“You know, you don’t have to come in,” Jordan says, as they walk up the driveway. “I’m sure my mom will understand.”

“N-No. I think I’ll come in and say hi. It has been a while.”

Jordan simply shrugs as they approach the front door of his house, digging in his pockets for his keys. Thorne just watches him but finds himself rolling his eyes when Jordan’s keys get stuck on a loose thread.

It happens more often than Thorne thinks it should.

Today had been one of those days where Thorne hadn’t intended to take Jordan home, considering that Thorne wasn’t exactly making good on his silent agreement with his mother, but Thorne couldn’t seem to say no. Even if Jordan’s after-school activities dipped late into the evening, Thorne knows he has nowhere better to be.

It’s not like he looks forward to going home. In fact, he looks forward to it less and less now that Virgil has become a constant pest in his life. Getting out of the house and going to school had always been his escape from his family.

It didn’t feel the same anymore.

He’s also come to realize just how difficult it is for him to make some distance between the two of them. It seemed like, despite Thorne’s subdued efforts, it wouldn’t matter. For goodness sake, he’s known Jordan since elementary school. How was he meant to start nudging a wedge between all those years?

Besides, none of this was Jordan’s fault. He can’t help what Thorne is and always will be.

But maybe, just maybe if Thorne could keep this up and regain some more of his control, there wouldn’t be a reason to be afraid of hurting anyone.

By the time Jordan untangles his keys from his sweater, Thorne wonders if it would’ve been easier just to ring the doorbell. Still, he holds his tongue as Jordan unlocks the door opening it with the finesse he seemed to lack seconds ago trying to dig it out of his pocket.

However, Thorne doesn’t have a moment to say anything snide, despite it resting on the tip of his tongue. Jordan rushes inside without a second thought and runs into the arms of his mother, who was in the middle of cooking.

Thorne will just have to mention it later.

Jordan’s mother was a rather small lady, her height being something Thorne tends to forget. She was only at Jordan’s shoulder. Her black hair was tucked into a tight bun and her dark brown eyes seemed to glisten with annoyance rather than happiness at Jordan’s arrival.

“I’m home!” Jordan announces, placing a kiss on his mother’s forehead.

“You’re late!” She retorts, pinching Jordan’s cheek. “Your sister finally comes back after two years and you’re late. You didn’t call or anything!”

“I’m sorry, Ma.”

Jordan’s mother huffs, but she smiles nonetheless. Upon seeing Thorne standing awkwardly in the doorway, she chuckles.

“Ah. I see your little friend kept you out,” she teases, slapping Jordan on the back.

“M-Ma!”

“You should’ve said he was coming. The house is a mess!”

“It’s alright, Ms. Watanabe,” Thorne says. “I’m sorry for the intrusion.”

“It’s fine. Just make sure you take off your shoes. I can see the mud from here!” She exclaims. Thorne notices her glancing down at Jordan’s feet while he takes off his own shoes. Judging by the wrinkle of her nose, Jordan certainly hadn’t taken his off.

If there was one thing about Jordan’s mother that Thorne wouldn’t forget, it was that she was rather strict about people taking off their shoes before entering her home. She couldn’t stand all the dirt and mud, considering that they had carpet instead of hardwood.

The carpet also happened to be white.

Thorne’s surprised that all she did was scowl at Jordan. He did live here.

“Is Silk up in her room?” Jordan wonders.

“Yes. Tell her and your old man to come down. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Jordan runs up the stairs in excitement and Thorne can’t help but smile himself. It was always nice to see his friend in such high spirits. There was something about it that made Thorne forget his own troubles, even if it was just for a little while. Perhaps that was just the kind of influence Jordan had on him.

“You look at my kid like he’s the best piece of meat at the market,” Jordan’s mother says, catching Thorne’s attention. “Gonna buy it?”

“W-We’re just friends, Ms. Watanabe,” he insists, finally taking a proper step into the house, making his way over into the kitchen. “That’s all.”

“That’s what they all say. Next thing you know you’ll be lying on a beach in the Caribbean for your honeymoon.”

“I don’t know about that. We are just friends,” Thorne repeats, but he can tell she doesn’t believe him.

“Perhaps,” she says. “Yet, the future holds endless possibilities. We cannot predict everything nor can we control everything. It is just the way of life.”

“But we can try, right?”

Ms. Watanabe gives Thorne a curious look but goes back to cutting the finished meat.

“We can, but it is hard. Taking Fate by the reins sounds like a good idea in your head, until you realize that Fate it so many steps ahead of you that nothing you do really matters,” she sighs, looking Thorne in the eyes. “Granted, Fate is both kind and cruel. It’ll reward some and hurt others.”

“You’re trying to tell me something...aren’t you?”

“I feel compelled to. You remind me of someone I used to know. Driven and knew exactly what they wanted in life. They wanted to be in control of what happened and never really cared much for change. It threatens what we’re comfortable with and sometimes forces us to change ourselves.”

“But--”

“You are a smart boy,” Ms. Watanabe chuckles. “But you are stuck in a dark place. You can’t follow the bird if you get trapped in the cage.”

Before Thorne can say anything more, Jordan comes down the steps with a rather hopeful smile on his face. His mother looks at him curiously, as does Thorne.

“What is it?” She asks.

“Can Thorne stay for dinner?” Jordan asks quickly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I don’t know about that. I didn’t exactly cook enough for five people. This is why you should’ve called!”

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. I just wanted him to stay a little longer.”

“You’re like a puppy. You’re clingy.”

“It’s alright, Jordan. I-I think I’ve stayed long enough anyway,” Thorne says, feeling shaken all of a sudden. “I-I need to get going.”

“So soon? I wanted you to stay too.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Thorne notices Jordan’s sister, Silk, descending the carpeted steps. She had a strange look in her eyes that Thorne couldn’t seem to decipher.

Then again, she had always done that. Silk always looked at Thorne in an odd way, for reasons that Thorne doesn’t know. Perhaps he had upset her and forgotten about it. It wasn’t out of the question.

Though if he did, she held onto for years.

“Thorne, you remember Silk, right?” Jordan wonders.

“A little,” he admits.

“Jordan talks about you so much,” Silk groans. “In fact, he won’t shut up about you.”

“Silk!” Jordan exclaims.

“Oh, stop! You just love talking about him. Even if he is a little weird…”

Silk sighs, giving Thorne a sideways glance.

“Seriously...I can’t figure out what he likes about you so much. It’s not like--”

“Are you really gonna bring this up now?” Jordan interjects. “You just want him to stay so you can interrogate him?”

“What else am I supposed to do?!” Silk shouts. “Am I supposed to let you have sketchy people hanging around you?!”

“Oh my God, you’re really doing this…”

“Well, excuse me for caring about my little brother’s well-being! When are you gonna listen to me when I say there’s something off about him?!”

“There’s nothing off about Thorne! Look, I’m not a little kid anymore! I don’t need you protecting me from everyone that comes into my life!”

With a huff, Silk storms back upstairs. Before their mother can say anything, Jordan rushes up after her, already yelling at her about something else.

And all Thorne did was stand there and watch.

Ms. Watanabe lets out a frustrated huff of her own but places a gentle hand on Thorne’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry about all that,” she sighs. “I was silly to think they stopped butting heads over that.”

“O-Over me?”

“It’s a little more than just you. You see, Silk has always been rather protective of Jordan. She filtered his friends for the most part until they ended up going to separate schools. I know you’ve noticed...they look nothing alike.”

“Oh. I...didn’t really think about it,” Thorne murmurs.

Truly, he hadn’t. Thorne didn’t really think much about Jordan’s appearance in comparison to his parents. He didn’t bother asking either. Thorne never really felt comfortable asking.

Now that he thinks about it, there was a decent contrast. Jordan’s eyes were a vibrant green that no one else in his close family seemed to have. His hair texture was a little different as well, along with a different color. Jordan did have tan skin, but his other features didn’t make it too noticeable.

He...really didn’t look like the rest of his family.

“We don’t really talk about it because we all know how much it bothers him. Somehow, he ended up looking like neither me or his old man. No, Jordan ended up looking like one of his father’s brothers. Genetics really are strange.”

Ms. Watanabe smiles.

“You really hadn’t realized?”

“I guess there are things more important to me than someone’s appearance. Though, it doesn’t hurt.”

“Hm. No wonder he likes you so much.”

Thorne glances down at his feet in embarrassment making Jordan’s mother chuckle.

“Go on home, boy,” she says. “If Jordan calls next time, I’ll be sure to make some of my famous stew.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”