“You know, there was a point in my life a point in my life where I wanted to be a detective,” Anthony commented as the credits of Sherlock Holmes rolled on the television screen. He stretched on the leather couch we were seated on, his hand brushing against my shoulder lightly. “I think it was my life goal, actually.”

            “I did too,” I told him, smiling. “All those crime shows really influenced me when I was younger.”

            He laughed. “Crime shows? Those are investigators, not detectives.”

            “What’s the difference?”

            “Well, their job.”

            “What about their job?”

            “What they do…”

            I rolled my eyes. “If you don’t know the difference, just admit it.”

            He poked me in the stomach. “Never.”

            “Don’t do that,” I scolded him, slapping his hand away.

            An evil grin spread across his face. “Why not? Are you ticklish?”

            I kept my face straight. “No.”

            “I’ll see about that,” he said, slowly moving his hands toward me.

            Trying to prevent the oncoming assault, I struggled to push myself off the couch. Anthony easily ruined by attempt by knocking my arms out from under me, causing me to collapse back onto the soft cushions. He used the moment to his advantage, swinging his leg over so that he was straddling my legs, pinning me to the couch. I gave him my best warning glare while he smirked at me. “Don’t do it,” I warned.

            “I’m doing it.”

            “No!”

            Ignoring my protest, he proceeded to assault my stomach with his long fingers. I squirmed under him, holding my breath so I wouldn’t start laughing. My hands pushed on his chest in my feeble effort to shove him off me. Unfortunately, he was ten times stronger than I ever hoped to be, and not to mention probably fifty pounds heavier. He wasn’t going to budge. I finally started laughing, unable to hold it in anymore and he grinned in triumph. “You are ticklish!”

            “No crap, Sherlock!” I gasped between laughs. “Now stop!”   

             “No way,” he responded, moving his hands to my sides. “Beg for me, Ellie.”

            I shook my head, quickly running out of breath. His fingers trailed along my sides lightly, before he pressed harder, making me jump. “S-stop!”

            “Plead for it, Ellie,” he ordered, with an amused undertone to his command.

            “You’re sick,” I gasped.

            He laughed, not looking the least bit insulted. “Just say please.”

            I shook my head, wriggling underneath him. By now I was getting lightheaded. After letting him tickle me for a few more minutes, I used my ultimate defense. It was a good thing Julius liked to tickle me. Using all my strength, I pushed myself forward, knocking Anthony off me. I quickly dropped down on him, straddling his stomach. He looked surprised, but not worried. “The tables have turned,” I notified him.

            “Not really.”

            “We’ll see.” I brought my hands to his sides, and started tickling him. He had no reaction. I dragged my hands to his stomach and tried there. Still nothing.

            He gave me a smug look. “I’m not ticklish.”

            “That’s not fair!” I complained, causing him to laugh.

            “If you keep sitting there I’m going to have a different kind of reaction.”

            Blushing at his implication, I immediately climbed off him. He held out his hand and I grabbed it, trying to pull him to his feet. It didn’t work. I ended up falling back onto the couch when my hand slipped out of his. “You’re too heavy,” I sighed.

            “It’s all muscle,” he responded, jumping to his feet. “Lacrosse really helps me stay fit. How do you stay fit?”

            I blinked at him. I hadn’t realized I was fit. “Er…”

            “Your skin is soft, but you don’t have an ounce of extra fat,” he said, dropping down on the couch next to me again. “For me that involves five grueling practices a week. Do you swim or something?”

            “In the summer… in a pool,” I murmured, dropping my gaze. If I told him what I did to stay fit, he’d realize I was really lazy. The only reason I looked the way I did was because I had a good metabolism.

            “Basketball?”

            “Good one. If you put me anywhere near a basketball, I can guarantee you the person next to me and myself will end up with a bloody nose.”

            He grinned. “Okay, how about soccer?”

            “In my freshman, sophomore, and junior year of high school. Now that’s a sport I’m actually quite good at. Ah, excuse my lack of modesty,” I added, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.

            He cocked his head to the side. “Why not your senior?”

            “My high school cut the team.”

            “Seriously? That sucks.”

            I nodded, my eyes being drawn back to the television again. It was playing the movie menu. “I just jog to stay fit now,” I lied. I didn’t jog. I hated running.

            “Yeah? I jog too. We should go jogging sometimes.”

            I groaned inwardly. Don’t say it, Ellie. Don’t say it! “We should.”

            Why did I never listen to myself?

            Anthony suddenly jumped up, heading for the television. He shut off the DVD player and began to fiddle with the buttons on the bottom of the electronic. I watched him curiously for a few moments. “What are you doing?”

            “I’m going to try to find the news.”

            “I highly doubt anyone is out filming right now…”

            “Hurricane hunters are.”

            I frowned at him. “What makes you think footage will be on the news already?”

            He turned to give me a flat look. “Why do you ask so many questions?”

            “Why not?”

            A smile flashed across his face before he turned back to the T.V. “I’m just checking, Ellie.”

            Settling myself more comfortably on the couch, I found myself checking out Anthony. Lacrosse really did do him well. While his body didn’t have perfect shape, he was cutting it close. The people with the perfect bodies were usually the jerks, or the ones who did drugs. Anthony didn’t seem like either of those types.

            “I did it!” he cried ecstatically as a weatherman came on screen. I didn’t recognize him; he wasn’t one for our area.

            “You do realize this is a weather forecast, right? Not the news?”

He waved me off. “It usually comes with the news. Give it a second.”

            “Sure…” The screen switched from the weatherman to the radar map. I immediately located our little town of Sandwich. A pinkish-purple covered the entire area, sending a wave of nausea over me. As the little time bar at the bottom of the screen ran, the color never left our area. We were getting some of the severest weather. The time continued to run for two and a half days more before the pink became red. Red was still horrible.

            “This is going to be a long storm,” Anthony commented, his back to me. “They really weren’t kidding. Wow.”

            I let out a shaky breath, not realizing I was holding it until that moment. We really were going to be stuck in here for at least two more days. My family had probably given up all hope on me now. They probably thought I was dead… My heart clenched painfully. I just wanted to let them know I was okay.

            The image on the television changed again. This time there was a newsreel at the bottom of the screen. Anthony threw me a complacent look before turning back to the screen. What was on it caused my stomach to lurch. There were images of Barnstable. Trees and power lines were on the ground, roofs were destroyed, and at least two to three feet of water covered the streets they were showing. “Oh my God,” I gasped, my eyes widening in horror. One scene showed a house that had completely been blown apart. The windows were shattered and the roof wasn’t even in sight. It must have been a video from Youtube, because the hurricane was still raging. But those looked like tornado damages. Was there a tornado amidst the hurricane?

            An anchorman appeared back on the screen as the scene changed. Instead of being outside like more reporters would be, he seemed to be in a studio. The letters at the bottom of the screen revealed his name to be Paul Smith. “The video that just played was sent through e-mail to our studio. It was taken by a man in Barnstable, Massachusetts, where the hurricane is starting to gain force.”

            “Starting?” I repeated in a squeak. My eyes shot to Anthony. “That’s just starting?”

            Anthony glanced back at me, smiling comfortingly. “It’s okay, Ellie.”

            I shook my head. “No! Look at that damage! And it’s just starting! Imagine what’ll be like when it gets here! The noise we’re hearing outside now is just an introduction to this storm, Anthony!”

            “Hey, calm down,” he said slowly, moving toward me. “Trust me, it’s not as bad as it looks. I know it’s scary because this is your first time experiencing one, but we’re safe here.”

            “No, we’re not,” I replied, feeling my chest tighten. If this storm powerful enough to take down those roofs while it was just starting, it would be powerful enough to take down Wal-Mart’s roof when it gained enough momentum.

            My eyes were attracted to the screen again as more footage from Barnstable was being played. This time it was a house by the ocean. I pushed myself off of the couch, moving closer to the T.V. Waves of horror rolled over me as I took in the giant waves crashing into the shore. They were taller than any other wave I’d seen in my whole life. Brilliant flashes of lightning filled the screen every so often and the recorded wind was as loud as a freight train. Once again the video changed, this time showing more wreckage of houses with their roofs collapsed. I forced myself to look away from the T.V. I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to think of the people who could be trapped under all that…

            “Ellie? Are you okay?” I hadn’t even realized Anthony had moved in front of me. He gently shook my shoulder. “Ellie?”

            I stared at him, feeling my eyes start to burn. “Anthony… If that’s what it looks like in Barnstable, imagine what it looks like here. What if my house collapses? What if my mom and brother are killed? What if Julius tried to be the tough guy and didn’t seek shelter? That would be just like him! He could be dead too! I don’t know anything! What about my cats? What if flying debris hurt them? What if—”

            “Shh,” Anthony shushed me, putting his hand to my mouth. “Don’t say what if, Ellie. You’ll only scare yourself.”

            I shook my head, pulling his hand away. Tears sprung easily to my eyes. “No! Mason and my mom probably think I’m dead! I know you can hear the storm out there, Anthony! We just saw the radar! It’s horrible! Something has definitely happen— mmph!” My eyes widened as Anthony shoved my face into his chest.

            “Quiet, Ellie,” he demanded. “Stop being so pessimistic. Everyone will be okay. They knew what was coming. They’re ready. It’ll be okay.”

            I sniffled, pressing my face harder into his chest and bringing my arms around his torso. “We’re going to die, aren’t we?”

            “No we’re not,” he told me firmly. “We are safe in here. I’ve been through worse hurricanes then this, Ellie. We’ll be fine.”

            “Are you sure?"

            “I’m positive,” he told me, returning my hug. His body seemed to engulf me, his strong arms holding me tightly. I felt a lot more comfortable in them. It was warm and safe. He started rubbing my back soothingly, and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. “Don’t worry about anything but yourself at the moment, okay?” he said.

            “Mhm,” I responded, quickly becoming intoxicated by his scent. I couldn’t place the smell, but it was nostalgic and very attractive. Whatever brand of cologne he was wearing was now my favorite.

            “Are you feeling better now?” he asked after a few moments, pulling away just enough so he could look down at me.

            I returned his gaze shyly. “Yeah… Sorry,” I apologized sheepishly. “I’m acting like such a kid. I need to grow up.”

            He chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest. “No, you’re acting like a normal human. I was actually waiting for you to freak out.”

            My eyebrows furrowed. “You were?”

            “Yup. Just so I could comfort you like this,” he informed me with a heart-stopping grin.

            A blush blossomed on my cheeks and I hid my face from him again, pressing my nose to his chest. He laughed again, his chest rumbling. “It’s not funny,” I mumbled.

            “Yes it is,” he said bluntly. “You’re really cute, you know that?”

            “Stop saying that.”

            “Why?”

            I turned up to face him, frowning. “Because…”

            “Because?” he pressed, a teasing smile playing around his lips.

            Biting my tongue so I wouldn’t blurt anything out, I adverted my gaze. If I kept looking at him, I was going to kiss him. His lips were so close and looked so soft and… No, I admonished myself sternly. Don’t think that. Even if I had that silly crush on him, he probably didn’t like me back. If I kissed him, he would most likely freak out and it would be awkward the rest of the time we were trapped in here.

            Unless he likes you back, a hopeful voice in the back of my mind offered. I chewed on my lip, sneaking a quick look back up at Anthony. He was still grinning adorably at me. Was it possible that he liked me back? If I based his feelings on his actions, I wanted to say yes, but there was also the problem he could have done what he did just because I was freaking out. There was also a chance he was just keeping himself preoccupied by teasing me so he wouldn’t be bored. He could have no feelings whatsoever. I refused to believe that though. He had to feel something. If not, by the time we got out of here, I was going to make sure he did.

            “Ellie?”

            I pulled myself out of my thoughts, raising my eyes to Anthony’s face once more. It took all my might not to jerk away when I realized how close his face was to mine. Now we were definitely at kissing distance. “Y-yeah?”

            He didn’t reply. Instead, he moved his head impossibly close to mine. My heart pounded in my chest. There was no way… Why would he…? One of his hands slipped up to my cheek, holding my face in place. His lips weren’t even an inch away now. I could feel his breath on mine. Even after a day I could smell the cool, minty scent of his toothpaste. On instinct I closed my eyes, waiting to feel if his lips were as soft as they appeared to be.

            The slightest brush of them proved my thoughts to be true. They felt like warm velvet. It was only a brief touch, but I already felt sparks. Suddenly there was a sharp intake of breath. My eyes flew open and I stumbled a step back, not sure which one of us had emitted the noise. Anthony covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes locking onto mine. “I’m sor—”

            “I’m sorry!” I blurted out, feeling horrifically embarrassed.

            He stared back at me, his hand dropping from his mouth. “You’re sorry?” he repeated skeptically.

            “Yeah,” I mumbled, dropping my gaze. What was I thinking? I couldn’t kiss Anthony! He was twenty! He thought I was twenty too! Sure, I was a legal adult, but I was still lying to him. If I kissed him, who knew what it would lead to? I didn’t want to make any mistakes I would regret later if he ever found out I was still in high school. A twist in my stomach suddenly appeared. He would probably be pissed if I let him kiss me, a high schooler.

            “You shouldn’t be sorry,” he muttered. “I’m the one who started it. I shouldn’t have. It was a mistake.”

            A shot of pain went through my heart. He thought it was a mistake? My eyes drifted back up to him. “Mistake?”

            His eyes widened. “Uh, that’s not exactly what I meant,” he said, looking around wildly. “I mean, I want to kiss you, but I don’t want to make things weird. You’re Mason’s little sister and you’re like Julius’s little sister and we’re still stuck in here and I didn’t even ask—”

            “That’s fine,” I interjected, trying not to smile at his embarrassment. “We were both caught up in the moment…”

            “Yeah,” he agreed, lifting a hand to the back of his head. For some reason he didn’t sound very happy.

            I wasn’t very happy either though. He thought of me as Julius’s little sister? It made my heart sink. Did that mean he wouldn’t ever want to like me as more than a friend? But then why would he want to kiss me? It didn’t make any sense! Shaking my head, I let out a quiet sigh. Anthony shifted on his feet, looking incredibly uncomfortable.  It made me wonder if he regretted his actions. I certainly didn’t… But I didn’t want it to be awkward either. “So, if that was part of your plan to take my mind off what I saw on the news, it’s working,” I joked lightheartedly, trying to ease the tension.

            A familiar grin broke out across his face showing me my attempt worked. “Really? I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time.”

            “Yeah?”

            “Yup.”

            I smiled at him. If there were going to be a next time, hopefully it would be when we were out of here so I could kiss him for all I was worth with no problem. Except your age, the voice in my head spoke up again. I shooed it away. As long as he didn’t find out about that I would be okay. There were only two months left of my senior year; I could keep my age a secret from him until then. Of course, I could tell him my true age but… I stole a glance at him, a frown flickering onto my face. What if he was one of those guys who thought high school girls were immature? I didn’t want to ruin our relationship over it. A little white lie never hurt anyone. And anyway, there was only a two-year difference between us. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

            “So,” Anthony started, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. “Do you want to watch another movie?”

            “If we do this everyday we’re stuck here we’re going to get fat,” I warned him.

            He grinned. “We can have another air soft war later, or something. Right now though I want to watch a scary movie.”

            “Scary movie?” I repeated hesitantly.

            “Don’t tell me you can’t handle them,” he told me, a smirk crossing his face.

            I stuck out my chest defiantly. “I can. I just don’t know if this is the best situation…”

            “There’s no one in here besides us,” he insisted. “No murderers can get us.”

            “Fine.”

            “Good. I’ve always wanted to see The Fourth Kind. I heard it kind of sucks, but I’d like to decide that myself.”

            “What’s it about?” I inquired, the name not registering in my head.

            “Aliens,” he responded easily.

            My heart nearly stopped. Alien movies were so not my thing. Any other horror movies were a go but just hearing the word alien made me anxious. “Can we watch something else? A different horror movie? Like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Or something?”

            “Scared of aliens?” he guessed.

            I glowered at him. “No!”

            “Then we’re watching it. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

            As he left the room, I scolded myself. I really needed to stop blurting things out! Sitting back down on the couch with a huff of angry air, I focused on the television. Anthony must have changed the channel because the news wasn’t on anymore. Hopefully the movie wouldn’t be too scary. It was still daytime, too. I didn’t have anything to be afraid of.

             Anthony came bounding back into the room a few minutes later, an excited expression on his face. Going straight to the DVD player, he ripped open the case, and popped in the DVD. After that he hastened toward me, plopping down on the couch with the DVD remote in his hand. “Estas listo?”

            “I don’t need to be ready to watch a movie,” I mumbled, pulling my knees up to my chest.

            He smiled knowingly at me. “You’re assuming your shun-the-world position, Ellie.”

            “Funny,” I remarked. “Play the movie.”

            “Sure. If you get scared, my arms are always open.”

            “I won’t get scared.”

            He gave me a dubious look before turning back to the television. “Whatever you say, Ellie.”

             I scowled at the side of his head. I would not get scared.

_______________________________________________

Haha! You know what the best part about this chapter was? The part about Ellie freaking out because that really happened with my friend Holden. He was Ellie. I was Anthony. Like a pro. Of course I just tweaked it a bit because it's more fun when it's more romantic c: DANG I SHOULDA DONE IT THE OTHER WAY... but that would make Anthony less attractive. Hurr.

I FEEL LIKE I CAN PREDICT THE FUTURE NOW. I start writing about a hurricane in MA and now one's coming tomorrow/today? And just wait until you see the scene I wrote about two weeks ago that I'm going to add soon. It'll blow your mind as long as you believe me I wrote in advance when I really did. I'm so... weirded out haha!

I'm not going to Walmart though... My Anthony isn't working ):

Anyway. Song of the day is... Levitate by Hollywood Undead.

And today's story is.... The Day by danielaistoocool! Here's the summary!

The Day you die is one you never remember. But what if you were forced to never forget? Forced to have to relive every second of it for the rest of your life?
Hailee made a wish that forced that burden on her, but could she be choosing her own self destruction by not saying three simple words?
Her story is truly one you will never forget...

Remember all you have to do is leave a comment (and vote ;D) for a chance for your story to be promoted c: