"What's with all the cleaning. Is Bran coming over?" Meera interrupted Jojen on his cleaning spree.
"How can you tell." His face buried down, sweeping the floor faster.
"Wait, I was right. I only guessed that because you have some weird habits of trying to impress him in every way possible. I didn't actually think that Bran would agree to come here. He did agree, right?"
"Of course he'd agree. Why would you think that?" Jojen looked up from his cleaning to see a fidgeting older sister. "Meera, do you know something I don't?"
"Well of course. I know plenty you don't know. I am in a higher grade then you so I learn things at a higher education level." That smart answer only got her a glaring look. She let out a big sigh. "Sometimes in order to know the most all you have to do is look at the situation with open eyes. No judgement allowed."
"You are sounding like a fortune cookie again, confusing and not helping" Jojen took a seat from his overly done sweeping.
"Okay then, let me put it in a way you will understand. You and Bran have been friends for years. Some may even say best friends. You two are very comfortable around each other. Sometimes it's as if you can tell him anything. Yesterday he found out something about you that he never knew. It would be just another conversation if you told him, but it wasn't you who he found it out from. At a moment like this he might be feeling a little scared."
Jojen darted up from his seat and started pacing around in a nervous fit. "Scared? Why would he have to feel scared? I basically told everyone in that conversation that I liked him. DAMN, why did I invited him over? What if he knows?"
"Ok, sit down and stop with the questions. If there is one thing I know it is that Bran cares for you. He wouldn't have stuck around so long if he hadn't. Now you said that he agreed to come over. That means that if he did find out, he is cool with it, and if he didn't then he didn't." Meera walked over to the frame of the door leading out into the hallway. "Bran should be here soon so finish up with your obsessive cleaning. I'm going out with some friends so talk with him and relax. He's still Bran no matter what."
Within a few seconds the front door opened and closed. Jojen was left alone to his thought and cleaning. It didn't take long for his cleaning to finish and for the bell to ring, notifying him that Bran arrived.
"Hey Bran. Come on in." Jojen greeted Bran with the same expression as he always did but Bran had an abnormal expression. To any person on the street he would have looked normal but for someone like the Reed boy, he could tell Bran was only trying to put on his best face.
Both of the boys settled down in the living room and started up the new video game that Jojen got. The game wasn't hard to get used to and soon the boys became immersed into it.
It wasn't until after an hour of playing the game that Jojen realized that Bran hasn't said a word the entire time he has been there. The only thing he could think about was that expression that he had on when he walked in the door.
"Do you want something to drink?" Jojen paused the game and looked over at Bran.
All he did was nod back at him. "He's still not talking to me," were the words that popped up in Jojen's thoughts.
He got up and headed for the kitchen. Freaked out body language exploded from Jojen's body when he entered the kitchen. How was he suppose to think about games or drinks when Bran obviously knew something.
"That means if he found out, he is cool with it." Those words rang in his head. If he didn't know anything than there is no way that he would have been acting this weird about today and the fact that he came especially for this long means that he isn't hated. "Doesn't that mean that he is ok with me liking him."
Jojen grabbed the first two drinks he say out of the fridge and rushed back to the living room trying not to look like he was in a hurry. He put both sodas on the low coffee table in front of them and grabbed the controller to starting playing again.
This time when they started to play Jojen decided to do something that he has never done before. As they progressed further into the game Jojen's confidence raised as well. And in the heat of the moment Jojen rested his head on Bran's shoulder.
"Jojen what are you doing?" In that moment Bran paused the game and jerked Jojen off of his shoulder.
"You finally talked." Sure he was upset about the situation but the fact that Bran was finally talking back to him made everything better.
"Well that's only because I had to." Bran said as he looked away, putting on a pouting face.
Jojen didn't know what else to say to him. He felt sad that Bran was trying to push him to the side as much as possible, but he was happy that he was able to brake so many of those walls that Bran had put up.
Jojen looked down and seemed devastated. "Bran." He whispered, only loud enough for him to hear it.
"What is it Jojen?" Bran talked loud and pissed. As he said those words he turned to look back at Jojen.
And then…