Today seems to be just perfect.

           Grace is in her room, listening to music, because the kids are still at school and Drew in his room working. She feels happy, and doesn’t exactly know why. Maybe it’s because Drew and her are starting to get closer and closer. She remembers the time when he teased her until he kinda flirted with her. And now, she’s starting to wonder if she has a crush on the Brit boy.

           No way. I can’t possibly have a crush on a man who has a boyfriend. I’m not even his type. He’s gay, she thinks. Then again, she can’t help but think of herself and him being a couple. And before she knows it, she finds herself smiling at the thought. No, no, no, stop.

           Suddenly, she hears something coming from outside through the music from her earphones. She thinks it’s Drew, but then decides against it.

           Taking the earphones out from her ear, she starts toward the bedroom door.

           Once she opens her door, she feels a sting on her arm, hears a soft plop, and then feels cold water slowly dripping down to her body. She gasps in surprise as more water balloons make contact with her bare skin. She’s just wearing a simple shirt and shorts, which is probably why she’s shivering a lot. She glances at the kids in front of her, and notices Ethan smiling evilly at her. Her eyes turn into slits as she starts to march toward them.

            “Fire!” Uriah yells.

           Then, she feels another sting right on her forehead. She realizes that the water’s not just cold. It’s extremely cold. Like, freezing cold. And it’s rushing down her face as she continues to shiver.

            “Stop it!” she shrieks.

           But unsurprisingly, they don’t. They continue to throw water balloons of freezing water at her. She can’t do anything—she can’t even think what to do. “Uriah! Ethan! Can you stop? I’m so going to kill you once—“

            “Oh, I’m scared,” Uriah says sarcastically, hurling another water balloon at her, and then another endlessly.

           She glares at him, and then immediately covers her face with her hands as she sees a balloon launching toward her face. “You better be.”

            “You can’t even touch us—”

           Swiftly, she grabs a bucket of water balloons that was just placed under Scarlett, who hadn’t been throwing anything at her the whole time—Grace is completely grateful to her. Finally, she grabs hold of a soft water balloon and expertly targets Uriah first. His eyes widen in surprise as he steps aside, the water balloon missing him.

           He looks at where the balloon exploded, and then turns back to Grace with a smug smile. “Ha! You missed—ah, ow!”

           This time, Grace is smiling smugly at Uriah. She feels proud at what she’s done. Sure, she feels bad for chucking a water balloon at him, but she actually feels better.  “Give it up, Uriah. You’re just a peasant compared to me.”

           He glares at her, and is just about to throw another one until they all hear a shout, “Hey!”

           Slowly, Grace, Uriah, Ethan, and Scarlett turn their heads to face the owner of the voice. They all go rigid—surprisingly, even Grace. “What do you think you all are doing?” Drew asks sternly, slowly walking toward the group.

           Grace glances at the pink water balloon in her hand, and then smiles sheepishly as she slowly hides it behind her back. “Nothing.”

           Drew raises an eyebrow, his eyes slowly gazing into each and every one of them as if he’s a teacher and they’re the students in trouble. And Grace feels like she’s in for a deep one, because she’s supposed to stop the fight, not create a bigger mess out of it. Is she acting like a babysitter? No, wait, can she even call herself one? Because it seems like she’s a guest who’s on rent, or something. She hasn’t been doing a good job with taking care of the kids.

           Just as Drew's eyes set on Grace, she tenses. But then, his lips twitch upward, his eyes crinkling in result. As a cover, he softly clears his throat, but it doesn’t work. He’s full-on smiling, and then he looks away, chuckling.  Grace’s jaw drops a bit as she stares at him in surprise and confusion. Is he actually laughing at her? Her cheeks heat up, and her confused look turns into a frown. He is laughing at her.

           She places her left hand on her jutted hip. In her right hand is a water balloon, and she knows exactly what to do. Her eyebrow is raised and a challenging look dawns onto her features. “What’s funny, Drew? Huh?”

           He finally looks at her, a gorgeous smile stretching out on his face. Can he get any more handsome? She thinks in frustration. “You.”

           Her stomach flutters. “What?”

           Drew then purses his lips as he points at her, just below her chin. She feels her heart skip a beat in horror when she glances down at her shirt, right where he’s pointing at. The color of her red bra’s popping out though her clear white shirt. She’s suddenly reminded of the time when Drew almost saw her chest right before when she was about to go to sleep a few weeks ago. It’s like the same thing happening all over again, except this time, the kids are there. Instantly, she crosses her arms over her chest, scowling at Drew.

           Ethan murmurs awkwardly, “Um . . . I’m not sure what to say—”

            “Then don’t,” she snaps annoyingly.

            “Whoa there, feisty pants,” Uriah says, smirking slightly. “It’s not our fault that you decided to wear such an outstanding choice of color for a bra.”

           Grace’s cheeks and neck burns with heat. “Hey! It’s also not my fault for wearing this. I mean, who knew that I was going to be attacked with water balloons filled with, well, practically icicles. I’m still shivering, you know? I’m wet all over, and you’re worried about my piece of clothing! What kind of a—wait, a minute. You’re a kid! You’re not supposed to talk to me like that. I mean, how do you even know what you’re talking about? You’re still ten and you act so smug and think you know everything about bras and such. Who do you think you are?”

           Uriah blinks. “I’m thirteen.”

            “It doesn’t matter!”

            “I’m not a kid.”

            “Well, you act like one.”

            “And so do you, red bra lady!”

            “What’s a bra?”

           Grace murmurs to herself, still rubbing her forearms as a way of keeping herself warm, “I can’t believe we’re talking like this in front of a four year old girl.”

            “As much as I really want to watch the entertaining argument you guys are having,” Drew starts, trotting toward her, “I think you all should go back to your rooms. And Ethan, take Scarlett with you. We don't wanna scar her life now, do we?”

            “Did you just make a pun?”

            “I certainly did not.”

            “You’re lame.”

           Reluctantly, everyone goes to their rooms except Grace.

            “You shouldn’t have said that, you stupid,” she murmurs to Drew, her teeth clattering.

           Drew snickers. Then, he takes off his jacket, and gently places it over her shoulders as he takes another step closer. She suddenly feels a whole lot warmer, loving his presence. She looks up at him in awe, and he gives her a small smile that she finds really adorable. “What are you doing?” she can’t help but ask, even when she very well knows what he’s doing.

            “Giving you my jacket, because you’re freezing?”

           Not knowing what else to say, she mutters in embarrassment, “Okay.”

            “You know, if you wanted to get my attention, you didn’t have to wear such a revealing color. I mean, sure, something like this happened before, but one day, you can’t possibly plan to show me your—”

           Before he can finish his sentence, Grace has already thrown the water balloon that was in her hand the whole time at him.

           ♦          ♦          ♦

           Drew’s debating with himself, and is starting to think that he may be losing his mind by every second passing by.

           Should I really go in? He wonders as he paces in circles outside the kids' room. Maybe they’re busy. He bites his bottom lip as he continues to talk to his conscience or probably himself. Who am I kidding, why am I even trying to get along with them?

           Because you’re willing to try, a voice within him answers back.

            “I think Grace’s words are getting to me,” he whispers to himself. He finally stops pacing, and then lets out a deep breath. It’s now or never. “Yeah, definitely her.” He glances at his room down the hall, and thinks about how he should be working right now—as always, the usual.

           A while earlier when he was doing some paperwork, something made him think about the kids. He wasn’t sure how the thought of them even occurred in his head, but it did, and he thinks it’s somehow a sign. A sign to go talk to them. He wondered, how are we ever going to get along if no one even gives a try? He doesn’t want to ruin his ego and pride, but he knows he has to do this, and the children aren’t any different than him anyway. They, too, had their own ego and pride—especially Uriah.

           Damn. He can’t even stand to think about Uriah. He hates him so much, because of the way how he can go on and under his nerves. He hates how Uriah angers him so easily, but Drew doesn’t want that. It just happens. And Drew does understand how he has a bad temper, and that’s probably because of the workload of stress that’s been given to him ever since he has a job.

           His thoughts are cut off when he hears something.

           He leans in closer to the door of the kids' room, and turns his head as he places an ear on it so he can hear whether the sound’s coming from inside or not. Then, he hears someone sniffing and sobbing. And so, after a few more seconds later, it turns out that it is. Slowly and unknowingly, his hand reaches for the doorknob, and then softly pushes the door open. His eyes wander around the room, and then finally set on a boy who’s curled up into a ball in the far corner.

           He’s surprised as soon as the weeping boy lifts his head up, and then he makes eye contact with the green-eyed child. “Ethan,” he murmurs, not loud enough for him to hear. Drew just stands there in confusion and shock, wondering what he should be doing next. Is he even supposed to be here? Is Ethan going to kick him out? Will Ethan rage out on him?

           Before Drew even knows it, he’s already trotting across the carpet toward the confused looking boy as if someone’s controlling him. Even Drew, himself, doesn’t know what he’s doing. In a normal situation, when he sees a kid crying in the corner, he’d put up a fake sympathetic smile, and walk away. And right now, he’s surprised, because he’s doing the exact opposite.

           Ethan covers his face under his arms which are propped on his knees, and then says in a cracked voice, “Go away.”

           Drew can’t help, but feel a little hurt at the sincere dislike in his tone. When he’s finally reached him, he kneels down in front of him awkwardly. Now what? He thinks to himself, ashamed that he can’t even help a crying kid. “Hey . . .” he trails off awkwardly, and then gulps to make his voice steady. “I, uh, I—”

            “You can’t help me since you’re pretty useless so please just go away.”

           Ouch.

           Drew takes a shaky breath, and then exhales. He doesn’t understand why he feels hurt when he heard those words escape Ethan’s lips. Doesn’t he understand that I'm human, too? Instead of feeling angry that those harsh words are directed at him, he feels disappointed, and it’s not toward Ethan. He’s disappointed at himself.

           And it’s because Ethan’s right.

            “I’m sorry,” Drew sincerely says without thinking twice, looking at the ground. He then hears Ethan raising his head up from his arms. Drew can feel his gaze on him, but that isn’t bothering him anymore. He feels like he should say what’s on his mind right now, be honest with Ethan in order for him to do the same with him. “God, I don’t even know where to start.”

           Ethan doesn’t say a word, which may be good, but it’s somehow pressuring Drew even more.

            “I guess I’ll just start from the beginning,” Drew starts. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done. I know that I’ve ruined your life—even Scarlett’s and Uriah’s. I know I did, and I’m repenting from that one mistake every day. I know that you hate me, which I don’t blame you for, and I absolutely respect you for that, because I think . . . I deserve to be hated, especially from you guys. You have no idea how it’s like to wake up in your bed thinking that you’ve ruined a perfect happy family and that their parents are passed away . . . and it’s all your fault. You can’t help but blame everything on yourself, feel like you should be the one who got killed in the accident, because I really don’t know I’m doing with my life anymore. You’re right; I’m pretty much useless. No one needs me here. I start and end my day just thinking about that.

            “And I don’t ever want you to feel like that, because it’s the worst feeling ever. The guilt of that one mistake is still eating me up till this day, and I’m not sure what else I can do. All I ever do is mess things up, and I’m so sorry that everything that has happened to you is my fault. And I just hope that one day you all can forgive me.”

           Drew finally finishes his speech with a shaky sigh, and then looks down, because he feels like he’s about to cry. He swallows a lump in his throat as he feels his eyes burning. He hopes that Ethan says something; anything, but something.

           He hears another sob from Ethan, and that just makes Drew want to break down in tears that he’s been holding on for a long time—even if Ethan’s just right there, because his sobs sound really sad, pitying, broken. Then, he hears Ethan’s soft voice saying, “You really feel that way?”

           Drew nods, still avoiding eye contact.

            “I—I forgive you, Drew,” Ethan whispers. He snaps his neck up to look at Ethan in pure shock. He can’t believe it, did he hear him properly? “Knowing that you regret what you did is enough for me.”

           He still can’t believe what he’s hearing. He’s forgiving him, like that? “Really?” he asks, barely even a whisper.

           Ethan breaks into a sad grin, and then wipes the remaining tears from his face. “That doesn’t mean we’ll stop playing pranks on you, Walter. And on your boyfriend—what’s his name?”

            “You mean Nathan?” he asks incredulously.

            “Ah, yes! Him.”

           He rolls his eyes, and says, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

            “So you’re scoring the nanny, eh?” he questions, raising an eyebrow teasingly.

           “Scoring the nanny?” he repeats, his eyes wide. “Remind me how old you are. Ten, eleven? You’re not even supposed to know such meanings—“

            “I also know the meaning of bisexual,” Ethan cuts him off with a small evil smile. “I’m assuming that you are one.”

            “What?”

            “Speechless, aren’t you? It’s all right. I can keep your secret,” Ethan muses, crossing his arms in triumph. “I won’t tell your boyfriend, Nathan, either. He looks like a sweet guy.”

           He shoots him a dirty look, and then murmurs, “Then why don’t you keep him?”

            “That’s because I’m not bisexual or gay, stupid.”

           Suddenly, Drew hears a soft and delicate voice exclaiming, “Grace, look! Ethan just said the ‘s’ word!” Instantly, he twists his body to see Scarlett in Grace’s arms pointing at him and Ethan. His jaw opens as his cheeks flush. He’s embarrassed, because there’s a fifty-fifty chance that they were eavesdropping on their conversation, and if they did, then since when?

           Grace lets out a giggle, and she says, “You’re right, Scar. Now tell me, how do we punish little naughty Ethan?”

            “Maybe you should reconsider scoring the nanny chick . . .” Ethan whispers next to Drew in a low voice. “She’s so into me.”

           Drew nudges Ethan on his side a little harder than he should have. He can feel his cheeks going redder and redder by the second, and he loathes how he has the ability to blush so easily and no control over it.

           Grace puts Scarlett on the ground with care. When Scarlett’s feet finally touch the ground, she runs off toward Drew’s way. Confused, Drew just sits there in his position and waits to see what she’s going to do next. In one swift motion, Scarlett throws her arms around Drew’s neck, hugging him tight. His eyes grow a little wide as he’s staring at Grace in front of him. And it seems like she is surprised, too, because her jaw drops a bit, but then she closes it after a second before a sweet smile appears on her face, which relaxes he by a hundred times.

           When he’s about to wrap his long thin arms around Scarlett’s small petite body, she pulls away to leave a soft lingering kiss on his cheek. Something tugs the corners of his lips as he feels his heart melt, and a warm feeling fluttering in his stomach. His gray eyes bore into Scarlett’s doe green ones as he thinks about how he has a soft spot for this particular child. He can’t imagine how beautiful she’s going to be when she grows up, and it shocks him when he imagines her growing up with him.

            “Why are you crying?” Scarlett asks in that lenient and caring voice of hers as she grazes her hand over to his face to wipe a tear away.

           He backs away from her slowly as he realizes that a tear truly escaped his eyes. He has been trying so hard not to let any tear fall, but it looks like he failed. He looks at the tear Scarlett caught in her tiny fingers, and he smiles a little. “It’s nothing, Scar,” he replies in the same tone of voice she used; soft and delicate.

            “Please don’t cry,” she murmurs, pushing her head against his chest. “I’ll cry, too.”

           At this moment, he can feel his heart breaking into pieces. “Okay, Scar. I won’t.”

            “Pinky promise?”

           He stares at her pinky finger in front of his face. Then, he takes out his pinky and interlocks with hers. “Pinky promise,” he promises her with a genuine smile.