𝒮𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓂'𝓈 𝒜 𝐵𝓇𝑒𝓌𝒾𝓃'

November 1st, 1994

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐸𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝑒𝓃

Blinking himself awake, Theodore immediately recognized where he was. Sat in that favorite armchair of his. Once upon a time, he wasn't tall enough for his head to poke over and definitely nowhere near tall enough for his feet to so firmly be on the ground. He took in a deep, early morning yawn... and that is when he recognized the weight holding him down.

Eyes dropping down... he was deeply confused, head lifting off the chair as he first just blinked a few times, taking in what he was looking at. I mean, it was Iris... laid overtop him, curled up around him. Head rested against one arm of the chair, feet wedged into the other side. Her face burrowed into his side. One hand by her face, the other limp over her abdomen. Just sleeping.... It was Iris.

Just Iris... so why did he react as he did?

Why did his eyes go wide, his own hand that had ghosted far too close to her own, shooting away as if burned? Why did his brain scramble, his heart once again doing that awfully annoying thing where it pounded at his chest.

Why... why was it that he just couldn't be normal around her anymore?

It annoyed him to no end. These feelings that he had never before experienced. His mind turned to mush, his face burned red, and his heart pounded out of his chest. He had so recently no control over his emotions anymore, and it was annoying. He blamed that stupid smile of hers. Everything went downhill from there... except that was a lie. Everything went downhill when he told her, "I am sorry," however many months ago... when he finally gave in that maybe he really did like having a friend.

Then it just got worse.

Keeping that stupid stuffed turtle that he still had hidden in his trunk. Checking by the Hospital Wing every hour when she was injured, almost convincing himself to go in once. That stupid habit of smiling he had developed. The way he agreed to attend a damn ball with her. That worry he felt over her.... That embarrassing comment at the World Cup. And then how he let that smile just ruin him.

He let that smile ruin him. He could only blame himself for how much he was suddenly acting like Tracey Davis so obviously acted with him once upon a time.

And that was a scary comparison. What it meant.

Theodore shook his head, taking in the deepest of breaths as he dragged his eyes from his sleeping friend. The hand that had been hanging lamely in the air fell to the other armrest as he looked around. Taking quick note of how it was still either extremely late or extremely early... the sun wasn't up at least. The fire was long dead.... His only sign was that perhaps it was the extremely early option.

He really hoped it was that one; then it meant Iris at least got the sleep she—

His eyes rolled up almost in exasperation with himself. Every moment he had to think for himself anymore, he was just focused on Iris. Now he fully blamed her for that. Annoying mind-reading abilities that just had him forced to suppress every thought about her for the 90% of the day they were together. The last thing he needed to do was make things weird or complicated...

Theodore's eyes went to the fireplace, something in that word bringing memories to mind... to a time he had been introduced to the end of a story. It made so little sense and yet stuck with him so deeply. One line popped into his mind at that moment...

"What I had was more than I deserved."

He couldn't quite remember the rest, staring at that fireplace... hand nearest Iris' head twirling at a piece of her hair as his mind drifted. Consumed by the nagging thought in the back of his head to finally give that story, he so failed to understand the first time another shot.