From Tutoring, to Friendship, to More...

Chapter 10: Friends

     The rest of the week was pretty much a nightmare for Delilah. Besides her after school detention, she soon discovered that basically every alleged friend had ditched her after Chaz dumped her.

     "Traitorous mother fuckers! So what if they started off as Chaz's friends? We still had good times together! Even when I forced myself to laugh at their shitty jokes, I was still enjoying their company."

     Of course, Bowen still stuck by her, they were friends long before popularity hit them.

     "He knows I would kick his sorry ass if he tried to go all Judas on me! Not that I had any worries there. Bowen is practically my brother."

     The only satisfaction she had right now was seeing her dipshit ex limp around school.

     "I would've gladly accepted suspension if Principal Jones had made that decision. I'm shocked/disappointed I didn't turn his voice into a falsetto."

     She also found herself looking forward to Saturday, when she'd get to spend time with Ion.

     "Why the hell am I excited over that?" It's just a tutoring session with Beaker! Who's nice to you, patient, understanding, makes you laugh, you make him laugh, and... ok! You need to just shut the fuck up now, Delilah! You've just gotten out of a 2+ year relationship! Last thing you need is a rebound! Besides, who's gonna wanna date some psycho bitch that kicked her ex so hard in the nuts he puked? Shit! I'm probably not dating again till college! Fuckity fuck fuck! Still totally worth it!"

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     Saturday finally arrived. Delilah had a very hard time not showing her excitement over Ion tutoring her. Part of it probably had to do with Bowen being out of town with his family, meaning this was going to be her only social interaction for the weekend. This thought started to make her feel depressed. Ion definitely noticed something was up.

     "Hey, are you ok?" he suddenly asked. "Even though I know she's been dealing with the aftermath of a shitty breakup, after school detention, and the majority of her alleged friends ditching her in favor of that tool..."
     "As ok as I can be," she admitted. "My whole social life has just exploded into huge chunks of what the fuck."
     Ion chuckled at her answer.
     "Sorry," he said. "Just... that was an... interesting way of describing your situation."
"No, I get it," she sighed. "You can either laugh or cry, and I would really rather not cry."
"Well, at least you can hang out with Bowen after this," he said reassuringly. "He seems like a really good guy. I still see him hanging with her at school, unlike everyone else after that whole blow up."
"Actually... I don't today," she replies somberly. "He had some family stuff to do. My parents are busy with work too. Once you leave... I'll be all alone..."
"Oh, I see," he said. "Oh, I see? What the fuck is wrong with you? What can I do? Offer to let her come over to your place? Would my parents be ok with that? Would my friends? But, I can tell she's feeling really lonely and vulnerable right now. It would be shitty of me not to at least offer to hang out."

Ion then noticed Delilah's hands shaking slightly. It looked like she was doing all she could not to break down and cry.
"You wanna hang out at my house?" he asked.
"Don't you have your D&D thing with your friends?" she asked back.
"Yeah, but they won't mind," he answered. "Mal will probably hit on her though..."
"But... I don't wanna be a bother," she said with slight quiver in her voice.
"There's no way you'd be a bother," he assured her.
"I don't need your pity," she retorted, beginning to tremble some more. "That's the last thing I need! And not because he's a so-called loser. He's one of the nicest people I know. I just don't want to be pitied."
"It'a not pity, Delilah," he said. "That's what friends are for."
"We're... we're friends?" she asked, slightly blushing. "I never thought he'd think of me that way..."
"Of course we are," he assured her. "I've been tutoring you around a month now. We talk about more than school, and even text each other. I think that qualifies us as friends. Unless you'd rather not see it that way..."
"No!" she suddenly exclaimed, blushing brighter in the process. "I do like that idea. A lot actually."

They both sat there in awkward silence for a couple minutes. Neither were really sure what to say next.
"Do you need to change before we head over to my house?" he asked.
Delilah was in her usual attire she wore when Ion came over for tutoring: black sports bra, black yoga pants, and a loose fitting, short sleeved pink shirt, with her hair tied back in a ponytail.
"I just need to put on some shoes," she shrugged. "Maybe a coat for later on. Unless you don't think this looks very good."
"Of course not! It's super cute!" he exclaimed, blushing brightly. "Shit! I probably sound like a perv!"
"Oh... well, thanks," she replied, also blushing. "I'll text my parents to let them know I'll be out."
"Ok, cool," he sighed.

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The drive to Ion's house was mostly quiet. Delilah looked around the interior of his car, he couldn't tell if her looks were positive or negative.
"How long have you had this car?" she asked.
"Got it just before junior year started," he answered.
"Did you pay for it with tutoring money?" she asked.
"More like half of it," he shrugged. "My parents helped with the rest. I've been earning money from tutoring since sophomore year. I realize it's not much to look at, but it runs."
"I don't think it's bad looking," she said while looking more at Ion than the car.

"Do you have any siblings?" she asked. "I never really thought to ask till now."
     "Yeah, 2 sisters," he answered. "Stacey's 14, she'll start high school next year. Wendy's 11."
     "That's cool," she replied.
     "You're an only child, right?" he asked. "Although I'm really just assuming there, since I've never met another Gellar at our school."
     "Actually I have an older brother," she answered. "His name's Isaac, and he's 27."
     "That's a big age difference," he pointed out.
     "Yeah, well, I wasn't exactly planned," she admitted with a chuckle. "My parents figured they were at the age where birth control wasn't necessary. They were obviously wrong..."
     "So do you guys get along?" he asked.
     "Basically," she answered. "Given the age difference, we never really hung out much. But, he's always been nice to me. Plus, I've known Bowen since first grade, so I've hardly been alone much."
"That's cool," he said.
"Do you get along with your sisters?" she asked.
"Pretty much," he answered. "We sometimes get on each other's nerves, but that's pretty common with family."
     "That makes sense," she agreed. "I never imagined I'd be having this casual of a conversation with Beaker of all people. Then again, I also never expected to be going over to his house either. God, life can be so weird!"

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Notes: And here we have another chapter. Woot! Hope y'all enjoyed some of Delilah's inner monologues, plus learning a bit more about her and Ion.

Thanks for reading! ^__^