Chapter 18: Not One, Not Two, But Three

I was sitting in my room, getting my hair done by Avery when my brother knocked before pushing open the door. "What?" I asked him as I looked at the time. I still had a half hour left before Phoenix and I would be heading to school for homecoming.

"What are you getting all ready for?" he asked me as he leaned against the doorway.

"Homecoming," I told him.

His eyebrows rose as he looked at me. "You're going alone?"

"No," I said slowly. "I'm going with Phoenix."

My brother stared at me before sighing. "I thought you said you were getting over him."

"He paid for the tickets to homecoming," I lied. "We're not just going to waste them. Besides I haven't told him that we're "done" yet. I'm telling him tonight."

"Lucky for you, I have a ticket to homecoming," my brother explained as he waved around an envelope in which his ticket lay. "So you don't have to worry about an awkward car ride home."

"Oh...that's great, Leo," I said, trying to hide my annoyance.

"Yeah, and to make sure he gets over you, I'm taking him to a party tomorrow," my brother explained.

"Are you?" I questioned, tensing for a second.

"Yeah, you know Frederick, right? He's on the football team," my brother asked me.

"I do know Frederick," I responded.

"Well, he's throwing a party and the guys and I are going to try and find him a girl," my brother explained.

I let out a quiet noise before nodding. "Don't you think it's a little soon?" I asked him.

"If you ask me, it's a few years too late," he responded. "Don't tell him, though. It's a surprise."

"I won't," I muttered. My brother closed the door and I looked at Avery in the mirror. "They're going to find him a girl?!"

"He's liked you for, like, eight years. I'm pretty sue one night isn't going to change his mind," my sister warned me and I began to relax.

"I'm going to tell him to see if he can get out of it," I informed my sister.

"Don't," my sister warned me. "The sooner Leo thinks that he's over you, the less suspicious he becomes whenever you want to do something where you'll be unaccounted for."

I sighed as I stared at my hands. "This is going to be a lot harder than I assumed."

+ + +

Once I was ready, dressed in my long, purple dress, with black heels and a black clutch, I walked down the steps of my house. I saw Phoenix waiting with a single purple flower. He smiled widely when he saw me, twirling the plant between his fingers as he greeted me at the bottom of the steps.

"You look beautiful," he told me and I blushed, looking down at the flower in his hands.

"Thanks," I muttered and he reached out, handing me the flower.

"I know it doesn't match your dress exactly, but I think it's pretty," he explained quietly.

"It's lovely," I replied, accepting the flower he was handing me. "I'm going to have Avery put it inside."

"Okay," he chuckled and I looked up at my sister, noticing her aiming her phone at me and Phoenix.

"Avery," I said and she immediately locked her phone, shoving it in her pockets. "What did I say about no pictures?"

"I wasn't taking pictures," she explained. "I was...watching a YouTube video," she responded.

I rolled my eyes, handing her the flower. "Can you put this inside?" I asked. "In water, please."

"Alright," she nodded. "Are you two leaving?"

I looked at Phoenix and I nodded. "Yeah, before Leo gets out here."

"Well, you two have fun," she grinned at me. "I'll be sure to show mom and dad the pictures I didn't take."

I glared at her, watching as she entered the house with my flower in her hand. I turned and walked alongside Phoenix towards his car, where he opened the door for me like a gentleman. I waited until he got in the car to speak. "Leo's taking you out tomorrow," I blurted.

"What?" he asked.

"He's taking you to Frederick's party and they're going to hook you up with a girl," I told him.

"I'll find an excuse not to go," he responded as he drove in the direction of the school.

"No," I reiterated, finding it in my soul to oppose his statement. "I want you to go."

"What?" Phoenix asked me with furrowed eyebrows. "You want me to go?"

"It'll make Leo less suspicious," I told him.

Phoenix sighed as he looked at me. "But I don't want to hook up with a girl."

"You better not hook up with a girl," I retorted before I could stop myself. He grinned at me and I coughed.

"I should rephrase that; I don't want to go if they expect me to hook up with a girl," Phoenix expressed and I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, nodding. Better.

"You don't have to hook up with a girl," I told him. "Just avoid talking to girls at all costs and leave early if you can."

Phoenix looked at me and smiled, rolling his eyes. "Okay, I'll try my best."

"You know, Leo's going to be watching us the entire time," I informed the boy beside me. My brother's presence completely rules out any chance of us kissing.

"That's fine with me," Phoenix shrugged, as if reading my mind. "I'm not a fan of PDA anyway."

+ + +

An hour into homecoming and Leo hadn't taken his eyes off of me and my date. He hadn't even danced with anyone. Instead, he stood on the wall across the event hall and stared at us judgmentally. He occasionally glanced away when talking to someone but never more than a few seconds.

"You weren't lying when you said he'd be watching us all night," Phoenix told me as we stayed towards the wall of the event hall, avoiding the dance floor at all costs. Neither of us are dancers.

"Yeah, I know," I responded. "He's like a hawk."

"Is there a reason why he isn't giving us privacy?" Phoenix asked. "Aside from the fact that he's completely against us?"

"Well, I mean, he thinks that I'm going to end things with you tonight so that could be a possibility," I told Phoenix, whose eyebrows rose.

"You should've told me earlier. I would've practiced my fake crying," he smiled at me.

"Yeah, I know," I responded. "But we did a good job decorating the place."

"Yeah, it better look good; we were here for four hours setting things up yesterday," Phoenix grunted as he looked around.

"You did a nice job hanging everything up," I responded with a grin. Anything that was higher than six feet, Phoenix was called to set up.

"Thanks, you did a good job at...setting up the tables," Phoenix responded and I glared at him.

"I did other things!" I lied. "I...made sure things were going smoothly."

"Please, you were just staring at me as I stretched to hang things up," Phoenix truthfully explained.

"That's not true!" I blushed.

"Sure it's not," Phoenix smirked at me. I rolled my eyes, listening as the music increased a few decibels.

"Is Elliot here?" I asked him as I scanned the room.

"What?!" he called over the music, which got even louder as an upbeat song came on. The people singing along noisily didn't help.

"Is Elliot here?!" I responded in a scream.

"What?!" he asked me again and I sighed.

I took out my phone and texted him the question. He nodded, pointing in the direction of my brother. I saw Elliot standing beside him, talking to a member of the football team. I suddenly had an idea.

"Distract my brother," I texted Elliot, who checked his phone and looked around. He didn't see me but he began talking to my brother, drawing his attention away from me and my date. Once I deemed it as safe to leave, I grabbed Phoenix's arm and began slipping through people, making it out of the event hall safely.

"What are we doing?" he asked me.

"I have a headache," I told him. "I want to go somewhere quieter."

"Well...let's go," he smiled and led the way through the school. "But we can't get caught leaving the bounds of homecoming or else we can get in trouble."

I rolled my eyes at him. "There's no one here," I told him.

"A security guard makes his rounds," Phoenix explained.

"How do you know this?" I asked him and he smirked.

"Last year, your brother and I came over here to get something out of our lockers and we got in trouble. They almost kicked us out," he explained.

I rolled my eyes, following him through the hallways. "Can we hang out on the stairs?" I asked him as we approached the secluded steps and he nodded.

"Okay," he responded. I stood on the second stair from the bottom and he stood in front of me, smiling up at me. "You look beautiful and I'm happy to be your date."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Thanks, Phoenix," I muttered.

"You know, this is when you return the compliment," he informed me and I laughed.

"You look very handsome tonight," I complimented him. "And I'm more than happy to be your date."

"You always have to one up me, don't you, Grace?" he smiled.

"Yeah," I responded. "I always have to one up you."

"You know what relieves headaches?" he asked me.

"Tylenol?" I suggested and he shook his head, stepping on the first step, coming face to face with me.

"Well, yeah, but kissing does too," he advocated.

"I've never heard that one before," I responded and he laughed.

"Well, we could always test out the theory," he responded. "Only if you want to."

"I'm up for some theory testing," I nodded.

"But wait," he grinned at me.

"What?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"You have to ask," he smiled at me.

I stared at him, almost preparing to argue but I only sighed. "Phoenix."

"Yes?" he grinned, perking up.

"Kiss me," I told him with a red face. I smiled as his hands held my waist and he leaned in. The butterflies that had settled in my stomach began going mad, flying around and hitting everything they touched. I felt my heart hammering in my chest and I leaned in, closing my eyes as Phoenix's lips touched mine. It was better than I imagined if I'm being honest. His hands tightened on my waist and he let out a sigh of contentment. I smiled into the kiss, allowing my tongue to explore his mouth. I think he was smiling too.

I began laughing, pulling away. I rested my head on his shoulder and he chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing," I laughed. "I just...I don't know."

"So would you consider that your first kiss?" he inquired.

"I'm not so sure," I responded as he lifted my head from his shoulder. "Your skills were a bit off and my headache is still here."

"Well, we could always have a second trial," he whispered and I nodded.

"I think we're going to need one," I told him. I leaned in, pressing my lips to his with a little more force than I should have. He chuckled again and I felt my lips pulling upward as the butterflies in my stomach urged to be free. He gently bit my lip and I pulled away.

"Your smiling is interrupting our kisses," he told me.

"Says the one who's laughing mid-kiss," I replied, trying to hold back from grinning.

"I wonder who started with that," he muttered. "And I have a few tips for you."

"Do you?" I asked him.

"Maybe try putting your hands around my neck," he suggested as he led my hands around his neck, bringing us closer together.

"I like it," I told him and he nodded.

"I do, too," he muttered.

"Most experiments need a third trial to be valid," I responded and he nodded.

"You would know that, wouldn't you, you little scientist?" he inquired.

I didn't answer him, but I simply leaned in to kiss him, trying to repress my grin. His lips were the perfect median, not too soft but not too chapped. And he didn't use too much tongue, but just enough. I tried to match his actions, turning slightly when he did. I ran my hands through his hair, massaging his scalp. His hands gripped my waist tightly as he began kissing me harder and I did the same, enjoying the feeling of his lips against mine.

"Break it up, break it up," a voice called from not too far away. I wanted to groan as I pulled away from Phoenix, who rested his head on my shoulder. He kissed my neck twice, taking me by surprise, before loosening his grip on my waist. I removed my arms from around his neck and we stood up. "Either get to dancing or leave- we don't need any of that here."

"Okay, okay, we're sorry- it won't happen again," Phoenix apologized as he took my hand in his and we headed towards homecoming. I sure hope it happens again. He swung my hand as we walked and I stared at the ground, blushing like mad.

"So, how are my kissing skills?" he asked me.

With a red face, I looked up at him. "I think you could improve a bit. But practice makes perfect."

"You say that as we're walking towards a crowded place where it's impolite to kiss in public," he muttered.

"I thought you weren't a fan of PDA, anyway," I responded curiously.

"I can make an exception," he responded as he stared at the event hall in the distance.

"I'm sure you would if Leo wasn't there," I muttered.

"Yeah," he replied with a sigh. "Think he noticed we were gone?"

"Most likely, yes," I responded.

"What's the excuse?" he inquired.

"I'll just say I took you outside and told you that we couldn't be together," I explained.

"Why do you have to dump me?" he asked. "Why can't I dump you?"

"Because in Leo's mind, you don't know about that conversation we had," I informed him. "So I have to do the dumping."

"So what now?" Phoenix asked me.

"You're going to go in there and go hang out with Leo and the rest of your friends. Tell Elliot I need to talk to him," I told Phoenix.

"What can you possibly talk to him about?" Phoenix asked me and I shrugged.

"I don't know; we just made out in the staircase," I responded and he smirked at me.

"Yeah, we did," he nodded.

"I know, I was there," I replied. "Now go and hang out with my brother."

We entered the event hall and I tried my best to look upset, using my phone as a distraction. I sent Camryn and Alice a message in our group chat, letting them know that I just kissed Phoenix. I also sent Avery a text, informing her know of the news. "Yes?" a familiar voice asked from beside me and I turned to see Elliot standing there, in front of a horde of slow dancing people. "This better be important. I just squeezed through a bunch of dancing couples."

"I kissed him," I told Elliot excitedly. "I actually kissed him."

"Congratulations," Elliot smiled at me. "I know you've been stressing it lately. So how was it?"

"It was great!" I told him. "It was perfect."

"Was that your first kiss?" he asked me.

"No," I told him honestly.

"Really?" he inquired, seeming shocked that I'd kissed someone before this. I glared at him and he coughed, looking away. "I just thought that he'd be your first kiss."

"Well, I mean, he was," I answered, earning a confused look from him. "I was eleven. I didn't count it until recently."

"You know, you two have the most confusing relationship I've ever come across," he confessed.

"Wait until you hear this..." I trailed as I began telling him the most recent events, including the decision to hide whatever it is we have from Leo.

+ + +

"You guys disappeared for a bit," Leo started as we exited the school. We were leaving a half hour early but I didn't mind. I wasn't really doing anything. I mean, I was talking to Elliot but I could do that over the phone.

"I told him that it's over," I responded, trying to sound morose.

"Oh," my brother responded. "Good."

I glared at the back of his head as I followed him to the car. "So where's the party at tomorrow?" I inquired.

"Frederick's house," my brother responded.

"Yeah, I know that," I replied. "But what's the address?" I asked, watching as he unlocked the car. We both got in and he looked at me.

"Nice try," he retorted.

"What are you talking about?" I questioned as I buckled my seatbelt.

"You're not going to the party," my brother reiterated and I rolled my eyes.

"I don't want to go," I replied.

"Good, because you're not," my brother informed me.

I stared out the window, waiting to get home. When we did, I rushed in the house and up the steps, holding my heels in my hands. I reached my room and saw my sister sitting on my bed. I looked at her with a large smile and she grinned. "So...how was it?"

"It was fun; I didn't dance much," I smirked, closing the door. She scoffed at me, tilting her head.

"I mean the kiss," she responded and I looked at her triumphantly.

"Which one?" I asked.

"There was more than one?" she asked with wide eyes.

"There were three!" I grinned, holding up three fingers. I practically ran to my bed, jumping into a comfortable position. "He's such a good kisser!" I gushed.

"I bet he is," my sister smiled at me. "So how'd it happen?"

I delved into the story, grinning widely as Avery nodded and exclaimed happily. At least one of my siblings is accepting.

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