From Tutoring, to Friendship, to More...

Chapter 7: Thoughts

     The following Saturday had Ion once again going over to Delilah's house for a tutoring session. Despite only being their second session, she seemed to have a better grasp on things (the book Ion gave her might have helped). Like last time, she wore a pink, short sleeved, loose fitting top and a black yoga pants. After the comments his friends made, Ion couldn't help take more notice in her figure. It was driving him crazy, as it would any teenage boy.

     "Ugh! This is so fucking annoying!" he thought. "My friends just had to pry into my tutoring life. And of course they had to start saying shit about Delilah's figure. Especially Mal! She's a terrible influence on us all! Huge tracts of land. Holy shit!"

     Ion kept stealing glances here and there of Delilah, as she would just lean forward or stretch her arms out while trying to focus on an assignment. He hoped she didn't notice, or hear him gulp a little.

     "Mal isn't wrong though, damnit," he thought some more. "Delilah really does have an amazing body! Silky, black hair, beautiful blue eyes. It's no wonder she's so popular! Shit! I shouldn't be thinking these things! I've tutored pretty girls before! None of them looked like her, but that's besides the point! She also has a boyfriend! He's a bit of a shit, but still! Oh my god, puberty fucking sucks! How do teachers expect us to get shit done when we're constantly surrounded by a bevy of beautiful..."

     His thoughts were cut off by Delilah tapping on his shoulder, which made him jump slightly.
     "Huh!?" he exclaimed slightly. "S-sorry... got lost in thought. What's up?"
"Just... wanted you to take a look at my work sheet," she said with a slight blush.
     "Yeah, ok," he replied. "Oh my god, she's so cute!"

Delilah sat back as Ion looked over her paper, stretching her arms out some. She couldn't help thinking about what Bowen said to her last week, calling Ion one of the cutest boys in school.

"What the hell was Bow babbling about back then?" she thought. "Beaker? Cute!? That's fucking insane! Maybe he just sees him differently since he's gay. That's gotta be it!"

Her eyes began trailing up and down Ion's profile, his eyes never leaving the paper.

"I mean... he's not terrible looking, I guess," she thought some more. "He's tall. Looks thin, but not bone skinny. His hair looks clean. His eyes are really brown, and I think I can see a hint of green in there. His glasses kind of enhance that. They get kind of intense when he's focusing on something. His jawline is pretty nice too, I guess. His lips are... HOLY SHIT! Del, what the fuck are you thinking!? You have a boyfriend! Chaz Freeman! Star athlete! Mega hunk! Plus, this is Beaker! Super nerd!"

Try as she might, Delilah's mind kept going.

"So what if he called you beautiful?" she thought. "You know you are! Everyone does! And I could totally tell he was looking at my body! Every girl notices that shit. Guys never think we do, but we totally do! But... Chaz has never called me beautiful. Sexy. Hot. Smoking. That's petty much the extent of his vocabulary. Sigh. He keeps bugging me to have sex with him! Fucking annoying! Then again... we've been together over two years. I guess it would only seem natural for it to happen. So why hasn't it? Maybe... it's because I don't think Chaz is worth it? Because he never shows much interest in what I like or want to do? Oh god! Of all the time to think of this shit! Fuck!"

"Hey," Ion suddenly said to her.
"Hmmm?" Delilah muttered.
"Finished looking over your paper," he said.
"Oh," she replied simply. "How is it?"
"Your writing has already improved a good bit since our last session," he answered. "You should feel really proud of yourself!"
"Oh... um... thanks," she replied, blushing slightly. "Fuck! Why does he have to be so nice? But I guess it's also his job to say if I'm doing better or not."
"Do you ever listen to audiobooks?" he randomly asked. "Why did I ask that?"
"Not recently," she answered. "Why?"
"Just wondering," he replied. "My dad listens to them. He loves reading a variety of stuff, but can't always focus properly because of, well, you know..."
"Oh, right, yeah," she said. "I like reading too. But, yeah, it can often be a chore."
"What kind of stuff do you like?" he asked.
"Why the sudden interest?" she asked. "Is he trying to get something out of me? No way. He's not like that."
"I just like making conversation," he said with a shrug. "Not all the people I tutor are into casual conversation though. We don't have to talk about non school related stuff if you don't want."

Delilah was in fact a fan of conversation, and talking about hobbies. But, besides Bowen, nobody else in her circle of kind of friends, and Chaz, ever wanted to talk about anything meaningful. Just superficial bullshit.

"I like Terry Pratchett," she finally said. "Oh god, I actually answered him!"
"Discworld?" he asked. She nodded. "That's surprising."
"Why?" she asked defensively. "A popular girl can't enjoy reading!?"
"Not what I said," he retorted. "I just didn't expect that type of genre from you."
"What type of genre did you expect from me?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Something in the romance category," he shrugged. "Maybe, like, Jane Austen, or Lisa Jewell."
"I like them too," she answered. "I like a variety of genres. That's true of basically movies and TV too."
     "Did you like the Amazon adaptation of Good Omens?" he asked.
     "Holy shit! Yes!" she exclaimed with sheer delight. "David Tennant and Michael Sheen were fucking perfect as Crowley and Aziraphale! The rest of the cast is good to and..."

     She suddenly stopped talking and blushed brightly.
     "What's wrong?" he asked.
     "I just... I don't usually get to talk about this kind of stuff," she answered. "Besides Bowen, nobody else in my social group is really into what I'm into."
     "Not even Chaz?" he asked.
     "Ugh! Especially not Chaz!" she groaned. "He's pretty much all sports! All the time! Gets really fucking old!"
     "Why have you two been together so long?" he suddenly asked. "Shit! Shouldn't have asked that."
     "No, it's cool," she said reassuringly. "You're honestly not the first to ask it. You see... before high school... I was lot more shy and reserved. I was a bit gawky, and didn't know much about fashion and makeup. The summer before starting high school, I suddenly developed a significantly nicer figure. So Bowen and I decided to do some full on makeovers."
"Classic," he smirked. "Extremely cute!"
"Very," she chucked in agreement. "We looked up tutorials, looked at all kinds of fashion trends, whole nine yards type shit. Then not long after freshman year started, Chaz suddenly asks me out. I was in total shock! He's actually the only guy I've ever dated. Is that weird?"
"I don't think so," he answered. "Not for high school at least. Probably varies from person to person. I've had a couple girlfriends."
"Seriously?" she asked with genuine surprise.
"What? Am I that hideous?" he asked sarcastically.
"No! You're cute!" she suddenly blurted, taking them both by surprise. "Shit! I can't believe I said he was cute! But, damnit! Bowen was right! He's very cute!"

There was some awkward silence for who knows how long. Ion figured he should break the tension.
"Neither lasted particularly long," he explained. "First was in 7th grade, and lasted around 2 months or so. Next one was freshman year. That actually lasted the whole school year."
"So what happened?" she asked. "I really hope he doesn't mind me asking that."
"She had to move," he replied. "We both didn't think a long distance relationship was for us, so we called it off mutually. Not saying it wasn't a bit emotional, we did like each other a lot. But we agreed it was the best option. We're still friends even."
"That's nice," she said. "This is getting fucking awkward!"
"It is," he nodded. "So fucking awkward!"

Once their session ended, Delilah walked Ion to the front door like usual.
"Same time next week," he smiled. "I'm actually more excited about that than expected... weird!"
"See you then," she smiles back. "I'm actually more excited about that than expected... weird!"
"But, it's ok if I need to talk to you at school right?" he asked nervously, remembering her little blow up from last time.
"Yeah, of course," she replied. "I feel like such a dumbass for how I acted last time."
"Then I'll see you around," he said with a wave as he walked to his car.
"Yeah, see you around," she waved back. "I hope he talks to me some at school. Wait... what the fuck did I just say!?"

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Notes: Another chapter finished! Woot! I hope y'all liked it! Also hope it's clear that when things are in italics it means a character is thinking something. This was an idea I got randomly, having the two lost in thought at different points, and wanted do give it a try with this chapter.

Thanks for reading! ^__^