Sophitz: A Week to Find Love

Chapter 9

Sophie's P.O.V.

"We're here!" Linh announced to the table. Keefe and Dex were already there, but I couldn't see Tam. Apparently, Linh noticed the same thing. 

"Where's Tam?" she asked. Keefe and Dex both shrugged simultaneously. 

"We don't-" Dex started.

"At the library?" Keefe interrupted. Linh raised an eyebrow at both of them.

"The library?" Dex whisper-shouted to Keefe. 

"I don't do well under pressure," Keefe whispered back. Dex rolled his eyes.

"Don't you do dangerous stunts constantly under pressure as your job?" Keefe furiously shook his head.

"That's different," he protested. Linh sighed.

"Just tell me where Tam is, please." She made her best puppy dog eyes at Dex and he eventually gave in. 

"He came, stayed for about 12 seconds, then left," he told us. Linh gasped.

"He just left? That's terrible! He could be anywhere by now... Um... Wait... OOH! I know where he is. Okay, be right back!" And with that, she abruptly left the restaurant and raced off towards some unknown location. 

"Okay, I guess we should just... Wait till she gets back?" Marella suggested, taking a seat. "I mean, I'm really hungry-" 

"WE'RE BACK!" Linh came running back into the restaurant with Tam by her side. "I found him!" All of our mouths were wide open as we tried to guess how she had managed to find Tam so fast. Twin-telepathy, I thought. Didn't people say that was a thing? 

"Who gave me away?" Tam demanded, narrowing his eyes at Keefe and Dex. Keefe smirked and pointed to Dex. 

"I was totally cool under pressure." 

"Yeah... That's not believable. But I do believe Dex gave me away." Tam raised his eyebrows. "The boyfriend," he scoffed. Linh jabbed her brother's side. 

"Don't say it like that!" Linh exclaimed. "Imagine if Dex hadn't told me. Then you might've been lost!" Tam shook his head. 

"I was doing perfectly fine on my own," he claimed. 

"You were walking so slowly." Linh smiled. "It was like you were a turtle!" 

"This is hilarious," Marella said, grabbing a dinner roll and tossing it, then re-catching it in the air. 

"Uh, maybe we should take a seat?" I suggested. Linh nodded and took the seat next to Dex, and forced Tam to sit next to her. I sat on the other side next to Marella, which happened to be the closest to the door. Not that it mattered, but it really did matter. 

"You know, this is kind of fun," Keefe said. "We should do this every Friday!" 

"We really shouldn't," Tam grumbled. Keefe crossed his arms and scrunched his eyebrows. 

"You're always so... dark... Uh, Sam? Tan? Lamb?" Tam rolled his eyes. 

"You're not even close," he scoffed. "It's Tam." 

Keefe shook his head disapprovingly. "Yeah, that's not working..." Tam was taken aback at this. 

"What do you mean? It's MY name! How could it not be working for you?" Keefe shrugged.

"I'm just not going to call you that," he said matter-of-factly. Tam raised an eyebrow. 

"You can't just decide to not call me by my name!" Then he thought about it for a second. "Actually, if that means you'll never talk to me again, I'm fine with it." Keefe chuckled.

"Of course not! We'll just give you a new name. Any ideas?" 

"OOH!" Linh exclaimed. "I've always wanted his name to be Happy!" 

"You mean Harry?" Marella asked, confused. Linh shook her head. 

"No, like Happy!" 

"You are not calling me 'Happy'. That is just ridiculous. Name one person whose name is 'Happy'," Tam asked Linh. 

"There must be someone!" she thought out loud. Linh looked to Dex for help. 

"Umm..." Dex scratched the back of his head, deep in thought. "Uh... oh! There is this one guy..." Linh's eyes brightened at the news. 

"WHO?" she shouted. 

"Lower your voice, Linh," I told her. 

"Sorry. I'm just excited! Whose name is Happy?" 

"Uh, this character in the Marvel Comics," Dex answered. "Happy Hogan." 

"EEEEEEK!" Linh exclaimed. "THERE'S A GUY NAMED HAPPY!" People were starting to stare at this point. 

"Maybe we should order?" I asked my friends. 

"No, I have some questions. Surely his real name isn't Happy," Tam scoffed. 

"Well, it is a nickname," Dex admitted. 

"Ooh, so Happy can be your nickname, Tammy!" Linh exclaimed. "Good idea!"

"I thought my nickname was 'Tammy'," Tam pointed out. "You can't have two nicknames!" 

"Sure you can!" Linh said. "But if you only want one, you can choose which one." Tam threw his hands up in frustration. 

"I don't want to choose!" he exclaimed. "I want none of the above. Just call me Tam." 

As my friends continued this slightly ridiculous argument that probably had no end, I kept glancing at the door. It was a few minutes past 6 now and Fitz and Biana were still nowhere in sight. Maybe they're just running late, I told myself. But I knew the more reasonable explanation was that they weren't going to show up. I mean, why would they? They didn't even know me! 

I sighed in defeat and just focused on the dinner with my friends, but I couldn't really hear or taste anything. I was just so disappointed that I didn't get to see Fitz again. This is what happens when you get your hopes up, Sophie. I knew I didn't really have a chance with someone like Fitz, but it just seemed like such a nice thought. I already had a great group of friends though, so why would I need someone else in my life? 

But no matter how much I thought about it, that was a question I couldn't answer. I just hoped it didn't mean I was doomed to a life of feeling like this forever - alone and rejected.