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More and more frequently Tucker found himself filled with regret. Sometimes it took the form of him wishing he stopped one shot earlier when he had an early morning class the next day. Sometimes it was wishing he hadn’t shared a secret with his asshole friends and now it’s the new group meme. Right now he was regretting taking a course because he thought the teacher was hot.
Granted that wasn’t the only reason. He did have an art pre req he’d been avoiding, and thankfully art history still counted. He thought this was the perfect win-win scenario. When signing up for the course he didn’t think much on what the name Food and Fasting Through Ages meant. He just assumed that he’d have to look at a bunch of still lifes and hear how they were made and who made them, which sounded boring as shit, but doable, but this was turning into a full on history lesson. He was learning about famines, food storage, various political structures and regimes and so much more. There were so many facts and concepts he had to keep straight before he even got to begin thinking about the art and it was making his head split.
He came to the library to try and focus up and complete the assignment he should’ve done over spring break. He had to choose one of the art movements that they’d already gone over, a piece from then, and talk about how it’s a reflection of what was going on around that time or something like that. There was probably more going on in the prompt, but the thing was due in two days. He was going for done, not good.
He was rereading the same few lines on the artist’s wiki page just unable to focus. Church was supposed to be here to help with just that, but he wasn’t responding to his any of texts and was who fucking knows where. Fucking asshole. He still kept trying to push through on his own though. He was just also checking his phone every five seconds and had only written one shit paragraph so far.
“God this fucking sucks!” He didn’t scream this, but it was for sure above a library whisper.
“Shhhhh!” hissed another student nearby who was glaring daggers at him.
He put his hand up to be like yeah my bad but still rolled his eyes when they looked away. He wasn’t even that loud. They needed to get over themselves.
He stared back at his screen, and his almost blank word document.
Maybe it was time for a coffee break.
He gathered his things and made his way to the library cafe. He got a coffee and a croissant, took a seat, and didn’t do much else. He didn’t want to be taking a break just yet but he didn’t want to be working either. If he was being honest he didn’t want the paper to exist but because that wasn’t an option there he was nursing a coffee he didn’t really want as he felt the due date inch closer and closer.
This was fine.
A voice snapped him out of his moping. “Oh, Tucker hi. Long time no see, huh?”
Tucker looked up at the guy in front of him. He had curly brown hair, glasses, a dorky ass sweater vest and an even dorkier smile, but most importantly Tucker had no idea who the fuck he was.
“Oh, hey man. How’s it going?” he replied, assuming his name would come to him any second.
The other guy smiled and took this as an invention to take a seat opposite him. He then went on to say absolutely everything that’s been going on in his life. He talked about being home for spring break, getting back into running and something about an internship or maybe taking a semester abroad. It was something that made him super busy and he guessed why they haven’t seen each other lately. Tucker wasn’t really paying attention. His mind was too preoccupied with desperately trying to place this guy, and with no luck.
He was running a list of possibilities in his head and crossing them off one by one. He for sure didn’t sleep with him. Not only was he not his type, but he had a pretty good memory for that. Maybe they were classmates at some point, or in a study group? He never really paid attention to most of the other people in those so that could explain why this was so one sided.
“Then even though I am technically passing anatomy my professor said he found it really concerning the types of questions I got wrong on the last test, but I figure that if I keep at it it’ll all be fine. We came to college to learn afterall. I just need a little longer to learn.”
“Yeah, no, for sure man. It’s just like that sometimes.”
Okay so anatomy. Definitely a biology student of some sort so they probably never had a class together. Maybe they met at a party and Tucker was too drunk to remember talking to him. That or he just didn’t make much of an impression. This guy seemed pretty boring.
“But hey, enough about me,” the other guy continued, “What’s been going on with you?”
Shit!
He had to tread carefully or he could full on expose he had no idea who this dude was. He had to keep it nice and vague.
“Not much. Just catching up on some work before one of my classes at the end of the week.”
“Oh, well at least it sounds like you had a good break if you’re catching up now. What’d you do?”
Fucking rude.
“I went to the coast. Church said it’d be a bust because I wasn’t going to Miami and I was still too far North and all that bullshit, but it was still a good time.”
He perked at this. “That’s great. And how’s the rest of the gang?”
“What?” Did he know the others? How did he know the others? Who the hell was this guy?
“Yeah, you said Church was yucking on your vacation idea. How is he, and, you know, the others?”
Uhh, okay… Guess he did. He was suddenly real happy he wasn’t upfront about his current situation.
“Same as ever. Church is Church. Grif and Simmons have the emotional intelligence of lint. Like I said, same old same old.”
“Still dancing around each other I see,” he said knowingly.
“Yes! And it’s driving me crazy.”
“Do they still find every excuse to sit next to each other, but not too close?”
“Every. Single. Time.” Tucker was so excited to complain about his friends’ stupidity that he almost didn’t clock that not only did this guy know his friends, he fucking knows them.
“And Church is as big a dick as ever,” he continued, this realization making him cautious again, “His pet freshman just makes him seem even worse considering how insufferably cheery he is.”
“Pet freshman?”
Okay, so this guy didn’t know about Caboose. Did they know each other from freshman year, or did he just know one person from the group specifically? He could see him being a Simmons friend. They both seemed super dorky. Like they’d play dungeons and dragons together or something.
“Yeah, this guy named Caboose. Has the personality of a lost puppy with a pension for arson. He like imprinted on Church at the beginning of the year and now we can’t get rid of him.”
“Wait, what about arson?” he asked, clearly concerned. Which he guessed made sense.
“Dude can’t help but to set shit on fire,” he said casually. He was so over it by this point.
“Wait, is he why the fire department keeps getting called in?”
“Yup. Every call, all him.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup, and half the time it’s for stupid shit like microwaving things wrong.”
“He must be doing it really wrong then?” He paused for a moment to think. “Though I’ve barely heard any firetrucks this semester.” He didn’t phrase it like one, but Tucker knew a question when he heard one.
“Yeah, I think Church learned the unfortunate truth that if Caboose is with him, then he’s not getting into trouble.”
“That’s good at least.”
“Not really,” Tucker dismissed, “takes a lot of strength not to strangle the guy.”
In all honesty Tucker was probably projecting. Yeah Caboose had been spending a lot more time with him and Church, but he didn’t really know why. He asked Church about it and all he’d say was that he couldn’t get rid of the guy. It just felt like a lame excuse. Like if he really wanted him gone all he had to do was tear him to shreds verbally, his literal specialty, yet he never really raised his voice at him. Not more than he did regularly anyway. It just felt weird always having Caboose third wheeling on their hang outs.
“Well that speaks volumes of his emotional maturity to put up with someone just to keep them out of trouble. Maybe things aren’t the same as ever.”
“Maybe,” Tucker said halfheartedly.
“Speaking of which, how’s the rest of the gang?”
“The rest?” Tucker said, unaware that he forgot someone.
“Yeah, how’s Donut?” He did his best to say this nonchalantly, and his best was ass.
Whoever he was he clearly was down bad for Donut. Could he still be a Simmons friend? Like he met the gang through Simmons, caught feelings for Donut, and that made things weird so he just got freezed out? That seemed possible but said, that kind of dynamic still rang zero bells.
“Still Donut.”
“That’s good,” the guy smiled. It was the forced kind. He clearly wanted to hear more, but was scared of coming off too desperate.
Well, careful what you wish for.
“Only thing new is he a lame ass boyfriend he can’t shut up about.”
“Oh.” If his question wasn’t enough proof, his reaction to hearing that Donut had a boyfriend was the nail on the coffin. Tucker couldn’t help but to wonder if the only reason he came up to him was to fish for information about Donut. How fucking lame.
“Yeah, some guy from the Freelancer Frat. Real athletic, pretty good looking too. They’ve been together since like Halloween.”
“Is that so,” his tone was cheery, but his face said he just got the worst news of his life.
Don’t shoot the messenger, guy. Next time be a man and go straight to the source.
“Well, good for him. I hope they’re happy together,” he said through a barely maintained smile. “Well, this has been fun, but I should really let you get back to your work. Good luck!”
“Thanks, man. I need it.”
And just like that he got up and left the cafe. Probably to have a breakdown about losing any chance of being with Donut of all people. Tucker took comfort in knowing he was better off than that guy.
“Hey, so who was that?”
Tucker whipped his head up at the source of the voice, rage poured through his veins.
“Dude, where the fuck have you been?” he yelled at Church.
“Dude, we’re still technically in a library. Lower your voice.”
“Okay,” he said at a normal volume, “so where the fuck have you been?”
“Got held up with something.”
How wonderfully vague. If that thing was Caboose he didn’t want to hear it.
“But you saw the guy I was just with?” Tucker pivoted.
“Yeah, I walked in a minute ago, but I didn’t want to talk to some random guy so I waited until he left.”
This just made him angrier. “You’re so anti-social. You know that?”
“Well you looked like you were having a blast.” A small smirk crept into his lips. Dick.
“Yeah, a total blast. I love talking to people who I don’t remember who clearly know me as my actual friend watches me suffer from across the room,” said Tucker, sarcasm dripping from every word he said.
“Glad I could help,” he said, finally taking a seat.
Tucker was going to yell at him some more until something occurred to him. “Wait, so you didn’t recognize him either?”
“No. Should I?”
“He knew who you were. Simmons, Grif and Donut too.”
Church didn’t seem phased. “Weird, but it happens when you go to such a large school. Guess we just made the larger impression.”
“Yeah, I guess.” He knew that Church wouldn’t have the answer he wanted, but he was still frustrated about it.
“So do you still need me to study or?”
Tucker let out a heavy sigh. “Please don’t go anywhere. I haven’t made any progress.”
Tucker pulled out his laptop, and resumed trying to work.
“Don’t say I never did anything for you,” said Church, pulling out his own laptop. Probably to play Minecraft or do just about anything but actual work. He probably didn’t procrastinate like Tucker. This should annoy him, but he was so desperate to get this done that he was just happy that Church finally showed up at all. His occasional snide remarks every time he lost focus were about the only thing that was going to keep him on task.
“Yeah yeah, just don’t go anywhere, okay.”
“So demanding. Do I get anything out of this arrangement?”
“Yeah, a friend that can actually tolerate you.”
Church shrugged, “Seems like a fair exchange.”
With that settled Tucker dove back into his research with Eastern Europe staple crops, because that was apparently a thing he needed to do for an art history class. Next time he was choosing a class taught by some old grandma looking professor, or one that looked like they smelled like mushrooms. Anything other than someone so hot that he completely glossed over the fact that the class itself was straight bullshit.