Don't Tell My Brother

Chapter 25 - Silent Treatment

Lucas wasn't cut out for this sort of physical labour. He liked to think his skills lay in the mental department: school, debating, annihilating Mark at chess whenever he could force him to play, all the important stuff. It meant, however, that he was pretty useless when it came to moving heavy boxes from the hotel basement into a storage closet on the second floor.

Luckily, there was one advantage to this weakness: Cameron had to help him. Damien was strong enough to carry multiple boxes with ease, but Lucas and Cameron had to carry them together. Which Lucas was incredibly pleased about, because it meant he could talk to him. Or rather, he could listen to Cameron talk.

"So the really fascinating thing is that he says all moral statements aren't true, because there's no such thing as a 'moral fact', so how can we measure it?"

Lucas nodded. It was nice to be able to talk to people with similar interests. He loved Alex and Mona, and although they supported all his passions they often didn't understand why he'd spend extra time research the books they studied in class, and he didn't want to bother or bore them by talking about it. But Cameron understood. Cameron was smart and articulate and managed to make almost anything sound interesting. And he'd managed to avoid Damien, who'd stayed unusually quiet and out of their way.

"-and he talks a lot about the Church, too, and about how if God-"

Damien walked by, and Lucas swore he heard him scoff. He glanced up, and was just quick enough to catch him rolling his eyes as he passed them. Lucas wasn't surprised. He didn't expect Damien to like or appreciate anything they were talking about. Cameron seemed to have caught it too, because only smiled and raised an eyebrow at Lucas, the kind of gesture that clearly dismissed Damien as inferior. Lucas smiled in return, and they continued up the stairs, Cameron picking up from where he'd left off.

Lucas actually had no idea why Cameron was being so nice to him. It'd occurred to him when they'd first met on the stairs, and with that single, private glance it occurred to him again. Lucas was under no delusions about himself: he was pretty plain, as far as looks went, and Cameron seemed so smart and interesting that in comparison Lucas felt a little boring. But he decided it was best not to overthink it like he always did. Besides, his only other option would be to talk to Damien, and Lucas was certainly not about to do that. Maybe Cameron just liked his company. Maybe it was that simple.

Eventually, Cameron had to go to the bathroom, leaving Lucas to face the basement alone. It wasn't scary, exactly, Lucas told himself as he descended the stairs. It was just poorly lit, giving it a shadowy, sort of creepy feeling. Especially with the piles of boxes and other abandoned junk looming out of the darkness at every turn. It was a little cold, despite the warmth outside, and Lucas rubbed his arm idly as he waited for Cameron, trying to shift one of the boxes on his own. If this were a horror movie, Lucas decided this would be a pretty perfect place for him to get murdered. Maybe the killer would just out behind that shadowy pile of old draperies, or stab him as he turned around to try and lift the box, or-

"Hey."

Lucas jumped backwards, his back hitting a tower of boxes, and he had to take a moment to right himself before he spoke.

"Oh my god, Damien. You can't just sneak up on me like that." Lucas said with a frown, both annoyed at Damien for doing it and annoyed at himself for reacting so dramatically. In his shock, he'd also forgotten he wasn't supposed to be talking to Damien.

Apparently Damien hadn't forgotten.

"So, you're just not talking to me now?" Damien asked conversationally, leaning against what looked like an old wedding archway.

Lucas didn't respond, kneeling down to try and lift the box again. It was too heavy, he knew that, but he needed something to do so he wouldn't have to talk to Damien.