On the edge

Chapter 10: Theatre play

Four beers each into the evening, Joanna, Nicholas, and Sue ferociously discussed whether or not there truly was such a thing, a creature, as a Siren. While Joanna was still purely rational and speaking of things such as logic and common sense, Nicholas absolutely advocated for any dreamer who wanted to believe.
"I think," Sue said with a slightly trembling voice, "They're simply our own inner voices. Like, something we really want, deep down, but don't want to admit that we do."
"Hear, hear," Nic sneered at her remark, "Something you want to tell us, Miss Copper-knob?"

Joanna widened her eyes and threw a warning glare at the black-haired. Could he not behave just once? Sue stared into his eyes and took a sip from her beer.
"No, Mister Q-Tip," she countered slowly, "Do you?"

Nicholas narrowed his eyes to a mere slit and leant onto the table with his entire upper torso.
"You want to fight, carrot-top? You think you've got it in you to beat me?" he asked challengingly, pointing at himself with his index finger.
"I eat poodly dudes like you for breakfast," Sue ruffled her feathers.
"We'll see about that," was all Nic replied, "Don't push your luck."

He looked at Joanna for a brief moment, then at Sue, with a very self-sufficient grin. The red-haired only rolled her eyes and let herself fall backwards into her chair. She would tell her friend, of course, in time. When they left the pub, it was well past two at night and pitch-black outside. They walked together for a little while until they arrived at the same street lantern Sue and Joanna had over a month ago.

"So you go that way," Joanna said and pointed to the right, "And we'll go that way,"
Her words were followed by a gesture signalising she and Nic would follow the street to the left.
"Where do you stay?" Sue wanted to know from Nicholas.

"Harbour's Inn," he said.

The red-haired nodded. The small bed and breakfast motel was located a few street away from Joanna's flat and usually completely booked out.
"Should we walk you home first?" he then offered.

This time, Sue shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she declined, "Thanks."
She waved them both goodbye and hastily left without another word. She walked, and walked; down the street, up the next, silently and alone. Every time she heard a car approach, she thought, and secretly hoped, it might be James - it wasn't. Sue made it home within twenty minutes, and when she unlocked her front door, she stopped for a minute. In those sixty seconds, she thought about all possible stupidities; calling James, ring his bell, hope she had misinterpreted his body language this afternoon. But in each of these scenarios, she would have had to admit that there was something going on between them and that she wanted them to be, whatever that made them. If she'd say that she was sorry, would that mean she practically confessed feeling more than just physical satisfaction when she was with James? And would he, in return, as if it wasn't already bad enough, maybe say something awfully stupid like, possibly, that he loved her? Of course, he did, Sue knew that much. But as long as he didn't say it, she could go on pretending that they were no more and no less than casual; friends with one or two benefits... Which suited her just fine.
"Everything will be fine," she told her herself as she sunk into the soft sheets of her bed.

But when James didn't show up in the shop the next day, Sue slowly grew nervous, wondering if he had taken her reaction too much to heart. 

"So," the red-haired addressed Nicholas when he and Joanna dropped by later that Saturday afternoon, "How long are you going to stay?"
He only shrugged, "Next Sunday, probably. I've got the week off and currently nothing more entertaining to do than watching you two little cuties struggle."
"What do you mean? We're fine," Joanna said, a bit confused.
Nicholas leant on the counter with both his elbows, his head supported by his hands as if it were too heavy for his shoulders alone. Onto his youthful face crept the same boyishly stupid expression as the day before; that smug grin that made him look like the cat that had not eaten the canary but all of them, and he raised his thick eyebrows teasingly. Sue curled her lip as she understood very well that he didn't mean Joanna, but James and herself.
"Has anyone ever told you how much of a pain in the ass you are?" the red-haired asked rhetorically.
Nicholas laughed out loudly in amusement.