Frankie

Francesca watched as Gwen flirted with her older brother shamelessly. It really was nothing new, Gwen had, on many occasions, confessed her attraction for Drew and constantly flirted with him. She rolled her eyes and continued to bury her nose into the next chapter of her computer science textbook. She didn't notice Drew slipping out of the room or Gwen walking closer to her.

"Frankie!" Gwen greeted her loudly, her voice higher than normal, and shut the book Francesca had on top of her lap. "Drew and I are going out for dinner, come with us! Ryan's going to be there," she said knowing that Francesca would take the bait.

Sighing, Frankie glared at Gwen and shook her head. "I hate you," she said simply.

"And I love you. Let's go!"

Gwen dragged Francesca out of her seat and threw the heavy textbook on the couch meeting up with Drew, who was already at the front door waiting for the two girls. He looked up from examining his watch and smiled at Gwen and Frankie. Frankie was sure that she saw Gwen blush a bit.

"I called Ryan. He said that he's going to meet us there," he informed them and led the two girls out of the house.

Nodding, Gwen got into the passenger seat and Frankie grudgingly got into the back seat of the car. It was already Sunday and it was Drew, Gwen, and Francesca's last day in Annapolis, until they had to leave the next day. Francesca enjoyed her long weekend, she was happy that she was able to talk to her mother about her problems and she mother being able to give her advice.

To say that she hadn't thought much about Jordan would have been the understatement of the century. She worried that she might have been a little bit too harsh on him by saying that she didn't want to see him again. Her mother assured her that she acted normally and that she shouldn't just let Jordan walk all over her. That the way he had treated her on their 'date' wasn't right.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness for being so hard and ending a friendship without even thinking things through. Francesca had always been the type of person that thought first before leaping, but whenever she was with Jordan all resolve seemed to go away and she leapt before thinking.

The car went into a full stop; Francesca craned her neck and saw Ryan standing in front of Joss Café & Sushi Bar. Unfastening her seatbelt, Frankie got out of the car, a smile plastered on her face she greeted her brother's best friend with a hug and a 'hello'.

"Hey, Frankie," he greeted her and returned the hug. They broke the hug but not before he kissed her softly on the cheek. He went on to greet Drew and Gwen, before they all went into the restaurant.

The hostess greeted them happily and led them to a table for four. She sat beside Ryan, with Gwen in front of her and Drew beside Gwen. Francesca fidgeted with her hands, a nervous habit she had since she was a child, and looked between Gwen and Ryan.

Sighing, Frankie turned her attention to Ryan when Gwen and Drew stared flirting with each other. "So, how have you been? How's Rebecca?"

Ryan shrugged. "I'm good. I spent my Saturday with my dad and then today at my mom's house. Rebecca and I didn't really work out."

Frankie's eyes widened a little bit, and for some odd reason, instead of feeling happy that she now had a chance with Ryan, she felt kind of bad that he and Rebecca didn't work out. She didn't know what to make of it, but she had recently thought less and less about Ryan and more about Jordan.

"I'm sorry," was all she could say before slipping into another awkward silence.

He shrugged again and rested his arm on Frankie's chair. "There's someone else that I'm interested in."

*

Jordan Staal drove aimlessly around Annapolis looking for the Ryan's house. Gwen had told him that she and Drew were going to take Frankie out to dinner and that he should do to their house and prepare to meet her there. He then got a text from Gwen that their dinner was longer than expected and that he should surprise her at the restaurant.

He sighed in happiness when he saw the restaurant and parked at the back where the parking lot was. Quickly getting out of his car, he grew increasingly anxious to talk to Frankie again. He didn't even know of she wanted to talk to him and took a big risk at driving all the way to Annapolis to see her.

Jordan would have laughed at himself at how far he was willing to go to win back the affections of a girl. If only the old him knew about the way he was acting now, some love sick teenager, he would have laughed at himself. The only time he had shown any strong interest in anyone was when he was fifteen to an actress named Ava Hall.

Just as he was about to round the corner of the restaurant, he heard Frankie speaking and then she was silenced. That moment, he was planted to the ground. His heart felt heavy and his breathing was shallow.

He wanted to look away but he couldn't, it was too difficult to look away. His fist clenched as he watched Ryan snake his slimy hands around Frankie as he continued to suck her face. Finding enough courage to look away, Jordan retreated to his car and drove away.

Francesca managed to put her hands on Ryan's chest and pushed him lightly away from her. Her eyes was wide, one moment she was talking about the time she and Jordan went to the coffee shop down across her dorm and almost got kicked out and the next, Ryan was all over her kissing her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and looked at the ground.

Ryan sighed in frustration. The whole dinner he had been hinting that she was the girl he was interested in but all she did was mention Jordan. She would say that Jordan preferred Pepsi over Coke when he ordered a Coke, or that Jordan was always joking and teasing her he grew annoyed.

Ryan's eyes grew soft, realizing how he was acting. This was his best friend's little sister, which made her instantly his little sister. The way he was acting as stupid and childish, he knew that he only became interested in her because another boy was interested in her. In a way he was feeling protective.

"Frankie…"

Francesca stepped back and held her hand up. "Let me explain. I like you, I really do. In fact I was pretty sure I was madly in love with you, but for some reason, I felt nothing and I don't know why," she rambled trying to make sense of everything.

Ryan chuckled. "Frankie, I get it. I'm too late, I can tell that Jordan's the one that you like," he said. "He's lucky to have a great girl like you. I'm sorry caught you off guard. I knew that you liked me since high school. I didn't do anything because you were like a sister to me. But they way I had been acting these past few weeks to Jordan was uncalled for," Ryan explained.

Smiling, Frankie looked up at Ryan. "Thank you for understanding," she thanked him gratefully and kissed his cheek.

The sudden heavy feeling in her chest disappeared. It was like everything had become clear and Jordan was the person that she liked. Then the feeling of nostalgia hit her when she remembered telling Jordan that she didn't want to see him again.