FRICTION

Ch. 4: Mitigation

-Shawn-

I knew that I was being difficult.

As I glowered down at the brat from a distance, observing the way he attentively worked on my computer while purposefully avoiding my gaze; not for a moment, did it escape me that my own stubbornness was getting the best of me. I tried to bite down the snark, keep it to a minimum, but that wasn't doing much to soothe my exasperation.

Yet, through that, he kept diligently troubleshooting, going as far as to prolong his stay after mentioning that he'd run updates for all the necessary hardware while he was here, whatever that even meant.

I was unsure of which I found more bizarre: that he'd so easily fixed my computer, or that he was even willing to bother with it after I'd kicked his ass just the night prior.

Then there was the fact that he'd come all the way here just to return a wallet, something which made less sense the more I tried to wrap my head around it. I glared down at the offending piece of leather in my hand, huffing under my breath in indignation. Of course, of all the people that could have found it, it had to be this kid.

I'd probably lost it while dragging him across the front yard outside that goddamn party, dropping it in the ensuing scuffle.

And he'd just fetched it for me.

He brought it back without even expecting a thanks, like some dense, jaunty fucking mutt... wagging its stupid tail whilst eagerly being mistreated. The little shit was acting like some goddamn martyr, and it was all the more infuriating to know that I couldn't even despise him in peace. That it felt wrong, somehow.

"Shawn," the brat called out.

I looked up, noticing the sheepish, weak smile that briefly crossed his features. There he went again, acting as if a trivial favor would mend anything. Like we were friends all of a sudden.

"Mr. Briggs," I corrected, my arms firmly folded across my chest.

Eric's lip quirked up, as if he was itching to argue. Still, the kid just nodded his head and cleared his throat. "Mr. Briggs..."

"What?" I questioned, glaring at the brat until he averted his gaze once more. "Well, spit it out already."

"The web browser you're using is very outdated... s-should I download you a better one? The one I use—"

"Does it matter?" I questioned, rather disinterested in changing browsers. The one that I used was simple enough, and learning how to use a different one sounded more tedious than anything. "Is this what you're wasting time on?"

The kid shrugged, scratching the back of his head while signaling to the screen. "Well, there's not much else to do while waiting for the updates. Besides, you said your computer runs a bit slow when you're on the internet, right? That might be contributing to it."

I mulled it over, torn between just caving in to his obnoxious whims or kicking him out before I lost my patience. In the end, I just shrugged indifferently despite knowing damn well I'd be the one benefitting here.

"Fine," I muttered, narrowing my eyes when the stupid smile returned. "But make it quick..."

"Alright! I'll do it while your—"

"And quietly."

He silently complied, but not without pouting in displeasure.

I nearly felt bad, but it just pissed me off even more to think about how naïve the brat was being. He hadn't even taken some of the cash in my wallet, and now he was letting me order him around like he was on our payroll. Hell, he'd even offered to help me out with more, as if I deserved it.