Worse Than His Bite

Chapter 4: What are you hiding?

He forgot to take them, he decided. Tomorrow, he would take them bright and early and be able to engage normally with Sebastian. If Sebastian hadn't been too put off by his odd behaviour already.

"Do you think he's attractive?" Sebastian's voice startled Phineas.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Sebastian looked so tense, his back as straight as a pole. "Do you think he's attractive?" He said again, each word uncomfortably emphasised.

"Who?" He followed Sebastian's line of sight. "The guy Leo's with?" Where was that scraping sound coming from? It couldn't be his imagination at this point. He took Sebastian's silence as a yes. "Not particularly. I mean, obviously he's a very good looking guy, but he's not my type."

Sebastian's body fell loose. He let go of the table and let his body slump back against the chair. He looked at Phineas, his eyes significantly lighter, almost more of a grey tone now. "What... is your type then, if you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, um," definitely not where he thought the conversation was going, "I'm not really sure. I haven't done much dating to be honest. I think I've had only two girlfriends in my life. Kind of embarrassing, huh?"

"Only girlfriends?"

"What do you mean?"

"No boyfriends?"

"Oh, no. I don't think I'm attracted to men. But, you know what they say, don't knock it till you try it." It was supposed to be a joke, but Sebastian didn't look very amused. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I haven't been feeling much like myself recently." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"We can go back to the house if you're not feeling well."

Sebastian shook his head. "Are you hungry?" He asked. "You didn't have breakfast."

"There wasn't a table to eat my breakfast at."

For a very brief moment, Phineas thought that Sebastian looked almost embarrassed. For once, it was him who was avoiding eye contact. How curious.

"The table didn't have termites." Phineas carried on. "It was quick thinking on Leo's half, but I look at old rubble for a living and try and figure out what happened to it. Do you know how many signs of termite infestations I've been taught how to spot? More than you would even believe."

No response. No answer was not a good answer, however, as it only prompted Phineas to speak more.

"I would guess the table was no more that ten years old, still in its prime. The way it broke and the large amount of splintering, especially in a very specific area, suggests the table broke due to a large amount of force coming down on it."

Silence, once again. Phineas did not fail to notice how Sebastian's eyes kept glancing towards Leo. Did he need Leo to think for him? To come up with an excuse for breaking the table.

Termites. Bloody termites? Did they think he was thick or something?

"I mean, what were you two doing this morning? How did you manage to break the table? Sebastian, be honest with me."