by Zara Rivas
"Of course. I only break them when it counts, though." He winked.
"Where are we, anyway?" I looked at my surroundings and still had no clue as to where he'd taken us. It was a two-story brick building, surrounded by shops and things but also trees, which gave it a secluded look. Christmas lights were strung out over the black balconies and from what I could see through the tinted windows, they were everywhere else too.
"Technically it's a coffeehouse. It's called 'Savant'."
"Technically?" I looked it over again. "What else goes on in there?"
He lifted a shoulder briefly in a sort of shrug. "They show the odd movie, mostly black-and-white, a few concerts go on here, small shows obviously, and they have really good food."
"What kind of food?"
"Anything you want, really. They don't have a menu, you just tell the person at the counter what you want and they ask the cook if they can make it. It's pretty cool, actually."
Sinclair secured the helmets to the bike and pocketed the keys, leading me into the building. Inside it was slightly dark with the warm glow of the strung lights, with tables on high legs surrounded by stools. He led me up the stairs and steered me towards a table in the corner. I sat with my back to the wall so I could people watch, and noticed a full bar spanning one wall. The upstairs was decorated much like the downstairs, with a projector screen rolled up near the ceiling on one wall, and servers floating around calmly. I watched them enviously for a second; this job seemed much better than rushing around a crowded diner all day.
Paintings and large framed photographs spanned the walls as well, mostly in calm tones with interesting patterns. This place seemed completely at ease with itself; nothing was forced and it seemed like the building just grew out of the ground where it stood.
"Guess I'm lucky I didn't have to work today," I remarked, staring down at their drink menu.
"I knew you didn't have to." He flipped the menu in my hands over and pointed to the bottom. "They have fantastic pie."
"Avery?" Oooh, they had chocolate mousse pie. Fantastic.
"Christian, actually. Although sometimes I think they have an information link between their brains," he laughed.
"Comes from growing up together and dating for so long," I smirked. "Sometimes I can do it; I've known them both since first grade."
"Wow. Long time."
"Yeah, it's going to be weird when we all move to different places."
"Not planning on going to college together?" Sinclair seemed surprised.
I looked up at him. "I'm not going to college. Not for quite a while, at least."
He seemed stunned. "You're…wait. You're the valedictorian and you're not going to college?"
"I'm not the valedictorian yet."
"Yeah…yet. But you will be. I saw the meticulous stacks of homework on your desk." He took off his jacket and laid it over the back of his chair, pushing his long sleeves up to his elbows. Then he put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on one hand, watching me speculatively.
"Maybe."
"So…why no college?" Sinclair asked, flicking a piece of hair from his eyes in slight annoyance.
I thought about it for a second, debating about whether or not to tell him. "It's…not what I want to do."
"What do you want to do?"
I could see him getting a bit impatient with my short answers, and figured I'd cut him a break. "I want to paint. I want to draw, open a gallery, move around. I don't want to stay here. Carroway…people are stagnant here. You have to be able to see it," I said flatly.
A waitress came over and asked us if we were ready to order.
"Do you do coal-fired pizza?" I asked, and she smiled and chirped an affirmative. I asked Xavier, "Favorite pizza toppings?"
"Pepperoni and mushrooms."
"Works for me." I set the drink menu back in its little holder on the table and continued, "And a coke, please."
"And for you?" She looked expectantly at Xavier.
"The same."
"Alright, the pizza should be ready in about fifteen or twenty minutes and I'll be back with your drinks in a jiffy." She bustled off and Xavier turned his penetrating stare back onto me.
"Stagnant?" he prompted.
oOoOo
She seemed uncomfortable talking about her life so openly, Xavier noted. That didn't mean he had to back off on his questioning, however, and he continued watching her curiously.
"Stagnant," she repeated, raising a hand and gesturing vaguely. "People here are just waiting for something. Waiting for their new pool to be put in or for their kids to grow up. Waiting for life to happen. I don't want to do that."
"No, I see it."
She twisted one of the rings on her middle fingers a little nervously, "I want to get out of that house, more than anything."
"You don't like it?"
"It's a good house," she said noncommittally. He privately decided not to let that one fly and pushed her a little.
"It's beautiful."
"Very lavish," she agreed. Xavier heard the disapproval in her voice and his gaze sharpened. She decided to elaborate. "It's too much. I live there with Dominic most of the time. That's ridiculous for two people."
"I guess so."
"It is," Sloane said, emphasizing the words. "You heard the echoes when you came in? Well, it's like that all the time. I invited you over because I knew Dominic was going to be out of town and I'd have the house to myself. Too many empty rooms to think about."
"Why didn't you call Avery?"
She shrugged. She pointedly watched another table full of people, laughing and talking about their antics in some sort of law-breaking scheme, and an unconscious smile touched her lips. The waitress showed up with their drinks and slid them onto the little art-deco coasters that sat on the table already.
"This place is fantastic," she said suddenly. "How on earth did I not know it was here?"
"You couldn't pull your head out from under that rock you live in," he said sardonically, flicking a salt packet at her.
"Yes, I'm so sheltered," she countered. "Living with three brothers who give me free rein on almost everything."
"Do they really?"
She thought for a moment. "Finn definitely. But he's my twin so he can't really pull rank on me. Blake doesn't live around here, and Dominic's…well, I guess you could call him the disciplinarian of the bunch. So no, he doesn't give me free rein, but he does know when to back off."
"Must be nice," Xavier mused, sticking a straw in his coke.
"What's your family like?" She tilted her head at him.
"Average, I guess." He took a drink and sighed. "I live with my parents and my big sister, Emma."
"Ah yes, Dominic's…interest," she laughed.
"She'd have to be, considering I only have one sister." He pushed the ice around with his straw.
"Any brothers?" Sloane asked, doing the same with her drink.
"Nope. I'm it."
"I guess you'll have to do, then," she teased. A crease appeared between her eyebrows as she paid attention to something he wasn't aware of. She snickered unexpectedly, and he gave her a strange look. "Are you serious? I fucking love this place now." She pointed to the ceiling to indicate that he should listen to the music. Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" was in about the second bar of the song. Xavier shook his head and laughed quietly.
"Yeah, they play some pretty strange things."
"What was boarding school like?" Sloane asked abruptly, abandoning music as a topic of conversation.
"A lot like Carroway, actually," he said, startled. "Just…you know, with dorms."
"There's that eloquence again," she said dryly. "Gosh Sinclair, you're giving me so much information, I might overdose on it."
"Well I know you like details," he smirked. A jolt went through him at her choice of words, but he thought he successfully kept it off his face.
Her eyes were sharp, and he wondered if she caught the way he tensed at what she said. "S
o why'd you transfer halfway through your senior year?"
"Too much of a heart-to-heart, Lexington." He waved a finger at her. "Ah ah."
"Can't come up with your own words now, hmm? Got to toss mine at me?" She shook her head. "That's such a disappointment."
"Learn to live with it," he joked.
"I have," she said, face completely serious. The conversation came to an awkward halt with that, but luckily the waitress walked up with their pizza and two plates.
oOoOo
We kept our conversation light for the rest of dinner, but there still seemed to be that awkward backsplash hanging over us. Thankfully when we got off the motorcycle (in front of my house), the weird moment seemed to have vanished completely.
"Want to come in?" I asked, hop-skipping to the door. He laughed at me but took his helmet off nonetheless.
"Sure."
It was only ten-thirty and I hadn't expected him to say no. Neither of us noticed that a light was on in my house, or that the front door was unlocked when I reached for it. I guess I should've paid more attention, but I didn't really care at the moment.
"I'm going to make you watch a movie," I said mischievously, backing down the hallway and watching him deposit his coat and keys on the table in the foyer.
"Oh goody," he said sarcastically. "Genre?"
"Romantic comedy. My favorite romantic comedy," I said, relishing the 'oh crud' look that took over his countenance. I turned around and bounded towards the den, hearing his footsteps behind me. I dug quickly through the movie shelves, finding what I needed almost immediately and hiding it behind my back. Sinclair entered the den and watched me, humor in his eyes but everything else pronouncing him wary.
I edged towards the DVD player and tried to turn it on without him seeing what I held in my hands, but he walked straight up to me, determination written across his face.
"Ah ah," I said, smiling devilishly. "You can't cheat."
"If you're going to make me watch a romantic comedy, I'm going to find out what it is before the first obnoxiously sappy heartbreak scene unfolds on that screen."
"Oh and it is a bad one," I assured him. His face darkened and he skipped his usual routine of inching closer and instead just pressed me up against the bookshelf, ducking his head so his face was level with mine. My breath caught and a satisfied smirk dominated his lips. My eyes flicked between his eyes and his lips nervously, and I accidentally dropped the DVD when he brushed his fingers up my arm, from my wrist to my neck. Tingles burst into life where his hand trailed, and I swallowed.
I didn't notice him pluck the movie from behind me until he had already moved away, looking at the DVD case and laughing.
"Shaun of the Dead?" He shook his head. "This is your romantic comedy?"
"Hey, it fits the description." I tried to get my heart rate back under control and noticed I was clutching the bookcase with one hand. I released it.
"I'm going to, um, go grab a jacket," I stammered, launching myself out of the room. Great job, Sloane, you're already wearing a damn jacket. Be a little more obvious, why don't you? my internal voice chided sarcastically. Oh shut up, I told myself, and then wondered if I was going insane.
I took the stairs two at a time, thankful that Sinclair didn't follow me. I slumped against the doorframe in my room, still willing my heart to calm down, when I realized I wasn't alone.
"Avery?" I asked, shocked and worried. She sat on my bed, staring at the carpet, and twisted her head around to look at me.
"Avery, what's wrong?"
She took a deep breath and said, "Christian and I had a huge fight."
And then the tears started sliding down her face.
Chapter Nine
Xavier huffed a laugh, staring at the doorway when Sloane disappeared. She always knew how to put on a dramatic show at school, around her friends and admirers, but push her up against a bookshelf in her own home and she was at a loss, it seemed. He waited patiently for a few minutes, then he knew she wasn't coming back into the den.
Perplexed, he left the den and went up the stairs quietly, wondering what she was doing. He picked his way through the maze of her house until he was outside her room, and he heard Sloane's voice, sounding worried.
"Are you sure? I mean it could just smooth over really quickly," she said, trying to reassure someone. Xavier heard a sniffle and he realized that someone else was in there with her.
"I doubt it," a voice he recognized as Avery's said, sounding choked. "It was just this huge fight about nothing at all. I have no idea how it even happened. One second we were sitting there talking and joking like always and two seconds later we were arguing, then it just got out of control."
Sloane made a soothing noise and Xavier decided to just quietly creep down the hall and back into the den.
"Hang on," Sloane said abruptly, and Xavier froze, thinking he'd been caught eavesdropping. "I have to go downstairs for a second, Sinclair's here."
"What," Avery said slowly, "is Xavier doing here at eleven at night on a Thursday?" A tinge of amusement coloured her words.
"Just, you know, hanging out," Sloane said, trying and failing to sound nonchalant. Xavier grinned to himself and decided he could stay for just one more minute.
"Sloane," Avery warned.
"Okay fine," Sloane whined, "we went out for pizza and we were just about to watch a movie."
"Like a date?"
"No, like a hanging-out. You know."
"Oh man," Avery breathed a laugh. "You're going to screw new kid."
"Movies, Avery, movies," Sloane hissed. "No sex involved."
"M-hmm," Avery sang. There was a muffled sound like a pillow colliding with someone, and a squeal.
"You seem to be feeling better," Sloane muttered.
"Yeah," Avery sighed. "I didn't mean to barge in on your…plans. Sorry."
"Avery, you are my best friend. Christian is one of my best friends too, and Torrance, but you are The best friend. Hear the capital letter on 'the'? That means you can come into my house and kick anyone you want over to get to me if you need help with something."
"I know." Xavier could hear the smile in Avery's voice. Then an electronic noise interrupted them, a tiny chirp and Sloane sighed.
"I feel like a magnet today," she said, followed by, "oh hey Finn." She paced around her room, padding softly on the carpet. "What? Why isn't Nic telling me this? Oh good grief. Well…yeah, alright. I'll work it out."
She snapped her phone closed and Xavier heard her slump onto the bed next to Avery.
"What was that all about?" Avery asked, voicing Xavier's thoughts.
"Daddy dearest is thinking about staying for a whole month," Sloane said acidly. "Which means I have to start getting the house ready or it won't meet his high-and-mighty standards."
Avery started laughing, quietly at first but it turned into a loud, truly humorous guffaw.
"What?" Sloane asked dryly.
"Shit, we've all got problems tonight," Avery choked, laughing too hard. "I interrupted your thing with new kid, got into a fight with Christian, you're the one who got interrupted and your asshole of a father wants to spend a month in your house."
"We make quite a pair," Sloane agreed. "But I really do have to take care of the Sinclair thing."
"No, it's okay. I'm just going to go home and try to sleep."
"Are you sure? You can always stay here."
"Yeah, I just want to…think things through, you know?"
"Yeah. I know."
Xavier crept back down the hallway, then made a quick decision and turned around and walked back towards Sloane's room like he'd been coming to find her. He knocked on her bedroom door and they looked up at him.
"How much did you hear?" Sloane asked, not looking surprised in the least. He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug, leaning against the doorway.
"Figures," she muttered, turning to Avery, who simply smiled knowingly at her.
"I'm going to go," she said, standing up. Sloane stood w
ith her.
"You sure you don't need me to kick Christian's ass? I've done it before, you know," she winked.
"Yes I know. And it's fine," she sighed. "I guess we'll just see where it goes." Avery turned to Xavier and raised a hand. "See you around, new kid."
"New kid?" he asked, eyebrow raised.