New Step Brother, New Family, New Life? Thanks for Nothing, Dad

The morning. Oh, how I wish it wasn't so bright. I groaned and rolled over to get away from the sun peeking through my windows. Sadly, there was something blocking my way. At first, I grumbled. Then it hit me.

Who's in my bed?

I sat up quickly and jumped away, staring at the blanket-covered form by me.

"Mick," the voice complained, "stop moving so much! I'm trying to sleep." Memories from last night flooded my mind. Tyler had stayed the night with me, our own personal slumber party.

I laughed at my own paranoia and looked around the room. My guitar was sat carefully in its stand, everything in its place.

I looked back down at Tyler and decided that it would be fun to annoy him. So I began poking his arm, repeatedly and swiftly. He groaned multiple times before finally grabbing my hand and pulling me down on top of him.

Bringing his face close to mine, Tyler quietly muttered, "That is really annoying." I blushed at how close we were. Tyler smirked and let me go. I rolled my eyes and moved off of him.

"That's kind of the point."

"So now that I'm up, what did you want?"

"Well, it's Saturday. Smokey and Ethan, and Trent and Josie both have dates planned for tonight. Kris, Alexandra and I are fighting in another battle at Kletka tonight. Huge match-up, can't miss it. What are you doing?" I replied swiftly, hoping he wouldn't catch the middle part.

"Wait, what? I can't let you fight at Kletka. Not again," Tyler retorted angrily.

"But the only other one you came to was really good for me! I mean, Kris and I are friends again, and you all seem to like him just fine. And without Kletka, we wouldn't know Alexandra either!" I whined, putting on my best puppy dog face.

Tyler sighed and looked down, "Whatever. Last time you got hurt. But if you want it, then I can't stop you." I smiled and hugged him. So, Tyler continued, "But I'm definitely coming with you."

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Later that day

Smokey's POV

Josie and I decided to get ready for our dates in the guest room where she was staying. We both put on dresses, fixed our make-up and I straightened my hair. I wore black Converse, and she wore silver flats. We didn't want to seem too formal.

Anyway, it was almost time for us to leave. Josie jumped up and down excitedly, her hair bouncing in curls.

"I can't wait. This is going to be the greatest!" she said with a smile. I rolled my eyes. I don't know why I agreed to a date with Ethan. For some reason, I had second thoughts. I mean, everyone has been telling me how much of a player Ethan is.

"Yeah," I muttered, thinking hard. There was a knock at the door, and we turned to face it. Trent stood there, wearing a nice button up, blue jeans and a smile.

"Ready to go Josie?" he asked. Josie grinned and nodded. She walked over to him and took his hand. They left, Trent smiling and Josie giggling the whole way. I sighed, taking one last look at myself in the mirror.

Soon, Ethan arrived, dressed similarly to Trent. "You clean up nice," I teased. He shrugged and took my hand.

"I could say the same for you. Ready?" I nodded. We walked outside to his SUV, climbed in and took off towards the city.

"Where are we going?" I felt compelled to ask.

"It's a surprise." I couldn't help but smile. Some surprises were the best, others were just incredibly annoying. This one seemed to be one of the better ones. So, I just sat back and enjoyed the peacefulness of it all.

Sooner or later, we pulled up to a fancy looking restaurant. Ethan and I walked into the restaurant and I had to admit I was pretty impressed. I mean, he had made reservations and we sat in a secluded booth.

"Wow. I must say, this is pretty amazing," I said, glancing around the restaurant. Ethan shrugged and smiled.

"It's worth it." I grinned and glanced down at the menu. It was filled with some sort of Spanish cuisine. Not like tacos or tamales or anything of that sort. More like Paella and Fideua. Really schmancy stuff. The waiter came, we ordered, got our food and drinks, pretty standard stuff.

Up until now.

"So. How am I doing?" Ethan asked with a smirk, tilting his head as he watched me. I sipped my drink slowly, hesitantly. Ethan seemed to notice, so he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Why did you ask me out?" I asked, deciding to get straight to the point. Ethan looked a bit taken aback. So he took a bite of some seafood platter we both order to buy himself some time. Finally, Ethan answered.

"I like you, Smokey. More than any other girl I've met. I know you think I'm some sort of player. And I was. But I want to change that. I want to have a girlfriend and a steady relationship...With you."

It took all my will power to not stare and drop my jaw in surprise. Had he really just asked me to be his girlfriend? McCartney was going to flip when she heard this. I didn't know what to say. I guess Ethan took that the wrong way.

He sighed and returned to his food. I didn't want him to think it was a 'No,' but I had to digest what just happened. I decided that if Ethan really felt the way he did, than I shouldn't hold his past against him.

After finishing our meals, paying and walking to the car (all with limited talking), Ethan was still a gentleman and opened my door for me. I turned around to face him and smiled.

"Yes," I stated.

"Um...what?" Ethan asked, obviously confused. I just laughed at how adorable he looked when he was confused.

"Yes," I repeated, "I would like to be your girlfriend." Ethan's whole face lit up in a huge smile. One I could tell was happy and genuine. So when he leaned in to kiss me, I was completely surprised.

The kiss was perfect. Caring. Passionate. It felt as though our lips were perfect for each others.

As cheesy, cliche and girly as that all sounded, it was completely true.