The Big Five

3. Hating Pickles and Hiding Nicole

"Happy Halloween!" I said jumping on top of Joey.

It was only the beginning of October, but I just couldn't wait till Halloween. That and I missed going trick-or--treating with Joey so much that I had to come over. If he asked, I could use his birthday plan as an excuse.

"Aaah! Nicole! Get off!" Joey stumbled off of his bed. "What the....what are you doing here? And Halloween isn't until the end of October. It's only the first today!"

"I know, Joe, but I'm in the Halloween spirit!"

I was currently at Joey's house. Maggie was busy studying for a big History test she missed and Emma had a date. Yeah, she had a boyfriend, but she still fantasized about the Big Five. That's what those boys did: made all the girls--taken or not--want them. They were usually the reason girls broke up with their boyfriends.

It felt like the good old days. Joey was still sleeping, so I decided to wake him up. He yawned. His hair was a mess.

"I thought we should hang out today," I told him. "You know, maybe we should like go fishing or something. Talk about your birthday plans and all."

"And if someone sees us?" Joey crossed his arms.

"We'll be careful," I promised.

"Hmm, let me think...." Joey tilted his head to one side. He then looked at me and said flatly, "No."

He got back on his bed and covered himself with his blanket.

"Come on, Joe," I whined. "It'll be like when we were younger!"

"Go away, Nick," Joey's muffled voice replied. "I need my beauty sleep."

"You're such a killjoy," I grumbled. "Fine, I'm leaving."

I stomped out of the room, but I wasn't going to give up that easily. I went down to the kitchen and found a spray bottle. I filled it with water and snuck back up.

Joey was snoring quietly. I always envied his ability to sleep within the span of a few minutes. I threw the blanket off of him.

"Joey," I said in a sing-song voice. "Time to get up."

He muttered something under his breath. I put the spray bottle right in front of him.

"Five," I warned him.

"Four, three, two, one," I counted down quickly and sprayed water on his face.

He gasped and jerked up. I continued to spray until his hair was soaked. He glared at me, while I giggled hysterically. "I warned you," I said through fits of laughter.

He let out a huff. I sobered and looked at him. He looked angry.

"Joey?" I waved my hand in front of him. "Joey? You mad?"

He didn't reply. "Aww, come on, Joe. You can't get mad over something like that!"

I sighed. "I'm sorry, alright?" I sat on the bed. "Joe?"

It was then that he grabbed my wrist and pulled away the spray bottle. He sprayed water on me until the bottle was empty. My scarf and my hair got soaked.

"Joey!" I gasped. "You sly dog!" I attacked him, resulting in us having a wrestling match on the floor. It was only a joke, though, so we were laughing the whole time.

I was panting when we stopped. Joey was lying down next to me.

"That was fun," I said.

"Yeah," Joey sat up. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought we were supposed to keep a low profile."