I Am Not Uptight!

Daniel part 8

Daniel did feel guilty when he left Josh's room. Maybe I overstepped boundaries again, he thought—and correctly so. He had been so used to the way things were that it completely evaded his mind that Josh might not be too comfortable with that. Daniel would just have to adjust to that as not to drive the new guy away in less than a week. So, he dried his hair and dressed up, then made a physical note to remind himself not to take hot showers in Josh's room and posted it on the wall by his door—next to the many, many other sticky notes that he made for either the book he was writing or general reminders about his tenants. He made sure to use a red one, to write with large capital letters, and to put it on top of all the others so he wouldn’t overlook it.

With a satisfied smile on his face, he patted the note to secure it on the wall then turned around. His room was a mess as usual. There were a bunch of books and crumpled papers on the table and floor, clothes that he probably used last week, and a few beer bottles in a corner that were from a few nights ago. Compared to Josh's pristine room, his was a dump that mirrored the state of his life.

“I should clean up,” he muttered to himself. It was something that he had been aiming to do for the past few months, but with his “extremely busy schedule” of not writing and having no day job, he just couldn’t find the time.

Daniel kicked an old pair of pants on the floor to the side and sat on his bed instead. He should clean up but he didn’t. He should also try to write but he didn’t. Maybe, he thought, he should make a note of it and stick it on his wall.

He snickered at the thought and just lied down on the bed. It was early in the morning yet he could already see how the day would pan out—he would put his tasks off, complain about being bored, mess with the tenants instead, then grab a few drinks to help him sleep after another uneventful day. It’s been like that for the longest time, and it didn’t seem like his routine was about to change any time soon. That was until he heard his phone chime as a text message came through.

Daniel lazily sat up and took the device from his pocket.

“Bfast,” it read. Gary had sent it to their house’s group chat along with a photo of cooked bacon on a plate.

Daniel raised an eyebrow and walked to the door to open it slightly, trying to smell for anything burning—as one had to do whenever any of the housemates tried to cook in the kitchen. To his surprise, the hall only smelled like bacon—and not burnt bacon. He typically doesn’t come down from his room until noon, but this he had to see.

He had just stepped out when his phone chimed once more. Only this time, the message didn’t come from anyone in the house. The sender read Daryl, his brother—someone he hadn’t heard from for nearly half a year. Without a second thought, Daniel didn’t bother to open the message and just proceeded to go down the stairs.

Mornings in the house were usually quiet as everyone went about their day, but that morning was different. The mixed smells of bacon, pancakes and coffee grew stronger until he finally reached the first floor.

There was the new tenant in the kitchen—the apparent reason why nothing was burning. Jane carried some plates into the dining room while Gary set the table.

Daniel headed straight to the kitchen and towards the freshly brewed pot of coffee on the counter. “Real coffee, wow,” he said as he poured himself a mug.

Josh’s shoulders jumped a bit, clearly not realizing when Daniel had come down. Still, he continued to flip pancakes and kept his back turned. Daniel honestly thought he would avoid them for the rest of the day, but it turned out he guessed wrong.

Daniel sat on the island with the mug in his hands, and watched as Josh stiffly cooked. Judging by the looks of him, he was probably feeling guilty.

“Sorry I blew up before,” Josh spoke up and affirmed his guess.

“No, no,” Daniel was quick to say. “You don’t need to apologize. We’re the ones who are sorry.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have—"

“In this house, Joshy,” Gary chimed in, obviously listening in from the dining room, “we forgive and forget. Mostly no choice to forgive because we often forget.”

“Just like real family,” Jane added, making Daniel chuckle and Josh lightly scoff and smile as he turned off the stove.

Daniel hopped off the island and took a plate, holding it up towards Josh so he could put the pancakes there. “You have siblings, Josh?” he asked.

Josh lightly shook his head as he finished piling the pancakes. “None.”

That’s why, Daniel thought to himself. With obvious difficulty with sharing things and his space, the guy did seem like an only child.

“Do you?” Josh asked back as they made their way to the dining room.

“I do.” Daniel cleared his throat and tried to brighten his expression as he place the plate on the table. “A little brother, a good kid.” They all took their seats, except for Josh who remained standing. Dustin walked in just in time to hear part of their conversation.

“Pfft,” he scoffed at his cousin's remark. He looked like he had just taken a hurried bath, such that his hair was still all wet and a part of his shirt was damp. He slung his gym bag to his back so it would get out of the way when he grabbed two pieces of bacon and a pancake with his bare hands.

“Nice of you to join us for breakfast,” Gary smiled with a note of sarcasm while Dustin arranged his food into a sort of sandwich and took a big bite. Josh tried to hide the discomfort he felt as Dustin squeezed a bit of maple syrup onto his “sandwich.”

“I’m not joining. I have practice,” he said with his mouth full before forcing a huge swallow. He waved his food at them, said, “Thanks for breakfast,” then headed to the door.

“You’re not going to eat with us? But we have real food!” Gary called out after him, making Josh’s eyebrows meet in the middle.

“What have you been eating before I came here?” he couldn’t help but ask with a tone of concern.

“Delicious trash that would’ve killed us before we turned 40,” Daniel answered without a hint of embarrassment. “So, your cooking is greatly appreciated.”

“Thanks for cooking, Joshy.” Jane blew him a kiss while Gary—with his mouth full—said something along the same line.

Josh didn’t respond, but he did hide a small smile as he took off his apron and went back to the kitchen. Daniel and Jane caught his reaction and exchanged smiles.