The Nerd [BXB]

30 𖠇 Define Happiness and Cruelty

There is a never-ending pit in Harvey's stomach and discomfort as he opens his eyes in an unfamiliar room. He feels out of place, which makes utter sense since he is not home. Even after a week of living with the Walkers, he has yet to feel comfortable. Yet, he simply feels like a stranger invading another stranger's house. However, the only good outcome of all of this is getting to spend time with a special individual that happens to be named Theodore.

He remains on the couch, staring at the white ceiling until he hears Ms. Walker step out of her room and head to the restroom. Minutes later, she tippy-toes into the kitchen with her robe on.

"Good morning," he alerts her. "No need to tippy-toe."

"You're an early bird, huh?" she says, turning on the stove.

Harvey simply smiles, not letting her know that his body is conscious of his unknown surroundings. "Is Theo awake?" he asks, folding the sheets he sleeps with.

She peeks into the hallway as she takes a pan out of a cabinet. "Should be," she says. "And if he's not, feel free to wake him up."

"Copy that." With that, Harvey stacks the two bedsheets over each other and heads to my room.

He knocks lightly.

"Come in," I say, reaching for my glasses. Harvey comes to focus once they're on.

He leans on the door and grins. "Hey."

I yawn and smile back. "Hey."

"I have practice early morning, so—"

"Fudge!" I snap, throwing the sheets off me and sprinting to my drawers. "I forgot you had practice."

Harvey releases a short laugh. "What did you just say?"

I pick a random pair of denim jeans and reach for a light-blue pastel sweater from my open closet, not bothering to wear a shirt underneath today. "I forgot you had practice, Harvey!" I repeat myself. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he says, waving me off. "And I'm pretty sure you said 'fudge.'"

"Oh, that!" I shake my head. "A habit of mine."

"Don't mind if I steal it, do you?" he asks.

With my clothes in my arms, I pass him by the door. "As long as you give me credit," I make clear, obviously joking as I close the restroom door.

Harvey goes back to the kitchen, opening the top cabinets to carry three dinner plates to the table. Just as he places them down, Ms. Walker picks up the pan and plops three pancakes over his plate.

"There you go," she says, handing him the syrup. "I added some of that protein powder you brought three days ago."

"That's great!" Harvey says. "Thank you."

"We don't want you losing that physique any time soon," she makes clear, adding a new batch of flour to her bowl without protein this time for me. Although, Harvey knows that a little bit of mass wouldn't hurt me.

Just as he's done eating breakfast, I get out of the restroom and he goes next. Five minutes later, he comes out wearing gym shorts and a tank top.

"Just in time!" I say, taking the last bite of my pancake.

Harvey grabs his keys in one hand and gym bag in the other, following me to the door as I carry my backpack. "Goodbye, Ms. Walker!"

   "Be careful, boys!" she yells as I close the door behind me.

   "How fast was I?" I ask him, impressed by how quickly I got ready. The morning sun stings my eyes, but the fresh scent roaming in the air is refreshing.