"She?" Xaiden asked questioningly.
"Nirva, sounds feminine." Jax explained, swallowing uncomfortably. "Doesn't that mean 'gentle light' or something like that?"
"Huh, is that so?" Xaiden responded absentmindedly. "What's the deal with you and Eliana by the way?" He was a bit shocked at himself for bringing it up, a clear sign that facing the stranger on the other side of the radio without Jax's support was far more uncomfortable to face than the conversation he'd been avoiding for all these weeks.
Jax didn't respond right away, and Xaiden was wondering if he was not going to when he responded dryly, "Nothing at all."
"Then why are you guys avoiding each other and acting weird?" Xaiden pressed, "Weren't you guys really close before?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jax responded guardedly.
"Jax, come on!" Xaiden responded exasperatedly. "Do you like her or what? You guys are so confusing."
"What are you talking about?" Jax sat up, clearing his throat, he continued accusingly. "You're confusing too you know!"
"When have I ever been confusing?" Xaiden asked, baffled.
"You talk about her all the time, you constantly bring her up and yeah, you guys bicker a lot, but clearly she stays on your mind." Jax ticked off each accusation with a finger, holding four fingers up for Xaiden to see.
"Jax, we're not children here," Xaiden sighed. "I know I haven't dated much, so maybe you wouldn't know this, but 'negging' is not my style. I'm the least nice person to Eliana and you can be sure that if I was even slightly interested in her," Xaiden paused and gave Jax a pointed look, "I'd be much more forgiving, patient and I would actually go out of my way to be kind to her and make my feelings clear."
Jax hung his head while Xaiden continued, "Yes, I have talked about her a lot because, like you also mentioned, we do bicker a lot. I think she's a great person like you said, and I'm really starting to see that side of her lately, but that hasn't made me any more interested in her than I was before." After another silent pause, Xaiden said, "I don't know how you feel about her, that's your own business. Just don't go assuming my feelings either, okay?"
Jax nodded and sniffled. Xaiden could only hope that was from whatever congestion he was dealing with. He was not trying to make his best friend cry over a girl Xaiden wasn't even a big fan of. Trying to lighten things up, Xaiden joked, "I don't know what I was thinking, this was way worse than just talking to a stranger on the radio." He was relieved when Jax chuckled.
"Well, go on and get to it then," Jax rasped lightly, rubbing the sides of his face against his hunched shoulders. So he did cry, Xaiden thought silently as he pushed himself up from the bunk and moved to the chair at the desk.
"Alright, let's do this!" Xaiden said cheerfully, hoping it would make them both feel better to focus on the radio and the new adventure it promised.