two weeks later
i yawn as my maths teacher explains polynomials to the class for the hundredth time. why did they give me algebra 2 first thing in the morning? i check my phone under the table to see a text from rodrick. we've been texting back and forth ever since i gave him my number, but haven't had a chance to hang out.
rodrick: rise cafe after school? i'll buy.
i think to myself if skipping tonight's homework is worth it. my failing grade in math says it's probably not.
to rodrick: i can't. homework :( im failing algebra
i look up from my phone so that the teacher doesn't catch me and pretend to take notes for another five minutes when my thigh vibrates.
rodrick: how about you do it at the cafe? study session :D
i smile to myself.
to rodrick: admire the perseverance but i can't. you'll distract me lol
he responds immediately.
rodrick: what's that supposed to mean ;)
i roll my eyes and turn off my phone, going back to my "notes." it would be fun to hang out, but i genuinely can't do work when there's people around me. maybe if i catch up on homework tonight, we can hang out tomorrow. he'll be okay with that, right? i don't want him to feel like im avoiding him. my thigh vibrates again.
rodrick: come onnnnnn. i need my jacket back anyways.
goddamnit.
to rodrick: fine. but im getting all my homework done and you don't get to talk until im finished
rodrick: sounds good 2 me :) see u then
"miss evans, im up here" the teacher says sternly. i look up.
"sorry mr. brown" i apologize and slide my phone under my thigh. he continues with his lecture. no wonder i have an F in his class. i can't pay attention for the life of me.
when the bell rings, mr. brown stops me on my way out.
"tate, i've noticed that your grades are suffering, especially in my class." he says, concerned. "you're too smart to retake this class. something has to change"
"you're absolutely right sir. im trying to get my grades up, i plan on doing my missing homework tonight." i answer sweetly, although i know im going to be late to my next class.
"as much as that may help, it's not going to keep you from failing" he grimaces at me. "im going to have to assign you a tutor or you'll have to retake this course next year"
a.. a tutor? normally IM the tutor. dang, i guess i've been really lazy in this class, huh.
"who?" i ask, my shock showing a bit in my tone.
"eric richards" he responds. my heart drops into my ass. "he's a year above you and did very well in my class"
so now i have to be tutored? by my ex? who is significantly more immature than me? did he like request this? my head spins. how long is this going to go on for? i can't bear being around him for more than ten minutes, let alone a whole tutoring session.
"w-when do we start?" i question nervously.
"well i was hoping this friday? you guys could meet once a week until you're at a B average. then you're free." he can tell that i don't look very happy about this and looks pained telling me this information.
"okay. i'll talk to my dad about staying after school"
"great" he smiles at me.
yeah. great.
°°°
i pick at the bread on my sandwich as kat babbles on about theatre, sitting across from me at the lunch table. i feel uneasy, im so anxious about spending so much time with eric. especially fridays. who wants to spend a friday being tutored? and by the person they dislike the most. the universe is really punishing me for being lazy.
"tate? did you hear what i said?" kat sighs, waving her hand in front of my face.
"sorry, what?" i look up at her to see her staring back at me with furrowed brows.
"are you even listening to me at all? what's going on with you today?" she asks in a worried tone.
"im sorry, i've just had a rough day." i respond. "school shit"
"what happened?" she opens her moss colored eyes wide. "you let me rant about theatre and didn't tell me you feel bad?"
"it's alright. to be fair, i wasn't really listening" this gains a chuckle out of her. she brushes her blunt orange bangs out of her eyes and waits for me to explain. "basically, mr. brown is making me go to tutoring"
"that's all?" she asks relieved. i guess she's used to heavier bad news.
"eric is my tutor." i sigh.
"what?!" she exclaims. "didn't he pass that class by cheating?"
"that's what i thought, but apparently he's some math wiz" i roll my eyes. "i just need to get my average up to a B, then this all over" i say in an attempt to stay positive.
"so when does it start?" she asks.
"this friday" i huff. she looks at me empathetically.
once lunch is over, the rest of my classes drag on. i tap my foot impatiently, waiting for the bell to ring. i can't focus on anything, im too excited to see rodrick again. finally, seventh period is over and im checking my phone again.
rodrick: meet me in the parking lot
the topic of his vehicle has never come up so i don't really know what he wants me to look for. maybe he'll be standing there? i walk as fast as i can manage, trying not to run into people, until im at the student parking lot. i look around, expecting to see rodrick waving at me, but something else catches my eyes. a giant white van with the words Löded Diper painted on the side. i immediately know whose it is and raise my eyebrows, laughing to myself. as im walking over to it, it begins to rain. i hop in quickly, managing to stay dry, and turn to look at him.
"nice ride" i grin widely at him.
"thanks" he mirrors my grin. "you have all your stuff?"
"yep" i reach over to give him a quick hug. "thanks for talking me into this. i needed a break from home and school" he seems pleasantly surprised by my hug. im very touchy and affectionate to everyone so sometimes i catch people off guard, my therapist says it's because i didn't get any affection at home. i say it's because i just like affection. my whole personality isn't based off of my trauma, mr. therapist.
"no problem" he chuckles lightly as he exits the school.
"so how was your day" i ask, conversationally.
"failing like all my classes but what's new?" he laughs. "how about you?"
"same old boring shit. im failing math so now i have to be tutored on fridays" i complain. he raises his eyebrows at me.
"every friday?" he questions, looking slightly upset.
"yeah, why?" i respond, eyeing him.
"well, my band practices on fridays and i was kinda hoping you would come watch" he explains.
"oh shit. i completely forgot about that" i face palm. "i'm sorry"
"it's alright. maybe we can practice at a later time so you could come see" i nod my head.
we pull into the parking lot outside the cafe and i pick up my bag.
"you're really gonna do work?" rodrick laughs at me. "i thought you were just saying that."
"what about 'im failing math' do you not understand?" i roll my eyes.
"well do you really need to do work if you're going to tutoring?" he raises an eyebrow. "come on, don't be lame"
"no rodrick, i need to do it" i defend. "it'll only take like twenty minutes" im pretty good at math, i just fall behind out of pure laziness.
"fine" he sighs dramatically, opening the door.
i hoist my bag onto my back and before i can even turn to open my door, he's opening it for me.
"m'lady" he bows with the umbrella in his hand, splashing some water on me.
"rodrick" i groan.
"sorry" he chuckles at me. "come on, get under the umbrella"
"ooooh we're sharing an umbrella? how romantic" i smirk at him as he turns crimson.
"shut up" he says embarrassed. before he can try to help me down, im already out the door, snatching the umbrella from him and running towards the cafe. when i walk in, i feel a wet hand grab my shoulder. "i am going to kill you tate"
"do it diaper boy" i wink at him, placing the umbrella in the holder. he shakes his head at me laughing and i grab his arm. "let's go sit by the front window"
once im settled and have my papers out, rodrick moans. i shoot him a death glare, silencing him. i quickly solve equations and write down definitions as he stares at me, taking in my every move. for someone with such bad grades, you'd think i was completely clueless in my subjects, when in reality, im just the laziest person to ever exist. besides, grades don't measure intelligence, they measure obedience. it takes me a solid 25 minutes to finish my maths work, and by then, rodrick has already gone through two milkshakes. his and mine.
"are you done?" he asks hopefully as i stretch.
"yes, oh my god, im done. so you can stop staring at me" i say, popping my back on the chair.
"i was not staring at you." he defends. "i was just trying to be patient"
"mhmm" i roll my eyes. "and drank my milkshake while you were at it"
"well you weren't drinking it"
i laugh. this fucking kid.
"i'll get another one" he offers.
"yes please. how about we get some food too?" i laugh. "i can't live off milkshakes."
"alright" he shrugs, calling the waitress over. "what do you want?"
"a california veggie sandwich and some fries" i decide while looking at the menu.
"no meat?" he asks, confused.
"im vegetarian" i laugh. people are always so surprised that i don't eat meat.
"so you don't even eat chicken" he asks dumbly. i internally scream.
"no i do not eat chicken" i retort. "that's the whole point of being vegetarian. you don't eat meat"
"wow i could never do that" he states, dumbfounded.
"and what would you like sir?" the waitress asks, interrupting us. oops, forgot she was there.
"i'll have a BLT. oh and two more chocolate milkshakes"
she makes note of this. "will that be all?"
rodrick nods, dismissing her, before turning back to look at me.
"she was hot" we both say in unison. he gives me a lopsided grin.
my phone vibrates.
rowan: hey. where are you?
i groan. "awh, shit."
rodrick looks at me concerned. "what?"
"my stepmom just texted asking where i am, which means she got home earlier than i expected" i explain.
"are you grounded?" he lifts an eyebrow at me.
"how did you-" i start.
"been there. done that." he chuckles. "you should probably get home then"
"i'll tell her i went on a walk" i come up with. "...with my backpack.. in the rain... fuck. man. im gonna get in so much trouble."
"we can say that i offered to take you home and my van started having some problems on the way there?" he suggests, obviously way better at this than me. experience.
"oh! yeah that'll work." i glance at my phone. "i feel bad about lying to her."
"better than getting grounded longer. what were you even grounded for?" he asks, as i send rowan a text.
to rowan: a friend offered to give me a ride. their car had problems. on my way back now
"getting in a fight with my dad. he's ridiculous" i complain, looking up from my phone. "he thinks that me ignoring him and never wanting to be around him somehow equals us having a relationship? and then holds that over my head all the time. he's seriously repulsive."
"dude, me too. he's always trying to act like it's my fault that we don't hang out but? he's the parent? he never approaches me." he relates.
"dads seriously suck. never fail to let me down" i roll my eyes. i notice the waitress on her way with the food and my mouth waters. i haven't eaten since eleven.
"here you are" she announces, setting the food in front of us. "let me know if there's anything else i can help you with"
"thank you, it looks so good" i grin at her, to which she gives a tight-lipped smile. did we really annoy her that much?
rodrick digs into his sandwich. i give him a look of disgust as he smiles at me with his mouth full.
i bite into my food and practically moan.
"this is so good" i say through bites. he snorts. i chug my milkshake and devour my fries. we're in a rush, but also the food is really good. i can't help myself.
"you're-" rodrick gives me a look. "-not afraid to eat wow"
"oh shut up, i was really hungry" i roll my eyes at him. "you didn't hold yourself back either, did ya?" i eye his empty plate.
he flicks a fry at me, which lands on the person's head behind us, but they don't notice. rodrick and i erupt into laughter. we laugh so hard that my sides begin to feel like they're splitting. i grab them, still unable to catch my breath. finally, the laughter dies down, we lock eyes, and it starts again. it takes a good five minutes for us to actually stop. i realize that we really need to get going if rowan's going to believe my story.
the waitress comes back with the bill and he sets money onto the table before announcing our departure.
"alright, to the van"
i grab the umbrella and hold it over our heads.
"gonna share this time?" he teases.
i chuckle, then salute him mockingly. "yes sir"
once in the van, he turns on the radio. some alternative station. the topic of our favorite music has already come up over text. we both agree that deep purple is one of the best rock bands of all time.
"i had a really fun time." i admit. "thank you for taking me."
he turns scarlet. "i'll try to fit you into my schedule again sometime soon."
"oh, shut the hell up." i elbow him.
on the way home, we both sing terribly to overplayed journey songs and poke fun at each other's air guitar skills. he's a terrible driver, almost running into multiple mailboxes on the way to my house. once we're there, im sad to leave. i don't know when we'll hang out again.
"this is where we part ways." i sigh. "i'll text you."
"is this the part in the movie where we kiss?" he asks, half-jokingly.
"in your dreams, diaper boy" i smirk at him before shutting the door.
i notice something as he drives off.
im still in his jacket.
_____________________________________________
A/N ahhh that was a long chapter. a lot has happened in the past few days so i didn't update when i said i would but not many people are currently reading this so that's fine LOL. i hope u enjoyed their little "date" if u will. vote + add pls. thanks for reading :))))