ready for it? • t. zegras

thirty seven

"Angelface?"

Slowly, with a confused look on his face, Quinn turns around from the cupboard he was searching through. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," I say, taking a seat at the kitchen island. "Where'd everyone go?"

"Something about the store and chocolate. I wasn't really listening when they told me."

"Gotcha."

My fingers tap rapidly on the counter as Quinn continues whatever it is he's doing. Bustling around the kitchen or whatnot. Moments like these make me want to laugh a bit because it seems so ridiculous that these guys, for a living, play a sport involving smacking people into walls and fights on the regular. It seems so silly that they would do that when I see any of them do things like bustle around a kitchen or intently listen to me recap reality TV.

"Why didn't you go with them?" I ask.

"Figured I'd get some peace and quiet." He pauses his motions and stares at me. "Without Trevor being Trevor, is what I meant. You're good. You're peaceful."

"It's a Sunday."

He continues his bustling. "Glad you know your days of the week, Teags."

"That's why I didn't go with them," I explain. "It's before noon. On a Sunday. Trevor knows not to wake me up before noon on a Sunday by now."

"Here you are, awake before noon on a Sunday."

I laugh. "Trust me, angel, my roommates were shocked I answered their texts so early."

"What's with that?" He faces me again, waiting for an answer. I shrug. "The pet names or nicknames or whatever."

"It's fun." Pretty sure he truly believes it's more peaceful around me than Trevor since he nods as if that's the end of the talking thing. It is not. "Do I get to ask a question now?"

"Go for it," he says.

"What makes you you?"

Again, he stares at me. "What?"

"You know, what makes you yourself?" Motioning to myself with a shrug, I smile. "I'm me because I try my best to be the love and good that exists. Hard to say there's no good people in the world when I know I'm good."

Quinn laughs. He laughs and looks away. "Jesus, Trevor lucked out on you."

"So, what is it, angelface?"

"Can we circle back?" He waits for me to nod and then gasps slightly. It kind of reminds me of when Trevor gets an idea to go bug Tilly or Jamie. "We should try and get to know each other as much as possible before they get back."

"And when they get back it's like we're absolute besties? I'm hella down."

"Make their heads spin," he adds.

"Nothing I do better than make guys' heads spin."

* * * * *

It'd felt like hours of smiles and laughs with Quinn. We'd gone from the kitchen, to outside, to the living room, to back outside by the time the guys got back. Trevor called me asking me where I went and not even thirty seconds later I could hear them headed our way. At least, could hear Trevor coming.

"Tennessee, we went a little overboard on our chocolate mission," he says the moment he reaches us. He leans down on the back of my chair and presses a kiss on my cheek.

"Oh, like your graduation party?" Quinn says.

Before I can answer, Trevor does. "Yeah. How do you know about that?"

"No such thing as overboard on chocolate," I say.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he immediately says. I have him trained!

"Whipped," Jack comments as he joins us and takes a seat next to his brother.

I nod. "Kind of like Quinn with that girl who didn't even know he existed his freshman year of college."

"How do you know that?" Jack asks, scrunching his nose up slightly.

"Did you guys get anything but chocolate?" Quinn sighs when Jack shakes his head. I'm assuming Trevor does the same behind me. "It's practically an empty kitchen in there."

"We have chocolate though," I say. "What else could we possibly need?"

"We're not pulling a seven-year-old Teagan and only eating chocolate for days in a row."

My jaw drops. "I was sick and it's the only thing I could stomach!"

"I know," Quinn says.

"You know?" Trevor echoes. "What the hell is going on?"

"We can go out for dinner tonight and then another shopping trip," I suggest. The two brothers nod. Jack is a bit slower than Quinn due to his confusion.

"Tennessee," Trevor whines. In an instant, I almost fold right then and there. Quinn sends me a warning look and I don't.

"We can make a list to all add to," Quinn says. He sends me a different warning look. "No more chocolate."

"But—"

Jack laughs. "I don't think she's ever heard those words in her life."

"One of the first few times we hung out, I bet her she couldn't make pancakes without chocolate chips," Trevor says, the smile evident in his voice. "She loves winning more than chocolate."

Quinn nods. "Beating Sunny in all the games at his own birthday could've told you that."

"You know Sunny? And the story from his tenth birthday?" Trevor huffs out a breath. "I'm going crazy here."

"I have that effect on you, hon," I say while reaching a hand up behind me to pat his cheek a few times. He leans into the movement.

"Z, you're so fucking whipped," Cole says, also joining the party. He decides the best spot is the armrest of my chair.

"Aw, hi, sugarplum."

"Sugarplum?" He repeats.

"What's Luke's?" Quinn asks.

My finger taps against Z's cheek a few times. "I'm thinking lovebug. Lovey for short."

"Your favorite Jonas Brothers song." Quinn smiles when Jack and Trevor both react to yet another fact being thrown out.

"Guys, we left them alone for hours," Cole says. "They probably have been talking for hours."

Both boys let out low, Ohhhhh's.