A Cliché Love

9

Tom couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face for the rest of the night. Eric dropped him back off at home, rejecting his offer to come inside. Neither of the boys were ready to say goodbye yet, but Eric had a mountain of homework he had been pushing off. The two of them made plans to see each other again the next day, planning something more simple. The two of them agreed to take things slow, deciding not every time they hung out needed to be declared as a date. Tom was going to study chemistry with Mikaela and once he got home, Eric would come over to hang out. Tom finished up some homework he had laying around before lying in bed, scrolling through Tiktok. He was almost asleep when he got a text from Tori, asking him to hang out tomorrow. He groaned, realizing there was no way he could study with Mikaela, hang out with Eric, and hang out with Tori. There was absolutely no way he could juggle all of that, and an even slimmer chance that he could combine any of them into a group.

"I have to study chem with M tomorrow, does Wednesday sound good? -Tom" It wasn't exactly a lie, so Tom didn't need to feel bad.

"Okay! I want to go see Midsommar, pleeeeaaase? Before it gets ruined for me! -Tori"

"You buy the tickets, I'll venmo you. I'll get the candy, you bring the purse to smuggle it in. -Tom"

The two of them continued to text about their plans until Tom fell asleep. It was early, but in his defense, going on a date is extremely exhausting.

Tom felt fantastic when he woke up, he wasn't sure if it was because of the amount of sleep he got or the date he had with Eric yesterday. Tom did his best to pay attention in class, but the only thing on his mind had curly brown hair and gentle green eyes. His morning classes consisted of the same emotions as always, boredom in math, stress in chemistry, English actually brought him joy, and Spanish just always confused him. By lunch his energy was brought way down, something school always seemed to do to him.

"Hi Tom! Are you still down for our study date today? I desperately need some coffee!" Mikaela smiled at him once she sat down at the table.

"Yes! Thank you again for helping me study, I absolutely need this!"

"Honestly, it's no problem, I love chemistry but also if it means you can come to the football game on Friday, that's even better!" She shot him a smile before turning to talk to Tori. Tom was in the middle of eating his lunch when he heard a small gasp come from Chelsea. He turned towards her with a questioning look on his face.

"Oh my god!" Chelsea quietly whispered "Mikaela is so the girl you were texting yesterday! How could we not have seen it before! You are so obviously into each other!" She let out a small giggle of excitement.

"Woah woah woah, Chelsea, that's flattering, but not true. She's gorgeous but she's not who I was texting."

"She so likes you! Plus you guys are going on a date today!! Tom, I won't tell anybody but you can admit it to me! It's so obvious." Chelsea squealed a little louder than she intended, making everybody turn her direction. "I uhhh-"

"I agreed to let her have my cookie and she just got a little excited! Everything here is fine!" Tom diffused the situation, but also lost his cookie. "Chelsea, one more time, as beautiful as Mikaela is, I'm interested in somebody else."

"OH MY GOD!" Chelsea whisper screamed again "Is it Tori!?" Tom's eyes went wide before immediately covering his face with his hands. Tom took a slow, deep breath. This wasn't the first time that he had been accused of being into Tori, but that doesn't make it any less weird each time.

"Chelsea. It's absolutely not Tori. I love her but it's not her. I'm not spilling who it is but they don't go here so stop guessing!" Tom told Chelsea, although she didn't seem fully convinced.

"I hope I get to meet her soon Tom! You're quite the catch, she must be special to have you so lovestruck." Chelsea giggled before leaving the table to go talk to another group of friends. Tom silently groaned at her statement. Everybody expected him to be straight, it's the brain's automatic response. This made him panic a little bit every time he is told something like that. How many people is it going to affect when he does decide to come out? If he decides to come out... He shook that thought out of his head, the image of Eric popping back into his mind.

"Can I give you a ride to Starbucks, Tom?" Mikaela's voice interrupted Tom's thoughts. He quickly agreed, as Tori drove him to school again today like usual. He had a car of his own, the one his brother drove when they lived in Boston. The car remained untouched in the driveway ever since they drove it across the country from Boston to Los Angeles. Tom felt wrong anytime he sat behind the wheel, he felt like he didn't belong in that spot. The bell rang, interrupting Tom from his thoughts, as usual. He gathered his things before heading towards his next class.

The end of the day always feels like it flies by compared to the morning, lunch really makes time seem manipulated, but Tom wasn't going to argue with it. His phone buzzed with a text from Mikaela telling him where to meet.

"Hey!" Tom called out to her when he finally found her car. "Thank you for driving! Also thank you again for helping me out with chemistry, I appreciate it so much."
"Tom, it's really no problem. I love chemistry but I also wanted to get to know you better!" The two of them casually talked and laughed on their drive to Starbucks. They had one relatively close to the school's campus, but they both agreed on going to the one closer to their houses. They both ordered their coffee, and a cake pop for Mikaela, which Tom insisted on paying for.

"You two are such a cute couple!" The barista smiled at them as she took their names for the order.

"Oh we're not-" Tom started for the second time today, only to be interrupted by Mikeala.

"Thank you!" She said with a soft smile before moving to the pick-up side in which Tom followed. "I find it easier to just agree with them rather than waste my time arguing. I don't want you to take it personally or think I'm into you." Tom let out a sigh of relief. The two of them made small talk as they grabbed their iced coffees and found their way to an empty table.
"Let's start with Lewis Structures! If I remember right, it starts on page 372?" Tom flipped his book to that page before giving her a look, signaling that he thought she was crazy. "I might've read this book a few times, leave me alone."

Iced coffees were empty, cake pops (and an additional two) were eaten, and Tom's headache was developed. He was absolutely exhausted but finally understood the material for the upcoming test. Things made so much sense coming from Mikaela compared to Mr. Walton.

"You are an angel. I am absolutely convinced you are a complete angel. How did I get so blessed?" Tom groaned from the table where his head had been placed for the last 10 minutes, earning a laugh from Mikaela.

"Hey now Tom, keep talking to me like that and I might actually think you do have a crush on me." She said with a wink. "Speaking of which, give Eric my best next time you see him." Tom shot up from his previous position, eyes wide, heart racing.

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Hello! it's me! I know it's been a while so if you're still here, THANK YOU! 

I appreciate every single one of you and hope you are staying safe! 

Chapter 10 is halfway in the making, so I promise you won't have to wait as long next time! Plus.... since I got kicked off my college campus due to COVID-19, I have some free time :,)

If you have any suggestions, requests, or just want to talk don't be afraid to reach out!