Positively Negative [Rewrite]

Jan08: Anti-heroes and Villainous Persons

Freddie ran fingers through his hair to unravel the plaits he'd made as he asked me about my bruises. Asked me if they still hurt, and if I really wasn't angry about them. They didn't still hurt, and I really wasn't angry, but I hated the way they looked. They'd all begun to fade - some slower than others - and would have been doing so perfectly fine if the green /yellow colour they turned during the process didn't make my skin look like it was moulding into that of the undead. But it was no big deal. "No need to try being hard, Joe. You can tell the nice gay boy that it hurts," Ryan chimed in, still pushing buttons. I cringed at the mention of Freddie's sexuality, but he himself only laughed, biting his lip in an effort not to do so too much it seemed, and relaxed back into the seat, watching the screen.

"I should probably go," he said then.

When he'd returned downstairs after going up to retrieve his backpack, I lead Freddie awkwardly to my front door. I was trying to think up an appropriate goodbye I could offer, but there was no need in the end. When I opened the door, my mother was standing beside a large man in dirty overalls, one hand raised to push the key into the lock. Both of them were holding shopping bags that I was guessing were hers.

Turns out the guy was Priya's uncle, who mum introduced as Naresh. Her dad, having heard about our shower issue, had asked his brother, a plumber, to help us out. I could not be more thankful; I was really missing hot showers whenever I needed them as opposed to whenever I could be bothered to march all the way to Ryan's. Giving myself a scrub via the sink was getting a little old.

He greeted us jovially before disappearing upstairs to assessed the damage.

Mum took to Freddie immediately without seeming to realise he had been the one to paint my face in bruises, but that was fine. They got on so well, in fact, that she offered to drop him at home, so long as he helped us put away the shopping. He had no problem with that and once my mum had yelled playfully at Ryan to get off the console and join in, we were all in the kitchen once again. The radio got turned on, and mum, Ryan and I were joking around constantly whilst Freddie looked on. He seemed a little lost amidst it all, but I caught him smiling - laughing - sometimes. It was odd to suddenly become so aware of the way I interacted with my mother and best friend. Seeing it through a stranger's eyes, it was bizarre, maybe, but exciting at the same time. I'd never felt proud of my home life like that before.

Chapter Ten: Anti-heroes and Villainous Persons

JOEY

"She's not just a villain, she's a monster," Priya's dad, Raz, sighed. He'd come in to pick up Naresh but, whilst said brother was finishing things off (shower, shower, shower, shower), mum had convinced Raz to sit and drink tea with us. He was a tall guy; mum was sat down, but he was leaning against a counter as I stood at the sink washing my mug and I probably only just reached his chest, generously speaking. I wondered if Priya would soon shoot up too. Wondered if I'd still be in her life to see that. "I want her to be terrifying, but I just don't know how to achieve that. Do you know what I mean?"

Mum and I nodded sagely, though I doubt she got it any more than I did. Priya's dad only laughed, seeing through us easily.

"Ah, nevermind. I’ll figure it out eventually."

"How long did you say you've been writing this book for?" Mum asked him. I returned to the pot of pasta I was cooking up after placing my cup to dry. I poked one of the shells with a nearby fork and smiled; it was almost done, and my stomach rumbled appreciatively.

"In my third year of it." My eyebrows rose as I turned away from the fire again.

"And you're only just writing the villain in?"