Nora Tyson and Tyler Knight
Part One
The urge to giggle is far to strong, I'm worried the bubbly sound is going to slip out of my mouth any second now. I cannot afford for that to happen at any cost. Every single footstep I take down this hallway towards his bedroom door is silent but deadly. Tyler Knight shall always mourn the day he chose to start this war with me.
I at least had an excuse for my start in this. Six months ago I was dared by Jason, his best friend, to steal all of his pillows and bring them to the lounge room as proof I'd done so. It was the easiest dare I'd ever been given before. I hadn't seen Tyler all night, as far as I knew he was out with his new girlfriend instead of partying with his house mates.
I'd grabbed a garbage bag from the kitchen and raced upstairs to collect the surprising amount of pillows for a guy, eight if you're wondering. Granted only three of them were on the bed but still a large amount for a guy. I only have four pillows, what is he doing with the rest of them?
Anyway that's aside from the point, the point is I needed a second garbage bag so I raced downstairs and got one. Upon returning to the room and stuffing the rest of the pillows into the bag he emerged from his bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. I squealed, he yelled. I ran out of there faster than I ever thought possible in heels.
I presented the two garbage bags of pillows to Jason and the rest of the lot playing truth or dare. Little did I know Jason only dared me to do that as a way of getting back at his best friend for being a dick and bailing on him. I should've known I was just being used as a pawn.
I spent the rest of the night avoiding Tyler like the plague and drinking. Every time I saw him enter the same room as me I was gone, bailing like he had the plague and was seconds away from giving it to me.
He took that and ran with it. After spending the next day in the library hungover and trying to study I came home to my mattress missing. I couldn't help but laugh when I realised it was gone. He'd gone to the trouble of making my bed as if the mattress was still there. That was my first clue something was wrong, I never make my bed properly.
I retaliated that night by taking his mattress and thus started the prank war between Tyler and I. tonight marks the six month anniversary of me stealing his pillows, the fateful dare that started all of this. I'd also like to mention it's the six month anniversary of unintentionally switching mattresses with him. I still have his mattress on my bedframe, and mine on his.
Thankfully the mattress no longer smells like him.
Tonight, I'm in the middle of cling wrapping his entire doorframe. I can't stop the ridiculous smile on my face as I imagine all the different ways, he might encounter this little trap when he wakes in a few short hours.
The urge to giggle loudly has returned, it takes all my energy to restrain the urge. It takes an awful amount of concentration to resist giggling and rolling the clingwrap slowly to not make a lot of noise. I don't think I really thought this one out too well but none the less, we're committed now.
"Um...Nora? What are you doing?"
The voice behind me startles me, as it should. I'm in someone else's house doing things I'm not supposed to be doing. I cover my mouth to muffle the squawk slipping pass my lips. Jason is fresh out of bed, his brown hair standing up in every direction. He yawns, running a hand through the wild strands. My gaze dips down to find him shirtless and only wearing boxers.
Jason is on the university basketball team and its done wonderous things for his physique. I'm sure if I wasn't crushing on Tyler or in the midst of a prank way I'd be totally obsessed with him.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I mutter as if there isn't a cling wrap roll hanging from the wall next to my head.
Jason raises a brow, coming closer. "You know I really regret giving you that dare sometimes."
I snort. "Sure, you do."
"No, I really do. This shit has gone on long enough, aren't you bored?"
"Are you kidding me? This is the fun-nest shit ever, you need to lighten up baby." I grin, turning to grab the clingwrap roll.
"Fun-nest isn't a real word."
I roll my eyes. "Okay, grammar police." I pull a face as I continue laying out my trap. "I'm almost finish, five minutes and I'm out of here."
Jason pokes me in the ribs on his way pass. I struggle to not drop the cling wrap roll and not cry out from the intrusion. It's difficult. "The only reason I let you continue instead of alerting him to your shenanigans is it's awfully entertaining watching the both of you deal with this shit." He whispers.
I bite my lip. It is awfully entertaining, even if I am one of the people getting pranked constantly. "Any chance you'll film this for me?" I look over my shoulder.
He's approaching the bathroom, pausing in the doorway to look at me. "Can't, I'll be at practice by then."
I pout, disappointed I won't actually get to see this trap work. Jason disappears into the bathroom, closing the door behind himself. I continue setting my trap, working the clingwrap off the roll slowly to avoid added noise.
From previous attempts of pranking Tyler while he sleeps, I've learned he is a deep sleeper. He sleeps like the dead, not much would bring him too. The only reason I'm so quiet and cautious is I always think surely he's onto me and knows I must be hanging around to prank him. He's only caught me mid-setup like three times in the six months we've been doing this.
Jason doesn't say anything on his way back to his bedroom. I finish cling wrapping Tyler's doorway and step back to admire my handy work. I snap a couple pictures for my keepsake and clean up after myself. I sneak back out of the hallway window I came in through and head back to my home across the street.
*
The loud thumping is intruding in my dream. The shirtless Tyler fades until there is no more dreamland. All that is left is the darkness of my eyelids. I snap my gaze open, glaring at my bedroom door.
"Nora! We have twenty minutes to get to class, get up!" Tia yells through the wood door, thumping once more for effect.
I grumble, rolling into my pillow to release profanities. I've overslept, I had alarms set for an hour before class so I could go to my favourite coffee shop for breakfast. That's totally out of the question now. I'll have to wait until class is done now.
I pull myself from bed, thanking my past self for showering after returning from Tyler's house. All I have to do is get dressed and make myself semi-presentable. Today is a shorts and singlet kind of day, the weather heating up far too quickly for my liking. It's barely eight thirty and I'm sweating.
I pull my sneakers on, grab my laptop bag and exit my bedroom. My three roommates are in the kitchen talking as I make an appearance. Tia Baker, my best friend and the girl I've known forever. Emily Jackson, I met on orientation day last year and the rest is history. Nicola Turner, started out as a study buddy with Tia but turned into close friend and roommate after her boyfriend kicked her out because she caught him cheating.
These three girls are the bestest friends a girl could ever ask for. I'm glad I've had them to come to with my problems, doubts and concerns. Oh, and they're usually down to help me with my pranks. They're practically soulmates.
"Fucking finally, what time did you go to bed last night?" Tia exclaims throwing her arms up in the air when she sees me.
I grin. "I went to bed early."
"She did actually, I saw her going to her room around nine." Nicola defends me. Unfortunately, none of these girls knew I had plans to wake up in the middle of the night to cling wrap Tyler's door. broken sleep is the worse, I find I sleep more, and the quality of said sleep is always less.
Tia narrows her eyes, staring at me suspiciously. I can practically hear her thoughts, what kind of university student is in bed before midnight. Normally she would have a valid point, but I had my reasons.
"What did you do?" Emily asks, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. She holds a plate in front of me, the contents being three stacked choc chip pancakes. The woman knows they way to my heart, through my stomach.
"I love you." I whisper, clutching the plate tightly. I don't even bother with cutlery just pick one of the pancakes up and stuff my face immediately.
"Don't feed her, she's done something she shouldn't have. I just know it." Tia grumbles.
I roll my eyes, munching away at the goodness of choc chip pancakes. "Knowing her it involves Tyler." Nicola grins.
"This is like the most public display of foreplay I've ever seen." Tia grumbles, shoving her books into her bag.
My eyes widen and I practically die from choking on pancakes. Emily pats my back, rubbing every so often as I recover. Nicola hands me a drink, a sly knowing smile on her face. "It is not." I finally mutter after recovering from choking.
"Nora, I love you, but Tia is right." Emily switches to the enemy side both physically and figuratively. She rounds the island counter, washing the fry pan in the sink. Tia boasts the biggest grin as she slings her backpack of her shoulder.
"Tyler and I are just friends." I remind them. I don't even think we're that. We certainly aren't the traditional definition of friends.
"Doesn't mean you don't want a piece of that." Nicola voices her opinion, gathering her dishes and joining Emily.
I move my gaze between my three friends wondering when they all talked about this. It's obvious that they have discussed this at some point and that they're holding back their real opinions. Is this an intervention?
"Sure the guy is good looking but I don't see him like that." I lie, hoping like hell none of them can see through the false words.
"I've seen the way you look at him." Nicola comments giving me a look. I glare at her, biting back my response. She wants to talk about looks, how about the way she looks at Tia's older brother? However, I'm not stupid enough to bring that up right now. That's a different problem for a different day.
"I look at him like I can't wait for him admit defeat in this war of ours and that's it."
"So, you're choosing denial and delusion today?" Tia smirks reaching for my car keys, she flings them in my direction.
I barely catch them in time. "This whole prank war thing is just a cover, probably for both of you." Emily says, staring at her hands washing the fry pan ever so slowly.
I stare at her; unsure I heard her correctly. Is she suggesting that Tyler and I like each other in the same way? I've never gotten that kind of vibe from Tyler, no matter how much I wished and willed it. "That's ridiculous." I say quietly.
Tia takes the empty plate from my hands and turns me in the direction of the front door. I get it, time to go we have class very shortly. I am slightly disappointed I never got to have a coffee but that just means my midmorning coffee will be extra special. Bring on ten am already uni gods!
**