26 Days before Valentine’s Day

        “Avery!” My mum yelled from somewhere downstairs. She’s been yelling for me to get out of bed for the past ten minutes.

        “I’m coming! Jeeze!” I shouted back, crawling out of bed.

It’s bad enough that I was up all night finishing piles of homework. And by piles, I don’t mean just two or three things. I mean actual, piles. I swear my teachers don’t get tired of handing out homework. You’d think that they wouldn’t want to have so many to mark but it’s like they actually enjoy marking a thousand pieces of homework sheets.

I don’t even know why she insisted on me going downstairs. She knows that it’s Saturday and it’s only 7AM. It’s too early to wake up.

I made my way down the stairs, stumbling with each step. It was pretty clear that I was still half asleep but my biggest concern right now was that I’d fall.

        “What is so important that you had to wake me up so early?” I asked sleepily when I reached the bottom of the stairs. I rubbed my eyes and waited for them to adjust to the light.

        “I just wanted to remind you that Emma is coming later.” She answered. Seriously? That’s the ‘important’ thing she had to wake me up for?

        “I know that she is coming. She is my best friend and I was the one who invited her in the first place.” I say, slightly annoyed. I’m not a morning person and I need my sleep!

        “There’s food in the fridge, so you can make yourself breakfast. And you and Emma can just order pizza tonight while you watch a movie.”

        “I know. I know.” I muttered. Then I suddenly I noticed that I was going to have to make myself breakfast and my Mum was wearing her work clothes. “Where are you going?” I asked curiously.  “I thought it was your day off.”

        She reached for her keys on the table, “I know but the hospital called and they’re under staffed. Andrea and I have been called in so I’ll be working all day. Don’t wait up for me for dinner. I’ll be home late.” Someone honked a car horn outside and she glanced at her watch, “Andrea is here, I’m running a bit late already. I’ll see you later, hun, okay?”

        “Okay, bye.” I say still slightly annoyed about being woken up early on a week-end. “You could’ve just left a note on the fridge, you know.”

        She hurried past me, her brown hair moving side to side as she rushed to the door. “Dylan, is staying here for the day.” She ran outside and shut the door after her before I could even respond.

Seconds later, the door bell rang. Huh. Maybe she came back to tell me that she was just messing around.

        I opened the door and found a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at me. “Avery!” he exclaimed.

        “Argh!” I screamed out and shut the door on his face.

He started knocking on the door and asked to be let in. I ignored him and layed down on the sofa in the living room. I was trying to fall back asleep but he wouldn’t stop knocking. Ugh. Can’t I leave him outside?

No, Avery. That would be wrong. My conscience tells me.

I’ll keep him in the shed and leave him a bowl of water and a few packets of crisps. That should be enough, right?

You know it won’t be. Are you stupid? Oh, great. Now my own conscience is calling me stupid.

        “Avery! Let me in! It’s cold out here, it’s the middle of January!” He shouted.

I marched to the door and reluctantly let him in. “Don’t touch anything.” I warned and ran upstairs to get changed.

        “You know, most people would say ‘Make yourself at home.’” He shouted after me. “And I like your bed head. It suits you.”

        I stood on top of the stairs and glared at him while he grinned up at me. “Oh, yeah? Well, I hate your face. I want to smash it.” I yell, walking into my room and shutting the door behind me.

            ***

        “Hey!” Emma squealed when I pulled the front door open.

        “Hey.” I reply glumly. Her eyebrows furrowed, taken aback by my misery.

        “Hey, Emma!” Dylan shouted from the living room. His eyes were still fixed on the TV.

Emma’s head craned around me and waved at Dylan. She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.

        “No. Just no.” I warn her. “Don’t even start.” I say, shaking my head.

        “Mhmm.” She bit her lip to hold back her laughter and I rolled my eyes at her.

Dylan and Emma quickly engaged in conversation while I sat on the opposite sofa with my arms crossed over my chest.

How can Emma even talk to that thing? Just seeing them laughing made me feel sick. He was obviously flirting with her but Emma being Emma she was completely oblivious to what he was doing.

There was a knock on the door. Who is it now?

I jumped to my feet and reached for the keys on the table. I fumbled over them, looking for the right one.

         “Who is it?” Emma shouted from the living room

        “I don’t know yet. I haven’t even opened the door!” I replied.

        “Oh! That’s probably Aaron. I invited him. I hope you don’t mind.” Dylan yelled over the TV.

        “Nope. I don’t mind at all. It’s not like this is my house or anything.” I say sarcastically. There was no doubt in my mind that the imbecile was grinning like a mad man.

I actually think I might murder that idiot.

        “Aaron, come in.” I say stepping out of the way.

        “Thanks. Nice house, it looks cosy.” He says politely.

        “Thanks. Em and Dylan are in the living room.” I point towards the other room.

        “Ron!” Emma squeals and runs over to him for a hug. Dylan was leaning on the wall, smiling as usual.

        “Or...maybe they’re not.” I was so confused. Emma just called him Ron.

What is this? Is everyone getting nicknames but me? And what the hell, she just squealed! If she becomes like those annoying girls at school, as her best friend, I would have to slap her across the face to knock some sense back into her.

What else are best friends for?

We all walked back into the living room, the music channel playing in the background. All three of them were talking and laughing. I was still glaring with my arms and legs crossed while I sat away from them. I actually think that if I sit closer to them, I might get infected with whatever virus or whatever they have infected my best friend with.

        “So, what’s the plan for today?” Dylan asks, rubbing his hands together and looking expectantly towards me.

        “We were planning on having a movie marathon and just order pizza and eat popcorn and everything.” I answered in a monotone.

        “Sounds cool. Why don’t we pick the movies and you and Emma order pizza and make the popcorn?” Aaron suggests. “Sound good?”

Emma nodded eagerly and I sighed. I guess we’re sorting out the food.

        “Yep. Good idea. Girls belong in the kitchen.” Dylan adds with a chuckle and I picked up one of the square pillows on the sofa and threw at directly at his face. “Hey!” he cried out and I stuck my tongue out at him before marching out of the room.

        Emma pulled the fridge open and took out four cans of soda, “You and Dylan are so cute.” She teases.

        “Shut up,” I stick my tongue out at her as I dialled the number on the phone to order pizza. “What’s up with you and Aaron?” I held the phone to my ear.

        She blushed, “What do you mean?” she asked innocently.

        I raised my eyebrows at me, “Hello? Um...Can I have two large pizzas with extra pepperoni without mushrooms? Thanks.” I turned back to Emma who was busying herself with ice cubes and making the popcorn.

        I shook my head. “Don’t play dumb with me, Em. You know what I’m talking about.”

        Her eyes shot up to me, “Hmm?”

        I looked her in the eyes. “You heard me.” I said.

        “It’s nothing.” Emma replied quickly and went back to what she was doing.

        I rolled my eyes at her. “Whatever you say.” I decided to drop the subject, for now. “Dylan was being so sexist by saying that girls belong in the kitchen.”

        “You were being violent by chucking that pillow at his face.” She tried to sound serious but she let out a giggle.

        I bit my lip to prevent myself from erupting in laughter. “I just remembered we’re still doing that prank war thing.” I say excitedly, my face breaking into a huge grin.

        “What have you got in mind?” She asks mischievously.

        I raised my eyebrows and grinned widely. "I know just the thing."

            ***

        “Oh my gosh, this is going to be hilarious!” Emma exclaims excitedly.

        I hurriedly shushed her. “Stop being so excited or they might get suspicious. Now wipe that smile of your face.” I tell her and she nods.

        “Aaron, Dylan! Can you help me out here? The popcorn might burn.” Emma calls out.

Within seconds Aaron comes strolling in only to suddenly stop and flail his arms around when he reached the doorway. Dylan followed just behind him.

        “Dude, what the hell are you do-“ He laughed at his friend only to do the same thing when he tried to walk through the door.

        “Oh my God!” Emma burst into a laughing fit over the spectacle.

I tried to hold back the laughter but found that I couldn’t, I threw my head back and guffawed.

        “Ow!” Aaron cries out when he peels off the tape that had stuck over his face. A part of his eyebrows was left red. I think he might’ve accidentally pulled some of his eyebrows off. Oops?

        “Fu-“ Dylan shouts and winces in pain when he pulled off the tape. He pulled a bit of his eyebrows off too. He rubbed them as if he could rub the pain away with his fingers.

This was just too funny.

        “Tape? Really?” Aaron asked, looking at the sticky material. “Oh, you’re gonna get it.” He warned and rolled the tape into a ball in his hands.

        “You’re so dead.” Dylan narrowed his eyes at me and I shrugged, smiling innocently.

They were about to attack us when there was a knock on the door.

        “Pizza’s here!” I shout and made a quick exit.

            ***

        “I wonder if the building for Google actually look like that,” Emma says, eating a slice of pizza.

Nobody answered, instead we all just shrugged and carried on watching.

We were watching ‘The Internship’. We were on our third movie and fifth box of pizza. I had order more because I forgot that boys don’t eat food they inhale it like they would with air. Emma and Aaron was lounging on one of the sofas while Dylan layed down on the other one, taking up all the space.

I decided to sit on the arm rest of the sofa with a bowl of popcorn in my hand by Dylan’s head. Every now and then he would reach up and grab a handful of popcorn but I would slap his hand away or raise my arm so he couldn’t reach it.

Emma decided that ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ would be the fourth movie that we would watch. Ten minutes into the film, Dylan was soundly snoring away. I was pretty sure that Aaron had fallen asleep too.

I looked peeked through the window and saw how dark it was outside and only then did I realise how late it was. Pretty soon, Emma was asleep and I was the only one that was awake. I turned the movie off and snuggled into my blanket on the floor. I started watching random shows on TV. I decided that I’d wait for my Mum to come home.

I don’t know when I fell asleep and I didn’t hear my Mum come in. But sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up and saw her bag on the table where she usually leaves it. I noticed a red handbag next to my Mum’s. That’s odd.

        “Hmm...” someone grumbles and a hand falls in front of my face.

I stiffened and my eyes were open wide, wondering whose hand it was. Then I heard the familiar sound of an idiot’s snoring. I sat up and saw that Dylan was still on my sofa. I turned to see that Emma and Aaron were still there too.

I heard two voices and saw a shadows by the doorway. I shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

        “It looks like they’re all knocked out cold.” My Mum chuckled.

        “It seems that way.” Someone replies. It must’ve been Andrea.

They chatted for a while in hushed voices, careful not to wake anyone up. While pretending to be asleep, I actually fell asleep and drifted into unconsciousness.

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{Unedited}

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Have you seen 'Crazy, Stupid, Love'? It's an epic movie! I'd recommend it. :D