As I walked past the front door, I prayed that we wouldn't get any visitors. I was distinctly thinking 'Please God don't let anyone come over tonight.' It wasn't a particularly bad night. I just hated people. The parents were out and the only thing worse than having guests over, was having guests that I had to entertain. Before I could finish my trek past the front door, the doorbell rang. Dang!

If a person were alone in the house and sleeping soundly in the back bedroom, it could take up to two minutes for said person to reach the front door. So, I waited for two minutes hoping they, whoever was at the front door, would get the hint and leave. Instead, the doorbell rang again. 

There was nothing I could do; I was raised by the most polite people on the planet. If someone rang the doorbell, I was genetically programmed to open the door and at least offer a cold drink. But, I really didn't want to. Somehow though, if I ignored the visitors and let them leave without a smile and a handshake, my parents would know. They had a sixth sense about these things. It would mean a long, tiring lecture from my father with supportive nodding from my mother if I let the strangers leave. Out of fear for my sanity, I sluggishly opened the door.

"Hello!" Said a smiling girl from behind the screen door. She was smiling the biggest smile I had ever seen and her white teeth shone from behind her brown lips. The way she stood and held her hands reminded me of my sister Pixie. Except, Pixie never smiled. Either way, this girl seemed eerily familiar. Next to her stood an Asian guy who looked thoroughly confused. He stared at the girl with a quizzical look on his face but he said nothing.

"Hi." I said warily as I waited for the speech to start about buying the newspaper or hearing the "good news".

"I like your house, have you lived here long?" Asked the Pixie-like girl. The look on my face must have shown confusion because her smile dimmed a little. It didn't seem like she wanted to sell me something or save my soul. Why was she here?

"My parents bought this house about a year before I was born and I'm 19. So I guess we have lived here long." I answered the question because I thought maybe this was one of those previous owner visits. Perhaps she would soon start reminiscing about how the wallpaper had been changed and how they used to play marbles on the floor in the very spot I was standing. No, that didn't make sense. She was about my age. There was no way she could have lived here before I was born. What could she be after with all this questioning? Could she be one of those scam artists who comes to your house pretending to be the previous resident and leaves with your social security number?

As I looked at her face, contemplating the possibility of getting my identity stolen, it started to bother me. Her eyes crinkled in the corners just like my sister Pixie but her toothy grin was just like dad's. The unnerving feelings were short lived as the sound of keys scratching came from the back door. With the impending entrance of my parents, these visitors weren't going anywhere any time soon.

"I'm Magnus. Won't you please come in?" I asked, allowing my programmed politeness to take over. The girl nodded quickly and followed after me. Although the guy followed slowly behind, he seemed much more excited after hearing my name.

"Haha, his name kind of rhymes with yours." He said as he elbowed the girl in the ribs a few times.

"Does it? What's your name?" I asked, expecting the girl to answer. She said nothing.

"She's Agnes and I'm Roy!" The guy answered for her. Hearing the name halted my tracks. Agnes was a name I knew from bedtime stories and third party accounts. In my book, "Agnes" was a curse word that should never be uttered. Agnes was someone I'd never met. She was a sister I never quite had as she ran off right as I was being born. The Agnes in front of me now was frightening. She was a mix of my father and my youngest sister with a name that sent shivers down my spine. Perhaps she was a ghost sent to haunt my parents. Oh God! My parents! They were currently coming in through the back door and the phantom before me would no doubt give them a heart attack each.

"Maggie we're home!" My mom yelled. The fear in my heart was so all-encompassing that I wasn't even embarrassed after hearing my girlish nickname. Two sets of footsteps steadily approached.

"We have visitors!" I screamed. Surely I sounded alarmed. I definitely felt alarmed. The scream was my attempt to warn my parents of the impending shock but I couldn't muster more words than that. They were still walking into the situation blind. My father put his arm around my shoulder and I could tell by his tight grip that he had caught sight of "new Agnes". I wasn't quite sure what to say, but the suddenly quiet Agnes regained her voice at that moment.

"I'm Agnes and this is Roy Chang. We were just passing by when something about your house just called to us. I hope you don't mind the intrusion." She was a charming girl. Dad was frozen. Mom, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. I had heard the stories about my tumultuous family before I was born. My mom had been the flakiest of all flakes. Old Agnes was once my eldest sister. Being eldest meant she had to watch as my mother continuously left this home broken. It wasn't until I, the youngest and only boy, was born that Mom decided to settle down and stay with Dad. Maybe the fact that Mom was always leaving Agnes skewed her current view of the situation. Had she spent so much time away from her eldest child that she was not off put by the Agnes incarnation that was currently in front of her? Either way, she didn't bat an eye.

"It's nice to meet you Agnes and Roy Chang. Please sit down and have a drink." My mother directed the two strangers to the adjacent couch and instructed me to get them some water. Dad stood frozen in the center of the room.

By the time I returned with two large glasses of ice water, Mom and Dad were sitting in folding chairs facing the couch. Agnes and Roy took the water gratefully and Agnes finished hers in a few big gulps.

"Are you married?" Mom asked brazenly. Roy choked on his current sip and I'm sure Agnes would have done the same if the contents of her glass weren't straight ice.

"Was that rude? I'm sorry. It's just you only gave one last name so I assumed the two of you shared it." Mom added. It was a valid assumption after she explained it.

"We're not married..." As Roy spoke I could see Agnes sinking deeper into her seat. She seemed very uncomfortable with this current topic. "...yet." This last word from Roy's mouth caused everyone in the room to perk up.

"Yet?" Asked mom.

"Agnes has been professing her love to me since the second grade. Her confidence scared me at that age. It still scares me a little now to be honest. But, it was addicting." Roy's words were complete sentences but I think I missed the point of them. I wasn't sure if he loved her or just tolerated her.

"That's an interesting sentiment, especially the addiction part. What exactly is so addicting?" My Stonehenge father had come back to life as his words got a little too personal for my liking.

"The way she would look at me and talk to me. It made me feel like I would do or say anything to make sure the attention never stopped. It wasn't until recently that I realized that the addiction was a sign of how much I loved her back." My father leaned in as Roy spoke. It was as if these words meant something special to him.

"You've never said that to me before." Agnes finally spoke. She was leaning in to Roy in a eerily similar fashion to my father.

"I heard Clara say it about Rufus the other day. It fit the way I felt so perfectly that I just couldn't forget it." Answered Roy. Agnes seemed taken aback by this confession.

"Who are Clara and Rufus?" I asked. Everyone turned to face me like they had forgotten I was in the room until just now. What else was new?

"They're my parents." Agnes answered. She didn't say more and she started to fidget with the zipper on her hoody out of nervousness. Roy seemed to pick up on her uncomfortable energy as he stood up to leave.

"It's an engagement then! That deserves a celebration!" Dad interjected out of nowhere. Roy stared at him blankly but Agnes cracked a small smile.

"Call your sisters! We're going out to celebrate! How 'bout Choppy Boat Noodle Cruise?" Dad must be having a stroke. Why else would he instruct me to call my three older sisters and invite them to dinner at the most random restaurant in the universe? 

A/N: This chapter might be confusing if you haven't read the first story in the series, "A Bus Seat Named Forever", so here is some clarification of the references I make. 

1. Magnus is Agnes's uncle but he does not know it because Clara ran off with Rufus before he was born.

2. Clara's name was originally Agnes but she changed it after meeting Rufus.

3. Pixie is the only one of the sisters who has the same father as Clara (they all have the same mother) which is why Magnus thinks Agnes looks like Pixie.

4. When Roy Chang speaks about being addicted to Agnes's love, it is very similar something Clara says to her father in the first book which is why he is so interested in Roy's words.