Tie. Tie. Tie

Chapter 3

April 6, 2016

"Hey, Tim," Adriana smiles at me. I walk up to my friends and sit down with my tray.

"Hey, Dri," I smile back. I nod my head at Quinn and the other girls and they smile back. "Oh! I never got to thank you for your gift, Zoey. The tie-dye kit was amazing."

"Please children. My baseball bat was the best gift in history," Quinn smirks.

"Baseball bat?" Adriana asks, eyebrows raised. Quinn and I hum in response.

"I already put it to use two days ago," I smile at the thought of Zeke whining. I got all eyes and ears once I said that. I went on to tell them about how I thought Zeke was a robber and hit him with the bat, making him mad. I left out the awkward part about him thinking I'm sick.

This felt great, being in a new school with a fresh start. New friends, new school, and new teachers. I wasn't one to seek popularity or attention, having a big group of friends and laughing was my idea of a perfect school life. It's a good thing Zeke and I only went to the same school for one year and that was back in elementary school.

But now, even though we go to different schools, we walk back together. I walked back home with Zeke and unlike two days ago, I was happy. Yesterday, we didn't see each other much but today he didn't have extra practice. We arrived home and I was about to go and work on stuff before Zeke stopped me.

"Hold up," Zeke says. "Wanna watch a movie after dinner? I thought since I promised you that I-we would get to know each other, a movie would be a good start." I would be lying if my heart didn't melt.

"Of course," I smile.

"Great! We can watch it on my TV. Get ready for bed and bring your pillow," he says. He disappears upstairs and I head to the kitchen to get dinner ready. I open the fridge to see some lasagna leftovers next to a bag of garlic bread. I pull out the box and garlic bread, then grab two plates. I pop open the lid and place a generous amount of goodness on both plates. I set one of the plates in the microwave and turn it on before putting three pieces of bread in the toaster oven.

"It smells like heaven in here," Zeke's voice comes from behind me. He changed from his uniform to gray sweats and no shirt. "Nice job, Timmy." I smile at him, turning back around and switching his plate with mine. The steam coming out of the lasagna gave away its heat as if the bottom of the plate burning my hand wasn't already enough.

"The garlic bread will be ready in a few minutes, so give it some time to cool," I say, putting the plate in front of Zeke. He sits on our little island looking at his phone.

"Thanks, Tims," He smiles, looking up from his phone. "Can you get me something to drink?" I place my hands on my hips and look him up and down.

"I'm not your maid but shoot," I smirk.

"Grab me a Bud Light from the fridge?" he asks, looking down at his phone.

"You're too young to drink," I say, turning around and taking my plate out. The oven turns off and I take out the bread. I put two on Zeke's plate and one piece on mine.

"It has the least amount of alcohol possible and it's a beer," he argues. I take my plate and a coke from the fridge before sitting down in front of him. "I'm sixteen!"

"Eighteen or no deal," I say, wrapping melted cheese on my fork and biting it.

"That didn't even make any sense! It's bull!" he exclaims. I smile at him before taking another bite. He mutters some colourful words under his breath and gets himself a coke.

"You could've just asked for a coke, big brother," I smile innocently. He mocks me with a smile like mine and takes a bite out of his lasagna, still pissed. We finished the rest of dinner in silence with him scrolling on his phone and me reading a book I keep in the kitchen. I get up and put my dishes in the dishwasher and skip to my room. "Get me chips before you come!"