Young Writers Society

Visibly angry.

That was the requirement, and it seemed so simple, and yet, he wasn't sure he could actually remember something that fit into that box. Not that he could recall. He started racking his brain for something. It didn't have to be anything big, right? If he could just remember something small. Something with people he'd already told Evaline about.

How did this game work if he actually couldn't think of --

James blinked slowly as a memory resurfaced, and his eyes darted to the horizon, just a thin line of shadow in the distance.

He didn't want to share that memory, and he didn't want to find out if there were more if he kept digging.

So. His best angry face. With the memory crawling to the front of his mind, that would be easy to accomplish.

"Okay," he said simply. Then he looked across the fire and locked eyes with her. His eyebrows drew together, and his glare intensified, but it was subtle. He didn't need to oversell it. And though the anger was not directed at her, it was real.

Evaline watched his face contort into anger with a neutral expression, but the more time passed, the harder it was to not let it get to her. For not showing a lot of emotions, James made a pretty convincing angry face. It was bone-chilling, and although she knew it wasn't directed at her, it was hard not to feel nervous.

"So you're telling me," she began slowly as his look finally began to soften, "that you can summon an angry look on command, but you can't naturally be angry?"

She leaned forward, cupping her face on her knees. She raised a brow, feeling the beginning of a smirk tug at her lips.

"I don't buy it," she said. "There's something you're not telling me."

James mirrored her posture, and cupped his chin in his hands, with his elbows on his knees.

“Maybe I’m just a convincing actor,” he said innocently.

Evaline pursed her lips, his words going over her head.

"What were you thinking while you made that face?" she asked.

“I was thinking about something that made me angry, obviously,” he replied. “But I chose the dare instead.”

"Hmm. Interesting," she said dully, still studying him. "So you have been angry."

“Of course I have,” James replied, starting to squish one of his cheeks in his hands as he tilted his face to one side. “Am I not a human, capable of emotion?”

"I don't know, you tell me," Evaline said, still squinting at him. "I thought they only accepted sociopaths in military school."

James stared back at her, but his expression was blank. This time, just to spite her.

“Ouch,” he said. “Tell me how you really feel.”

"No no no," she said, leaning forward some more. "Tell me how you really feel."

James blinked slowly, and with a wry smile, let one hand drop to his side, pulling out another reed of dead grass from the patch beside him.

“Well I’ve got to be honest with you, Evaline,” he said in a voice thick with sarcasm. “You cut real deep.”

He patted his chest, over his heart, with the grass still in hand.

“Right here.”

Evaline looked down at his chest, then back at his eyes, unamused.

Well, maybe a little amused.

"I see what you're saying now," she said slowly, giving a little nod. "You're saying you can be sad too. I'm learning so much about you today."

“So, so, sad,” James echoed in agreement, still thick with sarcasm. With each so, he patted his chest, before he abruptly let his hand drop down into his lap, and whatever grin was on his face faded. He uncupped his chin from his hand and let that hand hang loosely as that arm rested over his knee.

James sighed.

“You make it sound like I’ve only ever been a blank face to you this whole time.”

Evaline rolled her eyes and scoffed at his response with an annoyed smile, finally deciding to let the topic go. She'd figure it out, one of these days.

Just like James's grin, her smile faded, and he asked her a question.

"I mean, you haven't. Obviously," she said, deciding to break away from her interrogation position and finally lean back on her arms. "But it can feel that way sometimes. You're not exactly easy to read."

“Do I need to be?” he asked. “Even people making certain expressions that we think mean certain things could be thinking something entirely the opposite. Can’t you just trust what I’m saying even if my face doesn’t look like how you think it should?”