You sat on the beanbag in Alex’s room, scrolling through your phone, feeling the tension in the air. Your parents had insisted on dragging you here, claiming it was “rude” to decline when their best friends, Alex’s parents, invited you over. But you and Alex couldn’t stand each other. You’d grown up in the same small town, and every encounter had been filled with awkward silences or petty insults.

Alex was across the room, absorbed in his game, wearing a huge pair of gaming headphones that seemed to consume his entire head. His fingers clicked rapidly on the controller, and the only sound that filled the room was the intense soundtrack of explosions and gunfire. You couldn’t have cared less about whatever mission he was on, but you were getting pretty bored with your phone.

After a while, the screen went dark, and you cursed under your breath. Of course, it had to die now.

You glanced around the room, noticing a charger plugged into the wall beside Alex’s desk. You sighed, standing up and walking over to him.

You tapped his shoulder lightly, hoping he’d acknowledge you. “Hey.”

No response.

You tried again, this time louder, hoping it’d cut through the layers of sound from his game. “Alex, can I use your charger?”

Still, he didn’t even flinch.

Frustrated, you leaned over and gave his chair a gentle nudge. “Alex—”

“I heard you the first time,” he muttered, his voice flat, without even glancing at you.

You stood there for a second, stunned. “Then why didn’t you answer?”

“Because I don’t care,” he said, still totally engrossed in his game.

The words hit you harder than you expected. You were annoyed, but it was hard not to feel a little embarrassed. Alex had always had that way of making you feel like you were bothering him with the simplest requests. You clenched your jaw and turned back to your seat, silently fuming, the silence between the two of you now heavier than before.