adolescents - mo (monroe) harris

10

Anna was sitting at the kitchen table staring blankly at her chemistry homework when she heard Zeke's car pull up outside. He had left over an hour ago to pick up Mo and go to the store. Holly was coming over later to make dinner for everyone and sent Zeke on a trip to get groceries. Anna sighed, looking at the answer sheet that sat half blank in front of her. Deciding she wasn't getting anywhere, she stood up, straightening out the oversized sweatshirt she had on over her shorts so that it looked like she had no pants on. She liked her comfort clothes that way. She felt more herself practically drowning in a sweatshirt than she did in anything else.

Anna leaned against the doorway as Zeke and Mo came in, carrying a few bags of groceries each. Anna greeted them and followed them back into the kitchen to see what they'd brought back. Anna peeked in the bags and saw various different odd ingredients, but got the idea that Holly might be making a Chinese dish.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" Mo said, sitting at the table. Anna gave him a small smile and shrugged.

"I think I'm suffering more injury to my ego than anything else." Anna said, chuckling. She crossed her arms and looked at her feet to avoid eye contact as she started to feel embarrassed again. She wanted to say something more but didn't feel comfortable with Zeke so close by.

Mo watched her closely for a moment, looking for the right thing to say. He could tell she felt uncomfortable and he assumed he shouldn't pry. He wondered what she was thinking. He had been concerned not just because of her drunken state the night before, but because she had been acting out of character. Anna, from Mo's limited experience, was always calm and collected. She seemed responsible and mature. He didn't know if he'd just seen a new side of her the night before or if there was something different going on. He'd spent the night worrying after Zeke took Anna home, and even left Sophie hanging after flirting with her the whole night. He expected that to be his focus, having had a crush on her for so long, but after all of it he was still only thinking about Anna and he didn't know why.

Mo snapped out of his thoughts and realized he'd never replied to Anna. Feeling awkward and slightly guilty, he searched for something to say. His eyes landed on Anna's open chemistry book on the table next to him.

"Do you mind if I do homework with you?" Anna shook her head and sat down in her chair, focusing back on her homework again. Mo pulled a book out of his backpack and started working on his own.

Anna pretended to be working for what felt like an hour. She was not focused on her homework at all, but she wanted to look like it, so she moved through the pages of her textbook mindlessly as if she was looking for something. The reality was that she was stuck in her head. Half because of the lingering hangover, half because Mo made her nervous. She wanted to address the night before but was struggling to get the nerve to speak at all. She convinced herself it was embarrassment. When Anna looked up at Zeke, who had been on the couch watching TV, she noticed he'd fallen asleep. Part of her mental barrier fell and she decided it was her best chance.

"Mo?" Anna croaked, surprising herself with the sound and immediately clearing her throat. Mo looked up from his book at her. She ignored the small spike in her heart rate and continued. "I just wanted to say thank you. You really looked out for me last night. I really made a fool of myself, it wasn't me."

"It's okay. I thought you were having fun. Well, until you hurled." Mo smirked. Anna laughed a little, letting the tension built up in her chest break.

"I did, somewhat. I don't know. I had a little too much attention from Paul and a lot too much to drink." Anna sighed. "I don't want to get that way ever again."

Mo watched Anna's eyes, sensing the internal animosity she was feeling. Thoughts about how she came to be in the situation she was in still loomed in his mind. He didn't want to be pushy or make her uncomfortable, but he didn't see a better opportunity presenting itself.

"Is there a reason?" Mo set his pencil down lightly and turned to face Anna head on. He wanted her to feel comfortable and to know he was there to listen attentively if she wanted to open up. Anna noticed this and stayed silent for a moment, facing the same battle she wages on herself every time she tries talking about things.

"Yeah." Anna nodded, pushing through the last of the mental barrier she pretended was protecting her. "My dad is an alcoholic. I just... want to be as little like him as possible."

Mo nodded and looked down, fidgeting with his fingers. He suddenly felt wrong for asking. Anna watched his reaction and decided to continue against her own anxiety's pull.

"I'm here because he abandoned me. Whether or not that's because of the alcoholism is neither here nor there. But, I was left for weeks with nothing and I decided I was done hoping he'd come back because life with him wasn't much better than starving." Anna sat on her hands, feeling like her sudden word vomit of feelings might have scared Mo. When she finally looked up at him he was looking back at her. She breathed, feeling the tension rising in her chest again. Vulnerability was not for her. She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them, feeling subconsciously like she needed to shelter herself.

"I'm glad you're here." Mo said softly, searching her face. He gave her a small and comforting smile that brought her back down to earth. She was glad he didn't tell her he was sorry or any of the other general responses people always give when they hear about another person's trauma. They were insincere and always gave the bad things that someone experienced power over them. She felt validated for being open instead of feeling vulnerable. He had made sharing feel safe for the first time ever.

"Me too." Anna smiled and blushed slightly, looking away. She was experiencing a whole new feeling she wasn't used to navigating. She glanced back at Mo and saw him looking at her from the side. He smirked and looked back at his homework. Anna couldn't hide her smile.

Mo was doing something to her that she couldn't define. All she knew was that she suddenly felt warm and safe with him, and that was something she had never felt before.

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A/N
Hello i'm so sorry this took so long, I got a horrible infection on my face and have been a mess due to my life and it's state atm (lol) but my face is healing and i'm back! I kinda like this chapter Anna is kinda starting to feel Mo and it's precious!! Thank you for reading, voting, commenting ily!!!!