Tied Together

Chapter 6: Birthday Plan

Tina and I finally settled down, her still rubbing her teary eyes. "Considering your mom isn't here yet, can you show me where your bathroom is? I'd like to get changed into my pajamas before she arrives."

I stand up and show Tina around, explaining the layout of the house. Once she's informed, Tina goes inside the bathroom with her bag and starts getting changed. After about 30 minutes, I start to wonder if everything is alright.

I knock on the door, "Is everything okay in there?" I ask. "Y-y-yes, Dante. I'll come out now." Why does she sound so flustered? I take a step back as she opens the door, revealing her outfit. She's wearing short, tight gray shorts and a small pink tank top with butterflies on it, her brown hair tied into a ponytail.

"D-Dante... you're staring." I look away, embarrassed, and head to my room. Jesus, what was I thinking? Why did I stare like that? I've never seen a girl in pajamas from school before. Maybe that's it? God, she's here because she has nowhere else to go. Don't ogle her, Dante!

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," I explain, trying my best to be apologetic. Tina gives a small giggle, seeing how embarrassed I got. "It's fine. I suppose a little looking doesn't hurt anyone." Her words only make it harder to contain my blush.

After finally calming down, I turn my face to the papers of notes I have on the floor, and Tina, who is now in close proximity, asks, "Dante, we can use this paper to plan Amelia's birthday, right?" She's on her hands and knees beside me, her tank top slightly damp, and I can almost see...

I scream slightly, placing my hands over my eyes and hiding my embarrassment. "YES! THIS WILL WORK JUST FINE." After saying that, I scoot over to the other side of the room and grab a pen.

Taken aback by my sudden scream and retreat, Tina looks at me with a confused expression. "You're so weird, Dante. Anyway, let's get to planning this birthday party."

After shaking off my rising arousal, I take a deep breath and start brainstorming ideas for the party. "Well, I know Amelia likes reading manga, drinking orange juice—but not when it's too strong—cupcakes, sweet things, oh, like those really cute cat cupcakes she loves..."

Tina pulls a certain face, almost as if she's figured something out. "Dante, how do you feel about Amelia?" The question immediately catches me off guard. I think about it and respond, "I mean, she's my best friend. I've always wanted to be around her. She's really sweet and caring when she's not scary... and that smile, that one smile that I've always wanted to see on her face that she doesn't show anymore. I want to see it more than anything."

Her mouth drops. "W-what's with that reaction?" I look confused. "Dante, do you love Amelia?" she asks with a blush.

"WHATTTTTTT! L-l-love?!" I mean, no! What? No... am I? Wait, what am I thinking? She's my best friend, of course I can't... I mean...

"No, I mean... it's not that I don't either, but... love? Do I love her?" I find myself in a confusing situation. I've never thought about Amelia in that way. We're childhood friends. I know I care about her, but isn't love a pretty big thing?

"Never mind, forget I said anything," Tina says, still blushing from the topic.

"No, wait. What made you ask?" I ask her curiously. Can she see something I can't?

"Well... it's just that the way you talk about her, you sound like you're in love with her." I stay silent for a while, thinking about what Tina's words mean. On one hand, I see Amelia as one of my best friends, even if she can be a bit stern at times. On the other hand, I keep thinking about wanting to be around her and seeing that smile of hers. Maybe it is love? Either way, this isn't something I can figure out in the spur of the moment.

"This is something I'm going to think about, but for now, I'd rather concentrate on making this the best party ever for Amelia—b-but not because I love her or anything." God! I feel like I have to second-guess everything I say related to Amelia now.

Tina giggles at my reaction, clearly amused by the emotions I'm experiencing. "I agree; let's work our best." After hours of writing out a plan based on Amelia's likes and dislikes, we eventually decide to stop for the day.

"My mom's cooking dinner. I'll eat the first lot and then bring up a bowl of seconds for you, okay?" Tina blushes at my generosity and nods. "Thank you, Dante."

I head downstairs to greet my mom in the kitchen, who's already dishing up dinner. "Thanks, Mom."

"No worries, honey. Oh, and I heard from Parker's parents that Jackson won't be bothering you two anymore. Is this true?" Sheesh, Parker sure does have a loud mouth. I'll need to talk to him at school tomorrow about this.

"Yeah, but I'd rather not get into the details, Mom." We both smile and continue eating our dinner. "You're taking seconds, Dante? But you rarely take seconds?" Oh crap, how is she catching on? Is it impossible to do anything without her knowing?

"Yeah, just feeling extra hungry today. That's all. I'm going to eat this in my room. See ya, Mom." Before she can respond, I take the bowl of pasta upstairs.

"Is everything okay? You look flustered," Tina asks curiously.

"I'm fine. Here's your food. Hope it's alright." Tina stares at the food nervously. "What's wrong? You don't like pasta?" I ask.

"N-no, it's just... I get nervous eating in front of other people," she says, blushing and gripping the bowl tightly.

"Well, if you don't eat it, I will," I say jokingly, hoping to tease her into eating.

"No, I'll eat. Thank you for the food." With that, Tina takes small bites, looking incredibly nervous about eating in front of me. I guess it can't be helped. I continue working on the birthday plan, trying to finish it up. I want to get started on this as soon as possible.

"Hey, why don't you take a break? We've been at it for a few hours already," Tina says, trying to make me relax a bit.

"I don't want to. I really want to make this special for her." Tina smiles at me. "I can tell that even if you love her or not, you clearly care about Amelia a lot."

I chuckle, trying not to get embarrassed this time. "I guess I do."