Sorry, I Love You.

2.02

Day Five.

{ Hey fam... Writing a book with so many fucking characters is hard!!
First of all, last chapter I spelt Rin as Ren, which some might notice if they read that chapter before I fixed it. After being on a break, I guess I just forget Rin's name? So close but so far..
Also, later in this chapter you'll see that Teddy mentions Malik's birthday, which was previously what most of you will remember as Bailey's birthday. After some math on everyone's ages, I realized that Bailey's birthday is not in October but I can just pass that on to Malik and go back and fix the chapter later...
Sorry everyone for how back and forth all of this is! It's not the first time I've had to go back and fix something everybody already read.. But I'm trying!!😭😭 }

Just like the past few mornings, Howl's alarm on his phone went off and awoke both him and Teddy. Teddy was quick to get out of bed every morning because, if he didn't just do it, he would get too comfortable and lazy and never want to get up. So, the minute Howl's alarm went off, Teddy was up and out of bed. Howl, however, took forever to get out of bed. He didn't have the same type of self-discipline as Teddy. He liked his bed too much. Unfortunately, though, he had no choice but to eventually get up.

"You know, it's been pretty alright having you basically living here the last few days-" Howl paused to yawn and stretch his arms over his head once he finally stepped out of his room. "But, you are responsible for buying more cereal. I've been an only child my whole life. Sharing my cereal is not something I'm used to."

"Don't worry. I'll buy you more cereal." Teddy sleepily chuckled and filled his bowl and then Howl's.

Howl disappeared into the bathroom as Teddy took a seat at the dining table in the dark, quiet apartment. Teddy could hear the shower in Kaliyah and Frankie's bathroom running and the toilet flushing in Howl's bathroom in the silence. It was still so early that there was no sunlight coming in from the window in the living room. In the middle of winter, it took awhile for the sun to come up anyways. It wouldn't even be up by the time they got to school.

Teddy liked it like this. He liked the quietness.

Howl came out from the bathroom with another dramatic yawn and trudged into the kitchen to grab his bowl of cereal and fill it with milk. Teddy silently watched him as he ate, wondering if Howl had gotten sick of him yet. He had spent three nights here, by Kaliyah and Frankie's orders. They said, if Teddy didn't have anyone to take care of him and he was in such a bad situation, he had to stay so they could make sure he would be okay. He just didn't want to be in Howl's way.

Teddy got up and out of bed without wincing or groaning so, he figured he was fine now. It still didn't feel great, he couldn't touch any of the bad spots, and didn't enjoy gym class when he went back to school yesterday but, he was okay. Teddy didn't mind staying here the last couple days either. Kaliyah always made lunch when they got home from school and then Frankie made dinner a few hours later, if she wasn't home late. Howl and Teddy did their homework together at the dining table and then hung out in mostly silence until they both fell asleep.

It was surprisingly nice to live like this.

"How'd that face mask work last night?" Howl asked as he sat in a chair beside Teddy, his fingers gently grabbing Teddy's jaw to make him meet Howl's stare. Teddy stayed still and unbothered as Howl examined Teddy's face. "You look good. You're basically glowing."

Howl let go of Teddy's face and began scarfing down his cereal as Teddy smirked at him. "I'm glowing? Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah-" Howl mumbled through his mouthful of food. "You look healthy and handsome. You're not as dry."