Consciousness and Confidence

As I watched the approaching familiar black truck, I couldn't help but let out a sneer. Ten minutes home from New York and I was already being forced to deal with Brian and his shit. No matter what I attempted to do, the frown seemed to be perminently etched into my features.

"Stop scowling." Matt scolded. "It's just Brian."

Huffing a bit as Brian got out of the car, I attempted to change my face to a look of indifference. I hardly succeeded when my eyes layed upon him. He looked no different than three months ago, except he might be a bit tanner. His hair was still its usual black, and his favorite sunglasses covered his eyes. The only thing different about him was the genuinely happy smile that adorned his face.

"Welcome back, Ryyan." he greeted, walking over to where I was standing. I'm positive I looked completely bewildered. My face grew even more confused when he pulled me in for a small hug. This was very unlike Brian.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked, as he pulled away. For a second, I saw a hurt expression sweep his features, but it soon was replaced with a smile.

"I can't say hello to my best friend's baby sister?" His chuckle only added to my suspicions. "Nice hair, by the way."

Alright, I was officially scared now. He never acts nice to me. He always insults me and tears me down a bit, even if Matt's around. What's gotten into him?

"Oh, I didn't notice you changed it." Matt said, looking at it and trying to tell what exactly had changed.

I sighed a bit and pushed my bag over to the car door. "Let's just go home. I want to go see JayJay."

The boys followed me over to the truck, and I seated myself in the back seat, with my bag. Brian and Matt hopped into the front seats. Both of them took off their sunglasses and placed them on the dashboard. I smiled to myself a bit at their similar behavior.

"Do you want to stop for lunch before we go home?" Matt asked, while turning around to face me. I shook my head, and glanced quickly over to the rear-view mirror, where I could see Brian looking at me. I glared at him for a moment before he looked away and started the car.

Throughout the slow process of exiting the airport parking lot, I noticed Brian continuously glancing into the rear-view mirror at me. It annoyed me beyond belief. What game was he playing at?

"Are you sure you don't want food?" Matt asked again, hinting at his hunger. I sighed deeply.

"I'm not really that hun-"

While attempting to decline anymore time spent in the presence of Brian, my stomach let out a rather large GURGLE. Both the boys laughed at me as I sunk into my seat in defeat.

"Food it is!" Brian declared. He quickly turned the car into the nearest fast food resturant. I grabbed on to hold something as everything in the car moved to the right. It just so happened that I placed my hand tightly on what I assumed to be the head rest of the drivers seat. Instead, I had grabbed Brians shoulders.

His skin was comfortably cold compared to the California summer heat. His shoulders were extremely tight and muscular, which shouldn't have been that much of a suprise to me. But still, it was. His shoulders were nice to grab onto, and I really didn't want to let go, but my senses told me otherwise. I lifted my hands off him, maybe a second too late, and placed them back on my lap.

Brian was once again looking directly into my eyes through the mirror. I glanced at Matt for a second to see if he noticed anything. Instead, he was just sitting there staring out the window, while he tapped his finger to his chin and stared at the resturant's menu. My eyes went back again to the mirror, but Brian had already looked away.

Confusion was etched into my features. I was so baffled. What happened to Brian? What happend to our deal? We weren't suppose to be near eachother. This was not how things were suppose to go.

"What are you getting, Ryyan?" Brian asked, not looking at me. I shrugged.

"Just french fries." I replied.

Matt turned around to look at me. "Are you sure? You seem hungry."

I shook my head. "No, I just don't feel much for eating right this moment. I just want to go home." This was truth. Even though my body told them otherwise, I didn't have much of an appitite to eat anything.

"Is something wrong?" Matt questioned again, looking a bit worried.

But, I just smiled at him and shook my head again. "Not at all." Now that was a lie.