Last Names | Tyrus/Muffy

Part 4

Buffy's POV

The chirp of a bird catches my attention, and I glance up to see it flapping its way from one tree to the next. The way it flies reminds me of a leaf trapped on the wind, going up and down without aim. But the bird reaches the other tree nonetheless.

With none of my friends wanting to go to The Spoon, I decided just to go home, so I travel in no rush down the well-known sidewalk to get to a particular place at no particular time. As I walk, a woman I recognize emerges out from behind a large, flowering shrub. The woman's straw sunhat covers her face, showing only her brown hair curling upon her shoulders. Her orange gloves pat down the dirt around some tulips in the garden. She only notices me approach when I speak.

"Hi."

Evelyn, Marty's mother, stops her work to look up and give me a smile.

"Hi, Buffy!"

I scan the empty flower pot next to her and the new flowers in the garden that I don't recall seeing before. 

"Doing some planting?" I ask. 

"I am," she replies. "I liked these tulips in the store, but do you think the colour clashes with the blue bells?"

"No, I think they're great," I assure her. "The pink compliments the blue well."

"I'm glad you think so. I wasn't sure."

"I'm sure," I say. 

"Thank you," she responds. "Now, you're probably looking for Marty."

"Oh, no, it's okay. I don't want to intrude when he's with his grandma."

"His grandma?" she says with eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "He's doing homework."

That takes me by surprise, but I don't say anything. His mom's reaction leads me to believe that she wasn't aware of Marty's grandma coming over. Either that or Marty lied, which is probably more likely. But why would he lie about that? He's the one who invited my friends and I to hang out after school. Why would he want to make up an excuse to cancel?

"Oh," I mutter, "right."

"I'll call him down for you," Evelyn says.

She steps off the lawn and onto the stone pathway that leads up to the front door of the house. I wait outside while she disappears into the building to find her son.  

Suddenly, one of the engines from the street cuts out directly behind me, and I turn around to see Marty's older brother, Grayson, step out of his car. He swirls his keys around on his finger, catching them as he gives me a nod.

"'Sup, Buffy."

"Hey, Grayson."

"You waiting for Marty?"

"Yup."

He grins as he walks past me and says, "He's probably gonna be another hour. Gotta make sure his hair is perfect for you, you know?"

Grayson chuckles as he enters into his home, leaving me a little confused at his last phrase. I don't have long to think about it, though, because Marty shows up on the porch and gives me an awkward smile when he sees me.

"Buffy, what are you doing here?"

"I was on my way home and saw you mom gardening," I say. "I wasn't going to bother you since you were with . . . your grandma. But your mom said you weren't with her."

He freezes, obviously not prepared with a response, before finally saying, "It turns out she's coming a different day."

I cross my arms, not believing a word. "Yeah? What day?"

"Uh . . . Friday."

I tilt my head, staring at my friend skeptically. "You have a dentist appointment on Friday."

"Uh . . ." Marty tries to find a new direction to go with this lie, but I stop him with a groan of annoyance. 

"Marty, why did you lie?"

"I didn't lie. I—" He sighs. "I lied, because . . . I promised my mom I'd help her with her gardening, but I forgot about that when I asked you earlier if you wanted to hang out."

Marty's mom comes back outside at the perfect moment to catch Marty in his lie.

"You're going to help me out?" Evelyn says. "Then grab some gloves. There are some alliums in pots in the backyard that I want planted."

I smirk as Marty's mouth drops open. He's now stuck in this story, so I don't feel the need to push him any further for an answer.

"Great!" I say, my eyes still burning through Marty. "I'll help too."

Marty looks ready to try to get himself out of this, but I think he's all out of fuel, because he submits to his mother's request and follows me around to the backyard. Past the stone patio with a fire pit in the centre of it, the usually-bare lawn holds several flower pots and tools. I kneel down to get a better look at the purple and white mixture of petals by my feet.

"I love the dark purple ones," I say.

Marty grins. "Yeah?"

Then he reaches down and puts his hand on the stem of one of the flowers, snapping the green in two. 

"What are you doing?" I ask, shooting up to my feet. 

He holds the flower out.

"For you."

"Do you steal all the gifts you give to people?" I joke.

I reach out to take it, but he pulls it away, back toward himself. 

"Just for that, it's not for you anymore," he says with a grin. 

My jaw falls open, and he chuckles, but I refuse to let it go so easily. I swipe for the flower, but he moves it away, lifting it above his head. I put one hand on his shoulder to help launch myself up to snatch the flower, but he turns, making me lose my balance. Instantly, his arms wrap around me, stopping me from tumbling over, but his kindness was a mistake on his part, because I spin to face him right as I tear the flower from his hand which holds my waist. I'm still locked in his arms as I lift the flower and give it a sniff, smiling at my victory. 

"I win," I say. 

Marty shakes his head as he lets me go, trying to hide the smile on his face, and I step back, still looking at him. 

"Not everything's a competition," he reminds me. 

"I know," I reply, "but this is."

We both laugh again.

I'm about to kneel down to sit the flower on the grass when I feel a buzz in my pocket. I pull out my phone to see a message from my mom.

Mom: When are you coming home? There's something I have to talk to you about.

"I think I actually have to go," I say to Marty. "My mom wants me home."

He looks concerned, asking, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's probably nothing," I respond, my voice sounding very unconvincing. What if she's going to say that she's going away again? I like having her here, and she hasn't been home for near long enough yet. Maybe I'm overreacting. She could just be mad that I forgot to do the dishes last night. 

"I'll see you tomorrow," I say. 

I take a step back but don't turn around yet, waiting for Marty to say his goodbye.

"See you," he says.

A/N: Nothing to say other than thank you all for reading! I'm going to try to update more frequently, but who knows how that'll go. Bye!