2/3 - They see me third wheel'in, They hate'in (Patrolling they tryin to catch me wheel'in dirty)

Luke and I were caught up in a glaring showdown, fists clenched by our sides.

"No?" Harold suggested. "Okay. Luke, this is Leia. She is my cousin from Oklahoma and she's staying up here for the summer."

"She's my sister," Luke grumbled.

"You told me you were at a hockey game!" I shot. "What's going on?!"

"Wait, wait. You guys are siblings?!" Harold took a farther step back and his eyes darted between the two of us. 

"Twins," Luke clarified.

"Fraternal," I answered before Harold could ask the next common question. "We're not supposed to look alike."

Harold grazed his hand across his chin and then wiped his face. "Uh huh... so you're both related. Does this mean the date is off then?"

"No!" we blurted and sent each other a threatening glare. We hated speaking at the same time.

Luke cupped my elbow and steered me to the side. "What are you doing here?!" With at least a ten inch difference on me, he crouched down and whispered, "You know Harold is gay right?"

"Yes! I know that," I lied, and crossed my arms over my chest.  I suddenly felt like such an ignorant child.

"Okay, good. Wait." He studied my face, scrunching his brows together as if I was the hardest question on the SATs.

Then his jaw dropped. "No fucking way. Are you that third wheeler everyone is talking about? You are, aren't you?" He pressed my little nose like a button and I swatted his hand away. "You are. Holy shit-talking-mushrooms, I heard you make five hundred bucks a week!"

I clamped my hand over his mouth, and glimpsed over my shoulder before hissing, "Quit it. How much I make isn't any of your business. And I'd like to keep a low profile on my third wheeling career, okay? Please."

He licked my palm and I shrieked, yanking my hand back to rub it across my dress.

"Sure. Whatever, Your Worshipfullness," he answered, and I punched his arm.

"I told you to stop calling me that. Star Wars jokes aren't funny anymore."

"If you want me to keep a secret, then I'm going to call you Your Worship." He tilted his head, flashing that lopsided, goofy smile I learned to despise.

"Fine."

His face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he cupped my elbow again. I wretched out of his grasp, following him back to Harold without his assistance.

"My sister and I agreed she isn't going to watch the movie with us. Instead, she wants to go see Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf."

I jabbed my elbow into his ribs, but he sucked in the pain and smiled at Harold.

"Really? Because I'm okay with her—"

"She insisted," Luke confirmed and cocked his head to the side. Sadness swam in his big eyes as his voice, the ones that worked on my dad like a charm. 

I flashed him that settle 'you-owe-me-big' stare, and gave a reassuring nod. "Yeah. Don't worry about it. I was planning to watch Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf at one point."

Harold hesitated, but Luke had already linked arms with him. "Sweet. We better head off. The movie is starting anytime now. Leia, I'll meet you back here in two hours to drive you home?"

I passed him an 'It's-all-good' combo made of a thumbs up and a fun wink. Harold waved bye before Luke tugged him to their theater.

I wandered back to the ticket booth line, four more people ahead of me.

"For how many?" the ticket cashier asked me.

"Hm?" I looked down from the movie choices glowing on the board.

"How many people are with you today?"

"Oh." A harsh pink tint spread across my cheeks. "It's just me tonight," I told her.

After grabbing the ticket and heading into the theater, I struggled through the crowd as a boob punched my cheek and a torso banged into my shoulder.

Alas, after finding a seat for one, I hugged my arms around my waist and tried to watch the Sharknado—or was it Sharktopus, but my thoughts were disoriented.

I picked at the loose string of my dress, my heart suddenly dropping.  There was a strong difference between being lonely and alone.  I usually fit in the latter, more comfortable option, but at that moment, I felt more empty.   

The howl of what I thought belonged to a Whalewolf startled me, and the rest of the screaming audience. 

That snapped me back to the next event on my agenda.

I had one more client from the third wheeling business and we were to meet at 10pm.

I was arranged to find a woman in a red dress named Vincent before her date and hide a few booths down in case she needed an emergency getaway friend.

Everyone knew the old 'shit-my-friend-is-in-the-hospital-got-to-go' trick whenever a date was going wrong. But no one would ever believe them because hello, oldest trick in the book. Unless that actual friend you used for an excuse were present.

Aka me.

The drive out of the theater wasn't bad since Luke and Harold were hitting if off quite nicely.

Luke pulled up the car in front of The Blue Lagoon, one of the fanciest restaurants in the city.

"I'll text you when I'm done here," I told Luke who was still in mid-conversation with Harold.

Ignoring me? I wasn't sure. I hesitated to peck a quick kiss on his cheek like I used to when we were kids to embarrass him and decided against it.     

As Harold kept talking, I hauled open the van door and slammed it shut.  Today was Luke's night, I could be a shit sister another day.   

The doorman tilted his hat and opened the door for me, and I did a little curtsy in thanks.

The first thing my eyes took in was the massive aquarium in the middle of the restaurant, fish of all sizes and colours swimming around. I was captured by the beauty of it until I was startled by the net that plunged into the tank, sending hundreds of fish scattering in all directions.

"Hello, miss." I turned to find a thin, six-foot man in a tuxedo, ready to escort me to a seat. "How many will accompany you today?"

"Oh." The same pinkness rose on my face. "Just for one."

He stuck his nose in the air. "Hm. Okay."

I peeked over his shoulder and spotted the woman in a red dress, her strawberry blonde hair curled down her back. "Actually, can I get a booth close to her? But not too close where I'm noticeable."

He raised a brow, and glanced over to see the table.

"I'll give you five bucks if you get me there." I pulled out a dollar bill from my front pocket of my bag and waved it in front of him. 

He quickly looked around before snatching it up and shoved it inside his tuxedo. A big, gleaming smile stretched across his face. "Right this way, miss."

Pleased, I followed behind him and tuned out something about tonight's special as I slid in my booth.

"A water would be great," I told him, my eyes trained on the woman in the red dress.

The waitress disappeared with a grumble, and I placed my satchel on the booth table. Fishing for my form and pink pen, I slid off the booth and snaked around the tables. I breathed in a whiff of a strong perfume and nearly gagged.

"Miss Vincent? Hi, I'm from Third Person's the Charm. I understand you asked for assistance on your date?"

I tapped her shoulder and screamed.

"Mom?!"

"Leia?!"

I jumped back and my hip hit the table behind me.

Glass rattled and I whipped my head around in apologies before twisting back to my mom sitting in the red dress. "The actual fuck?! Oh my god." My face was on fire now.

"Leia—what the hell?! You're the woman running Third Person's the Charm?!"

"Mom! But you're married to dad. What are you doing?!"

"Honey, can you keep it down please? Don't worry—"

A hot mess of embarrassment and horror coloured my ears a bright pink. "Don't worry?! You're cheating on a man you've spent thirty years with!" I exclaimed.

My mom kept smiling, making me want to smack her in the red lips. "Honey—"

"Hello, Miss Vincent." A man pulled up on the seat opposite of my mom, and I was just about ready to grab the bread stick in front of me and pound him with it.

"Dad?!" I shrieked.

"Leia?!" he yelped.

"What is going on?! Who's Miss Vincent?! You're Miss Sky!" And I pointed to my dad. "And you're Mr. Sky! Someone explain something!" I jabbed one finger into the table.

My parents exchanged looks, and my mom was the first one to put a hand on my arm.

"Honey, your dad and I are role playing."

Sudden horror smacked me across the face and I lifted my hand off the table. "Gagh! Holy sweetfuckingballs, why?" I crossed my arms in front of my face and shook my head. "Actually, I don't want to know why. Ew." I took in a big breath and let it out, disgust still clinging to my body. "So why did you call up a third wheel? You can't ditch dad on his own date. You live together!"

"Sweetie." My mom put the same hand on my arm. "We thought the third wheel meant sexual favours."

I slapped my hand over my mouth and turned away. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."

"Honey, not in front of the fish.  They already suffer enough," my dad spoke.

I covered my eyes and then peeked through the space between my fingers. "You were gonna do a threesome with a stranger. Oh my god..."

"If you're running a business, dear, you should be really specific on the services you provide," my mother answered and patted my hand.

"Especially in a newspaper ad. People actually read the fine print there," my dad remarked.

My mom looked at him and nodded in assurance. "He's right, dear. Maybe you should third wheel for people your age instead."

"That means not advertising in the newspaper," my dad joined.

I dragged my hand down my face. "Ugh. Are you guys seriously giving me Marketing 101 right after you told me you were..." I shivered and waved my hands again. "No. Oh my god, this day couldn't get any better could it?"

My parents shared a soft smile and looked up at me. "Just know we fully support all of your dreams." My mom poured herself a glass of wine.

"Yes, even if it means owning a third wheeling business." My dad poured himself one and brought his glass up. "To Leia's dreams."

"To Leia's dreams!" my mom cheered and they clinked glasses before taking a quick sip.

"The fact that's both your first drink would startle anyone." I sighed, raking my hand through my hair. "I guess I'll go get my stuff. You guys get the car ready."

All I wanted now was my bed, three blankets and my cat.

I hurried over to my booth, chugged down the cold glass water, very close to pouring it over my head to wash off the disgust.  

I hauled my bag over my shoulder, headed back to my parent's table, and started walking towards the door. "I call dibs on the aux cord. I could really use some happy tunes right now—" I twisted around and found my parents still sitting down. "Uh, you know the car can't drive itself right?"

My parents exchanged looks again.  It was my mom who spoke first again. "Actually, honey. I think your dad and I are gonna stay."

"I still need to pay Miss Vincent a visit," my dad said, tilting the rim of the glass towards me and winked.

"JesusChristNo."

"You're free to stay for dinner!" my mom called after me.

"I'll pass!" I said with my back to them, already walking out the door.

"Do we get our money back?" my mom added.

"No!"

Stepping into the cool night, a gust of wind sneaked up my dress.  The line of people waiting inside widened their eyes at the fantastic view of my underpants.

"Fuckfuckfuck," I repeated, keeping my eyes to the ground as I rushed past them while battling to keep my dress down.

Even my parents had a bigger social life than me.

Hell, my whole family had more of a social life than me.

"The whole world has a social life except you, Leia," I told myself and kicked a rock on the sidewalk, scuffing the front of my shoe.

The shitty part of it all was that I only got paid once because I didn't bother to ask Harold for the money.

I took the transit bus home, my bike still left in the back of the van, and I didn't arrive at my house until another dreadful twenty minutes later.

That night didn't turn out for the worse once my cat, Blaster, met me by the front door of my house. "At least I have you," I said and crouched down with open arms.

Blaster meowed and ran past me for his food bowl.

I brought my hand to my knees and watched him enjoy the company of his nibblets instead of me. "Figures." I rose up and shuffled upstairs, glad that my own bed wouldn't run away from me or ditch me for cat food.

"Ah, my bed. Forever loyal." I tripped over a moving box before stumbling into my new bedroom. Not bothering to start a search party for the light switch, I dropped my satchel to the ground and threw myself on top of my bed.

Something moved under my stomach and I screamed.

"Hey!" a voice snapped, and I threw myself onto the floor, scrambling away from the creature under my sheets.

I snatched the empty cardboard box and hurled it at the moving figure.

They swatted it away, and something fell off my bedside table before a hand pulled on the lamp string. Light splashed across their face, and I pulled my arm back, the sudden brightness catching me off guard.

"Reid?!" I exclaimed.

"Leia?!" he screeched and grabbed the pillow to cover his bare chest.

"Aren't you in college?! Do my parents know you're here?! Why am I not dead? These heart attacks should've killed me by now." I stumbled backwards and fell into an empty moving box. "Gagh!"  My legs flew up, my underwear giving a show to another unfortunate pair of eyes.

He scrambled out of my bed, grabbing one of my over-sized shirts that I'm sure he rummaged through boxes for, and tugged it over. "It's a long story. The bus just dropped me off an hour ago and I needed a place to crash."

"The couch wasn't good enough?" I sputtered, heat rising to my cheeks in embarrassment.  

He reached his hand out to help me, and I took it, nearly flying up as he helped me onto my feet. "The mattresses at my dorm are rocks. I haven't slept in a real bed in months, okay?"

"Why don't you take Luke's?" I grumbled, patting down my dress. "He probably won't be home for a while..." I added, and toe punted a box aside.

Reid snatched his duffel bag off my desk, and grabbed his jeans off the floor. "Right. I forgot about that guy."

I snorted, kicked aside another box. "How could you forget about the most  unlikable member of the Sky family? Oh right—you were never officially part of the family, were you? I should call you my almost-stepbrother."

He clutched his chest. "The one that got away." He opened my jewellery box, and popped a chocolate he knew I kept in my bracelet drawer.

"Your dad made my mom's 'almost-wedding' a historical moment," I reminded him. A flash of a strawberry blonde runaway bride was still pretty clear in my head. "Our parents were so close to getting married." I snatched another chocolate and threw the wrapper at him. "But aren't we glad they didn't?"

"Your parents stayed together and my dad finally found someone his age." He nabbed another chocolate and threw it at my nose. "Happily ever after. Plus, I don't think I could live under the same roof as the Sky twins. I heard you guys are replicas from The Shining."

"Shut up. What brings you to our glorious city anyway?"

"That's a story for tomorrow morning. But I can already tell by the look on your face Sunday morning will be a treat."

I rolled my eyes and flopped on my bed. "Oh, tomorrow will be a treat alright. My parents are going to want to talk about today's dinner..."

"Night, Princess," he called, clearly uninterested as he already disappeared down the hall.

"Typical," I said to no one and buried myself under the three blankets.  The energy to change into pyjamas and brush my teeth was nonexistent. 

I relaxed at the soft purr of Blaster strutting into my room. "Come here, buddy." The warm ball of fuzz hopped onto my legs, walking in a circle before settling down on my stomach. 

I stroked his head and stared at the ceiling, one hand behind my head.

"Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret," I whispered.

Silence came on the other end and I knew I couldn't trick whatever divine force that I wasn't actually Margaret.

I mean, whatever was up there clearly didn't have a thing for me. Maybe it was the bangs or my complete lack of allure, whatever it was, it seemed only bad things and awkward moments had the hots for moi.

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Author Note: 

Enjoying this story as much as I am? 

I'm excited for you to meet Reid more!! :)  He's a special snowflake.

What do you think of the story so far?  Her parents are just great, aren't they?

<3 Thanks for reading!!  Please vote if you wish. :)

xx 3.14