i'm excited to see tom again; he's so weird and mysterious and interesting. i want to learn more. why does he have no eyes? why does he talk to something non-living?

"where are you off to?" pat asks me as soon as my hand lands on the rusty gold doorknob.

i stifle a sigh and look over my shoulder to face him. he raises an eyebrow when i don't respond. for a second i think, should i tell him about tom?

"earth to tord." he waves his hand in front of my face.

"don't you have class?" i counter.

"not today," he shakes his head. "where are you going?"

i fight the urge to roll my eyes. "out. i made a new friend." the words have slipped before i can even process them through my mind. fuck my life.

"oh? i didn't know you were capable of leaving that little friend group of yours." pat smirks as if he's funny. he moves into the kitchen to reheat food.

"i haven't left them," i scowl. "i met some other kid, that's it."

"and he doesn't hang out with you guys?"

"..no."

"why not?" pat hums.

"because they wouldn't like him. he talks to himself and sits in a meadow alone." i frown.

he turns to look at me. "what?"

"you heard me, chicken wings."

pat flushes and messes with his bangs self-consciously. "they don't look like chicken wings." he mutters.

"loser." i laugh and open the door. "see you, bro." i leave and shut the door behind me.

when i walk towards the stairwell, i hear familiar voices and realize they belong to my friends. i enter the concrete room and see yanov, paul, yuu, edd and his twin sister ell sitting on the bottom steps.

"hey." i say casually while walking down.

"it's about time." edd scoffs.

"leave him alone." ell punches her brother's arm. god, she's always defending me. a long time ago edd said she digs me.

"don't get your panties in a bunch, ell." yanov grins.

"what would you know about panties, virgin?" she hisses and paul laughs. even yuu giggles into his hand. yanov turns red.

"c'mon, let's go get pizza." edd stands up.

"whoever can steal the most chili packets and not get caught gets yuu's xbox!" paul pumps his fists in the air.

yuu's eyes widen. "what!?"

"relax. he's just messing." i tell him and he sighs.

we all leave the stairwell and walk in a group to the pizza place. i really want to go see tom but i'm also starving; maybe i'll bring him a slice.

ell stands close beside me, our knuckles brushing together. i glance at her but she's looking away. i don't think she understands that i'm not into her- she's not my type. my friends are a few feet ahead of us and i eye them jealously. i'd feel bad for her if i just walked up to them.

"hey, tord?" she says softly. i look down at her and nod. "do you wanna come over to my house for a movie later?"

i swallow hard and awkwardly tug at my hoodie strings. i think about tom. "um.. yeah, sure, maybe. depends." i reply.

"okay. hopefully you can." ell smiles.

"mhm." i nod.

~timeskip~

"what the hell are you doing?"

i look up at yanov with wide eyes. i'm currently wrapping a pizza in a ridiculous amount of napkins and everyone's staring at me. "...bringing a piece to my brother?" i lie.

"that many napkins?" edd laughs.

"i don't want grease on me. fuck you." i flip him off and shove the wrapped pizza into my hoodie pocket.

"why would you do anything nice for your brother?" paul looks at me suspiciously. "doesn't he totally piss you off?"

i give him a glare. "it's none of your business, eyebrows. i'm leaving." i snap, getting up. paul visibly stiffens at the nickname i give him, but he doesn't say anything. yanov whistles and looks at paul.

"tord, are you okay?" ell grabs my arm gently.
i look at her and move my arm out of her grip.

"i'm fine." i mutter and push in my chair. the metal scrapes loudly against the ugly orange tile and i get a few rude looks from other customers. i walk out of the restaurant and hope they don't notice i'm not walking in the direction of my house.

why the hell was i so rude to them? the thought crosses my mind as i watch my shoes. sure, i've had a history of anger problems, but they didn't do anything too bad. i shrug and sigh. oh well.

later on, at around 3 o'clock, i arrive at the field. i jog over to where i'd last seen tom and, sure enough, he was there. he was talking to himself again.

"hey, tom." i smile and sit next to him.

he looks at me with those chilling eye sockets and smiles as well. "the wind was saying you weren't gonna come. i got scared."

"the wind was wrong." i have an urge to ruffle his hair but i hold back. that's gay. "i brought you something."

"really?" he sits up, excited.

"you ever had pizza?" i take out the slice and unwrap it. i hold it out to him.

"once.. when i was younger." he says, eyes wide. he takes it and gives it a small whiff.

"don't smell it, just bite it." this is amusing.

tom shifts a bit but eventually takes a tentative bite. his face lights up before he starts wolfing it down.

"jesus christ." i laugh and watch him. "so this is the second time you've had pizza?" i ask and he nods, sauce staining the side of his mouth. "you like it?"

"i do." he smiles. "thank you."

"no problem, man." i look away and pull my knees up to my chest. we sit in a comfortable silence before i break it to speak. "my friend's sister has a crush on me."

"girlfriend?"

"no, i don't like her back," i sigh. "she invited me to a movie, but i don't really want to go." i turn to look at him and ask, "have you ever liked anyone?" then i realize, he has no friends.

tom thoughtfully looks at the sky. "on boys from my fiction books." he smiles and looks at me again.

i stare at him, eyes wide. "you're-" i stop as a confused frown slowly reaches his face.

"what?" he murmurs.

"i, um... i didn't know you were.." i cringe. "i didn't know you were a homo."

he looks away from me to pluck at grass blades. "that's what they called me in grade 8. now i do school at home."

holy shit, i'm such an asshole. "hey, no, i'm sorry. i didn't mean that." i hesitantly pat his back. "just, my friends are really... against gay people, so.. yeah. i'm sorry." now that i think of it, how did i not know he was gay? he only wears knitted sweaters and leggings from what i can tell so far.

"it's okay, tord," tom picks at lint on his sleeve. "please don't be like the people in grade 8."

i can't help but chuckle under my breath and smile. "i'm not. you've got nothing to worry about. so you said you're homeschooled?"

he looks at me, seemingly happy again. "yes! dad teaches me- well, kind of mom, too," he explains. "they are both college teachers but dad works at night."

i raise my eyebrows, impressed. "that's really cool."

"your parents?" he tilts his head.

"uhhh.." i flinch. "my dad ditched when i was born, but my mom is really cool, so." i shrug.

"oh." he frowns. "sorry, tord."

"it's oka-" i can't even finish my sentence because he has his arms wrapped around me in a tight hug and i struggle to not say 'no homo'.

"th- thanks." i stutter when he pulls away and gives me a thumbs up. i offer a reluctant smile before hearing my phone chime. i take it out of my pocket; it's a text from ell.

ell: hi tord!

ell: up for movie night? edd doesn't have to be here

i sense that there's deeper meaning to that last text and i bite my lip. "should i go? to the girl's house and watch a movie?"

tom whispers a few things under his breath before his gaze slowly lifts to the sky, which is starting to turn shades of pink and light orange. he turns to look at me and shrugs. "if you want, tord." he says and stands up.

i stand up too. "are you going home?"

"yes. i need to have dinner and feed cloud."

"okay. uh, see you tomorrow?" i smile awkwardly.

he smiles back. "okay."

"be careful walking home." i pat his shoulder and walk away. i feel his stare linger on me for a few seconds longer.

tord: yeah. on my way

anyway, i'm off to ell's house.