Sabrina

We've been peeking out of the window for a long time, but that's because we're on a mission.

"The strange man looked like Mr. Rick," I turn to Kevin.

He leans against the window ledge like he just wants to fall and take a nap, and pouts his lips.

"The head didn't look like Mr. Rick, I think it was Mr. Cameron," he says, after taking a long deep breath. He seems tired, I almost want to tell him to just take that nap, but then we'll never finish the mission together. I need to find out who that man was in Ms. Tina's room last night.

I lean over and give him a kiss on the head, because he doesn't look too well, and whenever I'm not feeling good, a kiss on my head always makes it better.

It might be the dust in his attic. It doesn't look like it's been cleaned in a long time, probably before they even moved in.

Kevin begins slumping down and sitting on the floor when I see a head coming out of the front door.

"Sit up, sit up. He's leaving, look." I point.

Right when I do, it's like Mr. Rick could feel my finger near his head, because he turns around and looks up towards our window.

I quickly duck my head and pull Kevin down to do the same.

"I guess you were right," he says.

"I guess I was." I watch him to see his reaction.

"Mr. Rick and my mom were..."

"If they were in her room all last night and this morning, I'm sorry, but I think they might be kissing."

"I didn't know mom wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend with Mr. Rick."

"Are you mad?" I ask.

"I don't know," is all he says.

"That's okay." I let him put his head on my shoulder, even though it's big and kinda makes my shoulder feel sour. Mommy and Daddy always say we have to be there for the people we care about. I guess this is what they mean.

"My daddy has a girlfriend too, and when I had to stay at his place, she just kept smiling at me weirdly, and laughing loudly. I didn't want to tell him I didn't like her, I knew he'd be mad at me if I did," he says.

"But you like Mr. Rick, right?"

He breathes loudly again. "I don't know. I like Clover."

"So if Mr. Rick marries you mom, Clover will be your sister."

He lifts his head off of my shoulder and looks at me with his first smile of the day. "Really?"

"Kind of. I think. At least you'll live in a house together, so basically."

"I like Clover."

"You already said that." I roll my eyes.

"But I like you more, of course." He pinches my nose, but it doesn't hurt. I scrunch and smile, because he's smiling, and because he makes me feel happy when he says stuff like that.

"Well I like you even more." I lay my legs flat on the attic floor and let the dust cover it. A small spider crawls across the room. I'd normally rush over and crush it, but I don't want to move from Kevin. I don't want us to move on from the place we are now.

"You have to kiss me or you're lying," he says.

I grab his face with both of my hands and push him to me, giving him a quick peck right on his lips. I don't care what adults say, all you need is a peck. Anything more is nasty.

We settle back against the wall and we both look at each other like we're crazy and laugh.

"I'm hungry." My stomach growls.

"I hid some Oreos up here last week." He gets up and walks to one of the boxes near the closet. He opens a flap and takes out a bag full of Oreos before he comes back over to me.

I grab the bag and take one out, opening it. A half for him and a half for me.

The fan blows warm air across our faces, the dust makes us sneeze, and the spider might have a sibling or two, but that's okay. Everything is okay as long as I can be with Kevin.

Clover

I don't think Uncle Rick would mind.

Sure, I spent hours neglecting to ask and decided to take my chances when we arrived home. I never thought he'd say no, but if there was a chance he'd be reluctant, I figured the sight of all three would make him less so.

In the end, it didn't even matter because Uncle Rick never came home.

It's around 2am, and I decide to take a lap around the house and check his room and office. Both are empty and it confirms to me he's spending the night with Tina again. Good for him.

I grab a glass of water, then head back to my room to lay down. Sleep didn't come easy to me when I first laid down three hours ago, and I woke up out of it too quickly to feel a difference in my fatigue. Despite this tiredness, I still can't bring myself to sleep again.

Right before I can close my heavy eyelids again, I hear a soft knock on the door.

Goosebumps cover my skin. The air conditioner is on, but not nearly low enough for my bodily reaction.

Lucas is behind the door when I open it. His dark hair looks slightly damp, and the bags under his eyes show him and I are most likely in the same predicament.

He steps in without an invitation. Slides past me in a smooth two-step that causes us to miss a near collision. His dark green eyes scour the room as he puts his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. He wears a wife-beater that shows off all that's left of his quarterback muscles, which is quite a lot.

"You're still awake," he says, like a disappointed dad.

"So are you." I cross my arms.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep. Too much to think about."

"Definitely." I take a seat on the edge of my bed and Lucas follows suit.

"Thanks for letting us crash here. We'll be gone in the morning. I already booked us the Inn for a few days." His eyes turn soft with sorrow mixed with tiredness. I can tell he's not used to asking for or accepting help.

"You're an unofficial, official Newton Drive kid now. That means you qualify for the perks."

"The perks are spending a night with you?" He asks.

"Don't make me sound like a hooker now." I laugh. "The perks are having a neighborhood of people who will help you out. When my uncle was behind on paying the taxes for this house a few years ago and nearly had to put it up for sale, out of nowhere the sales for his children's book doubled. The money allowed him to pay the back taxes and keep this place. We found out a few weeks later that everyone rallied together and went all over North and South Carolina promoting and getting people to purchase it. When Joey's family faced food insecurity after his dad got briefly laid off, people around here spent months randomly dropping off dishes of extra food they just happened to make and couldn't bother to eat. It's just what we do."

He puts his hand on top of mine and squeezes gently. "I appreciate it."

The warmth from his fingers spread across my body, turning my goosebumps into a new heat.

"No problem." I gulp.

"We didn't really get the chance to talk about earlier in the car, did we?"

"No, not really." I don't know what to say, I still don't know how to react to it.

"You already know I like you. I kinda got caught up in the moment and just went for the kiss. I still don't really know how you feel about me, but I hope that was okay with you."

"Um..." I try to carefully search for my words. For once I really need to think about the whole picture. How do I feel? What are we doing? What are the consequences to what we're doing? "I was okay with the kiss. I liked it a lot."

He smiles. "That's good to hear."

I look down at my lap. "But, we have to be honest with ourselves and ask if this is a good idea. I mean, I don't even really know what this is, but if it were to be a thing, there could be some repercussions."

I still don't know how much I can trust or depend on him.

I was never the girl in relationships or constantly dating. I had a few things here and there but nothing serious. The more people you put your trust in, the easier you are to potentially be left and hurt.

"Well, if I like kissing you, and you like kissing me, how about we just take it slow. I'll let you set the pace. If we keep it casual, there won't really be any repercussions, right?"

I can't deny our chemistry, though. I can't deny the way my body lights up when we dance, and especially when we kiss. I want to say no, say that this could further jeopardize our partnership. I have priorities; improving my dancing skills, making enough to pay off my tuition, preparing for college, and readying myself for full adulthood.

He locks his eyes on mine and earnestly waits for an answer.

My body responds before my mind can conjure out the words I need to say. I grab his face, the same way he grabbed mine earlier, and pull him into a kiss.

Lucas doesn't need a moment to let the shock wear off. He dives into the kiss as if he's expected it all along. He smiles against my teeth, a smirk I'm sure, and holds onto my waist, lifting me into his lap.

Our pace is slow and deliberate. He follows my lead, just like he said he would, and I enjoy the feel of his soft lips against mine.

Everything, all my worries and stressors are wiped out of my mind as our lips continue to move. Steady, slow at first, then I open my mouth slightly, allowing him access to push us further.

I feel the muscles in his arms as he continues to grip my waist,I feel the warmth of his body, and I feel a hardness pressing against me below the waist.

He groans and so do I. His hand rubs up and down my lower back and I know he's asking for permission to take it to the next step.

"You can take my top off," I say.

Right as he reaches the hem of my shirt, there's a knock on the door.

"Lucas, are you in here?" His brother, Dean's voice is loud behind the wall.

Lucas throws his head back and grits his teeth. I laugh and remove myself from him. He grabs a pillow and places it on his lap before responding.

"Yep, everything okay?" He asks.

Dean takes that as an invitation to come in. He takes a seat on the bed right next to us, and silently takes in the details of my room.

"You two weren't getting dirty, were you?" He asks with a disgusted look on his face.

"You don't even know what that means." Lucas grins.

"I know all about sex, Lucas. Stop acting like I'm some little kid."

I uncomfortably shift myself and cross my legs.

"I'm sure you do, big boy. Now why aren't you sleeping?" Lucas asks.

"I'm not tired," Dean says.

"You miss mom?" Lucas's tone turns from playful to soft.

"I'm worried about her, and dad too. He's been acting weird since being in jail. Everything just feels so different now. I don't know."

Lucas grabs Dean's shoulder and pulls him into a hug. Dean, despite being in that bubbling antsy teen phase, leans into it like a scared little toddler.

I feel so bad that I lean in and join the hug as well. They both accept me and a wave of emotions start to rise up.

"You know what would be perfect right now?" I know I don't want this to turn into a full on emotional moment, so I try to break the ice.

Dean perks up. "What?"

"I got this giant tub of ice cream from the creamery earlier. How about we make some sundaes, turn on a movie, and watch it till we fall asleep.

"Hell Yeah." Excitement takes over Dean's face.

Lucas smiles at me and mouths a thank you.

We all head downstairs and find Nicholas sitting up watching TV.

"We're making sundaes, you want one?" Dean asks him.

"Sure." Nick pops up and joins us in the kitchen.

Nick and Dean Nearly finish the whole tub of ice cream and pass out on the living room floor an hour later. It's just Lucas and I left awake.

"You can go back to your bed, you know," he says. "You look like the next one that's gonna be knocked out.

"No, I wanna stay here," I say.

"Well I kinda need your couch space if I'm gonna lay down."

"It looks like we're gonna have to share, because I want to lay down here too."

I grab the throw blanket and Lucas puts it over us as we shift and lay on the couch. Lucas is behind me, and I fall asleep to his big arms wrapping me in a warm cocoon.