AMATEURS [Tenya Iida x OC]

Chapter 16 - The One with the Awkward Dinner

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"Doing okay?" Tenya asked for the twentieth time, standing with Peri and Bastien in the elevator on the way up to Peri's room.

She nodded and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. A shock of pain jolted up her spine as the elevator shook to a stop. "I'll be better when I can actually see," she said, taking Tenya's hand and letting him lead her out into the hall.

Bastien followed behind, allowing Tenya to hold the elevator doors for him as he hobbled out with his cane, and quietly observed. Peri's school was fancy with a capital F. Her boyfriend was kind to a fault, and smart too, from what Bas had seen.

Disgusting.

Peri had been gone for two months, and found happiness. Bastien should have been happy for her, he supposed, but it was difficult to do around his own shitty feelings. All he wanted to do was be half as happy as her, but that was kind of hard when his parents never let him leave the house or make friends because they thought he was some kind of broken, glass-boned, perma-child. Was it so much to ask to be able to kiss who he wanted, when he wanted? To go on a rollercoaster? To taste ocean air?

"Here we are," Peri gasped, letting Tenya slow them down in front of her door. He fished her keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, holding the door open for both Peri and Bastien. Peri collapsed into her amethyst armchair, sighing in pain. Bastien hobbled in after her, nodding at Peri's decorations before depositing himself into her desk chair with a grunt.

Tenya stepped inside and pulled the door closed. The sight of the two siblings sitting so far apart, saying nothing and avoiding each others' gazes unsettled him. "Diablo?" Tenya said, crossing to the PlayStation and turning it on, snatching up the controllers and distributing them appropriately. Peri grinned at him as she took her pink controller from him, mouthing "Thank you". He gave her a small nod and turned to give Bastien a controller - this one turquoise - and took up the purple one for himself. With an extension of his hand, he helped Peri over to her bean bag, and slid down onto the one next to her.

Bastien scooted over on her desk chair, hovering above them. "Have you guys finished the new season yet?"

"There's a new season?" Peri asked.

Bastien watched as she loaded up the game. "I guess that answers that... I call necromancer," he said.

"Fine, you pasty goon," Peri nodded with a sigh, "Tenya, who do you want to be?"

He studied her face, noticing the dark circles and weak smile. "Barbarian?"

She laughed, the smile slow until the giggles bubbled out. "Sure, Tenya. No problem."

Still dissatisfied but a little better, Tenya scooted his beanbag closer to Peri and linked his elbow in hers. He hoped it would help, even just a little. When she leaned her head down to rest it on his shoulder, he relaxed, sinking cautiously back into the feeling of being a boyfriend - her boyfriend - again. Maybe this time they could go more than one day without something bad happening.

And that was a big maybe.

-

Peri must have fallen asleep.

"Hey shithead," Bastien said, nudging her with his cane and sneering, "The Dads are on their way up with your glasses, and they want to take us to dinner. Get dressed."

Coughing the foul taste of vague dreams from her mouth, Peri groaned and heaved herself to her feet. Every single bone cracked on her way up, popping and crackling like a human glow stick. She shuffled to her closet, ignoring Bastien's stares and squinting at her options. "Where did Tenya go?" she asked, rummaging around for an acceptable sweater and pants... maybe a skirt.