Heartless

Bee's.

☆

We all sat together on the floor, they told me that it was a Berite tradition that everyone sat together on the same level.

I giggled and made jokes with Rahim, the explanation going through one ear and out the other.

He laughed and made more, our loud voices and chuckles disrupting almost every conversation that took place.

Everyone but his grandma looked over at us, finding the sight hard to believe. Looking at the two kids that were at each other's necks not even an hour ago, acting as if they were old friends catching up.

Rahim sat to my left, Kai on my right, Ares in front of me- sipping a cup of tea with narrowed eyes as he stared at me. 

Samed and his wife engaged in a conversation- but his eyes shifted towards us with every chuckle that would leave our lips.

Kai was poking at his food, the utensil stabbing the vegetables as his eyes were held open by his other hand. Ares' eyes glimmered for a second, as he swirled the cup around. 

The man noticed Kai and how he avoided the food and called out his name. 

"Kai," Ares said, Rahim and I halting our conversation about slugs and salt. "Did you not get enough sleep?" He sat his cup down and poured in more tea.

Kai snapped his head up, not expecting Ares to speak to him. His fork dropped and he shoved his hands into his lap and meekly looked at him, the thick of his hair obscuring his vision.

"Yes, I'm still a bit tired." He answered his eyes flying between his food and Ares before turning his attention to me, I met his glance and raised my eyebrow. "Did you take my shoes? I couldn't find them."

I bit off the end of my carrot, obviously aware of him trying to switch the conversation. Kai really was meek and shy, and he was beginning to use me as a crutch everytime he and Ares had to interact.

"Yeah," I shoved more food down my throat, some of it falling out as I continued. "While ya slept- I peeled 'em off and put 'em on." Rahim frowned as his eyes took in the food that fell back onto the plate. So he grabbed my chin and the top of my head and closed my mouth.

Ares laughed at Rahim teaching me some manners, and I sat there trying to hide a flush of embarrassment. Shoving the remaining end of the orange vegetable into my mouth, I pointed to where I left the shoes, "By the way, what died in there?" I pushed down my food, scrunching my nose. "I saw fumes leaving your toes when I pulled 'em off."

Now Kai flushed from embarrassment, mouth falling and opening like a fish. "Nothing died in there!"

I rolled my eyes and Rahim backed me up, "It smelled like a steamin' pile of dog crap." Rahim giggled beside me, "Not to mention your feet look like dogs too." He whispered mainly to me, but it was heard by everyone.

I held back a laugh, a smile on my face as I brought a spoon full of soup to my lips, "Yeah, his dog's musta been barking for help." I finished the joke.

Rahim lost it at the same time Ares did, he started banging on the floor rattling the forks and spoons while Ares tried covering his face with his hands so he could laugh silently.

Kai puttered, teal eyes panicked and tan cheeks pink. "Charis," He whined, taking the joke to heart.

We all laughed harder at his reaction, and Kai frowned for the entire rest of the dinner.

Small conversation continued, a few inklings of jokes spread into the conversation. Nothing too much to avoid flustering the boy any further.

The mood was good, it was light- and it felt really right. It really felt like whatever was once missing from my life had now come back.