Strings Attached

15

Suddenly, a voice called from the hallway. "Hey Paige! Drew wants to know if you're up for some video games before dinner."

A taller boy walked into the room. Ryan, Lana hadn't really met any of Paige's siblings despite their appearances at their games.

"No hello no how are you Paige?" The blonde shook her head in artificial disgust.

"Hi Paige how are you, wanna play video games before dinner?" Ryan responded a teasing smirk on his face.

"Only if it's Fortnite" Paige responded flicking him on the forehead.

By this point a girl around 15 came running down the stairs "PAIGE, oh my gosh I missed you" the girl exclaimed.

"Lauren, I think you grew" Paige responded before pulling her into a tight hug.

"Lauren, Drew, Ryan this is Lana, Lana these are my fantastic siblings" Paige said in a joking tone.

"It's nice to finally meet you guys" Lana said pleasantly.

"Do you girls want anything to drink?" Amy asked the pair before Drew stepped in.

"No, they're good. They have bigger things to worry about," Drew interrupted with a confident grin. "Like losing in Fortnite."

Lana blinked. "Wait, are you talking about us?"

Ryan stepped forward, arms crossed with mock seriousness. "We've got controllers ready. You're playing. Paige already knows she's going down, but we need to see what you're about."

"Come on," Drew urged, already halfway down the hall toward the living room. "We've got duos set up. You and Paige versus me and Ryan. First team to win a round gets the last slice of peppermint pie."

"You bribing her with dessert now?" Paige asked, laughing.

"He is bribing himself with dessert," Ryan shot back. "We need some stakes."

Lana took off her coat, "I barely just landed in Minnesota and now I'm fighting for pie?"

"You're part of the family now," Bob said, raising his coffee mug. "No turning back."

"Technically we haven't even started dinner," Amy added from the kitchen, "but sure, let's make it competitive before food hits the table."

"Mom, it's fine," Paige called back. "Lana has good reflexes under pressure. She'll survive."

Lauren, who'd sunk into the couch, finally chimed in without looking up. "If you start screaming at each other, I'm muting everyone."

"Appreciate the support, Laur," Ryan muttered.

Paige led Lana toward the living room setup—TV already on, game lobby open, Drew and Ryan syncing controllers like their lives depended on it.

"You ready for this?" Paige whispered.

Lana gave her a sideways look. "I've never even played on a console."

"What."

"I'm a laptop Fortnite girl," she said, deadpan. "But I learn fast."

Paige snorted. "Oh, great so we are screwed"

As soon as Lana picked up the controller, she stared at the buttons like they were written in another language.

"Okay, this is... different," she muttered, already clicking the wrong stick and accidentally spinning her character in circles.

"Yo, you good?" Drew asked from the other couch, trying not to laugh.