Mind Melding

Nora walked into the bathroom where Jason waited as she yelled across the house to his sister.
 
“Kim, are we out of tissues? Kim?” Nora called.

“What?” Kim proclaimed, walking in. “Are you kidding?”

“Yes and no. You know I have my days,” Nora remarked. “So, no tissues?”

“Why do we need tissues?”

“Your stupid brother Jason over there got another bloody lip,” Nora stated.

From his perch on the toilet seat, Jason sulked. “I’m not to blame for this. Why don’t you have tissues? You should have multiple packs in every room.”

As they looked over to Jason, they left him and ran out the door, exclaiming “Shut it!” over their shoulders.
 
“Where are you going?” Nora asked as Kim went to the door and put on her shoes.

“I’m running to the store,” Kim replied as she looked back at Nora. 

“You can’t possibly ask me to stay in the same house as your brother,” Nora remarked. “Why wouldn’t I wanna leave after he just fell down the stairs? How about, you stay with him and I’ll go to the store.”

“No, you stay,” Kim protested. “I have a list of things to pick up anyway.”

“But if I stay, I feel like I’ll do something stupid,” Nora mumbled.

Kim winked. “You feel like you’ll do something stupid and my brother has stupid ideas. You have that in common then.”

Nora followed her to the car and watched as she drove away. 

“Walking back into the house is probably the worst thing I can do right now,” Nora muttered under her breath. “I’ve always had a problem with Jason. He’s clumsy and acts like a cute idiot.”

On the other side of the front door, Jason stood holding a blood-stained towel to his face. “Cute?” he whispered. “She thinks I’m cute?”

“Huh?” he pondered as he opened the door. “Nora, how am I cute? I am not cute.”

“I’m sorry, but you totally are a cutie. And you made me jump!”

“Really? You literally laughed when I fell down the stairs! And falling down the stairs hurts more than jumping.”

Nora walked past him, back into the house. She smirked as her shoulder touched his. 
 
“You can’t avoid me now,” he teased.

“Oh, but I can.” Nora stuck her tongue out at him over her shoulder. 

“Kim texted me that she’ll be back in half an hour,” Jason told her. “How about we spend that time going over all the reasons you won’t want to avoid me.”

As she watched him walk past her, she felt a spark before she found herself following him deeper into the house.