EJ's POV
I was going to mind my business; Jeff gets upset all the time so this was nothing new. However, it seemed different this time. I couldn't tell if he was much angrier than usual or if there was something else besides anger in his eyes as he slammed his door shut.
I decided to let him 'cool off' for a bit before trying to talk to him, because if I confronted him right away, I'd probably leave with multiple stab wounds. I sighed and walked away, going down the hall and to my own room.
I found ways to kill time until dinner was ready and then I went into the dining room. As usual, my senses were flooded so I took a few moments to calm myself. By the time I was no longer being overwhelmed, dinner had been served. I couldn't be more thankful for (Y/N) each time we ate.
I noticed that she acts as if she couldn't care less what we want to eat each night, but in reality she does her best to accommodate everyone. Within a few weeks of living here, she managed to get a pretty good idea of how everyone liked their food and what foods they liked and didn't like. So while she'd say things like 'you get what you get' or 'food is food, don't be picky' she still cooked Jeff's steaks Medium Rare, gave LJ varieties of candy on the side, added sprinkles to everything Sally ate, and found creative ways to incorporate kidneys into my meals.
If she really didn't care, (Y/N) would have just cooked whatever she felt like and served it to us, not taking into account individual tastes. I was glad she was nice to us in this way and very thankful for it.
Whenever one of us cooked, something always went wrong. For me, it was mostly that no one knew how to handle a kidney or they all just assumed I'd eat the kidneys by themselves.
Don't get me wrong, kidneys are great, but I can eat more than just kidneys.
While I ate, I silently observed everyone at the table. I guess you could say that's my thing: observing. I tended to notice the small things about people, but also the bigger things that you have to dig deeper to find.
Anyway, while scanning the table, I noticed that Jeff wasn't at dinner.
"I guess he'll starve" I thought, mentally shrugging my shoulders. It didn't seem like anyone else noticed he was gone, or if they did, they didn't care. Then again, Jeff went through moods a lot, so it was nothing odd if he didn't show for dinner sometimes.
When I finished my food, I decided to finally speak to Jeff. I walked casually to his room, one hand by my side and the other in my pocket holding my scalpel.
I knocked on the door and heard a silent 'go away', so I opened the door and went inside, shutting it behind me.
"What's going on?" I asked, thoughtfully.
"None of your business." Jeff replied.
He was hanging off of his bed, staring at the ceiling. There were fresh holes in the wall, accompanied by several knives. His room was trashed, but knowing Jeff, it was probably like that before he got upset.
"I'm just curious as to what's so different about whatever got you upset this time. You just seem... a different kind of upset." I explained, leaning against the wall.
Jeff grunted and rolled himself onto his bed.
"What are you a therapist now too?" He asked, scoffing.
I clicked my tongue in response.
"While I'm not certified, I did take a few classes back in college and I have been told that I'm good at listening and giving advice. Come on, just tell me what's going on." I urged him.
Jeff sighed before bringing his arm up and covering his eyes with it.
"It's (Y/N)." He stated simply.
I remained silent and let him continue.
"I overheard her talking to BEN yesterday. She told him his room was a mess so he should clean it. Well, you know BEN. He had no clue where to start, so (Y/N) helped him. Well I figured it wouldn't be long before she told me to clean my room. So when I saw her in the kitchen today, I asked her to clean my room." He explained.
I thought over what he said.
"And what did (Y/N) say?" I asked.
"Bitch said 'no'! So I told her it's her job to do it and she got all bothered and she still wouldn't even after I pulled a knife on her!" Jeff complained.
"Did you ask her to clean your room or did you order her Jeff?" I questioned. "And did she say no because she was busy?" I added in.
Jeff sighed loudly.
"I mean I told her to clean my room but I don't know maybe I would've helped her. And she did say she had other stuff to do..." he trailed off.
I nodded my head.
"Jeff, (Y/N) didn't say 'no' to start a fight with you or something. She probably said it because you were being rude and she had other stuff to do. Maybe if you had asked more nicely, she would have helped you clean after she was done with her other things. I don't think she hates you or anything. You just need to control your temper and communicate better." I advised him, pushing myself off of the wall and stretching.
I decided to leave Jeff to think for a while.
3rd Person POV:
Jeff stayed in bed for quite some time before he finally hugged and threw himself out of bed. His stomach was screaming for food, so he crept downstairs and into the kitchen. That's when he opened the fridge and became surprised.
(Y/N) had left him a meal, labeled with his name and everything. Jeff stared at it in confusion. He just couldn't understand how she could be nice after what happened.
He shook his head and grabbed the food, taking it with him to his room. Jeff ate in silence, a lot on his mind.
Eventually, all the food was gone and an empty plate lay on the bed beside him. Jeff growled and stood up, leaving his room in search of (Y/N).
When he finally found her, he stuck his hands in his hoodie pockets and cleared his throat, alerting her of his presence.
"Um...yeah?" She asked confusedly, turning around to face him.
Jeff would never apologize, so he wasn't going to say sorry for what he said. And he didn't plan on thanking her for the food either. Instead, Jeff did the next best thing.
"The food was decent. Maybe next time add some more salt." He stated, looking around as if bored.
(Y/N) blinked her eyes in confusion.
"Was that-was that a compliment?" She asked.
"Aish, you spend too much time with Waffle Boy. You're starting to stutter." He replied.
The two sat in silence for a few seconds before Jeff cleared his throat.
"I ate in my room... which was hard to do. It's a disaster in there. I'd clean it, but I haven't really cleaned for a long periodically time." Jeff said.
"Did you- no. Did you actually... just say that?" (Y/N) responded.
"Pfft. I saw someone say it in a video and it sounded smart." He replied.
(Y/N) shook her head.
"Is this your way of asking for help?" She asked.
Jeff looked up at the ceiling before shrugging.
"If that's how you interpret it." He stated.
(Y/N) mentally smiled. Jeff might have seemed cruel, but she believed he still had a bit of good in him. "At least he's trying" she thought.
"It's a little late now. Come find me when you wake up and I'll help you clean." She stated, walking away before Jeff could respond.
Meanwhile, a satisfied EJ quickly scurried off back to his room and shut the door quietly. It seemed like everything turned out okay.
He wondered what would come next.
He had no idea it wouldn't be pleasant.
•••••
1375 words
I'm writing this 3 days after I published the last chapter, but I think I'll wait until it's been a week before I publish this one.
What do you think of this chapter?
What will happen next?
Unedited