Cacophony and warmth were what she woke up to. The dog stayed by her side, not wanting to leave the cuddled position. A blanket was draped over the two of them on the couch, which Timothy must have gotten for her. And the clanking upstairs, and the chatter. His mom got home from her shift.

  “Listen, mom—”

  “Was it fun? Was Sarah there?” The maternal extinct spoke over what Timothy wanted to say. She wanted to know all the details. “Did you ask her to dance?”

  “Yeah, I asked her.”

  “And?”

  “We danced.”

  “Nice.”

  Sarah heard Kayla’s enthusiasm, as cute as their interaction was, she didn’t want the conversation to continue unless Kayla knew about her. So Sarah tiptoed up the stairs and lightly coughed into her hand—she seemed to be doing a lot of that around Timothy. As his mom turned to see a woman in her son’s clothes, she waved hi.

  The mom’s coffee dropped from her hand and shattered on the floor. She looked to Timothy, back to Sarah. And back to Timothy. “Nice!” She gave her son a high-five.

  “It’s not what you think,” he said.

  “It’s exactly what you think,” Sarah said.

  The mom got a dish rag and began wiping up the coffee, picking up the large chunks of broken mug with the other hand. “Perhaps one of you can tell me what I’m thinking?” Despite making sure they were responsible, she held a grin.

  “She couldn’t get ho—”

  “He was a real gentleman last night.”

  The mom laughed as she got up and tossed the glass in the trash. Still maintaining her smile and admiration for her son. “Oh, he was?”

  “We watched a movie and she was tired so she slept on the couch.”

  The mom raised a brow. “You left her alone?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He let me sleep on his lap for a bit.”

  And she wasn’t lying. Last night she lay on his lap, pretending to be tired after playing basketball. He remained perfectly still for an hour, and gently laid her down off of him and got her a blanket. She stayed awake that entire time.

  “You left that detail out.” Kayla raised a brow, and Timothy shrugged it off.

  ”He blocked all of my other advances last night.”

  “Almost a perfect gentleman,” his mom said to Sarah. They both chuckled at that. “Are you even wearing a bra?”

  “No ma’am.”

  “I’ll turn off the AC real quick.”

  Timothy, stunned, didn’t think his morning would go like this. He was hoping to sneak her out before his mom got home. But he also didn’t want to wake her up.

  Sarah spotted the plates of food on the table. Sarah must have been home for a while. Timothy went to the cupboard and grabbed another plate, piling scrambled eggs onto it.

  Kayla grew giddy and didn’t want to hide it. Her smile was wide and her posture was straight. She couldn’t remember the last time, other than Sarah, Timothy had a friend over twice in the last month. It’s never happened before during his tenure in high school.

  “Even with bedhead,” Kayla said, “You look great in the morning.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Kline.” She took a bite of the eggs. It wasn’t plain, it had a lot of flavor. “Wow. Good stuff.”

  Timothy remained quiet, still unable to process what to do.

  Sarah pulled out her phone. “Is it ok if I check my messages?”

  “Sure,” they both said.

  She had her phone off since she rode the bike, but not before letting her mom know her plans. Once the phone booted up, it vibrated and lit up like crazy with over a hundred texts and alerts. She turned it off. “You know, that’s not important right now.”

  Kayla sat across from the two. Sarah leaned into him, her son terrified, as if he was taking a lie detector test or sitting on the electric chair. She knew that her son wasn’t the best looking, and seeing the two beside each other was striking.

  “So are you two…?”

  Sarah looked to Timothy and nudged him with her shoulder. “Boyfriend and girlfriend?”

  With a red face. “I’m not sure if I’m ready.”

  She sneered. “I’ve never been friend-zoned before.” She finished up her plate. “I should get home soon for work.”

  “You work?” Kayla said.

  “Don’t sound so surprised. But, Yes. Athletic wear companies send me their clothes and I wear them for my socials.”

  “Whoa,” Kayla said. “How many followers?”

  “A few million.”

  Forks clinked against plates. That was new to Timothy. Then again, he doesn’t have any social media presence. Kayla gulped at the sheer magnitude of those numbers, impressed by her following.

  Kayla got up from her chair. “Timothy can give you a ride in the car when you’re ready. I need to get some desperate sleep.”

  Before Kayla grabbed her plate, Sarah grabbed it and the rest and began washing them in the sink. Kayla gave Timothy a secret thumbs up before going up the stairs. There’s no way she’d be able to get any sleep with this new development.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Timothy said.

  “All good.”

  As she cleaned, he went downstairs and grabbed her dress, gently, and brought it up. “I should get you home.”

  It was a fun role reversal. He's driving her. She began to direct him where to go, and he followed orders. He tried to speak, stopped, and tried again. The sentence he wanted to say was there, but it was hard. The hardest thing he’s done. “Last night was great.”

  She leaned in and put a hand on his on the center console. And he was right. Last night was great. A boy who didn’t try to grope her or get mad if she was unable to perform sexually. “Do you want to have dinner at my place tomorrow?”

  “With your family?”

  “Yeah. My older sister will be there too. She sleeps there on the weekends.”

  “And your younger sister?”

  The very topic she wants to mention. “I never mentioned a little sister.”

  His face got red. “I’ve met her before. You two look a lot alike.”

  “Oh, you crushing on her?” She knew that wasn’t the case. But, she’s curious if he’ll talk about it.

  “No. Just wondering.”

  “She’ll be there, she’s a middle schooler, so yeah.”

  She pointed into a street lined with large brick walls and lion statues. The homes got big. Very big. Whenever she’d invite a new friend over, they’d always gawk, but not Timothy. He didn’t seem to care. What did he care about? Probably survival, she thought.

  “There’s mine.” The road wound up to the top of a small hill. It was a three-story home with multiple decks and large windows, and a driveway that arched to the front door under a canopy. She opened the door and hopped out. “We eat at around six every night. See you then?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Need me to pick you up?”

  He looked up in thought, then scrolled through his phone. “I can ride my bike as I have to walk a dog before then. They’re kinda close.”

  She waved bye and closed the door. Before he made it out of her long driveway, she sent him a text. “You make a good lap pillow.”

  The small SUV swerved into the grass and back onto the driveway. She watched the Timothy is typing message, and it disappeared just before he drove off.

  ***

  A slightly more mature-looking blonde opened the door. The resemblance was clear, her older sister. Same hair color, same green eyes, same figure, which he tried not to look at. The jeans were a style Sarah didn’t wear, preferring dresses or skirts, and leggings underneath if it’s cold.

  “New boyfriend? Damn she moves fast.”

  “Friend. Just a friend.”

  “Uh-huh.” She raised a brow, sizing him up. “I guess her tastes have changed. I’m Lily, come in.” She opened the door wider and he stepped in.

  And, like a fantasy, her older sister was no less or more stunning. He gulped, not knowing what to do, and opted to stand still in the entryway, and he tapped his heels as Lily went to the stairwell.

  “Your boyfriend is here,” she yelled up.

  An older woman with the same blonde hair came by and said, “You must be Timothy.”

  He nodded. Another girl walked by and side-eyed him as she continued into the living room, Sarah’s younger sister.

  The mom was hoping her youngest would introduce herself. When she didn’t, the mom continued. “Heard a lot about you, and from your mom as well.”

  Before he could respond, pink and beige clothes and blonde hair blurred into the hallway and settled as fast. She straightened her tank top and pink shorts and hustled down the stairs. “Awesome. This is my mom, that’s Lily, that’s Bri. Great. Can I show you around?”

  “Yeah sure.”

  His nerves hid his enthusiasm, but she didn’t hide hers. She was cute, to say the least. Grabbing his hand and leading him upstairs, and straight to her room. “I’ll show you the rest later, but this is my room.” She lifted her hands and spun. He stood at the entryway, looking in. “You can come in. Unless you’re planning something.”

  “I would never—”

  “I know. Come on.” She grabbed his arm and walked him in.

  The room was feminine. It matched her to a T. Pink and teal accessories decorated everything, stuffed animals on her bed, one being a pink giraffe, and a set of dance shoes on a pink shelf made specifically for them. Her walls were light teal, the house's wooden floors extended into her room, she had an ornate rug in the middle, and her TV was backlit pink to soften the walls when the lights are off. Her cheer outfit hung on the closet handle, posters of bands she likes decorated the walls, and a stack of books was on her desk. It was roomy enough to have an exercise bike in the opposite corner of the TV. And another door to a balcony.

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  “It’s really cool.” He looked around and spotted her photos on the shoe shelf. One was of her with a famous musician, backstage, and a part of a huge crowd could be spotted past the crack of the curtain. “Is that?”

  “Yeah. She invited me. Anyways.” She pulled him again towards the balcony. He spotted a sports bra and leggings on the bed. “All the rooms share this balcony that wraps around most of the house. I do my social ads out here.”

  The sun was near setting, and the clouds were changing to purple. “Wow.” He said. “I take it that a lot of your parties are on this balcony?”

  “Sometimes. Though those are canceled from now on.” She approached him and straightened his shirt. “A collared long-sleeve shirt. No more baggy hoodies?”

  “My mom picked this.”

  Sarah chuckled. “She was right. Listen to her.” She tugged on the collar to straighten that as well. “Ok, let’s look at the rest.”

  She hustled him downstairs to the living room and down a hall into a room filled with books and several leather chairs. “This is the study.” And again they went into another. “Pool, and some light drinking from the bar that my parents will approve of.”

  He nodded. She took him to another. An entertainment room, a large TV, several nice recliners, and a mini kitchenette with a soda dispenser. “I’d take you to the basement, but it’s mostly the gym and an art room. My dad has his gaming room down there too.” She took him to the end and opened a back door. A large, in-ground hot tub resided at the patio's edge, and several outdoor seating areas with sparse shading around the back. The grill had its own deck. And the huge yard backed up to a trail that led into open space and woods.

  “This is it. Where I live.”

  He nodded, wondering what her parents did for a living. He forgot, Carr Ware. They’re loaded. The house was huge. Much bigger than the 1,200 square foot, single-car garage home he lived in. Each floor must have doubled his entire home. “It’s all so great.”

  Her phone buzzed. “Looks like dinner is ready.” He chuckled at the thought that instead of using their voices to call for dinner, they had to text as it was so large. “Hope you like tandoori chicken.”

  She hustled him to the kitchen and pulled a chair out for him, setting him in the middle between herself and her little sister.

  Lily said. “Saw online that you just broke up with Liam. There were a lot of fun videos.”

  “Life’s short. So everyone, this is Timothy.” He raised a hand. “Again, this is Bri, you met Lily and mom, and this is my dad.”

  “Mr. Carr.”

  Timothy nodded.

  “Just kidding, kid. Call me Paul. How did you guys meet?”

  Timothy was honest and said, “Class.”

  “That and I actually stalked him.” Sarah got honest as well.

  “Sarah! Did you?” Mrs. Carr said, but looked at Timothy.

  “Yeah, she found my address for some reason.”

  The concerned look on Mrs. Carr’s face disapproved of Sarah’s behavior. “Really?”

  Sarah spoke up. “He’s so quiet in school, I didn’t know what to do. And I want to get to know him.”

  “I apologize,” Mrs. Carr said. “Sometimes Sarah wills her decisions to happen.”

  Sarah nodded. “Very true.”

  Timothy nodded in agreement.

  “You’re dating?” Paul said.

  “We’re friends.”

  Forks fell and mouths dropped. “You?” Bri said. “You… friendzoned her?”

  “I guess?” Their stunned eyes lasered to him. “She’s the first friend I’ve made in high school. I’m new at this here.”

  The teeth and misaligned jaw may as well have been a bullseye the size of the moon for bullies. An infinite supply of humiliation material. They all seemed to understand what he said, except Bri. Nods and stares responded to his answer, and he hoped that was enough.

  “Do you do anything outside of school?” Paul Ware said.

  A question Kayla coached him on earlier. Talk about the kind of dogs, where you walk them, and for how long. Believe it or not, people find that interesting, really anything that you do, most people will find interesting, tell her about it.

  “I walked a dachshund and a German Shepherd. It was funny because the little one had a hard time keeping up on the walk. Eventually, he just sat down and made me carry him alongside the German Shepherd. We went to the pond by the orchard. I use the money to pay for streaming services to watch basketball and for parts for my synthesizer.”

  Shocked, Sarah leaned on the edge of her seat, and he hadn't said more than one sentence. Ever. In her four years of sharing classes with him.

  “Lyle’s Orchard?” The dad said.

  “Yeah. Have you eaten any of the apples there?”

  “I have not.”

  “They’re sour.”

  “I’m surprised you can eat with those teeth.”

  “Bri!” Mrs. Carr said. “Ignore her.”

  He raised his hands. “It’s fine. I’ve heard a lot worse. Like… a lot worse.”

  Silence washed across the table. The high school hellscape wasn’t what anyone else at that table experienced. It made the parents reflect on how they treated some of their peers.

  “How have you been, Bri?” Timothy tried to break the awkwardness. Ask questions, another Kayla tip.

  Sarah squeezed his knee as a signal.

  “Oh, I’ve been—”

  Sarah grabbed her younger sister's shoulder. “I think they’ve run into each other on the walk once. We said hi.”

  Bri swallowed. “Yeah. We said hi. I’ve been good.”

  It got quiet again.

  “A synthesizer?” Paul said.

  “I actually won your internship because of it.”

  Paul looked up in thought. “I wasn’t kept up on that. With the UI department?”

  “Yeah. Some light coding, but to make the audio cues.”

  “For the LiDAR display,” Paul smirked. “That’s great. Sarah didn’t mention you won that.”

  Timothy nodded. “Do you like synth music?”

  “Yeah,” Paul said. “A lot of the video games I like do their soundtracks like it’s the 80s. You like video games?”

  “Can’t afford them.”

  Mrs. Carr asked, “Could you walk more dogs?”

  “Well. Yeah. But I need to save for college. Also…” he thought for a moment. “To help with the mortgage. My mom said something about taxes?”

  Paul looked a bit guilty as Timothy mentioned property taxes. “The mortgage covers property taxes. If the home's value goes up, so does the property tax, hence a higher mortgage. It can go back down.” An effect Paul’s company has had on Clearspring.

  Timothy paid close attention to Paul, as he tried for a response, he felt a tickle in his nose. “I’ll be right back.” He jumped out of his chair. “Bathroom?” He hurried up the stairs as Sarah gave the directions. Cursing under his breath as he unrolled a wad of toilet paper and stuffed it into his right nostril. While waiting for the blood to stop pouring, he listened while the Carr family spoke, as the women weren’t hiding their voices much. Overhearing Bri asking where Liam is, Sarah snapping at her, saying he’s gone. Right when the conversation got good with her parents, his nose began bleeding, and Bri asked that question. He swore again.

  “Yeah, I also heard about the breakup on the news,” Timothy heard Lily say. “They showed some of the videos and everything. You think he’s ok up there?”

  He could’ve said something back from up the stairs. But he pretended he couldn’t hear them. With his head up and hand applying pressure, he stared at himself in the mirror. In a way, he wished he were Liam, or at least looked like him.

  Knock knock. “I take it you have a nosebleed?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can I come in?”

  The door handle turned, and he slowly opened the door, letting in Dr. Carr.

  “Let me take a look.” She looked up at his tilted head. “Accutane? For acne?”

  “How’d you know?”

  “I’m a doctor.”

  “Oh.”

  She blitzed through the cabinets, looking for something specific and some cotton swabs. “When the bleeding stops, apply some of this petroleum jelly in your nose. When you come back down, drink lots of water.”

  “That’s ok. And sorry for the nosebleed. I should get going after this.”

  “Nonsense. Today it was you. Last week it was one of Sarah’s friends vomiting in the kitchen, a week earlier, it was my husband passing gas in front of my colleagues. It happens to everyone.” She stepped out. “Take your time.”

  And he did take his time. It took another ten minutes for the bleeding to stop. The walk back down felt shameful as his footsteps created a slow, loud beat. As he returned to his chair, avoiding eye contact, the conversation continued as if nothing had happened. A quick whisper from Sarah asking if he was ok, and he responded with a nod. Topics of boys, lots of boy talk, music, college, residency, and dance came about. As if his leaving and coming back changed the flow, they weren’t used to him the first time, but they were the second time around.

  After everyone finished dinner, Timothy thanked Dr. Carr for the meal and offered to clean the dishes.

  “Absolutely,” Bri said.

  He raised a brow at Bri, assuming she wanted him gone or swapped with Liam.

  “It’s her turn tonight to do the dishes,” Sarah said.

  Timothy stood up and gathered the plates onto his. “I bet Liam never did the dishes,” he smirked through his bucked teeth.

  With a quick response that stopped suddenly as her mouth hung open, Bri realized he stood correct. The parents looked at each other with wry smiles.

  Sarah stood up and helped him. With eye gestures, she communicated to her family she wanted the kitchen to herself and Timothy. While he scrubbed the pots, she cleared the plates before placing them in the dishwasher.

  “How did you like it?” she asked.

  “It was good.”

  “Almost as good as your mom's.”

  He breathed in, about to speak-

  “I’m not going to start a war between our moms' cooking, though. Liam liked my mom’s more, and Mrs. Witman hasn’t gotten over it.”

  He looked back down to focus on the dirty pan.

  She put a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring him up.”

  “No worries. Is it always like this?”

  “Like what?”

  His eyes scattered a bit, as if he were looking for something to convey his feelings. “Inviting people over? Eating with family?”

  “Well, yeah,” she placed two glasses into the dishwasher, finishing her portion of the chore. “But sometimes it’s just me and my friends in the living room, or outside. Last night was a girls' night.”

  He grabbed another pan. “Like the movies.”

  That gave her an opening. “Like those high school movies. And you know what else happens in those movies?”

  “A confession in front of the entire school?”

  She laughed at how true that is. “Well, not that.” She leaned in. “The unpopular boy gets the girl.”

  The pan fell as if his hands were covered in butter. Dropping kitchenware has been happening a lot lately since Sarah showed up at his doorstep. With slow hands, he picked the pan back up and said, “That does happen, it seems.” He finished the last pan. “I should get going.”

  “So soon?”

  “Yeah, it’s a school night and I need to get up early to walk a dog before you pick me up.” He waited for a beat. “I also want to make a good impression on your parents.”

  Despite him leaving at 8 pm, she had a pep in her step as she walked him to her door. His bike leaned against the railing, he stepped outside towards it, but stopped when she grabbed his arm, and gave him a big hug. Probably the biggest in his life.

  She released the hug. “We have a bike rack on one of the cars.”

  “It’s an easy ride back. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  ***

  Fury ravaged her room. Throwing pillows and books. She’s never, ever, been turned down. Diving onto her bed, she screamed into the sheets. Her mom rushed in, and her scream wasn’t as muffled as she thought it was.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Sarah groaned as she rolled onto her back. “I don’t know. I’ve never felt this.”

  “Felt what?”

  “I don’t know. God.” She put her hands on her temple. “Every time I’m out in public, parents tell me about their sons, or an oil baron messages me online offering two hundred thousand for one night, or a pro athlete gives me free tickets to a game. But Timothy.”

  She sat down next to her and rubbed her hair. “We’ll talk about those DMs in a minute here. But right now, you’re feeling rejected.”

  “It hurts. And what the heck. He is able to hold a real conversation with you and Dad. It took me two weeks to get an entire sentence out of him.”

  “You mentioned playing basketball? And dancing.”

  She did a motion resembling a basketball shot, like the pretend shots the pros do at the free-throw line. “Yeah. But he didn’t talk much. He did share his music with me.”

  “Oh? Well, that’s a good sign.”

  “Really?”

  “Sharing something creative can be very personal.”

  “Still just a friend though.”

  Dr. Carr chuckled. “Try and remain single for a bit here. It might be good for you.” Dr. Carr got an intense glare. “Knowing you, I’m sure you came on to him within an hour after breaking up with Liam.”

  She sighed. “It was within the hour.”

  Her phone buzzed on the bed. She checked, and Timothy sent a text.

  “Thank you, I had a good time and your family is nice,” it said.

  “Even Bri?”

  “Especially Bri.”

  Once the phone fell back to the bed, Dr. Carr felt her daughter didn’t feel better. “I think Timothy isn’t used to having a friend. Maybe he doesn’t know what acceptance feels like.”

  With every sentence Dr. Carr spoke, Sarah responded with a groan. “What do you mean?”

  “What happens when Timothy speaks at school?”

  Years of flashbacks and memories of Timothy getting harassed flashed through her, each memory a visceral gut punch. “He gets harassed even when he doesn’t speak. On the first day of school, I saw someone slam his head into a locker. He was just standing there.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “What do I do?”

  “You’ll have to get him to stop seeing you as a peer. Adults and parents have never made him feel uncomfortable. That might be why he just wants to be friends and is still uncomfortable.”

  “And that’ll unfriend zone me?” She couldn’t believe she said that out loud.

  “Other than being his friend? Not sure. He might come around later, he might not.”

  But an idea sprang. “You know Kayla Kline, right?”

  “Yeah. She isn’t one of my nurses, but I know her.”

  “That’s his mom. She and him live alone, and he doesn’t have a dad. But shouldn’t Kayla still have insurance?”

  “He needs something more than fixing his teeth. Likely a surgery to realign his jaw. Cosmetic surgeries aren’t covered by insurance, which is probably why they can’t afford it.”

  Sarah bolted up, face to face with her mom. “Are you asking?”