I Am Not Uptight!

Dustin part 1

Josh's first weekend living in a house of 6 went as one would expect it to go. After their day trip to the zoo, they all spent Sunday under one roof. It was the first Sunday that Josh didn’t do anything as planned—but then again, ever since he stepped foot into that house, rarely anything went according to the comfortable structure he was used to. For some reason, someone who shall not be named—AKA Gary—thought that it would be a fun idea to make water balloons.

It was not difficult to imagine what happened next.

Monday morning turned out to be unexpectedly peaceful—especially when placed next to last night's hours of mopping floors, wiping down furniture, and drying clothes. Josh was even surprised that he had been awakened by his alarm, and not by someone entering his room, a banging on the door, or a loud noise from downstairs. So, he did as he had usually done and went on his daily run. Upon arriving back at the house, he had a shower then took it upon himself to prepare breakfast—assuming the role that he had agreed to take on. One by one, his housemates began to appear, beginning with Wells.

His footsteps had been quiet that Josh would not have realized he wasn’t alone in the kitchen if it weren't for the sound of the refrigerator door closing. He jumped in surprise and let out a small “Geez,” when he turned to see that it was just Wells there with a bottle of water in his hand.

“Sorry,” Josh muttered. He was unsure why he apologized for being surprised, but it felt right anyway. Wells simply cast him one look, then proceeded to drink without uttering a word.

They both stood there in silence, hearing only the gulps of water and the sizzling of sausages in the pan. Josh didn’t know if he should say something. It was the first time he had ever been truly alone with Wells, and truth be told, he still had no idea what the man's “deal" was—if he even had one.

“G-going out—” Josh’s voice sounded squeaky. It was absurd how he had always considered himself to be a strong-looking man relative to his co-workers and acquaintances, yet there he was, feeling the smallest he had felt since he began to frequent the gym in college. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Going out for a run?” He motioned at the sweatpants and shirt that Wells was wearing, his eyes inadvertently lingering at the man's arms, which looked like thick, pale branches. Whatever protein shake this man was chugging, it was obviously working. He did, however, needed to get more sun exposure.

Wells capped the bottle and placed it back into the refrigerator. “No,” was all he replied.

“Cool, cool,” Josh awkwardly nodded and smiled, and Wells walked to the living room to sit on the couch with his phone in hand. Just like that, Josh had nothing else in his pocket for small talk, so he turned back to the sausages and paid them closer attention than needed.

The other guys and Jane were pretty chaotic as a group, but at least they made conversations easier.

A few more minutes went by and the meals were finally ready to serve. Meanwhile, Wells had remained in his seat, unbothered, so Josh planned to set the table. He opened a few kitchen cabinets to look for the placemats and failed. Peeking at the tenant who had been there longer than he had, Josh spoke up, “Hey, uh, do you know where…” he trailed off when the man didn’t look up. He was unsure if Wells even noticed him or if he was blatantly trying to ignore him. “Never mind,” he muttered, deciding to look for them himself.

“What?” Wells asked to his surprise. He was finally looking up from his device.

Josh cleared his throat again and stood up straight, as if he had just been called for a class recitation. “The placemats. Where. Do you know?” he asked, fumbling with words as if he hadn’t spoken the language his entire life.

He didn’t have to guess what Wells thought of him that moment. It was clear on the look he gave Josh that he found him weird, but he still stood up and went into the kitchen to retrieve the things Josh was looking for. Without another word, Wells took them into the dining room and began neatly placing them onto the table.

Josh felt a flash of panic. The last thing he wanted then was for the scary guy to think he was commanding him. “Oh I was just asking, and you don’t need to—"

“Oh, wow, such early birds we have here!” Saved by Jane descending the stairs, Josh sighed in relief. “Look at that,” she cooed at the sight of them, “Wells is even helping out!”

“Good morning,” Josh greeted quietly with a small smile as Jane took a few plates to help out.

“Good morning!” She smiled sweetly as she passed him by. Just then, the sound of thundering steps was heard as Gary hurried down the stairs with a familiar twinkle in his eyes. Josh hadn’t known him for too long, but he knew what his excitement was for.

“I can smell some good s**t!” Gary exclaimed, proving Josh’s assumption right. He was about to dash towards the kitchen when he made a sudden stop at the sight of Wells. He let out a dramatic gasp as he placed a hand by his mouth. “Do my eyes deceive me?” he asked, alternating his gaze between the tower of a man and the placemats. “Wells, honey, you are such a dear!” he clapped and opened his arms wide to envelope the man an entire foot taller than him. Right before any contact, Wells cast him one look with a raised eyebrow and he stopped in his tracks. “Oh, right, no touchy-touchy,” Gary sheepishly smiled. Keeping his arms up, he turned to Josh who was placing food on the table. “How about you, my favorite chef? You deserve a big hug for all this!”

Josh had just opened his mouth to protest when Jane stepped in. “Honey,” she said in a warning tone, “remember what Daniel said.”

Josh wasn’t sure what exactly she meant by that, but it was enough to stop Gary from squeezing him into a hug. Gary, however compliant he was, didn’t attempt to hide the disappointment he felt from the look on his face. Seeing this, Josh found himself reluctantly raising a hand towards him to offer a high five in consolation.

That somehow did the trick. Gary's face lit up like a child as he exclaimed, “Good enough for me!” before giving Josh an energetic high five. He lightly chuckled at how easily Gary's mood turned up with such a small compromise, while Jane looked at her husband proudly.

Wells and Jane took their seats, while Gary and Josh poured freshly brewed coffee into mugs to serve. In the middle of doing so, the front door swung open wide to reveal a rough-looking Dustin. All eyes were suddenly on him and his messed up hair and crumpled clothed, while he removed his shoes with a big yawn.

Josh checked the time on his phone. It was a Monday, but it was surely too early for Dustin to have had come from a class or sports practice. They had all retired to their rooms pretty late last night, so he must have left when they were all asleep; and judging by the way his eyes looked dead-tired, the college kid probably didn’t get any rest at all.

“Oh good, we have breakfast,” Dustin let out a relieved sigh as he flung his backpack towards the couch and headed straight to the table. “I’m starving,” he said, and it truly seemed like he was when he grabbed a piece of sausage and toasted bread, then gulped them down like they were air without even bothering to take a seat.

“Are you just getting home? I thought you have class today,” Jane remarked, sounding deeply concerned as she watched him try to catch his breath in between bites.

“I do,” Dustin replied while he made a sloppy sandwich. He wiped his hands on his already dirty shirt—earning him a judgmental look from Wells, which he simply ignored—before rushing back to the living room to fetch his bag. “I just need to take a shower and grab some food.”

Gary, who would often poke fun at the young man, seemed to share the same concern as Jane. “You look like you’ve been through hell and back, mate,” he observed. A thought popped into his head that made him smile slyly at Dustin. “Your lover kept you up all night?” he teased.

Dustin gave him an unimpressed look. “Shut up, and don’t say anything to Daniel. I’m not in the mood for another—”

“Don’t tell Daniel what?”

Four sets of eyes automatically moved to the foot of the stairs where Daniel suddenly appeared. Only Wells didn’t seem to be interested with whatever was going on.

Daniel crossed his arms and stood tall—looking more of an authority figure than he had ever been, despite the bed hair. It reminded Josh of his first morning in the house, when almost the same thing happened after Jane's half birthday party. Only this time, Daniel wasn’t hungover and he looked even more displeased.

“That you came home early in the morning just an hour before your class starts?” Daniel suggested. Not even Gary decided to c***k a joke at that moment. “What, the entire weekend wasn’t enough for you to party so you had to extend it until Monday morning? How are you going to function in class later? What if you have a pop quiz?”

“Pop quiz. I’m not in high school,” Dustin muttered under his breath. He headed to the stairs, but was cut off when Daniel stepped in his way.

Dustin rolled his eyes. “I’m not in the mood, Daniel. You're not my guardian.”

“And yet you're stealing breakfast in my house.”

“I lost my wallet and I don’t have the time to withdraw money to buy lunch,” Dustin spat back. “Sue me. It’s all good, isn’t it, Josh?”

Josh perked up at the unexpected sound of his name, but he didn’t know how to respond or whose side to take. He had never been part of this kind of tension between family before, and he never thought he’d be part of one. “Uh…” was all he could muster to say.

Thankfully—or maybe not so thankfully—Daniel continued his sermon. “You spend s**t on partying and you come home early in the morning in no shape or form for your class. You’re supposed to be more responsible when you get older, not the other way around.”

“What the hell is your problem today?” Dustin asked with his voice raised. “You know, you really aren’t one to talk about s**t like this. We both know I learned how to escape from responsibilities from the best.” He poked a finger at Daniel's chest to taunt him.

"I'm not your brother,” Dustin continued in a low voice. “If you want to play big brother so badly, then do yourself a favor and answer your real brother's calls."

He was trying to hit a nerve, and he knew that it worked. Daniel's hand balled up to a fist, as if fighting the urge to hit something.

Bickering was typical in the house, and this topic of conflict wasn’t new either; but for some reason, the tension in the room that morning could’ve been sliced with a knife. Daniel was unusually angry, and not the kind of angry that could easily be managed by Gary's jokes. No one dared move a muscle for a good few seconds.

“Okay,” it was Jane that spoke first as she pushed the two away from each other, “corner time for the both of you.” She spoke firmly, and the both of them took a step back while continuing to glare at each other.

Just then, Daniel's phone rang, but he didn’t even bother to take it out of his pocket.

“Daniel, I think you need to get that,” Jane suggested. Despite still looking pissed, Daniel reluctantly took his phone then walked up the stairs with heavy footing.

As soon as he was gone, it was like everyone in the room was able to take a breath again. Gary and Jane exchanged looks, and Gary ran up the stairs to go after Daniel. Meanwhile, Jane pulled Dustin to the side and discretely handed him a few bills.

“You don’t need to—” Dustin was beginning to say, when Jane sighed and placed the money in his hand. The kid fell silent for a second then nodded.

Jane let out another sigh and ruffled Dustin's hair, even though she had to stand on her tiptoes to do so. “I don’t know what’s up with you or Daniel, but figure it out. Don’t skip classes, okay?”

Dustin kept his head down but nodded. “Thanks, Jane,” he mumbled.

“And take a shower, Dustin. My goodness,” Jane wrinkled her nose and chuckled.

Dustin lifted his head up and nodded once more. “I’ll take one at the gym,” he assured her. To Josh, he said more loudly, “Fridge my dinner for me. I’m going home late again.”