Acting like teenagers

          Ted's gaze traveled to and fro, in a quick chase of the lady pacing aimlessly across the living room. Her head was boiling at a degree of intensity that made her feel like she was going to burst out into flames any second now, but he didn't dare say anything lest it made things worse.

A slice of pizza found its way to his mouth as he bobbed his head to every rant she spewed forth. She was speaking in another tone and the only reason he understood every word she was saying was because of their long history together.

Who else would understand Maria's angry language apart from her best friend? Who else could listen to her vent for hours and hours?

He knew when not to speak up and this time was no different than before. He ate his pizza, enjoying his dinner while watching the enraged creature pace back and forth.

She crossed to his side, snatched the pizza in his hands, and finished the remnant in one bite. Ted watched her wolf down the last of it with a grimace.

"Can you believe that?!" She fumed and that was the question he had been expecting. It was her usual way of wrapping up her impetuous rants and inhumane screams.

He exhaled silently, glad her explosive period had ended calmly without things being thrown around. It had started twenty minutes ago when he had asked her how her new job was going and she had aggressively told him a whole novel about it. That was followed by an explanation of why she was already tired of the job and how her new patient was a pain in her ass.

"Well," He shrugged as she plopped down next to him. "Now you see why you are getting double paid."

"Damn, I'm not getting paid enough for this shit," she breathed heavily in a way that had her bangs flying in the air.

He laughed at her reaction, understanding her frustration. As much as she loved helping people, she hated working with difficult patients. She was capable of handling anything short of a heartless monster but dealing with the likes of these assholes was just too much for her.

"Not paid enough?" He repeated and she shot him a glare after detecting a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Yeah, I mean it's not enough for me to handle all this crap." She got straight to the point, not wasting any more words or time.

"Dude, you are getting double paid." Ted reiterated, gesturing at his stomach. "You have no right to complain."

She sighed loudly and dropped her head onto the couch, her body sinking into the cushion. "I guess you're right."

"But why didn't you just tell him a piece of your mind? Why did you have to save it for my poor ears?" He pointed at himself with a raised eyebrow. "Man, it was really hard listening to you rant about him."

Maria groaned, rolling her eyes in the process. "You can't just expect me to yell at patients and tell them how much of an asshole they are."

"Pfft." His lips curled upward as he scoffed. "Of course, you can, Maria, that's your specialty, at least what I have experienced with you." He teased, earning a snort from her.

She lifted her head at the comment; her expression becoming grumpier by the second. She knew the old memory he was referring to when he said that. They had gone to a bar one night and met a guy who was completely rude to them. Maria confronted the man, telling him off in the most vulgar way possible. Ted had never seen her so angry and he couldn't help but laugh at her furious outburst. The guy was shocked to hear such language coming from her mouth and he ran away as soon as she was done yelling at him.

"Yeah, well, that was years ago and you don't expect me to bring that attitude to work." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's just not professional."

Ted snorted at her statement. "Professional? You are talking about professionalism? Are you serious?" He quizzed, his voice dripping in sarcastic laughter. "Where was your professionalism that day when you ran into the hospital with a toothbrush stuck in your mouth because you were running late and couldn't afford to brush at home? Let's not forget those many days you went to work with your bathroom slippers?" He continued, laughing openly while she glared at him. "How do you call that professional?"

Her face darkened at the memories he brought up. But he wasn't finished yet.

"Or when you slept through all your alarms because you stayed up all night studying? Yeah, pretty professional." He added, interrupting her heated rebuttal.

"One more word and I am going to strangle you." She growled, hating the fact that he knew her so well and her hands were prepared to pounce.

Ted leaned his face closer, his chin resting on a palm. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" He taunted her playfully, wiggling his eyebrows, causing her to let out a loud groan.

That was the last she was going to have. Her ferocious hands attacked his neck, adding pressure to knock the air out of his lungs. "I will kill you myself." She promised, her nails digging into his skin.

"Only if I don't do the same first." He laughed, moving his head to dodge her blows. He caught her wrists and smirked demonically before pinning her hands behind her back.

She struggled against him but he held her firmly. "Let me go, asshole." She snapped, trying to free herself.

"Asshole? I thought you were being professional." He countered, mocking her as she started to breathe heavily.

She grew impatient with him and tried to use her legs to kick him. Instead, however, she slipped out of his grip and landed on the floor with a loud thud. Ted burst out laughing at her pathetic attempt.

"You are a dumbass." She mumbled angrily and kicked him again, this time aiming for his shin.

Ted dodged her blow and grabbed her ankle, pulling her towards him. "That's two." He teased, smiling smugly at her face.

She bit her lip at the sight of his smirk and took a deep breath to calm down. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her mad. "I hate you." She said quietly, glaring at him.

"Goodness, when will you two stop acting like teenagers?" An elderly voice exclaimed, making both their heads snap in the direction of the person who spoke.

It was Grandma standing in the middle of the room, her hands folded together and her back straight. Her glasses were perched atop her nose and she wore an amused smile. She was an elegant woman, with short white hair and pale blue eyes. She had always looked young for her age.

"Nana, tell this jerk to leave me alone!" Maria screeched from where she was pinned to the ground.

"No, no, darling. Don't bring me into the middle of your fights. It's a waste of my time." The older woman shook her head and moved away to pick up her parrot from its cage. She sat across away from the quarreling friends and chuckled at the show.

Maria decided to ignore her grandmother and focus on getting her revenge on Ted. She rolled over and got on her knees, preparing to attack again. "Don't think you can get away with that." She warned him, her lips curled into a wicked grin.

Ted's eyes twinkled mischievously at her. "Oh, I'm not trying to escape."

He mocked her, rolling his shoulders and flexing his arms. His muscles bulged beneath his white shirt and he walked around behind her. He pulled her backward by her ponytail softly and threw her shoulder against his chest. He caught her easily and pinioned her arms.

"That's three." He announced triumphantly. "What do you say about taking a few karate lessons from me?"

"Ugh!" She groaned, annoyed at how easy he had won her fight. It made her consider giving up and saving the rest of her energy for the one-of-a-kind patient she would meet unfailingly the next day. "Fine, you win. Let me go already." She grumbled, wishing things wouldn't turn out that way.

"I always do." He replied, smirking into her ear before pushing her off his chest gently.

She rolled away from him and stood up slowly, rubbing her sore arm. "I don't even know what you are still doing here. It's nine already." She muttered, her eyes flicking to the wall clock.

"Why? This is my house as much as yours." He replied, looking up at the ceiling as he stretched his arms above his head.

"I hope you are not planning to stay over. I can't stand a whole night with your annoying little shit." She huffed, brushing some loose hairs away from her face, and turned towards the elderly woman who had been sitting patiently all along, waiting for the pair to finish their spat.

"That hurts." Ted feigned from behind as Maria headed over to Grandma's side. "But guess who is going to have a good long sleep tonight?" He taunted, following her. "I bet Toby doesn't mind either." He added, referring to the red parrot on Grandma's shoulder.

Grandma ignored them both, her hand holding tightly onto the bird's perch as it bobbed up and down in her palm, singing a happy tune.

Ted smiled slyly, enjoying the way Maria glared at him through narrowed eyes. He was used to her childish tantrums and he loved teasing her just enough to make her lose her cool.

He sauntered closer to her, his hands shoved into his pockets and waited for her response. "So... will you see me off now?" He asked with a smirk, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

She raised her chin in surprise, "What? Change your mind about sleeping over?" She questioned with wide-eyed wonder. "Don't want me ruining your precious dreams anymore?" She finished sarcastically.

"Nope." He responded simply. "You are too noisy and too restless to keep me company tonight."

" Look who's talking, heavy snorer." Maria snapped back with venomous intent, her brow furrowed. Her voice was so quiet that only he could hear it, however. "You sound like an elephant stuck under my bed."

" Haha, very funny." He replied dryly, laughing lightly. "Enough games for tonight. Follow me to the doorstep." He added, reaching for her shoulders.

Maria sighed exasperatedly, throwing her hands up in surrender. "Alright alright. Whatever." She relented, rolling her eyes and following him outside without another word.

She pulled open the door for him without hesitation. "Now scurry out of here." She said, waving her finger mockingly at him and shifting aside to grant him wide access to the exit.

He ignored her remark and made use of a moment to wave at the old woman sitting in the living room. "Nana, I'm leaving. Goodnight."

"Goodnight sweetheart. My regards to everyone at home." Grandma replied warmly, smiling brightly. The parrot on her shoulder bobbed its head in agreement, mimicking the smile.

Ted blew the old lady a kiss and walked out of the front door. He shut the wooden door behind him with an audible thud and took his eyes to Maria who was already waiting outside. She was leaning against the porch railing and staring blankly into space and tapping her fingers against the railing rhythmically.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the brick wall beside the driveway, facing the girl who seemed oblivious to his presence. "Goodnight?"

She glanced up briefly at him before turning her attention back toward the sky. "Are you going or not?" She demanded in a tone that indicated she was done with him already.

Ted smirked. "Well... you said no sleeping over, right?"

"Whatever." She shrugged nonchalantly, shifting herself further away from him, resting her back against the railings.

"Just take it easy at work tomorrow, okay?" He offered kindly, wanting to lighten the mood a bit. "Don't push yourself too much." He added, pushing his back off the wall. " I'll be leaving now." He told her, stepping past her and heading towards his car parked in front of the house.

Maria watched him unlock his car with a remote keyless entry system. He raised his head to meet her eyes and slowly grinned. That was her weakness, his charming smile was all it took to put her at ease and calm her down when they argued. He was a calming influence on her otherwise complicated life and it was hard to get rid of someone like that.

Maria wiggled her fingers at him, reciprocating his smile. "Goodnight punk. Get home safe."

"Yeah, goodnight. Go inside, it's cold outside." He responded, opening the driver-side door of his car and climbing inside.

She caught his lips curled upwards in amusement through the windshield and responded with a soft chuckle. The engine roared to life and the vehicle peeled forward out of the small compound. Maria remained standing there watching until the car had rounded the corner onto the street, disappearing beyond the bend.

She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head, sighing loudly as if trying to dispel some invisible thought from her mind. After a few seconds, she turned around to enter the apartment once again.

***