Weird Old Lady

~~~

Sat in a shabby home, Felicia and Shun reveled in awkward silence. The room was still...the stuffy weather from the atmosphere added a sense of diffidence between the both of them.

Shun, whose words left Felicia stunned, suddenly realized the predicament of his situation.

"Sh*t, I didn't mean to say anything like that," He curses in his head, gripping his pants tightly...conscious of the mistake he made today.

It would be bad for his public image if anyone knew he talked about homemade and local products like that.

But it's not like he can lie! He hated homemade products!

...so he stays silent, focusing on the silence in the room to think of words to say.

Of words to defend himself.

"Actually, I--" He says, ending up doing the opposite of what he wanted.

He's silent again.

Silenced by her.

But not through means of offense or coercion.

Felicia only offers the glass of cucumber juice closer to him. "Come, take it," She insists, offering a hospitable and caring smile.

It looked like she wouldn't budge on the topic...nor did it seem like she was taking his words offensively.

Shun only gulps, paranoia striking his head. "This must be some sort of trick of hers...I need to take the juice and redirect her attention to something else..."

He only looks at her with determination, taking things way too seriously than he should have.

He takes the glass from Felicia, whose response is a wider smile.

It scared him.

Just how much can someone smile in a day? Doesn't their face hurt from always moving their facial muscles upward?

...but he has to remind himself of the task at hand. He has to drink this cucumber juice. He's going to recuperate his mistakes and fix them.

So...he starts to take it in his hand and slowly sips the glass of juice.

He had to admit...it tasted good.

Way too good for something homemade.

"Thank you for the juice..." He says, almost hesitantly. The blush on his cheeks was rather evident, as he evaded eye contact with anyone.

This weird old lady...and her magical cucumber juice had a weird power that made him drop all pretenses.

He's no longer Shun Cailworth now...

He's just an introverted teenage boy interacting with an old lady.

And as for the reaction of said old lady?

She was laughing.

Felicia was clearly containing her laugh...stifling it enough to make it sound like a subtle chuckle. A chuckle that Shun could notice.

His brows creased, looking at the old lady who was...mocking him? For drinking the juice? What exactly was happening? Didn't she want him to drink said juice? Why is she making fun of him?

Of course, Felicia's intent was entirely different from the rambling thoughts circulating through Shun's head. She was laughing for an entirely different reason. 

This didn't sit well with Shun...evident in the angered expression on his forehead.

The room falls into another moment of awareness. The soft chuckle of Felicia...and the buzzing sounds of the electric fan, clearly added a discordant appeal to the situation. 

But it didn't last for long.

"I'm sorry...you just reminded me of my son," Felicia smiles, resting on one of the dining chairs. She then scrutinized Shun...who was stiff and reserved, acting like a brick wall. "You don't have to look so awkward when you're drinking, I'm not forcing you to pay back my hospitality," She comments, laughing.

It was here that Shun then understood what was happening...of the misunderstanding that was taking place as of now. He feels a bit relieved by this...thinking that she perceived his comments about homemade food as an awkward refusal of her warm hospitality.

He wanted to let down his guard...to enjoy the serene moment of drinking cold juice in a humid, yet oddly comfy house such as this. But he was Shun Cailworth. He shouldn't be acting as a teen...or worse, a nobody.

He had a responsibility to keep...and a reputation to always maintain.

"Your son?" He asks, looking over one of the rooms where Felicia went to get the shirt he was wearing. 

Felica nods, a conflicted look temporarily flashing on her face. "Yes, he's right inside that room playing some game," 

"A game?" Shun asks, his eyes perking slightly...it was an odd situation. "If she compared me to her son...then shouldn't he be in my age range? Why is he playing games when he should instead be working..."

A dark look then flashes into Shun's eyes. "A freeloader," He thinks to himself, keeping his negative comments all in his head. Noone should hear them...nor should they have any access to them. 

Felicia notices the unease in Shun's eyes, yet, she wasn't so sure of what caused him to suddenly look like that. He looked like he was bottling up plentiful of negative emotions, that's for sure.

But...there was also something deeper to it.

Felicia then comes closer to him, resting her hand on his forehead.

Shun is only shocked, looking up with a perturbed look in his eyes. He didn't like it when people would touch him. It was treated as an unforgivable act that should never be done by anyone-- even if they were someone older than him.

"Don't touch--" He complains in a loud voice...but was intercepted by her own loud voice.

"You're sick!" She exclaims with worry, taking her hand off his forehead and scurrying to some cabinet while relying on her cane. She was moving swiftly, leaving Shun in shock.

"What is even happening?!" Shun worries, a conflicted frown on his face as he sees her reaching out for some pills in the cabinets. "Why did she suddenly leap away from me and then rush there?! Is she delusional?! I'm clearly not--" He says to himself...but the more she moved with deliberate concern...and the way she rushed over to some place while relying on some stick for support.

...it was bothering me.

It perturbed him greatly. 

This was not normal behavior.

So what if he was hypothetically sick? There was no need to look like a frantic and crazed madwoman just to find the proper medicine for him! 

And yet despite the disturbance in his heart...there was also another foreign emotion stirring deep inside him. It was haunting. It was something that he had desperately sought, yet would never be fulfilled.

I was the sort of feeling that could swallow him whole...

Care.

It was none other than care.