Tall

THIRTEEN (R)

ERIC DID DROP HIS GROCERIES THOUGH. "W-what?" he stammered, his brows gathering together.

"Okay, that's not the response I was hoping for but I'll take what you give." Dawn replied, smiling timidly.

Dawn could almost see the wheels turning inside Eric's mind but she wasn't so sure what they were turning into. She stared at him, his facial expression changing from confused to sour. Then his brows shot up and gave Dawn the smallest smile he could muster. Dawn knew it wasn't a sincere smile.

She knows Eric but in a different way. She knows he hates eating at diners and doesn't like steaks. She knows that he smokes a lot and could finish a pack of cigarettes in one day. She knows that he doesn't show interest in a lot of things. She knows that he loves anything sweet and his favorite dessert is banoffee pie. She knows that he loves reading and is very much interested in art. And she obviously knows that even if there are things that she still didn't know about him, she feels she knows him in a way that's mutual.

Like she knew Eric all along.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked, her voice full of concern.

"I'm okay." Eric replied, gathering his grocery bags. He stopped to take a look at Dawn. "I'm going to go. I need to clean the house."

"Do you want me to help you?"

Eric raised a brow. "I don't think you should."

"Why are you being so indifferent?" Dawn scowled.

"I'm not. There are just so many things running on my mind and cleaning has always been the sweetest escape on times like this." Eric explained.

"Will you stop being a prick and just accept the invitation of me to help you?"

And so they found themselves in Eric's kitchen, with Eric putting down the grocery bags on the table and Dawn sitting quietly on the wooden chair. Dawn looked around and remembered the first time she was there. Everything was still the same, except maybe for the hanging paintings that were no longer there. The walls were bare and painted red. She wondered where the paintings were.

She watched Eric put the cartons of milk and juices in the refrigerator. She noticed his hair was longer and looked soft to touch. She compared it to Kiel's short, cropped hair and she had to admit, she liked Eric's better.

"So where should we start?" Dawn asked, smiling.

"The living room, maybe." Eric replied. "But first, do you want anything to drink?"

"Coffee should do the trick."

Eric made a cup of freshly brewed coffee and handed it to Dawn. Dawn gladly accepted and took a sip of her coffee. "So." Dawn started.

"So." Eric repeated, tying his hair into a messy ponytail, sitting opposite to Dawn.

"Care to enlighten me why you were gone?"

"Who are you, my mother?"

"Just answer the question, Basil." Dawn retorted. She watched Eric shrugged and felt a headache coming on. "Look, I haven't seen you in a very long time and you're the only person I want to see and talk to because you're my friend and you're being a prick now. And I realized also that I don't have your cellphone number. You should definitely give me your cellphone number."

"Are you hitting on me?" Eric teased.

"I'm going to hit you in the face if you don't stop being such douchebag."

Eric held up his hands and started laughing. It was a beautiful laugh, really. Dawn loved his laugh but she's clearly annoyed with him now.

"Tell me about Kiel." Eric said after a moment of laughing.