Oreo

Chapter 58: Conversations

Orion's POV~

"So, explain to me why we needed to drop Romeo off at a friend's house instead of taking him with us to the court hearing." Tessy questioned.  Undertones of irritation steeped through her otherwise calm voice.  It was almost nine and we had just finished taking Romeo's over to Abel's place since Abel's vehicle was out of commission.

I repositioned my legs where I sat in the passenger seat, hiding my discomfort of the grilling.  "Well, I invited him to come along but he
said he would have been uncomfortable in the setting.  As much as I kinda wanted him to attend with us, I can see where he was coming from.  Since I'll more than likely be questioned about all this shit, as a victim, just as you, he'll just be sitting all by himself most of the time."

My sister just sighed, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.  "It's whatever, then.  I guess.  Can't force the boy."

A thin silence settled between us and my eyes gazed out the side window.  Just a few more hours and everything will be over.  Then, we could finally celebrate.

Romeo's POV~

I sat down on my friend's sofa, listening to both T and Rion drive away.  It was a fairly warm day, so far, in the low 80's.  It was relieving that Abel at least had air conditioning.

"So, if you're still not feeling great we can just start off with some shows or something." Abel said, plopping down on the other end of the couch.  "Also Vern's in the bathroom, so he should be out soon."

"Okay..." I shrugged.  "I mean, whatever you guys are cool with.  I don't really know how long those two are gonna be anyways, so I'm fine if we just jump into the lessons..."

Abe just pressed his lips together, giving me a skeptical look.  "Yeah... no.  Let's just watch some TV and chill, first.  Destress and hang out for a bit.  Then, we can do that.  If we have any more time to kill, we can just hang out some more.  Cool?"

I nodded, wiggling my nose. 

"Wasssaaaap, Romeyyyy!!" Vern's familiar voice called as he strode leisurely into the room in all his maroon-beanied glory.  A big smile had his face split in two.  "Long time no see!"

"It hasn't been that long..." I retorted, quietly.

He hummed.  "Still.  Too long.  Hey, Abe, can we order pizza now that Romey's here?"

"Maybe later, dude, I'm not even super hungry right now." Abel stated, leaning back into the sofa.  "Let's just watch a some TV and, in a few episodes, we can order."

Vernon groaned but caved, coming over to join us.  He sat in the middle only to stretch himself out so that his head in was in my lap and his feet in Abel's.  Not awkward at all. 

This is how friends usually hang out, right?  I've never really hung out with many outside of school, and the few times I did was back in Elementary...  I'll just let it be, if he's comfortable...  This seems typical Vernon, anyway.

"Sit up, dumbass."  Abel told him.  He sounded a little annoyed.

"Nah, boy; deal."

Abel just rolled his eyes and crossed his legs, clicking around for something to watch.  Due to the most popular vote, 2 to 1, we ended up watching Angel Beats.  Vernon complained that he'd rather watch Death Note, but Abel stated that he had just finished a rewatch of it recently and didn't feel like sitting through any more of it.

It took almost 2 episodes before Vernon fell asleep.  Luckily for us, he had long since changed position and was sitting on the floor with his legs beneath the coffee table, his head lolled back on the couch cushions.  His maroon beaning and slipped partially off, allowing some locks of his black hair to fall free.