The Nerd [BXB]

29 𖠇 A New Roommate

   "Hello, Harvey." My mother gives me a glance when she notices the duffle bag's he's holding as soon as she opens the front door. "Sleepover?"

   "You never attended a sleepover and it shows, mom," I tell her, letting myself in and dragging Harvey with me. "No one brings these many clothes for a one-day sleepover."

   "I did attend one or maybe two, but that was enough for me to deny any further invitation that came my way," she explains, shutting the door behind her. She is wearing shorts and a tank top—her definition of "pajamas." "Braiding each other's hair was a must that I was never a fan of—which is why I convinced your mother to adopt a boy instead of a girl."

   "Wow," I reply, knitting by brows. "Good to know."

   "Mrs. Walker," Harvey quickly blurts before my mother and I can say any other word, "I was hoping you would let me stay for a while."

   "I don't understand," she says, sinking to her hips. "Everything's alright back home?"

   He shakes his head, looking down. "My homophobic father—"

   "Stop right there," she snaps, lifting a finger up as to signal him to hush. "That's all I needed to hear." She opens her arms and embraces him with a tight hug. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, Harvey."

   Harvey smiles at me as he hugs my mom. "Thank you, Mrs. Walker!"

   She keeps her hands on his shoulders after the hug. "Our community needs to stick together and aid one another when we faced with loathe from closed-minded assholes," she says to him. "You are not alone, Harvey."

"Loathe means hate," I clarify for him. "Now you know where I get my 'adult' vocabulary from."

"Ah," he mutters, nodding.

   My heart warms as I hear her speak to him like that. As she proceeds to assure him that there's a community keeping him afloat in an ocean of hate towards love, I cannot help but feel proud to be her son.

   "There are some rules, though," she makes clear, looking at me after her inspirational, heartwarming dialogue with Harvey. "In the meantime, you will sleep in Theo's bed."

   "I can sleep on the couch," he instantly says. "Just throw me a pillow and a blanket and I'll be snoring in no time."

   "If you want that then it's fine with me, but if you start missing an actual bed, let me know," she agrees, shrugging. "Also, if the two of you hang out in the bedroom, please keep the door open."

I snort, crossing my arms. "As if one of us can get pregnant."

"I'm mostly worried about STDs and accidentally stumbling into my son having sex in front of my own eyes," she explains, not holding back any word.

"I don't have STDs," Harvey quickly says after clearing his throat. "And I won't do anything inappropriate with your son."

My mom smiles at him. "Great!"

   My cheeks redden at the thought of my mom imagining Harvey and I doing anything sexual underneath the same roof as her.

   "Please just go to bed, mom," I say under my breath, afraid that she might release more embarrassing comments.

   "Alright," she says, finally releasing him. "There is some pasta in the microwave if the two of you are hungry." With those words, she heads to her room and, before closing the door, says, "Goodnight."

"Sorry," I apologize to him. "That was awkward, wasn't it?"

"Not at all," he says, tugging his duffle bag to his chest. "Your mom is great and you're really lucky to have her."

I grin. "Wait 'till you meet the other one."

"Can't wait," he says.

"The bathroom is the only door on the right and my room is next to it," I let him know. "If you want to change to your sleeping clothes."

"Where do I leave this?" he asks, lifting the bag.

I point behind him. "You can leave it next to the TV."

He does just that, taking clothes from the bag and leaving it there. With clothes in hand, he heads to the bathroom as I head to my bedroom to get him a pillow and blanket. Just as I open the door with the items in hand, he does too.

Even though I should've expected this, he comes out wearing shorts and no shirt. I don't judge him, though—if I had a body like that I would walk shirtless all the time.

"Uhm... here," I say, extending my arms to hand him what I'm holding.

"Thanks," he says, taking them. And just like every cringe-worthy, teenage rom-com, his fingers brush over mine and remain there for long enough to leave me suspicious. Does he still have feelings for me after everything I did to him?

I gaze at his eyes for a quick second before snapping out of it. With hazel eyes like those, anyone can easily be mesmerized. Just as I look down, I plop the things in his chest and remove my fingers from his. "Have a goodnight, Harvey," I say, resting my arms behind me.

"Theo," he says, "I know I already said this, but I really appreciate what you and your mother are doing for me." He takes a step forward and leans on the wall with one shoulder, looking down at me from close. "You and your mother are the kindest individuals I've ever met."

I sigh, intertwining my fingers behind me. "My mother is, but I am not that great," I admit. "Did you forget the time when I was part of Genesis' devious scheme?"

"You came clean so that redeems you in my eyes," he says, almost a whisper in fear of waking my mother up. "Any other person would've gone along until I was downright and unconditionally in love with them."

I glance up to meet with his face. "Good thing I stopped it before it got to that."

His gaze travels to my lips and back to my eyes. "Right."

I rub the tip of my nose after being fixated in each other for too long, breaking the staring contest. "Sleep well," I say, wanting to go to bed as soon as possible. "If you need anything, I'll be here."

"I surely will," he says, already taking a step back. "Goodnight, Theo."

"Goodnight, Harvey," I repeat, closing the door behind me.

I hear his footsteps fade to the living room and that's when I release the breath I've been holding, running my hands over my face. Leaning with my back on the door, I pull my phone out of my pocket and send Oscar a sleeping emoji with lots of red hearts.

It does not take him long to reply with a gif of a cute baby blowing kisses to the camera.

I smile at the screen and go to sleep with him on my mind.

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A\N: Like and comment for more! Also, guess who turned 17 yesterday (Aug. 29, 2020)? 🥳 Where are my virgos at, and if not, what's your astrological sign? ♍️