I'm not falling for him maybe.

chapter five.

As I roll out of bed at 9:00 Sunday morning, I forget all about Chase staying the night. I don't notice him on the couch when I walk to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of orange juice. I only notice him when he speaks up from the doorway, making me spill juice all over the counter.

"Good morning."

"God, Chase!" I fight the urge to let a curse word slip out, putting the orange juice up instead. "Thanks for nearly giving me a heart attack."

"You're welcome." He sounds serious. "Did you sleep good?"

"Yeah, I guess. Did you?"

"As good as ever." I don't know what that means, but I don't ask. He moves around me, taking the milk out and fixing himself a bowl of cereal. "I've been awake for a few hours, but I didn't want to wake anyone else up. I was just watching TV. Where are the spoons?"

"You know where the spoons are." I nod to the drawer. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He stops, setting his bowl down on the table to look at me. "Yeah, I'm just tired."

I wonder if he's still hurt over what his mom said. I just nod, making myself a bowl of cereal and taking a seat. He sits across from me. It's quiet for a minute, but it's a comfortable silence.

"Didn't he fit in so well?" I ask, making small talk.

"What? Who?" He looks up from his bowl, talking through a mouthful of milk and crushed Fruit Loops.

"Ew. Swallow first, please." I make a face. He laughs. "Oliver. He fit right in with my family. I think my parents really like him."

He takes a deep breath and ignores the question all together. I raise an eyebrow. Is it just me, or did he tense up at Oliver's name? I try to remember if he did or said anything that might have offended him last night, but I can't think of anything that would have.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," He mumbles. "It's just..."

"Just what?" I press.

"I don't trust him," He mutters under his breath.

"Oh." I laugh. "It's because you're like an older brother. You want to protect me and everything. You wouldn't trust anyone I dated."

"That's not true." He swirls his spoon around, making shapes with the round os floating in his milk. I wait for him to continue. "I'd trust you with my friends."

"Oh really?" I snort. "Like who?"

"Like Kevin."

"Um, Chase, I think Kevin's gay."

"Exactly." He grins. I roll my eyes. "No, but really. It's just something about him. You know what I mean?" When I don't nod in agreement, he frowns. "He's just... he gives me this bad feeling. I can't help it, I don't like him." Neither of us say anything for a moment. "You know what? You're probably right, it's probably just an older brother thing. Forget it."

I nod, but his words sting. I always thought he liked Oliver. He never really said either way, but I got the impression he did. Why wouldn't he? I swirl my milk with my spoon, lost in my thoughts. After a little while, he stretches and stands up, taking his bowl to the sink. I follow, rinsing mine out.

"You're just copying me." He pokes me in the side.

I say, "You're just copying me."

"Oh God, please no."

"Fine." I chew on my thumbnail, thinking. "When are you going to talk to your mom?"

"Talk to her about what?" He shrugs. "I'm not apologizing. She's too stubborn to apologize. I just had to cool off, you know? It'll be fine. I probably should be going though. She might need me to watch Ethan."

"Alright. I'll tell my parents you had to go." I give him a quick hug, calling after him, "Don't forget to finish your homework!"

"Okay mother!" He calls back. I roll my eyes again.