(thea's outfit for the beginning of this chapter)

After school the next day, Thea was catching up with Ben on things she might've missed with him since lately she had been spending so much time with Graham. She felt so bad for not spending barely any time with her other friends and she wanted to make up for it so she suggested they'd go see a movie that night.

"Hey," Mandy greets cheerfully as she reaches her friends. "Guess what? I am tutoring Leo at his house on Friday night." She grins. "Where he lives with his dad who's the professor at Harvard." 

At first Thea smiled, happy that Mandy was getting close to what she wanted, but then she grimaced, looking at Ben sympathetically. Friday nights were usually Mandy's and Ben's. They always went to the bookstore, then went to the movies, and stopped at a diner afterwards. Teddy and Ben had their own night too which was usually Saturday night. 

"Wait." Ben furrows his eyebrows. "Friday night as in Mandy and Ben's bookstore-movie-waffle night?"

"Yeah, I know." Mandy grimaces. "It sucks. We're gonna have to skip the bookstore and push back the movie." She glances at Ben nervously. "Are you mad?"

Ben sighs. "No. I mean, as long as we can make it to the movie, it's fine."

Thea could tell that he was disappointed his night with Mandy was going to be cut short, but she decided not to say anything. "It's better than fine. It's good." Ben ramble. "The Harvard Gods have given you a sign. You can't ignore them or they might smite you and make you to go Brown." He joked, smiling at Mandy with amusement. 

Thea laughs. "Oh," She pretends to look scared. "The horror." She then laughed along with Ben.

Mandy scoffs, looking serious as she shakes her head. "Oh, don't even joke about that." 

****

(thea's outfit for the last part of this chapter)

Soon enough Friday came around. Thea and Ben had a great time at the movies the other night and even had time to go to an arcade nearby where they both won each other stuffed animals and took photos in the photo booth. But on Friday night Graham had asked Thea if she wanted to come over and hang out. And, of course, she said yes.

She walks next door and to the front porch once she was ready. She then takes her phone out, turning on her camera to check her makeup. She furrows her eyebrows, looking at herself with confusion. "Thea, what are you doing?" She turns off her phone, shaking her head. "You never did that before with hanging out with Graham so why do it now?" She took a deep breath, knocking on the door, wondering why she was nervous. She hung over at his house many times so this shouldn't be any different. But maybe it's different because lately her feelings for Graham have started to change to a more romantic feeling.

Thea smiles at Mrs. Lansing. "Hi, Mrs. Lansing."

She smiles brightly at her. "Thea, hi."

"I wasn't really for sure when to come over, Graham didn't tell me what time." Thea admits, nerves overtaking her features. She points over her shoulder. "If I need to, I can leave and come back later."

"Nonsense, dear. That's fine if you're early, you're always welcomed here." Mrs. Lansing reassures her, gesturing for her to come inside. She steps to the side to make room for Teddy. "Please, come on in."

Thea smiles with relief. "Great, thanks."

"So it seems like you two are friends again, right?" Mrs. Lansing asked as they walked up the steps to the main room of the house.

"Yeah." Thea nodded with a small smile on her face.

"Well, I'm glad." Mrs. Lansing smiles. "Graham wasn't the same without you in his life."

"I wasn't the same without him either." Thea confessed, ignoring the way she felt her heart flutter when she said that about Graham.

"I'm sure Graham is around here somewhere." Mrs. Lansing chuckles, glancing up at the stairs. "Graham?" She called out and a few seconds later rushed footsteps were heard. Thea turned to face the stairs as well, but she was not expecting the sight she saw.

Graham stands at the top of the stairs, shirtless. He smiles at Thea. "Hey, Dosie."

Thea's eyes widen at seeing he was shirtless and for some reason she felt her face heat up and her heartbeat quickens. She has seen him shirtless before so why was this different? Maybe she never realized how hot he looked. "Oh, for God's sake, Graham," Mrs. Lansing rolls her eyes. "Put a shirt on. Thea is here."

Graham sheepishly smiles. "I'll be right down." He then quickly left.

Mrs. Lansing looks at Thea with an apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry. Raising four boys has taught me one thing. It's they think this whole house is a fancy locker room. We're lucky he's wearing pants."

"Yeah, very lucky." Thea nodded in agreement.

Then suddenly the phone rang. "Oh." Mrs. Lansing glances in the direction the phone was at and looks back at Teddy with a smile. "Make yourself at home, sweetie."

"You know I will." Thea chuckled and Mrs. Lansing chuckled along with her as she walked away to get the phone.

Thea glanced at the wall of pictures by her. There were pictures of Graham's siblings and their diplomas and other important documents they had received over the years. She always hated it how Graham never have anything on the wall. 

Thea glances over her shoulders when she heard footsteps and she smiles upon seeing Graham walk down the stairs, this time with a shirt and a jacket on. "I gotta admit, the Lansing wall of fame will forever be impressive and I forever will be jealous of what's on it." She admitted with a chuckle.

Graham joins her on the chuckle as he moves to stand by her. "I still can't believe your brother made it to Nationals in Acacdemic decathlon." Thea commented, glancing back at the wall of pictures.

"Yeah, and Teddy got third place." Graham remembers with an amused smile. "And-"

"Cried afterwards." The two best friends finished the sentence in unison, laughing a bit when they said the same thing at the same time.

"I hate it that you only have one picture on here." Thea continued, glancing at the one graduation picture of Graham on the Lansing wall of fame. Her heart always ached because this wall almost seemed like it was a public display that his dad liked Graham's siblings more than him and she hated that.

"Yeah, I know." Graham sighs. "You know none of the stuff like winning MVP or homecoming king counts for the wall."

"Because according to your dad he doesn't believe those things that you've won in the past like that are actual achievements." Thea realizes with a frown. She chuckles. "I mean, all he does is being in a popularity contest since he's a senator."

"Exactly!" Graham agrees, smiling at her. "But now I'm stuck on the wall with my fifth-grade graduation picture." Then he grins, glancing over at her and playfully nudging her with his elbow. "So you ready to learn some more basketball?"

"That's why I'm here?" Thea chuckled.

"I said it was a surprise, I didn't say you would like it." Graham laughs. "Come on, as my best friend you have to learn how to play basketball. You only know the basics, but you gotta know the whole thing." 

"Alright, alright." Thea agrees. She chuckles. "Let's go play some basketball." 

She followed him to the backyard where the court was. They got to the backyard and got ready to play some basketball. 

As Graham explained to her the rules and how to play better, he was helping her improve her game. It wasn't easy for her to learn how to play better since it wasn't exactly her favorite sport and she wasn't very good at it, but she had to admit it was fun. Graham was also very patient with her and was very encouraging. And Thea was grateful that she has a friend like him who is patient and encouraging with her.

 He wasn't annoyed when she would mess up and he was always telling her that she was doing a great job and she was a natural at it. Thea knew she could be annoying at times and a lot of people would just give up on her, but not Graham. He's always been patient with her and would try to help her improve in any way. She appreciated that a lot. The more time they spent together practicing her game, the more her feelings for him grow. But she wasn't going to admit it to him or anyone. Feelings are stupid and they ruin everything. She wasn't going to let that happen. Not with their friendship. So she was determined to get rid of her feelings for him. No matter what.

After they finished playing, Graham took Thea to the kitchen where they could get something to drink and eat. While Graham poured the water into the cups, Thea took the opportunity to look at him. She smiled a bit when she noticed his hair was a little messy and his forehead had sweat, but he looked so good. Her eyes scanned him, noticing that his shoulders and arms looked broader than usual. Her cheeks flushed slightly. 'Stop that!' She told herself. 'Get a grip, Thea. You can't think like this. Graham is just your best friend." She mentally scolded herself.

"Thea," Graham says, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Do you want me to put the lemon wedge in?" He holds up the lemon slice. "You always wanted it."

"Oh," Thea snaps out of her trance and she hates the way her heart fluttered because he remembered a small detail like that. "Yeah." She smiles. She then watched him add the lemon slice in her cup and hand it to her. "Thanks."

"Of course." Graham nodded, grabbing his cup and taking a sip from it.

Thea did the same. As she took a sip, she watched Graham over the rim of her glass. She could tell he was in his thoughts and wondered what he was thinking about. Then she realized he was staring back at her and she was quick to avert her eyes and look down. She could feel her cheeks getting warm and she mentally cursed herself for getting so flustered.

"You were staring." Graham murmured, his lips curling up into a grin.

"What?" Thea looks up and she immediately noticed his gaze on her which caused her heart to skip a beat. "No, I wasn't." She denied, her eyes averting his.

"Yes, you were." Graham chuckles, smiling softly at her. "I saw you."

"You were staring at me." Thea quipped. She hated how her heartbeat quickened and how she could feel her cheeks getting even warmer.

"Yeah, I was." Graham's response caused her heart to flutter and butterflies erupted in her stomach. She hated how happy she felt because of his answer.

"Oh." Was all Thea could manage to say.

Graham chuckles, moving closer to her and leaning against the counter next to her. He looks down at her with an amused expression. "What were you thinking about?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing." Thea answered quickly, taking another sip of her water. She hoped he didn't notice how much she was blushing.

Graham's expression falls slightly. "You can tell me, you know." He murmured, his voice softer than usual.

Thea glances up at him and her heart flutters when their eyes meet. His gaze was soft and he had a small smile on his lips. She hated how her heart sped up and how her cheeks were probably redder than before. She didn't understand why his gaze had such an effect on her. He never had this affect on her before, so why now? Why does she suddenly feel nervous and flustered around him? She didn't understand.

"I..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. She didn't know how to explain her thoughts. She didn't want him to know how she was feeling.

"Hey, kids. You done with playing basketball?"

Thea almost let out a breath of relief when she heard Graham's mom's voice. She was saved. She glances over her shoulder to look at Mrs. Lansing. "We're finished, yeah." She answered.

"Great. I'm almost finished with dinner, Thea, you're welcome to stay, of course. You're always welcomed here." Mrs. Lansing smiled and Thea felt her heart swell at that. It always did every time she was invited to stay and eat dinner with the Lansings.

"Thanks, Mrs. Lansing. That's so nice of you, but I should get going. I have homework to do that I've been pushing off." Thea explained, her heart aching a little bit when she saw the slight disappointment on Graham's face. She felt a bit bad about leaving, but she didn't want her feelings to become even more evident.

"Oh, okay." Mrs. Lansing nods understandingly. "That's completely fine, honey. Have a safe walk home."

"I will, thank you." Thea smiles at her. She glances over at Graham. "Thanks for inviting me over, Graham. It was fun."

Graham smiles at her. "Of course, Dosie. Thanks for coming over and spending time with me."

Thea smiled, feeling her heart flutter. "Of course." She said softly.

With that, she turned around and grabbed her things before she left the house. She didn't even realize she was holding her breath until she was out of the house. She released a shaky breath, her hands gripping the straps of her bag tightly. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she had to control her feelings. She didn't want to ruin her friendship with Graham. He was her best friend and she didn't want to lose him.

She started walking towards her house and she couldn't help but think about how she was going to control her feelings. It wasn't going to be easy, but she knew she had to do it. She couldn't let her feelings ruin her friendship with Graham. 

****

Thea closed the front door with a heavy sigh. She didn't realize how tense she was and her mind was racing, thinking about her newfound feelings for Graham and what it meant.

"Hi, sweetie." Her mom, Della, greets as she walks over to her. "What are you doing home early? I figured you would stay over at the Lansing's for dinner."

"I didn't really feel like it today." Thea shrugged, looking at her mom. She could see the concern written all over her face.

"Are you okay, Teddy?" Della asked, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"I'm fine, mom." Thea lies, forcing a smile on her lips. "Really, I am. I just wanted to spend more time with you and dad."

"Okay, I know something is wrong with you, Teddy." Della teases lightly, trying to lighten the mood. "I know my own daughter. Now, tell me, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, mom." Thea sighs. "I do know that feelings are stupid and they ruin everything."

Della chuckles, pulling her daughter into a hug. "Oh, honey." She hugs her tightly. "Feelings aren't stupid. And they don't ruin everything. They make life worth living."

"Then why does it feel like my feelings are ruining my friendship with Graham?" Thea frowned, hugging her mom back and burying her face in the crook of her neck.

Della smiles to herself, knowing that her daughter has a crush on Graham. "You have a crush on him, don't you?"

"No!" Thea denies, pulling away from the hug. "I do not have a crush on Graham."

"You have butterflies in your stomach and your heart flutters when you think of him, right?" Della asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, but-" Thea started to say, but she was cut off by her mother.

"And you feel nervous and flustered around him?" Della continued, a smile growing on her lips.

"Yeah, but-" Thea tried to protest, but her mother was relentless.

"And you find yourself staring at him a lot and you can't stop thinking about him?" Della continued.

"Mom!" Thea exclaimed, her cheeks flushing red.

"It's okay, honey." Della chuckles, her eyes softening. "You have a crush on Graham, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You two are best friends, it's completely normal for you to develop a crush on him. I mean, you've known each other since you were both little. Your friendship is a special one, I'm not surprised you have feelings for him, I'm just surprised it took this long one of you have feelings for the other. But I can assure you, those feelings wouldn't ruin anything between you two. I have a feeling he feels the same way about you."

"Mom!" Thea protests, her face becoming redder. "We're just best friends, we're not going to have a romantic relationship."

"Why not?" Della asks, frowning slightly. "I think you'd be a cute couple. You two are already practically inseparable, a relationship would just make it even better."

Thea had to admit she agreed with her, but she was still worried and afraid. "What if I lose him, mom?" She asked, her voice soft and vulnerable.

"You won't, sweetie." Della assures her, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "I mean, yes you and Graham grew apart for awhile, but you came back to each other. If that happens again, I know you guys will always find a way to come back to each other. You guys are best friends, you'll never lose him. Trust me."

"Okay, mom." Thea nods, letting out a sigh. "I hope you're right." She mutters and hugs her mom again. "I still think feelings are stupid." She mumbled, her voice a bit muffled since she had her face buried in the crook of her mom's neck. Della chuckled lightly at her comment.

Thea didn't know it, but her mother was right. She and Graham would always find a way back to each other and she was also right about him feeling the same way. He did have a crush on her, but he was just as scared as her about his feelings and the consequences of acting upon them. But he knew they would figure it out. Just like they always did.

A/N graham & thea >>>>