Hi loves!! I know I just recently updated, but what better way to start off the new year with Amelia and Dylan? Happy new year and enjoy the long chapter!

Don't forget to comment and vote!

29. Jealousy

A week and some days had passed, and I spent almost all day and night at Shane's side. Even though I didn't experience it much, I didn't like being alone in the hospital room when I had been. Mama arranged another bed in the room, that way I could sleep beside him.

The doctors wanted to keep him longer just to watch for signs of post op infections. He was supposed to be checked out in the evening later today.

Tyler, along with Dylan came as often as they could. Dylan mostly came for me, but he couldn't hide the blooming bromance between him and my twin and Tyler. The three of them quickly created a friendship, and Shane didn't seem dislike Dylan at all. That put a smile on my face as I watched my brother and my... boyfriend become friends.

"I was just going to grab a bite; do you want me to bring you something?" I snapped out of my thoughts and took my head off Dylan's shoulder when I realized the question was directed at me. "Besides fruits," he chuckled when I opened my mouth to answer. I shook my head, watching as he got up from the spot beside me.

I frowned. Without him and his body heat beside me, I felt cold.

"She'll join you," Shane answered cheekily, digging into the greasy burger from McDonald's that his best friend brought. "Besides, I have Tyler and mama to keep me company," he pointed out. I opened my mouth, but I was cut off, again. "Yes, I'm sure. And don't come back, I'll see you at home, okay?"

"Alright," I sighed, getting up, straightening my wrinkled clothes out. "Could we stop at my house first? I need to freshen up a little."

"Of course," Dylan nodded, holding out his hand for me to take; which I happily did.

--

"I don't feel like going out," I admitted to Dylan once I hopped out of the shower and got dressed. "Do you think we could stay home?" I pleaded. "We could watch a movie or I-I also promised Lillian I would make some more cookies for her, so we could make that, b-but if you want to go out, we can. What do you want to do?" I rambled, fumbling with my hands.

An amused expression played on Dylan's face as he watched me. The corners of his lips lifted before his shoulders shook with laughter. I didn't know why he was laughing, but I couldn't help myself from laughing as well. His laughter was contagious.

It took a minute or two for us to recover before he spoke. "We'll do whatever you want, Lia. But do you think we could make something? I'm starving," he admitted, wiping a tear off his cheek.

"Well that makes the two of us," I grinned, dragging him into the kitchen. We managed to put together a delicious panini pressed wrap with fries in just under half an hour.

At sometime, the twins came home, rambling about some party that was happening tonight. Their conversation halted once they noticed Dylan was in the house too. They narrowed his eyes at him causing me to roll my eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Enzo asked, not politely, might I add.

"We're eating lunch," I deadpanned. "Would you prefer if we went elsewhere?"

"No," he mumbled. "Stay where I can see you." I rolled my eyes, while Dylan shot me a grin.

'It's okay,' he mouthed.

'No, it's not,' I mouthed back. He keeps reassuring me, saying he would do the exact same with Lillian, but I was still annoyed at my brothers.

"I made some extras, they're in the fridge," I informed to my brothers with a huff. "You just have to put it in the panini press."

"Sweet," Julian thanked, ruffling my hair. I quickly fixed my hair, shooting him a glare and ignoring the quiet chuckles from Dylan.

"You mentioned a party?" Enzo nodded.

"Your idiot twin also wants to go, something about catching up with friends," he shrugged. I rolled my eyes. Even though he rarely drinks, he could never miss out on a good party. But I doubt mama would let him go. "Also guess who's throwing the party," he grinned.

"Who?" I asked, sitting up.

"Nick's older, hotter sister." Leave it to Enzo to go after another girl once Amber doesn't seem to want him, but I know she likes him back.

"Nickolas is back?" I squealed in excitement. "Why didn't the bastard tell me?"

"Probably wanted to surprise you," he shrugged. "Oops."

"Nickolas is, well was my dance partner before he decided to move to LA to pursue his dancing career," I informed Dylan who was quietly his sandwich. "Do you want to come to the party with us?" I asked as casually as possible but was hoping for him to come.

"I actually have to head home, I'll see you soon, yeah?" He asked, getting up and putting his dishes in the dishwasher along with mine. I guess he didn't want to come to the party. "I'm really not the one to be caught in a party scene, the last time I went was purely for Charlie," he cleared up once he saw my expression fall.

"I get it," I nodded, putting on a smile. I really wanted him to meet my friends from dance, since I mentioned them on more than several occasions when we would dance at the studio. "Next time maybe?"

"For sure." He placed a kiss on my forehead. And with that he was gone. I furrowed my eyebrows and frowned. Did I do something wrong? I thought everything was going well for the past couple of weeks. Whenever he says goodbye, he says that he would see me the next day, but this time he said soon. Maybe I was reading too much into it.

"Well that was awkward to listen to." I threw a towel at Enzo who was chewing on his sandwich.

"Fuck off," I muttered, exiting the room and heading up the stairs.

--

Shane came home later in the night and immediately went into party mode, even though he was just released from the hospital less than half an hour ago.

"You're not going to say anything?" I asked mama who was observing her delinquent son. I can't believe she was letting him go.

But then again, he was an adult. But then again, we were living under mama's roof, so it was her rules.

"He knows the ground rules."

"Yep. No drinking, no smoking, no drugs, no excessive or strenuous activity." I rolled my eyes at that one. "And lastly, I can't be standing up for too long. Tyler agreed to be my babysitter. Besides, I've been cooped up in a room for basically two and a half weeks. I need a breather."

"And you think a house full of adults is going to help with that?" I retorted, clearly unhappy at this decision.

"As long as you stick to the rules, your father and I won't have a problem." Shane grinned in response, turning away as Enzo helped him up the stairs. "And you miss, what's the status quo on you and Dylan?"

I made a face. "Well, he asked me to be his girlfriend, which I said yes to, but I-I don't know, really. Mind you, this was two weeks ago," I pointed out. "I invited him to the party, but he declined and just left, even though we had plans for later in the day," I shrugged.

"Perhaps something came up?"

"Maybe," I mumbled, turning around, upset. An explanation from him would've been nice. I felt her grab onto my arm.

"Everyone seemed to like him," she commented. "Even your father. After Dylan left from that day at dinner, he was telling me that he was happy you found someone like Dylan." I couldn't help but smile, but then that very smile faltered.

"Maybe I'm overthinking this," I sighed, referring to the whole situation.

"You definitely are overthinking this," she grinned.

"Why are you smiling?" I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Because I never thought I would see that day my daughter would have boy troubles. I'm proud of you for opening yourself to him."

"I hate having boy problems," I grumbled, walking up the stairs ignoring her laughter.

"Is Dylan coming too?" My twin asked, turning around as I entered his room. I didn't miss the wince on his face as he did. I collapsed onto the bed. I grabbed one of his pillows, snuggling into it.

"No, something came up," I muttered, voice muffled by the pillow.

--

We picked up Amber on the way to the party, and there was an awkward moment or two between her and Enzo. "Is there anything going on between you two?" I asked her as we headed into the house, eyes trained Enzo who already was greeting his friends.

Shane and Tyler were arriving later.

"He made a move on me; asked me out." That bastard. "But I said no. I just want to be single for a while, you know? My only goal at this party is to find a fine boy just for this night."

I laughed, shaking my head. When I first met Amber, she seemed like the quiet, shy type; the one who avoids confrontation. You wouldn't think Amber had that side to her, but she totally did. Shy in the streets, freaky in the sheets. I snorted.

"Let's go get a drink," she announced, dragging me into the house. For once I didn't protest.

A solo cup and a can of beer later, I lost Amber in the crowd and I was searching for Nickolas. Instead, I ran into Hunter.

"Hey," I smiled, walking up to him, drink in hand.

"Sorry, can't talk; there's a really pretty girl over there, and I have to get her number," he said quickly, pointing behind me. I chuckled, shaking my head and walked into the next room. I couldn't help but grin when I saw him.

"Nickolas!" I had a running start and jumped onto his back. He stumbled forward, surprised but managed to stay on his feet. "I missed you," I squealed, throwing my arms around his neck, basically choking him in the process.

I heard him chuckle. "Only you," he muttered teasingly. "I've missed you too." I hopped off his back to see his face properly. He really did grow out in the past year as I noticed the facial hair, and a few new piercings which he didn't have before. Even though he changed, I knew he was the same person. I smacked him.

"What was that for?!" He rubbed the sore spot on his chest.

"That's for not telling me you were back." I was still a little sore over that fact.

"I wanted to surprise you," he mumbled, giving me a once over. "You look good," he complimented, landing his eyes on me. The last time he saw me was when I was still grieving over Scarlett and healing from my own pains.

"You're forgiven," I grinned, pecking his cheek. I finally gave him a proper hug, enveloped in his thin frame. I actually missed him and his body, and I didn't mean in a creepy way. I got used to working with him and his body for many dances, it became hard to adjust to a new dance partner. "Have you seen Shane yet?"

"No, why?" He furrowed his eyebrows. I grabbed him by the hand and dragged him away from his friends.

"He just had surgery."

"Surgery?!" He exclaimed, pulling at my arm, halting me in my tracks. "Is he okay?"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have started out like that," I said sheepishly. "He's fine though." Nicholas relaxed. "I think he's in the living room," I mumbled, tugging at his hand. We weaved through the rowdy and sweaty crowd. "I swear he said he'd be in the living room," I muttered, looking around for him. Instead of finding my twin, I found the last person I'd expect to be here.

"Dylan?" He was surrounded by a group of his friends, all which I didn't recognize, drink in hand. I interrupted the conversation he was in, and in mid laughter, he turned to me. Immediately, the smile on his face faded, replaced with a slight frown as he settled his eyes on the person next to me.

"Amelia," he replied in a cool tone. I blinked. I frowned, not liking the sound of my full name coming from him. His eyes traveled down to my hand where it was held in Nicholas'. His face hardened, and jaw clenched as he tore his eyes away.

"I thought you said that you had things to do?"

"I did," he muttered. "But Hunter dragged me here, and now he ditched me."

"So, you could go to the party with him, but not with me?" I asked coldly. I felt Nickolas, clench my hand reassuringly. I forgot Nickolas was even here. "Anyways, I wanted you to meet my friend, Nickolas." I let go of his hand, rubbing the sweaty palms on my jeans, feeling as if I was under a spotlight even though the glare Dylan was giving was directed at my former dance partner.

"Pleasure," Nickolas greeted sweetly, probably not liking the slight attitude Dylan was giving me. I didn't even have to look at him to know that he was smirking. I'm sure he was getting a kick out of this. Dylan simply gave a curt nod. "Anyways, I see my friend back there, I'm just gonna...You'll be okay here?" He asked, whispering the last part in my ear. Dylan clenched his jaw again, looking away as he took a gulp of his drink.

"Of course she will. Always."

"Yep," I replied, looking right at Dylan. Yes, I know, I was being petty, but at the moment, I was hurt. He lied to me, when instead if he told me the truth, I would have been okay with it.

"Having fun?" I frowned. I wasn't used to this tone from Dylan. Although it wasn't harsh, he never used this tone.

"W-what's wrong?" I pushed my hair out of my face, annoyed at myself that I didn't braid it. "What happened between the hospital and my house that made you not want to be near me?" Might as well rip the Band-Aid off in one go. "If you actually don't want to be near me, I get it okay? J-Just don't lie to me, because I t-thought everything was going fine."

Dylan was my first of anything really, and yes, even at the age of twenty-two, I didn't know how to act around a boy. Was I going to question everything? Probably. Was I going to be insecure? Probably. Would everything that I built for my self-confidence and self-esteem in the past year come crashing down because of a boy? Most definitely; but I didn't want that.

"How did you and Nickolas meet?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I-I thought I told you, Nickolas was my old dance partner."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what do yo—" And that's when it hit me.

"A-are you jealous?" Was he? He avoided eye contact, looking anywhere but meeting my eyes. He took a sip of his drink before opening his mouth.

"You two sure looked cozy." I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. "What?" He grumbled lowly.

"Come on." And for the second time today, I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the living room. "Do you see Nickolas?" I watched as he scanned the room, his eyes finally landing on my dance partner. I saw him visibly relax, and I couldn't help but giggle.

I turned myself to the scene, watching my former dance partner show his very sexual dance moves to the backside of another male. Yes, Nickolas was gay. Very gay, in fact.

"You could've just told me that," he mumbled, suddenly embarrassed.

"Yes," I laughed. "Oh hey, Dylan, this is my dance partner, Nickolas, oh who by the way is gay," I mocked, giggling. I never thought a guy would get jealous in a relationship with me.

"I-I need a drink, I've been at this party for too long without a proper alcoholic drink. And besides, you don't have to worry about anyone else liking me," I snorted. "Actually, I don't know why you love me, but who am I to question it?" I was still wondering why he chose me out of everyone.

Dylan scoffed. "You have no idea, do you? With the half an hour I've been with you, there were two guys who were eyeing you up like they wouldn't mind spending time with you, to put it lightly," he sucked in a breath.

I was shocked to say the least. That was false, but by the expression on his face, it didn't seem like it was.

"Who cares?" I shrugged. That caused him to lift his head and his eyes to meet mine. "I only have eyes for one man and one man only." A smile tugged at my lips when a grin spread across his. I leaned closer, his eyes dropping my lips. "Jack fucking Daniels," I grinned, reaching behind him for a bottle. I pulled back examining the bottle. It was full; that was rare at a party.

He groaned, hands slithering to my waist, pulling me close to him. "You're such a tease," he mumbled.

"I need to pee," I blurted out.

A chuckle left Dylan's lips and he shook his head slightly. "Leave it to you to ruin a moment. Let's go find you a bathroom."

"I can go by myself," I protested.

"I know," he quipped, leading me out of the kitchen, his hand gently hovering over the small of my back, which sent tingles all over; I couldn't help but squirm under his touch.

We finally managed to weave through all the drunk and horny teenagers and young adults alike and found the bathroom. The only problem, there was someone blocking the door, and conveniently, it just had to be Enzo.

Enzo was too busy sucking the lips off of a girl to notice us, until I had to kick him because my bladder was about to burst.

"What the fu— Amelia! Dingo," he greeted out of breath. "Can I ask why you're interrupting us?" He asked with irritation. My eye bulged out of their sockets when I saw that the girl he was making out with was none other than Amber.

"Hey," she said with a slight wave. I didn't miss her very red cheeks or her bruised lips either.

"You're fine," I waved off, not needing her to explain because her intentions were clearly not to get with him, but somehow she did. Come to think of it, I did need an explanation. "But you," I shoved Enzo lightly. "That's for not telling me."

"I'm sorry!" He held his hands up in surrender, a smirk still making its way onto his face. He clearly wasn't sorry.

"Now move, dipshit. My bladder is going to explode any second, and you're blocking the door to the bathroom."

"Right. And Dingo? Make sure she doesn't drink too much. She's a lightweight," he smirked. "And don't forget, I have eyes watching everywhere, so don't you dare do anything that will upset my sister," he warned, giving him a stern glare before whisking Amber off to who knows where. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, it's a good thing that I don't drink, yeah?" He commented a moment later. "Drink as much as you want, I'll watch you."

I grinned, giving him the bottle to nurse until I got back. "Now that sounds like a plan. But I really need to pee."

--

A few drinks and hours later, I was hammered, to say the least. "Shane!" I screeched, waving him over the small crowd that was left. People were slowly filing out; however, the party was still in full swing. It was just taken to the backyard. "How you feeling?" I slurred.

"Oh God. Who let her get drunk?" He muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"I gave myself permission, duh." What kind of question was that?

"Uh huh, right."

"Do you want me to drive her home?" A deep voice sounded from next to me.

I gasped, turning to where the voice came from and wrapped my arms around his neck, entangling myself into him. "Dylan! Where have you been? I missed you."

"I've been here the whole time, sweetheart," he chuckled, hugging me back, rubbing his large warm hand over my thin shirt, giving me tingles.

"Oh," I mumbled, pulling back, but not too far away from him.

"Yeah, I think that would be nice, thanks." I pouted as Dylan left my side to do the bro hug thing with Shane. "The twins and I are staying back. So is Amber. Will you be fine?" Shane asked me with concern, hobbling and finding support along the wall.

"Why wouldn't I be? I have Dill Pickle with me," I grinned. I heard a groan beside me.

"Come on, let's go before you start spilling everything." Dylan dragged me away from my twin, but before he got too far, Enzo stopped him.

"Where are you two going?" He narrowed his eyes at Dylan.

"He was just taking me home," I sighed, tugging at Dylan's hand.

"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Dingo over there."

"Oh boy," Dylan muttered, clearly hating the nickname. "I was just taking her home. She's drunk, and she needs to sleep it off, I was just going to drive her home."

"And how do I know that's all you're going to do?" He asked, stepping closer.

I couldn't believe what he was insinuating. Even Dylan was at a lost for words. "You stupid fuck," I seethed, stepping closer to him, almost tripping. "H-He would never do that." He clearly had too much to drink.

It was then that Shane came wincing over, along with Tyler. "What's going on?"

"Dylan and I are going home." I stated, snatching the cup from Tyler and throwing it down the hatch. I winced. That was strong.

"I love your sister, and if you can't accept that, I don't give a fuck. My only intentions are to tuck her to bed, and if you want to hop in the back of my car, go ahead. I don't know what the fuck I have to say or do to get you lot to trust me, but I would never hurt your sister. We're leaving right now, and feel free to join."

"What he said," I managed to slur out to Shane, Enzo and his twin who had joined a minute before. "Bye Shaney!"

I didn't have to turn around to hear the bickering between Shane and the twins. I could always count on him to have my back.

"I'm sorry about my brothers," I muttered. "They just don't understand."

"It's okay," he replied quietly.

"No, it's not!" I halted in my tracks, almost falling over in the process. Luckily, Dylan caught me. "Y-You don't deserve any of this," I blubbered as he helped me in the car. He didn't say anything as he shut the door and jogged to his side, starting the car.

"Please don't throw up in the car," he pleaded as he noticed I looked a bit sick.

"I'm not the throwing up type," I mentioned. "B-but now that you mentioned it..." I trailed off. The car halted in its tracks and Dylan hastily reached into the back seat to pull out a plastic bag after dumping its contents out. "Just kidding!" I giggled, falling back into the seat after he had handed me the bag.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you Lia?" He groaned, starting up the car again.

"You called me Lia!" I perked up, liking the sound of my name coming out of his lips. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. "You want to know a secret?"

"Sure." He looked over at me, waiting for me to reply before turning his attention to the road again.

"I really like it when you call me Lia," I sighed dreamily. "Can you always call me Lia?" I asked quietly, turning to look at him. "I don't like it when you say Amelia. It seems like you're mad at me."

"Of course, Lia." I grinned, frowning when I felt my chest and stomach feel weird. "But I wasn't mad when I said Amelia before. I guess it just slipped out. What's wrong?" He asked when he looked at me for a quick glance.

"I-I feel weird. My stomach and chest," I motioned around my torso. "I don't like it." Dylan let out a laugh, amused by this. "It's not funny," I crossed my arms across my chest.

"No, you're right," he sobered up, but there was still a grin on his face.

"Can I tell you something else?" I heard him hum. "I love you." Immediately, I threw my hands on my mouth, gasping. "I don't think I was supposed to say that," I spoke, but it was muffled, so it was a bunch of gibberish instead.

"I sure hope so," he said, amusement laced in his voice, grabbing my left hand away from my mouth and grasping it in his. He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand, causing the tingles to return. "Because it would be awkward if this relationship was one sided."

He turned into my driveway no less then five minutes later. "I think I'm going to need help getting out of the car," I giggled. As I uttered those words, Dylan had already exited the car.

"Are your parents home?" I shook my head as he helped me to the front door.

"Mama has a night shift... and I don't know where papa is," I slurred. "I think he's with his f-friends tonight."

"Do you have your keys then?" He asked gently. I thought about it for a second, then and then nodded my head. We stood for a moment before he talked again. "Lia, where are your keys?"

"Oh! Silly me! They're in the b-back pocket of my shorts, could you get it?" There was another moment of silence. "What? Are you scared to touch my little booty?" I turned around without grace to face Dylan who had flaming red cheeks. "You're so cute!" I fished my key out of my pocket and handed it to him.

"Mi amoda, no man wants to be called cute," he said slightly groaning.

"I don't see one," I giggled, looking around.

"You really know how to bruise someone's ego, don't you?" He muttered as he opened the door. "Now, come on sweetheart, let's get you to bed." He helped me take off my shoes and I couldn't stop giggling. "What's wrong?"

"You're tickling me!" I shrieked, pulling my foot away from him. However, due to my drunken state and obvious clumsiness caused me to fall on my ass. "Ouch," I moaned, rubbing the sore spot on my barley non-existent ass.

With little to no difficulty, Dylan picked me up bridal style, and instead of putting me back on my feet, he held onto me and went up the stairs. I went to protest, but suddenly, I was very tired. I rested my head against his chest, listening in on his now rapid heartbeat.

"I think you have a heart condition," I mumbled, patting his chest lightly. "Your heart is always beating very fast, you should get that checked out."

"Only when I'm around you, Lia," he replied softly, putting me on my bed very carefully. "Wait here."

"Okay," I giggled, watching as he walked into my bathroom. Moments later, he came out with a cloth in his hand. "What's that?" I asked in awe as he brought it up to my face. Gently, he started wiping my face. I giggled even more, feeling my skin tingle slightly.

"Makeup remover." It was a good thing I wore minimal make up tonight, or it would have taken a lot more then just one makeup wipe to take all of it off.

Next, he went into my closet and pulled out a shirt and a pair of trackies. "No, please don't take those home," I pleaded when I realised he pulled out the clothes that belonged to him, which I never actually returned.

"I won't," he promised with amusement. "Can you change into these for me?" I nodded, getting up. Satisfied with my balance, he left the room to give me privacy to change.

"You can come in now!" I announced, sitting cross legged on my bed.

"Weren't you just tired a few minutes ago?" He chuckled. I shrugged, trying to get under the covers, tired, now that he mentioned it. He helped tuck me into bed.

I watched as he stood awkwardly beside my bed, not knowing what to do. "Stay with me? I-I don't want to be alone." He looked up at me, not saying anything for a few seconds, scanning my face before agreeing. He sat on my bed, but over the covers.

"You won't," he promised. "I'll stay until your brothers come home," he mumbled, gently running his hands through the ends of my hair. That felt really nice.

"No," I mumbled, letting out a yawn. "Stay the night. Please," I pleaded lightly, no energy left in my body at all. He quietly agreed with me, laying his head down on the pillow. I snuggled into him, needing some sort of tactile comfort. I felt his arm go over my torso, pulling me closer.

"If that's what you want, mi amor," he replied, moving a baby strand out of my face. "Buenas noches preciosa." I heard him say one last thing, but my mind was too fogged up to comprehend what he was actually saying. As soon as he said goodnight, my mind shut off and I slipped into a blissful sleep.