Teenage Dirtbag / 5SOS

Chapter 7

Hey guys... so i'm back. Sorry if this is awful... it's late and unedited. xoxo.

As soon as the door opens, I hear the scraping of chair legs against the floor, followed by footsteps.

“Noelle!”

Immediately I’m wrapped up in my brother’s arms, and I can’t help but smile. His familiar scent engulfs me, and I sigh in content.

“Hi, Griff,” I say, using my nickname for him.

“How’ve you been? How are things?” he asks, pulling away and looking at my face.

“I’m… good. Great,” I say, feeling slightly flustered. Lately ‘things’ have consisted of Luke and Michael, and my feelings that are consuming me like flames, and I’d rather not discuss those with my older brother. “How’s Becca?”

Becca is Griffin’s perfect girlfriend. They dated all throughout their high school years, her as captain of the cheerleading squad and him as the quarterback of the football team.

“She’s great, Noe,” replies Griffin. “Hey, where’s Luke?”

I pinch my lips together. Of course he wouldn’t forget to ask about Luke. Of course he would think that Luke would be coming in right behind me. Of course he would never suspect that Luke and I were… complicated… at the moment.

“Oh, um, at his house, I guess,” I say, trying to act cool.

“What? Go get him!” says Griffin. “I want to see your boyfriend!”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Griffin,” I snap.

“Oh, right,” says Griffin sarcastically. “That’s that other kid… Michael. I want to see him, too.”

I roll my eyes. So far we had talked about the exact things I wanted to avoid talking about.

“Noelle!” my mom calls from the kitchen. Griffin and I walk to the kitchen, where my mother is reading over some magazine as she leans against the counter. “How about inviting Michael over for dinner?” she asks, glancing up at me. “I’m making spaghetti!”

I groan, and Griffin smirks maniacally at me.

“No, mom, that’s a terrible idea,” I say, beginning to compile a list of reasons why this get together should not occur.

“Oh come on, sweetie! I’ve only met him a few times and your brother has never properly met him! I want to know your boyfriend,” she insists. I groan again, but take out my phone and text Michael.

It’s a half invitational, half warning message. Sure he’d get free food, but he’d also have to deal with the company of my family. Unfortunately, Mike laughs off my warning and accepts the invitation, so I am doomed to family dinner plus my boyfriend.

“I’m going outside, there’s Luke,” says my brother, glancing out the window over my shoulder.

“No,” I say, grabbing his arm. “Talk to me inside.”

“Talk outside,” Griffin says, shrugging me off. This was not about to happen. My brother was not about to awkwardly confront Luke. He’s teased Luke ever since we became friends, and now was not the time.

The front door opens and I’m too late.

“Lukey!”

I groan, knowing that there was no stopping Griffin now. I trudge up to my room, and before I know it, it’s six o’clock and the doorbell is ringing. I race down the stairs,  luckily reaching the door before one of my family members.