Teddy's P.O.V

Am I a bad boyfriend for spying on my girlfriend's conversation.

Yes.

Am I a bad boyfriend for spying on said conversation when it's with Avril.

Hell no!

Would I be considered a stalker if I'm stalking a stalker?

Maybe...

But only if I make a habit out of it...

Which I totally might.

These are the thoughts that haunt my mind as I follow several paces behind the unbeknownst Shelby and Avril. Though 'several paces' might be an exaggeration since I'm really just clinging to every corner and never progressing through the same corridor until they turn a corner.

I track them in this repetitive pattern until they finally turn into a dead end. From a final corner, I am forced to remain and hear nothing of their conversation because any closer and I would alert them to my presence. But thankfully, at least, I can keep them both, especially Shelby, in my sights. My capability to possibly step in to protect my princess also possible.

If Avril gets aggressive or tries anything, I will absolutely not hesitate to interfere, this thought making me more and more worried as my eyes habitually flicking to the hand that Avril has yet to retract from her blue blazer's pocket.

I stick to the shadows for the next several minutes until talk seems to finish, and they begin starting in my direction. I have no time to read the mood or scan facial expressions before I am forced to dip my head back around the corner. Then I speedily backtrack around a couple corners and ultimately disappear into an empty classroom.

Muffled mumbles are steadily approaching. So are the clacking of sounds like... two pairs of shoes.

When the voices become clear, they appear to be Avril and Shelby having am idle, mundane discussion. Their conversation holding nothing of importance until I catch Shelby's lovely voice says, uncharacteristically stern, "I need to talk to Teddy."

A sting of panic shoots through me.

But I should have nothing to fear... It's Shelby... My sweet, sunny, and soothing girlfriend.

I casually waltz out of the classroom and nonchalantly greet, "Oh hiya there! Shelby. Avril." I nod to them both with each acknowledgement of their names, continuing the ruse of happening to stumble into frame. "Did I hear you call my name just now, Shelbs?"

Avril narrows her sights at me, a not rude but more suspicious, scrutinizing stare. While Shelby excitedly cheers my name and is about to clober me into a hug, but, for some reason, halts. When the action isn't continued or completed, I frown, crossing my arms as if to fulfill the hug I would have received if Shelby wasn't acting so strange.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Shelby lowly speaks, "Teddy..." she raises and clamps a hand over her limp arm, "We need to talk... again."

Shelby looks to Avril and opens her mouth to say something, but Avril holds up a hand, nods with an inappropriate, for the tense mood, grin, and walks away. As she retreats farther and further away, I strain to hear her footsteps to judge the true distance, but Shelby stifles my hearing with a question. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't I tell you what?" I tilt my head innocently, not trying to play around but alleviate the sadden expression upon Shelby's features.

"Please... Don't play dumb with me Teddy Be- Teddy" she begins chokes and sniffles, casting her gaze down from face.

Apparently the puppy dog look wasn't as effective as usual...

I take a deep breath, correct my head's angle, and put on my most sincere, comforting grins. "Look. I'm being honest. I really don't know what you want me to say or what you're even talking about."

Her sobs take a moment to slow with a few slows breaths. When she seems calmer, she takes a couple more deep breath, like whatever she wants to say is hard for some reason. She eventually manages to blurt, "I'm talking about your relationship with Avril!"

Another awkward pause pervades and I say nothing, learning from last time to not interrupt.

"Oh, Teddy..." She starts, breaking the silence. "Why didn't you tell me you were past lovers? Star-crossed ones that were broken and separated by Avril's parents and your moving away. I would have underst-"

"Woah woah woah woah! Woah! Avril and I were never-"

I try to stop her imagination or conclusions from running any further away from this outlandish tale but she shouts, "Don't lie to me! Avril just told me-"

"Will you let me finish?! When did you start taking Avril's word over mine?! Your boyfriend!"

"When you started acting strange!"

"Me acting strange?! You're the one acting strange with... with..."

"But you're the one peaking glances at and sneaking around Avril! You two are always trying to be together! Why won't you just admit it and stop trying to hurt me anymore?!"

As a counter, my first thought is to blame Shelby for letting this happen by allowing Avril to hang around our friend group or accuse her for not saying something sooner if that's what she thought was going on, but that last line halts me from forwarding any rebuttal. And besides, continuing this argument could just prove her non-existing theory in her eyes. So I sigh and massage my forehead in irritation. "Look... Shelby." I try to say in my nicest voice, greatly contrasting the sour mood this conversation has put me in. "I'm- No we're not really-"

"No!" she curtly cuts me off. "Look... You listen to me, Teddy. It's okay. You and Avril."

I open my mouth to further the objection upon my lips but she holds up a hand as if to silently plead 'Let me finish'. I stand impatiently simering. "As I was saying..." She sniffles, avoiding any glances at my face again. "I see the love you have for eachother and I'm... I'm happy that my two best friends are happy."

Did she just friendzone me?! My eyes widen in shock. I move to place my hands on her shoulders so that I can try to force her to look into the fear and sorrow rising within my eyes as I could feel the prick of liquid threatening to form, but she steps back. She retreats from my reach and blocks any approach of my hands from her shoulders wither her own arms raised as shields.

"Please..." She quietly begs. My teary eyes look up to see her own already streaking two trails of tears from puffy eyes. "I don't want t-"

She suddenly stops. Her breath hitches. Her eyelids droop. She slightly sways and prepares to tip over but my arms envelope her. I begin to shake her, the speed of which becoming gradually more violent as she won't respond. I am about to check for a pulse or heartbeat when my focus breaks from the shredding of a witch's cackle.

I look up to see a cheshire grinning Avril with an empty syringe poised and deadly in her hand. "You!" I cry.

"Well that settles that, Teddy Bear. Even your girlfriend approves of our relationship and now that she is out of the way, we can be together." Avril cheerily states matter-of-factly

My eyes rabidly dart from Avril's mad eyes to her mad grin to the syringe and to Shelby's unconscious body. My mind is screaming, no... no... No... No... NO... NO! Then an instance of hope spark. I might still be able to save her.

If only I had more upper body strength, I would have tried to carry her, but I know sometimes moving a person also sometimes makes it worse. So I dart off, feet pounding on the tile floor, screaming delirious for help, like a mad banshee, for Shelby, my hope hinging on the belief that Shelby is just passed out.

Five minutes later, I return to the corridor with the closest teacher I could find.

And we find them both gone!

My body and mind freeze but mouth keeps moving, feverish ramblings spewing from my lips faster than I could process what I was saying. None of them must have been at all intelligible as the teacher places a concerned hand on my unconsciously shaking shoulder and she stares at me strangely.

I do not need this patronizing! I'm telling the truth!

I scream these thoughts, retaliating these gestures with the facts that I had previously said over a million times already. With a brash yank of my shoulder from her grasps, she suggests we check the nurse's suite. Her thought process being that either Avril helped Shelby there or maybe Shelby had spontaneously found the strength to get up and take herself there. Both of these cases are drastically unlikely in my mind, but ruling out a probability sounds helpful.

Three minutes later...

And Shelby is not with the nurse. My ramblings reignite with new fervor. My entire body is shaking, panic seizing full control of all my motor functions. Now I know I look like a lunatic by the nurse's sympathetic gape and the teacher's peculiar gawk.

Why am I the only concerned of a missing person?!

Seeing as they just keep staring at me, I deem them as unuseful and plan to bolt out of the room to look for Shelby when they latch onto both my arms. I am unable to leave. I am trapped in the nurse's office until my mother retrieves me, and by then, my energy is sapped from frantically trying to escape captivity.