Eudaemonia

Chapter 7

Songs for this chapter: Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi, Be Happy - Dixie D'Amelio

~*-*~ ~*-*~

~*-*~ Summer Break ~*-*~

Theodore Solano was pretty sure this was the worst summer of his life. As he buried his face further into his pillow, he tried not to cry. Again. It had happened days ago at this point and he still wasn't over it. But losing Buddy, his best friend, still felt like the rug had been pulled out from under him. He wasn't sure if anyone had heard the news yet, but Theo certainly hadn't told anyone. In fact, he hadn't said anything to anyone in the past 72 hours. He knew that if he bothered to open his messages he'd have at least a dozen of them from his friends he had been ignoring for no apparent reason.

If only they knew.

It felt like his heart had been torn from his chest. Buddy had been a constant in his life for such a long time. Now that he was gone, Theo wasn't quite sure what to do with himself.

Oh stop it. He scolded himself. This was pathetic.

He kind of saw it coming. Buddy had been sick for the past few months and he was a really old dog, but Theo had refused to acknowledge it. Buddy had been with Theodore since he was just a baby.

It didn't even end with some big event. Just a trip to the vet, some unexpected news from the doctor, and then he was gone. That didn't get rid of the hurt though.

After many more hours of wallowing, he sighed, sat up in his bed and reached for his phone.

~*-*~ About a month later ~*-*~

September came quicker than Theo would have liked. Soon enough, he was back at school, surrounded by all of his friends. They had heard about Buddy and did their best to not bring it up, and for the most part, it worked. But sometimes, Theo would get in his own head, overthinking every little thing that led up to Buddy's death and missing his best friend unlike anything else.

Unfortunately this happened in the middle of math class. Asking the teacher for permission to use the bathroom as an escape, Theo practically ran out of the class and down the hall. He dove for the janitor's closet, praying it was unlocked. Sure enough, it was.

Closing the door behind him, Theo flipped over an empty bucket and sat down with his head in his hands. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, maybe three or four minutes, before the doorknob turned.

Theo's head shot up and he locked eyes with none other than Sharpie. He returned to his previous position of despair and listened to Sharpie fiddle around and gather the things she needed. He only looked up when he noticed she was standing right in front of him.

"I guess I should ask you what's wrong." she said.

Theo blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, you look like you're on the verge of a total mental breakdown, so I feel like I should ask you what's wrong. Although I'm pretty sure I already know."

That's when the dam broke. The tears started flowing freely down his face and they just wouldn't stop. Sharpie sighed and put the stuff she was carrying down on the floor, picking up a bucket of her own, flipping it over and sitting on it beside Theo. She sat there while he ranted about everything.

Sharpie, to Theo's surprise, sat and listened to it all, offering a tissue from one of the boxes in the closet and a comforting hand on his back. Eventually, he stopped crying. Sharpie, noticing he was better now, started gathering the things off the floor again. Still sitting on his bucket, Theo watched her.

"Um, thanks, Sharpie" he said. Sharpie hummed in response and reached for the doorknob. "We should get back to class" She twisted the knob, only to find it wouldn't budge. It was locked.

The two of them sat in silence processing this turn of events. Suddenly, Theo burst out laughing, Sharpie joining him a moment later.

"I can't believe this has happened to us twice now," Theo said between gasps of air.

"Oh come on." Sharpie said, annoyed but amused, "Do you have your phone on you?"

Theo reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cellphone. "I guess I should get Ryan or Liam to bail us out again like last time" He sent them a quick text and pocketed his phone again. Sharpie sat back down on her bucket and looked over at Theo, who was looking right back at her.

"So..." Theo began, "What are your new teachers like?"