Ryan plopped onto the floor by the game boxes, and pulled me down with him. I landed on his lap, and turned what I'm sure was bright red, like Elmo had exploded on my cheeks. He ruffled my hair and carefully moved me just enough that I was beside him, not on him. The others followed suit, and the sitting order landed up as Ryan, me, Jacqueline, Greg, the short dude, and the blonde, who landed to the right of Ryan. I could feel my face get hotter.

Ryan looked around and opened his mouth, "I know you all know me, but for the sake of others, can you all introduce yourself? Sorry for making this like an elementary school classroom, but it's helpful." He smiled, and everyone laughed. Ryan nudged, motioning for me to go first.

"Uh, hello, my name is Eddie," I mumbled as quickly as I could.

"Like he said, this dork is Eddie, and I love him one hundred percent," Ryan smiled at me.

Jacqueline went next, "Hey, my name is Jacqueline." She had such a pleasant demeanour.

"Sup, I'm Greg, your resident fabulous friend."

"The name is Spencer. Ben Spencer." Ryan gave him a confused look. The guy slapped himself on the forehead and explained, "I did it backwards. My first name is Spencer, and my last name is Ben." We laughed, and I was relieved I wasn't the only resident dork. Unfortunately, I was the one to be laughed at instead of laughed with.

The blonde girl went next. "I'm Amber," she said in a peppy voice. She smiled, and Ryan nodded. It made me uncomfortable.

-----

Soon, however, the awkwardness was lost a bit because we began our game of Apples to Apples. I take back everything I said about people being civilized, this game was intense.

"MEAT GRINDERS ARE THE ANSWER FOR EVERYTHING, THANK YOU VERY MUCH," Spencer yelled.

"Well, maybe not world peace, or world hunger," Amber began.

"But think about it! You kill those who cause anger, and feed them to the hungry!"

"Okay, you have a slight point," Amber responded, "but have you ever tried grinding up human flesh?"

Spencer looked pale.

"No comment."

We all sat silently for a moment before beginning the next round.

I pulled my card, "Distinguished. Dignified, extraordinary, acclaimed."

"MEAT GRINDERS ARE ALL OF THOSE," Spencer hollered.

"Spencer, you sound like a five year old trying to get his point across," Greg commented, never looking up from his nails.

"But they are!" Spencer whined, thus proving Greg's point.

"Distinguished," I repeated.

Amber slapped a card down. Jacqueline followed suit, and soon we were back to the regular formation. I was laying against Ryan, Jacqueline smiling next to me, while Greg and Spencer jokingly argued, and Amber smiled at Ryan and made jokes. I was only uncomfortable with that last action.

"Distinguished. We have..." I began reading off the cards, "the human race, the dark ages, all you can eat buffets, and paparazzi. All you can eat buffets."

Greg gave a smug look as he picked up his card and said, "Thanks, love."

I smiled back.

After an emotionally painful (yet hilarious) game of Apples to Apples, the score ended up as Greg, Amber, Jacks, Ryan, me, and then Spencer, who put up complaints any time we brought up the fact that he lost.

"Well, I'm sorry that none of you have a sense of humour," he sneered jokingly. The rest of us just laughed as he continued his routine.

-----

Everyone else left eventually, leaving just Ryan, Amber and I. Amber nodded to Ryan, saying she would grab something, so she left next. I sighed. Ryan glanced at me.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I gave a blank stare in response. He looked at me questioningly.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Eddie. I know something is bothering you, do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, but I probably should."

At this point, I was on the verge of tears. I ruined our perfectly good day by only thinking of my own emotions. I'm sure everyone else had their own stuff to go through, but here I was, making it about me.

Ryan gently grabbed my hand and lead me to the couch. He sat down, and motioned for me to follow suit. I did.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I can't do it."

"Can't do what?" he prompted me, with concerned eyes.

"Amber likes you, and you like her, and I thought you liked me, but here I am, being an idiot over nothing huge, yet again."

Ryan smiled, and then began to chuckle, which lead to a full on laugh. I felt my face flush. A tear slipped out of my eye, so I wiped it away, while telling myself to suck it up.

"Oh, Eddie, no... I'm sorry for laughing. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's just, you've got a completely wrong idea."

"And what might that be?" I said in a bit of angered embarrassment.

"Love, Amber is my sister."

I felt my face get incredibly flustered.

"Sister? And no one could tell me this before I got feelings for you and then thought you already had something going on?"

"I thought you knew," he said quietly.

"No, I didn't. And I really don't appreciate not being told these things."

"I'm sorry Eddie, can I make it up to you?"

"Not now." I jumped up, and walked out the front door, slamming it shut behind me. Then I remembered that Jacqueline had given me a ride, and I sat on his stoop. It got a little cold, so I wrapped my arms up and attempted to look angry.

I sat outside for a good five minutes before the door opened. Ryan stood there, holding a fluffy blanket. He sat next to me and wrapped it around us. Then he put his arm around me, and I leaned into him, still acting angry. He ruffled my hair and we sat there, watching the people walk by.