The Xen

Chapter Two: Tension

The bright sun awakened me from my slumber one Saturday morning. It had been five weeks since the beginning of the school year. As my senses came back to me, I realized my head rested against something rather hard. I lifted my head slightly to see I had fallen asleep on my Calculus book. I also felt a weight spreading across my waist. I twisted my body around to see Amari with one arm draped around my waist and the other resting on his Calculus book, sleeping peacefully. It suddenly came back to me. We were studying for the big Calculus test on Monday. I couldn’t remember when I had fallen asleep. I rested a hand on top of Amari’s head and began to run my fingers through his hair. A few murmurs escaped from Amari’s lips as he stirred under my hand. His large blue-green eyes opened and a smile came to his face as caught sight of me. He shoved his math book away, as well as mine, and scooted closer to me.

“Good morning,” he yawned, resting his head against my shoulder.

“Good morning,” I replied. I placed a hand on his check. “Time to get up. I have to take you home before your parents file a missing person report. Or worse, charge me for kidnapping you.”

Amari chuckled. He snuggled his face into my neck. “Too tired,” he mumbled. “Sleep more.”

He was already asleep again. I couldn’t help but grin. I decided to give him a few more minutes. Watching him sleep made me sleepy as well. I closed my eyes and let the sandman take me.

A knock on my door awakened me from sleep once again. I gave permission for whoever it was. Chan came into the room holding the wireless phone.

“It’s for you,” Chan said quietly as to not disturb the sleeping Amari. He tip-toed out of the room. I pressed the phone against my ear.

“Hello?”

“Chotei, Amari’s with you, isn’t he?” Mrs. Brown’s voice boomed into my ear.

“Yes, he’s right here.” I replied looking down at him.

“Good heavens, I was so worried about him!”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, but we fell asleep and-”

“Fell asleep? What were you two doing?”

“We were studying for our math test, Mrs. Brown.”

“Well, that better be all you were doing. My little Amari is too young for other things.”

“Of course,” I muttered halfheartedly.

“Try not to let this happen again please,” she scorned.

“Yes, Mrs. Brown.”

“May I speak to Amari?”

“Yes, please hold on for a second.” I shook Amari up. “Your mother wants to speak to you.”

Groggily, he took the phone from my hands and placed it against his ear. “Yes, Mother? I’m sorry, we fell asleep while studying. I slept with Chotei. What? No, no, no, not like that. We were studying on her bed and that’s where we kinda drifted off. Okay, Mother. Don’t worry about it, Chotei will give me a ride home. I’ll be home soon. Love you too. Bye.”

He handed me the phone to me. “Did she yell at you?”

“Not really,” I replied.

“I wish she gave me a little more space,” Amari stated with a hint of frustration. I shrugged.

“It’s only natural for a mother to be very protective of her only child. If I was in her position, I’d probably be the same way.”

Amari gave me a strange look. Perhaps, he was pondering the idea of me being a mother. He smiled at me. “I think you would make a great mother someday.”

“You’re missing the point.”

“I know,” Amari chuckled. He slid off the bed and walked towards the door. “Well, better take me home.”

I nodded and walked towards him, grabbing his math book in the process. “Don’t forget this.”

He took the book from my hands and thanked me. Together, we walked through the living room and put on our shoes. Amari picked up his belongings and we exited the building.

When we arrived in front of Amari’s house, he turned to me and asked, “Are you still coming over tonight?”

I nodded and he smiled vibrantly. “See you at seven!” He waved to me, before entering his house, and I returned his gesture, before shifting gears and driving off. It had become a tradition, visiting his house and having dinner with his family, especially after my parents died. Chan occasionally joined me, but lately was content staying home or visiting a friend while I was away. After dinner was over, Amari and I usually would sit in his room to watch horror films until we fell asleep. In the morning, we would find ourselves covered with a warm blanket. At this point, I would be picked up by my parents; lately I would just drive myself home. This tradition had started a few weeks after we first met.


Seven came by quickly. I stood in front of Amari’s door, waiting for someone to answer it. Tonight, I was wearing a modest black dress that came down to just above the knees, help up by thin straps. The door finally opened to reveal Amari with a grin on his face. He was wearing a plain white collared shirt and black pants. His hair was left loose, resting against his back. He greeted me and hastily grabbed my hand, dragging me into his house.

“She’s here!” he exclaimed into the house, excitement filling his voice. I shut the door behind me before I was hauled away by Amari’s strong grip. The house of the Brown family was a simple middle class home filled will all the things you would expect to see in a home. White walls, nicely furnished room, big TV, subtle decoration. The house wasn’t dull or very distinguishing. Amari lead me to the dining room where the dishes were being set by Mrs. Brown. Her short dirty blonde hair framed her face and curled around her neck. She was an attractive woman, with a petite figure. She wore a humble pale blue dress. She gave me a weak smile upon seeing me and greeted me. I offered her my help but she kindly turned me down.

“Sit here,” Amari called out to me. I turned around to see him pulling a chair out for me. I thanked him and sat down. Mr. Brown entered the room, only nodding at my existence. He was a tall man with a well-built body. He was wearing a dark green T-shirt accompanied by dark grey pants. His head was covered with thinning dark brown hair and viewed the world through piercing cobalt eyes. Within a few minutes, dinner was served. Today, my plate was covered with spaghetti and tomato sauce. Without further delay, I dug into the food with my fork. As I ate, I tried my best to keep clean, however, some of that childhood clumsiness never really left me. A small drop of sauce landed on my cheek, resulting with a couple of criticizing stares from Mr. and Mrs. Brown.

“Your manners, Chotei, did you leave them at home?” Mrs. Brown asked wittedly. I glared at her but decided to hold my tongue. I moved my arm to wipe the sauce off but I was interrupted.

“Allow me,” Amari murmured in my ear, a mischievous smirk claiming his face. He leaned in towards me and for a second, I thought he was going to lick it off. My breath escaped me when I saw his hand raise, holding a napkin. He gently wiped the away the sauce on my skin.

“There now, my love, better?” he crooned lovingly, caressing my cheek. I felt the heat of a blush creeping on my cheeks. I nodded and averted my gaze from his mesmerizing eyes. I looked down on my food, not wanting to see his parents’ faces after our little display.

“So, how are things going for you two?” Mrs. Brown questioned, breaking the awkward silence.

“Fine,” Amari answered shortly. He then added, “Chotei is doing so well in her martial arts class, she’s undefeated.”

“How are you doing in the class, Amari?” Mr. Brown asked. Amari turned to his attention to his father.

“I’m doing well too, but I can’t seem to win against Chotei,” Amari explained. His soft hand stroked the side of my arm. He was being openly affectionate on purpose I observed. The look in his eyes challenged his parents. I tried to soothe the tension.

“I’m sure you’ll beat me eventually. You should give yourself more credit,” I responded casually. His parents remained silent.

“If Chotei says so, then I will believe it,” Amari replied.

Dinner finished a few minutes later and Amari and I traveled to his room. He closed the door behind me as I sat on his bed. I glared at him. “What was that about?”

“What do you mean?” He responded, joining me on the bed.

“You know what I mean, what was with you and your parents?” I re-asked sternly.

He cupped my chin between his fingers. “I just want to show them how much I love you.”

I didn’t answer him and turned my face away from his fingers. He rose from the bed and stood in front of me. “You mad?”

I sighed. “No.”

“Say something,” he commanded huskily, leaning closer to my face. I tilted my head sideways.

“What do you mean?” I questioned.

“Don’t be so conservative with your feelings. Say anything, what are you feeling?” He explained. His arms extended and he placed a hand on the bed either side of me. Our noses touched for a moment. I could feel his warm breath against my lips.

“I…” I lost my words and just sat there with my mouth ajar. He chuckled at my situation. His lips brushed mine as he closed the gap between us. He leaned against my body more, causing me to lean back a little. His long chestnut hair spilled over me, falling gracefully over my shoulders; his long bangs tickled my face. He deepened our kiss, pushing against my lips with more force. I broke the kiss and turned away from him.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. I faced him again to see him smiling at me.

“It’s okay,” he replied. He leaned in again to kiss my forehead, but he lost his balance and fell on top of me. His lips pushed against the side of my mouth, rather than my forehead. One hand landed on my left shoulder, the other alongside my hip. Our legs hanged awkwardly off the bed, slightly tangled with each other. Amari lifted his head from my face and smiled sheepishly.

The door knob turned and Mr. Brown entered the room. Within a second of seeing us, I could see the anger flood into his face. The older man gritted his teeth, his face scrunched into a livid grimace. He grabbed the back of Amari’s shirt and pulled him off of my body. He forcefully spun the teen around so he could see Amari’s stunned expression.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Mr. Brown bellowed, causing Amari to cringe. “Have you no self control?”

“Father, listen to-“

“Didn’t we raise you better?” Mr. Brown raged on. His grip on Amari’s seemed to dig painfully into the boy’s skin.

“Wait! Father!” Amari pleaded. He was answered with a blow to the face. A gasp escaped my lips. I’d never seen Mr. Brown so angry, nor have I seen him ever lay a finger on Amari. He let go of Amari’s shoulders. Amari held his head low, face covered by chestnut bangs. Before exiting, he gave me a long dirty look. I glared back. When we were alone, I stood up from the bed to and tried to peak under his curtain of hair.

“Amari?” I whispered. He looked up and I could finally see his face. It wasn’t too bad. His left cheek was a bit red but it would go away in few hours. My gaze traveled to his watery teal eyes. I brushed a piece of his hair away from his face. “Don’t cry.”

He stepped back, freeing himself from my touch. “I’m not crying.”

“I’m going to go home then,” I replied. His eyes widened and filled with worry; he gripped my arm tightly.

“Don’t go,” he begged his voice scared and desperate. I sadly shook my head.

“I can’t be here anymore. I just make it harder for you here,” I stated bluntly. He brought my hand to his chest.

“Please, don’t blame yourself for what happened. Stay,” Amari appealed.

“It’s not just that. Please, understand I can’t come here anymore,” I explained to him. He didn’t see it. He didn’t see how much his parents disliked me. I didn’t want to say anymore. I just needed him to comprehend how uncomfortable it was with this tension among his parents and me. I looked intently into his eyes and wrinkled my eyebrows together. It only took a few seconds for him to fold; he tore his gaze away from mine and nodded slowly.

Quietly, he led me to the front door. He opened the door for me; I stepped out and turned around to face him. He kissed me lightly upon the lips. I apologized to him, but he just shook his head and gave me a weak smile. I kissed his reddened cheek and whispered a goodbye into his ear. We parted and I retreated to my car. I waved before driving off. I saw him reach out for me, but he pulled his hand back submissively. As I drove down the darkened street, my heart became heavy. His face, his actions made me feel like I abandoned him. I gave into the uneasiness his parents presented. In his moment of need, I submitted to my own wants. At the time, it seemed to me that I was doing him a service. I left and I hoped the tension between his parents and us would leave with me. I had forgotten what Amari wanted most was my presence and nothing more.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to review! ^_^ I enjoy getting feedback.