•Jenna•

   "Follow me, guys," Tyler says, gesturing to Josh and me. He leads us around the side of the house and through a side door, which reveals the Joseph's garage. He rummages through stacks of dusty boxes until he gives a satisfied smirk. Pulling out three metal garbage can lids, he hands them to us. "We'll use these as shields."
"Because we're total trash," Josh adds. We all start laughing. Tyler walks over to a tool rack bolted to the wall and picks up a slingshot.
"Who's gonna be our sniper?" Tyler asks, looking at us.
Josh raises his hand. Tyler nods. "Okay, Jenna and I can be the main soldiers, then. Now, we have to establish our fort." Tyler leads us back outside to the backyard. "Make sure to grab the bucket of water balloons, Josh. We don't know what Zack's team may do."
"Have you guys done this before?"
Tyler nods. "We've done it at Fourth of July parties. It's really fun."
   "So...where is our fort going to be at?" I ask. "How does it work?"
   "Well," Tyler says,"Each team will run and hide somewhere on our property, and the other team has to find them. So it's basically like a big game of capture the flag but with water balloons. Josh and I will show you the ropes. We're pros at it."
   "Okay," I say. I hold our trash can lids as Josh takes the water balloons and Tyler, with the slingshot, leads us into the woods.
    When I realize we're approaching the treehouse, I ask,"Isn't this kind of an obvious spot?"
    Tyler shakes his head. "We've only played this game at our relatives' houses, so the treehouse has never been used." We reach the base of the tree. Josh puts a hand on the ladder. "Okay, Josh, since you're the sniper, you're going to be looking out the window and firing balloons. You'll take half of the balloons while Jenna and I will take the other half." Tyler grabs a rope dangling beside the ladder and proceeds to fasten it to the bucket of balloons as Josh climbs inside the treehouse with his shield. Tyler and I wait at the bottom until we see the bucket being carefully lowered down.
   "So, where are we going?" I ask Tyler as he unties the bucket.
   "The trenches," he replies. I follow him until he stops at a large log not too far off the main trail through the woods. "This will be our trench." He turns the bucket of balloons on its side, some spilling out. "Now, we wait." We lay side-by-side on our stomachs for several quiet minutes. I jump when I hear Tyler's phone vibrate.
    "It's time to begin," he whispers. "Our fifteen minutes are up, according to Zack." His phone vibrates again.

  Zack: Where are you guys at?

   Tyler starts typing a response when I grab the hand holding his phone. "Dude, what are you doing!? You're gonna give away our position!"
   Tyler laughs. "You're really getting into this, Private. Let me be the General here. This is part of the game. We text each other hints to where we're at."
   "Oh," I mouth. I look over Tyler's shoulder to see what he's typing.

Tyler: Down in the forest, we'll sing a chorus, one that everybody knows.

   I turn to him and arch an eyebrow. "What?" he asks. "It's one of my songs." He turns back to his phone, opening Josh's text thread. Get ready, he texts.

   My Fren: Aye Aye, Captain.

   I grab Tyler's shoulder. "Do you hear that?" I whisper. Leaves crunch softly in the distance. Tyler nods, picking up and holding a balloon in his hand. I mirror him.
   "They have to be around here somewhere." I hear Maddy's voice from afar.
   "They're probably all three hiding in Tyler's old treehouse," Zack says. "We can ambush them like dogs do to rabbits."
   Tyler tightens his grip on the trash can lid handle, causing me to do the same. A water balloon shoots out of the treehouse window and hits Jay in the chest. Strike one.
   "I knew it!" Zack hollers. "There's no where to run now!" He takes a balloon in one hand and uses it to climb the treehouse ladder with the other. Tyler takes aim and hits him in the back when he gets halfway up. Zack's head whips around. I use all of my arm strength to pummel Jay, causing him to receive his second strike. Both Jay and Maddy turn, trying to locate Tyler and me.
   We crouch down behind the log, but not enough to block our vision of the treehouse. Zack's head is still turned, giving Josh the advantage. The purple-haired boy is army crawling toward the entrance. A water balloon drenches Zack's head.
    "Agh!" he yells, scrambling up the remaining rungs of the ladder. "You're going to pay for this!" Josh's trash can lid flashes in the waning light as Zack throws his single balloon at him. The lid absorbs the impact.
    I take aim at Jay once more, only this time I miss. Jay and Maddy's eyes land on me.
   "Crap! They've spotted us! Sorry!" I say to Tyler as the two run toward our location.
  "It's okay. Now, we just have to stand up and fight." I nod, and we both rise from our secret hideaway.
    Maddy and Jay both fire at once, their balloons barely missing us. Tyler hands me a balloon, which I chunk at Maddy. Strike one for her.
    Zack is on the ground with Josh scrambling down the ladder behind him with water balloons bulging in his shirt. Josh finishes him off easily. Water soaks my thigh, making me yelp in surprise.
   "I let my guard down!" I exclaim, falling behind the log.
   Tyler kneels beside me and takes my face in his hands. "Jenna! Can you hear me!? Don't go toward the light! Stay alive!"
   I grab his hand weakly. "I'm not sure if I can go on," I say weakly. "Remember...me." Jay raises a water balloon to hit us, but Josh hits him before he can throw it.
   "Three to one!" Josh yells. "Surrender now!"
   "Go on without me," I say. "I'll catch up."
   Tyler stands up with his shield. "I will avenge my maiden!" He hits his sister with a balloon. I stand up and get in one final blow on her, too.
   "We won! We won!" Josh and Tyler yell in unison, jumping up and down like little kids.
   "Wait a minute," I say, crossing my arms. "That's not fair. You two never got wet." I use two fingers to point at Tyler and Josh as I pick up two balloons.
     They cower and wrap their arms around each other. "No, please anything but that!" Tyler begs.
   "We surrender!" Josh cries.
   "You've gone to the Dark Side!" Tyler says.
   Maddy and I share a look, then roll our eyes. "Nice try." I casually stride up to them. Tyler peeks at me with one eye, then buries himself into Josh's chest like a child in trouble. I have no mercy as I throw balloons on both of them.
   "Now it's fair," I smirk.
   "Okay, Okay, Fine. Now, let's all go back to the house and get dried off." My team grabs our shields as Tyler's siblings all walk back to their house. We easily catch up to them.

I wait in the living room awkwardly as everyone heads to their different rooms to change clothes. The basement stairs creak as Tyler and Josh appear at the top of them. Tyler's eyes land on the small puddle of water dripping at my feet. His mouth forms an O.
"Um, I have some shorts you can change into," he says awkwardly.
I shiver. "Yeah, that would be nice." Tyler gestures for me to follow him into his room in the basement.
"Oooooo," Josh says.
"Shut up," Tyler says, glaring at him. He puts his hand on my back gently and guides me down the stairs. Flipping on the light, he crosses the room to his walk in closet and reappears with a pair of basketball shorts. "See if these fit you," he says, tossing them to me. I walk into the closet and shut the door, then change out of my wet jean shorts. The elastic waistband of the basketball shorts fits on me loosely, but it should be fine. I step out of the closet, my wet pair of shorts in my right hand.
"Well, they look a bit baggy, but they'll fit," Tyler says. We start heading back toward the stairs.
"I really liked dinner, and I like your family," I declare, the wooden steps creaking underneath us as we make our way to the top.
"I'm glad," Tyler replies.
"Now it's just time to have you over for dinner at my house. I can already tell you that my family won't be this interesting."
"That's okay." We step into the living room, where the rest of the family (plus Josh) is at. Most are lounging around on the furniture. Tyler finds a plastic bag for my shorts, then we both sit down on one of the couches. He checks the time. 8:15.
"When do you need to be home?" Tyler asks, turning to me.
"About nine, maybe."
"Okay."
"Hey Tyler," Mrs. Joseph pipes up,"you should play one of your songs for us."
"Yeah," Maddy and some of the others—including me—agree.
Tyler blushes and shrugs. "I don't know what to play."
Zack meets his gaze, and that's when both boys nod. Tyler turns to Josh. Can they speak telepathically or something??
"Josh, go get your Cajon." (A/N Those are the percussion box thingies in case you guys didn't know). Josh runs downstairs as Tyler takes a seat at the old piano that rests against the living room wall.
Josh runs back upstairs carrying a wooden box thing. He sits on it beside Tyler, who is on the piano bench, both boys hands poised, one over the piano keys and the other over the box. Zack stands up and joins the duo.
"This song is called Kitchen Sink. It features my brother, who I love very much." Tyler grins at Zack. They both nod, and Tyler starts playing. Josh joins in not too long after on his Cajon.

Then, Tyler starts to sing, his voice sending shivers down my spine. The rest of his family sits and quietly listens to his smooth, melodic vocals blending with the piano.

"Nobody thinks what I think."

"Nobody dreams when they blink

"Think things on the blink of blasphemy I'm my own shrink. Think things are after me, my catastrophe."

"I'm a kitchen sink."

"You don't know what that means."

"Because a kitchen sink to you is not a kitchen sink to me..."

Every new song that I hear from him takes my breath away. He is going to go far with his music. I can already tell. Closing my eyes, I tap my foot to the rhythm of Josh's Cajon. I open them in anticipation to see what Zack will do.

"Nobody thinks what you think,"

"No one. Empathy might be on the brink of extinction.

"They will play a game and say they know what you're going through and I tried to come up with an artistic way to say they don't know you and neither do I, so here's a prime example of a stand up guy who hates what he believes and loves it at the same time. Here's my brother and his head's screwed up, but that's alright."

Zack hesitantly steps forward, his brother giving him an encouraging nod. He inhales deeply.

"TimegainsmomentumthemomentwhenI'mlivinginem'I'mwinningamomentarysinningamomentpassingafter a rebeginning moments mending memories, pretending enemies are frenemies, sending me straight to bending me my bad behavior but I bet I could have been a better man."

"Copy and paste caught me, and copy," Tyler and Zack both sing.

"Better rhymes bother me," Zack continues to rap. "The better the rhythm, the badder I am but I bet I'll battle with em'

"Battle

"Better I am, gambling man, better bet I am a gambling man, I am?" Zack steps back, breathing deeply as Tyler's voice crescendos.

"Go away, go away, go away,

"Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave me alone!"

I jump when he screams,"Don't leave me alone!" His music speaks to my soul. My eyes fill with tears when I make a connection. That part of the chorus is like when you're telling someone to leave you alone, but deep down, what you really want is for them to stay. You may wait all of your life before that person comes around that is able to see through your lie. I want Tyler to be that person.
    The song ends, and all of us erupt in applause. I'm the first to stand, the others following.
   "That was great, Ty!" I exclaim. You guys were all great!" I say to Josh and Zack.
    Tyler rubs the back of his neck shyly. "Thank you." He glances at the clock hanging on the wall, which says 8:20. "We should probably get you home," he states.
    "We don't have to leave this early," I say. "I mean, unless you want me to go—"
   "No, that's not what I meant. I meant I don't want your folks getting worried if I brought you home later," Tyler says.
   I nod slightly. "Okay, I guess that makes sense."
    Tyler scuffs a foot on the floor. "I guess I'll take you home, then." He walks toward the front door and puts his hand on the knob before I remember something.
   "Oh! What about your shorts?" I look down at the baggy basketball shorts that I'm wearing.
   He waves his hand. "Keep them. I have a ton."
   "Are you sure?"
   "Yeah."
    I grab the plastic bag with my jean shorts in it and follow Tyler to the door. "Bye, Joseph family! It was nice meeting you guys!" I wave.
    "You too!" Maddy, Zack, and Jay yell from the kitchen.  
   "Come back over again sometime!" Mrs. Joseph exclaims.
   "Oh, I definitely will," I say, turning and grinning at Tyler. He opens the door for me, and we step out into the warm, late summer night. We walk to his red car where he holds the door open for me again. We take the three minute trip to my house in a comfortable silence. Tyler pulls into my driveway and kills the engine. We both climb out and make our way up to my porch. Tyler's hand snakes for the doorbell, but I grab it. His eyes meet mine.
   "I had a lot of fun tonight," I say softly. "Thank you." I kiss him on the cheek. Color tinges both of our faces. I let go of Tyler's hand and ring the doorbell.
   Carrie's face appears. "Mom! Dad! Jenna and her husband are here!"
   "Shut up!" I say, covering her mouth. My mom and dad walk around the corner, smirking. I take my hand off of Carrie's mouth.
  "How'd it go, honey?" my mom asks.
  I smile and glance and Tyler. "Really good."
  My dad gives me a once-over and raises his eyebrows. "What's with the shorts?"
   I look down at my legs. "Oh, we had a water balloon fight after dinner."
  "Sounds like fun," my mom says. "Thanks for bringing her back early, Tyler."
  "It's no problem, Mrs. Black."
  My mom touches my shoulder and guides me inside. "Have a good night."
   "You too."
   My father shuts the door, and I head upstairs to bed, Tyler still in my mind. I grin as I think back to the fun that we had. I hope that this relationship will last.
 
    A/N: Sorry that I'm making these chapters eternally long. The stomach in my brain sometimes has the tendency to throw up onto the page. I guess you could say I'm an addict with a pen....

...I will let myself out