Castle in the City

2

"Sa," Nico called from downstairs, and I sighed while putting my binder and pencil down. I rushed down the stairs and noticed Damien sitting on the couch and Nico in a buttoned down shirt and jeans. "I'm heading to Natalie's crib to pick her up. We're going on a date, so I won't be home until maybe 12. Find something to eat or order food or something."

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "Are you taking Damien with you?"

Damien, who was on his phone, looked up from it and frowned, "Do I look like a third wheeler to you?" He then went back to texting whomever he was texting- probably a girl because he was bound to get any.

"Hey, you two be nice to each other while I'm out. Try not to create a murder scene," Nico joked before ruffling my hair and leaving.

"So...you cooking or not?" Damien asked as he tucked his phone away, causing a frown to form on my face.

I questioned, "What do I look like- a maid?"

"Ha, funny," he replied sarcastically. "What do you wanna eat?"

You, I thought to myself.

Instead, I joked, "You've been here for a day and already wanna burn the place down?"

Damien gave an unamused look as he rolled his eyes. "I'm ordering food," he stated flatly. "What do you want before I take back my offer."

"Chinese. Buffalo wings and fries. Haven't had it in a while," I answered before walking off. "If you need me, I'm upstairs doing homework."

"Is that why you have those nerdy glasses on?" Damien teased.

"Fuck off, Damien," I rolled my eyes while heading back to my room.

After about 30 minutes, I was finished with my homework and texting my cousins when Damien entered my room. The asshole didn't even knock.

He sat down on my bed and placed the bag of food on the nearby nightstand before snatching my phone out my hand.

"What the hell?!" I asked while trying to grab my phone from him. "Give it back!"

He smiled, "I'm telling Nico you're texting boys."

"First off, I was texting Aria and Justin, and second of all, you should be minding your own business," I said as I snatched my phone out of his hand. "Thirdly, don't enter my room without knocking first and me giving you permission to enter. Fourth, snitch. Fifth, bitch. Sixth, annoying ass snitch bitch. Seventh, get out my room."

Damien chuckled and lay on his back while staring at me, and I rolled my eyes in response. "You know," I sighed as I took the food out the bag, "when people go off to college, they usually come back a bit more matured. Why is that the opposite for you?" I handed him his plate and fork and took out my own. I then passed him a can of sprite and took the other.

"I am mature, ass-wipe," he argued while sitting up. "I just like bothering you."

"Why?" I frowned. "You were actually nice to me up until last year." He shrugged while dipping his fork into his fries and putting about three in his mouth. "So you just woke up and decided to be an asshole to me for no reason." He shrugged once again, and I rolled my eyes and ate some of my fries. After a moment of silence, I mentioned, "Congrats on graduating college, by the way."

He looked up from his food and lightly smiled, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I nodded.

"What school are you planning to go to?" he asked.

"The same you just graduated from," I answered. "Aria and Justin are too."

Damien nodded, "Nice. It's a dope school." We then went back to silently eating and me trying to force myself from not staring at him, but I couldn't help but steal glances at him. I hadn't seen him in about 4 or 5 months. "Do you have something to say or do you just like staring at me?"

With blush probably evident on my face, I shook my head, "It's just...I haven't seen you in a while..."

He looked up from his food and agreed, "Yeah, we haven't seen each other in like 4 or 5 months." He then cockily smirked, "Didn't know you missed me that much."

"Eat shit," I rolled my eyes with a smile playing on my lips. "We never really hung out much, so it's not like I missed you in that way. It's just that I was used to seeing you every week when you were in high school, and then college came and I only saw you and my brother on holidays. It's just weird."

He shrugged, "Welcome to life and growing up. How have you been though?"

With suspicion, I frowned, "Do you even care?"

Damien, who appeared a bit hurt by what I asked, frowned, "Why wouldn't I?"

I shrugged, "We've never really...developed a friendship with each other. We barely even speak to each other. I actually don't understand that part either because you're as close with Aria and Justin as you are with Nico, even though you used to see me more often than you'd see them."

"Well...you were always...I don't know- unapproachable, I guess. I don't know. I just didn't know what to say to you sometimes," he shrugged.

I chuckled, "What the hell did you figure out to say to my cousins then?"

"We clicked over stuff, we have our shared secrets, and we just also, in general, hang out with each other. You, on the other hand, I'd see you here but you'd be in your room most of the time. I wasn't gonna come to your room to talk to you when I didn't have anything to say to you," he explained. "We were bonding two years ago though, and then you started dating that Jason kid last year and we just didn't speak as much."

"Oh, yeah," I remembered. "But you were the one staying away from me."

Damien chuckled, "Nah, you were. You weren't even hanging out with Nat, Aria, and Justin as much, but it was worse for our developing friendship because they knew you longer and had a good friendship with you since your birth. I had only known you for...three years and was getting to know you that third year."

"I guess," I sighed, because I knew it was true. When I was dating Jason, I tried my best to isolate myself from Damien because I didn't want my feelings for him getting tangled up with the feelings I was developing for Jason.

"Why did you two even break up?" Damien asked before drinking some of his soda.

I shrugged, "He just started ghosting me out of nowhere, and then it was almost as if I was in a relationship with myself, so I ended it." I stared down at my bedsheet and fiddled with my fingers as I thought about Jason. "I had actually really liked him, but it got to a point where I didn't even know how to speak to him. It was so abrupt and awkward, and I tried asking him about it. I tried accepting it at one point too, but I just couldn't. I told him to hit me up when he figured things out, but we never got back in contact with each other."

"Damn," Damien replied sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel better, I think you're a beautiful person on the inside and out. Don't let these niggas waste your time like that."

I blushed and nodded before going back to eating my food.

Damien thinks I'm beautiful! Nah, he probably meant that in a friendly way. Calm your ass.