I Am Not Uptight!

Daniel part 1

Awkward. That was the best Josh could put how he felt as he walked side by side with Daniel to the market. They had just begun their short journey yet it was already filled with silence, making Josh wonder if he should try to strike up a conversation just to lessen the weight of the atmosphere. But what would he even begin with? He didn’t know much about the man, except he tended to use his fingers to comb through his un-hair-sprayed and un-moussed wavy, black hair—which almost always just messes it up. He knew that he had common dark brown eyes, that he was probably just an inch or two taller but he looked more so because of his frame, and that there was a birthmark just under his right clavicle from when he answered the door shirtless; but those observable little things weren’t really much of conversation starters.

While Josh was lost in thought, digging for something to say, Daniel was trying his best to look ahead. He had felt his new tenant staring at him for quite a while, as if there was something he wanted to say. Daniel had thought he should wait it out until the man initiated, but they were almost at the market and none of them had spoken. So, he glanced back at Josh and met his gaze with a smile. He could almost palpably feel Josh's panic and discomfort as he looked down and pretended he hadn’t been staring. Maybe he had been too pushy for tagging along for no reason, but who can blame him when he had been used to the likes of his housemates who were loud or could jabber on for hours? Only Wells used to be the most quiet one, but then he would just leave the room or say no very firmly and scarily when he felt like it, whereas Josh was obviously trying to be polite. Daniel knew his type—the one who would try to be nice and act like everything is okay, try to go along with most things until he wouldn’t be able to take it anymore and the smallest thing would light the spark that sets him off.

It had crossed his mind when he woke up to Josh cleaning, and then the look on his face that said he was about to lose it over having pizza for dinner confirmed it. This new housemate was rigid. A bit uptight. But Daniel didn’t plan on saying any of that out loud.

“I really could've gone alone.”

Daniel turned to look at Josh with his eyebrows slightly raised, surprised that the man actually spoke.

“Well, we're almost there now,” he shrugged then nodded towards the end of the street where the open-air market was—which was made up of a bunch of disorganized stalls, lit up by fluorescent lights and small lamps, selling fresh meat and vegetables. Josh just followed his eyes and muttered an, “Oh,” then his poker face resurfaced and the silence continued.

I guess that’s it for him initiating a conversation, Daniel thought, frankly a bit disappointed that he had a Wells 2.0 in his hands. Throughout the years of renting out his rooms, somewhere along the way he began to feel like it was up to him to improve the general relationship of the people in his house. That was why he liked it when they threw parties and why he encouraged group outings—to boost the house morale. People living under the same roof should be friends, or they should at least be very good acquaintances that get along—Daniel firmly believed that, and Josh would have to get on with program, even if that meant Daniel would initially have to poke him with a stick until he slowly crawls out of his shell.

“So,” he innocently began, “how was work? Anything interesting happen?”

Josh thought about it for a second as they reached the market. “Everything was the usual,” he simply answered before ordering a few pieces of meat from the seller.

“How long have you been working there at the Hendrick?” Daniel poked at the large chunk of meat hanging in front of him with a finger, earning him a raised eyebrow from the seller. He flashed a guilty smile and put his hands behind him.

“Four years,” Josh said, paying the seller in exchange for what he bought. They turned to walk back to the direction of the house. “How about you?” he asked, looking straight ahead. “What do you do? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well,” Daniel couldn’t help but smile a little as he thought the conversation was finally improving. “I make sure that the house is maintained, and… I’m a writer.” He said the last word a bit more quietly and hesitantly than the rest, which made Josh turn his head to look at him with genuine curiosity.

“A writer? What do you write?”

“Books,” Daniel replied with a shrug to downplay his discomfort before correcting himself. “Well, I’m in the process of writing a book.”

“What’s it about?” Josh asked and suddenly, Daniel wished the company man would revert to his quiet self; but it was too late.

“It's about…” Daniel drew it out hesitantly, checking how much longer it would take for them to reach the house—unfortunately, it would take them a minute or two more. Seeing no chance for immediate escape, an idea popped into his head that made him turn to Josh with a smirk on his face. “It’s about a slightly dysfunctional man and his friends who went back to their old hometown, then discovered that everyone there had been turned into aliens,” he said with confidence as he summarized the plot of a movie that he was pretty sure was out of Josh's repertoire of watched films.

“That roughly sounds like the plot to The World's End,” Josh honestly and innocently pointed out.

Caught in his lie, Daniel let out a chuckle. “I’m kidding,” he said with a smile that seemed rather forced. “It is The World’s End. I just wanted to see where you’re at when it comes to movies.” He played it off well, he thought, but with Josh still looking like he was expecting a real answer, he cleared his throat and continued, “What I’m writing about is an ambitious young man in university who wants to become a poet, but then he ends up falling in love with an eccentric boy and aligning himself with the equally creative yet destructive group of friends who end up getting charged with murder—"

“The murder of a certain David Kammerer?” Josh asked with a corner of his lips slightly upturned, while a surprised Daniel stared at him. “Come on, that’s easily Kill Your Darlings. I watch a lot of movies.”

Daniel blinked then lightly scoffed. “I don’t know if I should be impressed or not, really—you know what, I’ve thought about it and I am impressed!”

“But what is it really about?” Josh asked once more. “Your book.”

Thankfully, he asked that right around the time they turned the corner to their street, giving Daniel an excuse to change the topic. “Oh, we’re almost there. You sure you got everything we need for a 6 person dinner?” he asked, hoping that it seemed as unsuspicious as it sounded in his ear.

Josh raised the bag where the meat was and nodded. “Yes, I’m good,” he replied, effectively distracted by Daniel.

“I'm telling you now, those boys and girl aren’t picky with food, but they eat like beasts,” Daniel exaggerated, then to further move the topic away, he decided to ask, “Are you used to cooking for people?”

“Just a few.” This time, it was Josh's turn to look a bit uncomfortable as he avoided his eyes and continued, “For two.”

“Ah, so you did live with someone before moving into the house? A family member? A lover? A very close friend?” Daniel asked before realizing that maybe he was pushing it too much when he saw the man's expression darken.

“Just someone,” Josh hedged the question, which was enough for Daniel to confirm that they had crossed a sensitive topic. They both became quiet again after that, both lost in thought—one about his own heartbreak, and the other with his sudden guilt—until they finally reached the house.

Just as Josh stepped onto the walkway, Daniel decided he had to do something to at least attempt to turn the mood around.

“Hey,” he said, lightly tugging at the back of Josh’s sleeve. Josh stopped and turned towards him, wondering what it was about. “This is unwarranted,” Daniel was quick to put up a disclaimer, “but in case it makes you feel better, I read somewhere that not all people in your life are meant to stay.”

Josh had a blank expression on his face and Daniel felt like the pretentious guy who liked to quote things to sound smart and deep, but he had already begun. “Some are just bound to pass by momentarily to help you become the person you are meant to be,” he explained. “The point is you work hard in all of your relationships, and if they stay, they’ll stay. If they’re just meant to be a lesson in a chapter of your life, then just shake their hand, say thanks and buh-bye. At least you can say to yourself after everything that you tried, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“That sounds like something you say as a consolation to people who had been left behind.” Josh lightly scoffed, which wasn’t exactly the reaction Daniel was looking for, but he figured it was better than Josh telling him to mind his own business. At least he found some humor in it.

“It does, but it kind of helps, doesn’t it?” Daniel asked with an encouraging smile. “For the truths of life to be echoed back to you from time to time as a gentle reminder. That’s why people put quotes on their walls—although I reckon that that certain quote would be too long to frame.” Realizing that he had become tangential to his main point, he bashfully touched the back of his neck and added, “Anyway, sorry if I overstepped there a little bit. You just had that look on your face after I asked, and I wanted to help.”

“It did help,” Josh honestly replied.

“Good,” Daniel couldn’t help but smile. “So, okay, before we go in, I want to test your movie knowledge one last time. Guy randomly travels back to events on his timeline, where he can change how he acted, which would then change his entire future.”

Josh lightly chuckled as if he had just been given such an easy question. “Are you talking about The Butterfly Effect with Ashton?”

“Oh, wow, ladies and gents, ding ding ding!” Daniel clapped his hands, pretending that he was part of a crowd in applause. “Okay, this is the last one for sure. I bet you won't get this one in the romance department. Activist woman gets a job at a rich guy's—"

“Two Weeks Notice?”

Daniel’s smile dropped as he stared at Josh for a good three seconds. “You are a god amongst men,” he breathed out, then he bowed down a few times dramatically until he heard Josh chuckle. He looked up at him and stood up straight, finding himself smiling along with his new tenant and taking pride in finally seeing him start to loosen up.

“We should go in,” Josh suggested, his expression much brighter than before. “After you.”