Paired With The Potterhead

Chapter Three: The Cheese Pizza Deal

Call It What You Want - Foster The People

Chapter Three: The Cheese Pizza Deal

There's a red Chevy parked in the front of the school when the final bell rings for the day. Everyone's whispering about the owner of the Chevy but I don't listen to them as I make my way towards it with a broad smile on my face.

"Hey, muscles. You know that's not a parking spot right?" I grin at the guy leaned up against the passenger side door.

My brother Joshua laughs and shrugs. "I'm not parked here long enough anyway, squirt. Come here and give me a hug." He grunted as he wrapped his arms around me and crushed me with his monstrous biceps.

"Can't.....breathe," I managed to wheeze out. He let go of me with a laugh and I inhaled as much air as I could. "Jerk. Why didn't dad pick me up today? He said he would."

Josh bit his lip. "Dad's at work again. That's all I know."

"Oh."

Our dad is a seasoned lawyer and is constantly working. Well....that's a lie. If he isn't working he's usually home drinking and is drunk. There was one time when I was 12 that he threw a beer bottle at my head and I hitchhiked all the way to Josh's place in the next town over. I stayed at his house for 3 months before I was allowed to go back home.

Josh and I share the same dad but we have two different moms. Dad, being 61 years old, had Josh back in his early 30's. Josh is 30 himself now. His mom and our dad were married for a nice while before they separated, leaving dad with the custody of Josh. Josh had his mother's and dad's last name, Lee, whereas I shared my mom's name, Rubia. Then dad met my mom and then they had me. Mom left, dad resorted to drinking and we all lived happily ever after.

"Since he's at work I thought you and I could go for a bite to eat at Roberto's? How does that sound?" Josh poked me in the ribs playfully, winking.

"Pizza does sound good...." I climbed into the passenger seat and sighed heavily.

"What's up with you? You look like you ran a marathon-seatbelt," he warned me.

I clicked on my belt. "Long day at school. No biggie."

"Wanna talk about it?" He looked at his side mirror before pulling out of the school lot.

Did I want to talk about it? Not really. If I told him I was paired with the weirdo of the school, he'd laugh and tell me to suck it up and be the bigger person. In Josh's mind, it's better to kill people with kindness rather than stab them with a pencil like my mindset wants to do.

"Uh oh. You're quiet. That's never a good sign," he chuckled. "Just talk to me, squirt. I'm listening."

I shrugged. "Nothing to talk about. It was just a long day. That's it."

Josh glanced at me and sighed. "Maybe a slice of cheese pizza will get you to open up to me."

"Just a slice? I need an entire 15 inch if you want me to spill the beans."

He laughed. "Fine. I'll buy you an entire pizza for yourself as long as you promise to tell me what's on your mind. Deal?"

I nodded. "Deal."

Him buying me an entire cheese pizza had been a thing of ours since we were younger. Whenever I was having trouble at school and didn't want to talk about it, Josh would cut me a deal: he'd buy me a pizza if I opened up to him. We called it 'The Cheese Pizza Deal' and it's been a thing of ours for many years. I'm surprised I'm not fat from all the pizzas I ate on my own. Thank god for a fast metabolism.