We Must Be Careful Who We Pretend To Be

Ellie and I live in a good sized two bedroom apartment. It costs a fortune, but we appreciate the space. At almost 1000 square feet, we can actually fit our furniture in the bedrooms. The living area was decorated to Ellie's taste, but somewhat muted. I never complained because it wasn't worth the battle. The furniture was somewhat shabby chic, which I hate. But, the colors weren't bad, and I got to pick the artwork as a compromise. Ellie's room is frilly and pink. Mine has a funky comforter and posters everywhere: a giant 2-D from Gorillaz, a giant Trainspotting, Cursive, the Pixies, Bright Eyes, Foo Fighters, The Good Life and several others. I'm extremely proud of my collection of gig posters, so I try to put all of them up.

I pulled my suitcase into the living room and sat on the couch. Ellie was doing last minute primping in the bathroom.

"Hey, supermodel, our taxi just pulled up, let's go."

Ellie came out and they went down to the taxi. We barely made it on time. Big surprise, because Ellie's always late. Ellie settled into her seat with Vogue and her I-Pod. I turned on my laptop as soon as they let me and started working, also listening to my I-Pod rocking out to Nirvana.

"Babe, do you ever stop working?"

"What? I love my job!"

"You are going to have some fun on this trip! Got it?"

"Of course."

The flight went smoothly, but I couldn't wait to get off that cramped airplane. There was never enough room for my long legs. We stepped off the plane and I shuffled behind Ellie down to the baggage claim. I nearly had a heart attack when Ellie let out a shrill shriek and took off running. I sighed and followed, used to this behavior coming from Ellie. I saw her attached to a guy. He held her tightly and then pried her off. I walked over, assuming that the man was our ride.

"Abby, this is my brother, Will. Will, this is my best pal, Abby."

My heart started to thump and I felt kind of clammy. Will was about 6'3 and lanky. He had curlyish dark hair and bright blue eyes, just like Ellie. His smile was mischievous and there was something enigmatic about him. He was wearing jeans and a Saves the Day t-shirt under his open jacket. He was one of the most handsome men I had ever seen.

"So, this must be the illustrious Abigail," he grinned, "Nice to finally meet you."

"It's n…nice to meet you to," I replied, regaining my composure. I examined his shirt and grinned.

"What, you like Saves the Day?" Will asked.

"Of course, but the shirt is a work of art."

"That it is."

Ellie cracked up, "You know why she thinks it's a work of art?"

Will gave her a look.

"Why?"

"She designed that shirt."

"Shut up Ellie!" I croaked. I was never the type to boast about my work. I just liked seeing it around.

"That's awesome. You were an art major right?" he asked, walking over to the baggage carousel.

"Yes. I've got a Masters in Fine Arts."

"What was your concentration?"

"Graphic Design. I also did a lot of illustration," I said reaching over and pulling my suitcase off the moving carousel.

"Hello! Sister here!" Ellie cried, waving her arms in front of Will. "Willie, there's my suitcase. See! The pink Hawaiian print."

"You can grab it yourself if you keep calling me Willie," he growled, but he still reached out and grabbed her suitcase. "Ready?"

"Yes, let's get out of this hellhole," Ellie demanded.

Will picked up Ellie and Abby's suitcases.

"You don't have to carry that, I can do it," I said, flattered.

"Hey, I'm a gentleman. Let me be one," he replied giving her an easy smile.

I smiled back feeling rather awkward and followed the siblings out to Will's car. I climbed in the back seat and watched Will as he drove. He had a dangerous smile. It was dangerous because it was so attractive.

"What do you want to listen to, Abigail?" Will asked, handing me his I-Pod.
"You can call me Abby, all my friends do."

"I like Abigail. I think it's pretty," he said with a wink.

"Ok," I said blushing. I scrolled through the playlist and was shocked. I laughed out loud.

"What?" Ellie asked. "What's so funny?"

"Your artist list is almost identical to mine," I said.

"Oh, yeah? That surprises me seeing as you're friends with my sister."

"What, did she neglect to mention that we are polar opposites?"

"Seems so."

"Hey, what's wrong with my music?" Ellie pouted.

"You have terrible taste," Will and I said together, then we started laughing.

I turned on Rilo Kiley and sat back comfortably. I zoned out Ellie and Will catching up, and stared out of the window, singing softly to myself. Will made me feel queasy. It had been a long time since I had a crush. But, it looked like it was happening. I tried to reassure myself that it was ok because he lived all the way across the country.

We pulled up to a Cape Cod Style house with an expansive lawn. Everything was covered in snow. They climbed out of the car and Will got the suitcases out of the trunk, carrying them into the house. Ellie's parents met them at the door.

"Ellie, Abby, so good to see you!" her mother cried and threw her arms around Ellie, then me.

I smiled awkwardly (I was doing that a lot lately) and also received a hug from Ellie's dad. We went into the house which thankfully was warm and cozy. The cold weather was getting to me already. Mary, Ellie's mother, had made dinner. She had made a huge meal of pan fried fish, potatoes, salad and much more. I quietly sat at the table and made my plate with the family.

"What, don't you like fish?" George, Ellie's father asked staring at my plate of vegetables.

I felt myself blush. "I'm sorry, I'm a vegetarian."

"See, Dad, I'm not the only hippie in this world," Will exclaimed with a satisfied smirk.

"Yes, but she's from California."

"Way to make her feel welcome," Will quipped. Then he turned to me. "It's ok Abigail, I'm vegan. He gave me a real hard time about it. You know, real men eat steak."

"I just don't really like the taste of it," I said in a small voice.

"You don't have to defend yourself, dear. Now George, play nice," Mary ordered.

George smiled. "She knows I'm just giving her a hard time."

We finished the meal and ate dessert. Will looked at his watch and stood up.

"I better be going," he announced. "I've got a stack of journals to grade before tomorrow."

"Goodnight, son," George said.

"When will we see you?" Mary asked.

I listened eagerly for his response. Will looked at me and gave me a wink.

"I'll come around as much as I can, ok?"

Ellie threw her arms around him.

"Goodnight Willie."

I smiled," goodnight."

That was when I almost fainted. Will put his arms around me and gave me a hug. He pulled me tightly to him and I put my arms around his slender waist, hugging back. Then, a thought occurred to me: I could get used to this.

"I'll be seeing you two soon."

After Will left, we trudged up to Ellie's room. The trundle bed had been pulled out and made. The room was covered in girly accessories.

"God, Elle, it looks like a unicorn puked in here," I joked staring at the Barbies and stuffed animals.

"Hey, I always was a girly girl."

I changed into my pajamas and crawled onto the bed. Ellie changed and crawled into hers. That was when Ellie's cell rang. She talked for a few moments and then hung up.

"Will wants us to meet him for lunch after his classes."

That brought a smile to my face. I was going to get to hang out with Will. Ellie was silent for a moment.

"What's going on Abby?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You're being so quiet. It's not like you."

"I guess I'm just out of my element."

"You know, it's so good to see Will. We don't talk much. He does his thing, I do mine. Actually, his behavior has been rather odd," Ellie chattered.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like he's trying to play nice."

"Hmmm, maybe he is nice. Now, I'm ready to go to sleep. This jetlag is killing me."