got mad...I guess that's jealousy?"

           "Mhm...yes," Mallory mused, thoughtful. She knew exactly what was going on with Eddy. She had gone through this same struggle, unbeknownst to most of her friend group.

           "And now I'm scared, because I have no idea what I...am." Eddy said, looking everywhere but up at Mallory. He had no idea how to identify, or if this feeling was literally just a phase. That had to be it. 

            "What do you mean, what you are?" Mallory asked, her eyebrows shooting up. She knew what Eddy was about to ask, and she most certainly didn't like where it was about to go. 

            "Like, if I'm...gay? If I'm...bisexual? I don't really know," Eddy managed, a little sheepish. Gosh, Eddy, what did you just do? Did you just admit you have absolutely no idea what's going on with yourself? Come on, man, get to know yourself! 

             "Does it matter?" Mallory asked incredulously, "If I came up to you and said, 'hey, Eddy, I'm bi', or, 'hey, Eddy, I'm gay', would it change how you thought about me at all?" 

             Eddy opened his mouth to answer when the door to Mallory's room flew open, the bodies of Jo and JP tumbling over themselves in order to gain entrance.

              "WHO'S GAY?" That was Josephine's voice, shrill with surprise. Eddy had never heard a voice shoot up two whole octaves like Jo's just had. 

              "HYGGE?" There came JP's voice also through the door, though it was getting squashed by all of the other voices talking over it.

               "No one's gay-shut up, Jo...No, JP, not hygge...though that would be nice right now...UGH, EVERYONE, GO AWAY!" Mallory was trying to talk above everyone, though it wasn't really working. What a way to ruin the moment, guys. 

                The feeling of everyone there made Eddy worry, though he didn't know exactly why. He was trying to have a nice conversation with Mallory in silence. Though, Eddy had to admit, JP's face was very comical when he realized they weren't talking about hygge. 

               Jo had fled the room after a very terrifying look from Mallory, not to mention a raised sword. JP decided to linger long enough to inform Mallory that the two of them needed to leave in 'exactly three point six minutes' to get to their class on time. 

              Mallory looked crestfallen as she realized that JP was right. She was minoring in mechanical engineering while JP was majoring in it, so they had a lot of the same classes. 'Just like back in high school, huh, JP?'  Eddy had heard her ask. Piecing together certain stories, he found out that Mallory and JP had known each other since Mallory's eighth grade year, JP's seventh grade year. He wondered why they had never met before. He resolved to ask Mallory about it the next time they talked. 

             JP shot Eddy a warm smile through the phone, which Eddy returned gladly. It felt good to smile. Eddy watched, almost laughing, as JP and Mallory unconsciously mirrored each other's actions. They slung their backpacks over their shoulders, threw the water bottles into place, and pushed the glasses up on their noses. 

            Mallory looked apologetically down at Eddy again. "I'm really sorry. I forgot we had class today. We'll talk later, okay?" She listened to Eddy's half-hearted reply, then disconnected the call. She walked into the little kitchenette where Jo was leaning over the counter eating something whilst watching YouTube. 

           Jo looked up instantly as Mallory entered. "What the heck where you talking about in there, Mallory?" She asked. 

           Mallory raised an eyebrow at Jo, and in a joking tone stated that 'no one in this house remembers that I'm the oldest. You guys shan't question my ways!' 

           With that, and a good bit of JP's yelling that it was very much time to go and that they would be very late, Mallory and JP sauntered out the door. Jo was finished with all of her classes for the day, so she wouldn't have to leave again, she would probably just chill in the apartment procrastinating English homework. 

          "So, why do we have to take Spanish in college?" JP asked Mallory, whining. Mallory knew very well that JP was just trying to find a conversation topic as to not revert to what he had heard a few moments earlier. "We took it for two years in high school, and heck, you're already fluent!" 

          Mallory laughed, for it was true. She was fluent in Spanish, along with many other languages, "I have no idea why we have to take it. Probably for the same reasons we were forced to take it in high school. Communication, maybe?" She decided not to bug JP to explain to him what had been going on in her conversation with Eddy. She knew he would come to her in time to get the full story. 

         The two of them walked into class, and got ready for a long lesson in astrophysics.

        After the call disconnected, Eddy stood up and realized what had just happened. He wasted a whole forty-five minutes which needed to have been spent getting ready. It was his turn to choose a video idea. He had absolutely zero of those. He chose to be very lame and choose a instrument smashing video for the two of them to react to. He hoped beyond all hope that Brett would not call him out for being lazy, heck, he hoped Brett would not even pick up on it. 

      Then, he heard the doorbell.