Training Wheels: Boyfriend Edition

9. reciprocation

They ended up leading Landon to the corner of the street, which wasn't hard because the rooster seemed inclined to follow Michelle's every step.

As they waited for Barnaby's arrival, they stood outside a quiet yarn shop that didn't see much business.

"You can go back first," Michelle offered, raising a hand. "You don't need to wait here with me. I know it's boring."

Caledon shook his head. "I have to stay here."

Her face scrunched up. "Um ... why do you have to?"

"I have to walk you home after our date. I'm your boyfriend, so I have to stick with you."

Memories of her best friends' boyfriends insisting on escorting them home surfaced in her mind's eye. Hailey always asked Carter to accompany her to most places. It was like they were bound together by invisible handcuffs. That wasn't Michelle's definition of enjoyable.

"Wow," she said, watching Landon bob his head at his own reflection in the shop window, "that sounds so fun. Not. You don't have to stay here if you don't want to, dude. I won't hold it against you."

"But my friends always stay with their girlfriends. And they've been asking weird things about us lately. Our relationship is just as real as theirs, so I'll wait here with you."

She couldn't help giving him a slightly judgmental side-eye.

"Alright," Michelle said. "Flimsy reason, but I'm not about to turn down free company."

Landon seemed content to be in Michelle's general vicinity—maintaining a maximum distance of about two feet, really, but what did it matter?—as they stood around and waited.

"Is he friendly?" Caledon asked, lowering himself into a squat in front of Landon. "Does he let you pet him?"

Landon did not shy away. Instead, he peered back at Caledon with a sharp, beady eye from one side of his face.

"Yeah, he's quite nice," she said. "He usually lets people pet him. Pretty much everyone in our club has."

The first time she'd done it was because Barnaby had all but shoved Landon in her face, bragging about how cute his pet was. Landon had been very docile, allowing her to pet him.

She crouched down beside Caledon to face Landon. The rooster trod towards her, bobbing his head.

"Hey, boy." She reached out to gently stroke his back. "Were you bored at home?"

Landon leaned into her touch. Upon seeing that, Caledon followed suit and gave him a tentative pat. When Landon didn't react negatively to it, he continued patting him.

He said, "Hi, Landon. What do you normally do at home?"

"Living his best life as a pet, probably," Michelle said, not without a tinge of envy in her voice. "Barnaby loves him. He's like a doting parent."

Every time he made his way to the drama club room in school, Landon would be scolded by Barnaby for being reckless and disobeying his command to wait for him to come home. Then he would receive treats from Barnaby, who apparently kept them in his school bag for 'convenience.' Nobody had the heart to point out that this act ran contradictory to the lectures he would give his pet, especially since Barnaby was so popular in his year.

"What I wouldn't give to be fed and watered and do my only job of being cute all day," she said.

Caledon laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Michelle cracked a grin at him.

"Don't we all," he said.

"What about you? Do you have a pet?"

"No," he said. "My parents won't let me get one. I really want a dog, though. If I had one, I'd take it with me everywhere."