Prompt: Silas introducing his friends to Ray
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"It's that one," Silas said, pointing to Ray's house.
Kaito turned into the driveway and shut the car off. He and Jill got out of the car, and Silas copied them.
They'd all wanted to hang out, but it was pouring rain outside, and Kaito's and Jill's parents were both too busy tonight for them to have friends over. So Silas had reluctantly agreed to let them come to Ray's place.
They hurried to the front porch to escape the rain. Silas took his key out and unlocked the door, letting them inside.
He could hear the clanking of weights from the basement, relieved Ray was working out. It meant he could avoid introducing Ray to Kaito and Jill a little longer.
"Do you have anything we can snack on, Silas? I skipped lunch today to tutor," Jill said.
"Yea, c'mon," Silas said, leading them into the kitchen.
He dug through the cupboards until he found some chips. He poured salsa into a bowl and set it on the counter, sitting down with the other two.
"Ain't nothing to do around here," Silas said, not looking at them. When they went to Kaito's house, he had a ton of movies and video games. He had all sorts of puzzles and mystery board games they could play. Jill had a lot of board games at her house too, and she had three dogs they could play with.
Silas didn't have anything like that. He had video games, but they were almost all single player games. He didn't have puzzles or board games. Ray would buy him some if he asked, he was sure. But he was too embarrassed to ask, because he was bad at puzzles, and he had to be taught how to play the board games.
"We'll find something to do," Jill assured. "We can get our homework done and then find something to do."
"Always homework with you," Silas grumbled.
"Someone has to make sure you're not slacking off," Kaito said.
"Why don't we do our homework while we're snacking?" Jill offered.
"Fine, fine. You're both a pain in the ass," Silas said, pulling his work out of his bag.
The other two copied him and Silas got them drinks. They got to work on their homework, Jill shifting next to Silas so she could help him with any questions he had.
She began explaining a science question to him, and he became so fascinated by her explanation that he didn't even notice the sounds in the basement stopping. It wasn't until the door opened and Ray appeared that Silas lost his focus.
"Si, did you-" Ray noticed the other two sitting in there and paused. "Oh, I didn't know you were bringing friends home."
Silas suddenly felt nervous. Was he not supposed to bring them here? He used to bring people to his old place whenever he felt like it, and as long as they didn't get in the way, his parents would usually leave them alone and not kick them out. He should've brought Kaito and Jill to his room, out of Ray's way. He should've-
"I'm Ray," Ray introduced.
"Kaito Riku," Kaito said, shaking Ray's hand.
Jill smiled at him. "I'm Jill Sherwood."
"You're the one who tutors Silas, right?" Ray said.
"Yes, sir," Jill said.
Ray waved his hand. "Nah, none of that 'sir' stuff. Ray will do. Thanks for helping Silas out. Si, are they staying for dinner? I was just going to make burgers. I'll put on some extra patties."
Silas couldn't speak, so he simply nodded. Ray didn't look angry at all that Silas had brought them here without asking, or that they were in the kitchen.
"I'll be out of your way in a minute, I just want to grab a drink," Ray said, taking a glass out of the cupboard.
"It's your house. We can move, if you'd like," Kaito said.
"Don't bother. I'm heading upstairs to shower anyways," Ray said. He glanced at Silas. "Hey, actually, can you come help me move some of the weights in the basement quick? It'll only take a minute or two."
Silas tensed up as he got off his chair. This was it. Ray was going to punish him. Ray never hit him, but he would ground Silas for inviting people over without permission and getting in the way.
He followed Ray down to the basement, his thoughts confirmed when he saw that the weights were already put away. Ray stopped and tilted his head curiously.
"You never told me you had friends," he said. "You always just said you were doing your work with Jill outside of school."
"They...We just..." Silas shoved his hands in his pockets, looking away. Just what? Why had Silas been so afraid to tell Ray he'd made friends? Maybe because Silas still feared they'd decide they were too good for him. He was just the violent new kid, and they were from better places than him. They were going to better places than him.
"I'm glad," Ray said, surprising Silas. "I'm glad you made some friends at school. That boy, I think his dad owns some successful business. I've heard the Riku name before. I think he's got a brother that hangs around with Waymire. The brother is your age. How old are these two?"
"They're two years older," Silas said.
Ray shrugged. "Just remember they'll graduate before you. But I really am glad, Silas. Feel free to have them over here whenever you want. Just a little warning in the future if they're staying for dinner so I have enough for everyone. Alright, just didn't want to embarrass you in front of them. Get going back to your friends. I'm going to shower and then I'll start dinner."
"You ain't mad?" Silas said cautiously.
Ray snorted. "Yea, I'm real pissed you have friends. How dare you have friends and have a good time." He gave a light, playful shake of Silas's shoulder. "It's good, Si. I hope you make plenty more friends down the road."
He gave Silas a light shove towards the stairs. Silas went up them, rejoining his friends as Ray poured himself a glass of water and left the kitchen.
"Silas? Come on, focus," Jill said, nudging him a little.
"Yea, the rain is starting to let up. If we finish our homework, we might be able to do something outside," Kaito said. "Focus, Si."
"Sure," Silas said, shaking his head a little. "I'm focused." He hesitated before glancing outside. "I have...a basketball? We can, uh, you know, play that or somethin'."
"Sounds fun to me, but only if you get going on your work," Jill said.
Silas nodded and turned his attention back to his work. He felt relieved that Ray wasn't mad. Hell, he felt relieved that he now had permission to bring them over whenever he wanted. He liked Kaito and Jill. He wanted Ray to like them, too. He wasn't sure why, but it just felt important than Ray liked them. So he was glad Ray would get to know them more, and he was glad to think about having them over more often.
