The bus ride back to Barnstable was quiet. Gabriel sat beside me, not saying much, just drumming his fingers absently on his guitar case. It wasn\u2019t until we stepped off at his stop that he finally spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou wanna come over for a bit?\u201d he asked. \u201cIt\u2019s\u2026 not much, but I\u2019ve got some stuff I wanna talk to you about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The way he said it made it sound less like an invitation and more like a challenge. I thought about it for a second, then shrugged. \u201cSure. Lead the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We cut down a side road, then into a quiet neighborhood lined with tall pines. His house was set back from the street \u2014 a two-story Cape Cod style with gray shingles, white trim, and a wide front porch. It looked lived-in, comfortable, with the faint scent of woodsmoke drifting from the chimney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His grandmother greeted us at the door, warm smile and kind eyes. \u201cOh, hello there! You must be Thane. Come on in, sweetheart.\u201d She waved us through to the kitchen, where the smell of something baking hung in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we passed through the dining room, Gabriel\u2019s grandfather gave a small wave from his recliner, a Red Sox game murmuring on the TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out back, beyond the sliding glass doors, I could see the porch \u2014 bare, except for a few empty feeders swaying slightly in the breeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s grandmother frowned. \u201cThat\u2019s odd. The blue jays were out here all morning. Squirrels too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaybe they\u2019re napping,\u201d Gabriel said lightly, though I caught the faint, curious glance he sent my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His dad came in then \u2014 tall, bearded, and carrying a bass guitar in one hand like it was an extension of himself. \u201cHey, son,\u201d he said warmly, ruffling Gabriel\u2019s hair before turning to me. \u201cYou must be Thane. I\u2019m Jim. Welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d I said, shaking his hand. His grip was firm, but not testing \u2014 the kind of handshake from a man who\u2019s confident without needing to prove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We went upstairs to Gabriel\u2019s room, which he shared with his younger brother Nathan. Nathan was perched on the lower bunk, messing with his phone, his expression already carrying that bored, almost mocking teenage look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho\u2019s this?\u201d Nathan asked without looking up from the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA friend,\u201d Gabriel said flatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nathan smirked faintly and muttered something under his breath that I didn\u2019t catch. He stayed there for a couple minutes, scrolling and chuckling to himself, before finally standing up and leaving the room without a word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The moment his footsteps faded down the hall, Gabriel leaned over and shut the door. When he turned back, his eyes were locked on me \u2014 steady, unblinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlright,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cWe\u2019re alone. So\u2026 what are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I froze for a fraction of a second. \u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou heard me.\u201d He sat on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees. \u201cThe pencil. The milk carton. The way people move out of your way in the hallway without knowing why. That\u2026 thing you do when someone gets too close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I leaned back against the wall, folding my arms. \u201cYou\u2019ve been thinking about this a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause none of it\u2019s normal. And I\u2019m not an idiot, Thane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Something about the intensity in his voice made me shift in my seat \u2014 uncomfortable, which was rare for me. \u201cMaybe I\u2019m just\u2026 different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said again, softer this time. \u201cYou are.\u201d He paused. \u201cSo am I. I just don\u2019t know why yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a long moment, we just stared at each other. Then I looked away, breaking the contact. \u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He sat back slowly, as if accepting that was all he\u2019d get \u2014 for now. But I could tell he wasn\u2019t done asking. Not by a long shot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The bus ride back to Barnstable was quiet. Gabriel sat beside me, not saying much, just drumming his fingers absently on his guitar case. It wasn\u2019t until we stepped off at his stop that he finally spoke. \u201cYou wanna come over for a bit?\u201d he asked. \u201cIt\u2019s\u2026 not much, but I\u2019ve got some stuff I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-school-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions\/36"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}