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“Will someone punch me in the face if I ever volunteer to work with Tommy Johnson ever again?” Tan walks over dropping at the lunch table where his friends are after 45 minutes of failing at taking pictures of Tommy.
“Was he that bad?” Lin asks rubbing his back as Tan lays his head on the table feeling like a failure
“He wouldn’t smile, and he stood in the same fucking spot the whole time like a telephone pole! No matter how much I said Tommy smile or do something else with your body, boy would not move!” He complains to his friends as he steals food off their trays
“That sucks dude, when I took pictures of Sven this morning he was such a breeze” Erica gloats
“Yeah?” Tan scolds her “maybe it’s because Sven’s actually a genuine person with a great smile. While I got stuck with a fucking robot that had a stick jammed so far up his ass, it was causing him to malfunction!” Tan rants
“Calm down it’s not Tommy you’re mad at”
“No, but I’m also pretty fucking mad at him too” Tan turns on the camera and shows them the pictures “this is the best that giant could do”
“Wow these are bad” Ronnie adds
“Well they’re going in the yearbook so I’m done” as they’re sitting and talking the bell rings meaning lunch was over “but I just sat down” Tan cries as they pack up
“Come on get up” they wait for him as he drags himself off the table bench “get up Tan you don’t want to be late for math”
“Math can wait!”
After school Tan walks to the exit to wait for his dad “hey” Sven walks up to him always carrying his gym bag and his basketball.
“Hey Sven” Tan replies and Sven walks with him
“No yearbook meeting today?”
“Nope, no practice today?” Tan takes the ball from him and starts to play with it
“Yeah we have practice twice a day before a game”
They get to the exit “have fun” Tan hands him the ball back “bye”
“Bye Tan” they smile at each other and Tan walks out.
Spotting his father’s car Tan walks to it and gets in “how was school?” Scott asks as Tan buckles his seatbelt
“Awesome” Tan stares forward ready to get out of the car already.
“All right well we’re going back to my office-” Tan turns to him “I have work to finish”
“So take me home” Tan couldn’t see Harris right now
“Not gonna happen, your mother doesn’t get home till 5:30 so you’ll be with me till then.”
“I’m not a child!” He groans “why can’t I just go home?”
“Because no one trusts you, Tan. You’ll do whatever you want and your mother and I are sick and tired of it.”
“I’m so glad you and mom can bond over ruining my life.”
Scott takes this all as normal teen rebellion not knowing Tan’s actual problem, his name’s Harris Wheeler. Tan’s been acting like an adult like he promised, he doesn’t call Harris or text him. Maybe some light stalking here and there but that’s just online, and Tan doesn’t count it because he never really finds anything. It’s been four days without seeing each other and Tan knows he won’t be able to be around Harris and not say anything.
“I have a meeting so I’ll be in the conference room upstairs, why don’t you go bother Harris till your mom gets here?”
“No thanks” Tan walks off the elevator when they get to his dad’s floor
“Hey Tan” Amy greets him as he walks by to go into his dad’s office
“Hey” he goes in slamming the door and sitting in his dad’s chair behind his desk.
Scott and Amy are gone and Tan sits in the office talking to himself “don’t do it, Tan! Don’t go upstairs!” Where Harris’s office is. “He doesn’t want to see you stupid” he continues talking to himself “he’s busy and you’re just a distrac-“
“Hey Tan” Teagan walks into the office as he’s talking to himself “who are you talking to?” She looks around
“Just the demons in my head, what’s up? What are you doing down here?” Tan asks when really he means does Harris ever talk about me? Does he miss me?
“Needed your dad to sign some things”
“Oh you just missed him”
“Yeah, I can get them signed later or tomorrow. Harris is still here want to come hang out upstairs instead?” Yes! Is what Tan wanted to answer
But instead, he lies “I actually have some homework to finish but I’ll stop by after that”
Teagan replies “ok you know where we are” she leaves.
Shutting himself in his father’s office till his mom comes Tan listens to music and texts his friends in their group chat. As he’s sitting in the chair with his feet on his dad’s desk Amy walks in “your mom just called she said she’s a few minutes away to get downstairs.”
“Thanks” he gets up and grabs his bag.
Walking to the elevator Tan waits in front of it as it comes down to his floor. The elevator finally gets to him and the doors swing open, feeling his stomach in a knot Tan stays calm when his eyes land on Harris who’s already on the elevator leaving.
Tan thinks about waiting for the next one but knows it’ll be weird if he just stands there so he gets on.
Harris knew he was here but thought he left already, they stand next to each other on an elevator going down eleven floors. It’s quiet and awkward Tan’s palms are sweating and they’re both trying to not look or react to each other.
Deciding to be an adult Harris says “we don’t have to ignore each other”
Tan’s not ignoring him, he just knows that if he opens his mouth “I miss you” that’ll happen. “Sorry I mean of course not we’re adults” Tan is trying his hardest to be an adult right now.
Harris sneaks a smile as Tan avoids eye contact “it’s ok I miss-“
“Don’t” Tan stops him “don’t do that”
“Don’t do what? Say I miss you?” Tan nods feeling his nerves heighten “why not?”
“You’re probably only saying it because I was stupid enough to say it, you don’t know what it’s like being away from you, and there are probably cameras all over this elevator.”
“There are cameras all over this elevator” Harris points to the left camera, then the right one, then the one behind them.
Tan sighs “why wouldn’t there be three cameras on an elevator?”
Noticing they’re only a couple of floors away from the lobby Harris says “it’s not easy being away from you either”
“But we’re gonna keep punishing each other aren’t we?” Tan finally looks at him
Harris turns to him and just their eyes meeting made it suddenly harder to stand next to each other “I never want to punish you, Tan.”
“Then take me back!” The elevator doors open to 2 people neither Tan or Harris knows.
Harris and Tan awkwardly smile at them then walk out of the elevator as the other pair walk in confused by what they heard.
“Tan let’s go I have to start dinner!” His mom interrupts as Tan and Harris silently stand in front of each other not knowing what to say next. Shiela walks up to them “hi Harris how have you been?”
“Mrs. Milton good to see you, I’m good how about you?” He replies and Tan stands behind his mother annoyed that she’s talking to him
“I’m great” she smiles “just this one giving Scott and me trouble” she playfully messes up Tan’s hair making him even madder.
“Can’t imagine Tanner giving you guys trouble” Harris smiles at Tan who’s frowning cursing his mom in his head
“HA!” She sarcastically laughs “maybe we’re talking about two different Tanners”
“Umm don’t you have dinner to go make somewhere?” Tan pulls his mom away from Harris.
“Oh right! Nice talking to you Harris” she waves and he waves back. Tan and Harris stare at each other as he walks away. “What were you two talking about?” Shiela questions as they get in her car
“I was professing my love for him” Tan ironically tells the truth
Shiela chuckles “funny he’d go from being married to you”
“Married?”
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