Hey so while I write this I always listen to the soundtrack to the Little Miss Sunshine movie and Regina Spektor, so I guess if you want you can go check that out. During this particular chapter I was just listening to Genius Next Door by Regina Spektor and Where is My Mind the version from "It's Kind of a Funny Story".
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Hello?" Olive slowly opened the door. "Sera!" She hugged the me tightly.
"Hey, haven't seen you in a few days." I ruffled her hair as they walked through the door.
"I don't know why you even bother to knock anymore. Everyone here likes you, and mom says you can come over anytime."
"Eh, it's just something I do. Besides, it's kind of late, I don't want anyone thinking I'm a creep or something." Olive giggled and ran to the living room.
"Get my brother and tell him to come down so the three of us can watch this new scary movie. He's been up there moping for a while."
"Hey, Olive, wait!" I called, and the blonde poked her head back into the hall. "Did you're parents already leave?"
"Yeah, a few minutes ago, why?"
"Nah, I just wondered." Olive raised an eyebrow at me, but gave a quick sharp nod and dashed into the living room.
I glanced at the steps and jogged up them. I had been in this house so many times; I didn't even need to think about where to go anymore. I slowed and pulled up the sleeves of my sweater when I came to Dwayne's door. We hadn't talked since we had been on that trail. Carefully, I knocked on his door.
"Go away Olive, I'm tired." I smiled at the deep sound of his voice, muffled by a pillow, and turned the knob. "I said-"
"I'm not Olive." I said smirking as I stepped into the room. It always smelled nice in here, like vanilla and cinnamon, and I breathed in the scent.
"No," he swallowed and sat up in bed, "You're not." He glanced down at his chest and I realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Normally, it wouldn't matter. I didn't theater, I was surrounded with half-naked men all the time, and that didn't matter. But, for some reason, him being unclothed made a little…fidgety or uncomfortable. Maybe nervous is the right word, but I can't figure it out.
"Nope," I kept my eyes glued to his and strode over to the bed. As I sat, he moved away from me a bit. "She told me to get you, and tell you we're going to watch some new horror movie."
"Okay, well, uh…um."
"I'll leave if you need to get changed." I said grinning.
"Yeah, thanks." I stood again and walked through the doors, closing it behind me silently. I let out the air I had been holding. Why? Why did any of that matter? Why had that been so strange, and awkward? Why had he been so uncomfortable? I wracked my brain, though the underlying answer was nagging at me. I didn't want to believe it though. He didn't.
"Sera!" Olive yelled at me from the bottom of the stairs. She sprinted up them much faster than I probably could have. "Get back into Dwayne's room, the movie is going to be a surprise and I'm still trying to find it." For being so little, she was surprisingly strong. Or am I just weak?
"Olive, wait, I don't think you. I can't go back into-" I stumbled backwards and fell onto my haunches.
"Sera?" Olive had already shoved me into the room with him, and locked the door behind her.
"Don't worry, I won't turn around. I was just accosted by a little person, and made to come back in here."
"She locked the door too. I'm wearing pants now, you're alright. And I'll go get the key. It locks from the outside, and can only be opened if I have a key."
I stayed where I was and stared at the door for a few more seconds. There was a rustle of fabric, and I stood, rubbing my temples. Finally, I turned around. Dwayne was wearing and dark blue shirt and was riffling through a little purple trinket box.
"Oh no…." he muttered.
"What 'Oh no'? Did you lose it?"
"Yeah," he set the box back and slumped back onto the bed. "Olive must have taken it from me that one day…" I lightly sat on the bed, facing the door.
"So we're stuck in here until she decides to let us out." I sighed, leaning my back against the bed, and holding the bottom of my shirt so it wouldn't ride up. "Hey, Sera, do you like…do ever want to—what's your favorite place? The favorite place you travelled to."
His voice was uneven, and stringy, like he didn't know what he was saying. I sat up and flipped over onto my stomach. "I don't know, one time I went to London and that was pretty nice. I didn't get to spend too much time just walking around."
"You've been to London?" He asked in slight disbelief.
"Yeah, it was only for a week, and with a theater workshop sort of thing, but it was really nice. I got to work with the Royal Globe Theatre."
"Wow...it's just," his gaze shifted from me and he looked all around his room.
"It's just what?" Slowly, I moved up so our heads were at the same height.
His focus turned to me again. "You've been so many more places than me, and I just need to get out of here eventually. And I have no idea how I'm even going to get into the Air Force. No matter how hard you want something, if there's just some little thing wrong about yourself that you can't change, you can't win. I can't win." Our noses were almost touching, but I didn't really pay any attention to that.
"Are you ever just furious with the world?" I tried to smile sadly, but it came out more like a grimace.
"I…yeah, yeah I am."
I shrugged. "That's alright, I am a lot too. Mostly the Universe though. I have a pretty sucky pool of genes, what with all of the mental disorders and addiction. I'm just bound to have a mental breakdown before I'm twenty." I patted his shoulder as comfortingly as I could, and kept my hand there.
He chuckled, "You're just a crazy girl then?"
"Probably."
"Well that's alright, I can deal with that." I smiled, and laughed silently.
The door loudly creaked open and Olive burst in. "Oh, sorry, didn't know you guys-"
I sprung up from my spot. "What did you think we were doing?"
"Oh, I don't…I don't know." She shrugged. Dwayne muttered something about their late grandfather.
"We were talking." Olive shrugged again and spun around on her heal to walk into the hall.
"Olive Hoover, get back here!" Dwayne jumped up from the bed and chased after her. "Give me the key back!"
"NOPE!" I stood in the middle of the hallway, slowly walking toward the stair case, watching the half-siblings bicker.
About an hour later Dwayne and I sat on the couch, with Olive between us. It was just about the climax of the movie. I wasn't scared, but Olive looked pretty frightened. So far there had been some creepy dolls, chairs moving, doors, slamming, and a little possession. In truth, we shouldn't have let her watch it.
In admittedly semi-comical fear, she sunk to the floor with the blanket and popcorn, and covered her face. I moved closer to Dwayne, and whispered to him.
"If she has nightmares, you're not blaming me." He smirked and turned his head.
"I don't she would let me blame you." Our noses were nearly touching, and this time I noticed. He did too. Oh, god, when we had been under that one tree, when I had hurt myself, he had tried to kiss me hadn't he? He almost asked me if I liked him early when he was stumbling over his words. How could I be so oblivious all the time?
Once, then twice, his eyes flicked down to lips. I felt my pulse go up a bit, and my breathing get just a little shallow. His was on top of mine. When had that happened? My mind was racing. I didn't know what to do. Then there was a loud scream.
Olive hid her face behind the blanket, and I pulled away from Dwayne. Crouch down on the floor beside her, I paused the movie, and tossed the remote on the couch. "Do you want a drink of water?" She looked at me through eyes that were just a little glossy. "C'mon, kid." I said helping her up and leading her to the kitchen.
As I walked to the cupboard, I glanced back to see her sitting at the table, looking rather bored. "You were just scared a second ago."
"No, I just faked it so I could be alone with you for a few seconds. Are you and Dwayne dating?"
I turned around and leaned back on the counter. "Well that's rather blunt."
"Just answer me please. I know I'm a kid, but I'm not stupid or oblivious or anything. I thought you two were dating, but then Dwayne said…"
"What did Dwayne say?" I asked a little too quickly.
"Sorry, sibling code, I can't tell you."
"Pshh, sibling code." I muttered. "Fine, I'll ask him myself."
"Wait! Then he'll know I almost told you and that's pretty much the same thing."
"I'm just joking, I won't say you said anything. We'll just have a discussion. Everything…everything has kind of been coming to a head anyway."
"Um…okay."
"C'mon, twerp, we're going back. But I'm not going to let you watch the rest of that movie, just because of that little stunt."
"Why?" She whined as we walked back through the hall to the living room.
"Because I'm cruel."
"I turned the movie off." Dwayne stated as we walked into the now brightly lit room.
"Oh, thanks." I said, sitting Olive down in a chair.
"I was fine."
"No you weren't." I scolded her. With a huff she wandered out the hall and up the stairs. She was giving such a big show. I told myself to remember this when she was older. I plopped down on the couch next to Dwayne, forgetting to be graceful.
"Do you want to go back to watching the movie?" He asked picking up the remote. Softly, I touched his wrist.
"Can we talk for a minute?" I swallowed hard. He looked as uncomfortable as I felt, but I forged on.
"Sure."
I choked on the words I was about to say a million times in my head. That wasn't out of disgust or anything, I was just so nervous. "I like you a lot." Surprisingly, my tone was much more level and calm than I had thought it would be.
He looked so surprised, that I thought I had screwed up. I had misread all of the signals.
"I like you a lot too." He still looked surprised, but now had a giant grin on his face. We both sat there, both of us feeling and looking so accomplished. "So, uh, what now?"
"Well, I guess we can just stay the same-ish way we are now." I stumbled over my words a few times. "I don't want to be like those people who are friends and then say they like each other and get really weird."
"No, definitely not." He still had this stupid grin on his face that just made me beam.
We sat like that for a little while more. "Do you just want to kiss?"
"That sounds alright."
