Fraternizing with the Enemy

1 // Sir Step Away From The Vehicle and Stop Flexing

     "Hey, what the fuck?" I snapped, glaring daggers at the boy who was nonchalantly wiping down the hood of his candy apple red car.

     All the doors were flung open, releasing a torrent of sound some might call music, but I would call the soundtrack to his eventual murder.

     He paused, looking up and greeting me with that signature Powers grin. All mischief and teeth, spread way too wide. He waved, standing ever so casually in front of his stupid car he always had to stupid clean so stupid early while listening to his stupid music.

     "Good morning to you too, sunshine!" he called back.

     I flipped him off.

     "It's seven in the morning, have some goddamn respect and turn that awful racket down!" I barked, hoping that I could access some long lost telekinetic powers and make Reese's head explode.

     I narrowed my eyes.

    Not today, at least. But there was always tomorrow.

     "Hey, calm down, Stella," he said, but the smirk curved on his face only served to infuriate me more. "We don't want you to break a hip or anything, grandma."

     "Oh, how original, I'm Reese Powers, and I'm so funny!" I sneered, dripping with sarcasm as I threw my arms around melodramatically, because it was the morning, and logical thought process was a job for afternoon Stella.

     His grin seemed to inexplicably widen.

     Reese only waved mockingly in response. I could feel my blood vessels on the verge of breaking, so I slammed my window shut, if only because I knew the rage bubbling inside could not be good for my health. And I was half-considering flinging myself towards my death in the only hope that I could fall on him and take Reese down with me.

     Despite everything, though, the music was still there. The bass was punctuated in the air, and I couldn't bring myself to fight it. Instead, I heaved a frustrated groan and stalked out my bedroom door.

     Not today, and maybe not even tomorrow, but one day- oh, one day, Reese Powers was going to pay.

     How I ended up even living next to the most insufferable person to ever curse the earth, I did not know. Maybe I was a mass murderer in a past life and this was my cruel and eternal punishment to endure.

     Or, well, until I moved out next year for college, but really, that seemed like an eternity away.

     I managed to drag my body downstairs into the kitchen, seduced by the smell of bacon, and came to be not disappointed. My older brother stood in front of the stove, bobbing his head to the music only he heard in his head, wearing boxers and a tank top. His dark brown hair was merely a shorter version of the chaos that made up my own.

     He was humming an all too-familiar tone,  also victim to Reese's disrespectful shenanigans, and I groaned again. Because that was all my life was made up of. Groaning and bacon.

     "Oh god, stop it," I complained, slapping a hand across my forehead as I sat down at the marble kitchen nook. "I'm getting war flashbacks. If you keep going, I swear to all that is good in the world, you will die."

     He arched an eyebrow at me. "What? It's catchy. And glad to see that mom's zen training is really working out for you. I see you're definitely using the ten second rule by the way you were screaming like a lunatic to the entire neighbourhood."

     "Sounds like you're no longer a twenty year old leaching off your parents and playing video games in the basement all day! Oh wait," I paused, waiting for a response, but Chris only glared. I grinned, triumphantly. "Sucker."