Rei looked up at the figure who'd just entered the living room. His face went a bright red, and his hair still covered his eyes as an awkward smile came over his face. He sat up in a flurry, but at least the trembling feeling was gone. “Rei-san,” He looked up when the girl said his name, and laughed nervously. He fiddled with his fingers a bit. To be honest, Rei didn't mind Aina's presence; he didn't mind anyone's presence. It just limited what he could do, for example; talk. It was then when the boy wondered what he'd done to earn the honorific '-san'. He certainly wasn't respected. The people at his work place found him cute and adorable, but they never addressed him with '-san'. If anything, it was actually '-kun' or, some of the women found it funny to call him '-chan'.
The green-haired boy was brought back to earth when Aina started talking again. “You left your apple juice in a hurry and I thought you still want to finish it since you didn’t return it back on the fridge.” He looked at it as the girl placed it on the couch. He stared and stared at it, not too sure on what to do. He tried opening his mouth, maybe to say thank you or something. It wasn't happening, no matter how much he tried.
"Oh and here! I thought you wanted something to eat along with the juice!" Rei stared at the biscuits. "I hope I'm not disturbing you or anything."
"W-w-what? N-no!" he said, trying not to make her feel uncomfortable but his face just went redder with his stuttering. "S-sorry, but I don't. . ." his voice trailed off. drink outside of the kitchen. he thought, not being able to finish his sentence. He shook his head at himself. He wasn't at home anymore, so why should he still abide by his mother's rules. "I don't drink outside the kitchen. Mother always said I couldn't, even though Mum said I could. I could get it on the carpet or something." He said with a sigh, his voice clear for once. Looking at the floor, he cringed when he saw it was wood. I'm such an idiot! he thought, annoyed at himself. Obviously, it still retained the same volume. It was literally impossible for his voice to be at normal speaking level unless he was shouting, and even then it was the same as someone else talking regularly.
"O-oh! Mother is my s-stepmother, and M-M-Mum is just my b-birthmother. S-sorry. . . that was probably confusing. Sorry, sorry!" he said, his shaking coming back. He knew for sure this was because of shyness, since he was fine earlier. He also realised that he apologised more than any normal person does. She probably thinks I'm really weird. He nibbled at the biscuits quietly, trying to avoid eye-contact. What would he do if one of his residents though he was a freak already, after living under the same roof for two weeks, despite only talking what, twice?
Even so, he wanted to get to know the others, if only slightly.
He looked at the apple juice again, now on his second biscuit (while Xander was begging for one) and gave up. No matter how much he tried, Rei could never bring himself to drink in a room other than the kitchen. "Are you. . . I mean do you. . . I mean. . ." he started, struggling to find his words properly as his voice got even quieter than usual so it was closer to a whisper than anything else. "I l-like this room. It's. . . s-s-spacy, I guess. . ."
Rei's mind drifted almost instantly as soon as he said those words. Probably because he got a text message, and he could tell who it was due to the custom tone he put on so he wouldn't get it confused with his Mother. "Do you. . . have a brother? O-or something like that like. . . umm. . . a s-sister?" he asked. His face was bright red as he placed his glasses on so he'd be able to read the text. A small smile came over his face as a genuine laugh escaped his lips when he read the text from his brother, and he was laughing for a while.
Rei, Rei, guess what? I just worked out the 'Why did the chicken cross the road' joke you told me a few years ago. You always said 'to get to the other side'! But now I get it has a double meaning, so by other side, you meant the after world or whatever too!
I feel smart but stupid too.
The green-haired boy giggled when he read it again. Oh dear god. Sonzai, you're so ridiculous! he thought as his side began to ache from laughter. He stopped when he looked up at Aina, and showed her the text without another thought, like she was one of his closest friends or something. "T-trusting him, he's been thinking about it ever since I told him." he said, a smile on his face. Now his glasses were on, he didn't have to hide behind a layer of hair, so he flicked it out of his face conveniently, his eyes twinkling. "Then again, I didn't get it for ages." Rei said, being able to speak normally. Somehow, when the subject was his brother, his mother or Xander, he'd stop stuttering (partially). He grinned at Aina, his eyes lighting up behind his glasses.