Game Day

One word for practice: Brutal.

Coach said we had it easy. That when he was in high school his coach would make him do laps around the whole town. Then we had Sunshine ask how big the town was. His big fat mouth got us running more laps around the field. Sunshine was not appealing to me. I knew his real name is Austin but after the butt grabbing incident and now this. He wasn't making my world very sunny.

"This is your fault." I said to Cole. My hands were on my knees just as everyone else. We were all trying to catch our breath from the sprints. It was chilly outside, the snow had finally subsided. It was one of the rare days we got to play outside instead of the gym. But even with the cool air, my sweating was making me feel hot.

"Mine?" Cole asked taking a sip of whatever drink he had in his plastic bottle.

"You practically forced me into this team." I stood up and started stretching my arms. Coach blew his whistle and we all got up to go to the middle of the field.

Cole smirked at me. "You agreed in the first place."

"Alright." We stood around Coach while he exaggerated the word. "You can all sit down if you want to." As if on cue we all collapsed and fell onto our butts. "Well man, you guys are tired." Coach plucked the whistle into his mouth, "Maybe a few more laps can wake you up?"

"No!" We all shouted in protest.

He grinned, "I was kidding." His clipboard went underneath his arm while he stood with us. Blake was at is side, he wasn't panting like us, but he seemed tired too. "How about a quick game of shirts vs. skins?"

Over the last couple weeks I had gotten a lot more used to hanging out with the team. Sure they were all guys, and at first everything was awkward. But a team is like a family. If I can get the Parris brothers to accept me as a family, I can surely get a bunch of kids on my team to accept me as well. I raised my hand, "Can I be captain Coach?"

"A volunteer!" Coach helped me up. "What team?"

I shrugged, "I'll take skins."

Everyone stared at me with wide eyes. Coach smirked and shook his head like he was sort of proud I had the confidence to do that. In the crowd of kids, Shawn bursted out laughing. He stood up and walked towards me laughing the whole way. Everyone's eyes were trained on him. "Here you go," He said between laughs as he handed me a twenty. I stared at him for a second, this wasn't some bet. I just decided to do it because I wanted to prove I wasn't some stuck up girl that needed to be treated like a princess. Shawn leaned over and whispered something in my ear, "Go with it. I'm saving you humiliation."

I shrugged, grateful for the free money and slipped the bill into my shoe. "So who's the other captain?" I asked.

"I'll be it Coach." Sunshine raised his hand and stood beside me. "Heads." He said to Coach before the coin was flipped.

"Tails." Coach looked towards me and I looked out in the crowd of players.

It was everyone's natural instinct to pick Blake first. He was the best player, so I guess that's why I chose him. I wanted to win, I wanted to beat the shirts team. "Blake." I muttered. He gave me his famous smirk and slipped shirt off before tossing it to the side of the field.

"Cole." Sunshine said. Cole sighed and took a step beside Sunshine.

"Shawn-ator." I said pointing to my brother.

He grinned and jumped up. "Alright! Me and Tor-bo gonna kick butt like real ninjas! Hoowah!" He threw his shirt off and did a karate kick before bouncing beside me.

Sunshine looked at his choices. "Hayden."

I watched Hayden get up and take a step beside his team mate. He gave me a small smile before turning serious and looking down at the grass. "Trent." Everyone stared at me for a second, then they glanced at Shawn. Trent was frozen on the ground before he stood up slowly and stepped beside me. "You two will be able to play right?" I asked looking between Trent and Shawn. They nodded but their bodies were tensed.

Everyone knew about the accident on Halloween. And if they didn't know then they obviously found out on Homecoming. The Trips weren't on speaking terms with Trent right now, but I was. So they were just going have to deal with it while we played together. If they couldn't play a simple game of shirts vs. skins, there was no way they'd be able to play the game this upcoming Friday.

This Friday was our first match. And if that wasn't exciting enough, Cole explained it was tradition for our team to go to a pizza shop in town if we won. The owners know our team really well because every victory we had would mean pizza at their place. They even have a room, usually reserved for birthday parties, that they'd give us so we woudn't be disturbing the rest of the customers. Because let's face it, a lot of high school boys happy about winning their soccer game, it was going to be loud.

Then this weekend was the Trips birthday. I had exhausted my thinking skills on what to get them as gifts, so I was just going to give them cash. Except Shawn, I'd probably get him a magic kit. Everyone was excited for the Trips birthday. The school was buzzing on what to do. A lot of the popular crowd was disappointed when they heard it was small party. The soccer team was invited, and some of the Trips closer friends also received the invitation.

At lunch today a lot of girls came to our lunch table and practically forced themselves onto Blake's lap. Asking if they were invited as well. My brothers were now regularly sitting at my lunch table with my friends and I. Blake would glance at his brothers to see if he had permission to invite the girl that just laid herself on his lap. He would even glance at me to see if I would allow it. If two of us shook our head, she wasn't invited. The majority always won. From all the girls that sat on Blake, none were invited.

I wasn't sure how, but Blake had convinced our parents not to be there when the party started. Mom was slightly disappointed because he wanted to be there to take pictures of the boys blowing the candles and cutting the cake. So we decided to have two parties. One, with all of the friends. Another where it was just going to be the family.

After the teams were sorted out, I pulled my shirt off leaving me in a sport's bra. No one said anything, a few guys stared but I shrugged them off. "Ok so...this is what I was thinking..." I started to explain the plan to my team mates. They all helped or nodded in agreement. When they had something to add in, they didn't hesitate to ask or comment.

The game, went smoothly. There were hardly any fouls and it was fun playing against some of my friends. Cole and I got in a wrestle for the ball and he finally tripped over my foot allowing me to steal the ball. Blake, Shawn, and I worked really well. We had been working in the backyard a lot more. It wasn't a joke when Blake said I was one of them. I was passing, juggling, juking, and scoring like a Parris. Not to mention we made a great team.

Coach was smiling from the sidelines. He didn't seem to be the only one that didn't notice. Both teams were staring at me when I would victory dance after a goal that Blake would assist me with. He'd smile and laugh giving me high fives. Shawn would jump on my back or I'd jump on his and we'd parade around. Cole even decided to jump in when we got in a group hug. We were...a family.

Sunshine's team never had it coming. It was like having all three Trips on one team. Even with Cole, they were no match for us. To have a standing chance, they'd have to split us evenly. Sunshine's team was sprawled on the grass when they realized they couldn't catch up on the score.

I walked over to Hayden. He was lying on the ground panting hard. "You need any help?"

"Give me a minute." He took deep breaths and placed his arm over his eyes to block the sun. "You've gotten a lot better."

I grinned and stuck my hand out for him to take. "Just a little bit." He took my hand and I hoisted him up.

"We'll win with you four then." He grinned at me before looking down at his cleats.

Coach blew on his whistle and we filed in to the middle of the field. "That was exciting wasn't it." He grinned and losing team grumbled a few things while my team whooped and hollered. Coach laughed, "Well you all know the game is Friday. Pack your bags and meet up here after school. It's an Away game so we'll be getting on the bus as soon as school ends. If you're late, you don't play. At all. The rest of the year you will be a bench warmer. Understood?"

"Yes Coach." We all said in union.

He grinned, "Good. Now hit the showers. You all stink. Whoo." He waved his hand under his nose scrunching up his face. "All of you buy deodorant tonight. We didn't even have deodorant when I was kid. Use it, seriously. It's like smelling different pigsty. Man..." He walked off the field towards the stands.

There were a couple people waiting on the bleachers. Some were little brothers or sisters waiting for their brother to finish practice because they rode home together. A couple girls were there, girlfriends of some of my team mates. Em was in the stand reading a book waiting for Shawn to finish. Then there were girls that were hoping on getting one of the players attention and spend the night with them.

"Tori." I turned around and saw Sunshine walking over to me. His hair had slightly grown more from the buzz cut he used to have. He placed his hand between us like he wanted to shake, "I just wanted a truce." He said.

I stared between his hand and him. "A truce?"

"Yeah." He rolled his eyes like it was obvious. "You're good. But don't get cocky."

"Meaning?" I hesitated for a moment.

Sunshine sighed, "I'm sorry I was a jerk to you in the beginning ok? It just got me mad alright."

"That a girl was on the team?"

"Yeah," he turned around and pointed at a girl in the bleachers. "That's my girlfriend." I looked over and saw a dark haired girl with red streaks through her hair. Even from far away I could tell she was pretty. "She loves soccer as much as I do." Sunshine said turning back to me. "She's on a traveling team and everything. It got me mad because I know that she could cream any other team if this school could just afford a girls team. But they can't. And I know you're close to the Parris brothers, so I knew that they're basically the reason you got in."

I stared at him for a second. He quickly added, "You're good. But you're not that good. My Rue could beat you in a heartbeat. She's been playing since she was two and hasn't stopped since then."

He had a point. If it weren't for the Parris brothers I wouldn't be here. There were plenty of girls at the school that could play soccer. The exception with me is Blake and Cole got me here. If it weren't for them, I'd probably be at home right now studying for my history exam.

Which reminds me...I need to study for that.

I put my hand out, Sunshine took it with a small smile. "My name's Austin." He added.

I laughed, "You'll always be Sunshine to me."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. As long as you don't hate me anymore."

"I never hated you." I answered truthfully. "You're a guy. So that automatically makes you un-explainable."

"We're easier to understand than girls." Sunshine countered.

I stuck my tongue out at him and headed into the girls locker rooms.

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

"Alright!" Coach yelled as we huddled around the bus loop. Because the school we were going to was close by, Coach gave us a twenty minute lecture on our field that we should kick butts. "Get on, get on." He waved us into the bus and we all filed in. "Hey Spunk," He stopped me as I took the first step. "Be careful out there ok?" He said softly.

I nodded and gave him a smile. "I'll kick ass Coach." He grinned at me and told me to move along as I stepped into the bus.

"I call sitting with Tori!" Shawn yelled.

"No I called sitting with her!" Cole shouted pushing his brother back down on the seat.

Suddenly the whole bus started yelling that they called sitting beside me. I rolled my eyes and took an empty seat spreading my legs out. "I need leg room, so forget it."

Shawn bounced in the seat behind me and propped his arms on the top A couple minutes later the bus started moving and I was growing uncomfortable with Shawn's staring. "So Tori. Whatcha doin'?"

I looked up at my brother. "Not a lot. Why?"

Shawn grinned. "I have a secret I need to tell you."

My eyebrows knitted together. "What?"

He lent closer. "I snuck into the zoo at night and went to see your grandma at the gorilla pen. She was mad. So I started making monkey noises and then she said to me," Shawn tried mimicking a grandmother voice, "'Tell my girl Tori that she better get me outta here. Before I break out and spank her.' You know what I said?"

"What?" The bus was quiet and everyone was leaning in to see if they could hear what Shawn was saying. By the confused faces I could tell they didn't understand.

Shawn knelt closer and cupped my ear in his hand. "That's Mark's job."

I reached over to whack him in the head but he ran into the aisle running off to a different seat. His laughing was uncontrollable. "That's not funny!" I shouted to him.

He kept laughing, "Yeah it was! Admit it!" He was laughing harder, "You're face! It was awesome!"

"No it was not awesome." I crossed my arms. "Next time I have the banana's I'm going to stab you in the eye."

Shawn laughed more. "Hell to the no." He said with finger movements. "I will kill you with my sword." I was aware that everyone was paying attention to the conversation. They also looked lost and confused but Blake and Cole were rolling their eyes. "We still need a damsel in distress." Shawn said looking at Blake.

"Ha ha real funny." Blake grumbled.

Cole smirked, "I'll get some cookies and pretend they're ninja stars."

"Yes!" Shawn jumped up and hit his head on the ceiling of the moving bus. Everyone laughed while he rubbed his head. "It will be Shawn-ator, Tor-bo, and Cole of the Fireplace!"

Blake shook his head and faced one of the players telling him we were crazy. I started to laugh and turned to face Shawn. "Imagine Blake in a princess dress with those cone hats." The whole bus turned to look at Blake and everyone busted into a fit of laughter.

"That's just rude and uncalled for Tobi." He crossed his arms and laid back in his seat.

"No I think blue would go with your eyes." Coach said from the front of the bus. We all laughed harder.

The bus quieted down after that, afraid that Blake would murder everyone if we continued to talk about him being in a dress. Hayden was in the seat in front of me so I bent over the top of my seat and poked his neck. "You're really quiet today." I said.

He arched his head upward so he was facing me. "I'm just tired." He said with a small smile.

"You better wake up." I told him. "We need to win this game."

He chuckled. "Excited I'm guessing?"

I nodded. "Haven't had a soccer game in a long time. So we have to win."

"Just be careful ok Tori?" There was worry behind his eyes. "These guys might not like to have a girl on the opposite team."

"Yeah...well they're going to have to deal with it." A grin formed on my lips. "Because we are going to kick ass."

Hayden rolled his eyes playfully, one of his heartwarming smiles taking over his lips. "I'll try to do my best just for you princess."

I smiled back, "You're awesome. You know that?"

"I try I try." He winked at me before we started to converse about different topics. Turns out we had the same English teacher and we were both stressing over the paper we had to write. It was suppose to be a creative writing, which I totally suck at.

Last time I did a creative essay was in elementary school. We had an assigned topic though, 'If you were roaming in the school late at night. You see a janitor closet opened with the light turned on. This closet though was always locked and never opened, so you go towards it. What do you find inside?'

I wrote something lame about finding a pregnant dog with puppies. Then miraculously, my made up character had a wagon and brought them home. Then the janitor was suppose to be an evil man that held dogs against their will....I was nine. And I desperately wanted a dog. It seemed reasonable at the time.

The ride to the other school wasn't very long and because we were all laughing at stupid things Shawn would do, time seemed to fly by. I always thought the way time worked was funny. Whenever I was having fun, time would slip between my fingers like butter. But then if I was incredibly bored I'd check the clock so often, the numbers would have barely changed.

We unloaded from the bus and filed out into the opposite side of the field. The team we were against, the Kangaroos, were all situated on one side of the field while we were placed on the opposite bleachers. This way, both teams didn't interfere with each other. When I looked at our stands I saw some of our friends were there.

Mark and Emily were sitting beside each other giving us a thumbs up or smiles. Mom was at the very top with the rest of the parents, they were all sitting far away from the student section. Then of course there were friends and siblings, even some of the guys that got cut off the team. A lot of freshman took seat as well, hoping they could watch to get better so they could make the team next year. For an away game, it was pretty filled up.

"You should see it when it's a home game." Blake said to me while he stretched his arms. It was almost like he could read my mind.

I was on the grass stretching my legs while looking up at the stands. "There's a lot of people Blake." I looked down at my leg and reached over to touch my toes.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"Is this how you felt your first game?" I rubbed my stomach to make my point.

He laughed softly and helped me up. "No. You just have to ignore them ok Tori? Do not under any circumstance pay attention to what they are saying. Even if you score. Just keep your head in the game and keep your eyes on the ball."

I couldn't help it and started to sing. "I gotta get my, get my head in the game. You gotta get'ca, get'ca, get'ca, get'ca head in the game!"

"I'm so done with you." Blake shoved me playfully with a laugh escaping his lips.

Coach made us do some quick warm ups. They mostly involved juggling, passing, or shooting the ball. We had half of the field while the Kangaroos had the other half. When I looked up at their fans I saw a lot of parents holding up signs. Some students had scarves or painted faces. I saw one boy, he had a tail. How was he suppose to sit on that?

What also amused me were the posters. Most of them had something bad talking about my brothers. Saying things like, 'Parris brothers are going down!' With a drawing of a boxing kangaroo by the side. When Shawn saw it, he plainly started to laugh and roll on the grass. He said it was the stupidest, and most un-clever thing he's ever seen in his life. He started to cry he was laughing so hard.

I worry about him.

Then there were the girls on the opposite team that were staring at the Trips like they were candy. Even in a different school they seemed to be famous. I wouldn't be surprised if the state knew about them. They had won state last year and sophomore year. Freshman year they went to semi-finals but they only had Blake at the time. So with all three Trips, of course they'd win.

I kept getting nasty looks from some of the boys on the other team. They kept staring or whistling whenever I was doing my drills. So I did what Blake told me to do, I ignored them. I tuned them out to a point that all I could hear was my breathing and the sound of my heart beating. It was almost relaxing but at the same time distracting. I missed it when Coach blew the whistle. Cole had to place his hand on my shoulder causing me to come out of little world.

"Come on." He smiled.

"Did Jodee come?" I asked him as he led me to the bench where everyone was huddled.

"I invited her." He shrugged, "She had work. But she said she'll try to make it for the second half."

I nodded and knelt down on the grass like everyone else. Coach was giving us his pre-game lecture again. "Just do your best out there and kick butt. I hate saying this, but have fun ok? As stupid and over-used that phrase is. Have fun. But there's no better fun than winning. So win."

The crowd cheered while we took our places. Coach told us we'd be playing a 1:3:4:3. It means we'll have one goalie, as usual, three in defense, four mid-fielders, and three forwards. It was a very neutral formation. Allowing there to be and equal amount of defense and strikers. Then the mid-fielders would get the chance to help both the defense and the forwards in case we needed it.

Shawn had agreed to take mid-field. Leaving Blake, Cole, and I as forwards. I felt bad because usually the Trips were the ones that always took the forwards position. But the three of them looked happy about the decision. Like they understood that now that I was their sister, it didn't really matter. The four of us worked like a team now, Coach said it was a very effective team too.

Sunshine took a mid-field along with Trent. Trent didn't seem to mad about the fact that I took his place. He gave me a small grin while he pulled his socks over his shin guards. Hayden was at the very end of the field, so I knew he was defense. There were other kids who's names I was starting to memorize. They were all good players, of course they were, they were starters.

Blake made his way to the middle of the field where the ref had called both team captains. While they discussed and flipped the coin, I looked over to the Kangaroo stands. They were chanting a song I heard once on a TV show. "We are the Kangas! The Kangaroos! We're here to get you, into the groove. We're here to dance, we're here to sway. You got a problem? Get out of our way! Holla to the roo!" They'd shout and scream in the air.

The Panthers, my team, would be yelling chants, screaming, or blowing on those ridiculously annoying plastic horns. They all had their scarves as well, or posters saying we had the Parris brothers. This was the moment when everyone thought the Parris Trips were super humans. They'd look at them like they were some sort of trophy. A super-star in their presence.

They were just three boys, I thought to myself. Sure they're The Parris brothers. But they're still three guys just trying to get through high school. It made me proud I was able to find out the real people they were. Not the one's I knew from the stories and rumors. I found out who they really were.

When the game started, everything went crazy. Every time a boy would pass by me, they'd try to trip me or foul. The ref couldn't catch any of it because he had his eyes glued on the ball. The Kangaroos played dirty, barely giving us a break. It wasn't just me, even though I was their main target, they tried getting Cole and Shawn too. Blake, well he was to large for them to truck him.

"Tori!" Cole yelled at me before chipping the ball. There was still no score and there was barely any time left in the first half.

I bent my knees getting ready to head the ball. Just as I was about to jump up to head the ball in, I felt feet side underneath me taking me down. I awkwardly fell on my shoulders and felt a sharp pain shoot up my spine. When the kid stood up he, 'accidentally' stepped on my wrist only causing me to let out a scream.

All that weight that had been on my wrist left the impression of the cleats. I heard the whistle blow and all the kids in the stands start protesting. The Panthers started screaming foul or red card and the Kangaroos said I was faking injury.

Fake my injury my ass.

I sat up cradling my wrist in my lap while I sat on the cool grass. My breathing was deep from all the running but I tried to calm it down while I held my wrist trying to stop the pain by rubbing it gently. Most of my teammates ran or jogged to me to see if I was ok. "Tori," I heard Shawn say before he sat beside me. "You ok?"

The ref was surrounded by a large group of boys. My team, the white shirts, and the other team, orange shirts. The ref held a red card over the kid that tackled me. Some of the orange shirt kids tried to reason with the ref but he kept shaking his head saying, "It was a tackle from behind. And he deliberately stepped on the girl's wrist."

"He was trying to get the ball." One argued.

"Get the ball my ass!" Blake shouted from my side of the group. Cole was holding him back while he tried to go up to one of the attackers.

The ref gave Blake a warning look before turning to the orange team. "The ball was in the air. Would you care to continue arguing with me?"

The team went silent knowing if they kept arguing with the referee it could result in a yellow card to one of the players. Whoever it was that attacked me stormed off the field to a fuming coach. Blake took a couple deep breaths before walking towards me. Cole helped me up and took hold of my hand.

"Are you alright?" The ref said to me.

"Yeah." I moved my wrist around. It was swore, but soccer didn't involve moving my wrist. So I think I would be fine. I would have to suck it up and keep playing. I wasn't going to let a little wrist injury effect me. If it still hurt tonight I'd just place some ice on it.

"You were in the box." Ref said, "Penalty kick to the Panthers."

Now it felt like I had this weight suddenly placed on my shoulders. Free kick was the worst thing anyone could imagine. It placed a lot of pressure onto one team player, and if you couldn't handle pressure, you could not do a PK. I glanced at Blake. His nostrils were flaring and his fist were tightened into balls resting at his side. "Blake," I said to him catching his attention. "You take it for me."

He gave me a small grin before taking the ball from the referee. The goalie's face paled when he came to realization he was up against a Parris. Blake set the ball on the dot in the box. Everyone held their breath while he took large steps back. He glanced up at the goal, then down at the ball, then at the goalie. It was like he was calculating everything. He took a deep breath and leaned over waiting for the ref to blow the whistle.

When the whistle blew, Blake stood frozen for a second before sprinting towards the ball and hitting it with the side of his foot. It soared in the air and into the corner of the goal earning a large swoosh sound as the ball hit the net. The goalie had jumped towards it, but completely missed knowing there was no way he would have been able to stop that ball. Everyone cheered except the Kangaroos. They slumped down and seemed to have lost hope already.

When I looked at our bleachers I saw everyone was jumping on their feet. Mark gave me a big smile while he clapped and cheered. Em was cupping her hands around her mouth hollering things I couldn't hear. And I even saw Jodee sitting by them looking more lost than ever but she got on her feet as well and cheered along.

By the end of the game we had a final score of four to zero. With one of their players missing, we were able to take advantage and score against them. A lot of the team got yellow cards for foul play, but they didn't lose another player. Blake had assisted me one goal and I assisted Cole in another. The last goal was a corner kick and Sunshine had headed it in when he jumped up to receive the ball. He was a great soccer player and a good guy once you get past the fact our first introduction wasn't so subtle.

We were heading off the fields and into the parking lot to get back on the bus. Emily, Jodee, and Mark had caught up to us. Same with any other girlfriend of some of the players. The sun was starting to set, the air was becoming colder, but everything seemed fine. Everyone was talking with their friends, discussing the game. Coach was talking with the other team coach and even the referee.

"That was sick goal you had Tori." Mark said to me with a smile on his lips.

"Well Blake helped out." I grinned.

"So how'd I do on my first game?" Hayden asked me coming to my side. We were all waiting for our bus to pull up. A lot of the parents and students were heading to their cars. Even some from our team didn't feel like sticking around, they would just praise their friend or family member when they saw them next.

I grinned and held my fingers up as they made an O. "You did awesome."

"There he is." Blake suddenly said taking a step in front of everyone. His body was tensed up and his hands formed into fists resting at his sides. He had been hiding in the group talking to different people until now.

"Who?" Hayden asked.

Cole pointed at a boy and everyone turned to look. Before I knew what was happening a lot of the boys directed their gaze at a kid walking down to his car. "That's the bastard that hurt you." I heard Shawn say.

I took a step and faced everyone. "You guys can't go beat the crap out of him." When I looked at the faces I noticed my brothers, Hayden, Trent, Sunshine, and even some other boys who's names I couldn't remember.

"Fine." Blake grumbled, "I'll just give him a good punch."

"No." I said sternly when he took a step. "You could get suspended from playing soccer."

"But I really want to punch him." Blake whined.

"She's right you guys." Emily took a step beside me holding her boyfriend back. "You won't be able to play soccer."

"Uh..." Jodee said awkwardly. "Don't look now but someone is about to get a beating."

We all turned and saw Mark marching up to the kid. "Hey!" We heard Mark say just as the kid turned around. Mark grabbed the boy's shirt, brought him closer, before throwing a punch to his face. Even from where we were standing everyone could hear the crunch from when Mark's fist collided with the guy's face. The kid fell on the pavement and held his bleeding nose in his hands. Mark rolled his shoulders back and turned back to us fixing the collar of his jacket.

He walked back to us, his hands stuffed in his pockets like nothing happened. "What?" He asked us when he saw the faces we were giving him.

Shawn was the first to speak, "You just like..." He started walking away with a swing on his arms before turning to us clicking his tongue and posing his fingers out like guns. "Like the boss." He said with a deeper tone.

Everyone laughed at Shawn's perfect description. Mark shrugged looking slightly embarrassed. "You all couldn't punch him because you were scared you wouldn't be able to play soccer. But I don't play."

"Did you break his nose?" Blake asked.

Mark grinned a bit, "I think I did." He held his fist up and sure enough there was a small stain of blood. "You don't mess with my best friend like that." He said directly looking at Trent.

Trent raised his hands up. "I know the kids pain. Mark could beat me up if he wanted to."

We all looked back at the boy that had fouled me. He was finally standing up but he was leaning against his car trying to get in. His nose kept bleeding so his kept his wrist up against his nostrils. Mark grinned at his handy work.

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

The bus had dropped us off at our school. Mark, Em, and Jodee left to their own homes knowing that only the team was invited to go for pizza. I was sort of excited to see why they kept making such a big deal. I just think it was going to be like the bus ride. All of us fooling around and doing nothing but making jokes. Or in Shawn's case, farting through his arm pit. I know it sounds immature, it is, but it was so funny when Shawn did it. Actually, anything Shawn did was entertaining.

Cole drove the four of us in his car. We were able to fit all the duffle bags in the back, how we managed to do it I had no idea. Shawn had to come out and help by just kicking the bags in, but I still don't understand how they all managed to fit. We were driving to the shop listening to music when I realized Blake had the Cake sweat shirt on. "You're actually wearing it?" I asked him.

"What?" He looked down at the sweat shirt when I pointed at it. "Yeah of course."

"It says Cake on the back you know?"

He smirked, "I might not be the brightest but I can read Tobi."

I groaned, "Why do you call me that?"

"Why do you call me Cake?"

"Because it rhymes with Blake."

"Well Tori and Tobi are similar."

"No!" Shawn yelled out of the blue. "I fed the wrong bunny!" He flashed me the screen of his phone before going back to whatever he was doing.

When we arrived to the pizza shop, we were the last to walk in. It seems that the Trips lived by the rule, 'Exceptionally late.' They apparently had a habit of being late to parties. From what Cole said, they're late but they're exceptionally late.

"There they are!" A kid on my team yelled when we walked in.

"The four of the hour!" Another said. That warmed my heart. It was like they considered me a Parris now. I wonder what people will call us after they find out we're siblings. Probably something dumb like, 'The Four.' Or 'Quads.' For quadruplets.

Over the weekend it was going to be their party. Blake and the boys were going to get up front and tell everyone. I expected shocked reactions. Maybe some will look at us and it'll click. We get along great now and we're always talking. So it would make sense. I feel like the moment Blake admits it, it'll be streaming through phones. By Monday, everyone will have known for sure.

Shawn grinned and danced his way into the room. "The party don't start till I walk in!" He pointed at himself and everyone laughed. He shook his butt while finding a seat while he sang along to the tune of the song, "Don't stop, some other words. Something else. Tonight! We're gonna fight till we see the sunlight."

I rolled my eyes and took a seat on at the head of the table. Everyone turned to look at me, then at Blake. "That's my spot Tori."

"Is your name written on it?" I asked Blake sweetly.

He shot my glare before pulling the chair back and tipping me over. "No but it's my seat." He said stubbornly while sitting back down on his seat.

I glared at him while sitting in the different chair beside Trent. "You're rude." I said to Blake.

"You're annoying." He shot back.

"Rude."

"Annoying."

"Rude."

"Annoying."

"Are you two done?" Hayden asked. I just realized that everyone was staring at Blake and I like we were the entertainment. It was deadly quiet now, something I didn't expect. I thought with all these guys here it'd be louder. Instead, I could hear a pin if I dropped one.

That's when Shawn decided to let one rip.

Everyone's eyes turned to him while trying to contain the laughter. Some people were biting there tongues. Others were letting pfft escape their lips. Shawn stared at everyone awkwardly. "Uhh..." He suddenly stood up making his chair fall back. He pointed his finger at the wall and shouted, "It was the wall!" At that point everyone bursted into laughter. Some were even hitting the table while tears were forming in their eyes.

A couple minutes later a lady came out and took all of our drinks. Each of us had a different receipt that went with our team number. So it was organized in a way where we only had to pay for our food. I felt sorry for the woman. She was probably stressed out with handling such a large group of kids. Not to mention that Shawn asked for an extra amount of straws so he could blow the paper off and scream, "Bullseye!" When he'd hit someones face.

The owner came by and started to talk to Blake like they were old buddies. He was an old man, even looked Italian. But from what Cole told me, he was from New York though his family was Italian.  I was too busy listening to one of the guys telling a story to pay attention to the owner.

Shawn put his hand under his arm pit and started making noises after the owner left. Sooner or later every guy at the table was doing it. They were all staring at me waiting for me to join in, I shook my head and they all whined in disapproval. "Come on Tori!" Hayden said while moving his arm faster.

"No," I took a sip from my Sprite. "I am a lady."

"Ha!" Shawn laughed. "Please sometimes I feel you have more balls than guys I know."

"Just do it Tori!" Cole said as he kept squishing his arm against his hand.

"That's nasty guys." My eyebrows knitted together. "We just had a soccer game where you sweated a lot. Now we're about to eat pizza and you're doing that."

"Just do it Tobi!" Blake shouted as well.

I groaned and placed my hand under my shirt like the rest of the guys. They all watched me carefully as I placed my hand under my arm pit and squished it with my arm. When the noise came out Shawn put his hands on the table and stood up, "Ew! Tori farted!" He yelled loudly. We all laughed at Shawn's face expression.

When the pizza's came out we all reached forward and took a slice. The cheese melted away causing a long string from where I picked it up. There were small cups of tomato sauce in case we wanted to dip the garlic topped crust. It felt heavenly when I took my first bite of the pizza. I was so engorged with eating, I didn't know Cole was talking about me.

"Tori can sing." Cole said to the group.

They all turned to look at me. I was busy trying to get some cheese into my mouth so the pizza was a good foot above my face. "Don't you see I'm busy eating?" I stated just as the cheese landed in my mouth.

"She's really good too." Blake added in while chewing on a crust.

"Sing for us Tori!" Shawn said breaking into opera.

I rolled my eyes, "There's no music. Pass."

"Come on you don't need music." Cole urged. "Sing."

I sighed and remembered one of my favorite movies. I looked around the table and pointed at Shawn's cup. He had a plastic kiddie cup that was outlined with dinosaurs. "Did you finish that?" I asked him. He nodded and handed it to me. There wasn't any ice in it either so it made it easier for me. I sat on my legs and placed the cup on the table.

I started clapping the table and then the cup. Some of the guys recognized the rhythm and grinned knowing what I was up to.

"I've got my ticket for the long way 'round

Two bottle whiskey for the way

And I sure would like some sweet company

And I'm leaving tomorrow. What d'you say?

When I'm gone, when I'm gone

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

You're gonna miss me by my hair

You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

When I'm gone, when I'm gone

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

You're gonna miss me by my walk

You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

I only sang the first verse before I messed up with the cup and just stopped playing in general. I placed my hands in my lap and took some Sprite from my straw. "Encore!" Sunshine yelled first. Everyone else started chanting also.

I rolled my eyes. "I want to eat my pizza!"

"One more." Sunshine said.

I sighed, "Fine..." A grin formed on my lips. "You are my sunshine," I sang. "My only sunshine. You make me happy, when the skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

Sunshine put a hand on his heart. "I'm touched. Really."

I threw a pepper at him and stuck my tongue out. "Very accurate song." Shawn held up his fingers, "Now it's my turn."

We all covered our ears when Shawn started to 'sing.'

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

"Remember," Mom said as she was walking out the door. Dad and Suzie were already waiting in the car to head somewhere else. "Be safe and if something happens call us, ok?"

"Yes mom." Blake groaned, "Now please go. Our friends will be arriving soon." She nodded and headed out the door. A couple seconds later we heard the car turn on and head out the garage. "Finally," Blake took a deep breath and rested against the door. "I thought she'd never leave."

I rolled my eyes and headed out to the backyard. It was a beautiful day, which I was thankful for. The party was moved from inside to outside when we saw the forecast said there was only going to be sun outside. Sure it was chilly, nothing that a jacket can't fix though.

The deck was set up with different tables that had snacks such as chips or candy. The grill was cooking on the yard beside the tree house and Cole was there cleaning it up before he starts making the burgers and hot dogs. Streamers laced between the trees along with some balloons and there was a huge cake inside the fridge that was had a large eight-teen on it.

I joined Shawn out on the yard and we passed the ball between each other. The party was suppose to be huge. Apparently the boys had been planning on it the whole year, but now that it was just small and comfortable, I noticed they seemed more laid back and relaxed.

I wish I felt that way. I was tensed and nervous. The butterflies in my stomach wouldn't fly away. They refused to move and stayed jittering inside me. Shawn told me he had invited Mark. So I was glad but nervous. Plus the soccer team seems to have grown a liking to him since he did punch that guys face. After that hit, we found out the kid did have a broken nose. Coach told us to come clean and say who did it. Technically it wasn't us, so no one could be blamed. I was surprised we were the only witnesses or maybe someone else just didn't see Mark.

It was later in the afternoon when people started to show up. Thankfully, they didn't come one by one, more like a group of guys would come. The backyard started to fill in quickly and soon enough Shawn turned on the music while everyone was talking, laughing, and others were playing soccer in the back.

Cole was surrounded by his friends while he was turning the grill on. They were laughing and I was happy seeing him smile. He was a very social person, so this secret did have to take a toll on him. He was right when he said we all completely isolated the world from us. We were all living in our little bubble that only allowed a few people to enter. It was time we expanded the bubble.

"Having fun?" Blake asked me. He wore the Cake sweat shirt I had gotten him with a pair of faded jeans. He lent on the railing beside me while I watched a few of the guys kick the ball around. They had invited me to play, but I wasn't really up to it.

"Not really." I sighed and looked down at my drink. "I'm nervous...and I've never really been a fan of parties."

Blake smirked and took a sip from his red plastic cup. "Well anyone could've told you that. I remember when we had that big end of summer party you locked yourself in your room."

I grinned, "Well...England was playing."

"Think they'll do good in the World Cup?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I'd rather just wait and see what happens."

"Excited for it?"

"Course I am." I nearly shouted. "What soccer fan wouldn't be excited?"

Blake grinned and went back to watching the guys play. We stood in comfortable silence until I heard Shawn calling my name from the side. "Tori!" He said so I looked his way. "Mark's here."

"Catch you later." I said to Blake while I ran down the steps of the deck. Mark had a small gift in his hands as he handed it to Shawn. I jumped on Mark's back since he wasn't facing me. "Boo." I placed my hands on his eyes causing him to grin.

"Pee Wee Sherman?" Mark asked.

I jumped off. "You have a problem with Pee Wee Sherman."

He grinned, "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't." His eyes scanned the area while Shawn left to place his gift beside the rest. "Never in a thousand years did I think I'd be here."

My smile faded and my throat felt dry. I gulped as my butterflies got heavier. "W-why do you say that?" I shrilled.

He turned to face me, catching my stutter. A frown creased his forehead. "Because like...well I never thought the Parris brothers were so interested in me."

"I know how you feel." I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"I'm just saying," I looked back up at him. "Well I don't know. Do you and Shawn talk a lot?"

Mark nodded, "Shawn is cool."

"And Blake and Cole?" I asked.

"Cole is alright." Mark shrugged. "Don't really know him-"

"He's a good guy." I interrupted. Mark looked at me oddly. "I mean he's really nice," I added, "He helped me with a lot."

"Uh huh..." Mark's lips curled in a small smile. "Then I'll probably like him. Any friend of yours is my friend." I smiled. That at least made some of the butterflies flutter away. Now I was just stuck with the other ones that wouldn't leave until the news was broken.

"Hey guys." Mark and I turned to see Hayden walking up to us. He gave us both a smile which we gladly returned. "Sup man." Hayden high-fived Mark and they did that guy hug. "Didn't expect you to be here."

"Shawn invited me." Mark answered.

"Ok I need to get something straight." I said to them. They both turned to look at me. "Are you to friends?"

Mark nodded and Hayden had a smug look. "Yeah," Mark said.

"That tends to happen when you go get coffee with each other." Hayden added.

"We had to do a project together." Mark had to start shouting as the music got louder.

"For what class?" I asked.

"ROTC." They both answered at the same time. I stood frozen in place. I knew Mark was in ROTC but I didn't know Hayden was. The whole program had me a bit confused. ROTC or Reserve Officers' Training Corps was the program Mark has been going to since sophomore year. It was suppose to train him for the army and his dad made sure he'd get in it in case he did want to join the forces.

"You want to get into the army?" I asked Hayden.

He shook his head. "Nah. But my granddad was in the army. He passed away last year and I didn't feel like dropping out of the class. I want to get into the music business. Like DJ and stuff. Or just managing someone famous."

I smirked. "Check in with Shawn. He has a beautiful singing voice." I said sarcastically.

"Oh my god!" I heard someone shriek before arms went around me. "I thought I was the only girl." Em said.

I laughed and gave her a quick hug. "Glad you could make it."

She smiled, "Course. I couldn't miss my boyfriend's birthday."

"How are you and Shawn by the way?" I asked her.

Her smiled widened and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Really good actually. It's funny we haven't real-"

"This is our cue to leave." Hayden said.

Mark gave us a salute. "No need for me to get into this girl talk. I'll go do something else." Both guys walked off leaving Em and I to the side. We found a bench on the deck and took a seat there.

Em said she and Shawn have never been better. That they always tell each other everything. If either of them are sad or mad they comfort each other. Shawn never fails to make Em smile and it touches my heart knowing Shawn acts some ways to Emily that he rarely shows to anyone else. She says he can be very serious when he wants to be, I found that hard to believe, but when Emily was sad one night he would have a serious face and just hug her close never letting her go until she was fine.

"Awwwww." I gushed when she finished. Her cheeks turned red and she let her hair fall to cover the flush.

As if Shawn could sense we were talking about him, he suddenly appear and sat beside Em. "What'ca girls talking about?"

Em answered first. "Nothing."

I snorted. "She was just pouring her heart out on how she felt about you."

Shawn smiled and looked down at his girlfriend with admiration. "Is that so? Mind telling me?" Em shook her head her blush increasing. Shawn took that as a sign and leaned in kissing her lips gently. "You know I love you right?" He said when he pulled back.

"Yes." Em said softly.

"Good." He went back in and kissed her lips again. I stood up awkwardly when they started making out and made my way down the steps of the deck.

My eyes landed on a strawberry blonde that was leaning against the house playing on her phone. "Hey Jodee," I greeted her when I was in ear shot.

She looked up and gave me a small smile. "Hey."

"You look really bored." I stood beside her and watched the boys play.

"Well I don't know anyone here except Cole." She shrugged, "Also high school parties are boring."

I nodded. She had probably gone to a lot of college parties. This was a kiddie party to her. "So what you been up to?" I asked.

She sighed, "Not a lot. I've been packing a lot and just lying at home."

"Packing?" I asked her.

"Yeah." Her hand went up and started playing with her earring. "I'm moving the end of the school year."

My eyes blinked as I stared at her. "What?"

She turned to me, her eyes pleading. "Please don't tell Cole. I know you're sick of secrets but please don't tell him." When I didn't answer she kept going. "I think I like him," She blurted out, "But I can't do long distance. So I'm trying to stay away...please don't tell him."

"Y-yeah." I stuttered before shaking my head. "Of course." A silence fell between us and simply watched the boys play. I saw Mark took up in the game and although he wasn't great, he was doing good for an amateur. My eyes fell on Cole. He was peacefully cooking some burgers while laughing with friends. "I think he likes you too." I said quietly.

Jodee snorted, "He likes a lot of girls though. Right?"

I shook my head. "Wrong. From what he told me, those nights never meant anything to him. He was always drunk. Trent told me he'd only have sex if he was drunk. So it's not like he was thinking straight."

Jodee looked at me for a second. "Really?"

"Yeah." I pointed towards him. "He's a really good guy. Had a drinking problem. But that's about it. He's changed a lot since I moved in."

Jodee was about to answer when I heard a click of heels. I turned my head to see the source of the sound and found Cali. My body tensed and I felt the butterflies fly away for a second. "Cali?" I asked.

Her eyes turned to look at me and she gave me a small smile. "Hey." She walked over and I stared at her in complete shock. "What are you doing here?" She asked me.

"I'm part of the soccer team." I said slowly. "Remember?"

"Oh yeah..." Her gaze shifted to her feet.

"What are you doing here?" I asked sternly. Jodee shifted awkwardly since she was between us.

"Should I-"

Jodee started to say before I cut her off. A glare formed on my eyes as I stared at Cali. "Were you even invited?"

"Tori wait before you get ma-"

I didn't even let Cali finish her sentence. "No. Just stop. Just stop all of this Cali!"

She looked up from her heels and sneered at me. "Stop what? You're suppose to be my best friend Tori."

My mouth dropped. Best friend? I was her best friend? She treated me like nothing now. I was nothing but a side glance while she giggle and threw herself at guys whenever they'd walk by. Maybe we had been best friends. I still loved her for the years of companionship we had together, but I can't keep worrying something may happen to her. I was so...angry that she thought she could use me. She was using me. There was no doubt about it. "Friends?" I said to her. "We're friends?" My voice became higher as I spoke.

"Tori you're causing a scene." Jodee whispered to me.

I ignored her. "We're not friends. So there is no way we are best friends. Ever since you hooked up with that Jerry guy you've done nothing than open your legs to every guy you thought would give you a quickie." Cali's face turned pale as she realized the music went down and everyone was staring. I was on a roll right now. I couldn't control the words leaving my mouth, "We were best friends. Hell I even thought you could've changed back to the better. But because you got so wrapped up in having sex with every guy that walks, there was no change."

Cali's voice choked. "You don't get it..."

"I don't get what?" I asked. Someone's arm brushed against mine. I looked up and saw Mark staring between Cali and I. His eyes were filled with mixed emotions. Like he knew I was right but he was sad he came to realize the truth. "Please just leave." I whispered looking back at Cali.

Her eyes were glazed with a coat of water as she looked at Mark. "You're going to take her side?" She asked him. Mark stood stiff and didn't say anything. "You're both assholes." She wiped away one of the tears that escaped and ran back to the front.

"There's nothing to see here." Jodee shouted. There was so much hostility in her voice that everyone went back to what they were doing. "Yeah that's right," I heard Jodee say before I heard her smirk, "College girl power."

"Jodee come over here." Cole called to his friend. She gave me a sad look and muttered a sorry before grabbing her present and walking over to the grill.

Mark turned to face me and I sighed deeply. He pulled me in and hugged me tightly, pressing his lips to my head. "I'm sorry Tori." I heard him say. I was to busy willing myself not to cry to pay attention to his words. I inhaled deeply burying my face in Mark's chest. "I know she was our best friend." Mark whispered. I felt his lips press on my head again.

"What happened to her?" I asked softly.

He sighed. "Boys..."

That made me smile a bit. "You're right...it's all you're fault." I felt his body flinch like he didn't like my choice of wording. "I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"It's ok." He answered before I could finish. "I mean...I just wish we could've stopped her, you know?"

I wasn't sure how long we stood there hugging each other but I didn't want to let go. I lost track of time and everything seemed tuned out. I concentrated on Mark's heart beat and the breathing that was coming out of his mouth. Sooner or later, my worries faded away. I felt tired from what just happened, Mark's hug was so warm. Like a blanket and his chest was the pillow. This would probably be the first time I would fall asleep standing up.

"Tori." I heard someone say behind me.

"What?" I grumbled.

"Well good morning to you too." I looked over my shoulder and saw Shawn standing there. He had a weird smile on his face and Mark pulled back. "I'm gonna talk to Tori for a second." Shawn said before grabbing my hand.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Mark said trying to pull me back to him.

"Relax." Shawn said exaggerating the word. "I just need her to help me with the cake. Go play some more soccer." Mark hesitated but let us go. He pushed his hands into his pockets and walked off into the direction where all the guys were playing.

"You're so blind." Shawn said when we walked through the door.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm just saying you need glasses." He smirked and walked over to the fridge pulling out the cake. It was ordinary with a large eighteen. Shawn grabbed the candles and handed me a couple. "Put them on the edges." I did as I was instructed and together we were able to place all the candles.

"So define blind?" I asked when we finished.

He sighed and placed two circles around his eyes. "These are my boopie eyes." He explained. "Meaning they are my eyes."

"Um...ok."

"Come with me." He grabbed my hand and led me back to the deck. Be placed me at the railing so I set my hands beside the flower pot. "I'm going to give you my boopie eyes ok? And you're going to see like me." Shawn dramatically took the circles off his eyes and placed them over mine. "Boop!" He said when they aligned with my eyesight.

It felt like I was looking through binoculars. Except, you know it wasn't showing much distance. "What am I suppose to see?" I asked looking around everyone. They all had plates and Cole just finished passing the burgers and hot dogs around. He let Jodee sit on a stool and he stayed close to her side.

"Don't you see?" Shawn asked. "Look harder. Don't look at them. Look in their eyes. Look at their actions."

I wasn't sure what he meant. Until I saw it. Jodee looked away from Cole giving one of his friends a smart remark. As she did so, Cole looked at her with admiration. The same kind I saw Shawn look at Emily with. Cole's eyes looked down at Jodee's hand and I noticed his hand seemed to have twitched. "Ok...I think I see it."

"Good." Shawn took his boopie eyes off me. "Just remember that look ok?" I frowned but didn't have time to ask what he meant until he shouted, "Can we have cake now!?" Everyone turned to look at him and gave him shouts of approval.

I wasn't paying much attention when my three brothers blew the candles. Instead I was trying to figure out what Shawn was saying. Maybe it made sense to him, but I had no idea what he was talking about. Yet he sounded...wise as he spoke. Something I didn't know Shawn had: Wisdom.

"Do you want some cake?" Cole asked me.

I took the small plate and plastic fork. The cake was actually really good. It was filled with strawberries and chocolate. "Who made this?" One of the guys asked.

"My mom and si-" Cole stopped talking when Blake hit him between the shoulders. Cole coughed and tried not to choke on his cake.

"Dude." Blake said. "Remind me to thank mom later. This is awesome!"

I smirked but then thought it over. Blake was trying to hide it again. Cole was about to say 'sister.' Mom and Suzie had been baking all day trying to get the recipe right. Then mom pulled out a few frosting tubes and decorated the cake like a professional. When I asked she said because she was sometimes lonely when the boys were at school, she'd found ways to entertain herself. Which included a class on how to frost cakes.

"Can we open presents now?" Shawn asked. He was vibrating in his seat. Maybe it wasn't good giving him cake after all.

"Yes yes." Blake waved his hand around.

Shawn literally leaped off his chair and went to the presents table. "Be honest," He said looking at all the gifts and then at all the guests. "If you got me a gift card or cash just raise your hand because I'll just open those later."

Almost everyone raised their hands. "Yeah," Sunshine said, "When I told my mom it was the Trips birthday she just blinked her eyes and said, 'You're getting them cash. It's too much work and money for a triplet party.'" Most of the guests grumbled their agreements.

Shawn's gaze turned to Em. "Which is yours babe?" She pointed at a box that was wrapped up in paper. Shawn picked it up and threw the paper off of the gift. He started jumping up and down like a little the child he is. "Look!" He showed everyone the box. It was a pranking kit.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Blake hissed to Emily.

She shrugged, "I saw it in the kids section and knew he'd love it." Shawn pulled Emily into his chest and kissed her hard. The guys all started to whistle and whoop causing me to roll my eyes.

Men...

"Thank you babe." He said when he pulled back. Emily was left flushed and breathless. "Who's next?" Shawn asked.

"Check mine." I rose my hand in the air before pointing at a small bag. Shawn was the only brother that I had actually gotten a gift for. For Cole, I got cash and the same for Blake.

Shawn picked up the bag and pulled out all the paper. He gasped loudly. "An inflatable unicorn horn!" He quickly tore the bag open and pulled out the plastic material he was suppose to breathe into. He found the hole where he would have to inflate the horn and started blowing. When he was done he placed the horn on his head. "Look!" He pointed at it with a huge grin. "I'm horny!"

At that point everyone turned over and held their stomachs. The only reason I had bought that horn for him was because I knew he had a unicorn problem.

"Alright," Cole smirked. "I only have one present I think I'd enjoy opening." He took a seat beside me and gave Jodee a smile. "Mind handing me your gift Jojo?"

She rolled her eyes and passed him the present. It was a box that was laced with ribbon that had to be undone. He opened the box and pulled out the letter. I leaned over so I could read it, Happy birthday Cole! You're officially the big 18. I didn't get you anything big, but keep reading por favor!

I got you a: There was a gift card taped onto the paper. It was to Dick's Sporting goods and had the value of twenty dollars. Beside the card I read on. Where we first met, and you gave me awkward stares.

The second time we met and I accidentally hit you with the door. Beside the text was a gift card to Hollister with the value of fifty dollars.

The bottom of the page had a Starbuck's gift card of fifteen dollars with the writing beside it. Three strikes you're out! The third place we met! When I bit you, we got to know more about each other and we started talking! P.S. You text a lot.

Cole was grinning from ear to ear. He slowly pulled out everything that was in the box. Each item had a note attached to it. He pulled out a stuffed bird: I got the bird Cole! -Ethan. P.S. Happy birthday. Then came a pack of Pokemon cards: Happy birthday! -Kaden.

He pulled out Jodee's gifts. A crew neck with the word 'Buddy' written on the front. I have the same one but smaller. So we can be 'buddy-buddy's.'

A box of band-aids. For when I hit you with the door and nursed you.

A bag of cookies. When I bit you at Starbucks. Never try stealing my cookies.

Finally, a bag of Hershey kisses. For your wrist when I bit you.

By the end of taking everything out and reading the notes. Cole stood up and faced Jodee. He was smiling and showing his teeth as he did so. "You forgot something." He said trying to put on a serious face. He failed miserably.

When Jodee heard him say that, her smile fell. She looked upset and her hands balled up into fists. "Forgot something?" She said uncaring that everyone was staring between them. "Do you know how hard I worked on that? And you're saying I forgot something? You couldn't say thank you?" Her face flared. "What could I possibly forgotten Cole?"

"This." Cole leaned over and placed his lips on Jodee's before she could move. His hands went up to cup her face while all the guys started hollering and saying, 'ooooooh!' I rolled my eyes.

Men...

Jodee didn't pull back, instead she wrapped her arms around Cole bringing him closer. "Go on a date with me." Cole said when they pulled back. Jodee's cheeks went red when she realized she had a crowd. "It wasn't a question Jodee," Cole smiled pecking her lips. "You are going to go on a date with me."

Shawn suddenly jumped on a chair. "Yes! Ha ha!" He jumped off and started running in the backyard. He did cart wheels and was singing while he did so. "He finally grew a pair! Whoo!" Shawn tried to do a hand stand but fell with a grunt. "Ow...Cole grew a pair!" We all laughed at Shawn's reaction. Except for Jodee and Cole, they resulted in kissing again.

"Alright alright." Blake said. We had all been dancing to the music for the last hour. Now Blake was positioned on the steps of deck as he looked towards everyone. My butterflies came back when I realized what was happening. He was going to tell everyone. "Thank you all for coming by the way." He said.

I looked to my side and Mark smiled down at me. He took my hand in his and we both turned back to Blake. He continued with his speech. Cole and Shawn taking a step beside him. "Well we have some interesting information." Blake continued. Cole smiled my way and Shawn gave me a wink.

Blake looked towards me, all eyes were on him. "Well you see," He bore his eyes into mine. Then they found themselves on Mark. Blake looked between Mark and I. "Uh..." He stuttered. Everyone frowned. Blake never stuttered. He was always confident and stubborn. He'd always have that smirk. But for once, he hesitated. He didn't know what to say.

Cole and Shawn looked up at their brother. They both lent over and whispered something to him. Blake sighed deeply before looking directly at me, "I can't. I'm sorry." With those last words Blake turned around and marched into the house.

I stayed frozen in place. I wasn't mad. Sadness didn't even cross my mind. It was disappointment. Disappointed filled in me as I stared at the door that Blake had retreated in. Cole and Shawn stood on the steps not sure what to do. They looked at me to see if they should continue but I shook my head. If Blake counldn't I wouldn't force Cole or Shawn. It wasn' their secret anymore, it was Blake's. This was suppose to be his test to see if he thought truly saw me as a sister. He obviously didn't considering he just walked away. He was suppose to tell everyone, not Cole and Shawn.

The whole crowd of kids started whispering to each other. They kept asking what happened or what was going on. I was staring at a blade of grass not sure what to do. My eyes stung with unshed tears. He made me believe he wanted to be my brother, I was wrong. I was hopelessly wrong. Blake never wanted to be my brother, he only said he did so he could make his conscious feel right again.

"Tori are you ok?" Mark asked me when he realized I was still.

"Fine." I bit on my lip trying to hold back the tears. My hand let go of Mark's and I walked toward Cole and Shawn. "If I'm not back in five minutes, it probably means I killed him." I muttered to them before walking into the house. The crowd went silent again like they expected I'd fix everything.

When I walked into my home I noticed how quiet it was. Then I heard the sink from the bathroom running so I went there. I closed the door behind me when I entered the bathroom. It was a tight fit, but I didn't care right now. "Why?" I asked.

Blake was bent over the sink slashing water into his face. "I just can't." He said hanging onto the sides of the faucet. His face was dripping water so he reached to grab the towel.

"Why?" I asked again this time my voice cracked. "If you didn't want me to be your sister you didn't have to get my hopes up and then have them crashing down!"

Blake turned to look at me. My eyes remained glued on the floor. "God no, that's not why I can't do it Tori."

"Then why?" I asked him my voice rising as I spoke. "Tell me Blake! Because you said you wanted to be my brother. You said you wanted to make it up to me. Was this all an act? Were you just playing me because you thought it'd be funny? Well it's not! It's cruel! It's cruel for you to do th-"

Blake's hand went over my mouth and I felt the door against my back. I tried licking his hand but he didn't move.  He stared right into my eyes. Only his eyes seemed sad, regretful, he seemed in pain. "This is all déjà vu for me ok? That's why I couldn't do it."

I stare at him with so much confusion he caught on and kept talking. "You don't get it. I was your best friend first. Not Mark. What happens when he finds out? You'll just toss me to the side again like in second grade. It's all happening again. I just got you back. Better, you're my sister. A sister is the best friend you could ever want. It's like Cole and Shawn. They're my best friends Tori's. Yeah they're my brothers, but they're my best friends too. I can trust them. And I trust you.

"But it's not fair. He's going to take you away again. Like he did when we were kids. You were my best friend first. All those guys you see out there. They're not my friends. Yeah I hang out with them, I laugh with them, but you know what really really sucks about being a Parris? You have no friends. Everyone thinks we're so perfect. We're not. We're three guys. Three regular guys that love what we do. Everyone thinks we have no flaws. That's wrong. Inaccurate. Look at me, I have jealously, anger, and bipolar problems. Cole, he had drinking problems. And Shawn...he just has problems.

"But even with that I wouldn't ask for them to change. Ever since you came, you've changed us. I smile and laugh a lot more. Cole doesn't drink. He looks at the cup and stares at the alcohol and then sets it down. And Shawn, he's so much more independent. I don't want that to change. I don't want people knocking on our door and taking you away from us. I want us to be siblings and just have each other. Because in full honestly you're the best friend I ever had. Even when we were kids."

I didn't know what to say. I was glad Blake had his hand over my mouth because this way I didn't have to say anything. He took a deep breath before continuing, "This is why I didn't want to tell anyone. At first, yeah it was to make you're life the living hell. Then I realized I wasn't just hurting you but Cole and Shawn. But right now, out there looking at everyone, including Mark, I noticed that you changed us for the better. And that's something that I want to keep the same. I'm sorry. But I couldn't do it. I can't lose my best friend again for the second time to the same guy."

Blake slowly moved his hand away from my mouth. I stared at him, my jaw dropping with words that wouldn't come out. It all made sense to me now. Everything. But everything was still processing through my head. When I thought I knew what to say, the door behind me opened and I fell onto my back. Blake lost his balance since he had been leaning his arms against the door waiting for me to answer. When he landed on me, I made a large oopmf! come out of my mouth as Blake's weight hit my stomach.

"Sorry." Cole said looking down at us. He was closest to the door, so I figured he was the one that opened it.

"We thought you killed him." Shawn whispered.

Why was he whispering?

When I looked up I realized everyone that was outside was staring at Blake and I. "Ow," Blake muttered. "That hurt Cole."

"Speak for yourself." I muttered trying to push him off. "Get off me."

He grumbled a few curse words before getting off me. He gave me his hand and effortlessly pulled me up. When I looked around the crowd I noticed three different kinds of expressions. Some looked confused. Other's looking like they knew what was going on, obviously not. And last, a couple kids seemed to have smirks on their faces.

I rolled my eyes and dusted my pants off. I looked up and met a pair of simple green eyes. Mark looked still as a statue, his face emotionless. He then plastered a smile that he shortly gave me.

Shawn, of course, was the first to break the silence. "Aca-awkward." He said while rubbing his neck and looking between all the people that were staring.

"What uh..." Hayden asked awkwardly. "What were you guys doing in there?"

"Tori came in and started chasing me around yelling bad things," Blake came up with quickly. "So I went to hide in the bathroom but didn't have time to close it. I just sat on the toilet the last three minutes listening to how she'd castrate me for being a jackass."

Shawn laughed trying to relieve the tension, "That's funny. Castrate what though? You don't have a dick." He ran away when he thought Blake was going to chase him. All the boys moved out of the way while Shawn ran to the backdoor. He wasn't looking, instead he looked behind him as Blake advanced. Shawn finally looked in front of him, "Oh shi-" His words cut when he ran head first into a wall.

When the party was over, I laid back on the grass outside in the yard. Everyone seemed to have had fun. Cole got a new girlfriend, Shawn was able to talk to his, and Blake got a chance to talk to his...friends. The backyard wasn't as dirty as it had been after the Halloween party. Instead there were only a couple plastic cups lying around in some places where people placed them but forgot of them. The trash bin was filled to the top, nothing we couldn't handle.

Blake's words kept replying in my mind. It was still killing me to keep this hidden from Mark. But now, it made perfect sense. He was jealous, Blake was always jealous. Especially of me. First it was because we came into this family. Then because I stole his brothers. Now he's jealous of Mark. Afraid he'll take me away from him. Blake was now my brother, but Mark always had a special place reserved in my heart.

"Hey." I looked up and saw Blake. He laid down behind me so the top of our heads were touching. "What are you doing?"

"Looking at the stars." I replied shortly.

"They look nice today." He said gently. "Clear skies..."

"Yeah..." I went quiet and looked up at the bright specs in the sky.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked.

I shook my head, "No...it makes sense now."

"We can still tell him." Blake whispered quietly. "I feel like a jerk doing that to you. We can tell him at school when we get back."

"Really?" I whispered back. The air was cool out but there was no wind. It was deadly silent. Because it was still considered winter, I didn't hear any chirping of bugs.

"Pinky swear." He held his pinky in front of us. I smiled and entwined it with mine.

A couple minutes later I heard the back door open and footsteps on the grass. "Mind if we join you?" I heard Cole ask.

"You don't even have to ask." I smiled up at him.

"Good." Shawn took a seat beside me placing the top of his head with mine and Blake's. "Because I was going to stay anyways." We all laughed softy and Cole took the other side.

We started pointing out the stars. Some we recognized, others we didn't Cole pulled out his phone and downloaded an app that used GPS to track where you were. Whenever he pointed his phone, it'd show us the constellations. We found a planet and Sirius. Other than that, we didn't know what the others meant.

"Happy birthday you guys." I said quietly.

Cole and Shawn took my hands. "You're the best thing to ever happen to us Tori." Shawn said.

"Yeah." Cole agreed. "You saved me."

"You helped me open my eyes and see everything differently." Blake said.

"We love you Tori." The three said at the same time.

I smiled. "You're triplet telepathy scares me sometimes."

They all laughed softly. "Way to ruin the moment." They said.

"See!" I pointed out. But I was happy. When we quieted down we kept looking at the stars. "I love you guys too." I said softly.

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Please don't hate me! I know what you were all expecting...I hope this was somewhat better. Yes Mark still needs to find out. I liked this chapter though. Because Blake admitted to his jealously towards Mark. But what do you guys think?

Omg o.o the drama with Cali and Tori. Like....dannnnggg that part I liked writing. Even if it was small xD I think it was needed.

Oh and Cole and Jodee ^-^ I thought it was super cute. Yes...Cole and Shawn have their girls. Now Blake. But remember, Jodee said she's moving o.o how will Cole handle it? Stay tuned ;)

Blake's confession y'all. Like...It made perfect sense to me. I don't know about you.

Oh and my bestie told me to write this. And yeah, she's my best friend so how could I not: Dezi Arvizu aka Goofy, my bestie Jodee loves you and says you're the best :)

That's all I have to say. I'm going to start camp soon and it's like regular school :/ but without homework. So I'll try to update soon. Guys....next chapter will be worth it. I promise. Pinky swear :) Love you all. I'll try to update soon...

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