It was no surprise to Sofia that Jun was over at their house again. Ever since he and Teo had become friends at the beginning of 10th grade, they boy had been coming over pretty often. What was surprising, though, was just how much her brother had opened up since meeting Jun. Mateo Adrian Martinez, the boy infamous for being pretty much emotionless around anyone who wasn't family, was actually laughing. And making jokes. What kind of demon had possessed him this time? "No, but seriously, this is weird," Sofia whispered to her sister Celia, the two of them watching Teo and Jun work on a project at the table, muttering to each other. "What happened to him? Why is he so... happy?" "Just be proud of him, Sofi," Celia sighed. "Teo's opening up, maybe he'll even make a second friend." "Like that'll ever happen," Sofia snorted. "It took Mr. Ice King 15 years to make one friend, what makes you think he'll make another before he's 30?" That comment earned her a light slap on her shoulder. Just then, Olive walked in, talking with their mother. "Oh, hey Jun!" She grinned when she saw the boy, walking over to ruffle his hair. "You staying for dinner tonight?" The boy was like a deer caught in headlights, still intimidated by the older woman, even though she had pretty much adopted him like the rest of the family. "Uh- no, sorry Miss Olive," he shook his head quietly. "I'm going home for dinner." "Don't call me 'Miss,' please," Olive sighed. "It makes me feel old." "Counterpoint- you are old," Teo said without looking up, narrowly dodging the kitchen towel Olive threw at him. "Teo- don't be rude," Jun admonished quietly, looking slightly scandalized by his friend's lack of respect. Sofia wanted to laugh, it was almost adorable how uptight he was. Celia sighed beside her. "Poor boy is going to get quite the shock when he sees Mateo irritated." That made Sofia think. "Come to think of it, have you ever seen Jun upset?" "No..." her sister murmured thoughtfully. "I wonder what he's like..." Teo looked up. "Actually, today-" he was interrupted by Jun pressing his hands against his mouth to prevent him from speaking. "No. We are not talking about that," he said, removing his hands. Mateo didn't answer, only smirking at Jun, because of course his intention had only been to get a reaction. Jun stared at him, then quickly looked away, working quicker than ever. "...oh." Celia muttered, putting it all together when she saw the way the boy's ears were burning red. "Oh." This was quite the development. "Oh indeed," Sofia nodded when she realized. "Well, this is going to be fun to witness."
characters and writing are mine
