Friends vs. Family

by C. L. Stone

  “Your brain is made of fat,” I replied. “You need fat for your brain.”

  North smirked, rolling his eyes.

  Silas laughed, and massaged my neck and scalp with one hand. “She’s right. She cooks and she’s smart. Let’s keep her.” His big hands were rough and not as precise as Kota’s or as soothing as Gabriel’s, but I enjoyed it.

  As I cooked, Silas and North asked what I needed, and found things for me quickly. When I was almost done, I added barbeque sauce to the mix.

  “How much are you adding?” North asked. “Are you measuring?”

  “Not really,” I said.

  “How do you know when it’s enough?”

  “When it tastes good.” I stirred the sauce into the mixture of ground beef, bacon and beans. “There. Let it stew for a while. It’ll taste better if you let it sit.”

  North gripped my hand over the spoon. He brought the spoon to his mouth, holding my hand as he took a bite. He let go and licked at his lips. “It’s simple, but it’s good.”

  “What are we having?” Erica asked as she came into the kitchen.

  “Cowboy stew,” Silas replied. “Sang’s recipe.”

  Erica beamed. “We’re going to have to get together and swap recipes.”

  I blushed. “I wasn’t sure what else to make. There’s so many people here.”

  Erica waved me off. “Sometimes I just order pizza for them or we grill out. We’re flexible.” She bent over the pot, smelling deeply. “I think I’ll make cookies.”

  “Should we help?” Silas asked.

  “Nope. You’ve made dinner,” she said. “I’ll take care of dessert. You three go have fun.”

  We tried to insist we could help or at least clean up but she wouldn’t allow us to remain in her kitchen.

  Back in the living room, North and Silas went back to the couch. The others were playing some car race game on the big screen.

  Luke was sitting alone in one of the bean bag double chairs. He waved me over to him. I slipped into the chair beside him. With the way the bean bag chairs worked, we were tilted in together, our hips touching. It felt more intimate.

  Luke swept a finger across my cheek and brushed a lock of hair from my face. “So how do you like it?”

  I blinked at him, confused.

  “I mean the chairs,” he said. “The ones we got.”

  I’d only sat down for a minute, but it was cozy. “It’s comfortable. I bet I could curl up in one and take a nap.”

  “That’s perfect. We’ll keep them.”

  I laughed, dropping my fingers across my mouth. “Would you have kept them if I said I didn’t like them?”

  “Nope.”

  “Is my opinion that important?”

  “Yes.”

  “But...” I hesitated, remembering what Gabriel had said about girls sometimes dissing themselves, but this was different. “I mean, what if you like them? You bought them so you should feel comfortable in them and not worry about my opinion.”

  “All our opinions matter,” he said. “You’re one of us now.”

  “Sang!” Gabriel’s voice cut through the chatter and the game music. “Come race the cars.”

  A controller was tossed at us. I was teamed up with Nathan for the game, racing against Victor and Gabriel.

  Nathan took one look at me and mouthed the word: cheat.

  Easier said than done. Swimming cheating was one thing. How was I going to cheat now?

  To start, I climbed away from Luke. Victor’s chair was closer to the screen, and I plopped down next to him. Victor beamed. He leaned into me, his side pressed to mine. My arm, because of the way I had to hold the controller, was neatly tucked under his.

  The game started and I had plenty of trouble trying to figure out the right controls. As it was, I was dead last from the start. Nathan wasn’t doing too badly.

  I tried bumping my car into Gabriel’s, and taking dangerous cuts across the street in the game just to be a block for Victor but it wasn’t helping. Every move I made just pushed me further behind.

  Out of desperation, I nudged my elbow into Victor, hoping to distract him.

  “Hey, hey,” he said in a low voice. He started nudging me back.

  Well, if he’s going to do it...

  I moved my hand from the controller, poking him in the stomach. His muscles flexed out of reaction. He laughed, nudging me over with his elbow and practically leaning over me, trying to get me to stop and trapping my arm against my body.

  He managed to take the lead in the game. I went for curling my fingers and tickling.

  “Sang!” he called out, cracking up. He kept leaning on me but I had given up trying to beat any of them so I left the controller in my lap.

  My hands sought out his sides and I brushed my fingertips against his red polo shirt. “Yes, Victor?”

  He grunted and dropped his controller, reaching for my hands and drawing them together until they were over my head. I struggled but he collected my wrists in one hand and his other moved over my stomach and he started to tickle.

  “No!” I squealed, laughing and trying to twist and pull away from him. It didn’t help. His fingers found my sides and he traced delicately along my stomach. I was howling with laughter and in near tears. In order to find any relief, I was pressing myself close to him to trap his arm between us. His breath fell against my ear as he giggled.

  “Hell yeah!” Nathan shouted, dropping the controller in his beanbag chair. He pumped his fist in the air. His car spun on the screen, declared the winner.

  “God damn it,” Gabriel said. He glared over at us. “What the hell are you guys doing?”

  “She’s cheating,” Victor said breathlessly through his laughter. He let me go but I was still in a fit of sniggering.

  “That’s my Sang,” Nathan said. He leaned over in his beanbag with his hand up in the air. I slapped my palm against his for a loud high five.

  “That’s it,” Gabriel said. “She’s on my team now.”

  “Fine,” Nathan said. “Then I get Kota.”

  “I’ll play,” Kota said. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He patted his palm to the spot next to him. “Sit next to me, Sang.”

  “Watch out,” Nathan said as I pulled myself out of Victor’s chair. “She’ll get you. She fights dirty.”

  I crossed the floor and sank to my knees next to Kota, sitting on my heels. I tried to give Kota my most innocent smile.

  “She won’t cheat around me,” he said, his eyes narrowing at me but there was a slight curl to his lip. “She wouldn’t dare.”

  “You get him, Sang,” Gabriel ordered.

  I bit my lower lip a little and grasped the controller.

  When the game started, I did nothing but play the game. Since I knew more about how the controls worked this time, I wanted to try to win. Unlike swimming where the boys were stronger and faster, video games kept us on an even field.

  For a while, I was in the lead. I took a lot of risks, cutting corners with my car and driving on the wrong side of the road for extra speed bonuses. No matter how fast I was going, though, Kota was always right behind me. He was the hunter, I was the hunted.

  I leaned into him, nudging my elbow into his ribs, hoping to gain a stronger lead. It made me uncomfortable that he was so close.

  “Stop it,” he growled at me. A smirk slipped from the side of his mouth.

  In the middle of the second lap, Kota’s car dashed around mine, claiming first place. I thought I could retake the lead by nipping his bumper and cutting around on the opposite side of the road and then take off. He seemed to anticipate this and instead of simply trying to move faster or work around me, he half slammed his car into mine, causing me to spin out of control. My car crashed into a tree and he took off.

  “Huh,” I groaned at him.

  He grinned but kept his eyes on the screen.

  I was already far enough behind now that I wasn’t going to catch up. I poked Kota in the ribs, trying to tickl
e him.

  “Sang,” he said in a warning voice. No matter how lightly I traced against his stomach, he wasn’t stopping. Just grinning.

  “Do it,” Gabriel said. “Get him.”

  I wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to do. Tickling wasn’t working. Gabriel’s car was right behind Kota’s. Out of desperation, I yanked the controller from Kota’s hands, tossing it behind me quickly so it rolled across the carpet. I returned to the game, pretending to be totally focused on it and innocent.

  Silas and North hooted with laughter.

  “Oh that’s it,” Kota said. He grabbed me around the waist and pushed me to the ground until I was on my stomach. I squealed, laughing and trying to wriggle free. He sat square on my butt, pressing my hips to the floor. He snatched my controller and tossed it away. Silas caught it, and took over my car, turning it the opposite way along the road, and purposefully smashing it into trees.

  North flung Kota’s controller back to him. Kota kept me pinned to the ground as he resumed the race. I tried wriggling underneath him but as I squirmed, he briefly sunk his full weight into me and it sparked a slight sting to my still healing tailbone. I laughed, giving up and watching the rest of the race with my head propped up in my hand.

  “Ugh,” Gabriel shouted as Kota took the lead again.

  “You have to get him now,” I said from the floor.

  “Are you kidding? He’ll kick my ass.”

  “I have to do everything,” I said, and I half twisted from the floor, reaching back to poke Kota square in the stomach.

  “You’re already in trouble, missy,” Kota said, wriggling on top of me.

  My poking seemed to be getting to him. I kept doing it, aiming for different spots.

  He tried ignoring it but when the race was almost over, he let go of the controller long enough to reach around and land a deafening slap on my thigh.

  I squealed, crying out. The guys laughed. Kota won the race.

  “Alright, enough,” Victor said. He got up to stand by my side. He nudged Kota with his leg. “Come on, you can’t sit on her like that.”

  “She started it,” Kota said. He popped me on the leg again. I squealed again, laughing. Kota hovered over me, standing.

  Victor bent over to take my hands in his and assisted me up until I was standing next to him. “Did he hurt you?”

  I smiled, blushing. “No, I’m fine.” I squeezed his hand gently, trying to show some assurance that I was being honest.

  Victor dropped a hand on my hip and lured me around so he could take a look at my leg. “She’s got a big red handprint on her now.”

  “I didn’t get her that bad,” Kota insisted. “She’s not hurt. Look at her, she’s laughing.”

  Gabriel stretched from his chair and poked at Kota’s knee. “You leave a bruise on my model, you’re gonna get it.”

  “What’s wrong with you guys?” Kota said, losing his smile. “We’re playing.”

  “Well don’t play so rough,” Victor murmured.

  The air stilled around us. I glanced between Victor and Kota, not understanding the harsh stare falling between them.

  “What the hell, guys?” Nathan stood up next to Kota. “We just spent two hours flinging her across the pool and now you’re all worked up over this? We’re just playing around. She’s having fun.”

  “I’m fine guys,” I said softly. I wasn’t sure what was happening but I maybe I’d taken cheating too far. “Really. Let’s just play another game.”

  The silent communication zinged between all of them and I simply couldn’t keep up. I had never seen them so worked up between each other. Was it my fault? Why did I have to take things so far with Kota?

  “Hey,” North bellowed. He stood up, stepping between Victor and Kota. “That’s it. Game over. Sang, in the kitchen with me. Everyone else straighten up and pick out a DVD. We’re going to eat and we’re going to watch a movie.” North snagged my hand. He guided me away from the others. I heard some grunting but everyone broke away to rearrange things.

  North just gave orders to Kota! How did that happen?

  North held on to my hand until we were in the kitchen again. He let go when we were within view of Erica, who was bent over the counter pouring no-bake chocolate cookies out onto waxed paper. “How’s it going in there, guys?”

  “The boys are hungry,” he said. He crossed to the pot of cowboy stew and gave it a stir. “Is this done?” he asked me.

  I nodded, feeling shy again. I wasn’t sure where to move or what to do. My mind was whirling as to what just happened. Were they still mad? And why did North let go of my hand in front of Erica? Why did it feel like he was hiding it? They didn’t do that at school.

  Erica stopped her cookie making and put the pan in the sink. She dug in a cupboard for some plastic spoons and bowls. She handed them to me. “Here,” she said. “I let the boys eat in the living room when they’re all here. Should we have anything else?”

  “They might like some cheese or sour cream on top,” I offered. I was grateful for a job to do. I slipped next to North, stacking the bowls on the counter near him and putting the spoons nearby.

  Erica bowed into the fridge to collect cheddar cheese and sour cream to place on the counter.

  North caught my eye and whispered low enough so only I could hear. “Smile,” he said.

  I grimaced.

  He patted my arm. “They’ll be fine. Don’t look so scared. Go call the guys in,” he said, nodding to the doorway to the living room. “We get them fed, and they’ll be in a much better mood.”

  I sucked in a breath and started back to the living room. Kota was calling out DVD names and the others were yay-or-nay voting.

  “Ready guys?” I said, trying to test the mood in the room.

  Silas jumped up from the couch, stretching and smiling. “About time,” he said.

  The others got up as well, but quietly. I sensed an unspoken and tender white flag hovered in the air between them.

  “Where’s Victor?” I asked, noticing he was missing.

  “He went outside,” Kota said. “Wanted some fresh air.” Something in the way he said it made it sound like there was more to this than he ever wanted to say.

  “I’ll go get him,” I said.

  “Not in those socks,” Gabriel said. He fell behind the others heading to the kitchen and snapped at me. He bent over, stripping the socks from my legs. He balled the socks up and shoved them into his pocket. He tucked his head close to mine and whispered, “Be gentle with Victor.” He caught my eye with his crystal blue gaze and headed toward the kitchen, leaving me puzzled as to what he meant.

  ThE Crazy Beautiful Girl

  I tiptoed out into the garage, not wanting to spook Victor. He stood alone in the driveway, half leaning on Kota’s car that was parked in the corner. The sun had gone down and he stared after the sprinkle of stars just over the crests of trees. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. He looked so quiet and lost. I almost hated the thought of interrupting him. What happened when I left? Why was everyone being so weird?

  I padded across the pavement in my bare feet, half wondering where Max was and why he wasn’t barking. The concrete was still warm from the day of sunlight. The air was muggy.

  I closed the gap between us until I was a couple of feet away from him. “Victor?” I called softly.

  He flinched and made a slow turn to face me. His deep brown eyes seem distant, but when his eyes met mine, a spark flickered. There was a tiny curl to his lips but he lost it and instead stared at me, his face a blank perfection.

  What should I say? Could I pretend what happened never did? Should I just insist he come inside and eat dinner like everyone else? I remembered what Gabriel had whispered to me. “Are you okay?” I asked in a small voice.

  He huffed. “I’m fine.”

  Was that not the right thing to say? “Would you tell me if you weren’t?”

  That seemed to strike him. His eyes blazed again. “Only if y
ou promise to tell me.”

  I pushed my forefingers and thumbs together in front of me as if I was holding a tiny ball between them, twisting nervously. “I don’t know what to say. I feel fine. I’m a little worried about you.”

  He sighed. He turned away from me and looked back toward the sky.

  What now? I wasn’t sure if I should leave him. I didn’t want to. Instead, I moved up beside him, standing to his right. I glanced up at the twinkling, trying to depict planets from stars.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked.

  “Mmm,” he mumbled.

  To lighten the mood, I thought of something I didn’t really want to know. Still, Victor needed cheering up. “Maybe about some crazy girl you met at school?”

  His eyebrows furrowed as he gazed down at me. “What?”

  My lips trembled because I was unsure of how to approach the topic but I forced a smile. “The one you told the lady at the jewelry counter about.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted. “You heard that?”

  “Yup,” I said, looking back up at the sky to avoid his stare. I couldn’t stand to see them blaze now and I wasn’t sure why. “So is she nice?”

  “The jewelry woman?”

  “No,” I said, but laughed. “The girl you like at school.”

  He chuckled. “She’s amazing.”

  I reflexively looked at him and his eyes were intense on me. My fingers started quaking so I put them behind my back. “Pretty?”

  “Of course.”

  “Have you talked to her? Did you tell her you like her?”

  “I’ve been trying,” he said, shifting on his feet. The waves of his soft brown hair drifted in the gentle breeze that swept around us. “Sometimes I wonder if she notices. She gets a lot of attention from other people.”

  “Well if she doesn’t, then she’s an idiot,” I said. Suddenly I was very uncomfortable with this. What did I know about giving advice about boys and girls? Anything I knew about was from books. Nothing like that could apply to real life, I learned that much from being around them. “I mean if you have to buy her stuff for her to realize how awesome you are, then she doesn’t deserve it.”

  Victor’s head tilted back in surprise. “You think I’m awesome?”