"Can you teach me how to say, 'it don't always be like that, but sometimes it do' in French?"
"Once you've finished translating those words."
"Really!? Okay!"
"So this is how you do it," Leo hummed, his chin in the palm of his hand while watching Hazel and Oscar work. They both switched back and forth as Hazel continued to give the boy basic words to learn, speaking them out every once in a while for him to repeat back, taking note of the way the word was pronounced. "You promise him weird things at the end."
"This is only my second time teaching him," Hazel turned, resting against the table as Leo gave her his full attention.
"And he's not complained once, it's not right." Leo sighed, shaking his head towards the boy who sat, confidently writing against the sheet of paper, the pen scratching at the table beneath and creating one of the few sounds to be heard in the silent café. "Do you know how long I have tried to teach him anything?"
"I only listen to Tweetie because she's nice."
"I'm nice," Leo groaned, "you could just never be bothered."
"True," Oscar shrugged, glancing up with a small smile spread on his lips, "but I also want to actually try to study now."
"What gives?" Ryan asked, walking behind the group of four while Fox silently took his seat, a proud smile playing on his lips as he took everything in. "Why d'you want to learn? This is new. You used to always say you hated it and that it was pointless."
"I don't know..."
Oscar sank, glancing down to his hands before turning to Hazel with a frown.
"You guys need to stop questioning him," Hazel sighed, sinking into her arms. "If he wants to learn, then he can."
"Thank you, Tweetie." Oscar beamed, letting his hair flop over his face as he lowered his head again, focusing on his work while everyone else glanced around. Well, everyone but Joel who had started to work on his art project once again at a separate table.
While the day had been filled with a lot of emotion, things finally seemed to have calmed down. The café was quiet, the only sounds were from the group, scribbling pens and pencils, and distant sounds from the kitchen where Stewart tidied up.
It was strange.
Things felt so strange, like there was a warmth that mixed with a coldness, bringing tingles to the skin because two things had collided. Good and bad. The boys, they were good. They were so good. Even through their struggles, they continued to care and bring warmth. But she didn't. She was a liar, an untrustworthy two-headed beast who was going to ruin everything, even if she simply ran away, she knew her disappearance would bring them questions and hurt, wondering why she would abandon them. She was the cold. And they had mixed, she had mixed with the warmth and now she couldn't shake the tingles like heat on numb and cold fingers she felt running up her spine and across her arms as they engulfed her. She didn't know what to do, how to feel. But they were so warm, it was difficult to leave them. Like being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold morning.
"...Thanks, Tweetie."
A voice spoke, hushed and hesitant, but it was enough to pull her from her thoughts as she turned, her eyes meeting Ryan's green ones as he shrunk in his seat.
His head lowered as he paused and realised the words had already escaped his lips.
"I mean," he hesitated again, cutting himself off to think everything over more. His head whirled, filled with conflicting emotions. "Thank you for talkin' with me... Seriously. I- y'know, I uh- I really appreciate it. More than anything."
"I'll talk to you anytime, Ryan," she smiled, her face warm and kind as he nodded, still unable to hold eye contact in his anxious state.
"Yeah, Tweetie, thanks," Fox smiled, joining the conversation. "You talked sense into him. Now we can rest knowing the idiot is safe."
"He accepted your offer?" Leo turned, his eyebrows raised.
"What offer?" Joel chimed in, his voice further than the others as he sat only a table away.
"I offered to let him live with me. My grandparents are worried about him too, so we kept offering but he always said no. Tweetie told him to take the offer." Fox explained, watching as Joel widened his eyes, turning to the girl then towards Ryan. "So," Fox continued, "thanks. We owe you."
"She's a miracle worker."
"Hardly," Hazel hummed, fiddling with the edge of her sheet of paper. "If I was a miracle worker, do you think there would be children starving right now? Do you think I would be starving right now?"
"You're so dramatic," Leo laughed, watching as she pouted, "want me to get you some food? You didn't get the chance to have lunch, did you?"
"No that's okay, you don't need to-"
"Tweetie, I insist."
"Well... if you insist."
He stood, pushing himself up and passing her, his hand patting her head gently before he moved to the counter and rang a small bell, hoping to get Stewart out of the kitchen. Normally, cafe's didn't have bells, honestly, Hazel thought it was decorative. But thinking about it, it made sense since it was only Stewart working there alone and he couldn't stand at the counter all day.
"Awh..." Joel's breathy voice sighed, his head lowered to look at his phone before he turned, facing their table again. "Oscar, you can't come over tonight, my parents are coming home."
"Really? Will you be okay?" Oscar sat himself up immediately.
"Yeah, I'll be okay."
"Joel," Fox turned to face him, "come help me and Ryan move stuff to my house later, okay?"
"Okay."
Hazel watched as they looked out for each other. It was becoming clearer and clearer that even though Fox might not say too much, he cared for the entire group dearly. Hell, he probably held things together and kept things smooth when nobody else could. Constantly, he was looking after the others, he was always thinking of them and how he could help. He always helped and he would do anything for this group of boys.
"Here you go," Leo pulled her from her thoughts, preventing them from going any further as she realised she needed to rethink the entire case. She knew the boys didn't take part in what happened to Jason, but something kept pushing her back and she needed to figure out what it was, she needed to get their alibis and clear their names for good.
"Ooh," Hazel beamed, taking the cookie from Leo as he patted her wet haired head again on his way past her and towards his seat. "Thank you, Leo."
"No problem."
"Tweetie," she turned, called again by Oscar who handed her his sheet of translated words. "Could you check through this?"
She hummed, nodding her head as she took the paper from his grasp and leaned back, holding it up to read through everything carefully. Everyone seemed to pause, stopping to watch her mark the work as she continued to tilt her head, recalling the answers from her memory.
Soon enough, she placed the sheet down and beamed towards Oscar, her smile filled with pride for the boy who's own smile grew upon seeing hers.
"You got them all right! Good job, Oscy!"
"Really? Really actually?" He gawked, shocked by his own abilities. "Woah, this is a first!"
"Ah, Oscy, you don't give yourself enough credit. You're way smarter than you think."
He smiled proudly, and as he did, she felt a shiver run up her spine. She was still cold, even with all of the coats and hoodies piled on her.
"...I should probably go."
"Already?" Leo asked, surprised by how quickly time had passed. She sighed, nodding her head and glanced down at her bag before picking herself up and handing all of the coats and hoodies back to them.
"I probably shouldn't sit in wet clothes all day," she said, "I'll need to check the stitches on my head too, and my hands. I need new bandages. Ah, dang, that's too much stuff to do."
"This Month has been a mess for you, huh?" Fox sighed, acknowledging how terrible things seemed to happen to her one after another. "Be careful on your way home."
"I'll see you guys tomorrow unless I die in a freak accident... In which case," she turned to Ryan, "hide your vacuum, I'll be back to haunt you as a ghost."
"You think I'm gonna let you die that easy? Who else is gonna do my homework for me?" He retorted with a laugh, his smile warmer than she had ever seen it. In fact, it looked and felt much more genuine now, squishy and gummy as his eyes squinted into the joyful expression, finally feeling eased enough.
She had to silently hope that her cheeks weren't burning up from the sight.
"Oscar will, he's smart. Or Leo... or... have you considered doing it yourself?"
"Never. In fact, as soon as you said 'have you considered', I stopped listening."
"Then how did you answer my question?" She raised an eyebrow, walking backwards with a cookie still in her hand. She backed up to the door before finally sending them a bright smile and an energetic wave. "Ciao ciao!"
Robin left, smiling despite a terrible situation, and Ryan found his smile lingering longer than usual.
It was both a horrible and good day. He dealt with his aunt in the morning, receiving bruises and an injured leg just an hour before he left for school, he faced Ricky, he finally faced Amelia in a way that would hopefully get her to leave him for good, and he let Robin get drenched in freezing water. He shouldn't feel so light after the day, he should have been squeezing his fists and grinding his teeth. But he wasn't.
"Jesus that girl is doing you the world of good."
They turned to Stewart, who now stood at the counter and watched them all.
"Who thought a trouble maker would get you, trouble makers, to settle down."
It was true, she was a bit of a trouble maker... or a trouble magnet, really. She often found trouble, whether it be painful stairs he knew too well, black eyes or illnesses that broke her lungs. It wasn't the same type of trouble making he and his friends were unfairly known for. Really, it was Ryan who was the trouble maker. The others rarely got involved in fights, and they only did if they were going too far after Ryan initiated them.
"Seems like we're getting her in trouble though," Leo noted, forcing Stewart's head to tilt unsurely. "I mean, she wouldn't be dealing with Ricky if not for us."
"No, I think you're doing her some good too. I've been told that she was far worse before she came here."
"Really?" Joel asked, turning to face Stewart. "How?"
"It was just how it was, just how her life led her to be."
It wasn't much of an answer, but they knew that they couldn't push answers from him... especially when he decided to be a little more dramatic and poetic about it. If he wasn't going to give them what they wanted to know, they weren't going to get it.
Ryan wondered, if he was a trouble maker, and she was a trouble magnet... Would they...?
"Ryan... you're creeping me out. Why are you smiling at me?"
"Am I not allowed to smile at you, dude?" He said to Oscar who he unintentionally smiled towards, "maybe I just thought you needed a smile or something. So, you're welcome."
Leo laughed and shook his head, smiling at Ryan who seemed to be in a good mood. Leo was smart, he always caught on quicker than others.
Ryan knew it wasn't going to last. But, he was at least taking the moments he had and holding on to them. Later, he would be back to his anxious self, probably bouncing his leg to the point of aching. He knew he wouldn't be able to talk about his aunt again, maybe in a few years he would. But, even thinking about it sent him spiralling.
But with Robin around, maybe he wouldn't be so anxious. He wouldn't talk about his aunt with her again, but, she would be there to help him out of his anxiousness, and hopefully, he would be there to keep her from harm.
"You're seriously taken, huh?"
"Hm?" Ryan looked up at Leo, a little surprised by his words. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't."
He had that tone to his voice. It felt like a pantomime act while Ryan, as a character on stage, was yelling 'oh no I'm not', and Leo, as the entire crowd was returning 'oh yes you are'. Leo knew, Ryan knew, Fox, more likely than not, silently knew.
"Fuck."
"You do, don't you?"
"Maybe."
"What?" Oscar glanced between them. If he thought about it, he would probably realise. But what was the point of thinking when he could easily be told? "What are you talking about?"
Leo smiled a wonky smile, genuinely pleased with the situation. It looked like the sort of smile a twelve year old would wear upon finding out that it was a snow day and school was closed.
"Ryan's in-"
"I think I really like Tweetie."
He beat Leo to it, though, his words weren't the same as Leo's were going to be. Leo was going to be a little more blatant about it. Whereas, Ryan had room for questioning.
"I really like Tweetie," Oscar agreed. "What about it?"
"No, like... really like."
"Really like? like... like like?" Oscar's eyes widened. "Wait, what? I thought you were gay?"
A long sigh followed after his words, one from Ryan's lungs filled with exasperation.
"...Dude," Ryan sank, shaking his head. "Bi isn't the same as gay. I like girls and boys."
"That makes more sense."
"Are you going to tell her?" Fox joined the conversation, moving it away from sexuality and back towards the main point.
Ryan shrugged. He felt like there was something for a while, maybe not as strong as it was now, but he always found himself looking at her. She wasn't conventionally attractive, she had bulky front teeth and messy hair most days and her face was covered in tiny scars that were almost unnoticeable, but, he found it all to be so beautiful because it was her. He also knew that he himself was pretty attractive, he heard it regularly. But she wouldn't care about that, he knew she wouldn't.
Even then, he didn't know if he wanted to tell her. Things went wrong in his life constantly, the things he loved often left his grasp and was replaced with harm. He didn't want that. He didn't want to hear her laugh in his face when he laid his heart out.
"...No."