Not a Love Story

Fourteen // Sob Story

Oliver Greene

I groaned as I rolled over to turn my alarm off. Ben was coming over here to study today because his parents were having a get together. I sighed and sat up, butterflies dancing in my stomach when I thought of him. I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's not that big of a deal, he's just coming over to study. I still had about two hours before he was supposed to be here, so I put some old clothes on and headed to the backyard.

"Morning, sweetheart." my mom greeted. She was sitting at the table on her computer, reading emails.

"Morning. I'm going to do some work out back. Do you know where all the gardening stuff is?" I asked as I pulled a mug out of the cabinet and turned the coffee maker on.

"Gardening stuff?" she asked, looking at me with confusion. I nodded.

"Yeah. I want to fix it up. I think he would've liked us to keep it up." I said. My mom nodded, a sad smile on her face.

"You're right, he would. I'd check the garage." she said. I nodded and started to drink my coffee.

"Thanks, mom." I responded. I went out to the garage. It took me a few minutes to finally find all of my dad's old tools and gardening supplies. I headed to the back and started by pulling out all the weeds and trimming the bushes and hedges. I made a mental note of the plants and flowers I wanted to get later. I checked my watch to see Ben was supposed to be here in half an hour, so I rushed inside to clean up.

I took a quick shower before changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, throwing my Harvard sweatshirt on before jogging down the stairs.

"The back looks great, honey." mom said. I smiled at her.

"Thanks. I think I'm going to try and get some new plants and flowers either later this weekend or next weekend." I said as I pulled the bread out of the pantry.

"That sounds lovely." she said before going back to her computer. I made a sandwich and scrolled through my phone while I ate, noticing my anxiety growing as noon approached. My phone buzzed and I saw a text from Ben.

heading over now. should be there in 5

I quickly finished eating and responded before cleaning my dishes.

"Is Henry home?" I asked my mom.

"No, he's at Noah's doing homework, why?" she asked. I nodded.

"Ben is coming over so I can help him study for the big bio test this week." I said, trying not to blush at the mention of his name.

"So I finally get to meet this Ben you've been tutoring for so long? Why didn't you tell me sooner!" she scolded me. I shrugged.

"Sorry?" I said. My mom sighed and chuckled, just as I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door, revealing Ben standing on the porch, hands in his pockets.

"Hey." he greeted, grinning.

"Hi." I said, opening the door more to let him in.

"You must be Ben! It's so nice to finally meet you." my mom said, rushing over to talk to Ben.

"Hello, Mrs. Greene. You have a lovely home." Ben complimented, smiling as he spoke to my mom.

"Oh please, call me Beth. And thank you." she said, a smile on her face.

"We're going to work in the basement." I said. My mom nodded.

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything!" she offered.

"Thank you, Beth." Ben replied, smiling at her. I rolled my eyes at Ben's attempt to charm my mom, which was almost certainly working. I led Ben to the basement, closing the door behind us.