chapter nine: Oblivious to the Obvious What an uneventful trip back to DePaul it was. The seating was rearranged--Carlson was at the wheel of B's BMW this time, with Joey in the passenger's seat and Brendan and Tate in the back. Ryan and Sheehan's punishment for the outbreak of water balloons was to be isolated in the Jeep, which is why Joey was no longer riding backseat. Brendan, who was still a little feeble, yet nearly almost himself again, was currently writing back and forth with Tate, as if they were in high school again and had to resort to passing notes. In this case, they had to--they did not want Joey to overhear them, much less stumble upon their sloppy notes (the road was NOT smooth, which may or may not be because of Kevin's driving). They are making things so much harder than it already is... We need a plan, Brendan scribbled, before handing the notepad to Tate. Nodding, she tore the front page off and slipped it in the pocket behind Kevin's seat. Tugging the pen away (Brendan purposely had a tight grasp on it every time it was her turn to reply), she began to scribble, Way ahead of you, Brennie. When we get back to DP... Perplexed, Brendan took back the notepad, read the two sentences, and said, .... Okay... Are you going to finish? Tate gave him a look. What do you mean, 'finish'? That's all I've got so far. Brendan had to stop from laughing out loud. To be honest, that's exactly what he had expected her to say, and yet, he still found it quite amusing. Joey and Ryan. I suppose we can just ditch them some place and hope they get together then.... Think it'll work? Tate shook her head in reply, and pulled the pen away once more. However, Joey chose this moment to turn around in her seat. Brendan, who had just torn the paper from the spiral binding, hastily made as if he had been looking out the window the whole time. He couldn't sneak the paper in the back pocket of Joey's seat--too obvious. So, he merely sat, his hand clutched tightly around the balled up piece of paper. "So, how do you think the weekend went?" Joey asked, obviously bored and eager for conversation. Tate shrugged. "Pretty fun. How about you?" As the two girls became further engaged in conversation, Brendan's eyes glanced around for someplace to hide the 'evidence.' He was just outstretching an arm to place it in the door's side panel when Joey glanced at him. Out of ideas, he tossed it in his mouth, obviously trying to fool Joey into thinking he was eating something instead. This time, he found it hard not to cringe at the taste of pen and paper. Joey asked, "What about you, Brendan?" But, he merely shook his head. "His mouth's full," Tate prompted. Joey blinked. "With what? We don't have any foo--HEY! Have you guys been holding out on Kevin and me?" Brendan gave a fervent nod. Joey huffed jokingly and turned back around in her seat. Tate could just see her folding her arms crossly, faking annoyance at the two of them. Right on queue, Brendan spat it out. He truly believed he'd gone through too much today, and that chewing paper was just... it was just ... ah, he couldn't even think of the right word. It truly escaped him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well, here we are again--back at the pad," Kevin said, slamming the car door behind him. "It feels great." Tate hopped out of the car and stretched a little--it wasn't much of a long drive at all, but somehow she felt the need to. Noticing that Brendan was still in the car, she skipped around the back and made silly faces in the window at him, for he had been staring gloomily back at the condo. Seeing as Brendan still refused to leave the car, Tate pulled the door open for him. Sheepishly, Brendan said, "Shouldn't I be the one doing that?" "Yeah, but you're not, so come on Beaver-Boy, it's time to go." "Beaver-Boy?" "Yeah. You ate paper, paper grows on trees, trees are used for building beaver dams, and beaver dams house beavers!" "That's quite a stretch." "Hey, I'm flexible." "You should try yoga sometime, then," Brendan mumbled, so softly and low that she didn't seem to hear. Which was the point in the first place. Smirking, she tugged on his arm, pulling him out of the sedan and onto the curb. "Dang, you're tall," she gasped as he straightened up to his full height, brushing off his clothes. "You just noticed that?" he laughed, before taking her by the shoulders and steering her inside the condo. Once Ryan and Sheehan had arrived, the gang all crowded around the fridge for some grub. Tate and Joey offered to 'cook' the deep dish pizzas while the boys lounged around the countertops, complaining of hunger. Once the pizzas had been served, however, the crowd insisted on heading outside on the patio to dine. They purposely left two individuals behind--three guesses as to whom these two were. Ryan casted sidelong looks at Joey every now and then as he ate, smirking as she licked her fingers frequently as tomato sauce seeped all over the place. For once in his life he had nothing to say, or rather, couldn't think of anything to say. It was an odd feeling, shyness, and he couldn't seem to shake it off. However, Joey was the first to speak. "Man, this pizza's good. Kudos to B and Kevvy for buying this brand," she said, licking her fingers again before tossing her empty paper plate in the trash. Strolling over to the sink, she ran her hands under the faucet before wiping them dry on her jeans. She didn't seem to notice her unladylike-ness, but instead watched curiously as Ryan wolfed his pizza down. How incredibly endearing he was... and so close to his familiy, too. Sensing her gaze upon him, Ryan said with a sheepish grin, "What? Is there something in my teeth?" He bared his teeth at her at such a speed it was quite alarming. Indeed, there was a bit of a spice on his front tooth, but Joey laughed and shook her head no. "Oookay then," Ryan replied with a shrug, finishing off the last of his crust and tossing his plate into the bin. It was then that he remembered he had an actual plate, not a paper one, and heard it shatter into pieces as it landed at the bottom. Joey looked at him with wide-eyes, and at once the two burst out laughing. "I won't say anything if you won't," Ryan whispered, looking over his shoulders at the people crowded around the hammocks outside. "Okay then," Joey whispered back, still chuckling. And then, on the spur of the moment, Ryan whispered, "Joey." "What?" "I like you."