Entangled Desire

Nine: The Bad Boy's Room

Here I am once again, getting a ride with the Miller brothers to their house. This time I'm hoping to work with Dane on our project together and hopefully he doesn't get too difficult. Although, he was acting a little weird earlier. It was strange to just have him suggest that I come to their house this time instead of me pushing him. The car ride is silent of talking, but not silent of booming music. He has the volume high up. Damn, I'm surprised he hasn't broken his eardrums yet. I know I couldn't stand to listen to music this loud. I sit in the back seat, texting my parents of my whereabouts and when I'll be coming home.

"Dude, what are you doing?!" He asks in shock. I glance up from my phone in confusion to see his brother fiddling with the radio. The volume has been turned down too.

"The music is too loud," Shane states with a shrug, "You don't want your partner to be brain damaged because of your knack of listening to music at such a high volume." He may be acting standoff, but he's still worrying about me. That's kind of comforting. Dane goes to say something, but nothing comes out and he shuts his mouth. He huffs as he doesn't argue. We soon pull into their driveway. Their house is as big as last time. Of course, I didn't expect it to get smaller or anything. He unlocks the door and holds it open this time.

"Thanks," I thank him as I walk into their house, "Hey, does your dad usually come home late?"

"That's not any of your business," he snaps as he sends me a cool look. I shrink back a little bit and bow my head.

"Dane," Shane scolds his brother with a stern look. Dane clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I apologize with a sigh, "I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries. I was just curious is all because the last I came over he wasn't here either." He stares at me for a moment before sighing. He glances at Shane who is still giving him a stern expression.

"Sorry," he apologizes as he places his car keys in the drawer next to the door.

"I'm going to make myself some tea," Shane announces as he glances at us, "Do you two want some?" Dane shakes his head in response before heading towards the stairs. Shane then glances at me. I give a small nod. He nods back as he turns around and heads into the kitchen. I glance to see where Dane is. He's by the staircase, but he isn't going up. His head is down and he's looking at his phone. I take this opportunity to go into the kitchen. Once there, I see Shane carefully making tea.

"Hey," I greet him with a smile as I enter the kitchen. When he hears my voice, he glances up in surprise.

"Hey Lena," he greets me back in a somewhat monotone voice, "The tea isn't ready yet. I just started making it."

"I know. That's not the reason I came into the kitchen," I respond as I approach him. He nods as he goes back to making tea. I approach him some more until I'm practically right behind him. "Shane, did I do something to make you mad at me?" He doesn't respond, but he stops making the tea and stands there in silence. "I don't know what it is that I did to make you mad, but whatever it is I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad in any way. All you've done is been nice to me. The last thing I want to do is be mean to you, so if you could please tell me what it is that I did then after that I'll leave you alone." There's a short silence before he sighs, but doesn't seem to respond. I sigh heavily as I turn around. "Ok, I'll leave you alone. I'm sorry though." As I go to take a step, I feel a hand grab my arm, turning me back around. I come face to face with him. He has a serious look in his eyes as he stares into mine. "Shane?"

"I'm not mad at you," he replies as he keeps my gaze. His hand reaches up to my cheek. His hand is big and warm. It's soothing. "It's complicated right now." I nod in understanding.

"Well, could you possibly tell me?" I ask curiously with hopeful eyes. He pauses for a moment before sighing and removing his hand from my cheek. His hand drops beside him and he steps away slightly. I sigh in defeat. Looks like he isn't going to tell me.