Fantasy World

Maci burst through the front door of Steven's house, thrilled. She took the stairs two at a time to get to the living room where she heard noise. "I finished my first final!" she yelled out just before she got to the landing. 

Steven looked over at her and grinned. "Nice! How'd it go?" he asked as he stood up from his couch. 

She threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Amazing! And he even corrected them right away with one of those scantron machines. I got an A!" she exclaimed happily. 

Steven wrapped his arms tightly around her, ignoring the fact that his parents could walk in at any second. He wasn't even sure if she knew they had arrived, but he didn't care. "That's great! I'm proud of you!" he told her as they pulled away. She beamed up at him. 

"Just a few more left and I'm done and I graduate!" she added on excitedly. "I'll have my bachelors degree after this!"

He chuckled at her excitement. "That's awesome! I'm so proud of you, baby Steven," he told her as he teasingly messed with her hair. 

She raised her hands to fix it, not caring much. "And Steph gets here tomorrow after my second final!" she added on. She sighed heavily. "This week is going to be great!" she decided. 

Steven smiled at her. He couldn't care less if his family walked in and caught him. He couldn't resist with how happy she looked. His lips met hers and she quickly returned the kiss. 

Steven pulled back with a grin on his face. "I'm glad you're so happy," he whispered. 

She smiled widely at him. "Thank you." She pressed a quick kiss against his lips. 

He pulled her down on to the couch beside him, deciding she would watch TV with him. Maci slid her backpack into the seat beside her and cuddled up against him. "You know my parents are here, right?" he asked when she crossed her legs over his on the coffee table. 

Her eyes went wide as her face paled. "What?" she whispered out. She quickly scooted to the other side of the couch. Why hadn't be told her earlier? They could've seen them kiss or how she flung herself at him! She groaned. They're whole cover would've been blown to shreds. 

Steven laughed at her dramatic reaction. "Chill out. You don't have to act like the plague. I'm pretty sure they already know you're here since you screamed once you got inside," he reminded her. 

She felt sick all over again. "Steven! If your parents find out, your sister will. And Stephanie wouldn't hesitate to kill us," she reminded him. 

He shrugged it off as his parents walked into the room from their guest room. "Maci!" his mom exclaimed happily. She hurried over to pull the girl into a hug. "I didn't know you were here! Look at you, you've lost weight," she commented. 

Maci blushed and tugged at her shirt. Her eyes flickered to Steven and back to the woman that was like her second mom. "Yeah, I guess so. I've gone to the gym a little," she mumbled. 

Steven's dad stepped forward to pull her into a hug. "How are you, bug?" he asked. He'd always treated her more like a daughter than her own father ever had. 

Maci gave him a smile. "I'm doing good. Just finished my first final," she told him with a thumbs up. 

"That's my girl!" he exclaimed. They both laughed. "You coming with us to pick up Stephanie tomorrow?" he asked her as everyone settled down onto the couch. 

Against her wishes, she was stuck right next to Steven. Her heart was pounding. She just knew they would find out somehow. Something was bound to happen. "Yeah, I'd like to," she answered. 

"Good! We can pick you up on our way to the airport," he decided with a grin. 

Maci sat and talked to his parents while Steven slyly kept taking glances at her. Once, his mother caught his eye and raised both of her eyebrows. Steven's eyes widened in panic. He was six years old, getting caught cutting his sister's hair again. She nodded to the kitchen. "Come help me make dinner," she told him as she pushed herself up. 

Steven let out a sigh and followed her over. She turned on him once they were a safe distance away and around the corner. "What is going on?" she asked bluntly. 

Steven groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "Look, it's nothing. It was just something small for awhile, but after today, it's completely nothing," he assured her. 

His mother let out a sigh. "Why, Steven? I know she's a good girl and all, but why her? Your sister is going to be furious with both of you," she reminded him. "And doesn't she have a boyfriend? Kyle?"

Steven's mood darkened visibly at the name. "They haven't been together in awhile, Mom. He's a fucking-"

"Steven! Watch your language!" she scolded instantly. It may not have been her house, but he was still her son. 

He groaned. "It's true! The guy's a prick and hurt her. She deserves better," he stated. 

His mother watched him carefully. "Is you leaving her because your sister comes back better?" she asked softly. 

Steven frowned. "We both decided to... It's just... It was just for a little while... And we were both having fun so..." He lifted his shoulders in a defeated manor. 

His mother let out a sigh. "You've got it bad for her," she commented. She lightly put her hands on his shoulder. "You know, no matter how wrong it might be because of your sister, if you two honestly care about each other a lot, then don't let that stop you. If you care more about her than having to face your sister's anger, don't drop it," she coached gently. 

Steven's eyes stayed on his feet. He couldn't tell her how badly he wanted to keep whatever it was between them going. He never wanted to stop it. He was head over heels in love with her. 

"I'll take your dad grocery shopping. You two figure this out," she decided. 

He nodded his head as she walked into the living room. He listened to her ask his father to go to the store with her before they both left the house. After he heard their car drive down the road, he walked back to the living room. 

"So..." he began hesitantly. 

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

He cleared his throat. "Mom knows," he blurted out casually. 

Her face paled dramatic. He was almost scared she would puke on his coffee table. "What?" she choked out. "What'd you tell her?" she yelled at him, standing up. 

He held his hands up defensively. "I didn't say anything! She just asked what was going on!"

She glared at him. "She's going to tell Stephanie! You know what that means? That means my best friend will hate me!"

He shook his head. "She won't say anything-"

"Bull shit!" she yelled at him. 

He sighed. "You know, maybe we don't have to act like nothing is going on. Maybe we can just keep-"

Maci almost smacked him. "Are you serious?" she demanded. 

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Why not? Steph will get over it. We're both happy-"

"It's in the best friend rule book! Don't date siblings!" she snapped. "And I'm sure it's in the sibling handbook to not date best friends!"

Steven walked over to her. "What's really wrong with it? It's just innocent fun..."

"You're denying the truth-"

"I am not! It'll be fine-"

"In what universe would this be okay?" she demanded. She wasn't about to lose her best friend over her inability to stay away from Steven. 

He groaned in frustration. "This one! Just chill out, it will be fine if we just go with the flow-"

"Steven, you can't live in some fantasy world! We can't keep doing this!" Maci screamed at him.

The tall blonde rolled his eyes. "And why not? What's wrong with it? We're both having fun!"

Maci tried her hardest not to knock him upside the head with the hockey stick leaning against the wall. "Because I am your little sister's best friend! And she would be so pissed off if she found out about this!"

"She'll get over it," he said, waving his hand to dismiss her worry. "Now, do you want to watch Dexter or Big Bang Theory?" he asked calmly as he picked up the DVD cases to examine them.

This time, she didn't hesitate to pick up the hockey stick and smack him in the leg with it. Steven jumped away from her. "Fuck!" he yelled, trying to snatch the stick away. "What was that for?" he demanded. 

"To snap you out of your little delirious thoughts!"

He grimaced. "I'm not delirious! Stephanie can suck it up and deal with it. If she can't accept how much I like you, then she's being a terrible sister!" he snapped back without thinking. 

Maci stopped short at his words. Her throat got tight as she stared up at him in shock. Neither of them had said the words out loud. Things were only every implied or assumed between the two. Hearing the words actually spoken evoked a small bubble of panic inside of her. 

Steven watched her carefully. Her eyes flickered around the room, calculating the easiest way to escape the situation. In seconds, the hockey stick clattered to the ground, her back pack was slung over her shoulder, and she was out the door. 

Steven groaned loudly, threading his fingers through his short hair. He turned around and kicked the closest thing to him, the coffee table. He doubled over in sudden pain as his foot throbbed. "Fuck!"