Project Coffee

xxi

  
    Alex closes the bedroom window after entering but not before a winter breeze sneaks in and sends the cold air wafting around my room.

  "Why do I feel like I'm going to need to explain myself?"His laugh sounds throughout my room,making me realize how serious I was and how light hearted he was.

   "How much trouble did you get into?"I ask him while we stand a yard apart.

  "None."He shrugs slyly to which I cross my arms over my chest and squint.I purse my lips and wait for him to actually tell the truth"Detention, three days."He confesses shrugging yet again.

  "Why'd you do it?"I ask my eyes following him in a locked gaze as he moves to sit on the chair by my desk.

   "Doesn't matter."He shrugs, I drop my gaze to where his hands rested, the bruises on his knuckle nearly make me shiver from how deadly it looked.

  "He nearly beat the crap out of you!"I argue looking back at his face, completely bewildered by how calm he was.

  "I like to think I did him worse."Alex jokes.

"Why do you constantly get into fights?"I ask him,"It's like you enjoy inflicting and receiving pain."

"Maybe I like watching you get stressed about it."The humor in his tone is vacant while his eyes watch me while I take a seat on the edge of my bed."Hell,I might at well spend every day getting beat if it meant to watch you get ticked."He laughs.

"Screw yourself."I laugh grabbing my pillow and throwing it in his direction.My poor aim skills make the pillow dive past him but before it lands he outstretches his hand and grabs it.

"I'd rather have you screw me instead."He smirks throwing the pillow back with less force then I threw it but being sure to hit me in the chest before the pillow falls into my lap.

"Keep dreaming."I laugh throwing the pillow back at him,but this time the pillow almost landed farther away from him before he caught it.

  "You have seriously bad aim."Alex laughs flinging the pillow back and hitting me the same as it did the first time he threw it.

"And you have a seriously bashed up face"I retort"we both have problems."I finish before tossing the pillow back so far that instead of being anywhere near him it hit my closet door.

"At least I let myself get bashed,you on the other hand have naturally bad aim."

"What do you mean you let yourself get bashed?"I asked feeling like Alex just told me something he shouldn't have.

"Sometimes standing up for yourself is worse then a black eye."He shrugs the playful fight atmosphere between us withering into nothingness and bringing about this cold and tense air.

"Alex,whats-"

The knock on my door keeps me from questioning him any further.His eyes go wide at the knock as do mine.And suddenly the tension in the room seems to grow.Like someone through a dynamite and we were waiting for it to explode.

"Who is that?"Alex whispers standing up as do I.

"Quickly,"I hiss."Hide in the closet."I order in a low voice.

"Katie, you in there?"Freddie from behind the door."Katie?"

"Yeah, I'm here."I respond in a haste.