As his older brother 'kindly' pointed out to him, sulking would do no good. Though he didn't really want to go out, he realized that it was indeed Saturday, and if he didn't get out of the house, he was going to have to be there while Corny had his date over. IQ made a face at the thought. He knew he would end up getting embarrassed some how if he stayed, so he slumped out of the house.
As he walked down the street, he thought about what Corny had been saying to him. Of course, IQ never really listened to his brother's advice, since most of the time it was crazy. But maybe, just maybe, in this one particular case, he was right. He had told IQ not to give up, not to give in. If he really liked Tammy, he had to put up a fight. IQ had stared at him wide eyed when he had spoke of it, but as he walked towards the malt shop, he realized that didn't mean physically. He had to tell Tammy how he felt.
Opening the door, it was quite a surprise to see Tammy sitting in the shop with Becki, Lou Ann, Amber and Link. He started to make his way over quietly, only to see that those weren't the only four friends Tammy had with her. There was Fender, smiling along with the rest of him.
Tammy was the first to spot the shy boy. She beamed, and waved enthusiastically.
"Hey IQ!" she called out, slipping out of her seat and skipping over to him. Amber cleared her throat, and gave the red head a look. Tam bit her lip lightly, and held up one finger to the blonde. No, not that finger. She gave a signal, requesting just one minute.
"Hey Tammy," he replied, sticking his hands in the pockets of his pants.
"Feeling better IQ?" she inquired. The day before he hadn't seem too great.
Running a hand through his slicked back hair lightly, he nodded. "Sure."
"IQ, can we talk for a minute outside?" Tammy blurted out after a moment. What was she getting herself into?
Raising an eyebrow, he glanced back over at the table she had been sitting at. Now or never... Corny's words rang in his head.
"Mhm," he murmured, following her outside the malt shop, and sitting on the bench that was out front. Tammy was already sitting across from him, a slightly nervous look on her face. But her blue eyes were sparkling, thanks to the sunny day.
It was silent between them for what seemed like forever. Tammy shifted in her seat, smoothing out her skirts. IQ stared up at the sky. On some level, they both knew what was coming. A serious talk. But neither were right about what it was about.
As Tammy opened her mouth to speak, but IQ interjected. When started speaking, it all started to spill out.
"How do you love Fender? What is it about him? I mean, haven't you realize?" The boy's voice wasn't harsh, but instead, very quiet and low.
"Tammy, I think - no, I don't think, I know that -"
It was Tammy's turn to intrupt. She didn't let him finish the second part, for she had hardly heard his words. He had lost her at 'how do you love Fender?'
"Love Fender?" she repeated, wide eyed. "IQ, I don't love Fender! He's just my partner. He's my friend, nothing more," she assured him, shaking her head from side to side.
IQ stared at her for a moment. "You... you don't love him?"
"No silly.. I love you," she confessed, a light smile on her lips. Bitting her bottom lip, she tilted her head down and away. She couldn't believe she just admitted that! For years, she had made it her goal for him to not find out. There went that plan.
As for IQ, he was sitting there in a state of shock. Tammy's eyes widened as she looked at him. "IQ? Are you okay?" she asked, knitting her brow together. She knew she shouldn't have told him! He clearly didn't feel the same. He didn't reply, so Tammy stood, started off in the other direction, home...
A/N: Ahhhh, so there's only one more chapter to go everyone! Hope you enjoyed this, and I'll be finishing it shortly. R&R LOVE!
UPDATE: thanks to reviews, there may be more chapters after the next one. let me know what you guys think ;)
xoxo
madi rose
aka ZIP