His Girl, My Boy - Anderperry

Chapter Six

Charlie gently shook his shoulders and Todd yawned.

"Todd? It's ten. Figured you'd want to know." Surprisingly, his headache was almost completely gone.

"Oh, I'm feeling better. What've you been up to?" Todd asked, stifling another yawn.

"Well I finished my schoolwork about ten minutes ago, so I'm memorizing some Byron." Todd was shocked at how quickly Charlie finished, but he wasn't entirely surprised. Charlie may have been a goof, but you can't get into Welton with charm.

"God, an entire day's worth?"

"Yep. Not quite done with Keating's poem though, I'm saving that until after lunch."

Keating's assignment slapped Todd across the face, he had forgotten all about it. "I should work on that actually. I'll get changed." Charlie nodded and exited the room. Todd got out of his flannel pajama set and put on khakis. He was pulling in a white undershirt when Neil burst in.

"Todd, are you okay? Where were you? Wait- fuck, no- I called the nurse- shit, Todd. Just, how can I help?" The whirlwind that was Neil did nothing to help Todd stop blushing, no matter how awkward the encounter was.

"Neil, first of all, I'm shirtless," Todd saw Neil's eyes flicker down to his chest and then Todd's, his face flushing with embarrassment. "Second, I got a pass to stay here. I- wait. Aren't you supposed to be in science?"

"Yeah, but Charlie came to get me, told me it was 'my turn,' or whatever." Neil's face was still red.

Todd gulped.

"So we're together for the rest of the day?"

"Yeah. I'd um- put your shirt on."

Todd's blush returned and he scrambled to put his shirt on and find his favorite blue sweater. Once he was good, he got some paper and a pencil and sat at his desk. "You know. I'm okay now Neil, you don't have to stay."

"Do you not want me to?"

Todd's head shot up from his work. "No, God- no. I-I do, I just would feel bad if I caused you to miss class." He was only half-lying, which made him feel an ounce better.

"Well then, I'm staying. I don't think that I'd feel well myself if I left my best friend to his own devices while sick." Neil smiled warmly at Todd, who just felt- at home. No worries about his love life, his grades, his boy, his Neil. It was a fresh change.

He worked diligently for a while, completely focused on his poem. Neil must've been working on his too, because all Todd could hear were two scratching pencils. He didn't even notice Neil stealing glimpses at him, some for minutes at a time. He probably wouldn't have either if not for Charlie.

As Charlie flung open the door, Todd reflexively jumped in his seat.

"Dear God Todd, it's just me!" Charlie ruffled the frustrated boy's hair, turning his attention to Neil. "So who won the contest?" Todd looked confused, as did Neil.

Slowly and dumbly Todd asked, "What contest?"

"Well, the staring contest you and Neil were having! I assume he won because he was looking at you when I opened the door, and your back was turned to him." Charlie knew exactly what he was doing, even if not deliberately. Todd's head swiveled with his body to look at Neil who was ferociously writing and scribbling things out. Todd could see premature tears welling in his eyes.

"Charlie, that isn't funny-"

"It's fine, Nuwanda knew what he was doing." Todd was interrupted by an emotionally unstable Neil, who was now staring at a concerned Charlie.

"I'm sorry Neil, I didn't mean for it to come off that way," You could hear the sincerity in Charlie's voice, thick enough to be cut like butter.

"Well it did! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to call my girlfriend!" And that sentence hit Todd like a pound of bricks. He had been so wrapped up in the argument they were having that for one sheet moment he forgot about Her. For one sheer moment, he allowed himself to think, 'could he really return my feelings?'

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The rest of the day was gloomy, Charlie staying with him for lunch and going soon after, leaving Todd by himself. Slowly, he finished his poem, fixing and altering every syllable until it was perfect. He was rereading it when the tears started falling. It could've been anything, Neil, Neil's Girl, Todd's Boy, or a mix of all three. Nevertheless, he wasn't able to stop for a very long time, and by then, his headache had come back.