Sorry, I Love You.

1.29

There was a lot of stuff happening this week that Teddy was forced to keep up with. Teddy was used to living in his own bubble and keeping his eyes forward until the next day, when he would do the exact same thing. But, every single morning, Howl was following him around trying to get advice from him. Apparently, Fisher was even more pissed at him than he expected and now, he wanted to do right by him. Howl told him the entire story, from start to finish, and was even hounding Teddy with questions the entire week.

"I've never had a boyfriend before. Besides, I don't even think Fisher likes me enough to let me be his boyfriend." Howl went on and on as they walked through the halls.

Teddy silently begged mercy to whatever god would listen to his prayers as they rounded the corner of the school hallways. He wasn't even listening all that much, until that particular confession caught Teddy's attention. "Wait.. You've never had a boyfriend before? That's gotta be a fucking lie, Howl."

"I'm serious!" Howl pressed, growing a bit bouncier now that Teddy was paying attention. He was acting just like Zoe, going on and on like this. "I've flirted with guys, I've made out with guys, slept with some, but I've never been in a committed relationship."

Teddy sighed and shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, Howl. I don't know how to date guys anymore than you do."

When Teddy and Howl made it to Teddy's classroom, Howl grabbed his arm before he could escape. "I'll meet you here after class. Mine is only two doors down."

"Awesome." Teddy forced a smile and slipped his arm out of Howl's grip. He didn't understand why he had to be stopped for that. That was something that could easily be said in passing, in Teddy's opinion.

Teddy and Howl had always been the first ones to acknowledge each other in a crowd but, they were never close. As of lately, though, Howl was almost his best friend. With this whole Fisher thing, he wouldn't leave Teddy alone but, even before that, they somehow connected via Zoe's influence. Teddy wasn't used to always having company around him all the time, though. Having Zoe on his tail multiple times a day was enough for him. Now, with this new crisis Howl was in, he was constantly being followed around.

It was exhausting.

Surprisingly, though, when Zoe came trotting into the library again, Teddy was relieved. He hadn't even taken a moment to appreciate the fact that she was wearing jeans again. Since there was suddenly so much snow outside, she really had no choice unless she wanted to suffer. Zoe still wore heels though, which surprisingly looked good with her skinny jeans and fancy sweater. She still looked just as bright and preppy as usual.

Actually, she didn't. Zoe actually looked rather annoyed as she typed frantically on her phone. She hadn't even looked up since she walked into the library. Teddy noticed that earlier this week as well. She was on her phone more and more every day. Either, her friends were growing a bit too clingy or, she had upcoming work she had to focus on. Still, Teddy had lots to say to her after Howl had chatted his ear off so much this morning.

"Oh my god, Zoe... Have you talked to Howl at all?" Teddy groaned, a bit of amusement still lacing his low voice.

Zoe stopped in her tracks as her eyes snapped up from her phone. "No. Why? Is he upset with me?"

"What? No." Teddy's eyebrows furrowed. He tried to search his brain for whatever part of Howl's endless rambling would indicate that Howl was upset with Zoe. "Over the party thing? No. He's not even thinking about that, he's so consumed by his anxiety over Fisher."

"Oh, thank god." Zoe let out a big sigh of relief as she continued to her chair. "I mean, that's not good for Howl but, you know..."

Teddy got comfortable beside Zoe as he watched her dig hurriedly through her bag. "Howl has been following me around all day, Zo. He's in total panic mode. I swear, it's a nightmare. And, I don't think he has even talked to Fisher yet because, he's so-"