"It hurt. 'Like a sister,' who says that?" I tell Diana in a whisper. It's been bothering me since it happened and today's the first day I can lay in bed for hours contemplating what it may or may not mean with my best friend's help. My blankets swaddle me as I sit in a ball of sadness on my bed.

"I don't think he meant it like that," she insists. "I think he was just saying it so that if you were into J.D., he wouldn't be in the way of things, you know?"

"Ugh," I say in response as I adjust the phone. "I don't know why this is bothering me so much."

"I think I know," she admits.

"Why?" I ask, ready to disprove her theory.

"You like him," she says confidently. I sit in silence for a few seconds.

"I don't know how I feel," I admit. "I don't want to like him; that's for sure." 

"Why not?" she asks.

"Well, for one, he clearly doesn't like me back. I used to think that maybe he thought I was cute and that maybe I had a super slim chance. I mean, my brothers like him and so does my dad, at least enough so that I can hang out with him. But after he basically called me his sister, I know my chances are a big, fat zero."

"Orion...he probably didn't mean it," she says quietly.

"Whatever. I mean, either way, we're too different. He's adventurous and spontaneous and I'm socially awkward and I only worry about school," I say with a sigh. "I don't know why I thought I had a chance now that I'm thinking about it." 

"It's not bad to worry about school," Diana says sharply. "And you're not socially awkward; he said it himself- his friends like you!"

"Maybe if I was a bit more daring, he'd like me," I grumble. "I just hate how the only guy that catches my attention isn't even remotely interested in me."

"You're fine the way you are, Orion," she responds.

"I hate having feelings. I'm not normally like this. This isn't okay," I complain.

A knock sounds on my door and it's pushed open. Diego peeks his head in and I look at him curiously from my blanket forts. Did he hear anything I was saying? "Hi," he greets me. "Are you busy?"

"That depends..." I trail. He opens the door more to reveal his backpack hanging from his hand.

"I can come back later, though," he says as he goes to shut the door.

"No, it's fine. I have some homework to do, too. Besides, I was just about to hang up," I say. Turning my attention to Diana, I sigh. "Hey, I'll call you back later?" 

"Sure, do something crazy to tell me a story about," Diana says before hanging up. I look at the phone and roll my eyes.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Diego says awkwardly as he nudges the door a bit. It practically closes. Instead of adjusting it so it's half-open position, he walks over and sits down in my desk chair. I unravel my blanket fort as I shake my head.

"No, it was just a casual conversation," I respond.

"With?" he asks curiously.

"Diana," I answer and he gives me a dubious look.

"Are you lying?" he asks.

"No," I say with an eye roll. "She was just helping me out."

"With?" he continues to pry. I narrow my eyes at him and he nods. "Oh, I get it. No boys allowed. Was it about periods? It makes sense; you were all cuddled up with your blankets. And now that I think about it, you have been a bit sad lately."

"No! It's not about periods," I respond in embarrassment.

"Boys?" he prompts. "Were you ranting to her about your problems with J.D.?"

"What? No. Just do your homework," I tell him with a sigh. It's silent for two minutes as he scribbles in his notebook.

"You know you can talk to me about boys, right? I mean, not to be rude to Diana, but I feel like I'd have better insight seeing as I am a guy and all-," he starts but I cut him off.

"Oh my gosh, Diego, just do your homework!" I insist.

"Okay, okay," he says with a sigh, giving up. Of course, it is short lived. "How are things with J.D?" 

"They're fine?" I reply, unsure of what to say. He's asking like we're in a relationship.

"Are you guys going to be hanging out soon?" he continues to question.

"I don't know. I've not made any plans with him," I respond.

"Are you at least flirting with him?" he asks.

"I don't really know how to flirt," I reply. "Besides flirting is not my goal here, remember? I'm not romantically interested in him."

"I can teach you how to flirt," he says while completely ignoring the latter part of my sentence. He perks up a bit as he waits for my response.

I look at him cautiously. "You're going to teach me how to flirt?"

"Yeah," he answers. "If you want me to."

I stare at him for a second and he spins slowly in the chair with his chest pressing against the back of it. He quirks an eyebrow and I nod slowly. "Okay..." I mean, how can this go wrong? A bunch of ways, that's how. But what have I got to lose?  A lot, actually, now that I think about it.

"I'll pretend to be...a boy," he says and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Aren't you already a boy?" I ask.

"Yeah...so I'll be me and you be you," he replies.

"Okay..." I continue as I sit at the edge of my bed. I'm suddenly grateful I decided not to change out of my outfit from school. It'd be awkward doing this in my pink pajamas. He also did not change and is still wearing his black jeans and a decorative, dark button up.

"One sec," he says as he jumps out of his seat and walks over to the light-switch. He turns off the main lights and turns on my dimmer desk lamp. He turns with a smirk and returns to his seat, pushing himself a bit closer to me. "Setting the mood."

I blink a few times as I assess the space between us. At least a foot. As long as he stays that far away from me, we're good. "So what now?" I ask.

"I'm just going to go for it, okay?" he prompts and I furrow my eyebrows, unsure as to what he means.

He inches closer, cutting the space between us in half. Oh, that's what he means. I was under the impression we were going to do a little back and forth teasing and maybe a light arm brush or something. Daringly, he reaches a hand out, tugs lightly at a tress of my hair, and lightly tucks it behind my ear. His palm rests on my cheek as his eyes flit between mine.  My breath hitches in my throat from the way his eyes turn half-lidded. Jeez. Ever so lightly, his fingers begin tracing my face, following the curvature of my jawline to the other side of my face. He traces my eyebrow down to the bridge of my nose to my cupids bow. I tilt my face a bit towards his hand, enjoying the feeling of his fingers on my skin. He stops right before he reaches my lips and removes his hand, ultimately leaving me at a cliffhanger.

My heart hammers in my chest as I'm slapped back to reality. I'll just pretend like that didn't almost kill me. He stares at me with a smirk as if well aware of the affect he has on my body. "Now your turn," he says casually while sliding the chair back to it's original place. I contemplate whether or not what I'm about to do is worth it. I swallow nervously and decide to just go for it. Two can play at this game.

After swallowing my nerves, I reach out and grab the spine of his chair. In a (probably failed) attempt to be seductive, I slowly pull it towards me while maintaining eye contact with him. Please be as visibly disheveled as I was. His eyes widen a bit as I bring him to a stop only inches away from my face. I leave my hands lightly resting on the back of the chair and I struggle to think of what to do next. If we're being honest, my first thought was to bop him on the nose but this is an opportunity I can't miss. 

He leans in a little, which catches me off guard. I thought I was supposed to be the one leading this scenario. Without thinking, I match his actions and move in a little closer. I don't realize I'm biting my lip until I release it and watch as his gaze locks on my mouth. His eyes flicker upward for a few seconds and I can only stare back in a slightly helpless manner. Are we going to kiss? Is that what's happening now? I didn't realize how badly I wanted to do this until right now.

His eyes trail over my face once more and he licks his lips, whispering something that I can't quite hear. I can only hear the sound of my heart pounding in my chest. He leans in once more, allowing there to only be a few centimeters between us. My heart is hammering and I can feel his breath on my mouth. Oh man, this is going to happen. I slowly close my eyes as I wait for him to make the final move.

In an instant, my bedroom door is practically kicked open. "Orion!" Nate says before swearing loudly. Diego and I pull apart immediately. I jump so far that my back hits the wall and Diego slides himself right back to my desk. We turn to look at Nate who is staring at us wide eyed. "What the hell was that?" he asks.

"He-he, uh, he had an eyelash in his eye and I was trying to get it out," I babble and my brother looks at me like I'm an idiot.

"With your mouth!?" he asks as he touches his chest with a sour look on his face. "I'm disgusted."

"What do you need? Why'd you come in here?" I say, trying to get him to tell me why he barged into my room in the first place.

"Some bleach- to wash out my eyes," he says. "I just wanted to let you know that Benji and I are ordering pizza and if you want to put money in for it, we'd appreciate it."

"Yeah, sure," I say. "Order whatever."

"I'll be back in twenty minutes for the money," he says as he glances between me and Diego one more time. He walks away, leaving the door completely ajar.

I risk a glance at Diego, who is staring at me with an amused look on his face. He stands up and clears his throat. "Good lesson. Part two later on?"

"Get out," I groan as I put my head in my hands.

"So does that mean tomorrow?" he continues to joke.

I grab my stuffed tiger and throw it in his direction. He laughs as he shuts the door behind him. I lay down and press my pillow to my face. At least I have a story to tell Diana. I sit and wait for my heartbeat to slow down.

"You didn't tell Benji, right?" I ask Nate when he returns for the pizza money.

"No, I don't want to him to suffer, too," he explains.

"Please don't tell anyone," I reply.

"How long have you two been...you know what, never mind. I don't want to know," Nate starts, then finishes.

"We aren't. It was just...an in the moment-why are we even talking about this?" I sigh. "This is bribery money. I'll buy pizza and wings for all of us if you promise to keep your mouth shut."

"Deal," he says as he accepts the bills from my hand. He walks directly out of my room and closes the door behind him. I really hope he keeps his word.

A little while later, Benji incomprehensibly screeches up the stairs and I can tell that the food is here. I wait by the door with my ear pressed against it, trying to hear for Diego to leave his room and go downstairs. I don't want to run into him. I don't hear anything for a solid two minutes so I decide to risk it. I duck out of my room and head downstairs only to find that Diego is already in the living room, eating pizza and playing video games with Nate and Benji. He looks up from the slice of pizza he's biting into. We lock eyes but I immediately look away and slip into the kitchen.

I pile the pizza and wings onto my plate before practically sprinting back upstairs. I rush into my room and close the door, resting my back against it so I can catch my breath. I close my eyes and sigh. This isn't going to be awkward at all.

+++

The weatherman wasn't lying when he predicted torrential downpour for Thursday morning. It is so bad that my mom feels nervous letting Calum drive all of us to school. Luckily enough, he convinces her by using the 'it's only five minutes away' argument. But the five minutes in the car feels like an eternity. I'm pressed flush against Diego, who I can feel staring at me. I can also feel Nate staring at us in the rear-view mirror. The only thing I can hear is the loud raindrops and the incessant thudding of my heart. It won't slow down at all, probably because I keep replaying last nights events over and over and over in my head.

Calum tries to find a spot as close to the building as possible so when he finishes parking, I hop out of the car and book it towards the school. I enter the building and make a beeline for my locker. I find Diana digging through her belongings and I hiss her name. "Diana!"

She looks up at me in pure confusion. "Yes?" she asks as she takes a break from searching through her locker.

"Come to the bathroom with me...now," I insist as I look at her pleadingly.

"Um...okay?" she replies as she slams her locker shut. I all but drag her to the nearest bathroom, checking under each stall before I turn to look at her. "What happened? Why are you so antsy?"

"We almost kissed, Diana!" I whisper at her. I put my head in my hands as I pace around the bathroom.

"Come again?" she says.

"Diego and I! We nearly kissed," I inform her and her eyes widen.

"Like, seriously?" she asks. "Or was he like five feet away and you felt a spark?"

"No, like, he was this close," I inform her, using my hand for reference. 

"Well...tell me what happened!" she insists.

I tell her, not sparing a single detail. I need her professional (not so much) opinion on the situation and what I should do. By the time I finish, she looks at me in pure and utter surprise. "I don't know; it all happened so fast," she mutters.

"He's confusing me so bad, Diana!" I complain as I cover my face again. "He's encouraging me to date J.D. and calling me his sister but he's almost kissing me in my bedroom. I have no idea what's going on in his mind." 

"You need to sit down and have a talk with him about it," she informs me.

"No!" I say. "That's the last thing I want to do!" 

"What do you mean?" she asks in shock. "Don't you want to know?"

"Yeah but...it'll make things real. What if-what if he just tells me that it was just an in the heat of the moment thing and that he wasn't going to actually go through with it?" I stress. "I think I'm going to just pretend it didn't happen."

"That's probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say," she retorts.

"I'm going to do it," I tell her with a nod just as the bell rings. "Thank you."

"Why do you bother asking for my advice if you never take it?" she yells after me. "Great, now I'm going to be late for class. Don't bother waiting up for me; it's not like we're going the same place!"

+++

I manage to dodge Diego all day, whether it's on purpose or not, I'm not quite sure. He showed up a few minutes late to first period and the seat he usually sits in (in front of me) was taken, so he was forced to move to the back, far, far away from me. I occasionally felt someone's gaze on me but I never bothered to check. I managed to get out of first period without running into him. By the time I do see him, I've prepared myself for the encounter.

I'm at my locker right before study hall, which is when I typically run into him and his friends. I'm digging around in my locker, trying to inconspicuously wait for them to show up. When I hear a familiar band of footsteps down the hall, I slowly begin loading my books into my bag. I close my locker and see them slowly treading towards me with Sage in the front. I quirk an eyebrow at how they approach me like I'm a stray cat ready to run at any sign of confrontation.

"Hey guys," I greet them. I look at all of them with a large smile. I fight the blush as I lock eyes with Diego, who looks beyond confused.

"Hey..." Sage greets me, followed by a few nods from the guys. Diego just stares at me like I'm an alien.

"What are you guys doing right now?" I ask.

"We're about to go to Diego's house," Sage answers slowly.

"Do you guys mind if I tag along? I finished all my homework last period; I had a sub," I respond.

Sage looks at Diego, who shrugs. She turns back to me with a smile. "No, not at all."

"Alright, cool," I say as I zip up my book bag and close my locker. I pretend not to notice as they all exchange looks. I glance back up and smile. "Let's get going."

We pile into Sage's car and I quietly hum along to the music playing. I was given the front seat so I gratefully took it. This pretending stuff is hard when I'm alone with Diego but it's easier when there are other people around to focus on. I think I'd have caved if I had to have sat next to him. The ride back to his house doesn't take long and soon enough we're pulling into the driveway. It's weird finally being able to see where he lives. 

We all get out of the car and he leads the way, unlocking the door. He holds it open for everyone as we all enter the house. I take a minute to look around. My eyes scan the living room, kitchen, and dining room, all of which flaunt modern decorations. As we make our way up the steps, I take in the pictures on the walls. I wish I could stop and admire the ones of Diego as a kid; I'd finally get to see if he was ugly or not. Instead, we rush up the steps, down the long hall, and finally make it to his bedroom.

"Does anyone want something to drink or a snack or something?" Diego asks as he lingers in the doorway. I'm too busy looking around his room. He's been in my room plenty of times but I've never been in his. The walls are a muted blue, almost gray, and the rest of his room follows that scheme. Gray curtains, blue comforter, grey rugs, blue lamp... All of the wood in his room is dark and it all ties together; it surprises me. I never took Diego for one to follow patterns. His life is so impromptu that I expected things to be a bit less orderly. I notice a large cage in the corner and I imagine that's where Diablo sleeps.

"Actually...I was thinking we could go grab McDonald's or something..." Webster trails as he looks around at everyone in the room. 

"I mean...sure," Sage says and Quincy nods.

"Yeah, I'll go, too," he pipes.

"Do you want anything from McDonald's, Orion?" Sage asks and I slowly shake my head. I know what they're doing. They're trying to get me and Diego alone so we can talk things out. "Do you, Diego?" Like me, he shakes his head.

"If you guys change your mind, shoot us a text," Quincy says and, as quickly as they came, they leave.

I continue to walk around his room as though nothing's changed. I try to maintain the same peppy attitude but it's difficult now that my three safeguards have left. Now it's just me and him and all I can think about is last night. I decide to break the silence. "You have a very nice room."

"Thank you," he says and I look back to find him sitting on his bed, watching me.

"Did you design it?" I ask.

"Uh, no, my mom and dad did a few years ago. I just update it occasionally," he admits.

"Nice..." I trail as I look at the television and game consoles.

"How long are you going to act like last night didn't happen?" he asks and I repress the urge to sigh. He's really not one for beating around the bush.

I try to go over the words I rehearsed in my head. "I mean, nothing did happen."

"Okay, allow me to correct myself. How long are you going to ignore what almost happened last night?" he clarifies.

"Ah..." I say as I continue to pace around his room. "I'm not ignoring it. I just...get it."

"Can you stop pacing? It's making me anxious," he blurts and I slowly approach the chair furthest from him- a bean bag chair positioned in front of the television. I sit facing him; I have that much courtesy. "What do you mean, 'you get it?'"

"We're friends. You were trying to teach me a skill. I took it a bit too far. It was in the heat of the moment, you know?" I try to explain. I stare down at my hands rather than directly at him. His eyes are trained on me. He doesn't reply so I feel the need to continue. "I mean, you said it yourself. You think of me as a sister. Why would I read into something that doesn't need to be read into?"

I chance a glance at him to find him staring at me with an irritated look on his face. It surprises me because I've never seen such a negative emotion on him. "Okay," he says.

"Okay?" I ask, allowing both of my eyebrows to rise.

"I mean, you don't need to know what I think; you have it all figured out," he continues in a monotonous tone.

I contemplate asking him what he thinks but I'm scared as to what he might say and as to how I may react. I decide to go for it anyway. "What do you think of the situation?" I prompt.

He sighs heavily and offers a meek shrug. "No, you're right. We're friends. Heat of the moment. That kind of thing."

I look at him and slowly nod. We sit like that for a while, in the awkward, tense air. I can't help but feel like something's changed among us. Ten or so minutes later, the three return with no McDonald's and for some reason I feel like they just sat in the car. The tenseness disperses but I still feel it whenever I look at Diego. He's just sitting on the bed with a bored look on his face as everyone else talks and plays music. Thankfully, Sage asks if I want to be dropped back off at school in order to make the car ride home with my brothers. I agree and she and I head out.

"Bye," I mumble awkwardly.

"Bye," Diego says a bit bluntly. The other two boys try to make up for his harshness by smiling and waving but it doesn't quite work.

As we exit the house, Sage looks at me. "Jeesh, what happened back there?" she asks.

"Do you know what happened yesterday?" I start and she nods.

"Yeah, I know Diego's side of it," she replies.

I look at her and consider asking what he told her but decide against it. She probably won't tell me anyway. "I just told him that we're friends and it was an 'in the heat of the moment' thing," I explain.

"Ouch, friend-zone," she says as she starts the car.

"He literally sister-zoned me the other day! So I don't want to hear about any kind of zones," I retort. "Besides, that's what I thought he wanted to hear. The last thing he seems to want is for me to have a crush on him." 

"And why do you think that?" she asks curiously as she drives down the road, going a little over the speed limit.

"I don't know; he's so intent on me going out with J.D. He's so into the idea of me and J.D. that he literally texts him for me. I think it'd really ruin his plans for me if I end up having a crush on him instead," I respond.

"Understandable," she nods.

"So?" I trail.

"So, what?" she asks.

"What should I do?" I retort.

"Oh, I don't know," she shrugs. "I rarely ever see Diego upset."

"Oh my gosh," I sigh.

"I'll try to talk to him and tell him your interpretation of things. He'll get over it eventually," she replies.

"Yeah, he better," I mumble.