Explosive

19 || You're too Nice

The three of us stand in front of a beautiful brick house. Two trees with thick trunks are at the front of the small yard, their orange leaves providing the house shade from the sun. The grass is short and a light green color, free of any falling leaves. Aditi stands at the porch, a shawl wrapped around her thin shoulders and hair up in a bun. She waves to us and Cynthia runs up to her and gives her a hug. Blake gives her nod and heads inside while I gawk at them like an idiot, waiting to be invited.

"Audrey, come inside. It's freezing outside," Aditi says loudly while her friend glares at me. It's not that cold but I don't protest and climb up the stairs. They look recently painted and are free of any debris.

"Todd and Josh are coming soon," Cynthia says in front of me. The house smells of a flowery incense mixed with lemon cleaning detergent. Inside one room, a girl who looks like Aditi is wiping a table with an orange towel.

"Please ignore my sister. She loves cleaning way too much," Aditi says hopping towards a door that leads to the basement.

"Main tumhe joota ke saath maarane vaale hoon," her sister hollers in response. Aditi bites her lip and shrugs her shoulders before rushing down the stairs. "Wait till mom and dad get home. I'm going to tell them you had guys over!"

"Your sister kills me, man. She's always yelling," Blake says from the couch, fiddling with the remote.

"She said she was going to hit me with a shoe," Aditi laughs as she scans her CD collection. In the meantime, Cynthia spreads herself across the couch, her head resting on a pillow laying on Blake's lap.

Not wanting to disturb them I sit on the floor, in front of the couch. "I still wish that your sister and my brother would date. Then we would be sisters," Cynthia says.

"Remember how we tried to set them up when we were in grade four?" Aditi continues and takes the remote from Blake. Someone thuds down the stairs, whistling loudly.

"What's up, you losers?" Todd yells before diving onto the couch. Cynthia groans loudly before slapping him lightly. Blake shoves him to the side and slides off the couch.

"You're such a little shit, you know that?" Blake says to him and slides down beside me.

"I know that," Todd snickers to himself before claiming Blake's seat as his own. "Hey. The Damsel is here." When I turn to give him a smile, I feel pressure against my head. It's Cynthia's foot.

"Move your big head. I can't see anything," Cynthia spits, staring daggers at me. Rubbing my head slightly, I move further away from the couch.

"Why do you always have to be such a bitch?" Blake asks, wrapping his fingers around Cynthia's ankle.

"Why are you in such a crappy mood? Chill bro," Todd says, giving his friend a pointed look.

"Everybody, calm down. My sister might call the cops," Aditi says without turning around, still looking through her CD collection.

"Where's Josh?" I ask, wanting to get rid of the tension in the air.

"He's outside, texting someone," Todd answers while Cynthia snuggles up beside him. He places his arm on the couch before pulling up his hood. Both Blake and I look at each other, clearly aware of who Josh is texting.

"I'm going to run upstairs and get some popcorn," Aditi says after she sets up the movie. It's the first Avengers movie, not movie that we had intended on watching. The movie selection is great, just not what I was expecting right now. Sighing I pull my legs to my chest, feeling awkward about being here.

"Hey, I'm worried about him too," Blake whispers, just loud enough for me to hear. "I don't trust Tamara or Gabriel."

"I'm not worried," I say softly. "Gabriel is friends with Tamara and I trust Tamara." The comment surprises him and he frowns before leaning against the couch. His face contorts into a look of concentration. Aditi races downstairs, her hands clutching bags of chips.