A/N Thank you all for your lovely reviews! I'm so glad you are liking this story...
(the song bit in this is about Ray and Kevin btw, and their being unable to agree on anything!)
Chapter Three -Ray
"You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go go go"
"Hello, Goodbye" The Beatles
"Hey Kevin, would you like some cereal? I just bought some Lucky Charms yesterday, so help yourself." Yeah, I must be the best cousin in the world. Can you believe me, offering my lucky Charms? Only two people had had that honour previously, Neela and Brett. Both my best friends. Both had left.
I'm thinking too much. I turn back to my bowl. Ah, pure happiness.
"Oh... no thanks. I'm more of a muslie man."
How might I have guessed? "Sorry, all out of muslie since Neela left. Um... toast?"
He sat at the table, with a newspaper he'd just bought. "Yeah, that'd be great thanks. Just marmalade, please."
I raised my eyebrows. I was meant to make the toast for him? I took another spoonful of Lucky Charms and mumbled through them, "The toaster is over there, Kevin."
I couldn't help but grin as he glared at me and got up. Childish, who, me?
"You know, Ray," he said, putting bread in the toaster. "You should really come and stay at my place some time." Then he added, under his breath, "See how polite people treat guests."
I smiled, got up and put my bowl in the sink, "You know Kev', I might just do that."
I walked out of the room, trying not to laugh as I thought of the look he'd given me when I called him Kev'.
I had taken the day off, much to the annoyance of Dr Weaver, to show my lovely cousin round the delights of Chicago. Some might say it was a good chance to annoy him, but of course I would never do that.
"So Kevin, what would you like to do today? Bar crawl?"
He gave me a look of disgust. "No, I thought we could perhaps do a bit of shopping, so I can pick up some gifts for the family, back home."
Suck up, I thought. "Oh, you mean, my mom. I mean, you're not married or anything, are you?"
Again he gave me a sour look. "No, I'm not married." He paused, then added with a sweet smile I knew all to well from growing up. "Though, I'm thinking of asking Neela out, so who knows."
I felt my jaw stiffen. "Neela? As in..." I was about to say my Neela, but she wasn't my Neela. "As in Neela from my work?"
"The one and only."
Bastard, I thought. "Oh right. Well... she's just lost her husband, you know."
"I thought that was about five months ago."
Five months? That meant Neela had moved out almost six months ago. It felt like yesterday. "Um, yeah, but she took it really hard."
"I'm sure she did. Were you there to help her through it then?" Kevin asked, snidely.
I was very proud of myself in that moment, I'm not often proud of myself, but right then I was. What I wanted to do was hit him as hard as I could, and not stop until he couldn't get up. But, being the gentleman that I am, what I actually did was simply say, "I tried." Then I walked away.
I kept walking away that whole day. Walking past shops that I'd heard him say he wanted to visit. Ducking round people, in the way only city people now how to do, while leaving poor old Kevin trailing miserably behind me. Sure, in a race he probably could have beat the shit out of me, but cruising through Chicago's streets? That was my kind of sport. There was only one time I stopped.
Stopped dead.
Yeah, this caused me to almost get mown down by a few people in suits, who simply had to get to their offices the quickest way possible -and if that meant going through someone, so be it. Kevin caught up to me, and looked to where I was looking. Then he turned to me with a smile.
"Why, it's Neela. What a pleasant surprise."
I swallowed hard. Just my luck, the one day I'm out shopping, who else is shopping? Oh the bitter-sweet irony.
"Neela! Hey, over here!" Perhaps if I'd been on my own I might have been able to avoid her, but I was with him, and he wouldn't let me do that.
She turned towards us and smiled. I felt my knees almost buckling. What was it about her smile?
"Hi Neela, we're just out so Kevin can get some gifts for people back home," I said, hoping my voice wasn't really as squeaking as it appeared to me.
"How sweet," she said, "That's really nice of you. I always forget to bring people back presents."
"Really? I would have figured you for someone organised with things like that," he said, smiling.
"Normally I am, but there's something about present buying that just freaks me out. I never know what to buy for people."
Have you ever felt completely invisible? That's exactly how I felt right then, I might as well not have been there, considering the amount of attention I was being given. Kevin I could understand, but Neela was my friend. Well... she had been. I know I must sound like a little kid but... a lot of the time I felt just like a little kid. Way out of my depth. Having Kevin back wasn't exactly helping the feeling.
"You always bought me great presents," I blurted out. Neela turned to me, and I saw the look of hurt in her eyes. I didn't know what I'd said wrong, then I realised that I'd mentioned the past. I guess she was trying to forget about it, like I was. I wondered if she was having any more luck than me.
"Thanks." There was an awkward pause, then she turned to Kevin again, "So, who are you getting presents for? A girlfriend or something?"
She'd asked him the question. The question. The innocent inquiry of a partner back home, it was a clear sign that a woman was interested. How many of my one night stands had started in that question? Well it had been a long time since I'd really been into all that, but it was a lot, I can tell you.
"No, I'm single at the moment," Kevin said with a small chuckle.
At the moment? I thought to myself, He's probably never had a girlfriend. That made me feel better. Until another part of my brain said, But when have you? Apart from Zoe, who is better left unmentioned, and Chelsea Walker in high school, it must be admitted that my love life comprised singularly of one night stands. And Neela. Who was neither. That wasn't exactly the best repertoire to have...
"Oh right, that makes three of us, right Ray?" Neela said, with a smile.
Way to make a guy feel like crap. "Yeah, that's right. Well, we should be off, Kevin. Plenty more shops to look around."
"I'll see you around, Neela," he said, as we turned to leave.
"Yeah, I'm sure you will."
Not if I can help it, I thought. If I could help it, this would be the last time these two ever set eyes on each other. Neela might never be mine, but she wasn't going to be Kevin's either. I couldn't stand it. As kids he'd always been better than me, and if he got Neela... that would just be the last straw. And I really don't want to go to prison.
I want Neela to be happy, but not with him.
"So," Kevin began, as we entered the apartment again. Somehow I'd got loaded with most of his bags, so I dumped them in his room before following him into the lounge. I have to admit that I closed my eyes when I went in there, I don't like seeing it any more. Childish I know, but I can't help it. I like to keep my memories of when it was Neela's intact. "What's the deal with you and Neela?" he continued.
"The deal?"
"Yeah, you were room-mates, right?"
"Yes, room-mates. It was a convenient thing for both of us."
"That all?"
I paused. No, it wasn't all. But I didn't want to go into that with anyone, especially not Kevin. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Good, I thought you might be into her or something, but if you're not, I'll ask her out."
"What?"
"I said," he repeated, slowly, like I was an idiot, "I will ask her out."
I guess I was an idiot, a prize fool.
