Just Doing My Job

Bill was sitting in his police car eating away. He had a bag of McDonald's in the passenger seat as he was park on side of the road. He read the numbers that flashed on the screen of the detector. The speed limit was fifty. So far the only people that went over were around fifty-five, or fifty eight. Bill was too busy eating his Big Mac to really care.

It wasn't that his job wasn't exciting, it's just when it's a holiday late at night, a lot of people are going to be caught. At the moment though, he didn't really care since his shift was almost up. And it was still too early for the partiers to be out and about with their bottles of beer. There were countless experiences where Bill would have to stop people from mooning stores. Drinking made you go crazy, that's one thing Bill learned in the first year of working as a cop.

It was New Years and Chief had promised him he could go home to his family before the clock struck twelve. It was ten o'clock so the sky was dark and some stars were visible. Half more hour and he's off the hook for the rest of the day. He took a sip from his sprite and finished the fries. When he was done, he sank back in his seat and watched the cars.

Just as he was about to get off work, he saw the speeder. Going fifteen miles over the limit, and swerving. It wasn't that bad, the driver just seemed to move from side to side too often. Bill sighed and took the car off park, turning the lights on and chasing after the driver. Part of him wanted to let this guy slide, but the swerving had him worried. The car in front of him pulled over to the side when he saw the red and blue lights from the police car.

Maybe I could get this DUI before heading home. Bill thought to himself. He grabbed his small flashlight and headed to the car. Slowly, but surely he checked the back of the car with the flashlight before flashing it to the driver. "Blake?" He asked when he saw the driver.

"Oh..." Blake cursed. "What up Bill?"

It was like getting a hard slap across the face. Bill sighed, "Blake could you step out of the car please." Blake pulled the key out of ignition and stepped out of his car leaning against the door. "Do you know you were speeding?" Bill went through protocol.

"No..." Blake buried his face in his hands like he had a headache. "I was just trying to get home before midnight."

"I hardly believe that..." Bill muttered. "Does your mother know you're out?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I went to a friends birthday party."

"Now answer truthfully, ok?" Bill crossed his arms. "Were you drinking?" Blake took a moment to think about it. When Bill figured he might lie he added, "If you say no but you truly have, I could just test you with the tube."

Blake sighed, "I had a couple beers. Yeah."

Bill didn't know how to respond. So he did  what he was trained to do, "Don't you know better than to drink and drive?" It was a common phrase he'd use whenever he caught someone driving under the influence of alcohol.

"Like I said," Blake laid back against his car. "They were just a couple beers. I was trying to get home."

"Well I'm headed home now. So come on." Bill led him to the police car and ducked his head under in the back. "Sorry," He said when he placed his hand on Blake's head to push it underneath the car, "It's a habit."

The left Blake's car on the side of the road. "Why can't I ride in the front?" Blake asked.

"Because I have to much stuff in the front." Bill muttered taking a seat behind the wheel. He put his seat belt on, turning the red and blue lights off.

"Are we just going to leave my car there?"

"I'll get Cole or Shawn to come pick it up."

There was silence for a moment. "So am I going to jail?" Blake asked with a smirk on his face.

Bill thought about it for a second. Lilly would be upset if Blake was put in jail for underage and DUI. "No but you're grounded." He finally said, "When we get home you'll be giving me your license."

"What?" Blake asked in disbelief. "For how long? I need my car."

"Looks like you should get used to asking for rides from your brothers." Bill said. "Unless you do want to spend the night in a cell."

Blake groaned, "How long without my license?"

"A couple months seems sufficient."

"Months?" He ran his hands through is hair. His words were slightly slurred. It still wasn't as bad as Bill had expected. At least Blake was still conscious and understanding the conversation they were having. "You can't do that!"

"Let's change perspective shall we?" Bill asked as he started driving towards home. "Don't look at me as your stepfather but as a police officer that just caught a teenager driving under influence. Where would they be?"

"Jail..."

"Now where are you?"

"In the back of police car being told I can't have my car for a couple months!" He threw himself back and crossed his arms.

"Yeah but if a different police officer caught you, you'd spend the night in a cell." Bill took a turn onto a different street. "And then by the time your mother and I were through with you, you wouldn't have your license for months."

"So your saying that I'm just skipping a small part of this? The whole jail part, but you'd have taken my car away anyways?"

"Precisely."

Blake sighed and closes his eyes resting his head against the window. "Didn't you ever drink as a teen?"

"No." Bill answered truthfully. "I waited my twenty-one years. And recently took back to drinking, but I didn't drink anything until the day your mom and I got married."

"Why?" Blake asked tiredly.

"Because it was a boy like yourself," Bill looked in the rear view mirror and came in contact with Blake's eyes, "That thought it was cool to drink and drive afterwards. Then he crashed his car, and my wife died."

Blake looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry...I just..."

"It's fine." Bill sighed deeply. Speaking of his last wife always brought an untold sadness into him. Even with his love towards Lilly, he always had a chamber in his heart that was specially reserved for Melody. "It's one thing to be under aged, but driving afterwards is even worse Blake."

He sighed. "I know. But I can't promise you I'll stop drinking. You already covered the driving part."

Bill chuckled. "I know a lot of kids drink nowadays. It's not good, but there's nothing I can do other than enforce the law."

"Is it illegal your letting me go?" He asked.

"I don't know but it can surely get me fired." Bill sighed, "So let's forget this happened, ok?"

"Does that mean I'll still have my car?"

"No that's taken away." Bill said as he pulled up into the neighborhood. "Lilly and I will discuss it later tonight. Maybe tomorrow. We'll give it back when we feel you've earned it."

Blake sighed, "Having a cop for a dad isn't appealing to me."

Bill grinned, "I'm just doing my job."

******************************

Tori's POV

I thought it was ironic. Last week after dad explained to us that Blake got his license taken away I couldn't help but think, So he gave me a car and got his taken away. Ha! I wish I felt sorry for him but this is too funny.

At first we all laughed at Blake for his stupid mistake. Then we found out how annoying it was that we had to drive him to and from school, sometimes drop him off a 'friends' house and go pick him up a couple hours later. It became a game of torment to Blake. He started enjoying it. We could be lounging the living room and suddenly he wanted to go somewhere. He'd bother and bother and bother until we took him. Did I say it was annoying? More like super annoying.

School had started up a couple days after New Year's and no one was really happy about it. It was still cold outside and everyone would stare at the window at the fluff that was falling from the sky. Sometimes, if our teacher was in a really good mood, they'd let us go in the courtyard and play in the snow. It was rare getting the snow though, one day it was super cold and freezing, the next all the snow would melt because the temperature shot back up.

Soccer practice had started up again. When it was too cold to go practice outside, we'd move into the gym and do warm-ups. I was glad I had a car now, my sore muscles wouldn't be able to pedal back home in the cold. Some days, the Trips and I would ride together to conserve energy and money. Shawn would parade in the parking lot yelling, "Go Green!"

When Mark had seen my car, he was so happy for me. He gave me a hug and told me to drive him around town, which I gladly did. We stopped by a fast food to play our game of Catch the Fry. It was basic, we just threw french fries at each other trying to catch it in our mouths. After that I dropped him off at his house and we played video games until my dad called.

At home, everything was peaceful. Blake and I would have our occasional fights. We'd fight like real siblings. Whining to our parents on how it was my turn to watch TV, or it was his seat on the couch. We'd bicker about stupid things like when I was helping Shawn with his math and Blake said I was doing it wrong. Shawn started to fake cry like a baby because Blake and I started a fighting match, poor kid. Later we found that I was right, of course I was. I was Tori, the smart one, and he was Blake, the one with the blown up ego.

Cole was teaching me how to play the guitar. Cori was getting a lot of work these days while we watched YouTube videos to figure out where to place my fingers and how to move them around while I strummed the chords. We went to a local music shop to buy a few guitar books to teach me the symbols I'd see on sheets. It was harder than I thought, I just wanted to walk down the street singing while playing on Cori but no. I had to learn everything first.

Shawn...well...I don't even know.

It had a been a relaxing weekend. The forecast said it was going to thunderstorm later tonight, yet it already started to snow. It was a light fluff but I knew that in a matter of hours it was going to start snowing down harder. We'd never been in a snow storm. If there was thunder, it was always accompanied by rain, never snow. Like I had said, one day it may be below freezing, then another day it could just be chilly. The weather here was bipolar, always changing and never set on. If I lived more up north or south I could simply say it was cold or hot. Not here. Here we had to check the weather everyday to see what it had in store for us. When Suzie had heard about thunder, we decided to go down to the basement to watch a few movies.

Cole left a couple hours ago to go to his job. We were all proud of him when he said he got a job. Mom and dad said it was good for him, teaches him responsibility. Other than that, Shawn went on a rant about how Cole should, ‘Work it. Work it.’ When he models down an aisle one day. We all laughed when Shawn pretended to model for us. He managed to get a pitcher filled with water and sat on the sink pouring the water onto his body. Mom didn’t even bother scowling at him, like Cole had said, you just go with it when it comes to Shawn.

Speaking of the crazed devil, he had gone out around the same time Cole did. He said he and Emily had a date in the library. Then he had asked where the library was because he'd never gone to it. Poor kid was whipped. His mind was slowly increasing, which I deemed as a bad thing, but his vocabulary was increasing also. He'd be in his room and suddenly I'd hear him scream and start shouting. When I'd enter his room, I'd see him jumping on his bed while reading a book and screaming things like, "You idiot! You love her dammit! Just grow a pair and kiss her!"

While Suzie and I were in the basement, we resolved in having a Disney marathon and grabbed all of our favorite movies. It was hard to choose though, Disney had so many movies and they were all so good. I had heard the doorbell ring but then Blake shouted, "I got it!" So I let the matter go. He probably ordered some pizza since mom and dad left to go on a 'date.'

"Tori I'm hungry," Suzie said about an hour later.

"I think Blake ordered some pizza." I paused the movie. "Go upstairs and see if it's on the counter. I'll wait here." I pulled Cori onto my lap and started plucking the strings while tuning the guitar. Suzie nodded and bounced herself up the stairs while humming to a song.

I got so distracted playing on the guitar. A lot of time had to pass by without Suzie coming down or shouting my name. It caused a crease to appear on my forehead so I stood up and went after her. Sure enough, there wasn't any pizza on the counter. The pantry door was open so I figured Suzie went in there to see if there was snack but the lights were turned off.

I heard a loud thump! upstairs and small patter of feet going up the staircase. "Suzie!" I called running after her.

"I'm going to ask Blake if he got the pizza." I heard her say. My eyes moved to the window that showed the front of the house, there was a blue car parked out in the front. I ran upstairs and saw Suzie calmly walking down the hallways. I heard a grunt come from Blake's room.

Oh my god no!

"What was that?" Suzie asked me. She was at the end of the hallway. I stood at the top of the staircase frozen in place. I don't know why, but a feeling of terror set in. Like I turned into a deer that was staring straight at the headlights of a car. My little sister was so oblivious.

Suzie shrugged it off and stood in front of Blake's door. "Hey Blake did you get any piz-" She opened the door and her eyes went wide a scream looked like it was about to surface from her lips. In a flash I got out of the haze and stood behind her with my hands cupped over her mouth and eyes.

I made sure to squeeze my eyes shut as I turned around with Suzie in front of me and pulled the door close. While I walked downstairs Suzie struggled against the hand that was over her mouth. She licked the palm of my hand, I pushed my natural instinct to let go and kept my hand clamped on her mouth as I took her back to the basement. "If I let go," I said when we were back in the movie room. "Promise not to scream."

She nodded her head and mumbled something against my hands. I sighed and let my hand fall. At first Suzie just stood there. While she was standing there I wiped my hand on my jeans and thought for moment. Of course Blake would have a girl over. Our parents were gone, his brothers were gone, and he knew Suzie and I would be downstairs. "What was that?" Suzie finally asked. When I didn't answer she yelled at me, "Why was Blake doing that Tori? He was under his covers doing...something weird." She frowned then looked up at me and added, "With a girl!"

Well at least she didn't see a lot. That could've scarred her.

"Uh..." When did I have the talk? Fifth grade? Yeah when Mrs. Bennett and dad sat Mark and I down and told us. That day was weird. I remember Mark started pointing his finger and laughing at me. He kept shouting things like, 'Your gonna have blood coming out of you!' So I'd cross my arms and say, 'At least I won't have something poking out of my jeans. You can stab an eye with that thing.' Mrs. Bennett high-fived me for that one.

So I was about ten years old when I learned. Suzie was nine but going on ten. She didn't act immature, maybe she's old enough for me to explain. I just hope what she saw didn't scar her. What am I talking about? It wouldv'e scarred me. Maybe I could invent a lie. Say they were just...doing a science project. Yeah....

That wouldn't even work on Shawn. I groaned inwardly.

"Tori," Suzie said sternly. "Don't lie. I know you want to lie. Please tell me the truth."

I sighed. "Oh boy..." I took a seat on the couch and patted a spot next to me. "What I'm about to tell you Suzie is top secret hush hush." I repeated the words that were used with me the first time. "You can't tell anyone. And the only person you can talk to about it is me, until your in high school. By then everything will change."

Suzie stared at me oddly but got comfortable on the couch. "Ok..."

I sighed again, "This is called...The Talk."

******************************

Cole's POV

"Here," Dalton said handing me a lanyard with a card at the end. It had my name on it and other numbers that made no sense to me. "Jodee will show you around and teach you everything blah blah blah." He rolled his eyes, "I hate these speeches...just don't mess up."

My eyebrows knitted together as I smirked at my manager. How he got the position I had no idea. He was an awful manager to his co-workers. Yet he always plastered that nice smile when he worked with customers. It made we wonder if half the times I went to stores if they were like Dalton or if they really meant their smiles. The only good thing about having a manager that doesn't really care is you get a lot more freedom. It's not always a good thing, but at least I won't have Dalton breathing down my neck.

Today felt right. When I woke up, I was energized and ready to. Usually people don't like their first day at work, I was excited. Maybe it was because it was the first job I got on my own. Sure I've had plenty of jobs, but mom was always the one that talked to the manager or discussed the details. I would be sitting at home and suddenly she'd say I had a job to pass out samples or something really dumb like that. I'd earn pocket money, nothing really special. I was usually too busy to really get a job.

I had made sure to put on the clothing Tori had gotten me on Christmas. The beanie went well with my white tee. My black leather jacket matched the high tops Tori gave me, and I had a set of dark jeans. When I had arrived to work Dalton had told me I had to wear some of the clothing in the store. So I looked around until I found a plaid button down that I liked. It was a combination of different blue and pink, with a little bit of white. The sleeves came up to my elbow, so I took my jacket off replacing it with my newly bought button down. I didn't bothering buttoning it, seeing to I had my tee underneath.

Dalton showed me the small lockers we had in the back of the store where we could place my belongings. It wasn't much, then again it was mostly used for the girls if they had their purses with them. I just bundled my jacket up and placed it in locker ten. The lanyard Dalton handed me was around my neck and I walked out the back and to the lounge room.

Jodee was searching through the fridge probably scavenging for food. "Why are you looking in there?" I asked plopping down on the sofa.

"Because," Jodee rummaged through the drinks. "I have my head in here knowing that in three seconds food will magically appear out the thin air." She gasped loudly like it was obvious. She then turned to face me. Her anger was clearly written across her face and if that didn't show it, then the way she slammed the refrigerator door did. "There's nothing to eat."

I smirked and picked up one of the few magazines on the coffee table. My mind absently skimmed the pictures. "I thought you said it'd magically appear?"

"And I thought you didn't like the Little Mermaid," Jodee crossed her arms over her chest and shot me a glare. "But by the way you were singing Under the Sea the other night I guess we're both wrong."

I tossed the magazine aside and looked at her with an accusing finger. "You swore to never tell anyone."

She laughed, "Scared I'll ruin your reputation?"

"Took me years to build up, takes minutes to crash it down."

She shook her head at me like I was crazy. The heels of her feet turned and she made her way out the door. "You coming Coley Woley?"

I grinned and shot up following after her. It was basic. Because I was a beginner I wasn't allowed to use the cash register. So Jodee explained I did what every beginner did: I just had to walk around the store and fold any of the clothes that needed folding, or I'd place clothing in the right spot. Jodee showed me the different methods of folding and repeated over and over that I always had to tuck the tag back into the clothes. If anyone asked where to find something I'd have to show them, that part would deem more difficult for me considering I just started working. But if I needed any help, I'd only have to go to the cash register and ask one of my co-workers for help. I was to keep an eye on any customer that looked sketchy and I just had to say the tag-lines when someone walked in.

"Having fun?" Jodee asked me an hour later. Currently I was folding a pair of jeans and setting it down on the stack.

There's nothing more I wanted to do with my life than wake up and go fold clothes in a store that shoots perfume from the ceiling which could cause my brain cells to dull out. I thought to myself while grabbing another of the unfolded jeans.

"Yeah," I finally answered. "I'm buzzing with enthusiasm."

She smirked, "I didn't say it was a fun job. I just said it was a job."

"Pays well doesn't it?" Oh man, I thought, Mom is going to love this job for me. With all the folding I'm doing, she'll be so happy. Say I could fold all the laundry now. I shuddered at the thought of handling Shawn's weird underwear. Maybe if he was more normal and didn't get his name sewn on them, I'd be fine.

"Yeah I guess." Jodee sighed and picked up a shirt she saw that belonged in the wrong place. "You're right though."

"With?"

"It not very fun. It's relaxing, but not fun."

"We could make it fun." I shot her a smile just as I finished folding the last set of jeans.

She raised her eyebrow at me. "I don't know Cole. Hiring a bunch of clowns sounds more creepy than fun to me."

I snorted. "If you wanted a clown I could've just called my brother." I looked around making sure Dalton was out of sight. "But I think we could still have fun."

"How?"

"Well like this," I grabbed the nearest Polo shirt and whipped it at Jodee's arm. She stared at me for a second before I hit her in the face and started to laugh. "Come on, loosen up. You're so up tight."

Although her arms were crossed, she smiled. Her hands reached towards one of the Polo's and we started whipping each other back and forth. The store wasn't very full today, with the snowing outside, a lot of people decided to stay at home. Jodee would grab a jacket and I'd run away so I wouldn't feel the sharp sting of the zipper as it hit my skin. "Is this what Shawn meant when he told me to whip you?" Jodee asked while she twirled the jacket before pulling it back.

Luckily I moved out of the way. "Don't twirl the jacket!" I cried hiding behind a manikin. "Do you know how much that hurts?" I threw a random shirt at her face before hitting her side with a pair of jeans. "Shawn always twirls the towel in the locker room and snaps it at me. It hurts."

"No pain no gain, right?" Jodee twirled the jacket and flung it at me. The zipper hit my back and I curled upwards muttering a few curse words. Whenever the zipper would hit me, it would feel like a sharp, cold sting to my skin.

"What on earth are you two doing?" Jodee and I stopped playing around and tensed at the sound of Dalton's voice. We turned to face him and he stared at us like we were crazy children. He didn't seem particularly interested, just acted like it because there was a customer that had walked in a while ago.

"As you can see Dalton," Jodee started to say. "He wasn't doing a very good job so I hit him with this jacket."

Dalton stared at Jodee then at me. He sighed deeply and waved his hand as if he was letting us go. "Whatever. If I fire you, I'll just have to replace you. And searching for someone is so much work."

"I'll just clean everything up." I muttered picking up the clothing Jodee and I had dropped. Another hour went by with Dalton keeping a close eye on us. Every time Jodee would get frustrated she'd cuss and result in putting another dollar in her jar. It sat there on the counter by the cash register. Just by looking at it I could tell there was a good forty dollars in there. Maybe more.

I was at the front of the store when the door opened and another customer came in. I turned around and recited the line I was replaying in my head. "Welcome to Hollister. If you need any help feel free to ask."

The girl in front of me had blood red hair that was fading to brown at the top of her head. My eyes went wide when I realized who it was. "Cole? Cole Parris?" She asked. Her smile grew, "Oh my god. I didn't know you worked here."

I laughed nervously. "Yeah well...it's a small world after all."

I couldn't remember her name. But I remembered her. She was one of my drunken mistakes when I was at a party one night. I couldn't lie and say she wasn't attractive, she was, but she wasn't my type. When your drunk everything's a haze. Some times it felt good drinking, like there wasn't a care in the world. It became a problem for me. I'm glad I was able to stop before it got worse.

"Well I'll have to come by more often." She winked at me before walking into the store.

Her arm brushed against mine, my body stiffened and I stayed in place with my lips pursed together. "Aw shit," I muttered heading to the back. I found Jodee behind the cash register, so I did what any guy would do, I hid behind her.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at me. Obviously her small figure couldn't hide me, either way I kept trying to duck my head behind her.

"Just hide me." I hissed back.

"Gee Cole," Jodee pushed me away from her, "If I knew you were afraid of clothes I wouldn't have given you this job."

"No you don't under-"

"Hey Cole," the girl called out, "Could you help me with this?"

Jodee looked over my shoulder at what's her face. I forced on a smile, feeling like Dalton as I did so, and turned around to face her. "Sure how can I help?"

"I can't find my size." She pouted her lips. My fingers itched with wanting to take my phone out and pretend I was busy doing something else. But I couldn't do that. This was my job now, if someone I didn't like came along I'd just have to force on a smile and act like everything is ok.

"Well I just started working here," I pulled Jodee in front of me before she could say anything else. "So I'll have my co-worker here help you out."

The girl looked slightly disappointed but nodded. Jodee shot me a glare while she went to the back to search for the different size of clothing. Just wonderful, I thought to myself, Just great. I can imagine it already, 'Cole Parris working at Hollister.' Those were the rumors that were probably going to pass through the school. They might even change to something as ridiculous as, 'Cole Parris, model at the local Hollister.' I hated rumors. They were the worst part of school.

"Aren't you a bit young to work here?" The girl asked me.

"I'm sorry," I said while I folded a shirt and neatly placed it in the stack. "I can't seem to remember your name. Could you maybe...?"

She smiled, "Sara. Remember?"

It clicked inside my head. "Yeah I remember now. Do you need anymore help with finding anything else?"

Sara took a step closer to me and placed a hand on my chest. Bells inside my head started ringing in warning. The proximity was close, too close for my liking. The hairs on my neck stood up with chills. I would not get fired on my first day because someone says I was flirting with a customer. I was not. "You could help me with something else." She purred.

Where was Dalton when I needed him. I wouldn't mind him yelling at me right now. He'd be to lazy to fire me. Hopefully...

"Miss? Your shirt," Jodee called from behind Sara. I breathed out in relief when she took a step back from me. Jodee had a smile written across her lips but her eyes read something else. She was shooting me daggers when Sara wasn't looking.

"I think you got this one." I said to Jodee. I walked past her and put my hands on her shoulders muttering a small, "Thanks. I owe you." She shrugged my hands off and I walked away in search for a new customer.

There weren't that many people. Jodee explained to me when rush hour started, or what days were sort of lazy. She said that the lazy days were usually the most boring. Even though rush hour is busy, at least there's something to do other than sit around and wait for someone to walk in. Today just happened to be one of those days. The only reason I was really folding that many sets of clothing is because we had gotten a new shipment. So I was setting everything around the store.

She also explained the perks to working here. We get discounts on every purchase and when seasonal clothes change the discounts can shoot up to eighty percent. All I knew was that my closet would soon be filled with a lot of clothes.

I was stretching over to place a shirt back on it's rack when I felt something pinch my butt. "What the fu-" I stopped myself by biting my tongue before the word could slip out.

"Bye Cole." Sara winked as she walked past me.

I forced a smile. "Bye. Come again soon." When she was out of ear shot I muttered, "Not."

I hate my drunken mistakes.

A couple people asked me where to find a specific outfit, or if this matched with that. In honesty I enjoyed the job because it was fun. It didn't involve anything fun, but helping people have me a good feeling inside. That was the only word I could use to describe it: Fun. The atmosphere was laid back and relaxed. When there were hardly any customers, my co-workers and myself would get together and start small-talking or laughing at some stories.

"You've been really quiet." I said to Jodee as I finished re-stacking a set of clothing that had gone low. I put them in order from small to large like I was suppose to. It was this part of the job that I didn't find fun, the rest kept me happy and entertained.

"Have I?" Jodee asked.

"Yeah. It's weird."

"Sorry." She went quiet again and I frowned.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Peachy."

I sighed. "Seriously Jojo just tell me."

"Tell you what?" Anger started flaring up in her words. "There's nothing to tell."

An involuntary smile started forming on my lips. We've been working here for hours now and our shifts were about to end, I was somewhat glad it was over yet a little disappointed. This got me time with Jodee, and even if she was a bit of a pain in the rear she was a pleasure to have around. "You're jealous." I stated.

"What?" She turned to look at me with complete shock on her face.

"You're jealous." I repeated with a laugh.

"Think what you want," She picked up a few shirts that didn't belong. "Why don't you go back to your side hoe."

I let her walk off as I finished up with all the different sets of clothing. When I was done, I checked the time realizing my shift was over. Dalton was in the lounge, sipping on soda while flipping pages in a magazine. "My shifts over Dalton." I said to him, "Can I go or do you need anything else?"

He didn't even look up from his magazine, instead he waved his soda can in the air. "Leave."

I rolled my eyes making a quick stop at my locker. I'd have to take my button down home to get it washed and next time I came to work I'd just come in 'uniform.' Jodee was pulling her purse out of her locker which so happened to be right beside mine. "You still mad?" I asked.

"No the world is just full of sunlight and happiness at the moment." She slammed her locker door shut and started heading out the main entrance.

I followed after her and caught up beside her. The air outside was windy and the snow was slightly blowing to one side. My jacket instantly went around my shoulders and I stuffed my hands in my pocket. "Could you stop ignoring me?" I said when I caught up to Jodee. I stepped in front of her blocking her way. "Damn what did I do wrong?"

"Nothing." She snapped, "Let me just go home." She tried to side stepping around me but I'd block her my moving in front any time she moved. "Cole!" She said frustrated.

"Tell me why your so mad." I said.

"Just cause." She tried moving again. "Move dammit!"

I moved my finger in front of her face. "Let's not cause a scene now." I said with a click of my tongue. She glared at my finger before looking me in my eyes. "Fine your not jealous. But tell me why your mad."

"Because," It looked like all the anger was boiled up inside her ready to explode. "You left me to take care of that slut. When I got back, I told you not to flirt with customers, which you were. Then, I got frustrated because she wasn't even paying attention to me while I was trying to help her. And you know I'm not a very patient person. She was too busy staring at your ass while you were doing your job. So excuse me for being frustrated with you."

I tried so hard not to smile. It was almost impossible though. It creeped up on my lips like a shadow in the night. "You're so jealous."

Jodee pushed her hands through her hair with frustration. "I'm not jealous!"

"Sure," I said exaggerating the word. "I'll let you believe that."

"You're so stubborn." She moved her way past me but I caught her in a hug. Her hands pushed against my chest trying to get out of the grip. Instead, I just pulled her in tighter. She stopped struggling and muttered between clenched teeth. "Let go."

I shook my head. It took her a couple seconds, but she finally calmed down. She relaxed in my arms and I enjoyed the warmth I felt from us being close together. Words didn't have to be spoken to know that we were both fine now. It was unique in some way. We didn't have to talk, I just had to hold her hand or hold her close and it's like all the worries were away. There weren't any words, just actions.

The cold was starting to seep into my back as I stood there getting blasted by the snow. "We good?" I asked Jodee without pulling back from our embrace.

She sighed. "Yeah..."

I smiled and pulled back. "Good because I wanted to take you somewhere."

Her eyebrows knitted together. "Is this the moment you reveal that you are some sort of stalker and now you're taking me to some ditch where you're going to murder me?"

My eyes rolled. "Yeah that's definitely where." I took her hand in mine. "Now seriously. Wait...is your car fixed?"

She shook her head. "My Tia dropped me off."

"Text her I'll take you home." I led Jodee towards my car and quickly got in to warm my hands. Chilly air started coming out of the vents the moment I turned the car on, it slowly turned warmer and I placed my hands beside the warm air. "God it's cold." I said while Jodee texted her aunt.

"I know." Her teeth chattered slightly. "I'm not used to snow."

At that moment I realized I didn't know much about her past life. I was pulling out of the parking lot, making sure I was driving slowly. The state had ordered salt to be washed onto the streets but there were still a few streets that were covered in snow and ice. "Where are you from?" I asked her.

"California." She replied sinking down in the seat. "You?"

"Here." California was far away. On the other side of the country matter of fact. I'd never gone that far, usually when we go on a vacation we try to stay in the state or region. "Why did you move all the way out here?"

Jodee sighed deeply as if she was thinking on what do say. "My mom lives here with my step dad. My dad lives in California. Basically, my little brother got sick so I came out here to help. I cancelled college and got as many jobs as I could to help pay for his medicine."

"What college did you apply for?"

"Victoria," She said moving her hand up to fiddle with her earring. When I gave her a weird look she laughed gently. "It's in New Zealand."

"That's even more far away." I whistled so it sounded like something was falling.

"From here yeah." Jodee chuckled again and started looking out the window. "But it's close to California." I didn't answer, instead I just kept driving slowly to our destination. Hopefully she'd like it, I made sure to pack stuff in the truck just for this. "So what about you?" She asked turning to me with a new mood of curiosity. "Where did you apply high schooler?"

"Um..." I brought my hand up to rub the back of my neck. "I applied to a lot."

"Well which do you want to get into?"

I faced her for a second before looking back at the road. "Harvard." I muttered so quietly under my breath I knew she couldn't hear.

"What?"

"Harvard." I said a bit louder. Jodee stared at me for a second. Her eyes blinking like she couldn't believe what she had heard. Classic reaction, I thought to myself, Almost like mom's reaction.

When I told my mom that I wanted to be a lawyer like her she stared at me, took my temperature, then when she realized I was being serious she started jumping up and down and clapping her hands like a child. Her squeals of joy made Miss Piggy seem normal. From then on mom would send me to camps over the summer, telling Blake and Shawn they were suppose to help me keep my grades up because I was sinking low. She didn't like lying to her son's, but I told her I wanted to be the one to tell them. She understood completely and is waiting for the day I tell them.

I was pretty sure Shawn would handle it well. He may even be happy for me. It was Blake who I was worried about. Ever since we were kids it was a dream of his for the three of us to be playing side by side on the field. I love sports, they're a great pass time and hobby, not to mention that when I'm stressed they help clear my mind, but as an occupation...I couldn't do it. I didn't want that kind of life for myself. It was bad enough in high school, I didn't need to the whole country to start treating the Parris' brothers differently.

The camps I went to, plus all the extra clubs and sports I did over high school adds more things to my application and resume. I'm hoping I get into Harvard, I planned it over the years. Freshmen year I tried to do everything. I joined several clubs and did my best with sports, but that's not enough. Anyone could have joined clubs.

So I tried working up, I talked to the principal about the Honor students and she agreed I was one of the students with the highest grades. I explained my dilemma with her and of course she agreed to maintain a secret. Why wouldn't she agree? She loves my brothers and I. We're her idols. It's a really strange feeling once I start dwelling on it.

Somehow, she was able to get sessions with me and club councilor's. One of the English teachers turned out to be the debate team councilor, I earned the school five trophies at different debate tournaments. The principal always left me anonymous, the whole debate team was waiting to find out who the mystery person was. They even voted me president, they just didn't know it was me. They thought the president was someone in the club that was too shy to appear. My councilor and I would get together after school some days to discuss everything about the team, he'd then announce it to the other club members leaving me without a name. He'd use, 'The president' instead of my name.

Then there was the math team. The current team councilor so happens to be my old math teacher. Whenever there was a tournament I'd drive myself over while everyone else was on the bus. I'd stay in the back of the room watching my companions as they answer correctly or not. Math was a breeze for me, number always made sense because they're numbers. They have to make sense. They never lie either.

There were many other things that I joined. Even small stuff that only had a few members. It was ridiculous though. In the yearbooks when I looked at the club photos, I was never in them, but my name was always scrambled in with the others. Half of the people never looked at the names, they'd just look at the picture. And even if someone saw my name, they'd probably think it was some error in the system.

You're such a nerd. I thought to myself. For some reason it made me smile. Everyone has the stereotype that you can never be both: Athletic and smart. I'm just here to prove them wrong. Of course I've never told anyone except mom, Tori, and now Jodee. But I was going to tell everyone. I didn't want them to continue thinking I was simpleminded or foolish.

"Whoa," Jodee finally said, "That's so cool. Doctor? Lawyer?"

"Lawyer." I smiled. "I'll be putting all the bad people in jail."

Jodee laughed. "I just imagined you putting yourself in jail for stalking people."

I rolled my eyes and pulled up on the side of the empty road. "Here we are." I said pointing at the steep hill. It belonged to a neighborhood, so houses were lined up on one side of the street.

"Sledding?" Jodee asked when I got out of the car. The snow was still falling and the sky looked grey. I left the keys in the car to keep it warm and made my way to the trunk. When I opened it up I pulled out the small sled that I had gotten from the garage. Of course it was small because last time I went sledding I was in middle school.

"Yeah." I pulled out the blue sled and a large plastic box I had found in the basement. It's where my brothers and I would keep the tape for our cleats and shin guards. "I don't know which will work better," I said holding both up. "But Tori and I used the box and it worked ok...until we tumbled and face planted in snow."

Jodee grinned and took hold of the blue sled leaving me with the container. It was large enough for me to fit my legs, so it wasn't a big problem. "Are you coming or not?" Jodee asked trudging up the large hill.

I followed pursuit and when I got to the top she was already sledding down. The sled was too small though, so it stopped half way down the hill. I laughed when she sat there awkwardly, trying to make the sled budge. "Looks like we're sharing." I placed the box down and scooted to the end. Jodee stuck her tongue out and me before sitting in the front. "Ready?"

"If we die I'm going to kill you." I heard her say against the wind that was blowing on the trees.

"Because that's possible." I pushed ourselves forwards, laughing the whole way down the hill.

Kids started to appear from nearby houses when they saw other people were also sledding on the hill. It was funny how one moment it was just Jodee and I, the next there were screams and shouts coming from every direction.

I threw snow at Jodee which resulted in a fight. We ended up tumbling down the hill until we reached the bottom. She landed on me and stuffed snow into my beanie before placing it on my head. My ears were buzzing and I couldn't feel my nose. We were probably out in the snow for an hour before the first lightning bolt was seen and thunder clapped a few seconds later.

Jodee stopped in the middle of throwing a snowball and stared at the sky. The snow was heavily falling now and her hair was covered in a blanket of white. Mothers shouted for their kids to come inside when they realized there was going to be a storm. "Can we go now?" Jodee asked grabbing the blue sled we had left of the ground.

I nodded and we both headed to the car. I placed the sled and box in the trunk and scooted in the drivers seat. "Had fun?" She nodded and started warming her hands. The sky let out another clap and Jodee flinched. I stared at her reaction for a second. "Scared of thunder?"

She didn't even bother denying it. "Yeah. I hate thunder."

An idea popped into my head as I drove towards home. "My little sister is scared of thunder too. You wanna come over? I can introduce you to the rest of the family."

"My clothes are all wet." Her teeth started shivering as the ice melted to water.

"Tori can let you borrow some of her clothes." I shrugged.

Jodee looked up at me. "I really don't think I sh-" Lightning flashed against the now black sky. Jodee jumped in her seat and nodded, "Ok. But only for a while."

******************************

Tori's POV

Today just hasn't been my day. The moment Blake's girl left I ran up to him and slapped him so hard across the cheek, it left a red indent on his face. Suzie had handled the talk very well. She was mature about it but I knew she felt awkward. She had asked me so many questions.

Why is it called a period? I don't know.

Does it hurt? Yeah. It depends on the person. Either cramps, headaches, stomachaches, or sometimes you feel bloated.

Is that why Conlan has a deeper voice now? Yeah.

I don't get why people like having...sex if they don't want to have a baby. Some people, like Blake, think it's fun. But don't do it! It's not...good. I mean...well...uh....it's complicated.

Blake had thought I lost my mind when I slapped him. I didn't tell him why I did it, I just wanted him to know I was mad at him. It seemed to be working because he kept trying to make conversation knowing I wasn't going to say anything. If anything I was just going to keep quiet and watch TV. Suzie's been ignoring him, like she's scared of him now. I doubt that's the case, I just think it scarred her eyes.

Shawn had finally come back home when the first strike of thunder hit. He was in a happy mood and his backpack was filled with different books. The sizes varied from very large, to very thin. He was so proud of himself when he held up his membership card to the library. He grabbed some markers and sheets of paper trying to convince Suzie to draw with him. Every time she heard thunder, she'd cower more underneath the pillows and whimper like a puppy.

"This little piggie cried Wah! Wah! Wah!" Shawn said while playing with toe. We were all sitting around the dining table and he had his feet propped up on the table. He had drawn little faces on his toes convincing us he'd give us a Puppet Toe Show. His voice went deeper when he pointed at the big toe that had a mask like it was a wrestler. "And this little piggie was insulted being called little so he was like 'I'm gonna go Nacho Libre on you!'"

Blake and I laughed but Suzie remained hidden behind a pillow. "Nacho?" I asked.

Shawn nodded, "Because his nose looks like a nacho chip." He put his feet down and pointed at mine. "Come on let me draw people on your toes Tori."

I sighed and placed my foot in his lap. He grabbed a few markers and started drawing stuff on my feet. I tried not to laugh, "Stop that tickles."

Mom was in the kitchen making us dinner while dad was still out at work. With the snow, he was made to take a longer shift to make sure the streets were safer than usual. Luckily, Blake hadn't been driving on a snow day. Some parts of the street were frozen, but it wasn't snowing.

"Guys I'm home!" We heard Cole call out when the garage door opened. Suzie practically leaped off the sofa and ran to Cole. She hugged him from the side even though his clothes were drenched in water.

"Honey you're soaking wet." Mom said to him. "What were you doi-" Her voice stopped when a familiar strawberry blonde entered the house with an equal amour of water on her.

"Mystery Girl!" Shawn shouted with his arms spread out. Jodee gave him a small smile.

Cole brought Suzie up and held her on his side. "Jodee's scared of thunder too." He said to Suzie. "So I figured we'd all get together."

Suzie looked up and stole a glance at Jodee. "You're scared of it too?"

Jodee nodded and her shivering grew. "Yeah. I hate it. It's just...loud and scary."

Mom seemed to be in a haze. She kept switching gazes between Cole and Jodee. Finally, she shook her head and spoke. "I'm sorry," She said getting Jodee's attention. "I'm Cole's mom. Lilly."

Jodee smiled and shook her hand. "Jodee."

"That's a pretty name. You know you're the first girl Cole has ever brought into the house." Mom blurted out causing the boys and I to snicker.

"Mom." Cole said through gritted teeth.

Mom put her hands up in surrender, "I'm just saying."

Cole rolled his eyes before turning to me. "Do you mind if Jodee borrows some of the clothes?"

I shook my head and stood up. "No!" Shawn cried when my foot touched the ground. "You killed KJ the Kangaroo! Murderer! His dream was to go riding on a beluga whale named Pipo!"

I rolled my eyes and waved my hand for Jodee to follow. "Come on." She was right at my heels as I walked up the steps to my bedroom. "I don't know what you like," I said to her as I looked around my closet. I was looking for something simple that didn't really involve size differences. She was about an inch or two taller than me, so size didn't really matter right now.

"Anything dry should be good." She was hugging herself trying to stop the cold. I handed her some of my sweatpants and t-shirt, and a jacket in case she was still cold. "Thanks." She said after I pointed where the bathroom was.

While she was changing I laid back on my bed and pulled Mr. Cuddles to my chest. This wasn't fair. How come Cole could bring his friend, yet I can't even tell my best friend about the boys? I was hiding everything from everyone I know and care about while he freely gets to tell people. Don't get me wrong, I love Cole as a brother. The jealously and anger was just starting to mix together. If he could tell him friend, I surely had a right to tell mine.

"Thanks again." Jodee said when she walked out of the bathroom.

I gave her a forced smile. "No problem." What was I doing? I didn't have a right to hate Jodee. She's cool and different from other girls I've met. It wasn't her fault that Cole just decided to tell her and leave everyone else out of it. "So what do you know about Cole?" I found myself asking.

She shrugged, "Not much. He loves sports, he's smart, ladies man."

I snorted at the last one. "More like former player."

"What?" Jodee took a seat on one of my bean bags.

My eyebrows knitted together. "Yeah..." I said slowly. "He was a player. Had sex with a lot of girls. "

"Well that explains it." Jodee muttered underneath her breath.

"What?"

She shrugged and stood up. "Just some girl at work today. She was super bitc-" There was another thunderclap causing Jodee to jump up. She glanced towards the window and stared at it for a moment.

"He's changed a lot though," I found myself saying. Cole really had changed. From the stories I've heard over the years, he was different guy though. I felt the need to defend him, he'd do the same for me. "You wanna go downstairs?" I asked Jodee. "I'm sure there's hot cocoa."

"Sure." We stood up and headed back downstairs. Cole was dressed in a different outfit as he sat down beside Suzie drawing something on a piece of paper.

He looked up when he heard our footsteps and gave us a big smile. "Wanna color with us Jojo?" Jodee shrugged and took a seat beside him. "We were going to go on the deck and watch the lightning." Cole said while giving Suzie a small nudge.

I went back to the living room to sit down beside Shawn. He was also looking up at Cole and Jodee. Sometimes he'd look between them, or sometimes he'd just keep his gaze on one. "How much till dinner?" Shawn asked mom.

"About twenty minutes." She answered without looking.

"Come on." Cole grabbed both Suzie and Jodee's hand leading them to the back door. Our deck had a small section that was covered up so we wouldn't get wet by the rain. Or in this case, the snow. He also grabbed two blankets before he led the two girls outside.

He seemed so happy. It made me jealous. It was cruel that he was allowed to have someone and everyone else wasn't. He had drawn over the line. Jodee was great and I was glad she was keeping the secret but at the same time it was unfair. Uncalled for that Cole would pull a stunt like that. Shawn and I had wanted to invite friends a numerous amount of times, but we didn't. My conscious wasn't helping in the matter either.

"I'm more mad than a pirate without an eye patch." Shawn stated bluntly.

"What?" Blake and I asked.

Shawn crossed his arms. "Scratch that. I'm more mad than a T-Rex that can't pick up a rock because it's big head is in the way and it has small arms." He giggled, "I just thought of a T-Rex falling over bec-" He stopped himself and frowned again. "No. I'm mad."

"Why are you mad?" I asked him.

"Because," He waved his arm to the back door. "I can't tell Em but he can tell Mystery Girl? That's unfair."

A sigh escaped my lips. "I know." As if on instinct Blake grew quiet and turned away from us. He stared at his mom while she made dinner, but I knew he was listening in. "But Jodee is cool."

"I know." Shawn grumbled and laid back crossing is arms. "But Em is cooler. She the coolest. Cooler than a cooler."

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the arm of the coach. "Let's just..." I let it hang in the air hoping for ideas. Blake kept silent and Shawn seemed to be thinking on what to say.

"This stinks." Shawn said. "This stinks more than farting walls."

"What?' Blake and I asked once again.

Shawn nodded. "In elementary school me and this boy would sit together in the corner. One day he farted and blamed it on me. It was so nasty. Smelled awful. And when people asked who it was he'd say, 'It was Shawn it was Shawn!' And I'd be like, 'No it wasn't! It...it...it was the wall!' From then on, whenever someone farted, they'd blame it on the wall."

"So you're saying this stinks more than farts?" Blake asked.

Shawn glared at Blake. "Well that kills the story you know?" We sat there in silent truce trying to figure out what to do. At least, Shawn and I were trying to figure it out, Blake just ignored us again and stared at the food mom was making.

The garage door opened minutes later and dad walked in with a smile. "Hey guys." He gave us a wave before turning to mom and giving her a peck on the lips. I watched them closely for second. It looked like an old memory of mine. Mom cooking dinner, dad coming back from work with a smile. He'd walk over and peck her lips after snaking his arms around her waist.

I hadn't seen dad like that in so many years. He always held sadness in his eyes, now they showed a glint of happiness whenever he was with mom. But I remember that glint, it was the same glint he always had when he was with my mother. My real mother. It was different in a way though, almost like he was still sad even though he's happy. I couldn't really put my finger on it, but I liked it. I liked seeing dad happy again.

"Tori," Mom said from the kitchen, "Could you go get Cole, Suzie, and Jodee? Tell them dinner is almost ready."

"Who's Jodee?" Dad asked while grabbing some plates and setting them around the table.

While mom explained who Jodee was I got up and headed to the backdoor. When I opened it up, I realized just how cold the night was. My arms instantly went around me trying to trap in any heat that was possible. Cole was laying back on one of the recliners, one arm was placed around Jodee while the other was around Sue. There were blankets covering their bodies while they watched the sky.

When a lightning bolt flashed against the sky Cole calmly pointed at it. "What should we name that one?" He asked.

"Name it Spaz." Suzie answered.

Cole laughed and turned his head to look at Jodee. "Got it Jojo?"

Jodee nodded and finished typing something on her phone, "That means we have Flash, Bob, Charlie, and Spaz."

"Now let's see if Spaz agrees." Cole said causing the three of them to go quiet. When the thunder grumbled in the air, Cole grinned. "I think he likes it."

I watched for a couple more minutes. The game seemed simple, when there was lightning they'd name it. Then when the thunder followed, the louder the more they liked the name. If there was no thunder at all, they'd change it's name to something else. Suzie actually seemed to be enjoying herself. Jodee smiled a lot, so I figured she must have been having fun too.

Cole seemed peaceful while hugging both girls to his side. It was also nice watching the two girls get over their fear. I felt bad interrupting their game. "Guys," I took a step closer to them and they all directed their gazes at me. "It's time for dinner."

They all nodded and slowly stood up. I was shocked when Suzie didn't take her eyes off the sky. She'd usually be cowering under pillows, waiting for the storm to pass away. "Whoa look!" Suzie pointed at the sky and Cole looked up. The lightning flashed across, forming different bolts. It almost looked like a spider web. "Can that be Archie?" Sue asked.

Cole smiled and picked her up. "You gotta wait for it." Seconds later, a loud clap of thunder shook the house. Jodee reached over to grab Cole's arm as if she was afraid the force of the thunder would knock us down. "Well I think," Cole put his free arm around Jodee, "He obviously liked it."

I rolled my eyes even though I was smiling. When I came back inside I saw everyone was already sitting around the table and mom was serving the food onto the plates. I sat down in my usual seat at the table and poured myself some water from the pitcher. "So you must be Jodee?" Dad said after Jodee took a seat beside Cole.

"Yes sir." She gave a small smile while twirling her fork between her fingers. "You must be Mr. Linean?"

Dad's smile grew. I knew he was happy he wasn't confused as Mr. Parris. That would have been awkward between everyone. "Yes I am." He crunched his fork into his salad. "So do you go to school with Cole?"

Jodee shook her head and we started to eat while she talked. "I'm nineteen."

That information seemed to shock mom and dad. They didn't seem mad, they just seemed...confused. "Really?" Mom asked bewildered.

"Yes ma'am." Jodee took a bite of her salad. "I'm taking a year off before I head to college."

Blake chuckled. "Getting the older ones now." He muttered taking a big bite of salad. Cole kicked him under the table causing Blake to bite his lip. Luckily, mom and dad didn't hear or see any of that.

"I'm not used to this." Dad took a napkin and wiped his mouth. "See I've never had sons. And whenever Tori brought a guy home I'd try to be intimidating-"

"He scared one off just so you know." I added.

Dad pointed his finger at me. "It's not my fault. He was a wimp."

The corner of my mouth curled as I kept looking down at my salad. "He was my partner for a science project. It was seventh grade dad."

"Well anyways," Dad kept going, "I'm not used to girls coming so I'll let my wife handle this one." He patted mom's shoulder.

Mom looked up, "Me?" Her voice was laced with confusion. "Well I don't know what to say either. She looks like a nice girl."

"Yeah she does." Dad said his eyes staying on mom. "So tell her."

They completely forgot we were here.

"Why don't you tell her?"

"Mom dad," Shawn snapped his fingers, "You're sounding crazier than me. We're right here."

We were all trying to hold back laughter. "Just don't do anything illegal." Dad finally said a bit embarrassed.

"Yes sir." Jodee chuckled and started eating her food.

"Means you can't get the sheets dirty 'till he's eighteen." Dad blurted out.

"Dad!" Cole shouted just as Blake bursted into laughter. Jodee was blushing madly, it was the first time I saw her embarrassed. Even I was having trouble keeping in my laughs. I glanced towards Suzie, she was looking out the window watching the lightning. It didn't really matter now, she knew what it was, but I still didn't want to corrupt her to have a dirty mind. That would come later when she gets into middle and high school.

"That was great!" Blake put a hand on his stomach as his laughing subsided. "That was awesome."

Dad held his hands up. "I'm just saying. You're a minor in my book."

"I'm turning eighteen in couple weeks." Cole hissed. His neck was red as well and slowly spreading to his ears.

"Which reminds me," Mom said trying to change the subject. "What shall we do for your party?"

Shawn started to giggle. Then laugh. His laughter increased until he sounded like an evil scientist. He held on the edge of the table laughing at the ceiling while trying to take in deep breaths. Everyone stared at him, whatever he was thinking, it was definitely amusing to him. He grabbed his fork and started to the stab the salad while a crazed look remained in his eyes.

"Shawn." Mom said slowly. "Are you ok?"

He kept laughing like the joker. "No!" His laughing abruptly came to stop, "Why are you all staring at me like that?"

"What were you thinking?" Jodee asked him.

He grinned, "Next time someone tells me to dirty up the sheets I'm going to get some sheets and make them dirty."

"So why were you..." Cole shook his head stopping his question. "Whatever. Just go with it."

"As I was saying," Mom looked away from Shawn cautiously before turning to Cole and Blake. "What kind of party?"

Blake shrugged, "Like every other year."

"No." Cole groaned. "Those parties were huge. And we always had to clean up afterwards. Can't we just have a small party?" He turned to Blake pleading with his eyes.

"Yeah," Shawn added in. "Let's just invite the guys from the soccer team and some of our other friends."

"What about..." Blake flicked his eyes towards me. I understood what he was trying to say. It made me mad knowing he still had a grudge with everyone knowing.

"Ok, you know what." I stood up and grabbed Shawn and Blake's wrist. "We need to go talk for a second. Excuse us." I gave Cole a look that instantly had him up and following us. I didn't even give mom or dad time to protest before we were out of the kitchen and up the stairs. I didn't bother going to a room, I just made us stand around the top of the staircase. It was far enough for them not to hear us, plus mom was trying to make conversation with Jodee.

"This is getting out of hand." Shawn was the first to speak.

"What is?" Blake asked. I had the urge to slap him for the second time today. How could he be so clueless? He obviously knew what we were talking about, yet he decides to play dumb.

"It's not fair." I said to him taking a step beside Shawn. "Shawn doesn't think it's fair either."

"It's not." Shawn whisper shouted. "How come Cole gets to tell a girl?"

"Wait now hang on-" Cole tried to reason.

"No!" Shawn shouted before going back to whispering. "It's not fair Cole. She's not even your girlfriend and you get to tell her. Look at me? Emily invites me to her house all the time. Or we go on dates. And you know what? I love her, a lot, but I can't tell her anything and it kills me. It's eating me out faster than I can eat a pudding cup."

And just like that Shawn loses his seriousness.

"Ok you're right." Cole sighed. "I'm sorry. I just...I couldn't go around that long and not tell anyone. You're right, it's eating me alive too. So I told her. I just thought...you know because she doesn't go to school with us and she doesn't really know that many people at our school...I could tell her. That and I trust her ok?"

I pressed my back against the wall and slid down sighing softly. "Um..." We all turned to see Jodee on one of the steps. "Your mom wanted to see if you guys were ok...Should I leave?"

"No." Cole said before anyone could answer.

"It's ok Cole." Jodee took a step down. "I know if I'm unwanted."

I couldn't contain it. I let out a humorless laugh and threw my hands in the air with frustration. "Well that's great. We just lost another friend. How much farther is this going to go?" I looked over at Jodee and her eyes met with mine. "We're just having some sibling problems right now. It's not your fault."

She looked between the four of us before sitting down on one of the steps. "Is it with this big secret?"

"Yes." I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my friends. "No offense but Shawn and I are pissed off that you know about it."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because-"

Cole was cut off by Shawn's words. "Because he just decided to sing like a canary and tell whoever he wanted while I'm stuck with lying to my girlfriend every time I see her. Do you know how jealous I am right now? How much I wanted to bring Emily home to meet my parents first? I've been dating her longer than you've known Cole and he just..." He turned to face Cole, "You just...just...ugh! You nincompoop!" Shawn crossed his arms and pouted like a five year old while sliding down the wall beside me.

"It's not your fault Jodee." I repeated. "You're really awesome. And I don't know why but I feel like we'd get along and might even be friends but I just can't handle this stress and constant worry anymore." I groaned putting my face in my hands. "I've been lying to my best friend the whole year. I've never ever ever lied to him. And I thought that if I didn't tell him, then it would be for the best because I hated the Trips. Now though I'm just terrified he's going to hate me once I tell him. Hell, I even got my little sister to be keeping the secret."

Everything went silent for a moment. "I understand," Jodee finally said looking directly at me. "It's not fair that you have to hold this from your best friend." She turned to Shawn, "Or your girlfriend."

Cole fell down against the wall across from Shawn and I. "I'm sorry...I swear I didn't mean to. I just couldn't keep hiding it from everyone."

"Yeah I know what you mean." I sighed, "I only know two people that know rig-"

"Wait two?" Cole asked.

I nodded, "Did you guys know that Coach Walker was at the wedding?"

"He was?" The three of them both asked with confusion over their faces. They started to think it over. I brought my hand up to my neck and started to fiddle with the necklace Mark gave me.

"It makes sense." Cole finally said. "I mean he and mom have known each other for a long time."

"That's what he said to me." I took a deep breath. "He also said he thought the whole school would know by now. But they didn't. He's also keeping it a secret."

"This is too confusing." Jodee said with a shake of her head. "Who's idea was this in the first place?"

On instinct everyone turned to look at Blake. He was leaning against the wall, without a care in the world. I realized now, he was the only one that wasn't complaining. He was perfectly fine with everyone else having a guilty conscious, as long as his was sane. "What?" He still looked clueless. "You're blaming me?" His hands went on his chest like he couldn't believe the finger was pointed at him.

"What kind of question is that?" Shawn asked. "Of course we are. Don't you see we're all looking at you with angry faces. If you can't, I suggest glasses. Like that one time, when I met this dude in McDo-"

I clamped my hand on Shawn's mouth, keeping my gaze on Blake. "You're the one that had the idea."

"You're the one making me sound like the bad guy." He shot back.

"Because you are!" I stood up and wiped my hand on my jeans because Shawn had licked me. "You're the one that constantly wants to keep it a secret. Why? It can't seriously be because you hate me right? I thought that we could finally be a..." I stopped my words before they left my mouth.

"A family?" Blake asked lifting his eyebrow.

I nodded. "You said I was one of you. So why keep hiding it?"

"Don't you miss it Blake?" Cole asked. "Having our friends come over for chili dogs and ice cream. Or just to play video games. We pushed them away so far, they all think we isolated ourselves. We have, they just don't know why."

"Seriously though," Shawn added in. "There's nothing left to hide. I love Tori, she's my sister." That made me smile. "And I love Em and this hurts to be hiding something from her."

"Don't you see you're all suffering?" Jodee chimed in. "Tori can't tell her best friend, Shawn can't tell his girlfriend, and Cole just wants to hang out with his friends. So why are you hiding it?"

Blake changed glances between all of us. When he was about to open his mouth and speak I knew he still wasn't convinced. So I interfered. "You told me to give you a month," I said to him, "To see if you can prove yourself in being my brother." His eyes held no emotion. "Well this is your final test. Not just to prove to me, but to Cole and Shawn. If you really want to be my brother, you'd let me tell Mark. You'd tell the whole school right? Because you're not disappointed that everyone knows I'm your sister...or are you?"

It felt like a good enough reason. He had said he wanted to be my brother, he told me I was one of them now, he made me feel accepted. So why does he hesitate? Why won't he just tell the school? He said he'd be by my side when I told Mark, to have my back. Almost like he knew Mark would be upset at first. And Emily, hopefully she'd forgive Shawn. It was obvious he loves her more than any girl he's ever been with. They were the cliche couple, sport star falling for the book worm.

What shocked me was Blake's next actions. He took a step towards me and enveloped me in a hug. I was stiff at first, unsure how to react because I still wasn't used to this. Or the fact he just randomly decides to hug me. We're always fighting about personal space, shoving each other off the couch to create more leg room. Or we just did it because we knew it'd bother the other. Rarely did we hug. And when we did, it had to mean something.

He pulled back and kept his hands on my arms. "You're right."

I blinked my eyes three times. "What?"

He nodded, "You, Cole, Shawn, even Jodee. You're all right."

Again I stood frozen in place. This better not be a game or joke. Half of me expected him to suddenly burst into laughter and say my face was priceless. The other half of me couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I felt overjoyed. "Does this mean we can tell everyone?" Shawn asked with a grin.

Blake nodded. "How about this, we have a small party like you guys want. Just invite the team and other friends, and we'll tell them. In front of everyone, we'll tell them."

A smile found it's way on my lips. "Really?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Yeah," Blake smiled down at me. "Yeah really."

Cole grinned and turned his head towards Jodee, "You will be coming right?"

Jodee snorted, "Well duh! I wanna see the confession too."

We all laughed softly to her reaction and headed back downstairs to the dinner table. I stopped Blake in the hallway just as everyone passed by. "What if Mark hates me?" I asked him.

"He won't." I looked up into his eyes and saw sincerity. He meant every word he was saying, for once I wasn't afraid of telling Mark. I wasn't scared he'd hate me. "And even if he gets mad," Blake went on, "I'll have your back."

I held up my pinky, "Pinky promise to it Cake."

He rolled his eyes and entwined his pinky with mine. "I pinky promise I'll have your back Tobi." I smiled and hugged him around the waist. "What are you doing?" He asked me with a sneer.

I glared right back, "Hugging you. What does it look like?"

"Get off of me Tobi." He put the palm of his hand on my forehead and pushed me off of him. I gawked at him while he laughed and walked back to finish his dinner.

When I sat back down, I ate the rest of my food quietly. I would finally have this weight lifted off my shoulders. I wouldn't have to dread anymore because I knew the boys were there for me. Like real brothers. They cared now, so they wouldn't care about everyone knowing.

I zoned out when Blake started discussing the details of his party. It was the Trips eighteenth. Their birthday was always a big thing. I heard that their sixteenth was the most memorable of all. It took up two whole pages in the yearbook. According to the rumors around the school, the pictures were there to make everyone that didn't attend jealous. If the editors were smart enough, they would have at least faded all the beer bottles in the background.

Excitement suddenly bubbled into my stomach when I realized Mark would know. He already gets along well with Shawn, I'm sure once he started coming by he'd start loving the guys like I do. He'd notice they're just guys and not just the Parris Brothers. Even with my nervousness, I knew that if I had Blake, Cole, and Shawn by me when I explained to him, he'd understand. Hopefully he'd understand. He's my best friend, he needed to understand.

The more I thought about it the more I started to dread it. He needs to understand, I thought to myself, I can't lose him...he will understand.

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PLEASE READ!!!!!!!!

Guys I'm so sorry v.v Yes...a filler. I think the coolest/out of the blue-est was the beginning. I didn't write POV in that because...Well I don't know. Bill's mind seems kinda confusing. Blake got lucky it was his step dad though, if it were someone else like...that could've been bad.

I know it wasn't much. And it's not as long as my recent chapters. I promise next chapter will be more worth it. Pinky promise ;) This filler though, had some information that's gonna be useful in up-coming chapters. Like I needed to add it in somewhere, so yeah. I feel like the end was the most exciting because GUESS WHAT! Blake said they're gonna tell people!!! :O whaaaaaaa

Lol but seriously, *show announcers voice* stay tuned for the next episode...er...chapter of 3 Stepbrothers! Will they tell everyone about being step siblings? Will Mark handle it? Will he be happy, mad, sad, other emotions I can't think of? There's just soooo much!

XD I've always wanted to do that. Ok well, till next chapter. I'm going to start camp soon, so I don't know when I'll be able to update next. I'll try to, soon. Please leave your comments, and don't be afraid to vote :P Bye guys. Till next time (Oh and ideas on how Mark should react would be helpful ^-^)

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