"Horror, definitely horror," I said between bites of red licorice.

"We're not watching a horror movie. You get scared, and then we have to stay up late watching cartoons." Jake grabbed the rest of my licorice and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. "I have to get up early tomorrow for a run before school," he added. "I can't be up all night waiting for you to chill out."

"Ugh, don't you run enough in practice?"

By the time I was fifteen, and he was seventeen, Jake was obsessed with football.

"I'm a captain this year, Nif; I have to set an example for all you lowly freshman," he smirked as he spoke. He loved calling me a lowly freshman.

"Chad Benton didn't think I was so lowly at the beach last week." I knew Jake hated Chad.

"Do not hang out with Chad Benton." He looked at me sternly before adding," I mean it."

"Jake, don't tell me what to do. I can handle myself," my voice wavered a bit. Could I handle myself?

"No, you can't handle yourself, Nifer. Trust me." The way he said, trust me, I knew it was the end of the conversation.

At some point between thirteen and seventeen, Jake had established the ability to close himself off with just a tone and a look. His once expression-filled eyes would give way to mystery.

"Whatever; don't take too long with your run. You are my ride, and I need time to get lost on my way to my first class." I was sulking a bit but also knew he would not be able to resist the wide-open door to a joke.

Instead, he tucked me under his arm and murmured, "I won't let you get lost, Nif."

Jake was always there, and in turn, no matter how hard I tried to end my crush, it wouldn't budge. I was tied to him.

That was until I was thirteen years old and started dating Will. My crush on Jake began to fade, mainly because Will actually liked me back. By the time I was headed to high school, Jake and I had faded into a brother-sister relationship while Will and I had probably the most talked-about break-up of the summer. I'm not even sure what started the fight, but teenaged drama took hold, and that was it. I hadn't seen him for the rest of the summer that was now ending.

"Horror," I offered again, knowing if I kept persisting, Jake would give in.

"Ok, fine. Which one?"

"The Birds!" I had made us watch The Birds once a week since we had both gotten into Hitchcock movies.

"Nif, we have seen that a dozen times. If you pick horror, I pick the movie. And I pick The Third Man." Jake was predictable; he loved Orson Wells.

"Fine, but that's more thriller than horror." I pretended to be annoyed, but I loved The Third Man as much as he did.

"Really? I'll remember to dangle you from a Ferris wheel the next time we go to a carnival."

"You wouldn't dare," I elbowed him.

"What's the matter, Nif? Don't you trust me?" There was a tease to his tone, but as his gaze washed over to me, his expression changed, and he murmured, "I would never let anything hurt you."

I gaze up at him for a lingering moment as the score of the movie started. I reluctantly pulled my eyes from him and snuggled into his side as he pulled the blanket up around us. It was my nana's and smelled like happy memories and Jake. It absorbed into me as I momentarily questioned how we were very much not brother and sister.

"Don't hog the blanket," he whispered, but then he let me hog the blanket.

As usual, I fell asleep during the movie but still made Jake watch a Tweety Bird cartoon before we began to pick up the living room.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" I asked as I picked up a few stray pieces of popcorn.

"Seven"

"Why so early?"

"Shelly's car is in the shop, so we have to pick her up on the way."

I unsuccessfully tried to hide my annoyance. Shelly hated me since she and Jake broke up the first time, only to get back together a few weeks later. He always denied that she hated me, but I knew it. She would shoot me dirty looks when he wasn't looking and when he was, she acted like I was two years old.

As though Jake could read my thoughts, he added, "she doesn't hate you."

"Uh-huh," I was being immature, but I didn't care.

"Seriously, I know you think she hates you, but I asked; she sees you as a little sister. Give her a chance this year. Now that you are in the same school, it will be nice to have someone looking out for you."

"I don't need anyone looking out for me. I'll be fine."

"Whatever, we're leaving at seven." There was his final tone again. "Have a good night, Nif, and remember to lock the door behind me."

"Goodnight, Dad," I teased as he headed out. I locked the door after him and watched as he walked across the driveway. Once he was inside, I turned off the porch light and headed to bed.

Jake smelled like Irish Spring when he slid into his car next to me in the morning.

"Morning," he said with his mouth still half full of an Eggo. "Excited?"

"Just another day in the office," I mumbled. I was not looking forward to seeing Will.

"It's going to be fine. It's the same people, just a different location."

"Yeah, the same people are what I am expecting," I sighed.

As we pulled out of the driveway, Jake added, "if he is an ass, I will pound him."

It made me smile. The glass window of Jake's 60s Ford Truck was cold, but it felt good on my forehead as I leaned into it.

"Hey," he grabbed the belt loop of my jeans and pulled me towards him, "stop leaving face marks on my window." He slung his arm around me, "I promise, Nif; it will be a great year. You don't need a boyfriend. I, for one, think it is good for you to focus on school."

"You, for one, would like me to be a nun," I reminded him.

"Not a nun. I just think you should be cautious with boys. In general, we suck."

I had to laugh. I knew we were getting close to Shelly's house without looking up when I felt Jake's arm move back to the steering wheel. Yeah, she doesn't hate me; she just hates that Jake loves me like a sister. I tried to stifle the sigh that always came out when sister crossed my mind.

When Jake pulled to a stop, I jumped out to let Shelly sit next to him.

"Hey, babe," she said as she kissed him on the cheek. Jake was not a babe. "Hey, Jen; no Will?"

"Shells, they broke up, I told you," Jake whispered quickly.

"Yeah, we broke up months ago," I added for emphasis.

I was over it; I had moved on. Shelly throwing it in my face only made her look like an ass. I shot Jake a see-I-told-you-she-hated-me look when she wasn't looking. He just shrugged and pulled out of her driveway. We spent the rest of the ride in silence until the parking lot.

"Come on, Jakey, everyone is in the caf eating breakfast."

"I already ate. I'm going to walk Nif to class," Jake said as calmly as if he did not realize he just launched the first bomb of world war three.

"What? But everyone is waiting for us. You're the captain. The team is expecting us to eat breakfast with them."

"Well, I never set that expectation, and Nifer is nervous about finding her first class."

"Ugh, this school is like the size of a shoebox. She would have to get lost in a paper bag to get lost here."

"Paper bags are tricky. When I was little, I had a cat that went in a paper bag and never came out. I miss Buttons," I mused, trying to hide a smile, but Jake was less successful and let out a laugh.

"Fine, whatever," Shelly began to stomp away.

"See you at lunch, dear." The way Jake hit the coo dear did not make it sound endearing.

"Yeah, she doesn't hate me," I laughed.

"Shut up. I'm going to have to deal with that later. The least you can do is thank me!"

"Thank you, sir," I tipped a fake hat to him. "Now, is my English class in the paper bag and to the left?" I raised one eyebrow at him.

"Oh, just come on." Even though he was trying to hide it, I could tell he was stifling a laugh.

Jake walked me around the school, showing me where each of my classrooms was and the nearest bathroom. It was small but having the tour did settle my nerves. He leaned up against the doorjamb of my English class. "This is our last stop."

"Thanks, Jake." The relief of him being there washed over me.

He reached out and pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. Even leaning against the wall, he was nearly a foot taller than me.

He pulled away and looked me straight in the eyes before adding, "now remember, if you need help, ask an adult." His dimples accented his smile as his eyes twinkled.

"Yeah, yeah, good luck with Shelly," I teased back as the smile wiped from his face.