Six Boys and One "Nerd"

Chapter 31 - Nerds and Pancakes

I snuggle into the warm sheets and breathe in the aroma of Old Spice cologne encased in the sheets. I roll over in the sheets and open my eyes to find a good-sized amount of trophies gathered on a shelf. I can't make out what they're for so I haul myself out of bed to take a closer look. The intricate football players on the tops of the trophies grab my attention.

"Are you Milo's friend?" a small voice startles me from the doorway. I swivel around to find a cute little boy holding a stuffed lion. "Um, who's Milo?" I ask quietly and the little boy giggles. "He's my brother silly you slept in his room all night. I'll take him to you if you'd like?" He tells me and runs over to grab my hand. I hesitantly nod my head and let him lead me out of the room.

We reach a staircase and the little boy lets go of my hand so that I can crutch down the stairs. When we reach the bottom he grabs back onto my hand and leads me to what I assume is the kitchen. A guy my age stands at the stove frying something on a cast iron pan. The little boy runs over to the guy and latches onto his leg causing the guy to wince in pain. "Be careful with the leg buddy, how about some pancakes?" the guy asks him, and the little boy cheers in response causing a smile to escape my lips.

"Milo what's your friend's name?" the little boy asks causing the guy to spin around towards me. We lock eyes and I instantly recognize the guy as Miles. "This here is Emerson, she had a rough night last night so I helped her get a good night's sleep," Miles tells the little boy without taking his eyes off me. The little boy runs over to me and traps me in a hug. "It's okay Emmie, my brother will take good care of you," the little boy informs me.

I watch Miles toss a few pancakes, then he carefully hops over to a cabinet and grabs three plates out of it. I decide to help Miles so I hobble over and open a few drawers until I find the silverware. "You don't have to help me Ems," he mentions while pointing his spatula at me. I ignore him and eventually find three cups in a cupboard. The little boy runs over and leads me to the dining table so I can set the table for us. "My name's Oliver by the way but I like you so you're allowed to call me Ollie," he tells me with a smile and holds out his little hand for me to shake. I laugh and carefully shake his hand.

"Breakfast is ready," Miles announces and brings over a steaming plate of pancakes while in his wheelchair. Oliver cheers and settles into his chair with a fork at the ready. He sets his stuffed lion next to his plate while Miles places two pancakes down for him. He places two down for himself and me as well. I smile and quickly dig into the fluffy delicacies.

"Oh my god Miles, you make one hell of a pancake." I express as I finish my last bite. He chuckles and mumbles a "thanks" through a mouthful of food. Oliver finishes his plate and takes his dirty dishes over to the sink before running off with his stuffed lion most likely towards his room. I focus my attention back on Miles who is still chomping down on his pancakes. "Can I ask why I'm at your house exactly?" I question and Miles stops mid-chew.

"You don't remember anything from last night?" He asks with uncertainty. "I remember some of the party but not much after I drank the shots," I inform him and ignore the sudden headache that forms in the back of my head. "Well, after that you got a little too tipsy so I decided to help you out, and don't worry I slept on the couch and let you have my bedroom all to yourself so nothing happened," Miles mentions quickly and I stop him from going into a rant. "Thank you, Miles, I appreciate it," I promise him with a sincere smile.

Oliver pokes out from a doorway and runs over to me. "Will you watch cartoons with me?" he bluntly asks. I chuckle and nod my head before placing my dishes in the sink as well. Oliver leads me to a couch and clicks on the television to Nickelodeon. Oliver curls up beside me and becomes quickly entranced by the colorful cartoon characters. We watch cartoons for quite some time until Oliver decides he wants to go play with his toys.

I decide to help Miles clean up the breakfast dishes so hobble over to the sink and turn on the faucet. I rinse and carefully place them in the dishwasher one by one. Miles appears and adds the soap before closing and starting up the dishwasher. He motions for me to follow him so I carefully crutch behind him while he leads the way. Miles wheels over to the stairs and switches over to crutches so that he can get up the stairs. We reach the stairs and he leads me to his bedroom. He hobbles over to his dresser taking out a pair of sweatpants and a shirt before handing them to me. "The shower is through that door, also Kassie gave me Jeremiah's baseball cap and jersey that you were wearing yesterday so I'll set those on my bed for you to grab later," Miles informs me.

I thank him and head to the shower with Miles's clothes in hand. I carefully strip off the royal blue dress and step into the warm water spurting out of the showerhead. I find an Old Spice shampoo so I squirt some onto my hand and cleanse my disgusting mop of hair. I use his matching conditioner to finish off my hair and search for his body wash until I find it as well. I rinse off all the suds and turn off the stream of water.

I shiver as the cool air settles on my skin and grab a towel sitting on the counter. Miles must've set it out for me along with an unopened toothbrush and toothpaste. I smile at his generosity and quickly dry off before pulling on his clothes. They're a little big on me but otherwise fit well. I try my best to untangle my hair with only my fingers until eventually giving up. After brushing my teeth I exit the bathroom to find my clothes from yesterday laying on the bed just as Miles said he would. I notice my black heels from last night neatly placed on the floor as well. "Somehow you look better in my clothes than I do." Miles mentions from the door. I chuckle and tell him that is not true at all.

He smirks and crutches into his room with a plain backpack in hand. He places my clothes and heels inside before handing it to me so that I can put my dress in it as well. "You certainly know how to take care of guests don't you?" I question with a smile. He smirks and shrugs his shoulders before crutching back out of the room. I hobble down the stairs as well and settle onto the couch. Oliver runs up to me and hands me his stuffed lion. "Can you fix my lion? Milo doesn't know how to." he bluntly asks me causing a giggle to escape my lips. I glance down at his lion only to discover that one of its legs is hanging on by a thread. "Luckily I know how to sew Ollie so if you have a needle and thread I'll happily fix it," I tell him with a smile. He cheers and runs off to find Miles.

Eventually, he comes back with a small sewing kit and crawls up next to me on the couch. I set to work fixing his poor lion while Oliver intently watches. "The last girl Milo had here was the one who ripped Leo's leg because I accidentally spilled her coffee all over." He informs me causing a gasp to escape my lips. I promise Oliver that I'll be gentle with Leo the Lion and continue to sew up its leg. A short period later, I finish and hand the lion to Oliver. He cheers and traps me in a big hug before running off to show Miles. I smile warmly and pack up the little sewing kit.