19 ☾s.m

0.2

I drove quickly, but safely, over to her friends house, where I saw Aaliyah sitting on the front porch, her chin resting in the palms of her hands, as her arms were being held up by her knees.

She noticed me in my Jeep, and quickly ran through the yard, opening the passenger's side door and taking a seat.

The light that shined bright when she opened the door showed her glossy eyes, "What happened?" I asked, pulling out from the large neighborhood, "I thought you were going to have fun tonight?"

She shook her head, "No, Hannah invited Tommy and his friends, and they ruined everything."

"Tommy?" I asked, attempting to play it cool (and to not reveal that I know about her crush), "Don't tell anyone, but I liked him. Not anymore though, and never again. That was a mistake."

The drive from Hannah's house to ours was short, considering we lived about five minutes away. Aaliyah promised she would continue her story when we got inside, and that I was going to tell mum it was just a rough night.

We both got out, and I locked the car behind me, shoving the keys in the pocket of my maroon hoodie. The front door was obviously unlocked, so Aaliyah had walked right in and up to her room. I noticed my parents concern as they were both standing by the stairs, asking each other who would go up.

"Do you know what that was all about?" Mum asked, gesturing to Aaliyah's unnatural behavior, "Is she upset?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but-"

"I should go talk to her," She cut me off, "She needs a girl to-"

"I got it," I said, putting my foot on the first stair, "Let me handle it?"

They looked at each other and nodded, finally accepting the fact I was here and (un)prepared to be a good older brother. They walked back into the kitchen, as I continued up the stairs. I passed Aaliyah's room, taking notice to her outfit lying on the ground, and her pajama drawer was somewhat open still, and realized she was sitting in my room.

"Hey, are you ready to tell me what happened?" I asked, taking a seat beside her on my bed, "I'm all ears."

She nodded, "So, I went to Hannah's house for this, and I quote, 'get together.' It turned out to not be a get together, but more of a party. Her parents were home, but in the basement, they didn't seem to care. A get together that I thought was going to be me and a few friends turned out to be dozens of people, and Tommy started to show up."

I sat there, listening to contently as she continued, but as she continued on, she teared up a little, "I told Hannah I liked Tommy, since that's like girl code. But she promised she wouldn't tell anyone, and I didn't think she did. Up until this party when the word was spread before I even got there. When I walked in, all eyes were on me -- and NOT in the good way. They all knew, and Hannah spread it before I got there."

My jaw dropped, but I closed it quickly, "Then, everyone went on, minding their own business, until BAM. Tommy and his friends came in, one by one. They must've carpooled, all the cool kids do that now." She explained, "But yeah, I guess someone told Tommy about me, and he approached me."

I sighed, knowing this story was about to go downhill; fast, "He told me he didn't like me, and that it would be better if he dropped all connections with me. He said that in front of EVERYONE, Shawn. Everyone."

By now, she had her head in my lap, and she was crying. I've never seen her this upset, but then I remembered back in grade 10 when my best friend, Audrey Wynters, went through her first heartbreak.

All of the guys called her Storm, since that was her middle name. She picked it actually, since she loved snow storms. No one understood why, until her love for snowboarding came into play, but that's a whole different story.

Audrey went through heartbreak too, over some popular preppy boy. He broke her heart effortlessly, as he never even fell in love with her. It was all just a dare.

Audrey had done this exact same thing, except in her room. She was devastated to know everything was just a joke, and at the time, it was. She had fallen in love with him the moment she saw him, and that's where it started, but as I said, it's a whole different story.

I let Aaliyah sit in my lap, her soft cries filling the silence, as I rubbed her back. My door was open, and I saw my parents walk by, both of them with kind-hearted, yet sad smiles.

They walked away, as Aaliyah began to sit up, "Why am I so weak, Shawn? I'm eleven, I shouldn't be dealing with love."

I sighed, "Love is love, no matter how old or how young. But just know, if a boy breaks your heart, it's okay to cry. It doesn't make you weak."

She nodded, "Guys will be guys, and Aaliyah, just know any boy will be lucky to have you. Just wait, because I'm sure he'll come sooner, rather than later." I explained, "Now, mum made some chocolate chip cookies. Shall we go raid the fridge for them and some milk and watch Modern Family in the family room?"

"We shall." She laughed, sitting herself up. I stood up from the bed, extending my hand for her, as she gladly took it, and stood up.

We ventured downstairs, turning the hallway light on, and walking down the stairs. The fridge was calling out our names, and we were practically the definition of starving.

And what's better than homemade chocolate chip cookies?

So, as we had everything we needed for the end of a perfect night, I looked up the stairs, seeing Mum standing their with her arms crossed and a smile plastered onto her face, and I walked over to Aaliyah who was seated on the couch.

"You know, I'm going to have to remember that. If a boy breaks my heart, it's okay to cry." Aaliyah said, taking a bite out of her cookie, "Thank you for being the best older brother."

I leaned into her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder, "Only the best for my baby sister."

And so, for the rest of the night we spent together, devouring cookies and laughing at Modern Family.

☾ . ☽

AW I LOVE THIS BOOK. IT'S SO CUTE AND AW SHAWN IS SUCH A GOOD OLDER BROTHER IT KILLS ME.

AND OOH A NEW CHARACTER WAS INTRODUCED((:

SHAWN IS SO SWEET I LIVE FOR THESE MOMENTS.

SORRY I UNPUBLISHED THIS I GOT THE DATE WRONG OOPS.

THANKS FOR READING!

-ABB

(DONTWANTYOURLOVE)