AMBER . Dwayne Hoover

Chapter Two: I Take It You Didn't Like It At Sunset Manor

     HANNAH FOUND herself regretting her choice of clothing as she sat in the back of the yellow bus beside Dwayne and his Grandfather; Edwin Hoover.

     Hannah wore a low-cut white crop top with a cropped yellow button-up over it, and her favourite high-waisted flare jeans. Her blonde hair had been put into low twisted pigtails with two curls left out to frame her face. She thought she looked cute in the mirror but she was starting to wonder whether cute was actually worth it.

     Hannah held her knees up to her chest, trying to keep herself as small as possible as the two Hoovers conversed. Or rather, Edwin Hoover spoke AT his grandson.

     "Can I give you some advice?" Edwin stared through Hannah as if she wasn't there. His voice was hoarse and cracked as if he had swallowed razor blades his entire life. Nobody answered. Dissatisfied with Dwayne's lack of response, he continued to vomit out his words. "Well, I'm gonna give it to you anyway. I don't want you making the same mistakes I made when I was young."

     "Can't wait to hear this." Richard coughed from the driver's seat, which made Hannah crack a smile for the first time since she got on the bus.

     Hannah mentally slapped herself, they had only been on the road for about an hour, and they still had just under 600 miles to travel.

     "Honey, mind blocking your ears for me?" Edwin glanced at Hannah with an uncanny glaze in his eyes. Hannah turned to Dwayne with a confused grin but did as she was told once Dwayne shared her exact expression.

     "Dwayne, that's your name, right? Dwayne?" The old man winced at the sun as he spoke, but carried on as if it was his one true mission in life. "This is the voice of experience talking."

     Hannah watched Dwayne with an entertained smirk as she listened to the conversation despite her hands over her ears. Dwayne's eyes were drooped and the blonde could have sworn she saw the raven-haired boy's ears physically fold up.

     "Fuck a lot of women, Dwayne."

     Dwayne's eyes widened drastically and their green hue was perfectly clear as they glistened beautifully in the sun, as if the moon went from a waxing crescent to a full moon in just one night. The younger boy's cheeks were painted a light pink but it was clear the colour was deepening as Edwin continued to speak.

     Hannah had to hide her face in her knees as she felt the same redness rise in her own cheeks and the girl struggled to contain her giggles.

     "Not just one woman. A lot of women." Edwin continued with a straight face, completely unaware of his son's interjections from the driver's seat three rows away. "Are you gettin' any?"

     Hannah lifted her head at that, revealing her red cheeks and teary eyes to the Hoover family. She wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry at the current conversation. She made brief eye contact with Dwayne's uncle Frank who (at Hannah's expression) immediately grinned. The blonde then looked at Dwayne, he was transfixed by his Grandfather and had been staring at the floor with wide eyes.

     "You can tell me, Dwayne. Are you gettin' any?" Edwin continued to push Dwayne for an answer until the man's wrinkled features dropped. His head lowered and his eyes looked up at Hannah with a queer look in his eyes, then at Dwayne, his eyes shifted into astonishment. "Her?" Edwin deepened his voice with a small smirk.

     Hannah had never stopped smiling so fast, in this moment, she wanted to die and it seemed like Dwayne felt the same. Dwayne covered his face with his oddly muscled hands out of pure mortification, but through his slender fingers, Hannah could've sworn she had seen his lips twitch upward.