Almost is Never Enough- IM5/Dalton Rapattoni Story (Wattys 2016)

Dishes and Kisses

    "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN HERE?"
   I woke up with a start. Cole was standing in my doorway, screaming his head off. Dalton was somehow still asleep, so I slowly got out of bed, walked into the hall, and closed my bedroom door behind me.
   "Cole, nothing happened," I said as calmly as possible.
   Cole scoffed. "Likely story. Why was he in your room?"
   "Look, Cole. Maddie may have been a witch to us, but Dalton loved her. Seeing her go killed him inside. It also made him realize how awful he had been to us. I watched a movie with him to calm him down, and we both fell asleep. That's. It."
   "I'm supposed to believe that garbage?" Cole yelled, making me shush him again. "Tell me the truth, Luna."
   I looked at my cousin, hurt by the implication of his words. "You don't think I'm telling you the truth? Don't you trust me, Cole?"
   "It's not you that I don't trust," Cole said, looking at my bedroom door, behind which Dalton was sleeping.
   "Cole, nothing happened," I repeated. "If it had... I would've told Cass first."
   Cole seemed to realize that I was joking, because a small smirk appeared in his face. "So Cass is your trusted advisor in that stuff, huh?"
   "That stuff?"
   "You know what I mean, Luna."
   I rolled my eyes. "You're more of a child than Dalton sometimes, Cole. If you don't mind, I'm going to go check on him."
   As I walked away, Cole grabbed my arm. "I'm sorry I blew up, okay? I just- I can't bear to think of you getting hurt. I don't want him to use you as a rebound."
   "He won't, Cole. Dalton's not like that." I walked into my room before Cole could say anything else.
   Dalton was still fast asleep, lightly snoring as he cuddled my teddy bear Draco. I guess he took it sometime last night. I sat on the bed and gently stroked Dalton's hair, humming Superman as he slept. As I got to the second verse, I felt Dalton start to stir. His eyes fluttered, then opened to look right at me.
   "Good morning, handsome," I whispered, still stroking his hair.
   Dalton smiled. "Good morning, princess," he whispered back.
   "Did you sleep well?"
   "Better than I've ever slept before."
   I smiled. "That's good."
   "It's because you were next to me."
   Again, I smiled, but looked away from Dalton so he wouldn't see me blush. "You really are quite the flirt, aren't you?" I laughed.
   "Only to you, Luna." Dalton sat up, taking my hand in his. "Why was Cole yelling?"
   "You heard that?"
   "I can hear things in my dreams."
   "Meaning?"
   "If someone tries to talk to me while I'm asleep, sometimes I hear them, and it incorporates into my dreams. I heard Cole yelling," Dalton explained. "What was that about?"
   I shook my head. "Just some trust issues. Don't worry, it's been resolved. Come on, I'll fix you breakfast." I pulled Dalton up and led him downstairs. Dana, Will, and Gabe had apparently spent the night (Cassidy always did). The three of them were playing Call of Duty with Cole while Alex and Cassidy watched their boyfriends.
   "Look who's up," Cassidy said, causing all of the guys to mutter hellos as they played their video game.
   "Hey, guys. Don't look so happy to see me," I muttered, pushing Dalton into the living room. "Go play with the guys. I'll make pancakes."
   "PANCAKES?" The guys all turned to look at me excitedly, their faces glowing at the mention of food. I smiled, walking into the kitchen and getting everything out. I made each of them three pancakes, remembering their pancake preferences: Cole liked chocolate chip, Will liked Nutella, Dana preferred strawberry, Dalton liked marshmallows, and Gabe and the girls liked plain pancakes. I made myself two blueberry pancakes and prepared to set the table. I tried to reach the plates, but they were a bit too high for my small height. As I jumped for the fifth time, I felt myself being lifted into the air. Grabbing the plates, I touched the ground and looked behind me to see Will.
"Thanks," I giggled, setting the pancakes onto plates.
Will smiled. "Anytime, shorty," he joked, taking a few of the plates from me.
   "Will, you don't have to-"
   "You're making us breakfast. The least I can do is help set the table."
   Will and I carted all of the pancakes into the dining room, where the boys and their girlfriends rushed to get a seat.
   "Lexi," I laughed as Gabe's girlfriend darted to the seat next to him, almost knocking Dana over in the process. "You're almost as bad as they are.
   "I'm hungry, shut up."
   Gabe laughed. "That's my girl."
   The boys (and Alex) scarfed down their pancakes in about two minutes, while Cassidy and I acted like actual ladies and took our time eating the pancakes I made.
   "You boys can do the dishes," I said as they all ran back into the living room, leaving their plates on the table.
   The boys groaned, each of them having a comment to make.
   "Do we have to?"
   "Why?"
   "No, Luna."
   "Don't make us."
   "You're not our mom."
   I smirked. "I'm as good as your mother, Junior," I said to Dana. "Aunt Terese left me in charge while she and Uncle Scott are in Bermuda. I'm in charge, and I say do the dishes." I gave them all a deep gaze that I'd seen Aunt Terese use on Cole and my uncle when she wanted them to do something for her. Luckily, I did it just as well, because the boys all started taking plates and forks and carrying them it into the kitchen.
   "I'm impressed," Cassidy said after a few minutes. "You can make men do what you want almost as well as Madison."
   I chuckled. "We should go check on them. It's been five minutes, and all I hear is water running and a lot of laughing."
   Cassidy and I walked into the kitchen and froze at what we saw: the boys had been spraying each other with the hose from the sink, and there were soap bubbles everywhere. The floor was soaked, just like the boys, and Dalton fell on the floor from slipping on the water.
   "Guys!" I screamed. "You're making a mess! My aunt is going to kill us! And Alex, you're encouraging this?"
   Alex looked down, ashamed. "Sorry, Luna."
   "Sorry, Luna," the boys muttered.
   "And the worst part?" I continued. "You didn't invite me to join in!" I grabbed the hose, turned on the water, and started spraying everyone. The girls shrieked and the guys laughed. Dalton and Will picked me up, allowing Cole to grab the hose back and spray me, soaking my hair and clothes with freezing cold water. I giggled and squealed at the same time, making a horrendous sound ring throughout the house. After doing this for a few minutes, Will grabbed me from Dalton, holding me bridal style and carrying me up the stairs, careful not to slip on water.
   "That. Was. Awesome!" I panted, out of breath from so much laughing.
   "It really was," Will laughed. "We'll clean it all up."
   "Thanks, Will," I said, hugging him as he still held me in his arms. "You really are the gentleman of the band."
   As we arrived at my room, Will carried me through the doorway, gently setting me down on my bed. "You can change out of those wet clothes. I'll go help the guys mop up the water."
   "You need dry clothes too," I realized.
   "I didn't bring any."
   I shook my head. "I'm sure Cole wouldn't mind you borrowing some of his clothes."
   "Luna, really, I don't-"
   I didn't hear the rest of Will's statement, for I had already gone into Cole's room and grabbed some sweats and a t-shirt. I walked back into my room, giving them to Will and closing the door. "I can change in my bathroom. You change in here so Cole isn't surprised by a shirtless guy in his room." I took a pair of leggings and a blue IM5 t-shirt into my bathroom before Will could protest.
   "Luna-"
   "I almost forgot." I came back out of the bathroom holding a beige towel, handing it to Will. "You can use this to dry off." I walked into my bathroom without a word.
   After I changed, I towel-dried my hair and put it into a loose ponytail. I opened the door to the bathroom and walked out.
   Looking back, I wish I had waited a minute before walking into my bedroom. Will was standing in the middle of my floor, his shirt off, exposing his rock-hard abs. He looked like Taylor Lautner, but hotter and more Asian. Will looked at me, and I looked down, trying not to look at his rocking six-pack.
   "Luna? Are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost."
   "Fine," I squeaked, instantly regretting it.
   "You've never seen a guy shirtless, have you?"
   "Does Twilight count?"
   "Nope."
   "Then nope," I said shyly, my eyes still glued to the floor."
   Will laughed. "I have a shirt on now." I looked up and saw that Will was wearing a Green Day shirt. I laughed at the memory.
   "What's so funny?" Will asked.
   "I got that shirt for Cole at a Green Day concert I went to in New York. I got it signed by Billy Joe Armstrong. When I gave it to Cole, he had a small heart attack."
   "I can take it off."
   Please. "No, it's okay," I said. "It looks good on you."
   It really did look good on him. The black of the shirt made his eyes all sparkly and beautiful. Will hadn't dried himself completely, so the shirt was slightly sticking to his abs, making them slightly visible.
   "Staring isn't polite, Luna," Will whispered, walking closer to me. I backed up out of shock, but when he came closer, I stayed where I was.
   "S-sorry," I muttered.
   Will chuckled lightly. "I don't mind. I like when you stare at me."
   Will lifted up my chin, making me look up at him. He towered over me, so he had to lean down slightly to make our foreheads touch.
   "I like you, Luna," he whispered.
   You can predict what happened next. Will leaned down more, making his lips collide with mine. I didn't know what was happening at first, but when I regained control of myself, I kissed him back. Will hands were on my hips, as if holding me in place. I put my hands on his face, not knowing what else to do with them.
   "Hey Luna, I was wondering- WILL!"
   Cole stood in the doorway, glaring at Will with intensity. I stepped in front of Will slightly, getting in between them just in case Cole decided to go after him.
   Everyone else came running up the stairs, watching the scene unfold. "What happened?" Alex asked.
   "Will kissed Luna," Cole said through gritted teeth.
   I made eye contact with Dalton, his eyes filled with hurt. If you were listening closely, you could hear his heart break.