"So what do you want to do?" I asked little Sam as soon as Brandon left for his date.
"Can you draw with me?" He pointed at the papers and drawing supplies on the coffee table.
"Sure."
We sat down at the table and he went to look for his crayons which he lost somewhere after throwing them when I first arrived.
"I can't find the green one," he said.
Why is it always green? Why is the color following me?
I looked under the couch behind me and spotted the green crayon lying in the middle of the space the couch covered, not close to any edge.
I had to use my leg to push the crayon to the other side. Sam grabbed it and came back to the table and we started drawing.
After a minute, I asked, "What are you drawing?"
"You." He glanced at me every few seconds then continued drawing.
I grabbed one of the crayons and started drawing, anything to keep me busy. I ended up drawing some grass for some reason. And as expected, it was green.
"Look! I'm done," Sam exclaimed after what seemed like another minute and slid his piece of paper over mine to see.
"That is...a masterpiece."
Yes, me looking like a geometry equation with a circle head, two black dots as eyes, h/c hair the same length as mine, and a triangle as the clothes was pretty nice.
"What's a masterpiece?" he asked.
"It means it's so good."
"Thank you." He took his art piece back and put it aside before standing up. "I want food."
"And?"
"Make me some food."
I got up and said, "All right, but you have to help me."
"Okay."
I stood in the kitchen making Sam scrambled eggs as he wanted when I glanced at him and saw him trying to reach the ice cream in the freezer.
I went and closed the freezer's door. "No ice cream."
He asked with a frown, "Why?"
"I don't know if your parents allow it."
"They won't mind, I promise."
"No."
"Please, just one."
I finished making the eggs and turned off the stove. "Nope."
"Please~"
I put the eggs on the plate he put on the table and repeated, "No."
He sat on his chair and crossed his arms. "I don't like you."
"Good."
I took out my phone after I got a notification. F. Wreigh had posted chapter seventy-seven.
Sam was not eating, so I said, "I'll give you one ice cream if you don't cause any trouble until your parents arrive."
"My mom and dad return at six, Amy is coming at three."
"How about I give you one if you act good until your sister comes?" Then you'll be her problem when I run out of here.
He looked up at me. "Fine." He started eating.
I sat on the chair next to him and started reading the new chapter.
~~~
At the end of the date, Brandon paid the bill and walked out of the restaurant with Jane.
She told him as they stood outside the door at three o'clock, "I had so much fun getting to know you."
"Same. Will I see you again soon?"
She walked closer to him. She was wearing her black jacket over her dress and carrying her bag. "How about we go to my tattoo parlor? I'd like to give you a tattoo, if you want."
Brandon couldn't say no.
~~~
At the tattoo parlor, Jane greeted her employees as she walked in with Brandon.
Her friend asked her when she sat by her table, "Who's this, Jane?"
Brandon sat on the chair in front of the table when Jane answered, "I told you I was going on a blind date."
"Oh, I forgot. Did you two enjoy your date?" she asked as she put her long blonde hair into a high ponytail and started tattooing a customer.
Jane looked at Brandon as he answered, "I surely did." He asked Jane, "And you?"
"I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't."
Jane checked her supplies then asked him, "Where do you want the tattoo? And what would it be?"
He thought then decided to have one on his right arm below his elbow. He told her to tattoo whatever she wanted. And she did not hesitate before starting while having a sinister smirk on her face.
~~~
It was three in the afternoon when Sam and I, while sitting on the couch in the living room and watching TV, heard someone cursing before the door opened and the yeeted fangirl walked in.
"Amy!" Sam ran to her and hugged her.
Hold up- Her? Seriously? It really is a small world then if I keep bumping into the same people.
"Sam, as much as I would like a hug right now, I want to eat some ice cream before I kill someone."
She must have read the chapter. Her phone was in her hand and she was wearing her earphones. She was dressed in a red and black tracksuit and was carrying no bag with her.
"I want ice cream too," Sam said.
"Okay, I'll get you one-" She saw me. "What are you doing here?"
I sat up. "Brandon asked me to babysit Sam because he had a date."
"You know our cousin?"
"We're friends."
Amy did not question me any further and went to get some ice cream from the kitchen and returned. She gave one to Sam, kept one to herself, and handed one to me.
"Thanks."
We all sat on the couch and stared at the TV. Amy sat next to me with Sam on her other side.
She didn't seem to mind my presence, which was kind of a relief considering she didn't fully forgive me for yeeting her.
She asked, "Have you read the fanfic?"
"I did."
"Did you cry?"
"Yup."
"Are you going to help me track and murder the author for the latest chapter?"
"For sure."
"Awesome."
We watched TV for a while, then out of nowhere, Amy turned to me and asked, "Do you want to see my book collection?"
"Absolutely."
She said to her brother, "Sam, come with us."
He replied, "Why?"
"Because every time I leave you alone, you bring me new problems." She added, "I'll let you read my comics if you come with us."
He got up and followed us upstairs immediately.
Amy opened her bedroom door and we entered. Her entire room was red, black, and white, she had some golden stuff too. The door we came in from was in the corner. Her bed was in the corner across the room, opposite to the door. On the wall in front of her bed were her desk and ceiling-high bookshelves full of books. The rest of the furniture was beautifully divided in the remaining space of the room.
Amy closed the door and took out a comic book from a shelf and gave it to Sam who took it and ran to sit on her bed to read.
"You have a beautiful collection," I said, reading the titles.
She said, her expression seeming quite...sad, "My aunt loved to read before she passed away. I used to borrow books from her until she allowed me to keep some of them. She loved classics."
I considered asking, then did it, "Your aunt...is she Brandon's mother?"
"Yes, you heard about her condition?"
"No, he didn't tell me anything except that she and his father passed away three months ago. What happened to them?"
Amy grabbed a book and said, "I don't want to talk about it. She and I were close, I still can't believe that she's gone." She wiped that frown away in a heartbeat and said, "Pick whatever book you'd like to read, I'll finish Pride and Prejudice now."
Amy sat on her spinning chair and opened the book.
My eyes scanned the books before choosing one I already read. I wasn't in the mood to consume new information. I sat next to Sam on Amy's bed and re-read my favorite parts of the book for the next hour.
Lloyd called me before I could close the book.