Dream Catcher

||Mae Park||Chapter 5

"Alex, meet Rambo." Mae says gesturing towards her Mini Cooper. "Now, he's a little old but I guarantee you that he runs as well as the best of them." She runs one of her hands over the chipping paint of the car. When she looks back towards Alex, she notices his odd expression. "Carver, if you don't move your eyebrows a little bit, they'll probably get stuck up there forever."

That must've done the trick because he gives her a really? look next, his bottom lip jutting out in the slightest of pouts. "At least it's not the Great Dane I was expecting . . . and hey, why do you feel the constant need to pick on me?" His hand comes up to grip the strap of his shoulder bag. He doesn't seem like he's being serious; the slightest spasm in the corner of his mouth gives him away.

"Because, Alex it's fun. You pick on me too even if you don't realize it. Just get in the Cooper already!" she laughs, "My mom is expecting me home." She opens the door for him and patiently waits while he awkwardly shuffles into the car. After he's in the car he takes it all in, his eyes moving over the varying surfaces. In a way this is awkward for Mae too, because he's the first person she's let in her car; she senses that she's exposing an intimate part of her life. Mae slides in on the other side, shuts the door, and glances over at the curious boy sitting next to her.

"You want to tell me why you thought I was talking about a dog?" She almost laughs again but holds it in while she starts up the engine.

Alex sheepishly smiles and scratches his head. "I didn't think girls named their cars . . ." He narrows his eyes teasingly and lightly pushes her shoulder as she pulls out of the school parking lot.

***

Mae's mom greets them at the door looking almost too excited, too eager to be meeting Alex. She can't really blame her mom though, when she accidentally let it slip that she made some new friends, her mom had her pick them apart and give details on each of them. She doesn't invite any of her other friends over . . . she never felt the need to because they weren't like that.

"Hey, you must be Alex! Come right in . . . I hope you don't mind the smells of spices; we eat a lot of Korean food in this house." Her mom moves out of the doorway to let them in, and while entering Mae turns to give her mom a look of pure embarrassment. She hasn't said much but in Mae's head that was more than enough to leave her cheeks tinged with a little bit of pink.

Alex doesn't seem to notice the awkwardness coming from Mae, because he's too busy gazing around her house like it's a freaking castle, his mouth slightly open in awe. This set off another bout of awkwardness. Her house isn't that special. It has been the same since she first moved seven years ago, with the same dark hardwood floors, black leather couches and mahogany walls that stop midway and are met with decorative beige and silver wallpaper, along with white rugs and curtains, to create a contrast, making the living room brighter. The whole house has pretty much the same color scheme throughout, with the exception of Mae's room which is purple, her favorite color.

"This house is awesome." Alex finally breathes out after a couple of moments, turning his head to look at Mae whose cheeks must still be red, because the second he looks at her he laughs and shakes his head. "I could only dream of living here."

Mae scoffs, and rolls her eyes. "C'mon Carver, I'll show you upstairs. I figure you'll love it as much as you love the living room." In spite of herself and how usually self-conscious she is about contact, she grabs Alex's hand and pulls him up the mahogany staircase.

She points down the hallway and to the left towards the one room that has the white door open. "We have a guest bedroom and guest bathroom, that's the bathroom. And this . . ." she lets go of his hand and skips two doors down. "This is the bedroom. It usually only gets used when my relatives come to visit. They haven't in a while though. Feel free to use the restroom at any time, you don't have to ask."