© Sweetslover8 2014. It is illegal to copy and/or steal.
~Uploaded October 27th, 2014
"I don't know about this..."
"Oh come on. You TPed the Logans' house without blinking an eye but you're afraid of a little Silly String?"
"It's one thing to prank people who deserve it", I pointed out. "It's another to disturb a friend's sleep when you know he's a cranky knucklehead when he doesn't get his eight hours. Plus, why Silly String?"
"You don't mess with tradition" was the only answer I got, along with four pair of eyes urging me to crumble and submit to their will. Luckily, I wasn't fighting it very hard.
"Alright, fine. But I'm blaming all of you if I get skinned alive." Cautiously, I turned the knob on the bedroom door and gently pushed it open. The room was dark, the curtains pulled tightly closed with little rays of light around the edges of the fabric.
A deep snoring sound could be heard from the doorway as we made our way to the bed. Aw, I thought as I looked down at our sleeping victim. He's kinda cute when he's asleep. Then we unleashed the Silly String.
"Ah!" Dylan shot upright in his bed like a possessed corpse, arms reaching blindly for one of us pranksters. Fortunately for him, he got one.
Unfortunately, that was me.
I felt myself being pulled backwards against Dylan's chest as I tried to turn around and escape. It didn't work out like that. It wasn't so bad at first, except being a little bit embarrassing, but then the tickling began and I was a goner.
A squeal echoed through the air as fingers attacked my sides. Did I just make that sound?
"Whoaaaa. Dani, that was you?"
"I think it was. Do you see anyone else here being tickled to death?", I managed to get out even as I tried to contain my laughter. "O-okay, seriously let me go. That tickles!"
"The great Dani Wilde is ticklish", Dylan mused from behind me. "Who knew?" My legs kicked out on their own accord and my body went numb with laughter even as my cheeks burned at the close proximity. I was practically on the guy's lap!
"Okay, I'm done." Dylan let me go and I stumbled while getting up. And he had the nerve of smiling and looking good with his bedhead on top of it. "I won't let you suffer for longer than necessary."
"How valiant of you." I calmed down and straightened out my sweater. "All that just to say happy birthday, Blondie. Now get some proper clothes on. Breakfast is ready downstairs."
I quickly left the room after saying that and rested my head against the wall in the hallway while cheering went on in the bedroom. What was I doing here so early? It's barely eight o'clock and I could still be sleeping, but instead I'm here spraying Dylan with Silly String on the morning of his eighteenth birthday.
Moving down the stairs quickly to the kitchen, I tried to hide my exhaustion and put on a smile for Mr. and Mrs. McCade who were preparing breakfast. Ayden and Hobo were sticking their noses in the air, catching a whiff of the meal. "They'll be down in a minute", I said as I carried plates to the table.
"Why aren't you upstairs with them, Dani?", Mrs. McCade asked me as she finished putting pancakes on a plate.
How could I explain it? I set the plates down. "I'm still new here, and even though I've become close with those five, I didn't want to make it seem like I was intruding on such an important day. They've known each other for a longer period of time, and it doesn't feel right."
"Have I ever told you that your logic is really messed up?" I gasped silently and braced myself as I turned around to face the speaker.
"I seem to recall you mentioning it a few times." I felt sheepish looking at all of them now.
"Weren't you the one who said we were like family to you?" Dylan, fully clothed in jeans and a comfortable looking sweater, stepped closer to me. His eyes alone willed me to listen to what he had to say. Damn that hypnotic hazel.
"Family celebrates everything together. Halloween, Christmas, New Year's, and especially birthdays. It's not family if they don't celebrate with you, or wish you happy birthday on the phone or through email, or send you a package in the mail. They are there for you through thick and thin, their love woven so tightly around you that you feel like you're suffocating. But that's what family is. That's who we are, Dani. And don't you ever dare forget that."
Dylan had me pulled into a hug before I could blink, as if to reaffirm what he had said, and I was glad because it gave me an excuse to hide my face in his shirt to disguise the tears that had sprung up at his words. He was always right when it came to this stuff. And I had to stop acting like I wasn't a part of this group, this family of friends. But how would I change that?
I was almost disappointed when Dylan ended the hug; it had been so comforting. I gave a genuine smile. "Thanks Dylan. I think I needed to hear that. But it's your birthday today, so we can worry about my issues later." I think he looked relieved when he saw my conviction, and we all sat down for breakfast.
Dylan got three candles on top of his stack of pancakes, though last I checked, he wasn't a three year old, at least not physically. "Ha ha", he said when I told him that. "The candles represent a ten, an eight, and one for good luck. Another tradition." One of not putting on the full amount of candles? He closed his eyes and made a wish, and I wondered what he wished for.
He already has everything, I thought as I started digging into my pancakes. A great family, amazing friends, a sturdy home life. I couldn't think of anything else he could possibly need or want, or make his life better than it already is because that just wasn't possible. What do you wish for when you have everything?
The doorbell ringing had me jumping in my seat and I wondered who else would be crazy enough to show up this early in the morning. Immediately, I got up to answer it and Andie followed. "I wonder who it is. Andie, do you know?" She didn't say a word, only smiled, and I took that as a yes. I unlocked the door and opened it cautiously.
I'll be honest. I have a bruise on my chin from when my jaw dropped to the floor. That line was so unoriginal, but it was one of the only accurate ways to describe the situation. That being three guys standing at the door who looked like freaking godsent Adonises. I couldn't do anything but stare for a couple of seconds while Andie went straight up to them and gave them each a hug.
"You need something to mop up the drool, Dani?", Andie smirked. I tightened my jaw and raised my chin defiantly.
"I don't know what you're talking ab-"
"Ah, so you're the famous Dani." I looked at the guy who had spoken. He was lean and not overly muscular, with chestnut brown hair and crystal blue eyes with little crinkles around them indicating he laughed a lot. Oh, hot damn. He moved past the other two guys, obviously his brothers, to take my hand and, to my complete surprise, bring it to his lips to kiss lightly.
My eyebrows shot up at the action, though Andie and the two other mystery dudes didn't seem to be overly concerned with it. No sooner than he had pulled his lips away from my hand was I tugged backwards for the second time that morning and landed against a chest that was starting to seem very familiar.
"Don't even think about going all Casanova on her, Seth. She's too smart for that." Ah, Dylan, the ever overprotective white knight.
Seth quirked his lips up in a lazy grin. "Now is that any way to greet your favorite cousin?"
Dylan shot him a glare. "I never said you were my favorite. I said you were the one that gave me the least headaches." His face cracked into a grin, and he met Seth halfway in a hug. "But it is good to see you." He pulled back and gestured to the three guys. "Dani, these are my cousins. You've just met Seth." Seth grinned at me and shot me a quick wink that I couldn't help but smile at. "Then there's his older brothers, Liam and Zeke."
Liam was the oldest and tallest of the trio, and seemed way too serious for a guy who probably wasn't even thirty yet. He was built like a construction worker, with the strong forearms and legs. Despite all that, he still gave me a friendly smile when Dylan introduced him.
Zeke seemed more outgoing than his oldest brother, and smiled confidently as he extended his hand to shake. His eyes were a darker shade of blue than his brothers' and he exuberated the kind of natural confidence any born businessman would.
Liam, Zeke, and Seth... "Hey Andie, are these the three cousins you told me about way back when? The day I went on that double date with Nora, Mikaël and Nolan?"
Andie frowned as she tried to remember, then she slowly nodded. "Yep, that's them. I can't believe you remembered that. It's been over a month and that was just a passing subject of conversation."
"Which, in other words, means you were trying to convince Dani to go on a blind date with any one of them, right?" Dylan crossed his arms and gave his sister a look, which she returned with one of complete innocence.
"Why brother dearest, what ever do you mean?", she said in a sugar sweet voice.
"Now I know that's BS. You never call me "brother dearest". And I'm glad you don't. That's worse than calling me, I don't know..." He waved his hand. "Someone give me a nickname."
"Idiot, Superman, maniacal, Robin Hood, Blondie", I said off the top of my head.
"She's called you all that?", Liam asked amusedly. His voice rumbled like a thunderstorm.
"That and much, much, much more. And for the record, "idiot" and "maniacal" are hardly nicknames, the Superman thing was cause I was half-wasted, and Robin Hood was my Halloween costume."
"What about the Blondie thing?"
Dylan lifted his shoulders. "You call me Blondie more than you call me by my actual name, so I guess it's a nickname."
"Oh come on." I poked at his side. "Don't pretend you don't like it. It's a term of affection, so you should be lucky I gave you a nickname at all."
"If I recall properly, the only reason you called me that is because you didn't know my name and because you were kind of pissed at me."
"You almost ran me over with your truck!", I exclaimed, waving my hands in the air like a madwoman.
"I said I was sorry!", Dylan said back. "More times than I can count."
"He probably hasn't apologized enough times then", Zeke smirked. "This'll be news for the rest of the family: Little Dylan meets his girlfriend by almost running her over with his sardine can on wheels."
Little Dylan?
Dylan and I gaped at Zeke's blunt words. "Girlfriend?", we said simultaneously.
"Wait, sardine can on wheels?!" Okay, it was funny hearing Zeke call Dylan's pride and joy that. "It's better than that tricycle you drive."
Zeke seemed to take offense to his words. "Do not diss my Harley. Don't knock it till you've tried it."
"I have tried it. And that is how I broke my right arm the first time", he told me.
"Which is why you prefer that hunk of junk you call a four wheeler", Seth said with a joker-like grin as he breezed past Dylan, and into the dining room where he greeted everyone warmly. Liam, Zeke, and Andie followed. Dylan looked like he was stuck between smiling and wanting to strangle something. Namely Zeke or Seth's necks.
"What was that speech you gave me before about families?", I teased.
"Oh, stuff a sock in it and let's eat", he said as we returned to the table, now in company of his three cousins. He was smiling though.
~~~~~~~~
"So, you actually flipped him flat on his back?", Seth asked after breakfast as we sat on the sofas in the living room. I felt like sinking into my seat at the memory, but nodded.
"But he got back at you by tossing you into the lake, right?" I gave Zeke a questioning look, wondering how on earth he knew that. "Andie texted me. And my brothers. As well as the rest of the cousins that have cellphones." I shot an accusatory look at Andie, who chose to blissfully ignore me.
"And just exactly how many cousins do you have?", I asked. Maybe two more? Three max?
All of the McCades seemed to be counting. "I think... Another three?", Seth asked. Okay, that's not so bad then.
"That's just on our side, Seth. Don't forget on Aunt Jemma's", Liam reminded him.
"So that'd be, what, five more cousins in total? Excluding us five and Jack?", Zeke said. I did the math.
Fourteen cousins. Damn that's a lot of kids.
"And... you keep in touch with all of these cousins?", I asked again.
"Most of them. There's a couple that fall off the grid once in a while, but we see them again by the Christmas family reunion", Andie explained. "And don't forget that Aunt Kacey gave birth to twins in August." So it was sixteen then.
"What about your family, Dani?", Seth asked me. I felt my spine go rigid at the question. What was I supposed to say to that? I had answered that question so many times already, and yet, it never gets easier to talk about it.
"We're her family", Dylan surprised me by saying and pulling me closer on the sofa and into a side hug. "She moved here to start a new life, to find a place to call home, and I'm pretty sure she's found it. Right, Dani?"
I nodded subconsciously, not really thinking past Dylan's warm arm and the relief in not having to answer. "Come on, Angel, you need to do better than that to convince these knuckleheads you're with us now."
I cleared my head and my throat. "Yes, they're my family now. And I'm grateful to have them with me every single day. I don't know what I would do without them." I spoke with as much certainty as I could, even though it made me seem weak, as if I depended on all of them for everything.
"Well, I'm convinced", Seth spoke up, never taking his eyes off of mine. "Which means that if you're family to all of them, you're family to us."
"It also means you can stop trying to flirt with her now", Nolan added with a look from across the room. Ugh, I hated the smell of testosterone in the morning. "Incest is a weird thing you know."
"So!", Andie piped in. I was glad I wasn't the only one who felt the silent tension in the air. "What do you want to do for your birthday today, Dyl?"
Dylan sat back against the sofa, pursing his lips as he thought. "I guess... Bowling? We do it every year. We can wing it for later on. You have been bowling, right?", he asked me.
I took offense to that. "Who do you think I am? Of course I've been bowling before. I'm just a bit out of practice is all", I added quietly.
"That's fine. I'll be your coach", Seth proclaimed as he got to his feet and pulled me to mine. "Come on, I'll drive."
"I-I have my own car, thanks. But we can be on the same team for bowling."
Seth grinned. "Sounds good. We're going to kick your butts, guys!", he announced loudly to everyone else, even though we were still in the same room.
"Why did you do that?", Andie asked me quietly. "Now he'll never shut up. Love the guy, but he's incredibly childish."
"Is he good at bowling?" Andie nodded. "Good enough for me."
"By the way", Seth told me. "You should probably know that we play bowling a little bit differently than you might think."
"I'm sure I can take it", I said confidently. I've handled shopping cart races, chicken fights and Silly String. I can do anything.
~~~~~~~~
Things were going as usual until Seth broke out the rubber chicken.
The bowling alley, that I didn't even know existed in Silver Creek until maybe half an hour ago, had six lanes, and only a couple of them were taken when we walked in. The owner, a Mr. Marvin Lester, gave all nine of us free reign of the lanes and to knock ourselves out. Whether he meant to have fun or otherwise, I didn't know.
"How did you manage to swing that?", I asked Dylan.
"You mean the free admission?" I nodded. "I babysat his kids for a while when they were nine, ten years old. They're thirteen now and can handle themselves just fine. Plus, it's my birthday. Almost everyone in town gives you some slack when they know, especially when it's your eighteenth."
"Oh, now you tell me", I grumbled. "I was sick on mine, remember?"
"How could I forget? Your nose was brighter than Rudolph's." Before I could retort just how reindeer-like he looked when he had been sick, someone cleared their throat sharply, halting my words. Everyone else had already gotten their bowling shoes and were waiting by the lanes.
Andie tapped her foot with mock impatience. "Any day now, before my own eighteenth birthday would be nice." We quickly scrambled to get our shoes, which felt way too slippery for my taste, and I went to stand next to Seth.
"So, three teams?", I suggested. They all nodded. "Alright. Birthday boy first then."
Dylan, as always, took choosing his team members very seriously. He scrutinized us all with laser eyes, then finally chose on Andie and Garrett as his team members. Brody nominated himself as his team's captain, and picked Nolan and Liam. Which meant Seth and I were teamed up with Zeke.
Seth high-fived his brother. "Nice. And now for team names." He sat himself down at the console to type at the keyboard. "How's this?" I looked over his shoulder and frowned at the name he had chosen.
"Team Awesome? Seriously? A five year old can be more creative than that. Move over." I nudged Seth into the next seat and tried my hand at choosing a team name. Lucky Strikers. "How's that, guys?"
Zeke looked at the screen and nodded. "Well, it's better than what Seth pulled out of his ass. I'm cool with it."
"And we will be..." Brody said as I moved aside to let him type in his own team name. "Hot Shots. Cool, guys?" Nolan and Liam nodded.
"And as always, we are the King Pins." Dylan typed in the name and entered them into the system, the names showing up on the screen.
"We should change it to Royal Pins", Andie mused. "Or at least something more gender neutral."
"Can we discuss this after we've beaten everyone else?", Dylan asked as he picked up and examined a bowling ball. "Okay, birthday boy first." Dylan lined up in front of a lane, swung his arm experimentally, cocked his head to one side to look at the lane.
"Does he always take this long to throw a ball?", I asked Seth and Zeke.
"Most of the time. He's really picky when it comes to bowling. It's one of his favourite sports you know."
"I did not know that. I thought it was just soccer, track and paintball." The brothers shook their heads.
"Dani, like most guys, Dylan has much more than that as preferred sports. Just wait till we come back for Christmas. You'll see." I would've asked what Zeke had meant by that specifically, but I heard the bowling ball hit the ground and turned my head to watch it roll down the smooth wooden lane towards the pins.
A buzzer sound was heard as Dylan's ball made a strike, and the appropriate points were added to the scoreboard.
"Wow", I said as Dylan returned to his seat with a large grin. "Guess all that scrutiny worked out after all."
"Alright, our turn to go. You want the first shot, Dani or do you want me or Zeke to do it?", Seth asked.
"Um, it's been a long time since I've been bowling", I started. "I don't think-"
"That's okay." Seth pulled me to my feet. "I'll help you out. Come on." He guided me to the lane and handed me a patterned ball that looked like it had been barfed on by the Milky Way and weighed around thirteen pounds. "Okay, so you know the basics already, right? Lane's sixty feet long, ten pins, don't pass the foul line?" I nodded. "Good, that's done. Now hold the ball like this."
He directed me to place my right thumb in the thumbhole (obviously), and to place my middle and ring fingers in the other two holes. "Don't throw the ball; let it roll down the lane, and aim for the arrows down there." There were seven arrows pointing towards the pins about fifteen feet down the lane. "Oh, and since you're right-handed, make sure your left foot is slightly in front when you bowl. Don't twist your body, and uh, aim carefully."
I smirked at Seth as I held the ball up. "Worried, are we?"
"No, not at all. I just want to make sure you don't injure yourself or anyone else in the process. It would really suck on Blondie's birthday."
"It would. Okay..." I blocked out everything else, the sound of the others talking, the balls hitting the floor in the other lanes, and focused on aiming the ball towards the center arrow. I stepped forward, and with my left foot in front, bended forward slightly as I released the ball. It made an almost clunking sound that made me wince, but it somehow kept going instead of breaking through the floor. I crossed my fingers as I willed the ball to keep rolling straight ahead. Come on, come on.
I almost jumped forty feet in the air when the ball knocked over the pins. Not all of them though, I realized when I came back down to earth. There were still two pins in the corner I hadn't gotten. The ball came back on the return and I picked it up again.
"You're doing great, Dani!", Seth shouted support from the sidelines. "Just get this one and it'll be a spare." I nodded, and again wound my arm back, stepped forward, aimed and released the ball. I actually did jump and smile this time when I got both pins and earned us our first points.
Liam bowled first on the other team, and I was surprised when he just picked up the ball, walked to the lane and seemed to just toss it. There's no way it'll make it, I thought. And guess what? Liam got a strike, a full ten points for his team without even breaking a sweat.
"How did he do that?", I asked incredulously. "It didn't even look like he was really aiming."
"He doesn't, not really." I asked for Zeke to explain. "Liam's a natural at bowling. He doesn't practice, doesn't aim, he just does it. I'm surprised Dylan didn't pick him for his team to be honest."
"He probably had his reasons." The game continued on, and I realized what Seth had meant by "playing a little differently". Right after each team had gone once, Seth started fiddling through his bag. And pulled out a rubber chicken. He stood up with it proud in hand and I heard everyone else groan.
"Do we have to?", Nolan complained.
"Whatever happened to "not messing with tradition"?", Brody asked him.
"Silly String and Seth's rubber chicken are on two totally different ends of the spectrum."
"We've been doing this for ages", Seth explained. "It's a tradition to always do rubber chicken-related dares on your birthday, especially when you go bowling."
"You know, for the first time, I'm glad I was sick on mine", I said. "So what's the dare?'
Seth grinned. "I am very glad you asked. The dare is determined by our friendly neighbourhood dare app." He held up his phone that was opening an app page. "Whatever the dare says you do, you have to adapt the rubber chicken into it. Then, and only then, will you be able to bowl for your team. If you refuse to do the dare, you don't bowl, miss your turn and miss out on points. Simple? Good. Dylan's up first."
Seth tossed him the rubber chicken and tapped around the app. "Okay. And your dare is... Sing the Barney "I Love You, You Love Me" song with all the dance moves."
Dylan let out a "pfft". "That's it? Easily done." I laughed a little as he held the rubber chicken in his hands and sang and danced along. He wasn't half a bad singer actually. Once he was done, he set the chicken aside, and took his turn to bowl. It struck home, of course.
"Dani's up next." Dylan tossed me the chicken. "Your dare is to kiss the person on your left, which would be me. But since there's the rubber chicken involved, you just have to kiss it."
I looked at Seth disbelievingly and pointed to the weird rubber chicken. "You want me to kiss this thing? I am not kissing a rubber chicken. It should at least take me out to dinner first."
Seth shrugged. "Well it's either that or you miss out on bowling for the team. But we can make an exception and let you bowl if you kiss me like the dare originally intended." What?
"No, we're not going to make an exception", Dylan cut in with a frown.
"What's the problem, cuz? Jealous?" Seth smirked and I wondered what game he was playing at.
Dylan shook his head firmly. "No, of course not. I just don't see why we would make an exception. Either she kisses the rubber thing or she doesn't bowl. Simple."
"I'm-I'm with him on that", I agreed. The idea of kissing Seth was a little out of my comfort zone. I quickly pressed my lips to the rubber chicken's beak and wiped my lips on my sleeve afterwards. I didn't know where that thing had been and I just kissed it. I'm going to need my army of dental hygiene supplies.
"Okay, done. I'm bowling now." I tossed the rubber chicken to Liam and took my stance to bowl as I cradled the Milky Way ball. I aimed, prayed I didn't hit anything I wasn't supposed to, and let it roll down the lane. Much too slowly if you asked me, but it did get me my first strike.
"Nice one!" Zeke and Seth came over to high five me as the pins were knocked down then rearranged again. I met their quick hugs with my own and grinned. "Keep it up."
The game went on for what was probably ages, but even then it didn't seem long enough. The dares touched in every realm of possibility. Brody had to do a handstand with the chicken in his mouth for ten seconds. Andie had to walk up to strangers at the end of the lane and ask them a question involving the chicken being her friend. My personal favourite however, was when Nolan had a very lively conversation with the rubber chicken about what they loved and hated about new kid cartoon shows. I had no idea he felt so strongly that way about Adventure Time.
In the end, I'm fairly certain we stayed past the alotted time we had set. It was well past one in the afternoon when someone suggested we should be heading back. I made note of the score so we could continue the next time.
"We totally would've won", I told Seth and Zeke as we headed back to the cars.
"Yeah, we would've except I think somebody was due for a nap", Zeke said a bit loudly in Dylan's direction.
He rolled his eyes. "Are you sure I'm the child here?"
"Let's see." Seth tapped his chin as he thought. "Yep, pretty sure. You've still got some growing up to do, little guy."
"I'm pretty much done growing, thanks, and I'm not that little anymore." He stood toe to toe against Seth and I saw that they were pretty much equal in height, despite their four years in age difference. "See? Now let's go. Dani, you're riding with me."
"I-I am?", I asked. "I have my own-"
"Garrett can take it back to the house, no problem, right?" He took the keys from my hand and tossed them to Garrett without waiting for an answer. "Come on." Dylan grabbed my hand and I gave the cousins an apologetic look. I really didn't know what to do when Dylan got overprotective or whatever he was right now. But the two didn't look disapproving. In fact, they looked like they knew something I didn't.
"In we go." Dylan opened the door for me, and barely gave me enough time to slid into the seat before he shut it closed, almost catching my foot in the door.
"Careful", I told him when he got in and slammed the door shut behind him. "You almost took my foot off."
"Sorry", Dylan muttered as he stuck the keys in the ignition. He turned the heat up a bit and sat back with a sigh.
"Is something wrong?", I asked him. "Do you want to talk about it?"
He shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong."
"Then why did you drag me away from the guys and look like you were going to do someone's face in?"
Dylan winced. "I did?" I nodded. "Right then. I'm sorry. It's just that Seth is a natural ladies' man and I didn't want you to..." He trailed off, seeming embarrassed.
"To what?", I asked with a laugh. "Fall for his charm and lovely locks that flow in the wind?" I flipped my hair over my shoulder in demonstration. I noticed he had nodded uneasily. "Oh, Dylan. Seth is great but he's not my type. A little too carefree if you ask me."
"Really?", he asked. "Girls seem to love that about him."
I looked at him for a second. "If you're comparing yourself to him, just don't. It's a waste of time. You are awesome on your own, okay?" I punched his arm lightly. "And if you dare say anything otherwise, I will beat you with a frying pan. No mercy."
"Okay, Rapunzel. I get it. Thanks." He started the car engine and reversed out of his parking spot expertly before going down the streets to his house.
He's definitely improved on the reversing since he almost hit me two months ago, I thought with amusement.
It was hell in the kitchen for lunch. Imagine nine hungry teens/young adults in a ten by ten foot squared kitchen space, all wanting different things to eat. Some wanted tacos, the others wanted burgers, and yet another one wanted congee. You can guess who that was.
In the end, we made all of it. The kitchen smelled weird, but a good kind of weird. It smelled better than burnt for sure. We were going to put the dishwasher through hell later.
"If you think that's bad", Andie added to my thoughts as she handed me the dishes to put in the wash, "you should see it after Christmas dinner with all of the cousins, aunts and uncles, not to mention grandparents." I felt faint just imagining how many people that was. I decided it was probably best not to think about it.
"I'll bet. You guys have one huge and crazy family."
"Isn't that one of the best parts about it though?", she asked as she popped a Cascade tablet into its compartment, shut the washer and started it. "Family being crazy and loving them anyways?"
"Yeah, I guess it is." I smiled.
"Come on", Andie nodded her head towards the living room, where already the sounds of a video game could be heard playing. From the sounds of it, I was guessing Zeke and Garrett were going at it head on, with Garrett slightly in the lead. "We should make the guys pay for making us do the dishes."
"Why don't you go ahead? I need to get some air." I gestured out the back door and onto the porch. "I'll be there in a couple." Andie nodded and skipped off to the living room, where she tackled her brother in a hug from behind. I smiled and observed the heart-warming scene before grabbing my coat and boots and stepping out into the cold.
The back porch was cold, quiet and calm compared to the catastrophe that was happening inside with all of the noise and colour and light. The solitude that the porch evoked felt lonely and strange since I had once welcomed the loneliness. But the feelings erupting in and around me warmed me a little.
It was nice being a part of a family, even if you weren't related to any of them by blood. I guess that doesn't make your family though. Blood and flesh don't determine your family, your heart does. Whoever you are closest to, and feel like you can connect to the most is your real family.
God, since when did I start spouting out poetry? I was no Emily Bronte.
"Mind having a bit of company?" I turned my head and smiled at Dylan as he came onto the back porch. The second he had opened that door, I no longer felt lonely. The back porch now seemed brighter and warmer, despite the clouds casting overhead.
"I might. What, got too crazy in there for you?" Dylan walked over to the small bench at the end of the balcony and cleared off its very fine layer of snow. He sat down and patted the seat next to him to join in.
"Just a little bit", he answered as I sat down. "If I'm with those guys for longer than a couple hours then I go crazy. Don't retort to that." He pointed a semi-accusatory finger at me.
I held my hands up. "I wasn't going to say anything. Much." Honestly, I wasn't really going to. Even though they might drive him up the walls, he loved them. He loved his family, no matter how messy or downright loony it could be.
With these thoughts in mind, I laughed. "What's so funny?", Dylan asked with avid curiosity.
"Nothing much. I was just thinking about something that I've learned from you guys."
"Just one thing?"
I laughed again. "Okay, I've learned quite a few things actually. But one thing sticks out; family is like fudge." Dylan gave me a funny look.
"I don't get it."
"It's pretty sweet", I explained. "Even if it does have a few nuts in it." Dylan grinned.
"I'd say that's pretty accurate. Or family's like a runny peach pie." I didn't get it this time. "It's not perfect, but who's complaining?"
"Yeah..." I smiled. "Family would be boring if it was perfect, even if there was such a thing."
"And we both know how much we abhor boredom." I nodded.
"Especially in this family. It's never a bore with you guys. No one day is the same. Each one is a new surprise."
"I thought you hated surprises?"
I shrugged lightly. "I've grown to like them. A lot, actually. There are some surprises in life that you don't like, and then there are the ones that you do."
"Oh yeah?", he asked. "Like what?"
Like how I like you, even though you probably don't know it. I shook the thought from my head. "Like, uh, well..." Ayden chose that moment to stick her head out the dog door and pad on over to me. I thanked whatever mystical force was looking over me and saving me from certain disaster. "Like Ayden. She was the best surprise I've had in a long time. Thank you again." Secretly, I was thanking the dog too.
"You're welcome again. Now stop being so solemn, and let's get back to everyone else. They'll think we ran off together to avoid the familial embarrassment or something." Dylan started to get up.
I tried to ignore how the two of us running off together sounded a bit lewd, and focused on a question that had been bothering me all day. "Actually Dylan, can I ask you something?"
Dylan plopped back down by my side in an instant. "Sure. What is it?"
Why did I feel so nervous? "I know that you can't technically answer my question, but what did you wish for when you blew out the candles this morning?"
He laughed. "Why do you ask?"
"I don't know. It just seems like you already have everything anyone could ever want. I don't see why you would wish for anything else." I shook my head. "Sorry, stupid question."
"There's no such thing as a stupid question." His smile was reassuring and I stayed rooted to the spot. Dylan looked up at the cloudy sky, breathing out a little puff of white air. "I didn't wish something for myself", he surprised me by saying. "I know I have a lot, and I'm grateful every day for it. I don't need anything more. Instead, I made my wish about someone I know needs it more than I do."
When he turned to look at me, it felt like the world had slowed down. Every breath, every heartbeat, was slowed to snail's pace as he looked into my eyes and I was held there. "I wished that you would finally be happy."
I jolted a little. "What?", I asked softly. "Why would you-"
"Dani, I know you're happy here, or at least happier than when you first came. I know you appreciate our friends, your job, the inn. But I feel like there's still something holding you back from being at the pinnacle of your joy. Something you don't want to tell us, or that you're afraid to tell us. Whatever it is, it's keeping you back, and I don't like seeing you unhappy. But I know that once you get it off your shoulders, you'll be happier than you've ever been."
It was such a fairy tale-like wish, something a sweet little kid would wish upon for someone else. Dylan wasn't exactly little, but his wish still touched me. He was a sweet little kid at heart.
"Thank you, Dylan. You just might be right. I'll tell you someday though. I promise."
"No rush for that", he said before smiling gently. "Only when you're ready." He took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. We were already close together on the bench, our thighs and arms touching, and now our hands. Not that I hadn't been in more compromising positions with him, but this one felt the most comforting, almost intimate. You know when they say that no one else existed in that moment but them, and it felt as though they had the whole world to themselves?
Well, yeah, that was me. I felt like that heroine in light novels, mangas, and romance novels when she was finally alone with the guy she likes, and starts to realize that she maybe felt more for him. At least until the zombie apocalypse comes in or the boat starts to capsize beneath a fifty-foot wave.
But hey, this is real life we're talking about here. And the real scenario was-
"Hey guys!" We sprang apart with such sudden force I thought I would fly off the balcony. Were we about to-? I cleared my head. No, we weren't. That's just your overactive imagination getting the better of you.
We had been close though, closer than we had been before. I almost would've thought about it if the trio of boisterous baboon brothers hadn't interrupted to ask if we wanted to play the next game. Dylan called back an answer that I didn't really hear and I only snapped back to reality when he said, "We should go inside. We'll get sick again."
I nodded and followed Dylan back inside the house, taking off my coat and boots and leaving them at the front door. "Dylan, wait." He turned to me with a questioning look. Now or never. And I wouldn't get another quiet moment alone with him until tomorrow. It'll be too late then.
"Yeah? What is it?"
I reached into my bag that I had left by the door and handed him a small wrapped box. "Happy birthday, Dylan."
He accepted the gift with a chuckle. "Wow, thanks. You know you didn't have to get me anything, right? You being here is enough." I tried to ignore how those words made my heart flutter and made my stomach do Olympic worthy flips and cartwheels.
"I know", I said firmly. "But I still wanted to get you something."
"And I'm guessing you want me to open it now before the chaos begins again?" My eyes found themselves to be focused on the tile floor. What was I thinking? That was a stupid idea. My ears pricked up at the sound of paper gently tearing and I raised my head to see Dylan opening the present.
"Whoa." "Whoa"? Was that a good "whoa" or a bad "whoa"? I didn't know which one it was. He reached into the box and pulled out a CD in a glass case. "You made me a CD?" He flipped the case over to read the songs off of the back. "With all of my favorite artists too. How'd you know?"
"Part of it was guessing, the other part was from memory when I saw your collection when you were sick. I have a good memory. Keep going." I nodded to the box.
"There's more?" He put the CD back inside the box and pulled out the next item. "Oh, no way. You made me cookies?" I blushed as he held up the wrapped package of chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. They had been a pain to make, but to see him smile made it all worth it.
He unwrapped the package and took a cookie out. "Mm", he said as he took a bite. "These are pretty good. Here take one." He had a cookie in my mouth before I knew what hit me. I took a bite out of it and pulled the rest out of my mouth. "You did an awesome job on these."
"And there's one more thing. It's small though." I reached into the box myself and took out an Arsenal F.C. logo keychain, Dylan's favourite soccer team, or football as the English called it. "I just thought since you have so many keys and you always seem to lose them that it might help."
Dylan's smile was absolutely unmatched. "This-this is great, Dani!" He laughed and pulled me in for a hug. "Thank you so much. It's an awesome set of gifts and I don't even know how to thank you for it."
You already have, I thought. You helped to give me great friends, a home and peace in a place I never thought I'd find. No other thanks is needed. But because that sounded like a marriage proposal out loud, I said instead, "Well, you can start by letting me win at a game of Halo for once."
"Ha! Good luck with that, but you're on." I liked seeing the challenge in his eyes, the fiery heat that lit up the hazel in a way that I could only reply to with a challenge myself.
"Eat my dust, Blondie", I smirked back as we all but sprinted into the living room for the next game of Halo. I know it was Dylan's birthday, but in a way, it kind of felt like mine too, all over again.
~~~~~~~~
*hits imaginary time buzzer on imaginary game show* Phew! Done! *catches breath* Hi everyone! How're we doing?
Omgs, i just realized it's been a month since my last update! Ahhh! What possessed me to stay away from Wattpad (and writing and all of you guys) for that long?!
Oh yeah, this little suckerpunch of life called midterms and tests and college. Okay, so that's technically three.
Okay, back on topic. *clears throat* Is the family-related stuff getting too out of hand, or is it just me? Don't get me wrong; I love my family to the moon and back but I never actually describe my family as what Dani did. Too much? Too little? Just right? I feel like I'm taking someone's temperature for a fever for some reason right now. Don't ask.
So I did a bit of estimation story-wise and I think there's going to be something like ten chapters left after this one? Maybe? I always did suck at estimating/guessing though, so it might be more or less.
I also realized that I totally skipped Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day!!! What kind of a Canadian am I? *hangs head in shame* I'll probably come back to it later.
Is it getting cold where you live? The temperature started dropping to the single digits in Celsius this week. I love snow, but I wish fall would give me more time to prepare myself and stock up on huge fluffy sweaters, hot chocolate and candy like some sort of hibernating squirrel. It's supposed to start snowing this weekend!
Final totally non story-related question: What're you dressing as for Halloween? I was more indecisive this year than in previous years. I was going to be Peter Pan, then an elf, then Toothless from HTTYD, then Phantom of the Opera, then a steampunked version of Phantom, and then a grim reaper, and since I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time last night (yes, the first time) I wanted to be Jack Skellington. Now I don't know!
Okay, I'm done here.
Have a great week/Halloween! Eat lots of candy! (Probably not the most structurally sound advice of all time, but hey, my username's Sweetslover8 for a reason, haha.)
Thanks for being the totally awesome readers I know you are! :D
~Jade