Anonymous

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?” I screeched as I stormed out of Louis’ bedroom, marching straight over to where Harry was seated on the couch. “SNOGGING MY SISTER?!”

Before he could recover from his shock, I went over and smacked him upside the head, the palm of my hand stinging from the blow.

“I didn’t snog your sister!” Harry argued, cowering back against the sofa and bringing up his hands to protect his face so my next swing didn’t connect with it. “We were playing videogames, and she leaned over and kissed me! I swear, I didn’t reciprocate at all.”

I continued to glare at him, debating whether he was telling me the truth or not, as he added, “The second she put her lips on mine, I pushed her away and hurried out of your house. She didn’t even get to try to use tongue or anything.”

No matter how much I wanted to accuse him of being a pedophile, I couldn’t. It was obvious that he was telling the truth, that he wasn’t trying to go after my baby sister. And I couldn’t really blame him for something she initiated.

Letting out a sigh that seemed to deflate my body, I shook my head. “I just can’t believe that you were the guy she fancied.”

“What?” Harry gasped, putting a hand to his chest, pretending to be offended. “What’s wrong with me?”

“You’re six years older than her,” I reminded him. “And you suck at videogames, which is her ultimate love in the world. Why would she fall in love with someone who’s absolutely no competition for her?”

“Wow, Jess,” he stated drily, “tell us how you really feel.” He cleared his throat and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees before saying, “I think she likes seeing me get all riled up when she beats me and she likes that she can tease me about being bad at playing the game.”

“Why am I getting the feeling that you’ll actually go for her once she’s old enough?” I accused, narrowing my eyes threateningly.

Instead of answering, he turned his eyes back to the telly, pretending that the erectile dysfunction commercial was the most interesting thing that he’d ever seen in his life.



“Really, Maria?” I sighed, crossing my arms as I stood in the doorway of the basement, “You just went in straight for the snog?”

She turned her head slightly, probably trying to glare at me, before pausing her game. The image on the screen stilled as she kneeled against the back of the sofa, her arms crossed over the top of the cushion. “How did you find out?”

“Harry told Louis, and Louis told me,” I replied. “You do realize there’s a massive age difference, yeah?”

“I wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t been giving me clues that he wanted me to!” she argued.

“And what clues were those?” I almost felt bad for her. It was obvious that Harry had just been his usual friendly, sweet self, the same personality that made so many girls before my sister fall for him, and she’d read too much into everything. I could relate, since Elena had done it so many times with various boys through our adolescence. Nothing sucked worse than being played.

“We were goofing around and bantering, and he was teasing me, and I just figured that it was like the movies. So I kissed him.”

I bit my lip to keep my smile suppressed as I asked the question that was dying to come out, “How was it?”

“It was…” Maria let out a breath. “I could tell that he didn’t want to kiss me, but I thought it was nice. His lips were really soft and warm, which I think is the way they’re supposed to be. I think he just wasn’t sold on the idea because I’m only an A-cup right now. Wait until I get older and my boobs get as big as yours. Then he’ll be sorry that he pushed me away.”

I burst out laughing, unable to keep the emotion inside, slapping my hand over my mouth. “Oh my God, Maria, I can’t believe you just said that!”

“What?! It’s true. Because everyone can see that I’m pretty right now, but they still see me as a little kid. But one day, I’m going to be hot, and no one’s going to say that I’m a little kid anymore.”

I stared at the girl sitting on the sofa in front of me in awe. When I was her age, I was extremely self-conscious about my weight, the way my weight sat on my body, the way my eyes crunched up when I smiled for real, how my feet felt too small for my body. I disliked almost everything about my appearance.

Yet Maria didn’t have any of those problems. Even though she was at the age where girls typically started to realize that they weren’t like the rest and pick apart the way they looked because they thought they were wrong, Maria wasn’t like that. She was confident and reassured about everything.

“You’re right,” I told her honestly. “Harry’s going to regret he met you when you were so young.”

“And he’s going to try to reel me in when I’m older, and I’m just going to turn around and walk away. He can kiss my arse.”

“Very classy,” I remarked sarcastically. For a second, we both looked at each other, her eyes sparkling. It seemed that she wasn’t annoyed by my presence for the first time in her life.

So I decided to take a risk. “I’m going to make ice cream sundaes and tea. Do you want any?”

Her eyebrows pulled together. “Since when do you offer to get me ice cream and tea? I usually have to beg you while you’re making some for yourself.”

I shrugged. “Maybe I feel like being nice. Are you going to take it or leave it?”

“Take it. Duh.” She grinned shortly at me before spinning back around to face the telly, resuming her game and hitting the keys on the controller in her hands spastically.

I started up the stairs, smiling, before Maria called, “Oh, wait, Jess!”

“What?” I responded, sticking my head back into the basement, my feet still on the second and third steps.

“Thanks. For everything. You’re kind of a somewhat okay sister sometimes.”

I snorted shortly before responding, “Thanks. You’re not the worst, either, I guess.”

“Oh, and make sure you don’t put any of that Splenda crap in my tea. I want the real sugar, the packets that are hidden in the back of the snack cabinet.”

I let out a sigh. I had no idea how she could tell the difference when it was hidden inside another liquid, but somehow, she sniped it out every time.

“You got it.”