Trick Me Once - 17. Making Plans

Cody and Trick had no idea what a source of endless amusement Tim would be for them. Once they entered the Museum of Natural Sciences, all they could hear from the little guy was “Oooh” and “Aaah” as he marveled at the various exhibits displayed all over the huge building.

Tim quickly forgot about his brother as he dragged his two new friends over to see the exhibition of minerals and crystals. Although he was excited to see other stuff too, he wanted to check this out first. His ‘chaperones’ didn’t forget about Theo and Zoe being right behind them, but they wanted to keep their distance and let them get to know each other, hoping that maybe there’d be a spark between them.

They passed an area containing bones and fossils of huge extinct animals, including mammoths, dinosaurs and some weird types of whales, and finally reached the geological exhibition, where Tim was like a kid in a candy store. As Trick and Cody stood next to him and smiled, his eyes popped wide open, scanning all over the samples neatly displayed on shelved behind the glass.

“Oh my God, this is like a thousand times bigger than my collection at home,” he said excitedly, while Cody and Trick chuckled.

“I guess you gotta keep working to catch up!” Cody said.

“Man, it would take me years!”

“Well, who knows how long it took them to build up this collection? And how many people participated in it?” Trick wondered aloud.

“I bet these come from all over the world,” Tim said.

“Yeah, look, there are descriptions below each sample, saying where it came from,” Cody pointed out.

As they checked out the most interesting minerals and gemstones, Theo and Zoe separated from the group and went their own way. After a while, they ended up in the planetarium. There were large interactive screens on the walls showing various constellations, galaxies and parts of the Solar system.

“Well, your little brother sure gets along with the two of them,” Zoe smiled at seeing them having fun.

“Yeah, I guess. He’s a good kid, he’s so easy to love,” Theo said. “And Cody has been a lot of help, to be honest.”

“Yeah, he’s a good guy. He and Trick are really happy together,” Zoe said.

“So you’ve known them a long time?”

“Oh, yeah, Trick and I have been besties since forever,” Zoe gave a short laugh. “So, are you also in college?”

“Yeah, senior year, archeology.”

“That’s cool. Definitely more exciting than psychology.” They both chuckled.

“Hey, as long as you enjoy it, that’s all that matters, ya know,” Theo shrugged.

As they were inspecting the exhibits around them, both of them – sometimes carefully and sometimes clumsily – danced around the topic of dating, but eventually that subject finally got broached. Of course, it wasn’t by Theo, as he was never the one to talk easily about romance and dating.

“So, are you seeing anyone?” Zoe asked, pretending she wasn’t really interested in his response. She wasn’t sure if she had a certain type of guys she’d fall for, but she never imagined a guy like Theo would fit the description. Still, she liked being around him. He was tall, skinny, with long hair, but that made him all the more interesting to her. At least he wasn’t another one of those generic, perfect-looking guys college was full of.

“Nah, not right now,” he replied, shaking his head. Zoe felt relieved and a bit hopeful.

“Guess I’ve been puttin’ it aside,” he added. “Been focusin’ on college, work and stuff…”

“Yeah, I get it,” Zoe nodded, making an almost invisible smile.

“What about you?” Theo asked. Now that the topic was on the table, he might as well continue with it. He didn’t have a lot of experience with girls, so he wasn’t really confident, especially in this ‘getting to know someone’ stage. He had just a few long relationships under his belt, so he wasn’t used to playing the field, going out and meeting girls. Still, he somehow didn’t feel awkward with Zoe.

“Same here,” she said. “Had a guy in high school, but we’re not together anymore.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that,” Theo said automatically.

“Don’t be, we just weren’t a good fit,” Zoe shrugged. “It happens, you know.”

While Theo and Zoe were lost in their own faraway galaxy, Trick, Cody and Tim had just finished their tour of the museum – at least all the exhibits they wanted to visit – and were heading towards the souvenir shop.

Tim was full of impressions and talked about how he was going to tell his friends about everything he saw in the museum – the giant dinosaur skeletons, the huge collection of crystals, the planetarium, etc. Cody noticed that he wasn’t mentioning Ronan – the guy he had a crush on – and wondered if anything had ever happened between them.

“Hey, did you ever talk to your friend Ronan about, you know, you having a crush on him?” Cody asked.

“No,” Tim said, making a sad face. “I don’t think he likes me that way. I think he has a girlfriend, Melanie.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I know that sucks,” Cody said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But don’t let it get to you. You’ll meet plenty of other guys and one of them is gonna like you.”

“Definitely! You’re cute and fun, and in a few years, when you’re a bit older, you’ll definitely find a guy!” Trick said, winking at Tim, who smiled but didn’t look like he was entirely convinced.

Trick hoped that Tim wasn’t too sad about this and that he’ll get over it quickly. He knew very well just how hard it could be for kids his age to like someone and to think their feelings are not reciprocated. Years ago he thought the same about Cody and him, but fortunately, he turned out to be wrong.

Luckily, it seemed that Tim didn’t dwell on this topic far too long, as the trio got reunited with Theo and Zoe, and Tim immediately flew to his big brother to tell him about the amazing things he just saw, bursting with excitement. Theo couldn’t help but smile at seeing his brother so thrilled and happy.

After quickly browsing through the souvenir shop near the museum exit and buying a few things for Tim, Theo excused himself, saying he had to go to the toilet, while the other four left the building and waited for him near the entrance. As they said their goodbyes, Theo returned and exchanged phone numbers with Zoe, with a promise to ‘hang out again sometime’. While Tim and his big brother headed home, Cody kissed Trick goodbye and turned to go to his own home.

Left alone with Zoe, Trick was prepared for her wrath for setting her up with Theo. However, he was pleasantly surprised as there was no anger or threats of decapitation or castration. In fact, she thanked him!

“Seriously?” he asked – surprised, but also glad.

“Yeah, he’s kinda cute. I may see him again,” Zoe smirked.

“Cool! I’m glad to hear that. Yeah, he’s a good guy.”

On their way back to the dorms, Zoe briefly filled him in on what she thought about Theo and what they talked about. She was far too cynical to believe in love at first sight or any of that nonsense, but she knew there was obviously some mutual attraction between them. Trick was just glad that his plan worked and that they got along. “Maybe they’ll even end up together,” he thought. “Man, I’m matching people up even without my app!”

Although Zoe invited him over to her room to hang out, seeing as how Cathy wasn’t there, Trick excused himself, saying he was busy with preparing for a test. In fact, he wanted to finish working on his app. It was almost done and he was planning on releasing it in a few days, but he didn’t want to tell anyone before it’s done. He knew everyone would make a big deal out of it, but he just wanted to release it quietly. He wasn’t even sure if anyone would use it. Maybe everyone will think it’s stupid and it’ll have like ten downloads in a month? Well, so be it. He worked hard on it and he was going to release it, no matter what others think of it.

--

The hour of practice flew by for Anders and before he knew it, everyone was packing up, ready to head out. Just in time, as his stomach began growling. He hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, but that was almost five hours ago. He put on his jacket and headed toward the door, ready to go home for lunch as he had no more classes or rehearsals that day. Looking over, he saw Blaine packing his stuff and putting his flute back in its case.

“See ya tomorrow!”

“See ya, Anders! You were great today!” Blaine nodded and flashed a smile in his direction.

“Thanks, so were you!” Anders replied and turned away before Blaine could see him blushing.

As he left the building, he saw several guys standing near the entrance. Jay and Thomas both played the cello and were also on the football team. They seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with none other than their teammate Mason. Anders frowned when he saw him and turned to walk away. Maybe if he hurried up they wouldn’t notice him and he could slip away. He sped up, but his hopes were quickly dashed as he heard a voice calling him.

“Hey, Anders, wait up!”

As he turned around, he saw Mason motioning for him to stop. He quickly got over to Anders and started shifting from one foot to the other.

“Hey man.”

“Hey,” Anders said flatly. He wasn’t interested in talking to Mason, but on some level he was curious as to what he had to say.

Mason quickly looked back and saw his two teammates still standing there and watching them. He knew he had to go through with it or they would never stop pestering him until he apologized to Anders.

“I, uh, wanted to say sorry for the other day,” he said unconvincingly.

“Are you really?”

“Yeah, I shouldn’t have acted that way. I mean, you’re a cool guy and all…”

“So, you’re ok with me being gay?” Anders asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Well, I can’t say I like it, but I’m willing to overlook that,” Mason nodded.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You can’t accept it as something completely normal, but you’re willing to look the other way, like I’ve done something wrong? I can’t believe this!”

“Whatever, man, I’m just trying to apologize,” Mason said, looking as if he was the one that got offended.

“Didn’t sound like an apology to me! Besides, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

“What, you mean those two? Cody and Patrick?” Mason laughed sarcastically.

“Of course.”

“They’re not my friends. Besides, it’s not like Cody is a little angel. Can’t believe Patrick’s dating him after how Cody treated him. Guess he must be really good in bed to make him forget it,” Mason smirked at Anders. “Don’t believe me? Go ask them.”

“I already know everything, but nice try,” Anders lied, turning away and leaving Mason standing there. He didn’t want to waste any more time on that dumbass.

As he was walking home, he thought how little he really knew Mason and how easy it is to completely misjudge someone. However, what he said about Cody and Trick was still on his mind. Anders had no idea what Mason was talking about, but he didn’t want him to know that. He thought that maybe he was lying, but something was telling him he wasn’t. Still, was it really something he should be concerned about? Whatever happened between them is their business. Even if what Mason was saying was true, Trick must’ve had good reasons to forgive Cody and start dating him. As much as he tried to deny it, Anders couldn’t help but feel awfully curious about all of it.

I'd like to thank all the readers and @glennish and wish you a Merry Christmas! Let's get into the holiday spirit! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MzumcY3lpk