"Be nice to her, she likes you."

Grandma's words had an extraordinary effect on Caleb, yet he knew, Josephine knows what she's saying. He surpassed a light chuckle—his earlobes a darker shade of flushed red hue.

"I...never knew." He said, amused. Slightly—yet delightfully. Josephine pats his shoulder slightly in a motherly instinct of a gesture, a soft yet teasing smile on her lips.

"Boys never know, silly."

---

The door closed behind grandma as she left, leaving him alone with the sulking pipsqueak behind the couch. He grabbed an apple, toying with it for a bit before taking a bite—savoring the sweetness with a hint of infuriating sourness. He finally let the urge to let out a soft chuckle as it escapes.

He almost felt her sulks deepening by the sound of his exquisite snicker.

"Come out already, pipsqueak. I won't laugh."