Dane

Being the big brother to a crazy celebrity has its ups and downs.

Of course, it depends on who we're talking about, but it's a whole different story when your related to Mike Nor. Mike has got this whole list of rules; don't contact him during school, don't tell anyone else that we were brothers, avoid him at all costs, and the list goes on.

He gets on my nerves, but as any other brother would I will protect him; except for now.

Mike's not a saint and it's about time he had his ass handed to him. I should be going out there to help him, but this would be a good lesson for him to learn.

It was tiring to see him screw up, make out with different girls each day, and turn into an intolerable jerk as the years pass by. It was about time for a girl to stand up to him. I thought this day would never come, but here it was, happening right in front of my eyes.

While taking a step back, I blended into the crowd and leaned against the locker behind me. The last thing I wanted was for Mike to see me in the midst of the crowd.

"You’re such a jerk."

Immediately following the voice, a friendly hand punched my shoulder and slid right next to me. It startled me at first, but I grinned down at the blonde who stood next to me.

The way Jacquelyn would punch me but innocently stare straight ahead never gets old. While I turn around and pretend to see who punched me, I could see her smile from the corner of my eyes. I haven't told her yet, but I always knew it was her.

Every now and then I think about telling her the truth, but I can't because it's the way she smiles. The poor girl has been going through a lot recently, so I would do anything to keep seeing her bright smile.

For a greeting, there wasn't much said. We both smiled, looked at each other, and nodded to acknowledge that we were aware of the other's existence. Usually she would say something demeaning along the lines of 'Sup loser', but I figured there was something going on with her today.

There was an awkward silence between us, but we endured it by watching Mike burrow his head in his arms, trying his best to conceal the pain. Part of me wanted to run up to him and help, but that would violate at least thirty of his rules.

One thing that I had learned over the years was not to mess with Mike and his beloved rules.

Even if I was to run up there and help him, there wouldn't be anything that I could do besides babying him and getting him an ice pack. He was old enough to take care of himself.

Jacquelyn shook her head and swayed her golden locks in front of her face, laughing and mocking my duty of an older brother to herself.

My ears were able to pick up on the few words that she muttered, which was enough to give me the general idea, but I wanted to hear the words from her own lips.

"What did you say?" I laughed while nudging her over with my shoulder.

Her blue eyes danced in delight as she gladly accepted my challenge. I knew she wouldn't be afraid to declare her own thoughts and personal opinions without hesitation and that was one of the things that I loved about her.

Standing on her toes, she tried her best to overcome the two inch barrier of height.

"You’re a horrible brother and an asshole." She laughed. "Honestly, you’re leaving him out there like that? Aren't you going to go stick up for him?"

She did have a point, but it would take me forever to explain.

After a few seconds of not responding, she widened her eyes and searched my face eagerly, trying to figure out my answer before I could speak it. I have known Jacquelyn for seven years, but I still can't get over how cute she looked when she widened her eyes like that.

She looked adorable and innocent, but I have known her long enough to know that Jacquelyn's innocent looks are quite deceiving.

The girl was a great liar, not that it was a good thing, and a perfectionist in the craft of making perverted jokes. If I had only just met her, I would have fallen for those big innocent blue eyes, but I knew better now.

Standing on my toes to increase my height by a few more inches, I looked down on her and patted her head. "Don't worry, my little midget. Mike would probably send someone else out there to help him. I have my reasons."

Completely ignoring my response, she angrily hopped up to grab my shoulders and pushed me down. "I am not a midget!" Jacquelyn growled between her clenched teeth, "I am of average height!"

I burst into laughter and held my stomach, laughing at the fact that she attempted to push me down by jumping as high as she could.

"Do you feel better Jaco?" I smiled as I slid my back against the locker, bending my knees so I could be her height.

She rolled her eyes, doing her best to compress the incoming smile. "Hardly." Curling her lips and stretching her back as an effort to be taller, she looked me up and down. It didn't do much but make her half an inch taller, but I guess it could work.

"You’re a freaking tower." Jacquelyn continued with a cheerful beam, "Why do you have to be so tall? Can you lend me a few inches?"

"You’re too cute." I grinned as I pinched her cheek. "But I must salvage what has been given to me."

I chuckled as she squinted her eyes and made a face. Jacquelyn hated how I would pinch her cheeks in public, but this was one of those things that I could get away with and not get in trouble for. The faces she makes sometimes are priceless.

She scowled as she slapped my hand away. "You're just a big bully."

"Am I?" I teased with a goofy grin.

Now this was the moment where I should have stopped and took control of my senses, but it got a little out of hand. I didn't mean anything out of it, really. It was a game we used to play-when we were young and didn't get our minds caught up into hormones. All we did was get closer to each other and stand each other up; see who the coward was by seeing who backed out first.

It used to be a whole lot easier to play before puberty turned me into a giant, but since my knees were bent and I was her height it made it possible again.

Sliding closer to her, I closed the space that was separating us. "I'm going to win this time, Jacq."

Her face turned beet red and that should have been the first sign to stop, but I was too oblivious at the moment to understand. I was still stuck into the good old times where things haven't gone AWOL. "Ew. Ew. Ew. Get off me!"

"Make me." I laughed.

By the time it was too late to change anything, it was when I got the hint and backed off. Things were different now.

We were both teens of different genders and being this close meant that we had some serious chemistry, which was not the case. It was an unpleasant lesson that I learned during Homecoming of my sophomore year. Neither of us had dates so we decided to go together; as some sort of friend thing as Jacquelyn put it.

It didn't really bother me at the time sense it was all I took her as. A friend. Nothing more.

Jacquelyn was a good friend of mine, of course. After all, there were seven good years that served as a solid foundation for our friendship. She wasn't any more different than the boys on my basketball team or the guys I hang out with. Jacq was a great friend and I wouldn't replace her with anyone else in the world.

Granted, I wouldn't go out there dancing with any of my guy friends, but Jacquelyn was different for obvious reasons.

Sometimes I wish that we had skipped out on the slow song, not even bothering to dance it out. It was my fault for what happened, and I should have predicted that Mike, being the ass that he was, would come up behind us and did what he did. It was a bad habit of mine; always trying to believe in the better of him when I shouldn't have.

But at the same time, I wouldn't change a thing. I found it strange myself, but I really wouldn't change a thing no matter how embarrassing it was.

Jacquelyn and I had a great time, putting aside the disturbing part of the night. Together, we fended off the hours by laughing away the awkwardness and avoiding all the couples who decided to turn the dance floor into Smooch Avenue. It was an escapade worth living for.

At the time, it seemed like nothing could ever go wrong, but that was the equation of perfection that I failed to put Mike Nor in.

I still could remember those few seconds crystal clear, mostly because my embarrassment permanently burned it into my mind.

"We look like idiots." Jacquelyn had snickered, shaking loose the curls she spent all evening to make.

I quickly acknowledged our arms on each other’s shoulders and noticed them flouncing up and down as we swayed from side to side. My stomach twisted into a knot, and I burst into laughter. "I couldn't agree with you more."

"Maybe you should just put your arms around my waist."

Daring to do what I promised myself not to the whole entire night, I took a glimpse of her waist and swallowed hard once I noticed how curvy Jacquelyn actually was. I tried to not act surprised, but I felt my heart jump up to my throat and my face tingle from my embarrassing realization.

I don't know how to describe it. Sure, I knew that Jacquelyn was a girl the whole entire time I was friends with her, but I guess I wasn't really thinking about it; the whole girl body with curves and stuff. Now that it came to my mind, it was slightly disturbing.

"Dane?" Jacquelyn hesitated.

My heart jumped up to my throat as I tore my eyes away from her waist. "Yes?" I replied, giving her a guilt ridden look.

Jacquelyn laughed and gave me another of her colorful smiles, sliding my hands down from her shoulders to her waist. "It's alright. It's going to help us blend in this way. Everyone is staring at us weirdly and it's awkward."

I swallowed hard and tried my best to think of other things like the next championship for basketball, drinks, cookies, anything. Anything besides my fingers sliding into the folds of her scarlet cocktail dress and my hands resting on the dips in her waist.

"But usually- usually- you know, hands resting on someone's curves- I mean waist, signifies that they're in a relationship- or not even that." I squinted my eyes while I stuttered like a helpless fool. "Something close, doesn't mean that they're dating. And you’re just my girlfriend."

The moment I said that, she stopped moving and stared at me with her mouth hanging.

"Girlfriend as a girl that's a friend. With a space in between the two words." I nervously laughed, subconsciously weakening my grip on her waist.

Jacquelyn joined me and dipped her head down, hiding the majority of her face in the shadows. She did her best to hide her face from me, but I could see it turning scarlet through her thin curtain of hair. "Yeah," she laughed nervously "why would we be?"

"Exactly." I agreed.

When things couldn't have gotten any more disturbing, the little devil who I proudly will call my brother, came up behind me and eliminated the space that Jacquelyn and I placed between us.

Her face was only inches away from mine, and for the longest seconds of my life it was like I had seen her for the first time.

She looked so beautiful. The way her face glistened in the dark, how her long blonde hair effortlessly cascaded down her shoulders, and the hue of her lips and cheeks pulling out the color to her pale complexion, made me feel alive.

At that moment, Jacquelyn was a stranger to me and from the way she widened her big blue eyes, I could tell that she was thinking the same exact thing.

"This is really close." I breathed out lightly. The tension between us started to grow, and I wanted to laugh it off, but I couldn't. I didn't know what to make out of it. It was like I just wanted to bend down and-kiss her.

Jacquelyn looked up at me and searched my eyes, her expression showing the same inner struggles that I was going through. "Yeah." she whispered "A little too close."

That was when I lost it.

Before I could control myself, I leaned down to kiss her. All the people around us, the flashing lights, and the tentative music filling the dance floor, seemed to disappear. I was stuck in my own little paradise with Jacquelyn, both our heads moving in sync and our mouths fitting together like a puzzle.

It was perfect. Time, reality, and all our problems melted away, until Mike's laugh crawled into our ears.

We immediately pulled away from each other and stepped back a few feet, both of our faces painted with confusion and uncertainty. Without even looking at me, she disappeared into the crowds of people and hurried out the door, leaving me with no explanation of what happened.

For two whole months, we didn't speak a word to each other. I was dying to know if she felt the same way I did when we kissed, but in the halls she wouldn't bother to talk or look at me. It was torture.

Today was a close call and taking another two months of awkward silence would be the last thing that I wanted to happen. As much as I didn't want to make things awkward, I abruptly pulled away from her and grabbed my backpack.

What was I thinking? After that night, Jacquelyn and I had built up large personal bubbles that we dared not to intrude for certain reasons.

My face started to burn up and my heart wanted to jump out of my chest and run away. If she saw me like this, she would mistake these signs for me liking her and push me away for a long time. I couldn't have that.

Thankfully, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. "Got to take this."

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I walked around her and placed the phone up to my ear.

"Dane! Wait!" called out Jacquelyn.

I didn't hesitate and kept on walking, pretending that I didn't hear a thing.

Once I was outside, I unlocked my car, slid into the driver's seat, and threw my head back into the head rest. I wanted to take a break, but I had a phone call to take. Setting my phone on the dashboard, I put activated the speakerphone and stared at the windshield in front of me.

"This is Dane. May I ask who is calling?"

Heavy amounts of static cackled from the other end, but my mother's voice eventually rang out to me. "Why didn't you answer right away!" She screamed, causing me to scramble as far back into the seat as I could.

I took a moment to lower the volume and glare at it, but it didn't much to stop her harsh and angry words from deafening me. It was tempting to crack open the door so that her angry screeches and yells wouldn't amplify its sound by bouncing off the interior of my car, but I couldn't risk for anyone else to hear it.

I hated when parents did that. They always misjudge the power of the speakers in a phone.

Putting one earplug of my iPod in my ear, I simply stared at the phone and waited for my mother to finish her rant.

This was one of the things that I loved about the phone. When your parents start giving you one of their half an hour lectures over the phone, you could just set it down somewhere else and do what you have to do. Once they have quit yapping and quieted down, you can continue the conversation without killing your ears.

That was the beauty of being part of the generation who knew almost everything about technology; however, it backfires in a lot of situations.

"Do you understand?"

My ears perked up as I heard the three magic words and quickly picked up the phone. "Yes, I am sorry." I answered apologetically.

"Good. Now tell me, do you know what Mike's schedule is for fall break? “She snapped.

I sighed and held my hand up to my face. After the whole incident with Jacquelyn, I really didn't want to do this now. We were constantly planning, plotting, and failing every single time. This whole thing wasn't going to work. Why couldn't we just move on in our lives?

From all the plans that had failed in the past, one would think that it had to be a sign that all of this was never meant to be.

"Mom," I begged, "can't we just hold this off until summer break-"

"Shut up!" she scolded "What's been up with you recently? You should have been the rightful heir of the company instead of Mike. Don't you feel any resentment? They were all against us. We're nothing to them! Remember how they left us to die? Don't you remember Dane?"

Bitterness coursed through my veins as old memories flashed across my eyes. It was a dark time and it was difficult for me to just be able to breathe.

The only thing that had kept me alive was that I could get vengeance on Mike someday, but as I grew older I realized that I couldn't.

It was a cold December morning and my mother and I were cuddled together on my father's doorstep, begging for money. We rang the doorbell at least a thousand times, but when he finally opened the door he was furious and demanded for us to leave. If we didn't leave at that moment, he would call the police and have us arrested.

I wish I was a few years younger so that I wouldn't be able to understand, but at six I knew all the injustices that my father brought onto my mom.

I could remember peering up at him, wondering how he could do this to me, his own son. But as soon I looked down at the little hand that tugged at my father's pants, it all made sense. That was the first time that I got a good look at Mike, my younger brother. My half-brother.

At first, I was jealous. Why wouldn't I be?

Why was he able to stay inside and enjoy the warmth of a home and the happiness of a complete family, while I was outside suffering?

I was young at that time, so I didn't understand what was going on, but I just learned to accept it and acknowledge that it wasn't Mike's fault.

Mike was our father's real son. I was just the child that served as a living reminder of the affair that he had.

Of course, Mike being the rightful son, got to inherit everything. My mother and I received nothing, until Mike's mother died when I was eight. To this day, my mother refused to say anything about it. She has the right to not talk about it, but I can't help but feel suspicious about the whole thing.

Emotions threw my mind set from one train wreck to another, but I eventually calmed down and responded to my mother. "Yes, of course I do, mother. But this isn't the way to do it. Think about it, Mike might give me a good spot in the company if he chooses to take it! After all, Mike doesn't know a thing. He still thinks that we are fully related!"

A sarcastic scoff was the reply to my comment. "Dane, do you really think he would still feel the same way if he found out that you two weren't really brothers? Of course he wouldn't! We have to take him out of the picture before he takes us out!"

I had it. Sure, Mike was only a half-brother and he might have taken everything away from me, but I still loved him like he was my blood. He never did anything wrong.

"We can't just kill him, okay!" I yelled back into the bottom of my phone, trying to override the screams of my mother.

The next few minutes of our conversation was dedicated to screaming each other out, but from the heavy breathing that came from the other end, I could tell that my mother was stressed out. We both were.

"Dane," she replied in a shaky breath, "I never said that we would kill him. Yes, I have said that before, but we will find another way. If he doesn't cooperate, then we will kill him. Just listen to what I say. Figure out his schedule for fall break and let me know as soon as possible."

Before I could say another word, she hung up. Curling my fists around the steering wheel, I threw my phone into the seat next to me and stared straight ahead. I wouldn't usually get this mad, but I had it.

One word. Parents. They never listen.

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A/N: And a wonderful murderous ending to chapter 3, just how I like it <3... Uh... 0.O You didn't hear a thing.. or see... shhh ;) LOL

Like Dane (or this book haha)? Vote this chapter up! :D Makes me feel special, and I will love you to Saturn and back xD Unless you don't want to be loved, which is fine by me haha. 

Question: It might be early in the game, but would you want Jacquelyn and Dane to be together as a couple? xD (I don't know about ya'll, but I want him for myself. (So does my other friend xD) You'll see why in the future ;)  xD )