Trick Me Once - 2. Face to Face

“So, we having lunch together later?” Brad asked as he laced his shoes and picked up his backpack. He just finished his breakfast and was ready to go to classes.

“Sure, when are you free?” Trick replied, still sitting at the table, finishing his breakfast.

“I’ve got classes until one, so how about one thirty?”

“Cool, I’ll come and pick you up!”

“Deal! And think about that party, ok?” Brad was still trying to convince Trick to go to a college party with him and Zoe, but he knew it would probably be in vain. Trick preferred staying in and working on his apps or listening to music. Brad didn’t blame him and didn’t want to push him too hard.

Ever since high school, Trick hasn’t been very outgoing. He tended to be closed and distant around people, especially strangers, and didn’t like going to parties. Brad knew that, but he still wanted to try and make him come out of his shell a bit. He and Zoe were succeeding in it, but they both knew it would take some time.

“I don’t know, I’m not in the mood…” Trick replied hesitantly.

“Ok, I’m just saying… We can go together, meet up with Zoe there and hang out just the three of us. Think about it… Well, I’m off. See ya, man!” Brad waved at Trick and headed out from their dorm room.

Not much has changed all of these years when it comes to the guys’ friendship – Trick and Brad were still best friends. Even after Trick changed schools during their first year of high school, he stayed in touch with Brad and Zoe and saw them regularly. Now that they all enrolled in the same college, their friendship became even stronger. Brad and Trick even shared a room, while Zoe shared hers with a girl called Catherine. The guys were excited to be living together, as they saw it as a chance to make up for the time they lost because of going to different high schools.

Brad chose to study architecture, which is pretty much what everyone was expecting, as he was always interested in it. On the other hand, Trick was a surprise. Both Brad and Zoe thought he’d choose psychology (the same as Zoe) or something similar, but instead he opted for IT. He suddenly discovered a passion for app development, almost as big as his passion for music, so he chose to study it and become a pro. Of course, he didn’t neglect his love for music either, as he found a part-time job in a music store.

Trick combined these two areas very cleverly (or maybe not, he wasn’t sure yet), and came up with the idea to develop an app that would match people based on the type of music they listen to. It was still in the early stages, but he was sure he could make it work. Needless to say, he was harassing Zoe and Brad as much as he could to help him test it.

With all of these new things that were going on in his life, Trick finally felt happy and content. Sure, he was busy and often wished there were 28 hours in a day so he could accomplish everything he wanted to, but he didn’t complain. Besides college and work, he didn’t go out much and meet new people, but he didn’t mind it.

While Brad was trying to hook up with Zoe’s roommate, Trick had completely neglected his love life. He didn’t even think about dating. Sometimes, he would see a happy couple walking by and think about his high school crush, which would immediately remind him never to fall for anyone again so he wouldn’t get his heart broken.

At about 1:20, Trick was walking toward the college, thinking about all the new albums he wanted to check out. He was looking forward to the lunch with Brad since he was starving, and the restaurant they were planning to go to made amazing tacos! As he was looking around, thinking about how much he could eat at that moment, his gaze suddenly stopped at the guy he almost ran in to, and he froze. He instantly recognized the cute caramel-haired guy – Cody.

What the hell was HE doing there?!

Cody stopped, obviously not as surprised as Trick, but nevertheless nervous. He looked him in the eyes for a brief moment and then looked down. He felt his cheeks blush and sudden heat envelop him. After a second, he felt brave enough to talk, or more like mumble.

“Patrick… uh, hi. How’ve you been?” Cody asked nervously, ashamed to look him in the eyes again. He knew Trick was going to the same college and saw him around campus a few times for the past two months, but only from a distance. This was the first time in four years that they were face to face.

“Good,” Trick replied flatly, trying not to show any emotion on his face and in his voice. On the inside, he was boiling with anger. “Excuse me,” he added and walked past him, heading toward college to wait for Brad.

Cody turned around, looking at Trick as he walked away. He’d been preparing for this dreaded encounter for months, rehearsing what to say, but in none of his imaginary scenarios did he think it would be like this, that it would be over in two seconds. What did he expect? Did he really think Trick would want to talk to him after all these years? Did he think Trick would miss him? No, of course the feeling wouldn’t be mutual… He couldn’t blame him, not after how he had treated him. Still, he thought that maybe, after so much time, Trick could forgive him. Even though he felt defeated, Cody knew he couldn’t give up just like that.

As Trick was sitting on a bench, waiting for Brad to come out of the building, he couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened. What was Cody doing there? Is he going to the same college? Has he come to haunt him again?! He thought about his first year of high school and the feelings he still had for the guy. Being away from him was good, it helped him get over him, but now that he saw him again, he realized he wasn’t over him at all. It was easy to pretend when they were apart, but what the fuck does he do now? He just knew he had to stay away from Cody. He didn’t want to hear about him, he didn’t care what he had to say. He’d never be able to forgive the jerks who ruined his high school days, especially Cody.

He wasn’t sure if he should mention this to Zoe or Brad, but he knew he needed to calm down and get his mind off of the guy. Just as he was thinking that, Brad came up to him, startling him.

“Hey! You ready?”

“Oh… Yeah, let’s go!” Trick said, surprised to see Brad standing in front of him.

“Sorry, man, did I scare you?” Brad chuckled.

“Nah, I was just thinking… How many tacos to eat,” Trick grinned, knowing that Brad was as big of a taco fan as he was.

“Oh man, me too!” Brad replied. “By the way, Zoe’s joining us in fifteen.”

“Cool!” Trick replied, as they headed to their favorite taco place. Soon after they sat down and got their orders, Zoe came and joined them. The guys ordered for her as well so she wouldn’t have to wait.

“Hey, guys, you didn’t start without me, did you?” she grinned.

“Damn right we did,” Brad said, pretending to eat an invisible taco. “Come on, you gotta catch up.”

As they were sitting there and enjoying their lunch, Zoe noticed that Trick was lost in his thoughts, not paying attention to his friends. She elbowed Brad lightly and pointed at Trick.

“Hey, Trick, I tested your app on my phone today, it sucks,” she said, trying to get his attention, but received no response.

“Told ya, God knows where his mind is,” Brad said, looking at Zoe as she took Trick by the arm and shook it.

“Sorry, I was just distracted…” Trick said absentmindedly.

“Yeah, I see… Anything we can help with?” Zoe asked.

“Not really, thanks…”

“You sure? You know there’s no point in pretending, we’re only trying to help.” Zoe looked at him with that reassuring look that she does so well, the look that told him she would always be there for him. He knew they had to talk about this matter eventually, since it would probably come up again, so he decided to tell the truth.

“Well… I ran into someone today. Cody,” Trick said carefully, as if his words could cause an explosion. He looked at Zoe and then Brad, gauging their reactions.

“Oh… How did it go, what did he say?” Brad asked, unsure of what to say.

“Nothing, he asked me how I was, and I walked away. I didn’t wanna talk to him,” Trick replied. At that moment, he realized neither of them were surprised.

“Wait, why are you not surprised to hear that he’s here?” Trick asked, raising his voice slightly. “Did you guys know he was going to our college?!”

“Well, yeah… We saw him around campus about a month ago. Sorry we didn’t tell you…” Zoe said apologetically. “We didn’t want you to get upset…” She was pretty sure Trick still felt something for Cody even though they never discussed it anymore.

“Oh my God, Zoe, it’s not like I still have feelings for him!” Trick almost yelled. He was trying to convince himself more than Zoe or Brad, but he wasn’t sure it was working.

“I’m sorry… But I mean, even if we told you, would it have made a difference?”

“Well, no, but still… I would’ve been prepared, you know, instead of looking like I’d seen a ghost.” He hated that his friends kept this from him, but he wasn’t mad at them. He knew they were just looking out for him and he made sure to tell them that.

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Several days have passed since Trick’s sudden encounter with Cody on campus. Both the caramel-haired boy and Trick thought about their meeting at least a few times a day. Trick wasn’t sure if he wanted to see and talk to Cody again or not. He just knew he wasn’t going to look for him and would try to focus on other things, like his app.

He was too tired to work on actual features for the app that day, so he decided to spend some time brainstorming for potential names for it. Music Matcher? Song Coupler? Ugh, he needed something better. Something shorter and more memorable.

Brad interrupted his train of thought when he entered the room, carrying mail.

“Hey, man, you got a letter,” he said, throwing an envelope at Trick.

“What? Who’s it from?” Trick wondered aloud, turning the envelope to see the sender’s address, but there was none. There was just his name, but he couldn’t recognize the handwriting. Who even sends actual letters nowadays? Feeling curious, he quickly tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter. As he opened it, he started reading.

Thank you everyone for reading! I hope you like where the story is going. See ya in chapter 3!