Chapter 7: 7
The two siblings got off the bus; looking up at the sky as a few clouds started rolling in. "Damn, we've been having such good weather recently. Why'd it have to get bad now?" Penny asked, looking over at her brother with a subdued smile.
"It was bound to happen eventually. Let's get going, you lead the way." Nathan replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets as his sister started walking down the sidewalk. It was only across the street from the bus stop, which made him sigh in relief. They entered and placed their orders, sitting down at a table by the window to watch the clouds slowly fill the sky. It was quiet, yet the establishment was filled to the brim with customers. Nathan glanced around at the people inside.
In one corner was a woman on her laptop with a word file open, he tried to read what she was writing but couldn't get a grasp on it from how far he was; it looked to be a novel of some sort based on the title that said 'Chapter 20'. At another table were a group of men with some eccentric clothes, each one having some kind of headphone or earphone on them that was attached to their phones, their hands slowly motioned as if they were playing an instrument. Sitting at a table behind Penny was a group of high school students with their phones out taking pictures of their drinks. Penny chuckled to herself upon watching her brother. "You get used to it."
"Whatever could you mean?" Nathan asked sarcastically, pulling out his own phone and opening up the game that he'd recently begun playing. The music from the game drowned out any noise that would've been made, including that of their names being called by the barista once their order was complete. He stopped playing the moment he saw his sister get up to get their drinks. He had a latte, pouring packet after packet of sugar into it until he started seeing small crystals appear on the spoon they served it with; his sister got an iced coffee and was taking pictures of her drinking it already.
"Aren't you a bit too young for coffee?" She teased, putting down her phone to enjoy her drink proper. "I only started once I really needed the energy. It's not healthy for you to drink it so soon."
"Oh, who cares, it's just a drink anyway." He shrugged, sipping his overly sweet drink with a small smile on his face. "Where do you want to go after this?" He asked, but his attention was grabbed by the sound of the door of the café opening behind him. He turned around, unexpectedly finding a familiar face walk in. He found himself at a loss for words, his mind racing between the options of leaving them alone or striking up a conversation; he was leaning toward the former. Penny noticed that he had his words caught in his throat, looked at the person that walked in, and raised her hand to call her over. "I hate you…" Nathan mumbled as he glared at his sister who only returned a cheerful smirk back to him.
"Hi, I'm Penny, what's your name?" She asked, extending her hand out for a handshake that the other person gladly took.
"Nick. Nice to meet you. I assume that you're Nathan's sister." He said, looking over at his classmate who was shying away by sipping his drink with his eyes closed. Penny nodded, inviting him to sit with them. "Sure." He said, taking a seat and deciding on what to get.
"How do you know my brother? Classmates?" Penny asked, leaning forward while gently nudging Nathan's leg with her foot under the table. Nick nodded.
"Yeah. I helped him decorate the room for the anniversary thing."
"You also made me do it in the first place." Nathan commented sassily before he covered his mouth and looked out the window. He raised the volume of his game even louder, trying to escape the awkward situation he thought he put himself in.
"Is he always like this?" Nick asked, looking over at Penny who just sighed and reached over to take Nathan's headphones away from him.
"Just ignore him; he's not really good with people." She said, returning to her drink as Nick raised an eyebrow.
"Really? I've seen him get really comfortable with a girl from our class." He teased, smirking to himself as Penny mirrored his expression.
"Would that girl be Stacy? She just came over to our house yesterday. We take the bus together."
Nathan felt a chill run up his spine. He felt their stares on his back as the two gossiped back and forth about the interactions between him and Stacy. "We're not a thing." He groaned while trying to snatch his headphones back from Penny.
"Yeah, sure." Nick said, scoffing as he left to place his order. "Still, it's nice to meet you outside of class for once. What brings you here?" He asked as he took his seat again.
"I was just bringing him along for some fresh air. I can't have him living in our garage with his paintings forever." Penny joked, finishing her coffee.
"Painting? I've seen him draw, but I haven't seen him paint yet. Are they good?" Nick asked, looking over at the painter as he struggled to find the words to say.
"No, they're not anything spe-"
"They're great. Do you want to come over and see?" Penny asked. "We don't really have any other plans for today, and having some company sounds like a great idea." She added, clapping her hands together as Nick's face contorted.
"I'm sorry. I have plans for the day. Maybe some other time?" He said with a smile as he got his name called out. He bid them farewell as he walked out the door.
"Wait. I have one question though." Penny got up, walking over to him and whispering something into his ear. Nathan looked over at them, seeing his sister's face with a seriousness that was absent for a majority of the conversation.
"I don't know. But he's mine; that's for sure." Nick replied, smiling and waving goodbye as he left to do whatever it was he was doing. Nathan got up from his seat, finishing the rest of his coffee in one big gulp as he walked over to his sister's side. She looked back at him, bobbing her head to the side as the two of them also left the building.
"What did you ask him?" He asked as the two of them strolled around the city with the overcast sky overhead. It was getting colder, but only slightly. Penny didn't answer; only humming to herself as the two of them absentmindedly walked around the buildings. Nathan sighed as they made their way to a mall that he'd never seen before. "When did this get here?"
"It opened a couple months ago. Want to do some shopping?" Penny answered; leaving him with her own question to which he nodded. The two of them checked their pockets. "I have enough for a bit, what about you?"
"I'm good." Nathan replied, pulling out his phone and plugging his headphones into it again. "It's just for a new brush anyway, I should be fine." He added; walking through the entrance and looking for the nearest directory he could find. The two of them planned out their route in order to hit everything that caught their fancy. First was Nathan's stop for his brush, then was a clothing store, and after that was a small ice cream place. As they were heading out, desserts in hand, Penny noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
"Hey, do you mind if we stay for a bit longer? I think I see a few people from my class here." She said, as she squint her eyes to try and see them better. She didn't wait for his reply; walking toward her classmates with a hand flailing over her head.
"Okay…" Nathan mumbled, feeling a chill run up his spine as he saw his sister gesture toward him. Soon, she and her classmates started walking toward him, which only made him worry more. "Oh, here we go…" He sighed, resigning himself to his fate as he heard Penny's voice again.
"…and this is my little brother. Nathan, say hi." She said, giving him a wink. He sheepishly raised his hand, choosing to instead focus on his ice cream. "He's just a bit shy." She added, laughing weakly as they walked toward him.
"Hey. I'm Jason, nice to meet you." One of them reached out their hand with a smile on their face. He left it there for a few seconds; retracting it once he realized that Nathan wasn't going to do anything with it. Nathan looked up from his treat, seeing the rest of the group. "From left to right: It's me, then your sister, then Gail, Ryan, and Alex."
"Hey, who gave you the right to introduce us." Alex complained, crossing their arms as they made their way toward the two with a smile on their face. "Anyway, what are you two doing here?"
"Beats staying at home, right?" Gail asked, looking over at Penny who simply nodded. With each word that came from their mouth, Nathan's gaze kept falling and falling until he was staring at the floor again.
"Hey, I think I'll go home now. Go have fun with your friends." He said, forcing out a smile as he hurriedly shuffled off toward the exit. He took a glance at them as he waved them goodbye. They seemed to be having fun, including his sister. "I guess she can have fun on her own… It's not like I…" He mumbled to himself as he walked toward the bus stop.
It was quiet now, the clouds starting to part and let the sunlight through. He'd finish his ice cream five minutes before he caught a ride home. He made it home just as his phone started buzzing. He glanced at it, tapping at his screen as he made his way toward his room.
"Mom, dad… Is it always this hard to talk to people?" He asked, staring up at the ceiling as he fell onto his bed. "It's so hard. I just don't get how people do it." He mumbled; shutting his eyes for the night as the front door of the house opened up.
"I'm home." Penny declared as she put down some bags on the couch; nobody replied. She shrugged it off, walking toward Nathan's room and finding him asleep on his bed. She let out a sigh, stepping in to leave a small bag on his desk as she took out a pencil and a piece of paper. "Sorry about earlier. Were you uncomfortable? I just thought that maybe if you met my friends, it'll help you make mo…" She stopped herself, crumpling up the paper and grabbing another sheet from his stash. "Sorry about earlier. This is my apology." She wrote, leaving it under the bag as she left his room and entered hers.
She entered her room, looking at her reflection in the mirror as she got changed for bed. She frowned, prying her eyes away and instead staring at a framed picture she had on her drawer. She smiled as she walked toward it, picking it up to look at it closely.
After setting her alarm and putting out her clothes for tomorrow, she lied down in bed and opened up her phone. Unlike her brother, she spent the next twenty or so minutes exchanging messages with people from her class; all the while having a subdued smile on her face. Closed the application, staring at her wallpaper: a photo of herself but younger. "…did I gain weight?" She asked herself as she switched off her lights and went to bed.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Xiuzou
Xiuzou November 4, 20XX: Hey everyone! I finally had some time to sit down and write like hell! It's still pretty slow, but I feel like this is my chance so I want to put my all back into this. And I have people who're willing to support me as I write this. Remember the guy that helped me out with my studies before? He likes me. I still don't really know how to respond to him, but I'm not opposed to having him around in that way...
Oh, sorry. Anyway, I hope you guys have been well and I hope that this chapter can make you happy. Was it worth the wait?
As to why I have so much time now, well I kind of... broke a few bones while going down a long flight of stairs. Embarrassing, I know, but I've been healing for the past few weeks and they've been bringing the stuff I need to my room. I think the doctors said that I should be able to go back in a few days, but I'm not too sure. Its still kind of hard to move and I get tired just getting out of bed.
But enough about that. Expect a chapter in early December!!! It's a promise!
-Sarah Smith
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