Poison

[ 5 ]

"I made dinner," Maya tells me once I join them at the table. I rub my eyes and adjust my hair, which I can tell is a poofy mess. "How was your nap?"

I look at Maya and sigh noisily. "Still tired," I mumble while fighting back a yawn.

"Maybe eating will help," she responds and places a water bottle in front of me. I rest my head on my arms and shut my eyes. I feel myself dozing until Asa noisily pulls his chair from beneath the table and drops into the seat across from me. I lift my head to glare at him but he pays me no mind. Grumbling quietly, I take a long sip of my water and wait for the meal to be served.

"So..." Maya trails as we all help ourselves to the pots of food she put on the table.

"So what?" Asa retorts as he takes two pieces of chicken.

"So how were your days?" she prompts a conversation. She looks between both of us with her usual cheery smile.

"Fine," we both answer simultaneously. This gets a chuckle out of Maya, who looks from me to Asa with an entertained glimmer in her eye.

"How was your day?" I repeat in an attempt to further the conversation. He may be an asshole but I'm not. She's trying so I'll try, too.

"Good, actually," she explains with the same excited smile. "I'm happy to get a break from working. I don't have to do anything until Sunday afternoon."

"Are you guys going out tonight?" Asa inquires hopefully and I look at Maya. I wasn't even supposed to stay for dinner, I don't think. I came over to study but I practically died on her bed.

"Do you have plans for tonight?" Maya questions and I shake my head.

"No," I vocalize as I take a sip of my drink.

"Do you want to go to a party?" she proposes and I bite my lip in thought. I don't feel like going out but I will if she wants to. Noting my dubious look, she turns to Asa. "We're going to chill here and watch a movie."

"False," he starts with a shake of his head. I note the way his curls bounce as his head moves. "Those are my plans for the night."

"We can all hang out together," Maya suggests as she looks between the two of us expectantly. I feel a nudge beneath the table and I narrow my eyes at my plate. This is her trying to formally introduce us.

"Who said I want to hang out with you guys?" Asa retorts in a dry tone. Ouch.

"Fine," she retorts with a shrug. "I was going to be kind and buy us all ice cream. I guess you won't be having any."

"I can get my own ice cream," he remarks with a roll of his eyes.

"And risk leaving the apartment?" she questions with a devious head tilt. "I was going to leave Ivy here to protect the couch from you. But if you leave, who's going to protect it from us?"

He narrows his eyes at her. "Fine, whatever. But I pick the movie," he concludes, which gets a small smile from Maya. She tries to hide her satisfaction though by waving her hand between me and her.

"Two outweighs one," she retorts in reference to choosing the film.

Twenty minutes later, Maya and I join Asa in the living room. He finished eating before us and began the search for a movie. She sits on one side of him, giving me no choice but to sit on the other. I leave a gap between us as I drop onto the couch and lock my eyes on the screen poised on the wall. Maya's gaze also falls on the TV and she immediately shakes her head.

"No, hell no," she starts when she sees the genre he's flicking through. He grins maniacally at her as he continues to search through the scary movies.

"Why not?" he asks in a knowing voice.