Our Hearts as One

Ted: Part 10

I saw him walking into the cafeteria with Cassidy and an unexpected rage took me over. Alex looked at me, confused when my hand tightened on hers.

"What's wrong?" She asked as I pulled her to her feet.

"Nothing." I lied as I stalked toward Johan and Cassidy.

"Ally!" Cass yelled.

"Cassy!" Alex cried equally loud as they embraced each other. Alex's eyes flashed toward Johan. I knew she thought he was weird but she didn't hate him. "Who's your friend?" She asked, knowing good and well who he was.

"This is Johan Mull." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his. "My new best friend."

"You sure he's just your friend? The way you're hanging off him makes you look like you've gone searching for a new boyfriend. Scratch that, he looks like a lap dog." I snapped.

Caasidy's eyes sparked with anger and Alex hit me. I didn't care but what shocked me was when Johan spoke up.

"You would know all about being a lap dog wouldn't you Ted?" He glared leaving me momentarily speechless. He never spoke up to me before.

"What do you mean by that punk?" I growled, knowing exactly what he meant and hating myself for it. A lap dog is a weak person who is controlled by someone else. To me, it was like I was NorthWell's lap dog. I tried so desperately to fit in and be like everyone else, that I was losing sense of self. I wasn't my own person anymore.

Johan stepped up to me. "You know exactly what I mean."

I tried not to think about his close proximity and pulled Alex away. Looking back I saw Cassidy pulling Johan in the other direction. Johan was still looking at me and before I could turn my sea green eyes locked with his sky blue ones and it took all of me to look away.

"What the heck was that about?" Alex asked peering at me intently.

I sighed. "Nothing."

"It sure didn't look like nothing." She sighed and stopped "I can't take it anymore Ted. You've changed so much, you're constantly staring out into space, doing and saying weird things, treating me like I'm secondhand..."

I didn't realize I did any of those things but I definitely recognized her tone of voice.

"Are you breaking up with me?" I asked trying my damnedest to ignore the feeling of hopefulness.

"No. No I'm not Ted. Not yet." I almost screamed in disappointment.

I took her hand again and we walked toward first period. I really couldn't keep this up anymore although I didn't know what 'this' was.
***********
When I got home my parents were sitting down at the dinner table with May.

"Come sit,sit Ted." Mom said motioning me forward.

I progressed slowly. The last time we had dinner as a family was when I was 15 and they told me I had to get braces. Dinners as a family were always a bringer of bad news. I sat at the open seat in the table glancing around.

"What happened?" I asked slowly.

"What do you mean Ted?" Mom asked.

"Why are we having dinner together.....?"

"Because we can?" Dad said smiling sweetly....now I knew something was up.

I looked down a the plate in front of me. Shrimp Alfredo. My favorite. I was definitely worried.

We began to eat and it was silent except for the clink of forks and knives against plates for awhile. Then mom spoke.
"So Theadus...."

She didn't get any farther than that. I almost chocked on a shrimp. She hasn't called me Theadus since I was 8 much to my appreciation. This had to be bad.