All These Fairytales Will Blind You

"Sami I know you don't like peas, but will you please just eat them for me? Please? They're good for you, baby." I cooed to my three year old little sister. She jerked her head the other way and smacked the spoon in my hand flinging peas in my face. My automatic reaction was to drop my jaw and gasp as my eyes fell shut.

"Hah! She totally beasted you!" Jimmy laughed from his seat on the counter. I turned around tantalizingly slow as I grabbed a towel to wipe my face off.

"Jimmy, dear. I know you aren't laughing at me." His smile dropped as quick as it had appeared on his face and he went back to dipping his carrots in caramel. Yes, you heard me correct. I turned and looked down at the younger child staring up at me through pretty green eyes. I sighed defeated as I tossed the towel onto the counter next to Jimmy. "She's not gonna eat 'em. No matter what I try."

Matt shot me either a look of sympathy, or a look of egotistical know it all. Which, I wasn't quite sure. But he stood from his seat and approached Sami.

"Sams, come on, don't be like that. Look, peas are good. Yummy! I eat peas, Amy eats peas, we all eat peas!" He cheered, waving a fresh spoonful of peas around in front of her before shoving it into his own mouth as if to prove a point. He made a face that was visible to all of us in the room then quickly made a cover up. "Mmm, delicious peas!" He fought to swallow them down without gagging in front of her. Sami eyed him skeptically. "Okay ditch this bull, Sams, if you eat the peas, I'll by you anything you want." He smiled at her and her eyes lit up.

"Anything?" She said, her voice going up at least two octaves above her normal tone. He nodded.

"No!" I cut in. "No, I won't have this! She has to learn to eat healthy without being bribed." I crossed my arms over my chest in protest. Matt stood up in front of me, grabbed my arms, and walked me backwards until we were out of earshot from Sami. "I don't want you bribing her." I stated immediately.

"Look, I know bribing's no good, but it gets her to eat 'em." He gave me that hopeful, 'innocent' smile.

"Matt." I warned.

"Okay, fine. Just this one last time." I sighed and turned my head the opposite way. "Please? One time? Just once?" He started to poke me here and there on my stomach and I'd sqeaul every now and then and smack him.

"Fine! Fine, okay! Just once!" He grinned in triumph.

"Great." When we turned to walk back to Sami, Zacky was hunched over her plate helping her clean up the peas and anything else left. I sighed and shook my head.

"Zacky!" He jumped and dropped the spoon causing peas to fall on the table. He smirked before swallowing the rest of what was in his mouth. "How do you think I'm supposed to get her to eat her vegetables, if you're the one eating them all?!" I threw my hands in the air in exasperation.

"I'm sorry. But I over heard you say she wasn't eating them, and I just thought, ya know, why not help her out?" He had that cute infamous smirk place conspicuously in the right corner of his mouth as usual. Catchy as it was, couldn't help but smile back.

"It's alright, just try and keep your hands on your own plate next time okay?" He nodded, the smirk still held there before walking into the next room. I bit my lip as I found my eyes wandering after him.

"Somebody's got the hots for Vengeance." Jimmy spoke from the counter top. I turned and laughed.

"You got the hots for Zack, Jimmy?" With that I smirked and turned to leave the room as well leaving Jimmy to pick his jaw up off the floor at the burn he'd just received, and Matt to laugh it up. I'd escaped this time, but I usually take it hard for eying Zacky.

"Val, when did you get here?" I asked, surprised to see her as I walked into the living room.

"This morning, Jimmy let me in." She smiled.

"That explains it." I hugged her before sitting down on the couch as she followed the gesture.

"So how have you been?" She asked. I sighed running a hand through my hair.

"Pretty good, I suppose." She laughed lightly.

"Honey, you look stressed. Way too stressed for your age." I gave an appalled look.

"I'm only two years younger then you." I stated matter of factly. She nodded as her laughter faded out.

"True, true. But honestly now, that sigh tells me that something more's up with you." I shrugged half-heartedly.

"I don't know." I laced my fingers together and studied them for a minute before blowing out a whoosh of air I'd held in for a moment. "It's Sami." She nodded.

"I figured." She gave a soft smile at the thought of Sami in the next room. "So what about her?"

"It's just, everything, ya know? Since we left Mom she's been rebelling against me some and I don't like it. It scares me." She gave me a sorrowful look.

"Have you thought about taking her to a therapist?"

"Why would she need therapy?"

"Maybe there's underlying anger there because she misses her mom and dad." I chewed softly on my bottom lip as I contemplated this idea in my head.

"I never thought of that. It could be possible. I just don't want her to have to be evaluated by publicity, ya know, Val?"

"Honey the decision is completely yours, she's in your care now. It's just an option. I just think it might do her some good. And the sessions are private."

"Yeah, but as soon as the simplest word gets out that my three year old sister has to go see a therapist, the tabloids will totally twist the story around and make her sound like some sick twisted child. I know they will." Val sighed.

"It's all up to you, sweetie."

"Sometimes I think that's the problem, it's all always been up to me. I had to take care of her from day one, I took her in own my own, I'm raising her now and intend to for the rest of her life." I was rambling and had finally come to a breaking point where I sighed and let my head fall into my hands.

"Hey," she stood up and walked over behind the couch massaging my shoulders, "it'll all work out for the best. Everything always does."

"Hey, guys." I looked up to see Brian standing at the end of the staircase water droplets falling from his hair, indicating he'd just got out of the shower. I groaned and let my head fall back into my arms as Val continued to massage my shoulders. "What's up with her?" He asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"She's stressed out of Sami."

"Ah. What's the problem, Ames?" He sat down in the chair just across from me to the right and placed a hand on my knee.

"It's like she's turning against me. And I don't know if its because I took her away from Mom and she misses her or what, but it's breaking my heart because I used to be so close to her. And then I was contemplating on whether or not I should take her to therapeutic sessions-"

"Therapy? Why?"

Val sighed as she started massaging my neck. "Because Brian, if there's any anger built up inside of Sami that she can't talk about with Amy, maybe she can talk about it with somebody else."

"But why a therapist? I mean come on, what about tabloids and stuff? That's something you definitely don't want them to find out."

"That's what I said!" I threw my hands in the air sitting back in the couch, only to have Val push me right back forward to continue massaging.

"Why can't we just try having one of us talk to her? I mean there's plenty of us to try." He suggested.

Val sighed and rolled her eyes this time. "Because Brian, if anyone can get her to talk, a professional can."

"Isn't this her decision?"

"Completely."

"Then shut up." He smirked. Val glared and reached over to smack him across the back of his head but he ducked.

"Guys! Can we please knock it off, crisis here." I sighed and sank back into the couch.

"Sorry, honey." Val finally walked back around and sat next to me on the couch.

"I swear, I'm younger than all of you, but much more mature sometimes." I shook my head, they smirked at each other.

"I think that's part of your problem." Val said.

"What?"

"You don't have enough fun. You're always worried about "Who's got Sami? Where'd Sami go? Is Sami okay?" And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, it's just, sometimes you need to make some time for you." She smiled at me.

"Yeah, like, you should get a sitter for Sam and come party with us this weekend." Brian grinned.

"Riiight." I sighed, wishing somebody would come back to reality in this situation.

"No seriously Amy, I think he's actually onto something for once." Brian glared at her at this point. "You should come party with us this weekend. One night full of nothing but fun. And will get a really good baby sitter for Sami." She smiled.

"Yeah, our parties are a real stress buster." Brian wiggled his eye brows up in down. I rolled my eyes.

"You guys are seriously asking me to do this? Seriously?" They nodded. I sighed.

"We'll talk to the others!" Val jumped up from the couch.

"Better get ready, babe, 'cause you're in for one wild night." Brian grinned as he followed Val out. I shook my head and sighed to myself. If this would really relieve some stress, it would help a lot.