Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 7

"You finished that project yet, pipsqueak?"

I rolled my eyes at TJ across the table before turning in my seat to look up at John. I wanted to say something about him not doing any of the work, but I didn't have the courage to. Instead, I said, "Almost. I'll have it finished by tonight."

The project was due tomorrow and this was the first time he'd asked me about it. I definitely could have used his help, but it was too late for that now. All I had to do was finish up the PowerPoint.

John nodded his head and walked away, not bothering to say anything else. I watched for a second as he made his way across the dining hall and right out the main doors. I was curious as to where he was headed, since the first class of the day didn't start for another half an hour and he didn't seem like the kind of person to show up early.

"I still can't believe he's making you do the whole project by yourself," TJ said.

I turned back to face him again, my half-eaten breakfast still sitting on the table, waiting. "It is what it is," I said with a shrug, picking up my fork again. "As long as this is the only time."

TJ shook his head, looking down at his own breakfast. "Man, if you can't get over this little crush you have on him, this is going to be your life for the entire year." He stabbed a piece of sausage with his fork and looked back at me. "Just tell him no. It's not that hard."

"It's not a crush," I muttered, pushing my scrambled eggs around. I wasn't hungry anymore.

I wasn't sure what I felt towards him. I wanted to stop being attracted to him. Him and Marc.

"Yeah, and I'm not gay," TJ snapped back. "Seriously, Spence, get over them. You won't survive the year if you don't."

I wanted to, I really did, but I kept hearing Izzy's voice in the back of my head saying there might be something between them. We've been texting a bit since the night of the party, mostly her asking me if I've noticed any kind of sexual tension between Marc and John yet. Which, no, I hadn't. Part of me wanted to find it, but the other part of me couldn't bring myself to look.

I was a mess.

TJ snapped his fingers in front of my face and I jumped, looking over at him. "What?" I asked, confused.

"Pay attention, will you?" He shook his head. "I asked if you did the English homework for today."

"Yeah, of course I did."

"Cool. Can I copy yours?"

I sighed, but reached down to my feet to grab my backpack. I didn't like sharing my work, but he was my friend, after all. I could make an exception.

"Spencer, no!" TJ practically shouted, kicking my backpack out into the aisle and out of my reach. "That was a test and you failed. Maybe it's not the fact that you like your roommates too much to let John walk all over you. You, my friend, are a pushover. Plain and simple."

"I am not," I said as I grabbed my bag and pulled it back under my feet, not wanting someone to end up tripping on it. "I'm just being nice."

TJ rolled his eyes. "Pushover, nice, whatever you want to call it. Either way, we need to find a way to get John to realize he can't use you like this again. Otherwise you're going to have a miserable history class. Mrs. Peterson is known for her group projects. It's the only thing you'll be doing all year."

"If I do anything to jepordize his grade, he'll kill me."

TJ shrugged. "Eh. Murder is a bit extreme, even for John. But he'd definitely leave you alone in class, that's for sure."

I shook my head, looking back down at my breakfast. TJ was only so confident about that because he wasn't the one John would get mad at. I'd seen him argue with Marc many, many times. I didn't need him to be angry at me, too. I couldn't fight back the way Marc did.

"I don't know," I sighed. "I'll figure something out." Standing up, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and grabbed my plate. "I'm going to head to class early, I think."

"Really? We're in the same class and you won't even wait for me!"

I knew he wasn't actually upset at me, so I turned, heading to the trash to dump the rest of my breakfast out. But the second I took a step, I ran right into someone, spilling my cold eggs down the front of his shirt.

"Oh my god," I said, staring at the mess I had made. "I am so sorry!"

"It's fine, Spencer. It was an accident."

My gaze snapped to the guy's face. Marc. Of course.

I felt my face heat up. I was so embarrassed. Out of everyone I could have spilled my breakfast all over, it had to be my incredibly attractive roommate.

He was wearing another too-tight t-shirt which, at this point, I could swear were the only kinds of shirts he owned. His own backpack's straps were over his shoulders, pulling his shirt even tighter over his chest. I hadn't had the chance to see him without a shirt on, but that didn't stop me from dreaming about it at night.

"Get a room," TJ coughed not so subtly.

I shot him a quick glare over my shoulder, silently praying that Marc didn't hear. I didn't need him knowing I liked him like that.

"Are you okay?" Marc asked, brushing the last bits of egg off his shirt. "You seem kind of distracted."

I shrugged. "I'm fine. Just... school stress, I guess." I didn't know what to say to him. We barely talked all week, mostly because he was always at practice and I started avoiding the room more because I couldn't stand how the sight of him and John made my body react.

He let out a small laugh. "It's the first week. Don't take it all so seriously. You'll go insane."

I didn't say anything else as he walked away. I had even forgotten why I was leaving the dining hall early in the first place. Every thought I had had before Marc showed up was gone.

"This might be harder than I thought," TJ said.

I sighed, sliding back into my seat. "What do you mean?"

"Your crush. On both of them. It hasn't even been a full week and you're in deep."

I let out another sigh, resting my head against the table. I wanted to stop liking them so much, but I knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon.