Sole Mates

Chapter 7: Tutoring Time Episode 2

While Shelly and I laid on my bed and pondered our love lives, the door opened and in walked Soren. I narrowed my eyes and before anyone could react, I jumped off my bed and flung myself at him, effectively knocking him onto the carpeted ground. "You are a dead man, Soren Reinhart!"

"Stop!" he laugh cried as I used his greatest weakness against him, tickling.

"I just started!" I yelled straddling him and tickling his armpits.

"Okay enough enough," Shelly said trying to pull me off him.

"But he offered me as tribute to Ajax! He let me get kidnapped! I am only deploying feminism and standing up for myself!"

They both looked at me blankly, "Get out," they replied in unison.

"This is my house, you potatoes," I said narrowing my eyes.

At which they both raised their eyebrows. Eyebrows are the key to people's souls, in that one motion I could tell you exactly what they were thinking: Tyler has never exercised a day in her life, why are we the potatoes?

"Wow your eyebrows are synchronized," I pointed out to which they replied with two non-surplussed expressions. However, soon they burst out laughing, no longer able to maintain their serious facade.

This was our friendship in a nutshell, inside jokes that made zero sense even to us, awkward moments that were only bearable by the dance parties we used to claw our way out of them, and late night talks turned laughing fest when someone seriously uses the word 'bae'. We were a dysfunctional group, cliche only in the sense that society never predicted we would end up together.

"Hey guys," said another voice coming through the door.

"Hey Zack," I said still a heartbreak addict, but an accepting and recovering one.

"What's going on?" said Cindy (ew) walking through the door, her eyes landing on me straddling Soren, Shelly standing over us.

We of course all burst out laughing again.

"Nothing," I said getting off of Soren.

Rinnnnggggggg

"Who's phone is ringing?" Zack asked.

Everybody shook their heads no. We scrambled all over the house looking for the source and finally found it in my cellphone.

"I thought your phone was dead," said Soren.

"I thought so too..." I replied.

Everybody was shocked because one, I have no friends, so who in the world would be calling me? second, that I found my phone because I lost it about once a week, and third, that it was actually charged which was more rare than finding a diamond in a jar of peanut butter.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" said Cindy in her annoyingly high pitched voice.

I rolled my eyes before answering it. "Hallo?"

"It's time to study," came the dreadfully annoying voice over the speaker.

"Nooooooooo," I yelled. "You have the worst timing!"

"Suck it up, Buttercup. Meet me at the library in ten minutes."

"Do not call me Butter-"

"Don't be late," he interrupted before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Soren asked while everyone looked on curious.

"Ajax, the bad boy," I replied angrily. "I have to go tutor him."

"I'll drive you," Soren offered. "To make up for ditching you last time."

"Deal."

☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎

"So what is Ajax like, apart from the whole bad boy thing that everyone already knows?" Soren questioned.

"He's socially awkward and quiet. He's easily angered and his language is so foul that I wouldn't be surprised if he was raised by a sailor, he constantly annoys me, and I can't stand him!"

"Have you ever seen him do something wrong?"

"Well yeah, he cut this old lady off when we were driving, but I've never seen him smoke or vandalize or do any of the things he's known for," I replied.

"Just be careful, Tyler. Meiji?"

"Meiji."

We arrived at the library with a minute to spare. "Thanks, Sor, I'll text you tonight." Although, both him and I knew the probability of that happening was very slim due to my forgetfulness and overpowering laziness.

"Bye T!" He waved, before driving away along with my happiness.

I walked into the library, the eerie quietness unnerving me.

"You're late," he grumbled.

"I am right on time," I argued.

"Whatever."

We were halfway through our lesson when his phone dinged and he went from his normal gruff self to a pale nervous wreck. "I have to go," he stated and quickly began packing up his books.

"What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"Nothing," he said, his eyes betraying him.

He ran out the door, jumped into his car, and tried to start it. It sputtered and died, too exhausted to continue its only job. I could see him cursing from where I stood. These were the types of moments where he almost seemed normal. In that moment, I made a split second decision and ran down the library's steps and up to his car. His forehead rested on the steering wheel, his grimacing face and tense body doing everything but resting. I tapped on the window lightly at which he looked up. "What do you want?"

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

He seemed to awake slightly from his manic state and stared at me. "Please," he said almost pleadingly. "Can you drive me somewhere?"