The Ride

"Crawl in, Tegan," Sam laughed as he flung the passenger seat forward.

"I'm not sitting in the back," I protested.

"You're the scrawniest," Sam poked.

"No, this is just as much my car as yours. Mom said you have to give me a ride home," I argued.

"This is hardly your car, considering you failed your driver's test. And Mom only said to give you a ride; she didn't say you had to sit in the front. Troy and I are in a hurry; we're meeting Joey at our house for a raid." My brother's inpatients grew, as did my stubbornness.

"No, Troy can sit in the back, or you can miss your precious video game." I crossed my arms in resolve.

"Or option three." As he spoke, he flung the seat back. "Hop in Troy; Tegan's gonna walk."

"You can't just leave me here," I yelled as Troy slipped into the car.

"I tried; you wouldn't get it," Sam shrugged as he slid into the car.

"Sam!" I yelled, but it was too late; he was gone.

I flopped down on the lawn in defeat, jamming my eyelids shut and sucking in a breath. The spring air was sweet from the sun shining down on the freshly cut grass. I opened my eyes and watched the puffs of white clouds float across the sky.

"Hey, Teddy Bear, whatcha doing?" Joey flopped down next to me as though he expected to find me sprawled in front of the school.

"Sam is a jerk," I groaned.

"Ah, stewing," Joey giggled.

"How can you be friends with him? He's such an ass! Biology condemns me to be his sister, but you chose to be his friend," I spewed.

"Come on, Tegan; he's not that bad," Joey's voice always came in a mischievous sing-song manner, but never ebb to belittling.

"Do I know that? He left me here to walk home," I announced as though it were the deepest betrayal.

"Sam didn't ditch you. He knew I was headed this way. He even texted me to keep an eye out for you on the side of the road."

"He's still the worst. Someone could've kidnapped me," I noted.

"Teddy Bear, no one would successfully kidnap you. You'd have them begging for mercy in minutes," he giggled.

"What's that mean?" I dropped my gaze from the sky to inspect his profile.

"It means you don't let anyone mess you with." he shrugged as his eyes stayed focused on the sky above. "What did you see in them today?"

"At first, a cloud looked like the parietal lobe, and then they formed Angkor Wat." I continued to gaze up at the ever-changing clouds.

"Huh. That one looks like a kitten," he laughed.

"It does," I agreed, unable to prevent my smile.

"Easy there, Teddy Bear. Someone might glimpse that soft marshmallow inside you protect so much," Joey teased.

"I don't protect a marshmallow inside," I objected.

"Tegan Elizabeth Davies, you have the softest core in the word, but no one gets to see it except for a few lucky souls," Joey continued to joke. "I consider myself among those lucky few."

He wasn't wrong. I had a soft spot for my brother's best friend. Joey had an easy, genuine charm about him and always knew how to calm me down after a spat with Sam.

"You want to get back at Sam for ditching you?" Joey tempted.

"So, you agree he ditched me?" I seized.

"I agree. That is your perception. I think it set you up for a better offer." He caught my eye and gave me a wink. My heart nearly leaped from my chest. Was Joey Turner, my brother's best friend, and my first and reigning crush, flirting with me? "Come on." He shifted closer to me and held his arm above us.

"What are you doing?" I looked confused at the phone.

"It's called a selfie, Teddy Bear. It's very popular with the youths you avoid so much. Now smile," he directed.

I tried to look casual as Joey lifted his free hand to a peace sign and snapped a picture of us.

"It's cute." He smiled as he inspected the shot. "What should we caption it?"

"You're asking the wrong person," I moaned.

"Alright, I got it." He tapped away for a few seconds before letting his hand and phone fall back to his side. "We should get going," he reluctantly sighed.

"What did you put as the caption?" I asked as we pulled out of the school parking lot.

"Just a quote from one of Maggie's books; she insists I read to her every night. Sometimes I think she might be just as stubborn as you." He nudged me with his elbow to accent his tease.

"Maggie's a cute kid. You're lucky to have a sibling that isn't a total nightmare." I set my gaze out the window.

"Sam is blowing up my phone," Joey laughed. "I think my evil plan worked."

"He's never been good at sharing," I murmured.

Sam was sitting on the stoop when we arrived. Anger shot him from the steps before Joey's car even lurched to a halt.

"Stay here; we can drive this home," he smiled.

Sam's hollers continued as Joey paced around the car and opened my door. He extended a hand to me, despite Sam's tirade.

"She's my fucking sister!" Sam screamed as Joey seamlessly pulled me from the car to his side.

"Hey, you ditched her," Joey shrugged.

"It's a joke. This whole thing's a sick joke!" Sam attempted to soothe himself. "She put you up to this," he continued.

"Did she?" Joey feigned confusion as he flicked open his phone and handed it to me.

I peered down at the familiar photo and read the caption. "You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway."

"So," Joey's eyes met mine. "Is it just a joke?"