Chapter 4: Psycho Bitch

As Dillon traipsed down the front steps of his school’s main building, he let his mind wander to what might be happening with Suki. She’d not returned to the lesson leaving him to speculate upon two things: when was too soon to start hitting on someone fresh from a dumping, and did she still expect him to do all that work after just storming off? The remainder of his classes had been a write off as well, his brain jammed with visions of the redheads legs playing on loop. So when the final lecture was through, he couldn’t wait to get back to the dorms to ‘relieve’ his clouded mind.

Entering the foyer of his dorm building, he spotted Theodore waiting for the elevator. There were things he’d always wanted to ask the guy, and figured after today he had a decent excuse to do so.

“Hey, Theodore,” he greeted with a slight jerk upwards of his head.

“Hey,” the forever austere heart-throb replied. “And Teddy’s fine.”

“Crazy shit today, ha? Can’t believe that chick just walked out of class.”

“Well with you as a partner, can you really blame her?”

This was Theodore’s attempt at being friendly - a slight smile gracing his face, letting Dillon know not to get offended.

Theodore O’Hare had been dealt a bad hand when it came to the parent department, being raised separate from his siblings and all but tortured by his father. Being the only one of his siblings to show enough raw soccer talent from a young age, he was forced into daily training sessions from five years old. Home schooled and surrounded by mostly adults, he wasn’t adept at social graces and being out on his own for the first time he struggled to find his place within the complex world that was University life. That being said, the guy wasn’t oblivious, he understood he held an appeal but had no idea what to do about it. He was taught not to. The opposite sex was merely a distraction. A hurdle encountered en route to his ultimate goal. Or so he was told.

A relieved grin spread on Dillon’s face, satisfies that Theodore wasn’t going to tell him to, ‘fuck off’.

“Shut up, bro!” He smirked, nudging his classmate as the elevator doors opened. “So, we were pretty lucky to be paired up with such lookers, hey?” Dillon continued as he stepped inside.

“I suppose,” Theodore shrugged, not really sure what else to say. Dillon shook his head in frustration, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“What’s with you, man? I don’t get it. You have girls throw themselves at you all the time, but you just ignore them like you’d rather not breathe the same air.”

Theodore hung his head.

“I mean, you do like girls don’t ya? Of course if you don’t, that’s totally fine too,” Dillon blurted out - just in case. “You’re partner Mi is super fine and seems like a pretty cool chick as well - once she calmed down on the over the top cutesy shtick ... I mean, when you guys actually got to work, it seemed like she’d be the kinda girl you’d actually consider dating.”

A typical person would have responded within a few seconds, so when he received no feedback on the matter, Dillon decided to continue unabated.

“It’s cool, I get it. You’re probably gonna be in the MLS one day so that’s all you wanna focus on. Or maybe, she just isn’t your type.”

“She is though ... I think,” the outwardly confident yet inwardly shy teen spoke in a hushed tone, finally breaking his silence.

“You just playin hard to get?” Dillon quizzed with a screwed up face.

“I have no idea what to do, or say ... or even if I have a type. All that I do know is that I freeze up whenever I wanna flirt back. In the past when I’ve tried I sounded like an idiot. So I just ignore it and change the subject.”

“Dude!” Dillon was gobsmacked. “All you have to do is nod,” he joked, attempting to lighten the mood. “So you think cat girl is cute?”

“I guess. Or maybe I’m just ready to give being an actual teenager a go,” he admitted.

“That’s great bro!” Dillon praised, patting Theodore on the back as the elevator arrived at the floor their dorm rooms were both on. “Hey, go a little easier on her tomorrow,” the wannabe lothario called out as they went their separate ways.

“You too Dillon. I think we could learn a thing or two from each other.”

Walking to his room, Dillon had to admit that Theodore was right. His relentless, over the top ministrations had never gotten him anywhere. Deciding to take a page out of the, ‘Theodore book on how to have girls begging for more’, he’d force himself to play it cool.

Something was different about Suki de Bruin, and he wasn’t going to let himself push her away.

Suki stretched and clenched her hand, looking at the reddening skin on her knuckles as she waiting for the light to change, allowing her to cross the street. She was one block away from the student dorms and couldn’t get there fast enough. Fidgeting in her spot, she willed the traffic to stop. Determined not to shed a tear over Rylan in public, she ran once the little green man appeared.