“The storms supposed to get worse,” my dad rambles during a quiet dinner. Well, quiet as in no one is talking. The sound of snow and wind hitting the farmhouse is a constant noise. I look out the window, and everything is dark. Snow is being blown at odd angles, creating a wall of horrible visibility. “It will be much too cold to sleep out in the loft tonight.”

Emery’s eyes snap to look at my dad, just like mine. He’s unfazed by our triangle of conflict, so he acts as if nothing’s wrong, which to him is exactly how he sees it.

“What are you saying?” I busy myself with cutting my food into small bites so he doesn’t get suspicious.

“I think Vince is going to have to sleep on the couch until this storm blows past.” I put down my fork and knife, suddenly feeling not hungry anymore. I glance over at Emery, and he doesn’t look like he wants to eat much either. Sure, Emery and Vince haven’t exactly talked to each other, however the conversations I had with them separately are enough to show me they aren’t too fond of each other.

“Not hungry?” My mother looks up from her plate with questioning eyes. I shake my head and she nods towards the stairs. “Why don’t you go get some blankets and a pillow for the couch?”

Shrugging, I pick up my plate and place it on the counter. I hear my mom question Emery’s lack of hunger next as I bound up the stairs. In the hall I open the small closet and pull out some blankets along with a pillow. Only a minute later, I’m placing them on the couch.

“River,” my mom calls from the kitchen. Of course she’s asking me to do more chores for not finishing what was on my plate. “Why don’t you do the dishes?”

Rolling my eyes, I head into the kitchen gaining Emery’s eyes. I start to clear off my plate as the sink fills with water and start on the dishes. I’ve barely started when Emery brings his plate and struggles to clean it off with his one good hand.

“Here,” I mutter, reaching for it. We haven’t talked since this morning when he found me in the snow, and so far we’ve been avoiding each other. It seems the exact same thing is happening with Vince, too.

“I’ve got it,” snaps Emery, moving the plate out of each. I lunge for it but he moves it away again.

“Just let me do it,” I quietly yell at him. I don’t want my parents to hear after the conversation we had last night. I reach for the glass again when Emery knocks a fork off the counter. It clangs on the tile when I hear my mother call again.

“Everything all right?” Emery and I instantly turn to her, both of us half bent over to reach for the fork.

“Everything’s fine,” we both call back, and then try and grab the fork.

“Got it,” Emery smirks, straightening up and putting it in the soapy sink along with his plate. I continue to do the dishes while Emery stands leaning against the counter, unable to help. “Can we just please get along?” He says quietly through teeth clenched in a smile. He’s trying to put on an ‘everything is perfectly normal’ show just like I am.

“We’ve never got along, Emery,” I mutter, putting all my focus into the dishes. “What makes things different now?”

Emery says something under his breath that I don’t pick up on, so I give him a look. “Vince staying in the house tonight,” he mumbles, however I know he said something rude that I couldn’t hear. I guess he’s right. The three of us not getting along will make a very eventful night. My house being small, the only places to hang out are my room or the living room for entertainment. I wonder who will be in which one.

“I guess you have a point,” I sigh, trying to come up with another solution and failing. I really shouldn’t be talking to Emery after all he’s put me through. But what else can I do when he sleeps on the floor at the end of my bed?

My parents bring up there plates and my mom goes into the living room, while my dad heads out the front door. I know for a fact that he’s getting Vince, giving me less time to think of what to do. The only option is to watch a movie; however the question is what one.

Emery watches me smirk with curious eyes, but I don’t reveal what I’m thinking. Both these boys deserve a little bit of torture, and I have the perfect tool of choice. The front door swings open as if on cue, and my smirk fades into a thin line. After I’ve drained the sink, I grab a dishtowel and lean my back against the counter beside Emery.

“Hey,” Vince says awkwardly, walking into the room with a backpack hanging over his shoulder. Emery nods, giving him a death stare.

“Hey,” I say back, drying off my hands. “You guys up for a movie?” They follow me willingly into the living room, just as my mom stands up.

“I’m heading to bed early and your dad’s out closing up the barn,” she tells me, kissing my forehead. She says a brief night to the boys before heading upstairs. They plop down on the couch, each on the opposite end while I sift through the movies. Smirking, I pull out the one I’m looking for and hide it from them. As soon as it’s in the DVD player, I sit on the couch in the middle of them. Normally, it would be extremely awkward. However I’m too excited to torture them to care.

Emery and Vince question me as I fast forward through the previews, trying to get me to tell them what it is. As soon as I hit play, they start to groan as they get mad.

“You can’t be serious,” mutters Vince, who’s leaning his head on his hand on the armrest. He’s rubbing his eyes, clearly not happy.

“Twilight?” Snaps Emery, staring at me in disbelief. “Do you want me to gouge my eyes out?” I roll my eyes and tell them to be quiet as it screen shows the opening scene. When they don’t, I give them the option of sleeping outside in the snow. Immediately, they both shut up, at least for five minutes.

“He’s obviously a vampire,” Vince whines, gesturing towards the TV. “How is everyone so stupid? He looks like an idiot!”

“Is he going to kill anyone?” Emery asks, being completely serious. “Because if he doesn’t kill anyone this entire movie, it will be a major waste of my time.”

“Prepare to be disappointed,” I mumble, only twenty minutes into the movie. I ignore both of their annoying talking for at least another forty minutes, when I can’t focus on the movie anymore.

“What happens when you cut a vampire?” Emery asks, as I watch out of the corner of my eye. Vince’s hand is slowly moving towards my left, as he stares intently at the TV. “Do they bleed?”

“I wouldn’t mind finding out,” Vince mutters. He’s been taking shots at Edward the entire movie so far, while Emery is obsessed with seeing some gore. Vince’s hand grabs my left on the couch, while I see Emery’s reaching for my right.

My eyes grow wide as I think of what to do. I need to pick one guy right now, but what one? I’m completely furious and upset with Emery, and Vince isn’t being very nice either. It’s too late anyways. Emery’s fingers intertwine with mine when I mentally shrug and tell myself go big or go home.

“She’s torturing you guys too?” My dad laughs, walking into the living room. Immediately Vince and Emery yank their hands out of mine. My cheeks go red as they notice I had been holding the others hand, but instead of glaring at me, they glare at each other. Trying to make the situation less obvious, I grin at my dad.“What did you two do to deserve this?”

Both Emery and Vince don’t say anything, knowing it would get them a jab with my dad’s shotgun. Instead of being suspicious, my dad laughs and leans against the doorframe. “Don’t know? I remember when she made me watch the movie, and then told me three days later it was because I didn’t drive her to Springdale to go shopping with Mary.”

Neither of the guys says anything so I tell my dad he deserved it to break the silence. After my dad makes a few jabs at the movie, he heads up to bed and tells us we better get going to. Tomorrow we will be shovelling ourselves out of the house, and probably repeating the process the next day.

“So, Vince,” Emery says, turning him. Clearly he’s not interested in putting up with my choice of movie any longer. “Did you tell River what you said to me on the phone?” I give Emery a dirty look. He really doesn’t waste anytime beading around to bush, does he? Emery doesn’t pay me any attention as he stares at Vince, waiting for an answer.

“Do you mean the part when I said Emery or the part when I told you River doesn’t want to talk to you?” Vince snaps, raising his eyebrows. I’m surprised that they got along for that amount of time, and agreed with each other on hating Twilight.

“I mean,” Emery says through teeth clenched tightly. “The part when you talked about her like she’s an object.”

Vince’s eyes narrow, as I stare at him shocked, then Emery. They both glare at each other, acting as if I’m not even sitting in between them.

“Would someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?” I snap, angry. Immediately both of them start telling me things at the same time and I can’t hear a word of what either of them is saying. I take a deep breath to calm myself down and stand up, which surprisingly makes them both shut up.

“Where are you going?” Vince asks, rising to his feet. Emery follows in suit and they exchange angry glares.

“To bed, just like both of you are.” They look at me in shock, and I shrug, heading for the stairs. I’ve just reached the bottom when I hear Emery behind me. I glance down only to find him giving an ‘I win’ look to Vince, and when he turns back, I meet his eyes with mine narrowed. “You’re sleeping down here too,” I mutter, annoyed. I walk up the steps, reach into the closet and throw down a few blankets for Emery. “Have fun fighting for the couch, you inconsiderate jerks.”

Before either of them protest, I head into my room and shut the door behind me. When I hear no one following me, I silently open it, hating sleeping with the door closed. I change into my pajamas, crawl under the covers, and sink into my sheets.

I’m staring at the ceiling ten minutes later when my stomach starts to growl. I guess that’s what I get for not finishing my dinner. Knowing the boys won’t be asleep yet, I get comfortable and wait until later until I have to venture down for food.

I know I need to put a stop to this triangle before it goes any further, however that means choosing one of the boys. They want me to pick only one of them, but I know I really can’t right now. Sighing, I make a simple decision. If I can’t choose only one boy, I choose neither.