And I'm in Love, With Everything You Do

“Stephen, you okay?” I asked as we sat down on one of the benches in the park. He was checking up his phone every five seconds and it drove me crazy to see him like this. “You looked…worried.”

“No, I’m fine.” he smiled a little and shoved his phone into his pocket. “I’ll get us ice creams.”

I looked at him as he walked away to the white and yellow ice cream cart. I sighed and tried to remember when was the first time he acted weird. Right, after I asked him about he stayed all night with his ex, Chelsea.

Ever since, he always checked up his phone every minute, and zoned out when we were in a conversation. I lost the old Stephen.

My phone buzzed and I quickly pulled it out from my pocket. Jess’s goofy face appeared on the screen as the caller ID and I quickly picked it up. “Hello?”

“Where are you, babe?”

“The park. With Stephen.”

“Oh, you guys on a date?”

“Well, yes, but I think just his body who’s on a date with me. His soul wandered off.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jess, he spaced out every time we are talking and he’s checking up his phone every five fucking seconds!”

“That’s weird. Where is he now, anyway?”

I narrowed my eyes to the ice cream cart but Stephen was nowhere to be seen. “Hum, Jess, I’ll call you back.”, I hung up and stood up.

I walked towards the cart and I asked the man, but he said that Stephen left with a girl.

Stephen

When I was about to buy ice creams for Devon and I, I bumped onto a girl. Her t-shirt was ruined with the vanilla ice cream on the center. “Oh my god!” she squealed.

“I’m so sorry!”

She looked up and her eyes widened. “Stephen?”

“Chelsea?”

“Hey there!” she quickly threw her arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. “I cant reached your cell!”

I wrapped my arms around her waist nervously, but when my skin touched her waist, it felt good. “Really? I didn’t get any calls from you.”

“Silly.” she giggled as she pulled away. “So, who are you with?”

“Devon.”

“Devon?” she twitched her brows and looked around to Devon, who was talking to her phone on the bench. “Your girlfriend?”

I nodded slightly. “Kind of.”

Kind of, Stephen?

“Kind of.” she nodded. “Can you bail her and go with me?”

I bit my lip in hesitation but Chelsea pouted and put on her puppy dog eyes. She usually used them if I wont get her what she wanted, and I always gave in. “Fine.”

“Yet!” she chirped and pulled my hand towards the park’s gate.

Devon

“Where are you, Stephen?” I groaned as I hung up on his voicemail. The sun was already setting on the horizon, and I watched the reflection on the pond’s surface.

It was already dark when I decided to stand up and walk home. When I passed the Bowens’ house, Jess, John and two of their band mates were sitting on the porch’s steps.

“Hey, Devon!” Jess waved her arms wildly on the air. “Come here!”

I walked towards them and sat between John and her. “Where’s Stephen?” John asked as he took a sip of his soda.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Jess asked. “You said that you guys were on a date.”

I nodded. “We were, but then…he left me.”

John’s drink burst out from his mouth. “What?!” he coughed. “He left you?”

“Well, he said that he was going to get us ice creams, but he never came back.”

Their eyes were on me. Some of them were sympathy, but some of them were telling me something, more like telling me to man up.

“Devon, you can stay over if you want.” Jess offered as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

My eyes stung and I quickly buried my face on her shoulder. Tears melted out of my eyes and fell on my cheeks. Jess helped me stand up and walked into her house. When we were already in her room, she sat me on her bed.

“It’s okay, Devon. I’m here.” she comforted me and I realized John and the other two were in the room.

“He is going to be dead meat!” John muttered and I could picture his fists balled.

“No.”, I chocked out between sobs. “You can’t kill him.”

“Why?! Devon, he hurt you well enough!”

I shook my head. “No, don’t. If you hurt him, you guys will hurt me too.”

“Devon.”, Jess stroked my hair. “He doesn’t deserve you. You’re too good for him.”

“No, Jess. Whatever it is, I love him.”

Stephen

I closed the front door behind me and walked into the kitchen. John was there with a bowl of cereal in his hand, having his late night snack.

“Hey dude.”

He glared at me and walked past through me, with a shoved on my shoulder. “Hey, what is your problem, John!?”

“What is MY problem!?” he stopped and poked on my chest with his index finger. “I don’t have a problem like you, cheater!”

“What do you mean!?”

“Every one heard it, Stephen! How you left Devon alone in the park with your excuse to ‘buy her ice cream’!”

My eyes widened. “How did you guys know all about it!?”

“Seriously, when she walked home from the date without you by her side, we needed to know! And she told us everything!”

“It’s our problem, none of all your concern!”

“It is my concern because I like her!”

“You…like…her?”

I looked at my brother who was standing in front of me. His face was still red from anger and his breathing was still heavy. “John, you like Devon?”

He nodded. “There, I said it.”

“Then, why…”

“Why I let you guys be together!? Cause’ I love you, Stephen; you’re my fucking brother. You were a total car crash when Chelsea left and I want the old you back. When you told me Devon makes you happy, I couldn’t stop you guys. When I found out that she loves you too, I realized I want her to be happy, but now, you hurt her.”

“John, I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing to me, dickass! Apologize to Devon, dammit!”

He stomped up to his room and a minute later, I could hear his door slammed close.