#glimpse meme

Get all your giggles out now for the nerd, a perfect school on attendance meant a lot of things for Theodore. It meant he was always punctual and reliable. It meant he worked hard to learn as much as he did, and just because he excelled in the majority of his classes doesn’t mean he could simply miss a day just because he has an intimate knowledge of the material. It meant getting an award stapled on the wall outside of your classroom during report card day, which sometimes happened to be his birthday. Oh, how cruel that would be if his grades were less than subpar. Nothing lesser than a high B for Mister Evans here. No days skipped or cut without a proper, written excuse from a medical professional. Even the freak accidents he manages to get into couldn’t stop that. Being struck by lightning couldn’t, so it’s safe to presume his perfect attendance will never be in jeopardy as long as he is diligent, persistent, and of course, perserverant. 

But that changed after one weekend. One Friday afternoon, after school, his friend, his best friend, Walter, walked with him to the park to hang out. It was near the rad pizza place that gave students a discount when they showed their I.D.s for a slice and a can of pop for 3 G. They both decided to get their grub on before going back to the park to celebrate the week on a high note, with the sun setting in a beautiful gradient from pink to orange. 

Another beautiful sight in Teddy’s mind was his friend. A stocky fellow who falled a few inches shorter than him. Walter had sandy blond hair and striking blue eyes and was missing a whole ear. He loved messing with people by giving them sometimes blatant, sometimes believable lies about it, but never the truth. The truth was that a dog viciously attacked him. Teddy was witness. Teddy was also that dog’s intended victim. But the blessing and curse that is his foolhardy, brave, yet, dumb as a bag of hammers friend got in the way to fight the dog and show it what for and got his ear chomped off for it. His heart skips a beat every time he looks at him from that side due to the absolute terror it was to see that, and also because he had feelings for the brash boy. 

How could he not, when that boy saved his life? Apart from that, he also managed to sneak into the teacher’s lounge to bring him coffee when he toiled away in the library studying for upcoming tests with heavy lids and notes that went from legible to chicken scratch. He was a bit of a delinquent, sure, who ditched class and verbally harassed others and said vulgar things to make girls uncomfortable. He was extremely rough around the edges but he had a softer side to him that Teddy thought was endearing that he was trying to hide it. He understood why, though. 

Got to keep up appearances. 

Hence why he swallowed all those wrong, disgusting, wrong feelings he had for his friend with a swig of soda he still  had left. He had girlfriends before. Atleast 2. So why did these thoughts about boys, about his best friend still come to mind to torture him? He drowned his sorrows in the cola. To think it would be coming out of his nose in disbelief at his friend’s words. 

It wasn’t a whole big confession, but he did admit to liking him, and after that spit take to prevent him from objecting, Walter kissed Teddy for the longest second of the boy’s lives. 

He tasted like the garlic knots he ordered a half hour ago and that was kind of gross. But Teddy’s heart was pounding loud and hard in his ears, trying to process it all as best as he could. A stuttered affirmation of liking Walter back sealed the deal. This was his boyfri- Well, let’s just take it slow, Walter suggests. They both watch the sunset until the street lights come on and head home with one last peck between them. 

They didn’t see each other that weekend, but they were texting up a storm during. He was so giddy, he had to lie to his grandmother and say he just found 20 G on the street. It made him have to give her 20 G for ‘safekeeping’ but that downer wouldn’t stop his jubilance. 

Except maybe a punch in the face the first moment he stepped in school on Monday. And another. Several, even, until his eye was swollen, his nose broken, and blood poured from his mouth. By none other than Walter. Apparently someone saw their little scene in the park and rumors spread faster than the common cold, both of which something Teddy never had to really worry about. Now he’s just concerned if his nose really is broken or if he’s supposed to just smell and taste iron. There were many things about Walt that Teddy liked, of course, but also some things he didn’t like. Like how defensive he could get when someone purposely pushed his buttons. Calling him gay sent him in a frenzy, and it was usually Teddy who calmed him down. 

But not today. Alongside the physical blows he shouted such hateful and hurtful things at Teddy, calling him slurs and even bringing up secrets only he shared with him since they were boy best friends.He was in a lot of pain. His body ached and his heart hurt. He understood why, though.

Got to keep up appearances.

A trip to the nurses office to dress these wounds, Walter was suspended and Teddy was given permission to head home so no other kids who didn’t witnessed the incident could hound him with questions. He pleaded with the nurse to tell his teachers why he was missing, and went home.

And stayed home for the rest of the week. He didn’t want to face his grandmother when the school called to tell her about the incident. Teddy didn’t want her to worry herself about his wounds. He could resist and get over anything, she knows that. He’s healthier than a horse. His nose wasn’t broken after all, but his room still smelled like iron as he locked himself up to avoid her and his sister’s gaze. 

He finally stepped out of his room, not yet ready to talk about what happened but to talk regardless. With a defeated look on his face, looking at the ground, he asked his grandmother one question.

“I think I should transfer schools.”

Besides, sure it hurt a lot to lose a friend, a boy friend, a best friend to something like awful rumors because of awful people but that perfect attendance went down the drain as well. It’s not like he could face anyone at school after that whole spectacle. And he was often told he was too bright for this school anyways, but several faculty who had the pleasure of knowing him.