Young Writers Society

Evaline quietly huffed through her nose, letting the silence sit between them. It was nice for a little while, but she was starting to feel the tenseness in the air since James was only right across from her, also quiet.

She needed a distraction.

"Can you get—" Evaline began.
"So, truth or—" James began at the same time.

She looked up at him.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" she asked.

James cleared his throat.

“Truth or dare,” he said, then met her eyes. “What were you saying?”

Oh. So he wanted to play.

"I was just about to..." Evaline began, then trailed off. "Never mind."

She looked back down at the fire. "You can start, if you want."

“Okay,” James said. He leaned back on one arm, while he had his other elbow propped up on his knee. He pulled a blade of grass out from a dry, brown patch beside him and crumpled it over the fire.

“Truth? Tell me something I do that annoys you. Dare? Eat a live cricket. Your choice.”

Evaline pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Okay, but you have to catch the cricket," she said, watching for his reaction.

"I'm kidding," she said after a pause, breaking into a dumb smile. "I wouldn't do the same dare you did as a kid."

James's eyebrows raised, and he couldn't help but look at her with a mischievous smile that faded into more of a smirk when she backed out of the dare.

"Well, it was worth a try."

Evaline lifted her head up a little and looked up at the sky, trying to think.

"Let's see," she thought out loud in a teasing tone. "Only one thing that annoys me, huh? Hmm."

It didn't take her that long to think of one to say, and she wasn't afraid to look back at James to deliver the punch.

"I think it's annoying that you don't have a reaction to things sometimes. I mean... why are you never mad? Or irritated? Or even selfish? I've never understood that."

She then looked back at the fire, brows furrowed.

"And I think it's annoying."

Huh. James hadn't seen that one coming. But, he'd invited this upon himself.

He looked back at her with a blank expression, and it wasn't until a few seconds passed that he realized he was probably proving her point. His gaze fell to the fire.

"Just because I don't have an outward reaction doesn't mean I'm not feeling anything," James said. "Sometimes it just doesn't show."

"But how do you just do that?" she asked without any hesitation. "Without showing any emotion? And why?"

James shook his head and found himself shrugging. "I- I don't know, Evaline. I think, at some point, it just started happening. I don't know."

He squinted out into the darkness, not even sure of his own answer.

"I guess... as a soldier, you were always expected to be composed. You couldn't just act on impulse. You couldn't just wear your emotions on your face."

James's answer made sense, but Evaline still wasn't happy with the answer.

"Doesn't that get tiring?" she asked, sounding tired herself.

James sighed, leaning his head to the side.

“I don’t know. Not really, honestly. It’s just normal, now. I don’t even think about it anymore.”

Evalined looked up for a moment, studying James with steely eyes. But she didn't get the answers she was looking for, and she dropped her gaze.

"I wouldn't want to live like that," she mumbled.

James wasn't sure what she was looking for. He wasn't going to lie, but he didn't think he had to unpack everything either. Besides, if he was being honest, he didn't really fully understand why he was that way either. Sure, sometimes he was frustrated that he didn't react outwardly the way he did inwardly. Sometimes even when he did react a certain way, how he felt inside didn't wholly match.

It wasn't like he was trying to be insincere. He just didn't know how to be any different.

Sometimes he'd catch himself. But he wasn't sure how much he just didn't notice anymore.

It wasn't always like this. At least, he didn't think so. He just couldn't remember.

"I may not always show it on my face," he said. "But what I can't express outwardly, I try to express with my words."

He didn't know if that was suitable as a defense, or if he even had to defend himself. He probably shouldn't. It would be better to just take it.

He looked back out into the forest.

It was funny that Evaline was so annoyed by it, and that she even pointed it out. He felt like, sometimes, though maybe not as often, that she was the same way. But it didn't annoy him.

"I guess so," Evaline mumbled again, letting his few words sink in for a while. She still wasn't satisfied with his answer, but it didn't sound like something James could easily change. There was nothing she could do but continue to be annoyed with it.

She should be feeling more patient for him right now, but her heart wasn't in it. And that, too, annoyed her.

"So, it's my turn now," she said, deciding to drop the subject. She looked deep in thought at the fire as she thought about what to say. A light gust of wind tugged at the fire and her hair.

"Tell me about a time when you visibly got angry, or... show me your best angry expression."

Both ideas humored her.