Crumbling Under Pressure

Chapter 4

Johan breathes in the solitude of his personal space. He never likes being stretched out from the crowd and be with people that highlights the volume of their voices. He enjoys silence, the quiet area from the corners of his room and stay away from the public eyes as much as possible.

But somehow Johan has become the permanent victim of a certain silence, one where his thoughts concentrated on a specific subject and still be the one to stand out.

Of course, the attention was nearly as both positive or negative, somehow the silence was awkward and it stuck out the horrible answers to the undesirable questions.

He wonders if that was philosophical as he intend it to be.

Who knows.

He looks away from the city view and drifted his thoughts to Mia who was sitting beside him. His classmate didn't fit to be the quiet type but he took a peek to remember a different image of her; her form was layback, her thighs buckled together and her head bowed to view her lap with her round glasses slipping down on her nose. She was even breathing heavily than normal.

Both of their bags were at his end on the side of the passenger seat and the keychain attached on her bag keep creating noise that creeps along the silence.

"Are you okay?" He whispered, going closer to speak properly.

His lips thinned in concentration and he briefly brushed away a few strand of hair from her face. He discovered that her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open to let out a few snores, as it is from before her breath smells like caffeine.

He should have noticed that first hand considering the snores were emitting loudly without a hint of modesty.

"Is she asleep?" John asked from the front seat and Johan removed his hand.

"Yeah," he answered and sit straight from his place, Mia's head proceeded to laid against his shoulder and his form stiffen from closeness between them.

He can hear John chuckled and he can his brother's eyes were glancing at them through the rear view mirror. His form still stiffen and his hands wander through the leather coat of the seat and clutched on it.

"Thought you play on the same team," John started and turn left towards their destination.

"I do," he stared the truth.

"Well, you seem flustered when you're around with her," his brother commented. "Kinda like a guy who is beside with the person they have a crush on."

He scoffed at the comment while making sure Mia was comfortably sleeping on him; he adjusted their positions and he sighed in relieve to have his muscles loosen.

"I just... find it awkward to have someone touch me, that's all," he explained.

His brother hummed as a response and from it he wanted to know what was on the man's mind. He obviously couldn't tell and he doesn't have any psychic abilities to hear his brother's thoughts.

He opens his mouth, a question was trying to pry off his mouth to talk, but it closes and he looks away. His body may not be stiff from movement but his speech was and the talks he wanted to engage, with his brother of all people, were becoming non-existent. He wanted to know more, he wants to talk more.

But why was it so difficult to do so?

From their lack of response on the topic, Johan decided to drop it off and focus on the view of his side; the buildings were tall, old and a few have having tarpaulins or electic signs or billboards attached on it while others have none, people were present as usual and actively walking, talking or were fixated on their phones. The trash, and graffiti are there as well.