Not A Straight Thing About It

Chapter Four

Zayne sighed as he carried yet another tray of tiny sandwiches to the table for his dad. He had been running around back and forth between talking shit with his friends, subtly joking with Amir, and helping his parents with food and such. He was just about to go back to Brandon and the group when the doorbell rung. He had almost ignored it, but sighed again when his mom told him to answer the door. He seriously hated these kinds of parties. . . All parties, actually.

Zayne answered the door in irritation, looking at the new arrivals and adding a fake smile as he looked the people on his porch. His eyes landed on Raphael and widened slightly. He was standing right on the doorstep, his hands in the pockets of his clean jeans with no holes or tears. His shirt was a white button up, with the first few buttons undone so that it exposed his collarbone and a fraction of his chest. His hair was pulled back at the base of his neck into a sloppy bun, some strands hanging in his face.

There were a few seconds of Zayne staring at Raphael awkwardly before he snapped out of it. "Come in. . ." he said, returning to his pleasant smile as he opened the door more and let them inside. "We're glad you could make it," he added, looking down at the small girl on the porch and smiling at her genuinely. He loved kids. . .

Raphael's mother looked at Zayne with a smile. "Of course, we're glad we could come." she said sweetly, holding out a hand. "I'm Isabelle, Raphael and Anneke's mother." She said, indicating both her children.

Raphael raised an eyebrow when his mom gestured to him, smiling slightly at Zayne before looking down at Anneke as she suddenly hid behind his leg. Her excitement had given way to timid shyness, and she stared up at Zayne with big, blue eyes, her small hands grasping Raphael's pant leg.

Zayne motioned for them to come inside. "There's plenty of food and drinks and other things to do. Make yourselves at home!" He said politely, looking down at Anneke with a sly smile. "There's plenty of desserts too, if you're into that kind of thing." he said, adding a wink.

Anneke looked up at Zayne, her eyes slightly wider when he talked to her before she looked away, sliding behind Raphael more.

Raphael sighed, leaning down and taking one of her hands "come on, don't worry, Zayne won't hurt you." He said, letting her take her time as she emerged from behind him, her fingers curled around his palm as they walked inside. Zayne found Anneke's shyness cute, and Raphael's way of handling it even cuter. . . Not that it mattered!

Raphael's mother turned around for a moment and looked between Zayne and Raphael. "You're already acquainted?" She asked, having not caught the kids name yet.

Raphael smiled at her. "slightly, he saw me eat it on my bike yesterday." He said, indicating the bandage that sat across his nose to hide the nasty scrape there. Zayne smiled in relief when Raphael left out the encounter in front of Amir's house.

"Yeah," he said, smiling at Raphael. "It was the most entertaining part of my day. . ." he joked, walking in with them. Zayne glanced nervously at the living room, his friends watching him, and then he looked back at the new neighbors.

"Feel free to mingle with anybody! We're a. . . Welcoming bunch. . ." he lied, his eye twitching when he heard his friends joking about what he was sure had something to do with him. . .

Zayne slipped away from Raphael and his family, joining his friends. He winced when Brandon laughed and slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Got yourself a boyfriend, Zoo?" He joked, and edge of threat in his voice. Zayne rubbed his shoulder, fake smiling at Brandon.

"No, of course not. . ." he said, looking down. "Just being neighborly." He added, looking at Brandon and opening his mouth to say something rude but stopping himself.