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âVery little. As has been established and made certain several times.â he teased with a little grin. So maybe he wanted a partner but this hardly seemed like the time to be trying it. God, the city constantly felt like it was a powder-keg actively looking for a lit fuse. Tinder was the furthest thing from his mind. Not that he looked down on digital dating mind you; that was how heâd met Babs after all and sheâd become one of his closest friends from it. Luckily, theyâd both been mature enough to know romance wasnât meant for them and cut anything like that off at the pass. âYou stay away from Melody!â He shook his head, âI never should have said a thing. The pair of youâll be the death of me. Pfft. Good luck. Iâve got so much blackmail material on her sheâd never dare turn against me.â he said with a smirk. That was what happened when you basically grew up together, ot in their case survived college together and all the craziness that entails. Plus, sheâd been with him through the loss of Dan and heâd been with her through some very shitty relationships. He shrugged when she started to worry, âNo! Not like⌠hives per se, I just get very stressed when Iâm not doing stuff and start to⌠maybe, hyperventilate a little and over-work my heart.â Panic attacks. He had panic attacks. Probably something he should consult a psychologist about but him not getting any help of that sort was just one more source of tension between himself and Melody.   Â
Ted continued to look at Helena and blinked several times with a too wide grin on his face; every inch of him practically screaming âIâm pretending to be innocent.â It was all part of his plan after all, the fun of these sorta of pranks was in letting Helena know she was on to something but not that she was on the right track. âSo, the usual shenanigans then? Continue till the other gives up?â Some of these little jokes between them were still ongoing and it was all in the name of fun. Plus⌠it gave him something else to focus on and work towards so he didnât mind them at all. âI donât like mirrors, they creep me out. You know how many horror films involve some creepy-ass mirror doing creepy-ass things?â Plus, whenever he looked in the mirror he always saw a chubby teen going through hell in school that was worth nothing. He put himself down enough without the added visuals thank you very much. âEmbrace the image, have fun with it, let it visit you in the dead of night and snuggle up on your pillow.â he laughed, âHow dare you. Those codes are at least teenager level.â So maybe heâd sent one to Babs once that after three hours of decoding spelled âBoobâ but itâd still been funny. âOhhh see now thatâs evil.â he winked. Â
She pretended to gasp and clutched at her heart. âHow very dare you, Tedward.â She knew he was just joking, but this would not stand. He couldnât make a slight against her intelligence and expect no backlash. That did it, he was definitely getting a dating profile now. Perhaps on several sites. His protestations about Melody really only egged her on. âWe wonât be the death of you. Just the death of your insanely high expectations for yourself. Weâll get you to eat a cheeseburger and meet new people, oooooh, scary and devious,â she teased, wiggling her fingers at him. âOkay, but she has so much on you that youâre even. And youâre too nice, youâd never use it against her.â Wasnât that the truth. He was way too nice for his own damn good. Her face dropped lower and lower as he explained what happened. Not hives but... definitely panic attacks. This man was trying to downplay freaking panic attacks. She was going to end him. âOh, so not hives, just something even worse than hives!â she exclaimed. She already knew Ted needed to talk to someone about his anxiety, but this really cemented it for her. âPlease donât make me have a shrink intervention with you,â she threatened.
He was definitely trying too hard to look innocent, and that sent her brain into overdrive beginning to plan on how to get into his place when he wasnât home, and how to get into the Bug when he was. But she could further plot that out another day. She was definitely going to need allies for this one. She nodded her assent. âAbsolutely. Although Iâm particularly motivated this time, so itâs gonna be a long game.â Kind of like the one a couple years ago; the two had gotten so into the fake subterfuge, she sort of forgot along the way what it started over. She had just started playing pranks on him by the end of it, honestly. âYes, and thank you for the reminder to cover the mirror in my bedroom tonight,â she joked. âYouâre being impossible, you know that?â She rolled her eyes. âI will not be cozying up to that image, but you go right ahead,â she told her friend. She laughed at him again. âOh, Iâm sorry for the one year difference,â she held up her hands in joking defense. She made her way back to his couch and collapsed back onto it. âYes, but I have always been the most evil in our little band of goody two shoes,â she smirked. âCâmon, get changed, letâs go do something,â she suggested. Well, half suggested, half ordered. He had been in the Bug then entire night before, after all, he probably needed some fresh air. âJust nothing that makes me feel like weâre being overly productive. You need a break.â













