Not A Finch

Chapter 10: Stuffy

Stuffy.

The car feels stuffy.

The air hangs in weird places and I have to constantly shift in order to not feel uncomfortable in the betrayed silence that rickshaws and radiates between Oscar and I.

"Dang, that lake was huge!" Rue exclaims, shaking his head in excitement as we drive down the white winding path of Zach's driveway. His words drill shallow pockets of happiness into our silent feud, but he remains totally unaware of the stale air he chews on.

"Man, I wish we could live here. That would be really nice." Rue whistles as he comes to a stop in front of the huge mansion. It almost seems to glimmer in the dying light of the sun, but I suspect that's what the intended purpose was; if the window that showcased the huge and elegant chandelier was anything to go by.

"Yeah." I mumble, looking out at the sea of green that Zach called his lawn. I bite my lip, trying to pump my excitement back up. Everything that I had ever dreamed of was about to begin, I was about to take the first step in achieving my dream life.

I need to be happy.

I force a smile on my face and reach for the door.

The clicking of the lock stops me, and I turn to Rue with an irritated glare. He grins at me, the weak sun washing away his freckles.

"No goodbye kiss?"

I roll my eyes at him "Would you quit locking the doors?" I say with a sigh, flipping the locks up only to have him click it again.

"Well, you're welcome for the ride grumpy pants." Rue says, giving a short laugh.

I stick my tongue out at him causing him to flick his tongue at me in a sexual manner. I blush, staring at him in horror. I had definitely liked that. A shudder runs through me.

Rue laughs, motioning to my face. "What's up with you?"

I quickly slacken my features. "N-nothing." I lie, reaching forward to push at his face.

He easily dodges the movement catching my arm and pulling me over the armrest. I tumble into the front of the car, the front of my chest hitting the stick and my face barely missing the radio. "I can't believe you just tried to assault me Ash. Now I'm definitely not letting you leave without a thank you." Rue says patting my back.

I push up, rubbing at my aching chest. I squint at him, our eyes locking. He doesn't react to my stare and instead places his chin in his hands a lazy smile drifting onto his face. "I'm waiting." He hums.

"Don't you have a job to get to?" I ask, crossing my arms. I was definitely not going to say thank you.

"Oooh. Close, but no cigar. The password is only two words. Plus my job is to look as sexy as possible, and I'm always doing that." He bites at his bottom lip, drawing my eyes down to his mouth. "Oh, would a goodbye kiss suit you better?" He chuckles. I glare at him, flipping him off.

"Thank you, Rue." Oscar suddenly speaks up, his voice raising just above quiet. It's the first time he's said anything since we left our room and it seems to bring all the stale air back into the car.

Rue's eyes jump from me, to Oscar before they run over the long haired boy. He frowns tilting his head slightly.

"What's the matter Ozzie?" Rue asks, his usual booming voice taking on a softer tone. He reaches out, his slender fingers touching Oscar's neck and disappearing in our brother's long hair.

Oscar doesn't say anything. He turns his head to look at Ruben.

Rue's eyebrows furrow, pinching his faces in the right places and making him look even more gorgeous. I watch as he leans forward, pressing his lips against Oscar's.