A Series Of Firsts

Nineteen★ Dance off and love seat.

          "Who keeps texting you?" Dan asked Annie as he continued braiding another line of her hair.

          Annie chuckled as she picked up her phone to see the latest meme Javy had sent off to the group. "It's a group chat." She'd woken up that morning to see that Jack had added her to a group of some sort. It turned out it was for him and his friends, including Lee whom she'd never met. The time he added her to the group was a bit questionable but she brushed it off; just the way she brushed off the fact that he called her last night by past eleven but didn't answer when she rang him back. Five times.

          "What group?"

          "A group chat with friends."

          "Friends? You have those?"

          Annie pursed her lips at her brother's Jan and he burst out laughing. "For your information, I do have friends." She smiled a little saying that. She'd never had friends—June didn't count obviously—because she'd never felt like she need any when she had the best company in the form of her three older brothers. She still didn't need friends though. She wanted them. She wanted people other than her family in her life.

          "I'm presuming Jack introduced you to his friends?" She nodded even if the tug at her hair hurt a little. "You guys are really together?" She nodded again, a little hesitant this time. "Since when?"

          "Yesterday."

         "You do realize you saw him for the first time the Sunday before last, right?"

          Annie didn't take the bait. "Things do change fast, don't they?"

          "His smart mouth has been rubbing off on you." Annie grinned at Dan's words, accepting it as a compliment, ignoring the fact that she still hadn't heard from Jack since after the dinner. Sure, he might have called her by mistake but what stopped him from returning her calls when he was clearly awake, adding her to a group chat at 1:57 am? "He's a good kid."

          She scoffed she heard Dan chuckle because he was also a kid. "Why weren't you find of him then?"

          "I'm your brother. I'm meant to dislike whoever likes you." He pointed out and she shrugged, seeing little to no sense in what he said. "You're already trouble yourself and now, you're joining his group of friends. I wonder if our school would be able to handle y'all in your senior year."

          "I don't make trouble."

          Dan patted Annie's shoulder. "Trust me, kiddo, you soon will. By the way, I'm happy for you. Not for getting a boyfriend, Ew." She chuckled at that. "For having friends and well… the other boy, like I said he's good. I know you're a lot reserved outside of this house, so it's a huge thing for you."

          Annie did what any other person whose brother was having a heart-to-heart would do. She laughed. She laughed and laughed and clutched her belly because it was aching from too much laughter. What made it funnier was the fact that Dan probably expected her to reply with a heartfelt speech of some sort too.

          Dan pushed her head forward before grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. "Go find someone else to make your cornrows.'

          He looked so grumpy and embarrassed that she kept on laughing. That was until she heard the doorbell though. She tried to keep a straight face as she went to check who it was but absolutely failed when she opened the door to reveal a slightly nervous Jack.

          "What's so funny?"

          Annie looked herself over. Her hair was halfway through, her T-shirt—well, her brother's—was faded and her jean shorts were overwashed. She looked funny.