Sɪᴄᴋ⁻⁻Jsᴄʜʟᴀᴛᴛ//Fᴇᴍ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 10

When I exit out of my final exam room, I breathe in the hot and sweet Texas air and sigh. 

I'm free.

The semester has ended. I no longer need to study or do homework or cry myself to sleep every night. I can finally enjoy these beautiful May days as they trickle into June and July. 

...

"So," Korine drums her fingers against the kitchen table. "What's going on with Schlatt?"

I perk my head up at the mention of his name. "I don't know." I shrug.

"The fuck you mean 'you don't know?'" She scoffs. "It's been like, 3 weeks since he sent the 'we're dating' text."

"I think you forget the meaning of dating, Kors." I deadpan. "We go on dates. I'm not his girlfriend."

"I'm getting married in 4 weeks. Is he coming or not?" Korine points to the wedding invitation. "I'm letting you bring someone even though the RSVP date passed."

I scratch my arm. "I'll...I'll ask him again."

"You know," Korine scratches her curly head of hair. "You can just...date someone else."

I laugh at the crazy proposition. "Schlatt and I have been busy." That's true. I went completely afk when studying for my finals. I think we texted 5 times during the 3 weeks before the exams.

Still, he always texted me safe travels before going to school. 

"Olive." Korine frowns. "I think you should...stop talking to him."

I chuckle. "Why?"

"I think he's leading you on." 

I chortle and wave my hand at her dismissively. "I'll call him right now and I bet he'll respond."

"If he doesn't?" Korine argued. 

I blink and swallow. "You can bully me all you want." I dial Schlatt's number (because I have it memorized) and tap my fingers against my thighs. I start getting worried by the third ring but then-

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered. 

It's not Schlatt. 

It's-

"Ted? " I ask. 

"Hey." He yawns. "Schlatt's in the shower right now."

Korine is equally as surprised as I am. "What are you doing here?" I ask him again.

"I told you I was thinking of coming down." he chuckled. 

Right.

"Why are you staying with Schlatt?" I start pacing around the kitchen. "We have actual beds here. And a bathroom with running water."

I hear a Ted shrug from over the phone and grin. "I missed Schlatt."

"You didn't miss your best friend?" I tease. 

"I miss you both, okay?" He confesses. "I wanted it to be a surprise that I was here. I know today was your last exam and Schlatt wanted to-"

I hear a squeaky door open on the other end and Ted has gone silent. "DUDE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING ON MY PHONE?"

Korine tries to cover her laughter with her hand. "IT'S OLIVE. SHE CALLED YOU IN THE SHOWER."

"GIVE ME BACK MY FUCKING PHONE MAN!"

"Jesus. You'd think he was hiding classified information on his phone with that kind of reaction." Korine comments. 

"Nah, it's just his crazy porn collection." I joke back.