There was a click as the front door unlocked, ending the awkward silence that had been going on since Luke and Nick had finished their homework.
"I-I'll go see who it is," Nick stuttered, glad to find any excuse to leave the room. He quickly walked to the front door, leaving Luke sitting alone in the living room.
He waited in silence, subconsciously listening to the conversation that was happening in the room next to his.
"Papa? You're home already?" Nick said in a surprised tone.
"Sí. He terminado temprano todo mi trabajo." (Yes. I finished all of my work early.) Their voices grew louder as they came closer to the living room on their way to the study. Nick's dad saw Luke. "Veo que trajiste a un amigo." (I see you brought a friend.) He turned to Luke, speaking in English with a slight accent. "Hi, you must be Nick's friend. I'm his father."
Luke said nothing.
Nick blushed slightly in embarrassment. "He's a bit shy.."
Nick's dad nodded. He then continued to make his way to the study. That was all Luke saw of Nick's dad that day.
The two sat there awkwardly for a good thirty minutes, not speaking, not even small talk. Nick was dying inside. Of course, all Luke could think about was his family... He had no qualms about sitting in silence for the entire day.
After a long thirty minutes, Nick spoke up. "So uhh, do you want anything to eat?"
"No," Luke replied tersely.
"O-okay then. Well, I'm gonna get something for me then." Nick hurried into the kitchen, escaping the suffocating atmosphere of the living room. He put a pot of water on the stove to boil, preparing to make some ramen. 'Ramen, oh ramen. You can make any bad day bright, and any good day brighter.'
He came back into the living room with a bowl of ramen and a fork. He looked at Luke and saw that he had taken out a book and started reading. Nick sighed. This was a pretty sorry excuse for a 'first date'.
They sat there until 5:30pm, when a knock came on the door. Nick went to answer it. To his relief, it was Jace. Nick stared at him for a moment, before laughing dryly. He let out all of his frustrations from the past two and a half hours, glad to finally have someone to talk to.
Jace, on the other hand, simply smiled. Everything had gone as he had assumed it would. He let out a small sigh of regret. If only he hadn't needed to go home then. These were his inner thoughts, on the outside he said, "I see you have finally gone mad, my friend," His tone was solemn. "Worry not. I will go on and live your dream. Whatever it was." Fake tears built at the corner of his eyes as if he was actually grieving for a friend gone mad.
Nick glared at him. "Shut your trap. You know very well who's fault this is."
Jace grinned, "Ok, ok, I get it. I'm sorry. But I really did have something to do."
Nick rolled his eyes. No matter what it was, he would never forgive this betrayal!!! "Whatever, just get in here and help me save this meet up. 'Cause it's dying. If it's not already dead."
Jace laughed and entered the house. He walked to the living room and saw Luke reading. 'Wow' he thought 'It really is dead. For someone to read when hanging out at their friend's house... That's just rude.'
However, Jace simply laughed it off and started speaking. "So, Luke. Are you having a great time hanging out?"
"..."
"What am I talking about, of course you are!! why else would you be READING!!!?" There was no response. Of course, this didn't deter Jace, no. It enCouraged him. He was going to have fun breaking into Luke's shell. "So, what kind of thing do you like to do? Reading? I personally don't like reading. How about you Nick?"
"Uh, er, I-I don't know. I mean, it's okay."
This got Luke's attention. He looked at Jace with a raised eyebrow. Jace smiled even wider. "Really? I'd rather watch TV. Or do sports. I'd even rather do chores." He stated, "It's not like I'm against people who like to read, I just find the 'activity' detestable. I mean, it's so boring. Not to mention that you just sit there doing nothing. Talk about testing my patience. Right Nick?"
"Uh, ok." Nick muttered, uncomfortable. He snuck glances at Luke, who was now glaring at Jace.
"See, even Nick agrees. Maybe the government should just stop making books. I mean, they have no use. Sure, they can teach us, but so can the internet!! Authors may loose their jobs, but, I mean, it's not like people respect authors. I mean, the job doesn't pay much. Plus, they don't even really matter. I mean, it doesn't take much skill to be a good one. Just a bunch of luck. People are literally taught most of their lives to write during L.A. class, how hard can it be to write a story?"
A vein on Luke's forehead throbbed. He placed his book on the small table in the center of the room with a sigh. "Can you please stop talking. I get that you want me to talk to you, but annoying me is not the way to do it. Now, I apologise if it is rude, but I want to Read. So, I'll be Reading. Unless you want me to leave, which I'd be happy to do. But the way Nick is glaring at you, Jace, tells me that maybe he doesn't want me to. So, I suggest you be quiet and let me Enjoy my Reading." He proceeded to pick his book back up, intending to do just that.
Jace, however, had other plans. "Oh really, because, from what I see, you just spoke more from my provocation then you would have had I not irritated you. So, I'd say, it was a success don't you think?"
Nick frowned. "Jace, maybe you should stop."
But Jace was adamant. "No, Luke's acting like a little kid! He needs to know that it isn't okay to come into someone's house and act however he wants!"
Luke once again set his book aside. 'You want to have a conversation? Fine, let's talk!' "Allow me to point out that the owner of the house just asked you to stop. I was never specifically told not to read by Nick. And I'm supposed to be the one acting however I want? Don't make me laugh."
Jace was unnaffected. "Technically, he suggested~ I stop. He never told me to. And yes, you're the one acting however you want. Did you not notice how uncomfortable Nick is when he tries to talk to you and you just ignore him? That's plain rude. Nick's just too nice to say it to your face." Jace retorted.
"I didn't notice," Luke claimed, "And I would respond to him when he spoke to me. It's his fault if he didn't specify that he wanted to hold a conversation with me. This is how I act normally. Do you expect me to be able to read his mind, knowing everything he wants?"
Jace seethed, "No, but I expect you to be able to read the situation! It's not like you lack any form of EQ, you should know how to act in front of people! Or have you never had any friends!"
Luke winced inwardly as Jace hit a sour spot, but he still remained calm and straight faced. "And what if I haven't? Or what if I just don't care? And 'reading the situation'? Really, 'you' want to lecture me on that. Why don't you take a look at Nick and tell me what you sense about the atmosphere now?"
Jace turned to look at Nick. He was staring at his two arguing classmates with panicked eyes. Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes. When he noticed the two staring at him, he quickly wiped them out of his eyes and yelled at them. "Stop fighting already! I'm having a crappy day as it is already, I don't need you guys to make it worse. You're both at fault! Luke, you obviously know what you're doing is rude, so just stop! And Jace, do you really have to yell? If I cared so much, I would have already told him to get out. Don't act like this is for me. I know you well enough that I can tell you're frustrated with something, don't use me as an excuse to let out your anger against Luke!"
Jace stared at the floor, ashamed. He was sincere as he meekly apologized.
Luke, on the other hand, looked completely unperturbed. An aura of calm surrounded him as he nodded his head as if everything had gone as planned.
Jace got so angry looking at him, who was obviously not the least bit remorseful, that he entirely forgot what he had just gotten yelled at for. "You little!!!!!"
Nick face palmed. He rubbed his temple against a coming headache. "Both of you.... Just leave. Please. I can't handle you guys right now."
They both nodded and got up to leave. One with an apologetic and worried look at Nick, the other without so much of a backward glance. Nick sighed. He sat down on the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. He put his head in his hands and groaned. So much for becoming close friends...