Cold and Charisma (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Four

I couldn't stop thinking about him.

There was just something about him– I can't even tell you what it is– because I don't even know it myself.

Maybe it was because I've always been surrounded by people who praised me, and gave me friendly smiles, that it was intriguing to finally meet someone who didn't like me. I mean, I never gave anyone a reason to dislike me, and it's not like I gave Riley one either. I couldn't help but think that maybe I came off a little strong– my friends always say I'm too talkative for my own good.

All I could think about was him, and I didn't know why. He was different, he was rude, disrespectful, and most importantly, he hated me–

"Get your filthy dog away from me!"

Wait— my dog?!

The voice jolted me from my thoughts. I looked down at my hand, and the tight leash I had been gripping just moments ago was absent. How could I have been so lost in my own head that I hadn't noticed my dog slipping away? My gaze snapped to the source of the voice.

There, a tall woman stood with a look of utter disgust, trying to shoo away my dog as he danced around her feet. Embarrassment and panic surged through me. What if he hurts her? I'm so stupid– letting my thoughts distract me like this!

I had to pull myself together and handle this, but the shame was overwhelming. How could I have let this happen?! I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus on apologizing and retrieving my energetic dog.

Without thinking, I ran across the street almost immediately, and grabbed the leash off the ground. Once it was in my hands, I pulled it harshly, making sure my dog was far away from the woman. Shit, what's going on with me these days? She could've been seriously hurt if my dog panicked.

"You! Boy!" She barked in a thick accent, putting her boxes down before coming over to me to scold me. Even my dog was afraid of her now, with his tail between his legs, hiding behind me for protection. If I'm being honest, I'm no different.

Shit, what do I say to her? I could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears. I opened my mouth to speak, saying whatever came to my mind, hoping to calm her down, "Ma'am, I am so, so sorry. It's completely my fault, and I should've been paying more attention, and–"

"No, save your excuses!" The woman said, her accent still making it hard for me to comprehend what she was saying. I knew I shouldn't have walked down this street, I never come all the way down here, why didn't I just stay in my neighborhood? Fuck..

"Ma'am, I'm truly sorry, and if there's anything, absolutely anything, that I can do to fix the situation, I'll do it," I said to her in a panicked tone, wanting to still be respectful. I don't remember the last time I met an adult who didn't like me—of course, she had a reason to, but this was a complete misunderstanding.

I continued in a rushed tone, desperate to say at least one thing that would satisfy her. "I can assure you, ma'am, this is the first and last time something like this is going to happen." I stopped momentarily to catch my breath. "He's usually not that energetic, I don't know what's up with him—"

"Now you're blaming it on your dog?!" she yelled, her face turning red as she clenched her fists. "How can you blame your own mistakes on your pet?"

Oh god, I fucked up big time. Why did I say that?! Her eyes were blazing with fury now. I put my hands up in defense, my mouth opening and closing as I tried finding the right words to say. "No, no, not at all! I take full accountability for what happened—I swear!"

"Well, young man, take you and your dirty mutt somewhere else! I don't wanna see you on my street again!" My eyes diverted to her finger as she pointed in the opposite direction.

While she pointed, I noticed something in my peripheral vision. Moving trucks. Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense. I've never had a problem with anyone on this street before, and now that I'm thinking about it, I've never seen her around town either..

Fuck– she was new to the town, and I'd just ruined my first impression. I mentally groaned. Everyone in town liked me, praised me for being so polite in a generation of badly behaved rebellious teenagers, and for the first time, I had someone think the opposite of me.

 I've never been anything but a respectful, polite, person– everyone saw me that way, and now that someone was looking down on me, I couldn't help but a bit offended.

"Once again, ma'am, I am so sorry. Really, I–"

"I said get lost!" Okay, I had officially gotten on her nerves. Without arguing, or trying to redeem myself once more, I walked away while shaking my head. God, why'd I have to walk to this neighborhood.. My exhaustion turned to slight annoyance when I looked down at my dog, remembering that it was him who caused this whole fiasco.

"Bad boy." He whimpered at my words, tucking his tail between his legs again, "No leftovers for you." I said, tone filled with irritation.

–

"I was going to make a casserole for dinner, but the market didn't have any potatoes," my mom sighed, frustration evident in her tone. My dad chuckled at her exasperation. The room fell silent, except for the clinking of forks against plates and the sound of chewing.

"Well, honey, lasagna is fine too," Dad said with a grin, lifting his cup to take a sip.

My thoughts kept drifting back to earlier today. Why did she have to be like that? No, Archer, that's rude– it was your fault, and she had all the right to be upset with you. I shook my head, still caught up in the day's events.

Most adults liked me, and so did my classmates, but today felt like the world had turned upside down. First Riley, then that woman. The difference was, I didn't care about Riley being rude to me, and that confused me. His words were harsher, yet they didn't sting the same way hers did. A groan escaped my lips involuntarily.

"Right, Archer?" My dad's questioning tone snapped me out of my train of thought. I looked up at him wide-eyed. "Huh?" My dad wiped his mouth with a napkin before continuing, "Don't you think your mom's lasagna is fine too?"

Oh, that's what he meant. I nodded absentmindedly, still lost in my thoughts.

"You okay, son? You don't look very well," Mom chimed in, her eyes full of concern.

"I'm fine, Mom. It's just... something happened earlier today." I let out a sigh, my voice tinged with exhaustion, clearly tired of talking about it.

"Well, what happened?" My mom placed a hand on my shoulder, waiting for me to speak.

I sighed loudly before saying, "Max got off his leash and scared the new neighbor." My tone was flat, and I wish that I just kept my mouth shut. "Well, that's nothing to worry about." Mom chuckled lightly, withdrawing her hand from my shoulder to pick up her fork again.

"Well, usually, yeah, but she got really upset—she was yelling, and fuming, and... I dunno. It was weird." My voice remained nonchalant, not wanting to delve further, but my mind was still racing through everything that had unfolded that day.

"I'm sure she wasn't that upset. No one could be mad at you, you're a gentleman." Dad reassured, his tone light-hearted, not taking the matter seriously. Just wanting the conversation to be over with, I replied with a dry laugh, "Yup."

My mom stood up suddenly and headed towards the kitchen. I watched her curiously as she began gathering ingredients. Setting my fork down, I followed her. "Mom, what are you—"

"There's nothing a good serving of lasagna can't fix," she declared with a determined smile, instructing me to return to the table and finish my dinner. I groaned audibly. This was one problem lasagna couldn't solve—after all, she wasn't the one who had been yelled at by a stranger on the street. Knowing this wouldn't work, I started to protest, "Mom, no—"

"Nope. Save it, Archer. Now finish your dinner, and afterward, I want you to go back to that lady's house and give her a tray of my lasagna." My mom always emphasized the importance of others seeing me as a polite, well-mannered young man, and I could tell she wasn't pleased that someone had seen me differently for once.

Realizing I couldn't go against her word, I sighed and reluctantly returned to the dining room. This was going to be a long evening.