Thameswood League of Advanced

Chapter 33- Sitting by The Fireplace

I scoffed, walking with my hands shoved in my pockets. "What does he know anyway?" I muttered, staring ahead with an annoyed expression.

Grace, who walked beside me, chuckled lightly and shrugged. "He's only underestimating you. That's all," she said in a reassuring time.

I scoffed again. "It's easy for you to say, Ms.Intellect," I replied jokingly, smirking afterwards.

Grace sighed in exasperation as the both of us continued to walk towards her house to work on the project. It didn't really involve staying at home but we needed a base to record our data and my house was out of the question. I had only visited Grace's home a few times and each time I went, I always felt a little uneasy and I could never figure out why.

Anyway, the project we needed to do actually sounded quite entertaining. Our task was to find activities where Antisocial behaviour took place then we had to record what the individuals were doing, relate it to a study and add even more additional information. The best thing was that we, which I suggested, decided to do the project during the night so there's bound to be a bunch of mishaps.

As we appeared in front of her front door, that unsettling feeling returned even before Grace's parents answered the door. I tried not to show a look of discomfort as her mother opened the door.

She gave both of us welcoming smiles and stepped to the side so that we could enter. "Aj, it's nice to have you over," she told me in a chirpy tone and hugged me.

I hugged her back, never had I been impertinent to Grace's parents anyway and stepped inside.

I watched as Grace's dad emerged from a different room and gave Grace a warm hug and smiled over at me. "Welcome Aj," he greeted and I gave him a nod. "Hello Mr.Patchers," I greeted politely.

I listened as Grace explained the project we had to do and her parents were understanding, of course, then we both went up to her room to start our project.

~•~

I stared out the window, completely bored out of my mind as nothing seemed to happen outside.

The door opened, revealing Grace who walked over to her bed with her notebook that was closed.

"Did you see anything?" I asked, ready to type the information on my laptop. I was answered with a sigh as Grace shook her head to indicate that it was not successful.

I chuckled. "Grace. You live in like the safest place in the whole of Westminster!" I exclaimed.

Grace laughed loudly. "That's not true! Your area seems pretty safe," she retaliated.

I rolled my eyes. "That's because it's a private area and even there's some noise that happens during the night."

Grace shrugged. "We can keep looking or try a different location but it's getting pretty late so maybe tomorrow," she suggested.

"I can't believe you spent three hours out there," I told her, resting against the wall. "Had me a little worried."

"You think I can't defend myself?" She challenged jokingly.

I raised an eyebrow at her but shook my head anyway. It was very un-Grace like to act so...challenging. I hope I wasn't rubbing off of her, although, that would be an amusing sight.

"Of course I think you can defend yourself. Maybe not with a gun," I added with a wink.

Grace responded by covering her face with a pillow to hide her embarrassment. "Don't remind me. That was one of the most humiliating things I've ever done..." She admitted.

"Hey, it wasn't so bad. I got beaten up by a Karate master so I'm sailing on your boat," I told her, trying not to make her feel bad.

Grace removed the pillow. "I'm just....not used to being violent. I don't think it's right. There should be other ways to deal with issues."

I shrugged. "Well that's life for you. Sometimes you gotta put a bullet in the head to get rid of your problems."

Grace's door soon opened and revealed her younger 13-year old brother, Darren who stood by the door.

"Dad wanted to let you know that the game's started," he informed her with a normal expression until his eyes averted to me.

"Oh u-um hi Aj!" He greeted, face already turning pink. "You can come watch too. I er saved you popcorn," he told me before quickly rushing out.

I let out a small chuckle and stood up. I always found his not-so-secret crush very adorable and quite flattering. Grace, on the other hand, always teased him for it.

We both walked downstairs to the living room and the sight before me brought back that unsettling feeling.

Grace's father was seated on the biggest couch with an Arsenal football jersey beside Darren who was eating away at the popcorn. Her mother was seated on the other couch, wearing a Chelsea jersey and held a determined smile on her face.

Grace excitedly walked over to where her mom was and picked up a Chelsea headband from a stool beside her and wore it on her forehead.

I simply stood and watched as they all began to crack jokes and share a light debate over which team would win. I watched as they all had smiles on their faces and looked so...happy.

Without thinking, I began to slowly walk out of the house and stood outside in front of their front door.

I let out a deep sigh and stared up at the night sky.

"Why?" I quietly asked myself.

"Why can't it be different with you two? I never wanted it to be this way...I never really thought much of it when I was younger but as I aged more, I became more aware and more selfish. I just wanted at least a glance, not even a stare or a conversation. Maybe if you two gave me that then we could even interact more or actually have conversations. Maybe I wouldn't be so rebellious because I just wanted to get the attention from both of you but we both know how that turned out. It's not fair. Why can't you two just be there when I need you or actually convince me that we're not strangers? Why can't we all just sit at the couch and watch football matches together? Enjoy an Arsenal vs Chelsea match near the fire place. I've always enjoyed sitting by the fireplace but you two wouldn't know since you guys don't even care. Why can't you two scold me when I do something wrong or praise me when I do something right? Are you two so caught up with wealth and your own artificial needs that you forget I exist? Or am I just someone who lives under the same roof as you because of the law? Answer me damn it!"

I hadn't realised that I raised my voice until I heard the sound of the door creaking and turned around to meet Grace staring at me with a deeply concerned look. "Aj...." She spoke, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

I placed my hands back in my packets and forced a smile at her. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that I have to get going so I'll see you tomorrow!" I informed her and waved a goodbye before running back to my house.

I slowed my pace once I knew I was out of her reach and placed a hand over my forehead. "I hope she didn't hear what I said," I muttered with a sigh.

"Ugh....how troublesome."