“Brianne, if this is some sick joke to make me happy, I swear to G—”

I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at Kyla as she paced back and forth. I was lying across my bed, my legs propped up on the wall. My hair fell down the side of the bed, making me feel like I was bald. I didn’t why I felt bald whenever I did that, but I did. And it made the world seem upside down. “You really think that I would kid around with something like this?”

The second I came home I’d called Kyla and explained to her in a sickeningly dreamy voice about what happened.  Kyla, being the craziest girl that I knew, decided that she needed to drive herself over here just to see if I was telling her the truth about Dannon and me.  Yeah, because I was one to say, “OMG I have a boyfriend!” and be kidding.  Yep, totally.

Kyla sighed. She stopped pacing and stared at me intently. “I have a hard time believing you.”

I grumbled under my breath before crossing my arms over my chest and scowling at her.  “Would you like me to go through every single detail about how he made me chase him to a tree and then turned me so that I was the one facing the tree and then asked me for permission to kiss me? Or would you like me to go further and explain how he was still hesitant and I had to reassure him with a nod, letting him know that we both wanted it? Or, one step further now, would you like me to explain about how—?”

“Okay, okay!”  Kyla shrieked, holding up her hands.  “Breathe, woman!”  She paused, her eyebrows rising. “Wait. You were about to describe the kiss in full detail. Go on."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.  “You lost your chance there, Strutters.”

Kyla glared daggers.  “What happened to that discussion we had before you started hating on Oliver's last name? I thought we mutually agreed that you would never call me by my last name again.”

I cocked an eyebrow.  “I never agreed to such thing. I just started making fun of Oliver’s last name.”

Kyla, deciding to ignore that comment, plopped on the bed beside me. “So . . . you and Dannon kissed,” she drew out, as though needing another conformation.

I was rather shocked that she wasn't bouncing up and down right now. I told her I had a crush on the guy and she went ballistic. Now we were together—as in together—and there was no reaction at all. Maybe she was in shock.  “Yes, we did. And then he asked me out.”

Kyla made a noise that sounded like lips smacking together.  Slowly she looked down at her, her eyes meeting mine.  They stayed trained one me for a few long moments before suddenly flying off the bed, bouncing up and down.  I stared at her, wide-eyed as she shrieked, “Oh my gosh!  There is a God! God is great, God is awesome! God is the freaking Lord!” at the top of her lungs. 

I continued to stare at her, baffled at the amount of information my friend possessed.  What shocked me even more was that she of all people was crying out about God’s greatness (which was something she rarely partook in).  Who knew that Dannon and I becoming a couple would bring her closer to God?  I didn’t. 

Her excitement finally came to a close, and she let out a long sigh.  Her actions reminded me of a rock melting into magma and then cooling.  I bit my lip to keep from laughing as I suddenly visualized her melting all over the floor, still proclaiming her new-found love for the Lord.  “This is awesome,” she mumbled, falling back onto the bed beside me.  I scrunched my nose in disgust as her hair flew into my face.  “Did you tell everyone else yet?”

I brushed her hair off my face, not answering.  I thought the stupid smile that seemed permanently stuck on my face was proof enough that I had, in fact, received my first kiss.  They hadn’t said anything as I journeyed up the stairs, but they’d stared with expressions of awe on their faces.  That meant that they understood, right?  Or maybe not. 

Taking my silence as a no, Kyla slapped my arm lightly.  “You didn’t tell them?” she demanded, her eyes lit up with disbelief.  “Lady!  They have a right to know that the robot has finally found someone.”

I sat up, fixing my hair and cocking an eyebrow at her.  “A robot?  Really?”

Kyla’s eyebrows rose as well.  “Does the love conversation back on the day when we first talked to Dannon not ring a bell?”

Ah.  The days when I loathed the childish lug that I’d grown to love.  Yes, I did recall that conversation.  “Oh yeah,” I mumbled, standing up and fixing my shirt.  I started toward the door, turning to face Kyla when I realized that she wasn’t following me.  “Are you coming?” I asked, my eyebrows rising again.  I mean, she was the one forcing me to go downstairs and announce that I had a boyfriend.

Kyla grinned, hopping up and following me out of my room.  “Yoooohoooo!” she cooed excitedly.  “Family meeting!”

I let out a small shriek and she pushed me impatiently toward the chairs.  Apparently I was moving too slow for her.  “If I had been any closer,” I drawled as I regained my composure, “I would have fallen down the stairs and to my death.”

Kyla gasped in mock horror.  “Oh dear, Dannon wouldn’t appreciate that would he?”

I snorted, deciding not to answer that.  Great.  This was going to turn into her apple proclamations—except worse.

We tromped down the stairs and entered the living room.  Kyla skipped across the room and plopped onto the couch, kicking her legs back and forth.  I crossed my arms across my chest, sauntering into the room with what I hoped was a blank expression.  It probably wasn’t.  I could all but feel the giddy smile on my face. 

I glanced at my family members.  My dad had a newspaper held out in front of him from his spot in the recliner, while Garrett and my mom were seated on the couch.  They all looked up at my, confusion evident in their expressions.  Ah.  So my stupid smile hadn’t given them a hint.  I sighed internally, leaning on the wall opposite them—just a few inches away from the TV. 

It was silent—but not for long. 

“Brianne, would you please enlighten us as to why Kyla is kicking her legs like a maniac?” Garrett asked slowly with his eyebrows raised. 

I shot him a disbelieving look.  I’d expected him of all people to get what was going on here.  But no.  Garrett was just as clueless as the rest of my family.  “If you haven’t a clue, you’re an idiot.”

Garrett was silent for a moment, and then his eyes widened.  His mouth dropped, and I knew instantly that he realized what was going on.  “Did you guys—?”

I nodded, biting my lip.  “Mhm.”

My mom looked utterly confused as her head twisted between Garrett and me, begging us with her eyes to explain.  “What—?”

“Dannon and her—”

“Dannon and I kissed, Ma,” I mumbled finally, not able to take their confusion anymore as I shook my head.  “It’s like we have to stick a sign in your face.”

All at once everyone jumped up from the couch—well, everyone except my dad—shrieking in joy.  I was amused to say the least.  Kyla acted like this was the first time I told her, even though it was, in fact, the third time she’d heard the news.  I wondered if Dannon was talking to Tom about it.  If so, what was Tom’s reaction?  Happy?  Excited?  Upset?  Angry?

Everyone began asking questions at once.  How the kiss was, if we were dating or not, if it was a romantic moment, if I enjoyed it, if I was going to remember it for the rest of my life.  My dad even piped in, asking me questions that a normal dad wouldn’t ask (meaning he didn’t act scarily protective of me at all).  I just stared, too overwhelmed to answer any of their questions.  It wasn’t like they were really expecting me to answer, anyway.  Otherwise they would have paused between questions.

“I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world!”

Everyone’s mouths shut immediately.  I smiled, jogging to the kitchen to grab my cell phone where I’d left it earlier before I left to go with Dannon.  I didn’t have to tell anyone that it was Dannon calling.  I mean it was so obvious.  From the corner of my eye I could see Kyla laughing, shaking her head at the fact that I never changed his ringtone.

I grabbed the phone off the counter, flipped it open, and brought it to my ear.  “Hey, Barone,” I said, heading back into the living room.

“Hello, Nichols!” Dannon called cheerfully.  “Hey, you forgot your camera in my car.”

Oops.  “Oh yeah, I did forget that, didn’t I?”

I watched, my expression kept as blank as humanely possible, as Garrett leaned over to my mom and whispered, “Totally intentional.”

I would have to smack him later.

“Yes, yes you did.”  I could tell just from his voice that he was smiling.  “Would you like me to return it to you?”

I cocked an eyebrow.  “You’re outside the house right now, aren’t you?”

Dannon didn’t answer for a moment, only confirming what I already knew.  I (barely) suppressed a laugh as he finally decided to answer my question.  “Maybe.”

“Just come in then!” I exclaimed, finally letting my laughter out.  “I doubt my mom’s ever going to make you knock again, by the way.”

“Ah, I’m part of the family!” he sang in a strange accent that he’d probably just made up at the top of his head.  “Let me know when I get a key, all right?”

I laughed.  “Sure thing.”

I hung up, shoving my phone into my pocket before plopping roughly onto Garrett.  He squirmed, whining about how heavy I was.  Whatever.  If he didn’t want to get slapped repeatedly for his comment, he would have to live with this.  Ignoring his continuous cries, I turned to Kyla, who was bouncing up and down in her seat.  “Stop it!”  I shook my head at her.  “You look absolutely mental.”

The front door opened.  “Hello?” I heard Dannon call.

“Oh, honey, we’re in the living room!” My mom jumped up, scurrying to go meet him.  Her hospitality-ness was kicking in.  Garrett pushed me off to the cushion where she’d been sitting, muttering profanities about me under his breath.  I snickered softly, happy to have ticked him off.  Served him right.

“Hello, everyone!” Dannon greeted cheerfully, appearing in the doorway.  He trotted into the living room, my mom not far behind.  His eyes met mine and he smiled.  I smiled back, leaning back on the couch.  “How is everyone this evening?”

“Well, Brianne just sat on me so I’m doing horrible,” Garrett grumbled.  “Do you know how heavy your girlfriend is?”

Dannon smiled, plopping onto the couch.  It made Kyla, Garrett, and I even more squished than we already were.  Oh well.  “Now, I’m afraid not,” he mused, looking between Garrett and I.  “She hasn’t sat on me yet.”

“Don’t tempt me,” I teased, wriggling my eyebrows.

Kyla began talking at light speed, mostly about how we were the cutest couple of the century and how she knew that this was going to happen sooner or later despite what I always said.  “OMG,” she squealed, “I knew the apple was—”

She cut off, her sentence coming to an abrupt end as I chucked daggers through my gaze at her.  Seriously?  Seriously, Kyla?  She’d probably just gotten me grounded for a lifetime.  There was a slight chance of salvage since Dannon was here, but I wasn’t counting on it. 

“What is this about an apple?” my mom asked, tossing Kyla and I a confused look.  Great.  So the small shred of hope that she hadn’t heard what Kyla said was gone.

I silently cursed Kyla before shooting a false smile in my mom’s direction.  “You want an apple?  I’m sure we have some in the kitchen, Ma.”

My mom’s eyes narrowed.  Great, that non-existent plan was now down the toilet.  “What did you do, Brianne?”

“Well, it’s actually a really funny story,” I began lightly, knowing that it was really going to screw me over but not able to bring myself to stop.

“Tell me, Brianne.”

I sighed deeply, bracing myself for the inevitable.  I wondered which part of me my mom was going to tear out first.  My hair?  My eyes?  Gosh, my mouth?  “Well,” I began, slowly, pacing myself, “you know how Dannon and I said we started talking because of a project?”

My mom nodded.  “Yes.”

I sighed again.  “Well, that’s not exactly how it happened.”

My mom’s eyes continued to narrow.  She crossed her arms over her chest, giving Dannon and I both pointed looks.  Damn, she was being intimidating.  If this was because of the baby, the sea monkey and I were going to have some real problems.  But it probably wasn’t the sea monkey.  She was probably just getting ready to attack.  “So, how did it happen?” she asked after a moment of staring us down.

I took a deep breath before finally confessing.  “Kyla was being Kyla and forced me to throw my apple across the cafeteria, and it hit Dannon on the head.”

There.  I said it.

My mom blinked once.  Twice.  Three times.  “What?”

I glanced as discreetly as I could (which wasn’t very discreet by the way) at Dannon.  He shrugged slightly, obviously just as clueless about this reaction as I was.  But why would he be less confused?  It wasn’t like he’d known my mom his entire life.  Oh well.  I wasn’t going to repeat myself.  Nope, she’d heard me.

“So, you’re saying,” my mom muttered, pursing her lips as she thought my confession through, “that you actually threw an apple in the cafeteria aiming for no one in particular, and accidentally hit Dannon on the head?”

Everyone under the age of twenty nodded.  Dannon smiled, saying, “Yeah, she has a pretty good arm.”

My mom sighed.  “I don’t know whether to be mad at you for doing something so stupid—and I mean stupid, Brianne—or happy that because you did that incredibly stupid thing you met such a lovely boy.”

I blinked.  Despite the insults, that hadn’t been painful at all.

Was she feeling okay?  Usually she got pissed-er.  ‘Cause, you know, that was totally a word.

“I’d rather you be happy,” Garrett piped in, a hopeful expression on his face.  He, like Dannon and I, had been expecting something a lot more excruciating and loud.

My mom laughed, shaking her head.  “Well, the older brother has spoken.  I guess I won’t ground you for eternity like a normal mother and congratulate you.”  She looked at me.  “Congrats, chica.”

Before I could open my mouth to answer her, Kyla smiled and stood up from her spot on the couch.  “I should probably go,” she said lightly.  “I kinda left my brother when I was supposed to be babysitting him.”

I shook my head disbelievingly.  “We could have continued this conversation through the phone, Kyla.”

Kyla scoffed, tossing me a glance as she shuffled away from us, toward the front door.  “Where’s the fun in that?”

And then she was gone, the front door closing behind her.

It was quiet for a few moments.  That silence was disturbed, however, when Garrett moved over so that Dannon could have room.  He when Dannon didn’t move very far.  It didn’t really surprise me that he kept a close proximity.  Even when we had just begun talking, he was always up in my space. 

“So,” my mom said finally, “what does everyone want for supper?”

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

“I told you not to eat my mom’s food.”

I sat on the bathtub, sighing as I rubbed Dannon’s back.  They guy had the stomach of a two-year-old.  He’d taken one bit of my mom’s . . . whatever it was . . . and had run straight for the bathroom.  My mom forced me to come in here and help him in his time of need.  No, kissing him and becoming him did not turn me into an ultra-gooey teenager that cooed gooey things to their lover.  Hell to the no!  I mean, sure, I’d gotten a little giddy at first.  But I wasn’t going to turn like a crazy chick overnight.  Jeez.

Though, I had to say, the situation didn’t really bother me in the slightest.

Dannon sat up, grabbing some toilet paper.  He wiped it over his mouth, sighing.  “My mouth tastes gross,” he whined.

I cocked an eyebrow.  “Are you expecting sympathy?  Because I assure you, you’re not getting any, you stupid apple-denter.”

Dannon smiled, flushing the toilet and standing up.  “Sorry about that.  I hope your mom doesn’t get offended.”

I grinned, taking his hand and pulling him out of the bathroom.  “She’ll probably think that you just couldn’t hold down her amazing food because she’s just so amazing.”

Dannon sighed.  “Hopefully.”

I shook my head, shooting him a disbelieving stare.  “Hopefully?  Hopefully?  That woman is not meant to cook.  She should stop.  Immediately.”

Dannon smiled shaking his head.  “You’re such a dream killer.”

Dream killer?  I preferred realist.

We entered the kitchen, and I pointed Dannon straight to the fridge to grab a bottled water.  Then, being the amazing person I was, I went straight for the cupboards, grabbing a box of frosted flakes.  The rest of my family continued to chat like nothing happened, and I was sure Dannon was thankful for that.  He glanced at the frosted flakes and then looked at me.  I sighed lightly with a smile.  “Would you like some, Dannon?”

Dannon smiled back, nodding.  “Yes, please!”

Yes, we were having breakfast cereal for dinner.

I grabbed two bowls from another cupboard, gesturing for Dannon to grab me the milk.  He complied immediately, even going further by grabbing two spoons.  I thanked him with a nod and took them from his outstretched hands.  He smiled in return, watching as I dumped frosted flakes into the bowls and poured some milk in.  I put so much milk in mine that it was overflowing, but when I got to Dannon’s, he stopped me at the most pathetic amount of milk that I’d ever seen.

“That’s barely any milk,” I said blankly.

“Yes, yes it is.  And you have a lot of milk.  It evens out.”  Dannon smiled brightly.

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my bowl and ventured back to the table, happy to have something edible to eat.  Garrett stared at the frosted flakes in awe, looking as though he hadn’t ever seen good food in his life.  I bet he didn’t miss this when he was in college.  Speaking of which. . . .

“When are you going back to college again?”

I realized when I asked this question that I really wanted Garrett to stay.  Now, I wouldn’t admit that to him, but it was the truth.  It was fun hanging out with him and Dannon all the time.  And when Kyla was here it made it all the more fun.  We were like the Fantastic Four without creepy superpowers.

Garrett choked on his food.  I wasn’t sure whether it was because of my question or because of my mom’s crappy cooking.  Maybe it was a mixture of the two.  “What?” he asked, turning to me.

“When are you going back to college?” I repeated as Dannon sat down beside me.  Dannon directed his gaze at Garrett as well, just as curious as I was.

“Oh right!”  Garrett cleared his throat.  “Not for a while.”

Oh, good.  “Oh yay,” I muttered sarcastically, taking a bite of my cereal.  “Oh, and don’t stare at my cereal like a predator about to attack its prey.  You should have asked for a bowl while I was up.”

Garrett groaned, forcing himself up and dragging himself over to the cupboards.  My mom shook her head, plopping her disgusting food into her mouth.  I glanced at my dad, wondering how he was dealing with the torture of his wife’s cooking.  He was turning a bit green.

“Teaches you to let her cook,” I muttered.

My dad turned and nodded slightly.  “Can’t be good for the baby.”

Oh gosh.  The poor sea monkey was probably puking inside her stomach.  That was beyond disgusting.

My mom must have overheard him because she scowled.  “Do you not enjoy my cooking, honey?”

My dad made a face before shaking his head.  “I love your cooking, honey!”

I glanced at Dannon who was munching on his frosted flakes contently.  “If I ever ask you how my cooking is, be truthful.  No one deserves this.”

Dannon laughed, almost choking on his cereal.  “Sure thing.”

Garrett trotted back to the table, almost spilling some milk onto the floor.  He didn’t seem to notice this, however, for he continued his careless trot to his seat.  “Dad, you’re welcome to end your misery and grab some delicious cereal,” he suggested, a triumphant smile on his face.

My dad smiled thinly, shaking his head.  “Why would I do that?  I adore your mother’s food, and you should, too.”

My mom smiled adoringly, taking my dad’s hand in hers.  “Thank you, honey!”

I sighed, taking another bite of my cereal.  “That’s so sad.”

Dannon nodded, copying me by taking a bite of his own cereal.  “Indeed.”

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

“Am I the only one who doesn’t want to go to school tomorrow?”

I sighed, leaning against Dannon’s car with my eyes trained on the sky.  Dannon stood beside me, leaning on the open door of his Saturn, a distant smile on his face.  I couldn’t help but let a smile of my own sit upon my lips.  I felt so happy.  It was like there was nothing in this world that could bring me down.  Nothing.

“No, I’m pretty sure I want to stay home tomorrow, too,” Dannon said, his smile growing as he turned to me.  I let my gaze fall to him, my own smile growing.

I laughed shortly as Dannon sauntered in front of me, moving so close that our toes were almost touching.  I smiled mischievously at him as he leaned his forehead to mine.  “Are we going to do the stereotypical good night kiss?” I mused.

Dannon smiled, his eyes bright.  “Nope, because we’re going to add our totally awesome goodbye hug to it.”

I was about to reply, but Dannon cut me off by pressing his lips to mine.  I smiled, kissing him back, my hands lifting reflexively to wrap themselves around his neck.  Dannon’s hands went to my waist, pulling me closer to him.  I, being the graceful person that I was, slipped as he pulled me.  I let out a gasp as I tripped on the grass.  Dannon laughed, shaking his head.  Yes, my trip just ended the kiss.  Oopsies!

“You’re so clumsy,” Dannon teased, his hands still resting on my waist. 

I rolled my eyes.  “You’re the one who pulled me.”

Dannon chuckled, his hands detaching themselves from my waist.  He lifted them in the air, a bright smile on his face.  “Totally awesome goodbye hug time!” he exclaimed.

I groaned as Dannon wrapped his arms around me, squeezing a lot harder than necessary.  “Totally awesome goodbye hug is suffocating me,” I grumbled, patting Dannon’s back lightly to signify that I was ready for the hug to be over.

Dannon pulled away, his mouth tipped into a crooked smile.  I stared at him, amazed.  I’d never seen one of those—a crooked smile—before.  Usually they were . . . not so crooked.  I would never admit to him that I thought this, but the smile was actually kind of cute.

Ew.  I just said cute.

“Goodbye, Nichols!” Dannon called, hopping into his car and closing the door behind him.  He grinned, waving his hand energetically through the glass of the window.

I waved back slightly as he buckled his seat belt.  “Bye, Barone.”

And then he was gone, his car disappearing down the street.

I turned, my eyes latching onto the living room window.  As I expected, my mom and Garrett were watching, their faces pressed up against the glass.  I just loved how they didn’t care that I was going to catch them snooping.  The fact that they were snooping was a completely different story, though.

“So pathetic,” I mumbled, bracing myself as I made my way back into the house.