Connor POV
"Why are you such a bitch?"
"Nice to see you too, asshole."
I rolled my eyes. "Zoe, you're just so fucking mean to Evan all the fucking time and for no fucking reason whatsoever."
"If you keep saying 'fucking' every other word, maybe I'll understand what you mean." She smirked.
"That's not the point. Why do you do that shit to him?"
"If you love him so much, why don't you marry him?"
"Answer my question."
"Because he's easy. It's entertaining. It's not like he'd fight back either."
"You're unbelievable."
"Thanks. Now leave."
"Bitch."
"Asshole."
Mom came upstairs with a towel in one hand and a spatula in the other. "What's all this yelling about? Zoe, come out here for a second."
She stepped out of her room, obviously irritated. "Connor's yelling at me because he's in love with some loser at school."
I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Am not."
"Are too."
"Connor and Zoe, stop. Connor is that true? Who is she?"
"He. And I'm not in love with him. Zoe's just a mythic bitch to him all the time. She stood him up on purpose because she was paid to, plus she's jealous because he's not upset because he's happy with me."
She looked to Zoe. "Why would you be so rude to someone who seems so sweet? He never did anything to you." She faced me. "I'd love to meet your friend. Maybe he can come for dinner tomorrow. If he wants, of course." She laughed with that sweet, motherly laugh that made you feel warm and happy. Not me though. I'm too tough for that. Rawr.
I asked Evan if he wanted to come over for dinner like my mom suggested. He called his mom to see if she was okay with it and she said yes.
I drove Evan to my house. I showed him the treehouse we have out back. My dad built it when I was four and Zoe was three. We pretended it was a rocket ship. Sometimes it was a store. One time it was a zoo for bugs and I collected a bunch of bugs from the yard, which scared Zoe. I miss those times when everything was simple and fun.
Evan's eyes lit up when he saw the tree. They lit up even more when he saw that it was a treehouse. That made me happy. He climbed up the ladder and opened the door. It had a faint smell of weed, but I do that on the roof now.
"This is so cool! You have a treehouse!"
"Yup. Haven't been in here in a few months. Maybe a year."
"How?! You have a TREEHOUSE!"
Evan POV
Dinner was kind of awkward. Zoe kept glaring at me until I looked over at her. Then she'd stop and look at her plate. Connor didn't say much. He answered a few of the questions his mom asked.
"So Evan, did you see the treehouse outside? Connor mentioned your love for trees."
"Yeah. It's really nice."
"Remember when you used to play in it with Zoe?" She asked Connor.
"Yep."
"Totally," Zoe sneered.
After dinner, Connor took me up to his room. The first thing I noticed was the treehouse. You can see it through the window. The branches are so close that you could probably crawl onto them from the window.
"Sorry it's messy."
"It's okay. My room's messy too."
He chuckled. Ahh. "Also sorry about my mom and Zoe. And my dad, but he didn't really say anything. My family's kinda weird."
"It's fine. They're not that weird." I smiled.
He showed me his old school pictures, which was hilarious. It was funny seeing how much he'd changed since junior year. Also since second grade.
"Remember when you threw the printer at Mrs. G?"
He rolled his eyes and laughed. "I didn't get to be the line leader that day."
"That reminds me of the vine where she throws the guy a printer instead of his keys."
"'Why the fuck would I say printer?!' That one's my favorite. Probably because I can relate."
We both laughed for a really long time. I like this side of Connor.