Whispers on a Wing

Chapter Twenty

It was safe to say, I was not a natural.

"How is this stupid thing not working?" I growled at the screen as I watched my character on the screen flick wildly from left to right. I had managed to do everything but kill the enemy at this point, and that included killed both myself and Jake a number of times. "Why can't I aim?"

I watched my gun continue to flick from left to right as I tried to aim it at the oncoming enemy but I kept missing. How have I not gotten any better than this?

"How are you managing this?" Jake laughed, his shoulder brushing against mine as they shook from laughing. "The controller is on its lowest sensitivity setting and you're still unable to aim at anything. At this point I think my mom would be a better player than you."

"It's not my fault you're a crappy teacher," I said in annoyance as the enemy shooter got closer and closer until it finally took aim and shot me dead. The screen turned red as it zoomed in on my characters lifeless body and I flung the controller behind me on the bed. "I don't want to play this game anymore, it's rigged somehow."

"Well someone's a sore loser," he laughed as he reached behind me to grab my recently discarded controller.

The position caused his chest to brushing against mine against my shoulder and his breath to fan across my cheek and I couldn't help the small blush that was slowly beginning to bloom across my cheeks. He smelt good, his body wash kind of woodsy with a hint of sandalwood and I had to stop myself from inhaling it in. There was no doubt he'd notice if I suddenly buried my nose in his chest and took a deep inhale.
I wasn't sure what was happening to me, why my mind had suddenly lost all its self preservation instincts, but for some reason I was finding it really difficult to care.

He suddenly moved back until he was sitting next to me again and I cleared my throat and tried to shuffle away from him on the bed slightly. I needed space.

"So I don't like losing, sue me," he said, tried to rebuild my walls but struggling.

"Let me help you," he laughed as he shifted behind me with my controller in his hands.

"What are you doing?" I said, voice raising higher in what I hoped sounded like outrage, as I went to stand up. He placed his hand on my waist, outside my coat and pulled me back slightly until my thighs hit the edge of the mattress and I had no choice but to sit back down.

"Jake what the hell-"

"Just let me help you will you?" He chuckled as he tucked his arms underneath mine and handed me my controller.

My heart rate skyrocketed as I felt his chest bump against my wings and I froze. Could he feel them? Could he tell something was there that was distinctly inhuman?

Move away, just move away and we can forget this ever happened.

His face came up beside mine, his cheek momentarily brushing my temple, and I found myself for the first time ever wanting to not move away from someone.

Maybe it was the head wound, or maybe it was Alice's words ringing around my skull, but I found myself relaxing slightly.
I hadn't completely lost my mind, I didn't rest my back into him or anything, but I didn't go out of my way to lean away from him either.

He lay the controller in my lap, waiting for me to pick it up, and when I did he rested his larger hands over mine and showed me how to hold the controller properly. 

"Alright so this time we'll try a slightly different approach," he said as he restarted the game and I watched my avatar respawn back to the beginning of the map. "When you see an enemy you're going to find something to hide behind, that way you'll have time to line up your shot and kill him before he even knows you're there."