Tweetie

47

"Can you teach me how to say, 'it don't always be like that, but sometimes it do' in French?"

"Once you've finished translating those words."

"Really!? Okay!"

"So this is how you do it," Leo hummed, his chin in the palm of his hand while watching Hazel and Oscar work. They both switched back and forth as Hazel continued to give the boy basic words to learn, speaking them out every once in a while for him to repeat back, taking note of the way the word was pronounced. "You promise him weird things at the end."

"This is only my second time teaching him," Hazel turned, resting against the table as Leo gave her his full attention.

"And he's not complained once, it's not right." Leo sighed, shaking his head towards the boy who sat, confidently writing against the sheet of paper, the pen scratching at the table beneath and creating one of the few sounds to be heard in the silent café. "Do you know how long I have tried to teach him anything?"

"I only listen to Tweetie because she's nice."

"I'm nice," Leo groaned, "you could just never be bothered."

"True," Oscar shrugged, glancing up with a small smile spread on his lips, "but I also want to actually try to study now."

"What gives?" Ryan asked, walking behind the group of four while Fox silently took his seat, a proud smile playing on his lips as he took everything in. "Why d'you want to learn? This is new. You used to always say you hated it and that it was pointless."

"I don't know..."

Oscar sank, glancing down to his hands before turning to Hazel with a frown.

"You guys need to stop questioning him," Hazel sighed, sinking into her arms. "If he wants to learn, then he can."

"Thank you, Tweetie." Oscar beamed, letting his hair flop over his face as he lowered his head again, focusing on his work while everyone else glanced around. Well, everyone but Joel who had started to work on his art project once again at a separate table.

While the day had been filled with a lot of emotion, things finally seemed to have calmed down. The café was quiet, the only sounds were from the group, scribbling pens and pencils, and distant sounds from the kitchen where Stewart tidied up.

It was strange.

Things felt so strange, like there was a warmth that mixed with a coldness, bringing tingles to the skin because two things had collided. Good and bad. The boys, they were good. They were so good. Even through their struggles, they continued to care and bring warmth. But she didn't. She was a liar, an untrustworthy two-headed beast who was going to ruin everything, even if she simply ran away, she knew her disappearance would bring them questions and hurt, wondering why she would abandon them. She was the cold. And they had mixed, she had mixed with the warmth and now she couldn't shake the tingles like heat on numb and cold fingers she felt running up her spine and across her arms as they engulfed her. She didn't know what to do, how to feel. But they were so warm, it was difficult to leave them. Like being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold morning.

"...Thanks, Tweetie."

A voice spoke, hushed and hesitant, but it was enough to pull her from her thoughts as she turned, her eyes meeting Ryan's green ones as he shrunk in his seat.

His head lowered as he paused and realised the words had already escaped his lips.

"I mean," he hesitated again, cutting himself off to think everything over more. His head whirled, filled with conflicting emotions. "Thank you for talkin' with me... Seriously. I- y'know, I uh- I really appreciate it. More than anything."