I expected some sort of scene when we walked through the door.  You know how in those movies parents sit in the living room waiting to lecture you for hours on end for how irresponsible you are?  Yeah, I was expecting something like that.  But none of that happened.  In fact the only person my mom actually acknowledged was Dannon.

“Dannon!” she called happily as we made our way into the house, wrapping her arms tightly around him.  “How lovely to see you, hon!”

“Hi,” Dannon said with a smile, hugging back lightly.

“Sooooo, this is the Dannon I’ve heard so much about?”

I couldn’t help but grin as Garrett sauntered into the room, his arms crossed securely around his chest.  He was trying to act serious.  I bit my lip to keep from laughing.  He wasn’t exactly succeeding.  Dannon seemed to sense this, too, because he chuckled.

“Bri, introduce them!” my mom quipped.  Why she had to be so loud, I didn’t know.  And why she couldn’t introduce them herself, I also didn’t know.  Pregnant women these days. . . .

“Garrett, this is Dannon.”  My hands swept the air between them.  “Dannon, this is Garret.”

“Yo!” Garrett waved his arms ecstatically.  “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Dannon grinned.  “Oh, really?” He tossed me a glance before turning back to Garrett.

Garrett nodded, a large smile spreading across his face.

I crossed my arms over my chest, squeezing my way past my family members.  “Can we move out of the doorway, please?” I demanded, feeling suddenly claustrophobic. 

My mom shot me a look, and suddenly I knew. The only reason why she was welcoming and warm now was because she was planning on reprimanding and yelling at me later.  She didn’t want Dannon to see her dark side, oh no.  Why show people how inconsiderate she could be?  Nuh-uh.  I don’t think so.

“Mom, please save the lecture.”  I stared at her coolly.  “I had a right to be mad.”

My mom looked devastated.  “Brianne—”

“He already knows, Mom.”  I gestured to Dannon.  “I told him.”

An innocent smile tugged at Dannon’s lips.  “Guilty,” he murmured, holding onto one of his arms awkwardly.  I wondered if he was expecting what I was: my mom to blow up at any moment.

My mom let her façade wear off and her smile was exchanged for a scowl.  Her hands found their way to her hips, seeming more menacing than I’d ever seen her.  Wait, no—scratch that.  She’d been this menacing one before when Garrett and I were seven.  I’d cut off all of Garrett’s hair in his sleep because he called me fat.  Yup.  I got grounded for a while.  “It took you two hours to tell him?” she demanded with a huff.

Oh, here we go.

“We—”

“I took her to Friendly’s,” Dannon interjected, saving me from whatever lame explanation that had been formulating in my mind.  “She was pretty upset.”

“Aw!” my mom cooed, the anger falling off her face as she turned her attention to Dannon.  “I’ll have Brianne pay you back,” she promised as she patted Dannon’s shoulder, her eyes gleaming with appreciation.

“There you go again,” I seethed, my teeth grinding together painfully as my anger tipped over the edge.  “Volunteering my stuff up like it’s nothing.”

“Brianne, if this is about earlier—”

Was my mom stupid or something?  We’d made it perfectly clear that this was about earlier.  I mean we were talking about what happened after I stormed out of the house.  What else could it have possibly been about?  “Of course this is about earlier!”  I hissed.  “You can’t just give away my stuff without asking.”

“Brianne—”

I shut Garrett up with my gaze.  Why was he even sticking up for her?  It was so obvious that what she was doing was wrong.  I mean, how would he feel if my mom ripped his room out from underneath him without even a simple, “Hey, how do you feel about this?”  If she’d come to me first, maybe I’d be willing to talk this through.  But, no.  Not now.

Whether it was from my cramping, my anger at my mom, or a mixture of the two I wasn’t quite sure, but the next thing I knew I was ranting, unable to stop.  “Mom, you know what?  My room is too small so I think I’m going to move you and Dad into mine—I’m sorry that I didn’t ask you first, but it’s really in my best interest.  I know this is kind of sudden and all, but I don’t really care about what you think so I’m just going to spring this information on you like it’s absolutely nothing.”

The only thing that kept me from continuing for the next hour and a half was Dannon’s hand holding lightly on my shoulder.  I took a slight intake of breath, my eyes darting from his hand to him.  He smiled comfortingly as though willing me to calm down with just his expression.

Well, it worked.  Kind of.

“Brianne Marie Nichols,” my dad rebuked sternly, his eyes flashing as he stood next to my mom.  His presence was all but forgotten until now.  “Don’t treat your mom this way!”  His voice softened as he caught the hurt expression on my face (What?  He didn’t usually yell, okay?  That was my mom’s job.).  “She was just thinking about the welfare of the baby.”

“I think she just feels hurt because you’re choosing the baby’s needs over hers,” Dannon said softly.

I could have hugged him.  Hell, I could have kissed him.  Kyla wouldn’t even stick up for me in a fight with my parents, and she’d been my friend for years.  She’d been around one too many to cross their paths.  They were kind of scary when you got in their way at the wrong moment.  But Dannon didn’t seem to care.  And you could tell that he only added the “I think” at the beginning of his sentence so he wouldn’t seem rude—which only made it better. 

As Dannon glanced at me, flashing me a small smile, my mom’s expression lit up in confusion.  “What?”

My mom sounded shocked.  Shocked.  It was stupid, really, this shock.  Like I said earlier, I’d make it quite obvious why I was angry.  The fact that someone had to flat out tell her why I was upset was really sad. 

“While we were at Friendly’s,” Dannon explained, “she was talking about what happened, and it seemed to me that that was the case.”  He shrugged.

“Brianne, marry him!”  Garrett called out. 

I didn’t know if that was to erase the tension or not, but it did.  But, sadly, it was only replaced with embarrassment and irritation.  “Shut up, Garrett!” I shrieked, my face burning up.  I couldn’t even bare to spare a glance at Dannon, who didn’t seem to react at all.

“What?” Garrett shrugged nonchalantly.  “He understands you!”

My mom sighed, deciding to bring the conversation back to her.  “Brianne, I’m sorry you feel this way, but the baby—”

“Doesn’t need that big of a room,” I finished for her, even though that was most definitely not what she was planning on saying.  “Mom, I need more room than a baby.”

“True,” Garrett said with a nod, deciding to finally take my side.  “She does.”

My mom groaned.  “My children are ganging up on me!”  She paused, looking around at us all with a pout on her face.  Usually I’d laugh at that.  But today I was too pissed at her to find any humor.  “Fine,” she relented, her shoulders sagging.  “You can have your room.”

I smiled, my anger edging back to a dull flare off annoyance.  “Thank you.”

| It ♥ All ♥ Started ♥ With ♥ An ♥ Apple |

“Do you have a seven?”

“Go fish.”

I groaned, picking up a card up from the pile set up on the living room floor.  Dannon simply smiled triumphantly.  Again.  You know, I was really tired of sucking at card games.  Maybe I should go to Card Game school!  If there was such a thing.  If there wasn’t, I was going to invest.

“A queen?”

I scowled, tossing my queen of hearts at him.  “You cheat,” I muttered. 

Dannon grinned, stretching his arms out with a yawn.  “No, you just suck,” he informed me non-too-kindly, looking thoroughly amused.  And why wouldn’t he?  He’d been kicking my ass at games for the past half-hour, basking in the fact that he could play games and I couldn’t. 

“Who’s winning?” Garrett called, plopping next to me on the floor.  I shot him a glare as he sat too close for comfort.  “What?” Garrett mused, catching my expression.  “I’m guessing Dannon’s winning, then.”

Dannon chuckled, nodding.  “Yep.”

I slapped Dannon’s shoulder lightly.  “Bragging is for losers.”

“Then shouldn’t you be bragging?” Garrett teased, chortling as I aimed a slap his way.

“Well, I’m going to bed early!” my mom called, appearing in the doorway.  “Dannon, it was great having you.”

Dannon smiled, twisting around and waving to her.  “Always fun to be here.”

We finished up the rigged game that people liked to call “Go Fish” before popping in a movie.  As Garrett plopped the DVD into the DVD player, Dannon warned us that he could only stay for a few minutes (“I was only supposed to stay a half hour anyhow.”)  and plopped onto the couch beside us. 

Sadly, Dannon’s and my comfortable spots on the couch didn’t last long because Garrett decided to kick us off.  “I need to lie down!” he exclaimed as he practically pushed me off the couch.  “What if I fall asleep?  I need to be comfortable.”

Because Dannon and me being comfortable didn’t matter at all.

Dannon, who didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact that he and I were banished to the floor, smiled at me.  “What movie is this?”  he asked curiously.

“A Walk To Remember,” I muttered, my eyes rolling.  “I hate this movie.”

Dannon’s smile didn’t falter.  “Why?”

I sighed deeply.  “Well, for one, the ending sucks.  You’ve seen it right?”  Dannon nodded so I continued.  “The girl dies.  And then it’s all boo-hooey.”

Dannon shook his head, laughing at my lack of sympathy for the characters in the movie.  What?  I hated chick flicks with a passion.  Who wanted to write a fictional book where the character just died like that?  I mean, seriously?  That was just cruel.  And stupid.  And pointless.  An hour and a half of my time wasted.

“Wouldn’t you cry if someone you cared about died?”  Dannon tilted his head to the side, eyeing me questioningly.

“Well, I suppose.”  I sighed.

Dannon chuckled, his eyes alight.  “Would you cry if I died?”

I scoffed.  “Of course not!”

I heard a noise of disapproval from above.  I glanced behind me, at the couch where Garrett sat.  He stared down at me shaking his head.  “Wow, Bri,” he said, his head continuing to shake.  “Way to treat your future husband.”

“Shut up and watch your chick flick,” I snapped.  I turned my attention back to Dannon, who was watching me like he always was—in amusement.  “Besides,” I drawled.  “Would you cry if I died?”

“Sure,” Dannon said immediately, shrugging.  “I mean, you’re my friend, right?”

I stared at him for a long time before answering.  To hear him say it—that we were friends—seemed so weird.  Like it was official.  Dannon, the most popular guy in the school, considered me a friend.  Weird, right?  And what was weirder?  I think I considered him a friend, too.  “Yeah,” I murmured finally.  “I am.”

| It ♥ All ♥ Started ♥ With ♥ An ♥ Apple |

An hour later, Dannon was still there.  Oddly, I wasn’t at all surprised.  I hoped he knew that he was going to get home pretty late—I mean, we got home at like seven and started the movie at like seven-thirty.  Getting home at eight-thirty wasn’t fun for anyone.  However, I very much doubted that he was going to get home for eight-thirty.  He didn’t exactly look like he was in a rush to leave.

Garrett fell asleep on the couch about ten minutes after the movie started, so I proclaimed that we would be watching a new one.  Dannon didn’t seem to mind.  In fact he seemed thrilled.  More thrilled than I did—which was pretty weird seeing how I was the queen of anti-chick-flicks.  Well, at least I could rely on him when it came to fending Garrett off with the movie.  Who wanted to watch a movie where the main character dies anyway?

After a few minutes of discussing, the new movie was finally decided: my all-time favorite, Footloose!  Not the new one with Kenny Wormald—not that I didn’t like that one; that one was amazing.  The classic.  Who could hate it with its . . . its dancing-ness?

“It’s getting late,” I murmured softly, making a halfhearted attempt to let Dannon know that he was running late.

“Mmmhmm,” Dannon replied absently, his eyes locked on the TV.

Well, I tried.

I yawned largely, my arms stretching out above me.  Wow.  It should have been illegal to be this tired so early.  I didn’t understand why I was tired before nine o’clock—it wasn’t like I had that eventful of a day.  Maybe the sea monkey (my new official nickname for the bay, by the way) was draining all my energy.  Sucking it out so that by the time it was born my mom would only have to deal with one energetic child.

Great.  I was making no sense.  That meant that I was exhausted.

Dannon, seeming to sense this, smiled.  “Tired?”

“Shut up,” I said softly, not able to help but yawn again.  I kept my eyes trained on the TV, concentrating on Kevin Bacon.  He was so attractive.  He was the only man on this planet that I would openly admit attraction to.  Except maybe a few other exceptions—you know, the other sexy actors of the world.  Hey.  Just because I hated dating as a whole didn’t mean I didn’t find anyone attractive.

Dannon’s arm suddenly wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me downward.  I let out a noise of surprise as my head collided with his shoulder.  Why was he practically forcing me to hug him?  I—I didn’t get.  At all.  “What are you doing?” I whispered, not fighting to move away.  What?  I was tired, okay?

“Tired people should be comfy,” Dannon replied lightly, a smile upon his lips.

I couldn’t help but laugh.  “And you think your shoulder is the solution?”

“It’s comfy, isn’t it?”

Damn, he had me there.  “Whatever.”

| It ♥ All ♥ Started ♥ With ♥ An ♥ Apple |

“Well, I suppose you aren’t going to school today.”

My eyes popped open.  Why was I on the living room floor?  And why was my head on Dannon’s lap?  I struggled into a sitting position, rubbing my eyes.  I glanced at Dannon.  He was still sleeping, his head fallen back against the couch.  I scrunched my nose distastefully.  That couldn’t possibly be comfortable.

“I just love how you’re only acknowledging an unconscious being instead of your own brother.”

I let out a snort, finally allowing my gaze to slide up to Garrett.  He held a cup of what I assumed was coffee up to his lips, sipping at it.  He smiled triumphantly.  Why he felt triumphant, I wasn’t really sure, but I wasn’t about to ask.  “I see you and Dannon got comfy last night,” he drawled with a wriggle of the eyebrows.

Ah.  So that explained the expression on his face.

I glowered.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Garrett rolled his eyes as though I was incredibly stupid.  “I mean that you two were getting rather close,” he explained slowly, his eyebrows wriggling again.  “And you say that you’re just friends!”

“We are,” I hissed softly, trying not to wake Dannon up.

Wait.

Dannon was still here.

Why was he still here?

“Dannon, get up!” I shrieked immediately, shaking his shoulder violently.  Dannon remained motionless, as he had in the car, his head lulling back and forth.  Huh.  He kind of reminded me of a dead body.  In a non-gory, non-demented kind of way.

“Hey, hey, he’s not a maraca!” Garrett fretted, shaking his head disapprovingly at me.

My hands fell from Dannon’s shoulder, and I turned to point an accusing finger in my brother’s direction.  “Why didn’t you wake us up for school?” I demanded.  “And where are Mom and Dad?  And what time is it?”

I was doing the thing where I asked a thousand questions per second, causing the receiver of my questionnaire to become flabbergasted and annoyed.  Everyone hated that about me—heck, I hated that about me.  It’d become a horrible habit.

Before Garrett could even think to answer any of my questions, I turned and gave Dannon one last shove.  He didn’t move, of course.  He was such a deep sleeper . . . so annoying.

Garrett sighed, shaking his head at me.  “For one,” he said, answering my questions now that I was done ranting.  “I just woke up like ten minutes ago.  Two, Mom and Dad left a note saying that they were going to an ultrasound.  Three, it’s almost nine o’clock.”

“Why didn’t Mom and Dad wake us up?” I muttered, completely confused.  “They do know that Dannon is here, right?”

At that moment, Dannon decided to fall, his head resting on my lap.  I stared down at him.  Why me?  How did someone just lose balance like that when they didn’t even move?  This world would never cease to confuse me.

“Aw, you guys are so cute!” Garrett cooed, deliberately changing the pitch of his voice to sound just like Kyla.  “I bet your babies will be, too.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him.  “You’re insane,” I informed him, gingerly lifting Dannon’s head up and scooting out of my spot.  As carefully as I could, I set his head back down on the floor.  I shuffled into the kitchen—completely ignoring Garrett in the process—away from my brother’s irritating guffaws.  I decided not to react to his laughter, for I was on a mission.

Garrett seemed to sense this because he followed me into the kitchen.  “Bri,” he asked curiously, “what are you doing?”

I continued to ignore him as I pried open the refrigerator, reaching for a used water bottle.  Why my mom bought them when everyone in the house hated water, I wasn’t really sure.  And why the water was open was baffling to me.  Maybe my mom was required to drink more water now.  Oh well, whatever.  Whoever’s water this was would have to deal with it.  This was going to be used for a master plan that the only Brianne Nichols would think of—well, not exactly only Brianne Nichols, but close enough.

With that, I proceeded to trot out of the kitchen, pushing past Garrett who decided to place himself directly in my path.

“Bri?”

I ignored him, heading toward Dannon’s slumbering body.

Garrett finally seemed to catch on.  “Brianne, that’s just mean!” he called, padding toward me. 

I continued to ignore him and knelt down in front of Dannon.  Garrett continued to protest, to tell me to stop, but who was I to listen?  I mean, brothers and sisters were never supposed to listen to each other.  It was in the Brothers and Sisters Handbook of Ethics.

Yes, there was one.

Don’t believe me?

Whatever, your loss.

“Brianne, don’t—”

I dumped the whole water bottle on Dannon’s face, sputtering out laughter as the water splattered everywhere.

I expected him to jump up, to scream as the liquid collided with his body.  I expected him to lose his cool, to glare and curse at me for waking him up.  I expected so much more than what I received.

Which was nothing, by the way.

Dannon remained motionless, sleeping away as though he wasn’t soak and wet, water droplets falling from his hair to the floor. 

Garrett and I shared a look with each other.  And then, after one last glance at Dannon’s motionless body, we said the same thing simultaneously.  “Damn.”