Three's A Crowd

Three's A Crowd {5}

                Tadder Bailey got in the car with his mother when she arrived to pick Vic up. He had managed to tan a bit over the weekend. His mother, who had not seen Tadder in a few months, barely registered the slight skin color difference.

                “How was it?” she asked as he shut the car door. Tad shrugged, staying silent. His mother, Abby, gave him a concerned look as she began to drive.

                “Vic, please tell me what’s wrong,” she begged. “Nothing,” Tad mumbled and looked out the window. Abby sighed sadly and the two drove home in awkward silence.

                Once he got “home”, Tad went upstairs and into Vic’s room. He shut the door and looked around as he began to put his stuff away. Vic’s room really hadn’t changed much since he had last been in it.

                Syd and Tad didn’t get along with their mom, and as a result, lived with their dad. Vic got along great with both parents, but chose to live with his mom so he could be close to his friends.

                Tad sighed and took a shower before going to bed, feeling weird without Syd in the room with him. He and Syd would always talk until they fell asleep. The silence was very loud in Tad’s ears, and he felt faint homesickness. But he held tough, knowing this was going to help Victor.

                In the morning, Tad dressed and ran a hand through his neatly cut hair, feeling weird that he didn’t have to straighten it. He slung his bag over his shoulder and turned his cell phone on as he left the house to wait for the bus.

                It pulled up and he got on and sat down by himself, texting Vic to make sure everything would go according to plan. He grinned when Vic texted him back, confirming that everything was in order.

                Tad got off the bus and entered the school, looking around the main lobby. The school he and Syd attended had way more kids than this dinky place. He felt weird and out of place, not knowing any of these kids.

                “Tad?”

                He spun and grinned. “Hey. Ronnie, right?” The boy standing in front of him grinned and nodded. “Nice to see you again. It’s been awhile,” he said and shook Tad’s hand. Victor had called Ronnie the previous night and explained everything to him.

                “Okay, so what does this bitch look like?” Tad asked and Ronnie scanned the hallways. “Oh, and keep in mind that you’re Vic, not Tad,” he reminded as his eyes searched carefully for the bitch. Tad nodded. It would take a little getting used to, but he knew he would be able to do it.

                “There,” Ronnie hissed and elbowed Tad. He nodded at a pretty blonde girl who was talking to another girl. “She’ll come over here and greet you, and then it’s show time,” Ronnie said with a smirk. He hoped that Tad crushed this bitch after what she had done to his best friend. Vic didn’t deserve that. He was a good guy, and he had treated Alex fantastically.

                Alex came over and smiled at Tad widely. “Hi Vic!” she said and threw her arms around him. Tad made a face but hugged her back. He forced a smile as they pulled away. Ronnie was right; it was show time now.

                “Hi Alex,” he said brightly. She leaned forward and kissed him. He kissed her back but pulled away after a few seconds. “You okay Victor?” Alex asked with a deep frown. Tad nodded. “I’m fine!” he said and hooked his thumbs in his pockets.

                She smiled again. “Awesome. So, do you want to hang out afterschool today?” she asked and Tad shrugged and nodded. He squinted at her and she shifted uncomfortably.

                “What?” she asked, sounding slightly defensive. Tad, always one to be cruelly honest, pointed at her face. “You have a huge ass zit coming in on your forehead. Cover up, I recommend it for that mother fucker,” he said.

                She gave him a shocked and furious look. “What the hell Vic? Why would you say that?” she cried and brought her hand up to her forehead where she indeed had a large zit growing.

                Tad shrugged innocently. “I was just pointing it out. Would you rather have me shut my mouth and let that sucker grow in for everyone to admire?” he asked in amusement, staring at it.

                Tad and Syd were completely different from quiet, polite Vic. They knew that their personalities would drive Vic’s girlfriend up a damn wall within a week or so, and that was what they hoped to do. Then they might send Vic back in just to confuse her. Only if Vic was up for it, though.

                “Vic, you’re being such a jerk! Whatever. I’ll text you if I still want to hang out,” Alex said in disgust. Tad laughed and shrugged again.

                “Okay. Take it easy. Are you PMSing?” he asked. She gave him a disgusted look before flipping him off and storming away from him.

                Ronnie stared at him in admiration. “Damn Tadder, are you always like that?” he asked and laughed. Tad nodded and grinned easily. “Syd and I are the big mouthed brothers. That right there was me being nice, too. I’ll have her running home crying by the end of the week. Then she can get a little taste of Sydney. Oh this is going to be so fun,” he said and his grin got wider at the thoughts of what was to come with their revenge on the cheating whore.