Love Hate

26

song to listen to for this chapter: first by cold war kids (or you could listen to blind, both work for this chapter)

Kékéli stared at her brother's shut door debating what she should do. The boy hadn't left his room since he trudged inside from talking to the girl next door. At first, she thought it would have gone well. However, it seemed to go in the opposite direction. When the boy trudged back inside, he looked heartbroken.

In all honesty, the older sister was surprised. She thought Haven loved her little brother. Except she didn't factor in the fact that Zion was a dumb ass and could have easily said the wrong thing.

The boy tried to drown his sadness by focusing on the music blaring through his headphones, but it didn't seem to help. Haven's words repeated over and over in Zion's head. What did she mean by 'surface level'? Zion didn't think he was that narcissistic, sure he was conceited at times, but he thought he could see the bigger picture. 

As he lip-synced to the lyrics of 18, he could hear the faint knock on his bedroom door. Groaning, the boy slipped off his bed only to find his older sister. His eyes met hers for a brief moment before he swung the door shut. 

Normally, he would confide in his sister, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Zion couldn't wrap his mind around Haven's words and how she felt about him. He wouldn't know where to start with Kékéli. 

But the sister was too fast for the brother.

The door collided with her foot. Kékéli rolled her eyes at his distant behavior. She was going to crack him. As the boy walked back over to his bed, Kékéli tapped on his shoulder. Jumping a little at the touch, Zion turned to face his sister. "What Kékéli?"

"What's wrong?" Crossing her arms over her chest, the older sister raises an eyebrow in question. "Something obviously happened." 

"Don't worry about," Zion muttered. Laying down on his bed, he turned his body to face the opposite direction. He didn't think she could help. How would Kékéli help him figure the odd mind of Haven Williams?

Kékéli let out a loud sigh. Her little brother could be so frustrating at times. "I will worry, Z. You know you can talk to me."

Zion continued to look at the wall. 

"It obviously has to do with Haven." The girl paused trying to figure out what to say. "I'm a girl to you know."

"But you're not Haven. No one can understand Haven," he muttered once again. He knew he was acting like a child, but he didn't care. The boy with dreads didn't know what she could do. Kékéli was a girl, sure, but she wasn't Haven. No one was like Haven. 

The sister couldn't help but roll her eyes at her ridiculous brother. "I'm pretty sure I can," Kékéli argued. She walked over to the boy's bed, sitting down beside him. "She is still a girl and although she isn't like most girls you know, she will still feel the same way as every other girl on this planet."

The brother huffed, finally sitting up and making eye contact with his older sister. "Fine." With that, Zion told Kékéli everything that had happened that previous night. From how he apologized to the words she spoke after to the way he was feeling now. Kékéli listened to everything he had to say, mentally facepalming every so often at her little brother's stupidity.

"I don't know what to do? What did she even mean? I'm not that superficial."

 "You are superficial a lot of the time though, Z. And I can easily tell you that she didn't change for you. You know how I know?"

"How?" The boy glanced lazily at the girl. 

"She is exactly the same person." She paused for a moment. The girl looked at her little brother. He could be a dumb ass but she still loved him and wanted the best for him. Slowly, she rose. "Maybe you need to take a step back. Stop focusing on Haven and try to see the world from her perspective." 

With one last ruffle to his hair, Kékéli was off leaving Zion alone with his thoughts once again.

When Monday came around, Zion did exactly what his older sister told him to do. He drove to school and actually paid attention to the world around him. He looked at the houses in his neighborhood and the fields of empty farmland that would be filled when the season began. When he pulled into the parking lot of the school, he looked at all the students that huddled by their cars or ran onto the campus. He looked over to where his friends normally were and watched as they conversed. His eyes then traveled to haven's group of friends. He watched as she threw her head back in laughter at something one of her friends said. He watched as she adjusted her camera on her shoulder.  He watched her be her. 

Kékéli was right. Haven never really changed.

He just needed a new perspective.