"Have you ever wanted to hate someone?"
The room went became quiet for a moment, the two friends wordlessly looking at each other. The clinking of glasses and the sound of Matt's workout mix playing from a nearby room was the only thing to break the silence.
"No," Shelley finally admitted.
Archie looked away from her, down to his glass. She had known that it had been a bad day for him when he came back to Aqua Headquarters without reporting any news, but this was just plain bad.
The introspection is just because of the alcohol, Shelley thought. It has to be.
"Why not?" Archie raised an eyebrow.
"I can't think of anyone to hate."
Archie clenched his fists. "I can."
He didn't say the name; he never had to.
"I should hate him." Archie took another swig from his glass. How he could keep down vodka, Shelley would never know. "I should want that bastard dead."
Shelley absently took a sip of her water bottle.
Sometimes she wished Archie would get a therapist.
Other times, well...
Other times, she couldn't be sure if anyone, not even a trained professional, could handle him.
The tears came earlier than usual, streaming down his face. He tried to speak, but his words were muffled by sobs. With the last of his strength, he placed his glass down.
"Why don't I hate him?"
"Because," Shelley said, her eyes on the floor.
Because what? The word hung in the air, waiting for an answer that would never come.
The sobs stopped after a while, and Archie picked up his glass again.
"Do you think he hates me?"
"Maybe," Shelley replied. She hadn't actually seen much of the red head. His prescence filled Team Aqua's headquarter's halls and was always reflected in Archie's eyes, yet she hadn't had more than three conversations with him. "Maybe not."