that was then*
chapter 06
The Chasez children were all congregating in the living room. Heather was talking on the phone with her friend. Tyler flipped through the channels on the television while scratching the top of Petey's head. Josh was just there...
"Tyler, lower the volume on that thing. I can't hear Jesse!" Heather yelled.
"Well, if you would get off the friggen phone for ten minutes, you wouldn't be complaining about how loud the TV is," he answered, turning up the volume on spite.
"Tyler, stop being such a jerk!" she yelled at him, throwing a pillow full force at his head.
When the fluffy object came in contact with him, he shot up off the floor, and began to bicker with his older sister.
Josh just sat and stared at them, amazed at how much two people could fight. He had never remembered them being like that before. "God, don't you two ever shut up?" he said loud enough to stop their quarreling.
"What do you care?" Heather said shortly while whipping her head around to him, sending her dirty blond hair flying.
"Yeah, what do you care?" Tyler reiterated, probably just in case Josh didn't hear.
"I'd love to kill you both right now."
With that, Mr. and Mrs.Chasez walked into the living room from opposite directions.
"Heather, hang up the phone," Mrs.Chasez stated as she closed the clasp to her necklace.
Her daughter followed her mother's orders and said good-bye to her friend.
"Please, no fighting tonight," their father nearly pleaded just as the doorbell rang.
Petey began barking widely as he followed Mr.Chasez through the small foyer to the door.
"Tyler, go do something with your hair," Mrs.Chasez said in a loud whisper through clenched teeth.
"Fine," he said childishly, stomping off to the bathroom.
"Big baby," Heather said quietly to herself.
"Come on in," Mr.Chasez said, opening the door fully to allow his guests access.
As the Christensens walked inside the moderately decorated house, Dora felt her breathing begin to quicken. She folded her arms across her chest, pulling her fleece closer against her skin. Here we go...
"Hi, Lisa!" Karen greeted Dora's mother. Shortly after, they embraced in a friendly hug.
"This is my husband, Brian," Lisa noted, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"How are you, Brian?" Roy, Josh's father, asked politely.
"Fine, thank you," he answered as he and Roy shook hands. A slight accent could be detected in Brian's voice, but its origin was hard to place.
"These are our children," Karen said, motioning to her kids to stand at her side. Tyler reemerged from the bathroom, his hair neatly combed, just in time to oblige his mother's wish. They stood in height order, Heather being the shortest. "This is Heather, Tyler, and our eldest son, Josh."
"Nice to meet you all. This is our daughter, Dora." Lisa gently shoved Dora out in front of her.
Dora smiled politely, and shook both of Josh's parent's hands.
"Shwing!" Tyler said, evoking a hard slap in the back from his older brother who was standing to his right. "What was that for?" he said at the perfect volume so that his parents couldn't hear.
"Will you just shut up?" Josh asked quickly.
"Josh--"
He looked up at the sound of his name.
"--you know Dora from school, right?" Roy questioned.
"Uh, yeah...she's in my homeroom." He looked over at Dora who was half-hidden by her father's frame. From what he did see, she looked beautiful.
"Heather, would you please go put Petey in the guest room?" her father asked as he tried to keep the massive dog from jumping all over the company.
"Fine. Come on, Petey." As she walked by, she took a hold of the canine's bright yellow collar, leading him down the hall.
Lisa and Brian engaged in a friendly conversation with Roy and Karen while walking further into the house. Lisa continually commented on Karen's decorating skills, and how "amazing," the chosen colors fit together. The husbands discussed nothing in particular; jobs, financial stuff, and the kids were the basic topics.
Dora nervously trailed closely behind her parents. However, when she saw Josh's comforting smile, she diverted from her path to go talk with him.
"Hi," she said shyly. She uncrossed her arms when she was within a few feet of him.
"Hey," he replied. He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
"Hi, I'm Tyler."
Dora looked over at the boy standing besides Josh. He was a skinny kid not older than 14, with black hair and big brown eyes. The top of his head reached Josh's shoulder, a few inches below where she stood. "Hi, Tyler. I'm Dora."
They shook hands quickly.
"So," Tyler said, followed by a deep inhalation of breath. "Are you and Josh like boyfriend/girlfriend?"
"Tyler, get the hell out of here!" Josh said, pushing his brother away with a hard shove in the shoulder.
He held onto his stomach and laughed as he walked into the kitchen, knowing how badly he had just embarrassed his brother.
"Sorry about that," Josh stated as he began to fidget nervously. "He can be a real asshole sometimes."
"That's OK. I'm used to it. My older brother Mark is in California, and he can be the biggest loser."
As the parents chatted away in the kitchen, Tyler and Heather eavesdropping from outside the door, Dora and Josh stood in the living room trying to avoid eye contact at all cost. Petey's faint barking could be heard through the door of the room he was barricaded in.
"So," Dora said with a sigh, combing her fingers through her hair.
"So," Josh repeated.
"Your parents seem really nice," she complimented, desperately striving to make conversation.
"They're all right. A little strange, but all right nonetheless." He smiled at her, and felt his knees go weak when she returned his gesture. "What about your parents?"
"Don't get me started," she laughed with a roll of her bright eyes. "My dad is OK, but my mom's that kind of person that can drive the pope to homicide."
Josh chuckled lightly at her joke. "Come on, I'm sure she's not that bad."
She stayed silent with thought for a few moments. "OK, so she's not that bad, but she can be pretty annoying."
He nodded understandingly. He knew what it felt like to have a nagging mother, so he was able to empathize with what she was going through. "Your dad's not from around here, is he?" he questioned. He shuffled over to the couch, and singled for her to follow.
"No. He's from Austria." She took a seat beside Josh, and crossed her legs.
"That's cool," he noted with a slight nod of his head. "Do you speak Austrian, or whatever?"
"German," she corrected. His childish phrase seemed utterly adorable to her. "Yeah, I started speaking it when I was about four, so that's nearly 14 years of practice."
A mischievous smile tugged at his lips. "Say something."
"In what? German?" she asked, looking at him curiously.
"Well, I've already heard you speak English, so yeah German," he said playfully.
She tucked one of her wavy strands of her hair behind her ear. "What do you want me to say?"
Josh shrugged. "Anything."
"Uh..." she sounded as her eyes trailed down to the floor.
"Come on. You're the last person in the world I'd expect to be shy." He gently ran the knuckle of his forefinger down the side of her face. He couldn't resist taking the opportunity.
His friendly move didn't exactly accomplish its purpose of calming her down; it pretty much made her pulse race even faster. "How about..." she said the first thing that popped into her mind.
"And that would mean...?"
"My shirt is black and yours is blue," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I can't think right when I'm under pressure."
"For what it's worth, it sounded really pretty."
She immediately smiled at the compliment. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The two sat there clueless on what to talk about, and above all clueless on how they should handle themselves. If only they knew that the other person was sharing the same overwhelmed feeling.
Josh didn't want the night to be over, but the way things were going, he didn't really have that many options. "Do you want to go sit outside or something?"
"You don't have to entertain me, ya know. If you wanna go do something else, by all means," she noted.
"Oh, so now you're trying to get rid of me?" he questioned, folding his arms dramatically,
"I didn't mean it that way, and you know it," she replied.
"I'm just teasing you. Let's go."
He stood up and when he was sure she was following him, he walked out onto the front porch. They both sat on the front step, the cool air engulfing both of their bodies.
Josh watched Dora carefully as he rested his elbows on the above step. She was by far one of the most beautiful girls inside and out that he had ever been in the company of. He studied her as she sighed heavily, and continued to play with the sleeve of her shirt. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, nudging her side.
Dora looked over at him, and bit her bottom lip. "You really want to know?"
"Of course."
"I was actually thinking about that girl I saw you with the other day."
Josh flipped back in his memory, and remember that Dora had approached him when he was in yet another argument with Tiffany. "The blond one, right?"
"Yeah, her. She your girlfriend?" She couldn't help but dread his response.
He leaned forward, and turned to face her. "Ex-girlfriend. She cheated on me over the summer."
"Bitch," she muttered under her breath. A lot of her guy friends had undergone the same problem, so it hit close to home.
"It's OK. I'm over it. So, what about you? Boyfriend?"
"Yeah, Danny...but we broke up before I moved. The whole long-distance thing is just a pain in the ass; especially for people our age."
He nodded. "That's true."
Another silence fell upon them. They stared out to the darkened pavement of the street which was illuminated by only a few dim street lights. A few passing cars created eerie shadows over the sidewalk with their headlights.
It was at that moment when Dora looked to her right, her eyes falling on Josh's empty hand resting on his knee. For one reason or another she felt the strong impulse to just lace her fingers through his. It was sort of the proverbial "perfect opportunity." They were alone, and despite all of the nervous energy, she knew that he had to have at least some idea she was mildly interested.
She slowly lifted up her hand, and delicately laid her palm across the back of his fingers.
Josh gave her a fast glance out of the corner of his eye before repositioning her hand so that his fingers were intertwined with hers.
"Josh!" Heather yelled as she opened the front door.
Neither Dora or Josh were expecting the intrusion, so they both pulled their hands away as quickly as they had been connected.
"What?" he nearly yelled while standing up.
"We're eating dinner now." With that she closed the door with a loud slam.