Chasing Zero

Fifteen

We remained frozen, stuck in our staring match as we heard three short knocks following the bell. Neither of us made an attempt for the door. It was my house, so I should have been the one to answer. Yet I made no attempt to stand up from the couch, and Gray was beginning to grow impatient waiting for me to do or say something.

I wasn't sure why Sky offered to drive us. Gray drove to my house on his own, and I could use my dad's car while he was in Phoenix. It would have been easier for us to drive together and meet him and his friends at the mall, but he insisted on driving us. That made me more anxious. What if I began to have a panic attack and needed to leave right away? What if his friends were actually very toxic people and I wanted to get the hell away from them? I had no escape. Maybe that was what he wanted. Maybe he knew his friends were going to make fools of us, and he wanted to make sure we couldn't easily leave them. Or maybe he was going to sell our bodies on the Black Market.

"Aren't you going to get that?" Gray deadpanned.

"So I can die?" I exclaimed.

He hmphed. "Well, you're being dramatic again." Most likely fed up with my bullshit (I couldn't blame him since I was as well), he chose to answer the door himself. "Welcome to our humble home," he greeted Sky using a mock old lady voice. "Can I offer you some lemonade or something?"

"You live here?" Sky asked. I wasn't sure if he meant it or not.

"No," we both stated at the same time.

Sky laughed as he walked inside. "How are you doing, Gray?" he asked as he grabbed his hand and pulled in for a one-armed hug and patted his back. "I'm glad you were able to come with. The more the merrier."

"Good philosophy to live by," Gray smiled.

Sky walked over to me. I was prepared to give the same handshake/hug, assuming that was how he greeted all his friends. Instead, he went right in for the kill and hugged me with both his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and I could feel him smile into mine. "It's good to see you."

"You too."

"Is this too much?"

"Little bit."

Instantly, he let me go and took a step back. He smiled, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. His gaze shifted back and forth between us, but he didn't say anything. Gray and I remained silent, waiting for him to say whatever was on his mind. I didn't think he realized he needed to say something, because when he finally spoke, he spoke loudly and quickly.

"Tony and Amy are at the mall already. They went to see a movie, but I had to work before I came here. You guys will love them. They're great," he excitedly rambled. He glanced at Gray and smiled at me. "Ready?"

"Let's do this," I stated, bracing myself for what laid ahead of me: social anxiety.

Gray sat in the back, and I sat in the passenger seat. Sky's fingers constantly fidgeted. They weren't dancing to the song playing in the car. It was far more nervous, like he had anxiety while driving. But he seemed perfectly content on our date, so that couldn't have been it. Maybe it was the fact we were going to meet his friends. That would certainly make some people uncomfortable. Would I like them, and vice versa? Would we get along? Did he have to make a choice between us? He'd better choose them over me.

As it turned out, it wasn't any of that. The more I watched him squirm, I realized he was moving his hands closer to me but then holding his hands close to himself again. He was debating on whether or not to reach out and hold my hand. Was it because of what happened earlier? Was it because Gray was watching us from the backseat? I saw the bastard smirking at me from the rearview mirror, and I was prepared to flip around in the backseat to smack the smugness clean off his face. But alas, I couldn't.