The Boy with Bad Habits

Chapter 7

It still was hard to believe that I was in the last place I thought I'd be, Willow's apartment.

Her place had the same set up, obviously. Except she had a lot more furniture and decor. It reminded me of a cozy cottage.

"You can sit anywhere, I apologize for the mess." Clearly there was nothing to clean up, I didn't know what she meant yet just obliged to what she said and sat at the very end of the couch.

Still things were awkward between us. And knowing that she was wrongfully treated right in front of my eyes ten minutes ago didn't help.

It kind of annoyed me that Willow impeded my plans, but I couldn't ignore what I saw.

Yet how could you bring something like that up with someone you just met?

The sound of a large thud on the table interrupted my thoughts. It happened to be one of my least favorite games of all time, jenga.

"I didn't know which one to get between this and monopoly, I figured you'd be the jenga type."

I gave her a funny look, not knowing whether to be offended or relieved.

"I'll take that as a compliment, but I think It'd be best you'd stop trying to figure me out." Willow smiled. It seemed the more I saw her, the less scared she was of me.

"I'm not trying to figure you out, just getting a little insight that's all," her responded was soft.

She came to sit at an okay distance away from me and started building up the jenga tower.

Her hands shook a little, I knew why.

"Your Grandmother told me you both lived in New York for a while. I've always wanted to visit, what's it like there?"

This time I responded honestly, "Depends on what parts you visit. Certain places you wouldn't want to set foot in or all hell breaks loose."

Silence followed after that, it almost looked as though she wanted to say something yet didn't have the nerve to do it.

She had a sad smile spread across her face with glossy eyes; giving a little laugh, "Tell me about it."

I raised my eyebrows in some what shock. Willow? In the slums?

I'm not a hyprocrite, so I chose not to pry in to her past. It was sad to think that someone like her had to go through that. No one should.

Plastering a smile on her face she said, "Well, are you ready to experience the most intense game of jenga ever?"

Excitement followed her voice. The one thing I was jealous of when it came to Willow was her immediate change of mood. You'd have to be immune to a lot of emotion to do that. Even when it's forced.

Giving a blank face, "Sure."

Although, her enthusiasm made the game a lot more interesting.

I actually strarted to enjoy myself. It felt foreign after all those months, but for once I stepped out of my negative thoughts.

"Stop shaking the table," I warned her playfully.

She gave me an innocent look, "Who me? I would never."

Our laughs filled the air and I felt almost at ease. Hearing it again made it seem so easy to do, but hard to accomplish.

Finally, she knocked over the tower, "Gammit, alas I have failed the Jenga Kingdom!"

We rang in more laughter at that moment, it had gotten to the point where we were both in tears. Only it was a good thing.