Darn Stupid Brother You Are

(Angel's POV)

I shook my head, trying to brush it off. "The superintendent... He seems off. I don't know why, but I just don't like him."

Hande raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Joe? He seems nice enough."

I sighed, trying to explain. "It's just something about him. He seems too perfect, too smiley. It's creepy."

Hande chuckled. "You're just being paranoid, Angel. He's probably just trying to make a good impression."

But I could see the wheels turning in her head. We hard ran into each other these days during the day because she had counseling sessions during class time, even though I suspected that she was pretending to have mental issues, to have alone time with Dr Christopher, the therapist assigned to her.

I tried to focus on my daily routine, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Dr. Joe's presence had brought a dark cloud over the center.

....

As I walked into the cafeteria with my friends, we made our way to our usual table by the window. We were chatting and laughing, catching up on each other's morning classes. I was looking forward to a normal lunch break, unwinding with my friends.

As we approached our table, I scanned the room, taking in the familiar sights and sounds. That's when I saw him - Hendrix, sitting with his roommates Eddie and Thomas. They were laughing and joking, completely carefree. But Hendrix...Hendrix was different. He was trying to hide it, but I could tell he was in pain. His shoulders were tense, his eyes fixed on his plate.

I felt a pang of concern and excused myself from my friends. "Excuse me, guys, I'll be right back. I just saw Hendrix over there and I want to go say hi."

Cylan and Hande exchanged a knowing glance. "Of course, it's always Hendrix," Hande said with a laugh. "You always ditch us whenever you see him. We're starting to feel like we're in a love triangle or something!"

Cylan chuckled. "Yeah, Hendrix is like your gravitational pull. You can't resist him!"

I playfully rolled my eyes and made my way over to Hendrix's table, my eyes fixed on him. His roommates didn't seem to notice anything was wrong, but I knew Hendrix too well. Something was off.

As I approached Hendrix's table, I could feel the eyes of his roommates, Eddie and Thomas, on me. But I ignored them, my focus solely on Hendrix. I carried my tray to his table, abandoning my friends' table, and sat down across from him. "Hey, I've been looking for you," I said, smiling at him.

Hendrix looked up, his eyes locking onto mine. For a moment, I saw a flash of something - pain, or fear. But then, his mask slipped back into place, and he forced a smile.

"Hey, Angel," he said, his voice tight.

I reached out, touching his arm, and he shifted back, as if in pain. I felt a jolt of concern and asked, "Hendrix, are you okay?"

He nodded, his expression tight. "Yeah, I'm fine."

But I knew he wasn't fine. I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way he winced as he moved. I tried to get him to open up, to tell me what was wrong, but he just shook his head.

"I had a bad fall, that's all," he said, his voice clipped.

I didn't believe him, but I didn't push the issue. Instead, I tried to make small talk, asking him about his classes, his friends. But Hendrix was distant, his responses monosyllabic.

One thing I was beginning to hate about this place was the fact that it was making a liar out of Hendrix. He seemed to be perfectly okay keeping secrets from me now, which never happened before, and I was not really fond of this new feeling. Every time I tried to get him to open up, he shut me down.

I felt like I was losing him, like he was slipping away from me and I couldn't do anything to stop it. The thought sent a ferling of desperation through me.

It was like he was withdrawing into himself, shutting me out.

Eddie, always the jokester, spoke up, "I wish I had a sister who cared for me like that. Mine just hates me." He chuckled, shaking his head.

I ignored his comment, focusing on Hendrix. I reached out, touching his hand from across the table.

Hendrix flinched, but didn't pull away. I could feel the tension in his body, but he seemed to be relaxing, ever so slightly.

Just as I thought I was making progress, Eddie chimed in again, "Or are you two dating? You're always so cozy, it's like you're a couple or something."

The silence that followed was palpable. Everyone at the table turned to stare at Eddie, their faces ranging from shock to annoyance. Except Thomas, who gave me a secret smile. I didn't want to misinterpret his interest, so I quickly looked away. Hendrix's hand jerked out from under mine, his face closing off. "Shut up, Eddie," he muttered, his eyes flashing with anger.

Why did Eddie have to say that? Now Hendrix was withdrawing again, shutting me out.

But Eddie just kept going, oblivious to the tension he was creating. "I mean, come on, Angel's always fussing over Hendrix like he's her boyfriend or something."

I knew Eddie was just trying to be funny, but his careless words got to me. I had been accused of that several times in highschool but it all seemed different now that they were of age.

Thomas, however, remained quiet, munching on his food with a thoughtful expression. I was grateful for his restraint.

"Hey, Hendrix, don't be so serious. It's just a joke, man." Eddie said in way of apologizing.

But Hendrix didn't respond. He just sat there, his eyes fixed on the floor, his body language screaming "leave me alone".

I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized that something was seriously wrong. Hendrix wasn't just upset, he was scared. And I had no idea what was causing it. Thomas, sensing the tension, spoke up. "Hey, let's just drop it, okay? We don't want to make things worse."

His calm, gentle voice broke the tension, and I felt grateful towards him. He looked at me then as before and I was not mistaking it now... he seemed interested in me.

I scanned the table, noticing that Bundah was absent. I was pretty sure that if he were there, he would have said something incredibly stupid too, just to get a rise out of people.

I shook my head, wondering how Hendrix had ended up with this set of roommates. Well, except Thomas. He was the only cool, level-headed one.

"Anyway," I said, trying to change the subject, "how's everyone's day going?"