Tongue-Tied (Boyxboy)

Chapter Three

JESSE'S POV

Glancing up into the rear-view mirror, I have to do a double take as I see Todd's car a few cars behind us. I frown for a while, before shrugging mentally. He must be going somewhere other than home tonight.

Turning right down the street with the supermarket, I look back into the rear-view mirror. One car speeds past, two, and then Todd turns down the same street. Feeling my eyebrows raise, I glance towards Miles to see if he's noticed. He's too busy playing Candy Crush on his phone. Miles has this silly idea that Todd stalks me and eavesdrops on our conversation. As if Mr Popular Todd Hughes would ever bother stalking us, we're not exactly his favourite people.

I shrug it off. He's probably just going to the supermarket himself. He does have to do his own grocery shopping after all. It's not like any of his family members are ever home. I don't think I've ever seen his mother and his father is constantly away on business. I've only met him twice and I'd rather not meet him again. Mr Hughes is a very serious and stern man who always seems to be looking at people as if they were the scum underneath his shoe.

Parking, I nudge Miles to let him know we're here and jump out of the car to head into the supermarket. Grabbing a basket, I wonder down the aisle to pick up bread and then head over to the fridges to grab a carton of milk while Miles wanders off towards the junk food.

"Jesse." A familiar voice says behind me. I turn around to face Todd. He looked away nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, his fingers tightening on the bag of cat food in his hand.

"Hi Todd." I reply cautiously, before stepping to the side and attempting to go around him. He swiftly steps in my way.

"Uh, can I help you with anything?" I ask, and he makes eye contact with me awkwardly before glancing down at his feet.

"No, I... uh... I just wanted to talk to you." Todd says, still staring at the floor. I feel my eyebrows slowly rise into my hairline in shock. This was unusual and completely un-Todd-like. The last time Todd wanted to talk to me it was in our first year of high school and it was so he could shove a spider down my jumper when I let my guard down. I narrow my eyes at him and do a quick body scan to make sure he didn't have any surprises hiding on him somewhere.

"About what?" I ask curiously. Todd opens his mouth, and then closes it again, looking embarrassed.

"Toad. I see you're harassing people again. One's not enough for today?" Miles sneers as he walks over, holding a packet of Doritos and a pack of raspberry twists.

"Don't call me Toad!" Todd snaps back at him.

"Why shouldn't I? It's what you are." Miles retorts. Todd bristles and takes a step forward threateningly. I quickly step between them.

"Cat food huh? I saw you walking home with a cat a few weeks ago. I'm surprised it's lasted this long. They usually don't." Miles said, eyeing the bag of cat food thoughtfully. Todd tenses. I glance at the food frowning.

"Didn't you have a dog a little while back? What happened to it?" I asked curiously. Todd glances away.

"It's probably dead. Toad is the type to kill his pets. He probably bullied it until it died. His cat looked pretty pathetic when I saw it. It's probably going to disappear in a few days too." Miles says. I wince. That was taking it a bit too far. Todd stiffens and straightens his back.

"Shut up you fat shit! It's none of your fucking business!" Todd snaps, glancing at me before sighing and tightly closing his eyes. Miles stiffens beside me and takes a step closer.

"Maybe if you were a bit nicer there would actually be people who like you!" Miles snaps back. Todd glances my way again before clenching his teeth and turning around to walk away. Miles reaches out and grabs his arm.