Chapter 11 #3
The brownies still had a while, so Jae suggested we go ahead and start the show.
I honestly had no idea what the show was about because Jae refused to give any details in order not to accidentally spoil the plot.
Jae plopped down on the chaise section, Nox on the opposite end, leaving the small middle section empty.
“You gonna sit?” Nox asked, eyeing the couch.
I licked my lips and hesitantly took a seat between them. I settled onto the couch trying to relax my aching muscles into the cushions without disturbing my sore ribs. The food was hitting me like a truck, and I was suddenly getting sleepy. Jae reached over to turn the lights off and I stopped him.
“No, don’t!”
“Afraid of the dark?” He teased, making me give him the finger. He feigned hurt, holding his hand over his heart. “Alright, alright. But if you get scared, I’m sure Nox wouldn’t mind you holding his hand.”
“Shut up and start the show already, dip,” Nox said.
The jangling of a dog collar sent me peeking around the back of the sofa. A small, fluffy brown dog was wandering into the living room.
“Oh, Shiloh, watch out for Zuko. He’s blind and might freak out because you’re a stranger.”
“Is that, like, Korean?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the furball sniffing the air.
“No,” he chuckled. “It’s from the Avatar TV show. I was ten and obsessed, so naturally that’s what I named our dog.”
The dog hopped up onto the sofa and settled in Jae’s lap. He set up the TV and asked us if we were ready before pressing play. I hadn’t thought of it earlier, but the show was subtitled in English. I was grateful, because it was easier to force my brain to stay awake when it had something to do.
I hadn’t watched much TV before, but it was kind of addicting. It was hard to focus on anything else but the show, which meant I couldn’t linger in the dark corners of my mind.
The show was intense and sometimes a little too relatable, but I tried to ignore that fact and was fully immersed in the fictional reality.
Well, as immersed as I could be with Nox interrupting to ask questions or mumbling to himself nonstop.
Zuko had ventured into the space between Nox and I, resting his head in my lap.
I was stunned still at first, unsure if he would bite me should I pet him.
I eventually took my chances when he licked my arm.
It was soothing to pet his soft fur. An easy, constant motion that kept me from falling asleep and was surprisingly making me feel less twitchy.
???
The sound of the oven alarm made me jump. Zuko sat up and shook out his little body. I hissed, clutching my side as I remembered where I was. Nox jumped up, sliding across the floor in his slippers as he rushed to remove the brownies.
“So, what do you think?” Jae asked, turning to face me on the couch.
“It’s pretty good, I guess,” I shrugged.
His eyes bugged, “Pretty good? That’s it?”
He sighed and shook his head. “Just wait, it gets even better. You’ve gotta give it at least two or three episodes before you make your judgements, okay?”
His sincerity regarding the whole situation perplexed me. Wishing desperately for someone to care as deeply about the same things you did seemed strange and idiotic. Was everyone so reliant on others’ opinions? Was I the odd one?
“You better not be giving anything away!” Nox yelled from behind us.
“You’re the one who keeps interrupting the show every five fucking seconds to ask a question!” I yelled back.
I noticed Jae cringe at my statement as he looked behind me. I turned to look but no one was there besides Nox in the kitchen. I rolled my eyes, and Nox called us to get our brownies.
We sat and ate them at the island in the kitchen. I didn’t know how I had gone so long without eating more brownies. I needed a brownie at least once a week. They were like a gift from God, even without the marijuana in them.
“So, is your boyfriend okay with you being here?” Nox asked after a lull in the conversation he was having with Jae that I chose not to participate in. It was something boring about a UFC fight.
“Huh?” I scrunched up my brows in confusion.
“Your boyfriend. The guy who picked you up from my house and from school the other day,” Nox explained after gulping down some of the milk in his glass.
“I’m not his dog. He can’t control who I hang out with.”
A part of me was afraid that they wouldn’t want to hang out with me anymore because of Adrian. I was tempted to say we broke up but that would be hard to explain if they saw him with me again.
Get it together, Shiloh. You were fine alone thus far, so what if they ditch you? You don’t care about them being your friend or not. You’re going to be a fucking Ghost soon, you shouldn’t be worrying about bullshit like friendship.
“Right. I just meant because you’re hanging alone with two guys your age,” Nox said. “He seems like the jealous type is all.”
Goddammit, Adrian.
“Do you guys have significant others?” I asked, trying to get their attention away from my alleged boyfriend.
“Nah,” Nox shook his head. “Between work, school and now tutoring, I barely have time to do anything. And I’m leaving at the end of the school year, so there’s really no reason for me to start anything with someone.”
“I dated a girl last summer before she broke up with me. I guess she wasn’t really interested in staying together past the summer. We also didn’t really have anything in common. I think I need a friends situation.”
“Like me?” I asked with confusion. “We don’t really have anything in common.”
Jae choked on his milk and Nox started pounding onto his back.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“I think he meant, like, friends with benefits. You know, sex,” Nox explained with an awkward laugh.
Jae nodded, his coughing fit over, and wiped tears from his eyes.
“No offense but you’re not really my type,” Jae said. “But maybe Nox would be interested?”
Jae waggled his eyebrows at Nox, so Nox flipped him off, pulling him into a chokehold until Jae tapped out.
“Maybe you guys could do, like, a threesome. Adrian was pretty hot.”
“Shut the fuck up you dungdick,” I growled, my face burning with embarrassment. “I’m not here to proposition you guys for sex. Jesus. I just didn’t realize you were talking about sex.”
“Hey, watch your language, missy!” He pointed his finger in my face for emphasis, his eyes still filled with amusement.
“Tell that to fucking Nox. He calls you a dipshit all the time,” I defended.
“Okay, first of all, I called him a dip,” Nox stated, seriously. “There’s a difference. And didn’t Jae just tell you not to curse. Can you not go one minute without swearing? Half of your vocabulary seems to be curse words you make up.”
So-what if I curse, that’s who I am.
“Look, let’s not get heated. It’s not a big deal. Shiloh, it’s just that my mom doesn’t like cursing.” Jae explained, putting his hands up between us.
“So, you guys expect me to change who I am around you?” I questioned with a glare.
“No, Shiloh. It’s not about changing who you are, it’s about being respectful,” Nox reasoned.
“Fuck this. I’m going home,” I stood up abruptly, almost knocking the stool over and rushed towards the front door.
“Shiloh!” Nox called out, following me. “Just wait.”
I ignored him grabbing my shoes and trying my best to put them on quickly.
“Shiloh, please. You don’t have to leave. Can we just talk about this?” Nox pleaded in a hushed tone behind me.
I didn’t want to stay and talk. I wanted to get the hell out of there before they insulted or embarrassed me even more. I knew I didn’t fit in with their group. Why couldn’t they just let it go, and we could all move on with our separate lives?
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I muttered as I stood up, clutching my aching ribs.
“Shiloh, look, I’m sorry if you got offended. It’s just, you’re a guest and that’s one of the rules my mom has,” Jae said.
I wasn’t in the mood to explain my feelings or argue. “I’m tired and I just want to go home.”
Jae nodded and took the slippers I handed to him.
“I’ll drive you,” Nox said, reaching for his shoes.
“No,” I shook my head. “I’ll walk.”
“Shiloh, come on. It’s late, let me just—”
Nox was cut off by the sound of a door opening and Mrs. Min-Baker’s approaching footsteps.
“What’s going on?” She asked, looking between us.
There was a moment of silence, neither boy looking me in the eyes. At least it had progressed from them staring at my eyes.
“No-nothing,” Jae shrugged, pausing to clear his throat. “Shiloh was just heading out.”
“Oh, okay. Are your parents here?” She asked, moving to switch what I assumed was the porch light on.
“No, I’m going to walk.”
“Jae!” She scolded, lightly slapping his arm.
“Ow.” He flinched unnecessarily, scowling at his mom.
“Let me go grab my purse. I’ll drive,” she said firmly, giving the boys a pointed stare.
“No, really,” I began before she put her hand on my shoulder.
“I’m not letting you walk home at this hour. Now give me two minutes and we’ll head out.”
She didn’t leave any room for discussion despite the kind expression she gave me. Something about her tone of voice made it obvious that there was no persuading her.
There was an awkward tension in the room when she left, and I picked up my backpack for something to do.
They still weren’t looking at me. Nox attempted to speak, but I held up a hand and he went silent, sighing lightly.
His shoulders were slumped like he was sad, but I had no idea why.
Maybe he was disappointed that he wanted to be my friend in the first place after realizing I wasn’t good company.
Whatever.
Jae’s mom returned, her shiny black hair pulled back with a hair tie and her purse draped across her shoulder.
I stepped out of the way while she slipped on a pair of shoes.
She turned around expectantly towards the boys and must have given them some sort of look because they quickly said goodbye to me.