His Nerd.

Chapter 12

 Caleb rushed to hug me and I felt startled. The door was open and he and I were in the doorway. Hugging.

I tried to push him away after a while before he held my shoulders and looked into my eyes.

"Hey, I'm here now. So, are you ok?"

I looked down at the floorboards. They were still shiny like they were the first and the last time I ever focused on them.

Caleb let go and shut the door behind him before taking my arm and leading me to the living room.

I followed after him as he sat down on the couch. It felt as though I was sinking into it. Was it because of how I felt though? Is that why I started to notice very little things?

"Hey, I'm sure Axel must have had his reasons. I mean, he has three people ready to kick his butt if he tries anything with you. Who won't be cautious about that?" Caleb tried to reassure me.

"Who's th-the third p-person?" I asked.

"Your mom, of course." He grinned.

I giggled and turned to Caleb with a smile on my face.

"Th-Thanks." I told him.

Caleb paused for a moment as he looked into my eyes as if he were searching for something.

"It's alright, what are friends for?" 

I laughed a little before getting up to the kitchen for some juice and snacks. Caleb got up and followed after me even after I gave him a look that suggested he didn't have to help. Without listening though, Caleb still walked behind me and into the kitchen were he reached for the cup cabinet and brought out two.

I opened the fridge, took in the cool air it emitted, coughed after inhaling too much, and after finally taking the juice out, I closed the door. I heard a small chuckle from my side and realized that Caleb watched the whole thing. I sighed in embarrassment as his chuckle turned into full-fledged laughter. 

After calming down, Caleb joined me back on the couch while still rubbing the tears off his eyes. I poured the juice into his cup after giving him the stink eye to which he laughed even more to. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about everything and nothing. I learnt that Caleb once had a crush on someone in middle school but it didn't end well. Basically, the person was a total jerk about it. I told about why I was unable to talk for years and why I still struggle now. About why he never saw my dad at home. Caleb then reminded me about the day he was hurt and revealed that it was his father's doing. After that it got a bit emotional, and eventually the conversation just dissipated.

"H-hey, isn't it dark already?" I asked Caleb while staring mindlessly at the ceiling.

"Is it?" He responded quite lazily.

I got up and looked at Caleb who was spread out on the carpet, looking at the ceiling lost in thought with his mouth slightly ajar.

"Don't got any plans at home or anything?" I asked.

Caleb closed his mouth then opened it so it looked like he was going to say something, but sighed instead.

"Do you want me to leave that bad?" He finally said. "I didn't know I was hated."

"No, you know that isn't what I m-meant." I frowned, knowing that he was attempting to tease me.

"L.O.L" He chuckled once again.

 I just felt tired instantly and so didn't bother asking him about anything anymore. And so, we stayed silent, looking at nothing for what felt like an hour. After a while, the sound of keys jingling broke the serenity and Caleb and I got up at the same time to see who it was.