You Belong With Me

On my way to the parking lot, I ran into Matt. He didn't look too happy so I immediately guessed something was wrong. He was digging something out of his pockets as he started to talk.

"Here, take the keys, drive home and pick me up at 4:30," he said.

"What? Why?"

"I have detention."

"Matt, did you fight that guy?" I asked, disappointed that he would disobey me.

"Bails, I had to," he claimed.

"No, you didn't have to. Matt, Mom is going to be pissed."

"Well I had a reason to fight him."

"Well did you win at least?" I asked, prepared to hear the whole story of how Matt kick yet another guys' ass.

"Well it was me and all of the guys versus him. But if it would have been just me, I still would've beaten him."

"You can take on anyone, Matt. Everyone knows that. But you need to control your anger," I said, taking the keys from his hand. I wrapped my arms around his thick waist and kissed him on the cheek

"Have fun in detention," I said.

"Don't worry, I will," he joked.

I found Matt's car in the parking lot. I heard people talking about the fight so it must have been big. Some people asked me what happened. Just because I'm his sister doesn’t mean I'm going to know what happened. I wasn't there and that's exactly how I responded.

Sydney ran after me, calling my name. I turned around before getting in my car. She stopped in front of me, asking if I wanted to hang out. Having nothing else to do, I accepted. I gave her a ride to my house as she talked about the fight.

"Did you see any of it?" I asked her.

"I saw a little out of the classroom window. Some of Robbie's friends got involved to, so I was more than just him. I guess that's how Johnny and the rest of the guys got involved. I hope he's okay."

"Johnny was fighting?"

"Yeah. I think he'll have a black eye. But I did see him punch Adam in the jaw," she added.

"So it wasn't just five against one?"

"It wasn't at first. I heard that it was just Matt and Robbie at first and when Robbie went for Matt, which was the first thing I saw, the guys came in and then Robbie's guys came in and it was huge. They're all in detention."

Damn, so Matt was lying that it was only him, the guys and Robbie, making it seem like it wasn't that bad. I don't think I'll tell Mom about this.

"Where were they when they were fighting?"

"Outside. They must have left right after lunch and skipped class," she said. "And they got caught by the principle, which is pretty much the worst thing to do."

"Oh my god," I said as I held my head. "What if they get expelled? This isn't Matt's first fight."

"Well there are plenty of school's Matt can go to."

"But still. I don't want my brother to get expelled."

"Don't think about it."

Once we arrived home, I found my mom on the couch. Oh shit. She wasn't supposed to be home until six.

"Oh, hey Mom."

"Hi sweetie. Hey Sydney. How was school?"

"Alright."

She looked out the door to see if Matt was coming right before I shut it. I was hoping that she wouldn't ask about him, but if she did, I prayed that Sydney would keep her mouth shut.

"Where's Matt?"

"Oh they had-"

"Band practice. They're having band practice at Zacky's tonight," I said before Sydney could say detention. "Matt got a ride with him so I could take the car." I glared at Sydney while my mom put her book down.

"Oh, well I won't have to worry about them messing up the house," she sighed. Mom didn't mind the guys, just when she had to clean up after them. They always made some kind of mess.

Mom went back to her book so Sydney and I went to my room.

"You can't just tell my mom they had detention!"

"Sorry."

"You can lie to her about that. She can't find out."

"Why? It's just detention."

"Well do you know how many detentions Matt has had for fighting? He got kicked out of school for fighting and she gets pissed every time he gets one," I explained. "She might have a heart attack."

"You know I can't keep my mouth shut."

"Yeah, I know," I said, aggravated.

"So what are we going to do until 4:30?" she asked.

"I don't know. You wanted to hang out."

"You don't want to hang out with me?" she gasped.

"Well I was going to come home and do nothing. So if you want to hang out, come up with something to do."

"Well I don't have money to go shopping. I'm out of ideas. If your mom wasn't home, you could sneak us some alcohol," she said.

"Well I think Matt drank whatever alcohol we had."

"Damn. Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Sure."

"Good, I need to lose weight before prom," she said.

"Prom's not for another nine months."

"Well I've got a lot of weight to lose."

"Oh shut up," I said as I slapped her arm.

"So are you going to prom?" she asked as we crossed the street.

"I don't think so."

"What? Why not?"

"It seems stupid. And you know me, I don't dance."

"Well you don't have to dace, just come," she tried to convince me.

"I don't know. I'd like to find a date, but like anyone would want to go with me."

"Well you shouldn't not go because you don't have a date, that's stupid. If Johnny doesn't ask me, we can go together. Bails, I really don't think he's going to ask me out. He doesn’t act like he likes me anymore!"

"Sydney, I told you before; he's nervous. But if you're getting impatient, you should ask him out. I know he likes you and I know he wants to take you out. I just don't know why he's hesitating. Seriously, I will talk to him, if you just let me."

"Bails, I don't want to seem desperate. I've told you so many times."

"But it might push him to ask you."

"Well, just don't make it obvious." I nodded my head and kept walking without saying a word. We continued to make our way around the block and back to my house.

By the time we got back, it was a few minutes after 4:00. Since I had to be there by 4:30, I wanted to ask Sydney if she wanted to leave now.

"Do you just want to leave now?" I asked.

"Go where?" my mom asked, popping out of nowhere.

"Zack's. Matt wanted me to pick him up."

"Oh, okay. Well be careful."

"I will Mom. Let's go."

Sydney and I went out to the car and got in. I started the car and drove off to the school. When we go there, we sat in front of the school waiting for the guys to come out.

"Just think, you would be arriving here for prom," Sydney said.

"Syd!" I yelled, wishing she'd let it go.

"I really want you to go!"

"Okay, I'll look for a date!"

"I'll find you one. I'll go to the desert if I have to."

"Okay, we'll see about that."

The front door opened and Matt walked out followed by Brian and the rest of the guys. They spotted the car and walked over to it.

"They're all gonna need a ride," Matt said as he stuck his head in the window.

"What? We only have room for three people," I whined.

"Well they all need a ride home," he repeated.

"How am I going to fit five guys in this car?"

"Sydney, get out."

"What? No!"

"You're going to sit in the back since you're smaller." Sydney got out and Matt stole her seat. The guys bolted for the backseat and tried to get a seat. They all beat Sydney to a seat.

"Come on, guys!"

"Sydney just sit on Johnny's lap," I suggested. I saw Johnny's eyes shoot open as did Sydney's.

"Just do it so we can leave. I want to get out of here!" Brian yelled. Sydney hopped in and shut the door. They were all moaning in the back trying to get comfortable, sitting on top of each other.

"Am I taking you all home?" I asked the four guys in the back.

"No, they're coming to our house," Matt answered.

"Matt, I told Mom that you had band practice at Zacky's and I just came to listen to you."

"Well we changed our minds," he said.

"Whatever, she'll wonder how we fit seven people into a five person car."

"We'll find some excuse."