Age 17
Oliver age 16

"Okay, you ready, Ty?" I ask watching the young boy dressed in a Batman costume leap from the floral couch and land perfectly onto the carpeted floor with a karate chop.

"Ready!" Ty loads his blaster with a clip of preloaded nerf darts as if he's an actual professional.

I fumble with the nerf bullets but finally get mine inside, "I'll start on the top floor and you start here." I say smiling as his imagination takes over and he starts aiming the gun around slowly doing a sweep of the house for the 'bad guys'.

"Copy that, Red." He says heading down the hallway towards the kitchen. I giggle at how adorable he is and jog upstairs to the second floor.

My favorite game of hide-and-seek isn't cool anymore, so the ten-year-old has added blasters and super hero costumes. I'm currently dressed in green tights and Ollie's old Peter Pan tunic we dug out from the costume bin, in an attempt to look like Poison Ivy. The ten-year-old was very persistent I had to be the character based only on my red hair. Who am I to deny the cutest kid what he wants?

Everyone is outside enjoying one of the last summer days before September brings the beautiful rain. Everyone accept for me and Ty..and Ollie. Ollie snuck out last night and hasn't been back yet, so I'm staying busy until he comes back with Ty in hopes he does return soon.

Ollie's been on a rebel streak. He's snuck out nearly every night this summer inviting me every time to come with him, but each time I give him the same answer.

Jane and George have grounded him but he's keeping on with his bad behavior like it doesn't matter. I even smelled cigarette smoke on him yesterday.

Our parents figure it's a boy thing and has warned us to not let him or his friend's peer pressure us into anything, which I don't have a problem with. I don't like to be in trouble and I don't like to break the rules.

Playing this make-believe game with Ty is so much better than whatever Ollie is up to.

I stop dead in my tracks before the last flight of stairs for the top floor and backtrack quietly when I hear voices behind Ollie's bedroom door.

Specifically, his voice and a girl's voice.

I hold the blaster to my chest and lean closer to the door, hearing the girl giggling and then gasping.

What the heck?

Curiosity overwhelms me so I press my hot ear against the door and listen in hard.

The girl giggles again and Ollie mutters something I can't hear, they are being extra quiet. And I'm sure it's because Ollie isn't allowed to have girls in his room with the door closed.

I hear another gasp followed instantly by a pleased groan, the sound brings the blood right up to my face and my chest.

They aren't having...are they?

I would be humiliated to be found listening in at his door so I sprint into Ty's room next door and close the door silently.

I have to know what they are doing, so I go to the shared wall dividing the brother's rooms and place my ear to it awkwardly leaning over Ty's desk with a recent lego model I helped him with.

The two in Ollie's room laugh quietly again and their voices speak, however the thick walls leave them muffled. I press my ear harder needing to know what's being said.

I can not believe he has a girl in there. And I can't believe he's been home and hasn't come to say 'Hi' to me. Instead, he's in his room with who the heck knows doing who the heck knows what?

My chest taps into the Lego model and the giant space ship wobbles then crashes onto the desk and wall loudly smashing into a thousand million pieces.

"Oh my god!" I cringe in a hushed voice and hear Ollie swear on the other side of the wall loudly.

"You're dead, you little pervert!" He says again, his muffled voice clear as day.

Crap!

I turn in a panic and drop to my knees to hide nunder the bed but won't fit under it. I stand and sprint to the bathroom but know he will check there, then I dive into the closet just as the door to Ty's bedroom flies open.

I crawl on my hands and knees to the back of the walk in closet using the hanging clothes to hide behind.

"Ty? Get out here now." Ollie demands quietly. There's movement in Ty's room as Ollie is searching around moving furniture and items in a hurry. "Fucking wanker." He adds and moves to the bathroom.

For a moment I want to call out from my hiding spot so he doesn't actually kill me thinking I'm Ty, but then my heart picks up in a speeding pace thinking about what he will think of me when he realizes I was listening in on his naughty activities.

Its best to just hide and pray he goes back to his room.

I curl up against the wall sitting ontop of Ty's football bag and shoes using his hanging clothes as a curtain.

"Where are you, you little shit?" Ollie pokes his head into the closet sucking the air straight from my lungs knowing he might just find me. I press myself hard against the back of the closet and hold my shaking breath watching him step inside and but then the view of his becomes obstructed by the clothes.

Suddenly hands wrap around my ankles and rip me with one pull. I scream and cover my face with my arms afraid he is going to hit me in the face and prepare for impact.

"Muriel?" Ollie asks with a gasp. I open one eye and see him straddling my stomach in nothing but his boxers. "I thought you- were you listening?"

He climbs off me while I shove myself up from the floor feeling like a total idiot and so uncomfortable. I cross my arms and bite onto my lip looking at the floor of the closet unsure how to even explain myself.

"I didn't know you were home?" I settle with this comment trying to avoid the eavesdropping aspect of the situation.

"I've been home all morning." He says calmy any hint of anger gone. My chest twists and my stomach roles in the most awful way as I come to the conclusion he's been here all day but has preferred to hang out with someone else instead of me.

"Oh, okay." I mumble as the awful feeling grows filling out the rest of my body like a heavy dark cloud.

"Hey, chin up." He says forcing me to look up at him by tilting my chin up with his fingers. His waiting smile eases the heaviness inside and then he adds, "Give me five minutes to get Tally out, then we can...chat, yeah?"

🦋🦋

Ollie is dressed, which makes me less uncomfortable despite the topic we are discussing. It turns out not only has he been kissing girls but he's also been sexually active.

This girl, Tally has been hanging around for a year, and the two of them like each other and are having sex together, which, for some unknown reason is hard for me to comprehend.

"Are you and Tally boyfriend and girlfriend?" I ask trying to understand the relationship I had no idea even existed and how he's been able to keep this from me for an entire year.

"No," Ollie laughs and cocks his head sideways seeming to find humor in my question.

"But you two...have sex anyways?"

"Murry, people can have sex and not be in a relationship together."

I know this, and I know im seriously lacking in the experience and knowledge department on this sort of thing, but I had just assumed people who partake in this sort of thing are coupled up and committed to one and other.

"Right, yeah...so you like each other? A lot?" When I say it an instant pit takes over my insides. I regret asking because of the sudden ache in my stomach and I know I'd rather not have the answer.

"We fancy each other, yeah. And we have fun together, but that's really all there is."

I thought he has fun with me?

I nod then drop my eyes to my stupid costume I'm wearing and just want to disappear. I feel like an idiot, a clueless child.

Ollie is doing...mature things and look at me; dressed in old Halloween costumes playing with nerf guns. I don't even know any boys outside of Oliver and Ty and their friends, let alone doing those private things with them.

"What's wrong? Please talk so I know what you are thinking." Ollie stands from the edge of his messy bed and comes over to me sitting at his desk chair.

"I'm just embarrassed...I wish you told me about Tally last year when it happened."

"I don't want you to be embarrassed, that's why I didn't tell you. And you don't need to know the details anyways." He forces a nervous laugh and sits across from me on his desk.

"But we talk about everything? I don't want us to grow apart." I say looking up at him perched on his desk.

"We won't, I promise-."

"Mur, C'mon! I'm boored!" Ty leans inside Ollie's room giving his brother a scathing look.

"Ok. I'll be right there." I nod with a fake smile and stand from the chair.

"I'm going to Stewart's tonight after everyone goes to sleep, I'd love for you to come with me?" Ollie stops me by taking my hand as I begin to follow Ty.

"You know I can't sneak out." I tell him wishing I had the guts to.

"Just blame me if we get caught. They think I'm a bad influence anyways." He shrugs, letting his hand linger on mine.

My palm begins to sweat so I drop his hand and back out towards his door, "Will Tally be there? At Stewart's?" I ask because having another girl with me would be less intimidating with Ollie's rowdy friends around. But once he answer's that the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach returns ten fold.

"I don't think so Ollie, dad would be so mad."

Ollie sighs and falls back into his bed looking to take a nap before he is wide awake for his wild nights.

I close the door behind me and take a moment to collect my thoughts on the other side of the door.

I want to go with him, and I want to meet Tally. I don't want to miss anything else happening in his life or the fun he's having. I'm afraid this is the subtle start to us drifting apart.

I need him and I'm afraid to lose him. This summer while he's been sneaking out at night and sleeping all day he's tried to hang out with me when he can, but usually I'm left to hangout with Ty. Which is fine, but I have the worst feeling building inside hat we might not always be best friends.

🦋🦋

That night as I'm lying in bed Ollie creeps silently into Gemma and my room.

"Come on, Murry!" He says with his hood drawn up to his head.

"You're going to get caught." I shake my head glancing to Gemma who is sound asleep.

"So what, come on." He crosses the room and takes a seat by my feet, "We don't even have to go to Stewart's if you don't want. Just you and me? A night out? What do you say?"

I want to say yes. But he and I both know what my answer is.

"You're going to get in big trouble, Oliver."

"Fine, I'm going. You better not tattle on me, Muriel." He gives me a wink and a handsome smile and slinks out of our bedroom for another night.

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I hope you were able to see Murry feeling jealousy here but not understanding what it is yet.

Also! Ollie's rebellious streak is in direct response to what Henry told him during the last christmas holiday 😭

I wanted there to be a clear jump in Ollie's personality from 15-16 so I hope the next flashback chapter it is even more obvious.

I definitely snuck out A LOT as a teenager! Hehe what about you? Were you a good or bad kid?

My parents had no idea lol you get away with a lot more as a good kid then a bad one!