Clammylaugh

"Sissy, I brought you a gift."
He shuddered in fear the moment he heard her voice. Whenever he heard her voice, he knew nothing good ever came out of it.
"Please, not today." His voice made it obvious he was scared.
She laughed, then touched his shoulder. He flinched, but she held him down.
"Please." he said in almost a whisper.
*****
"HI." she waved at him.
"You must be the Riley everyone's talking of, right?"
He was left dumbfounded, hearing her say she had heard about him. Everyone who had heard about him made sure to keep their distance, so just why was she trying to start a conversation with him?
"If you are doing this to become popular, then you are very well welcome to be my friend. But if you are just naive, I would advise you to keep your distance." he said to discourage her.
"We do have something in common. You get bullied, so you hate bullies, while I hate them just because they are bullies."
"Hating them does not change the fact that you will get bullied if you befriend me."
"Then I will have you watch me kick their asses if they try messing with us."
"Are we friends now." she asked after they both laugh at her former words.
"We are, as long as you are ready to kick some ass."
"Bring it on."

In Search Of Home

The car came to a halt, Natasha opened the back door and came out of the car. She watched Riley step out with his head down. She could tell he was not scared, he was just feeling nervous.

Riley just stood still and fiddled with his fingers. He heard Natasha thank the men who drove them and heard them drive off.

He heard Natasha say as she held his hand. His face turned red, different thoughts came at once

'Just what will her parents think if they see us holding hands? Fine, agreed, we are friends, but what if they misunderstand? Come to think of it, this is my first time here, and I brought no gift with me, will they think I'm not well trained? Damn, what if she has younger siblings, this definitely will make me look bad to them.'

He stepped into the house and was met with silence. He finally looked up, but could see nothing, the whole place was dark.

The lights came on, but they were dim. He looked by his side and saw Natasha by the switch.

"Can you make them brighter than this?"

She moved away from the switch and held his hand again.

Riley became confused. He just asked if she could make the lights brighter cause he could not see clearly. He stopped walking, which made Natasha also stop and turn to face him.

"What?" she asked with a caring voice.

"The lights, you said you could make them brighter."

He looked confused, she also was confused, they didn't get what the other meant.

"Then why are you not making the light brighter?"

She stood still, trying to process what he said with what she believed he said.

"Were you seriously making a request?"

"That sounded more like a question."

They both laughed at each other's misunderstanding.

"So can you please make them brighter?" he asked with a smile.

"No." she replied looking all serious.

He wondered if she was actually serious or she was just teasing him.

"I can't." she said, still with a serious expression.

"My uncle hates it." she said and held Riley's hand and led him to the stairs.

"Your uncle?" he asked as they climbed up the stairs.

"Yes, my uncle. I live here with my uncle."

There was no denying it, he really was surprised. Just a while ago, he was all worried about not coming along with a gift, but now, he somehow felt at peace. He kept on assuring himself that not buying a gift was the best option. Afterall, the man might misunderstand, think he was trying to pursue his little niece, and was trying to bribe him.

This voice brought him out of his thoughts. He smiled at her.

"What?" he asked, since he could only see her lips move, but could hear nothing.

She cleared her throat, and said in a not so loud voice.

Just as he took a step into the room, he stopped as he suddenly remembered something.

"Don't I have to greet your uncle." he said while leaning on the door from the inside.

Seeing her with a face he could not decipher, made him feel nervous for a second. If he was not wrong, ever since they came into the house, her attitude did change.

"It won't look nice if he ends up misunderstanding our relationship."

Natasha just smiled and placed her left palm on his right shoulder.

"Relax, my uncle is not at home and won't be coming home tonight."

She backed him, proceeding to leave. Taking not more than two steps, she turned back to face him.

"Hmm." he said as he opened the door.

"Just look around the room, you should find whatever you need I believe.

"Hmm,thanks." he said with a nod.

First Impression