The last time Zane spent the night at my house, we had been prepubescent kids that were terrified to break out of the world we had known and step into a frightening new one.

It took over an hour for my Mom to agree to allow Zane to sleep in the same room as me. Considering the room was the size of the closet of Marcus' bedroom, it wasn't a surprise my mom was concerned. I would be sleeping in the same bed as a hormonal sixteen year old guy that was related to one of the biggest players in our high school. It would be beyond comprehensible if my parents weren't worried.

I waited until Liam was asleep to set him in the bassinet against the wall. My room was far from being big enough for a crib, so my parents had agreed it would be best to use Peter's old bassinet in place of it. As I fixed the small blue blanket beneath him, I could feel Zane's fingertips brush my shoulder. Without looking up, I could see his shadow casted across the baby's bassinet, head bowed. I pulled my hands from his small body slowly and turned so my eyes were on Zane's wet bare chest, drops of water in the shape of tears rolling down it and onto his toned abdomen.

He closed the minute gap between us and brushed his top lip against mine, a quiet chuckle escaping through this parted lips. "What's wrong, Paige? Isn't this what you wanted?"

I pressed my hands into his chest and stumble back. The tall and lean Zane was replaced by the shorter and stockier image of his older brother. Everything about the image of my ex best friend in front of me had my stomach furling into a knot. The lopsided smile, the deep blues that seemed to pulse in his eyes. He was wearing an old black West Side High sweatshirt, his Letterman draped over his shoulder as if he were ready to throw it over my shoulders.

"You wanted this, didn't you?" the voice had changed with his image. The deep, breathy voice belonged to Marcus.

Before I could wrap my head around what was happening or say a word, Mark closed the space between us completely and kissed me. Instinctively, I kissed him back, my hand buried in his russet locks as they had been a couple days ago at the party. It wasn't until he had pushed me back on to my bed and leaned over me that he spoke again.

"When were you planning on telling me?" he questioned breathlessly.

I started to squirm under his grip. "Tell you what?"

"About my son." he nodded in the direction of the bassinet across the room.

I opened and closed my mouth like my brother's pet Goldfish Rowe before shaking my head. I stopped struggling, my heart sinking into my stomach. When he didn't move for a second, I gently moved my leg a fraction of an inch. Slamming my eyes shut, I opened them to find Zane standing over me, hand grasping my shoulder blade as he continued to shake it repeatedly. Rather than looking worried or scared, a smirk flickered on to his face.

I was breathing so heavily and ragged it was had to get a coherent sentence out. "What's so funny?"

"You were having a sex dream, weren't you?" he looked seconds away from collapsing on the bed beside me in a fit of laughter.

"Excuse me?"

"You were moaning, sweetheart." Zane poked my side. "Who was it about?"

Warmth immediately spread through my body as I bowed my head and blushed. There wasn't any way in hell I was going to let him know that he had been part of the dream. I definitely wasn't going to let him know that I had wanted him to move a little closer and kiss me. I would just have to keep telling myself that it had been nothing more than a manifestation of different things in my subconscious and the feeling had been nothing more than that.

"Was it about me?" he joked, lines around his mouth crinkling when he smiled. "I mean, I've always known you've found me undeniably sexy, but it's nice to know I stick in your head late at night too."

I kicked his shin and laughed nervously, hoping he couldn't tell it was wavering. He dropped his gaze to the carpet as he smiled, clearly buried deep in his thoughts.

"Was the rumor true? The one in seventh grade?" he whispered, changing the mood drastically.

"Which one?" I glared at the Maroon 5 poster hanging crooked over my dresser.

Zane cleared his throat and rubbed one of his hands against his knee. "You and my brother."

"He barely kissed me." I avoided his questioning look. "Scratch that, he was a horrible kisser and didn't even touch me when he did it. He kept his hands at his sides, as if he wee scared I would break under his touch."

"Then why would he lie?"

"Because all the cool kids were there, what better way to get them to like you then claim you got to second base in seventh grade?" I said bitterly. "I was an easy target, I guess."

Zane stayed quiet for longer than I expected, eyes on the baby boy in the bassinet on my side of the bed.

"I knew they weren't true. I knew you, Paige. You didn't do all those things to the jocks and shit."

I turned my head in his direction and peered at him through my lashes, "How would you know? Marcus was my best friend for ten years, not you."

My words escaped a lot more bitter than I had intended them to. Zane didn't react right away, but clenched his jaw and shook his head after a few minutes of absolute silence. It was so quiet in the bedroom, I could hear the sound of the crickets that were hanging around outside my cracked bedroom window.

"Did he know the difference between your smiles?" he asked, voice emotionless.

I snorted. "Are you seriously going full all romantic comedy on me? Are you going to tell me about how you noticed things everyone didn't?"

"You have one smile that always starts on the right side of your mouth and spreads across slowly. It's the smile that you usually force when you're uncomfortable or don't want to be rude." he went on, acting as if he hadn't heard a word I said. "The other is natural. It starts in your eyes, and turns them a lighter shade of green."

I stared, ready to lean over and quiet a whimpering Liam down as I listened to the boy sitting beside me.

I had always been aware of Zane's crush on me. It hadn't ever occurred to me that it was anything more than a childhood crush. I was the first girl he saw that wasn't related to him the second he was able to comprehend the world around him. He had always tagged along behind Mark and me whenever we did things together, at the house or not, and we had been forced to watch him anytime Mr. and Mrs. Dryer had to leave for one of their Gala's or business trips.

Despite him only being a year younger, I always thought of Zane as the little boy without a home. He didn't fit in at school, there was clear favortim of Mark when it came to their parents, and he never really seemed to talk a whole lot. I had always felt for him and begged Marcus to let him tag along on multiple occasions.

Now, catching a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye, I realized how much that little boy had grown up. A cold, distant look replaced the childlike wonder that had been present in his eyes for as long as I could remember. The young, childish features had vanished and were replaced by sharp cheekbones and a chin that had a light stubble beginning to grow. Even the crinkles that appeared in the corner of his eyes had grown worn over the years and were almost nonexistent.

"I can take my shirt of if you want." he winked. "I'm not as ripped as my brother, but I've been lifting in the weight room when he's not home."

I looked away, blushing furiously as I tried to regain my composure. I had just checked out my ex best friend's little brother, the guy I had thought of as my own brother for ten years. The feelings I were experiencing were far from that of what a sister should feel.

"Can I help?" Zane whispered after what seemed like hours of silence.

I blinked in confusion, unsure if I had missed something he'd said. "Help? With what?"

"The baby. Liam." he nodded toward the infant stirring in the bassinet.

I sighed quietly. "Look, Zai. I'd love help, but I think it would be best if I did this on my own. I don't know if I can trust that you won't tell Marcus until we agr-"

"I hate my brother, Paige. I love you." he took my hand and stared down at my knuckles for a moment. "I also know that I'm going to fall in love with my nephew one way or another. I want to do what's best for the baby, and I understand that you do to. If that means holding back from telling my brother until we figure things out ourselves, I understand."

Before either of us could get any further, Liam and Zane's phone went off simultaneously. I reached for Liam and propped him against me as Zane stood and headed for the other side of the room to answer his phone.

I checked Liam's diaper and repositioned him when I was sure he was clean.

As I looked back up, I found Liam shaking his head as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

He heaved out an exaggerated sigh. "It was Marcus."

"And?" I responded.

Somehow his response didn't come as a surprise. "He's being held in a holding cell at the jail and I have to go get him." 

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed! 

Let me know what you thought! 

~ChasingMadness24