Saving Grace

I walked downstairs trying to be as quiet as possible, considering that no one was awake.

I hoped to make breakfast for the O'Callaghan family considering that they were kind enough to allow me into their home, plus it was rather rude to lock myself in John's bedroom the day previous.

I searched through the cupboards, making the least amount of noise possible as I gathered the things I needed to make them a meal.

A flicker of motion caught my attention as I poured more batter into the waffle iron. Shane stood in the arched doorway, obviously taken by surprise. "Good morning," I said, sending him a smile.

"'Morning," he replied groggily, still in need to fully wake up. "You're up awfully early..."

"Yeah, so are you."

He stumbled over to the island counter and sat across from me. "Are you making breakfast?"

Wow, he and John were exactly alike in the mornings: unobservant and clumsy.

"Yeah, waffles. Want to help?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in question at him. He studied me, his eyes showing his thinking process. He looked unsure so I decided to make his decision for him. "Why don't you start making coffee?" I asked, reaching into the cabinet and pulling out the canister of coffee grounds before thrusting it into his arms.

I know teenagers hated that; when people just assumed that they would help. At least, I was like that... Shane seemed not to mind though because he got up from the counter stool and walked over to the coffee pot without any agitation or annoyance on his face.

In attempt to break the silence and actually have a conversation with John's youngest brother, I decided to ask him how school was going for him. "Eh... It's school so shitty..." he replied.

I laughed at his response. "True... Do you have a girlfriend?" I asked. Oh god, my co-worker, Josey- the girl who knew more gossip than my mind could ever process- was finally wearing off on me.

He turned to me with an expression that told me he was wondering where I was going with my question. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked, his eyes inquisitive.

No.

I studied him, wondering if he was being serious. I was, after all, 'dating' his brother. He suddenly started laughing and I felt like an idiot for even assuming that he was serious. "Way to go Shane, you made Amelia feel stupid now," Ross said, causing both Shane and I to jump and look to the doorway.

Shane laughed a little more before answering my question. "Nope."

Ross walked in and plopped himself down on the counter stool that Shane had just been seated on. I studied the boy before me. His eyes immediately went guarded as if he was being caught doing something wrong. "What?" he asked, his voice cautious.

I smiled a little before pushing the bowl of batter in his direction.

-----

"John..." I said lightly as I hovered over him. I poked his nose, smiling. "John? Are you up?" I asked a little louder.

He was still unresponsive.

"John! Wake up, wake up." I tapped the side of his face, adding a little more force behind it each time.

He suddenly reached up and gripped my wrist before pulling my down.

I shrieked a little as I landed on his chest. He grunted a little in pain, not expecting me to fall on him. He was lucky my knee landed between his legs and not on his... manhood.

I leaned up from his solid chest and looked at him, my wrist still in his hand. "Amelia?" he asked, his eyes squinting against the sunlight now pouring in through the window. "What are you doing? And why do you have white powder in your hair?"

"I do?" I asked, jerking my hand free from his grip and immediately running my hand over my hair.

"Yeah, you do," he said, reaching to me and running his fingers through my hair when I obviously hadn't gotten the batter mix out.

Shane and Ross thought it would be funny to sabotage me while we made breakfast by starting a small food fight...

"There," John said.

"Thanks," I replied, a small smile lifting the corners of my lips. We stared at each other for a moment before I realized that I was pressing against his bare chest. Immediately, I leaned up and climbed over his legs. "Uh, so... R-Ross a-and Shane helped me make breakfast; you can come down and eat..."

"Yeah, okay," he said sitting up and ruffling his hair. It was obvious that this had turned awkward within a matter of seconds.

I nodded and took my leave, hurrying back down the stairs to make sure that Ross and Shane had cleaned up the mess that they had created and set the table. And to escape the situation both John and I had created.

I smiled seeing that the two boys weren't incapable after all. Shane was just finishing setting out the forks as Ross was mopping the floor up.

I heard John's heavy footsteps before seeing him and I immediately made myself look busy by turning to the sink where mixing bowls were soaking.

"Wow, Ross with a mop; I never thought I'd see the day..." John said, his tone teasing.

Ross glanced up and flipped him the bird. "Like you're anyone to talk..." he replied.

"Boys- behave," I said in a warning tone.

The three froze and looked to me, all had the same expression slapped on their faces. "It has to be a girl thing," Shane finally said, his brothers agreeing.

I eyed them skeptically. "W-What's a girl thing?" I asked.

"You sounded exactly like Mom for a second there," Ross finally said.

"Who sounded like me?" Bree asked walking into the room with Jay right behind.

"Amelia," Shane chirped.

I studied the woman before me and noticed that her skin was pallor. Small, dark circles were forming beneath her brown eyes. "You guys made breakfast?" she asked, her tone a mixture of surprise and awe, glancing around the room to each of us.

"Actually, Amelia came up with the idea and Shane and I helped," Ross said.

"And I was asleep," John admitted.

"Well... Thank you, guys..." Bree said. I was moderately surprised when John pulled a chair out for his mother who shot him a grateful smile before sitting.

"This looks amazing," Jay added, looking to me with a smile.

I returned one to him before sitting in the chair that John had also pulled out for me. "Thank you," I said softly, not feeling nearly as awkward as before.

-----

Right as we finished our meal, the sound of the front door flying open caused all conversation to stop around the breakfast table. Linnely appeared in the doorway, a bright smile slapped over her face. "Well hello lovelies!" she cried, taking off her odd, star-shaped sunglasses that concealed her eyes. "Why are you two not ready?" she asked glancing between John and I.

I looked to the boy sitting beside me with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression. "Were we suppose to be ready?" I asked, glancing cautiously between her and John.

Linnely's jaw dropped. "John! Did you not get my text? I sent it to you last night that I was taking you, Amelia and all of the guys shopping for tonight!"

"Tonight?" I asked, completely and utterly confused.

The blond stared at me with her jaw dropped. "Jesus, John! You didn't get that text either? What's the point of having a phone if you never check it?"

He shrugged and was about to answer but Linnely cut in once again, walking over to us. "Please excuse us, but I desperately need them to come with me for the day," Linnely said, balling our shirts in her hands before pulling us out of our seats.

Before another word was spoken, she dragged both John and I out of the kitchen and to the stairs. "Okay, you two need to get dressed. If you're not out in the van in ten minutes.... well, let's just say you don't want to go there," she said, her voice growing dark as she continued speaking.

I glanced to John before we sighed in unison and turned to climb the stairs, an awkward silence falling over the two of us when we found ourselves alone together.