Chapter 6: Overthinking
(Tara's POV)
After waving a happy goodbye to PJ, I slipped into my dorm room and rested my weight against the door. I slowly slid down it until my knees touched my chest and my head head buried into my hands.
"Hey Tara, are you here? How was-" she stopped abruptly upon seeing me, "Tara, what happened?"
"Hmm?" I asked, looking up at her a little dazed, "Oh, nothing. I actually had a really wonderful time. PJ is such an incredible person, truly. Never met someone quite like him. He's really clever and quite good at keeping a conversation alive. It's just-"
"Oh no, Tara," she interrupted, grabbing my arm and pulling me onto her bed, "You're not doing this again. Not again. Every single time you start to get close to someone you second guess it."
"But Belle," I tried, to no avail as she began rambling on right where she left off, "There's nothing wrong with PJ, absolutely nothing. You've only hung out with him TWO times; unless you count the night you met him, then I suppose it's three. The few times I've seen you two together you were bonding so well, you had a genuine smile on your face! Do you know how long it has been since I saw someone new make you smile like that?
"And now you're overthinking; wondering whether or not he's really worth it. I've heard all the excuses before, Tara, but I won't let you do it this time. Not this time." She ended by putting her hand on top of mine, eyes frantic.
"I'm ninety percent sure you are only saying this because his videos are your dirty little secret," I whispered in response.
Something venomous flashed in her eyes, but before she had a chance to respond there was a loud banging on the door. It swung open and Mark bounded in, a large smile on his face, "There's my lovely ladies! How are my- oh, what's wrong?"
"Mark, thank God you're here," Isabelle sighed, standing up and shoving him down next to me, "Tara's overthinking again, I need you to talk some sense into her."
"Alright then," he agreed, his goofy smirk replaced by a comforting smile, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Well," I began, taking a deep breath, "It's PJ-"
"The bloke from the party?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow,
"I didn't even know you saw him after that night."
"Yes," I grumbled impatiently, continuing on with the story, "Anyways, I've hung out with him a couple times and he seems really nice and he's really quite funny, but... I don't know. I feel like I'm entering his life at the wrong time. He's already established on Youtube and he's got a close group of friends and.. well, if I'd met him a few years earlier it'd be different, but now..."
I trailed off, chancing a small glance at Mark, who was looking back incredulously.
"Blimey, Tara, you've only known him a few weeks. You can't really judge whether or not you fit into his life after just a few dates," he tried, rubbing my back affectionately.
"They are not dates," I snapped, turning away from him. "Ok, ok, they aren't dates," he apologized, "But none the less, you haven't given it an appropriate amount time to decide."
"But Mark-" I protested. "No buts, Tara," Mark argued, "You're really good with new people and just as well in crowds; you just never give them a chance to prove they want you around. lsabelle and I are always worried that you'll never get over your commitment issues. Please, please just give it a few more weeks before you make your final call."
I bit my lip and looked from Mark's concerned face to Isabelle's compassionate one.
I took a deep breath and nodded, "Fine. I'll give it a few more weeks."
Mark sighed in relief and Isabelle threw her arms around me in a tight hug. "That's my girl," she whispered in my ear before jumping up with a yipe, "Oh shoot, Thomas is here! I'll see you kids later."
She skipped out of the room, blowing us a quick kiss. After a couple of minutes of distracted silence I turned to Mark who'd been playing a game on his phone.
"So... I think I might now where Belle hid my 64," I hinted. Mark was on his feet in a second, holding out his hand to help me up, "Let's do it."
Well I'll admit, I didn't think I'd have this chapter done by this week. I've got a musical I'm performing in, in less than a week so trying to focus on this plot and 'The Wizard of Oz' at the same time is rather hard.
But suddenly in the middle of rehearsal I had the strongest urge to start writing, so I now have the makings of two other chapter!
I tried to edit this the best I could, considering it's nearly midnight and I only slept three hour last night.
Why did I stay up so late, you ask? I've officially started watching Doctor Who! Yes, yes, it was a long awaited journey, but I finally took the first step (thanks to Dan's new video. I'll admit, the point of that video was probably to tell me to do the exact opposite and not get involved in yet another fandom, but I like to live life on the edge.)
Do I have any Whovian readers on here? If so, who's your favorite Doctor? Leave your answer in the reviews along with anything else you'd like to say about the story (or anything in general).
Sorry for such a short chapter, I am going to try and make the next one longer, but no promises.
-Boots