Battleship is a game that Charlie and I grew up playing. Because of this, I had come up with the best tactics to win. While I had chosen to attack very spread-out spaces, Jesse used his shots to spell out the word "hi."

"You suck at this game." I said, laughing as I sunk yet another of his ships.

"Respect your elders." Jesse said with a grin.

"You are a year older than me." I said as I rolled my eyes. 

"That's what you think." Jesse said with a mockingly mysterious look drawn across his face. I laughed and looked over to my phone, which I realized was ringing with a phone call with my mother.

"Hang on," I said to Jesse before answering it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Whitney, I decided to shorten your curfew." My mother said as soon as I picked up the phone and greeted her.

"Shortened it to what?" I asked, shooting Jesse a glance.

"What time is it now?" She asked, pausing for an instant before she answered the question herself. "9:00? You have to be home by 9:20."

"Mom, that is in twenty minutes." I said with my mouth agape. 

"Then you better hurry." Mom laughed on the other line.

"Don't do this to me, driving fast at night is dangerous." I pleaded, hearing my mother laugh maniacally.

"See you soon!" She said in a sing-song voice. "I love you!"

"Love you too." I said, ending the call. 

"Cute." Jesse smiled with a quizzical expression drawn across his face. "So you have to leave now?"

"That is correct." I nodded, lips forming a thin line. Jesse let out a short laugh and picked his keys up from where he had placed them on his bed and the two of us hurriedly left his room. Jesse announced to his parents that we needed to leave, I thanked them for having me over for dinner, and we left. Despite the rushed circumstances, Jesse crossed to the other side of the car and opened my door, closing it when I got in, then we were on our way. "My mother is a lunatic, I'm sorry."

"My mom just left dinner to watch twelve men swoon over one woman." Jesse said, a smile on his face. "If your mom's a lunatic, I don't even want to know what mine is. I just hope it isn't hereditary."

I laughed in response, watching houses and other buildings pass by as he sped down the silent off-roads. My eyes briefly landed on an old couple as they walked down the street. Old married couples have always been an inspiration to young couples, married or dating. Ever since I was cognitively able to wish for things, I've longed to be like them when I was old and decrepit. As I got older, I had dreamed of aging with whichever guy I had my eyes on. Of course, though I truly did not care to admit it, there was one person I subconsciously wished to grow old with. Whether or not he was at the wheel of this car was besides the point. 

The drive lasted about fifteen minutes, which resulted in the two of us arriving at 9:19. Jesse and I both got out of the car and rushed to the door, which was locked. I unlocked it and opened the door, only to reveal that the house was pitch-black. This would not usually bother me, but my mother and sister were clearly home. Charlie can't stand the dark, so we usually keep the light above the stove on. The stove-light was effectively off.

"Are they not home?" Jesse asked, reading my expression. "What's wrong?"

"No, they're home." I said, peering into the house. Even Harper was silent, and she announces somebody's name whenever they entered the room.

"Are you sure?" He asked as he tried to see into the dark house without entering uninvited. 

"Yeah, mine and my mom's cars are here." I said as I slowly walked inside. Jesse gingerly followed me, eyes peeled for the unlikely chance that there was an intruder in my house. The very instant we entered the house, the heavy door slammed shut. A squeak escaped Jesse's lips, which made me laugh. The lack of light reminded me of the events of the previous night. 

If the birds were removed from their cages, which had to have happened since Harper has yet to make a sound, then there was a reasonable chance that Callie was taken out as well. To test my theory, I let out a short whistle, which I had trained my bird to respond to. In response, there was a whisper and the flutter of wings. Callie, despite the darkness, landed on my outstretched hand. I turned toward Jesse so that I could show him the bird.

"Dammit." I heard my sister whisper under her breath before heading toward us. Her footsteps were nearly silent, but it didn't matter Jesse was too immersed in trying to see the bird to hear the sound. Before I could give Jesse any sort of warning, Charlie appeared behind Jesse and shouted.

"Boo!" As far as I could tell, she had left Bastian in his cage. My sister's victim stiffened with panic and spun around. When Charlie flicked the lights on, I saw that Jesse's face was bright red.

"Scared by a thirteen year-old." Jesse said, shaking his head in self-disappointment.

"Hey, at least the snake is in his cage," I said. Callie had inched up into my hair and had begun nibbling on my ear, which she did often.

"You mean Bastian?" Charlie asked, a bright grin spreading across her small face. "I can go get him."

Without any sort of response, my sister began her quick trek upstairs to retrieve the snake. I caught her by the arm.

"You will not." I said. She laughed and stood next to me, looking Jesse up and down.

"I should probably tell you that this was Mom's idea." She said formally, crossing her arms and shifting her weight from the tips of her toes to the heels of her feet. At that, our mother walked in with her typical hysterical laugh. Harper was sitting on her shoulder.

"She got you good!" She cackled at me. I was unsure if she even noticed Jesse, who was now standing at my side. Charlie was at the top of the stairs—our front door is about two stairs lower than the rest of our house—and our mother was standing next to her. 

"No ma'am, she got me." Jesse said, making himself known to her. 

"Charlie!" She said in a fake scolding tone, turning towards my sister. "We agreed to scare your sister."

"It's not my fault! It was dark." Charlie said. "But now I know Jesse, which, like the Swiss flag, is a big plus."

Everybody, including the birds, reacted similarly with all sorts of sighs of contempt.

Jesse noticed his watch light up with a text, which was probably from one of his parents, and his face fell ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." He said, smiling politely at my mother. We all said our goodbyes and he began to leave.

"Whitney, he's pretty. You scored hard." Charlie said teasingly. I heard Jesse laugh before closing the door and leaving.