You're Automatic.

"Amanda? Wow, is that you?"

My eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. For a second, my problems disappeared and I smiled as the man in front of me. "Hey guys! You all look so handsome!"

Bill smiled, his cheeks turning slightly pink. He looked me up and down and grinned, his eyes bright, "Danke! You look lovely, Amanda!" He eyes lingered on my face and I really hoped the makeup I'd used to cover up the bruises was still doing it's job.

I jumped as Tom put his hand on my face, rubbing his thumb over the bruise under my eye. "What happened? You have a little bit of a bruise." He looked concerned, his eyes searched mine for something.

I pulled my face back. "I fell, no big deal." I shrugged, hoping that would dismiss the it and they wouldn't think anything of it. After all, they'd seen I was a klutz when they first met me. It wasn't impossible for me to fall. I looked over at my step-dad, whom hadn't noticed me talking to the four handsome young men in front of me.

"Maybe we can all sit and eat together, us and your boyfriend," Georg suggested with a smile.

I laughed and shook my head, looking at Skye then the boys. "Boyfriend? No, this is Skye. And we can't, we're here with our mom and step-dad." They seemed disappointed, but didn't argue.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Skye. Amanda told us a lot about you," Bill said with an adorable smile, holding his hand out for Skye to shake.

Skye grinned and shook Bill's hand. "Oh has she? Then you already know I'm the best big brother in the world. And I'm sexier than anyone." He chuckled.

I laughed, and Shawn looked over at us. He suddenly looked like a bull that had spotted red, ready to storm over and throw me across the room. Luckily, he stayed where he was and kept glaring at me. I cringed, standing closer to Skye for protection. "I really wish we could sit with you guys, though," I muttered, pulling my look from Shawn's glare.

"Well, maybe we can hang out after dinner?" Bill looked hopeful, and it was so adorable it made my heart jump.

"She'll go," Skye answered before I even had a second to do anything. He looked at me and smiled, "Don't worry, we'll figure something out." He winked.

The boys looked up as their party was called. Gustav lead the way, and Tom kissed my cheek before following with Georg. "I guess we'll see you later then," Bill said with a smile. He took my hand and gently kissed it before catching up with the others.

Skye looked at me, the grin on his face huge. "Ooh, Mandy has a boyfriend!" He looked about ready to explode and bounced back and forth. "No, make that two boyfriends!" He laughed.

I ducked my head and blushed. "N-no I don't. I don't know what you're talking about." I tried to look through the crowd of people waiting for the tables to find the guys, but had no luck.

Skye made a face and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever! Tom looked ready to rip your clothes off as soon as he laid eyes on you!" He snapped in a stereotypical gay boy way. His eyes went wide and he smiled, "And Bill? Oh my god, he's adorable. A romantic gentleman." He sighed and shook his head. Had Skye not just gone through a bad breakup with his last girlfriend, I think he probably would've asked Bill out.

I giggled, remembering what Bill had told me earlier. "Skyler, you don't even know how true that is." I made sure to keep quiet, not wanting to draw any more attention from Shawn than we already had. His expression begged for more, but I waved him off. "I'll tell you later." Perfect timing; a waitress called out name and we were lead to out table.

I nearly collapsed when I saw it was right next to the booth the boys were at. How convenient. I sat with my back to them, hoping they wouldn't distract me, and Shawn took the seat beside me. "Who are they?" he growled quietly.

I looked over my menu and shrugged, "Just some people I know." I pretended to be engrossed by the menu as he grunted and looked at his own, mumbling under his breath.

After we gave our orders to the waitress, we all sat and chatted aimlessly. After a few minutes, Shawn and mom excused themselves and left the table. He was barely out of sight before something bounced off the back of my head. They guys stifled their laughter and shushed each other. They sound like a bunch of teenagers.

I turned to look at them and Tom gestured to a paper napkin folded into a paper airplane. I picked it up and unfolded it, reading what was written.

"We were thinking of going to a bar after dinner. Are you okay with that?"

I searched for something to write with but came up with nothing. Just then, a pen hit the back of my head and the four boys behind me exploded in riotous laughter for a minute before stifling it and shushing each other again. I held back a laugh of my own and pulled the pen out of my hair.

"Underage. Can't get in," I wrote below their question. I folded waded the paper up and attached the pen before throwing it back. I waited for them to toss it back, almost losing it under the table when they did.

"Any ideas then?"

I thought for a minute and looked at Skye. He seemed as interested in this as I was. He wrote "park" with his finger on the table and I nodded."There's a park by my house, just two blocks up. I'll meet you guys there after dinner." I tossed it back and waited, eyes glued on the restroom doors since I knew my mom and step-dad should be coming back any minute. This time, Skye caught the napkin and opened it.

"Okay, sounds good. See you then!"

I smiled. "Okay, awesome. Don't forget!" I threw the napkin and pen back just in time as my mom and step-dad headed back with the waitress and our food right behind them. I waited as each minute ticked by slower and slower.

We shuffled our way out the door, everyone in a slightly better mood from eating. I hadn't eat anything except the occasional fry I stole from Skye. I wasn't hungry, my stomach was still in knots. the guys had left a few minutes before us but, after we walked out the door, I spotted them by the Cadillac smoking. Out car was close enough that I hollered a faux goodbye to them and waved. they smiled and waved back, all shouting their own farewells.

I climbed into the car and buckled my seat belt, watching the guys talking and laugh while they smoked. I leaned my head over on Skye's shoulder as Shawn pulled the car out of the lot. I closed my eyes and sighed, drained and wanting sleep. Next thing I knew, we were home and Skye was carrying me into the house. I glanced toward the street as a black Cadillac drove past the house and I smiled.

"I think it's time for bed," Shawn said with a yawn, watching Skye carry me into the house. I pretended to be asleep, hoping to avoid him saying anything to me. He headed for his bed room with mom as Skye carried be up the stairs.

He set me on my bed and jumped nearly a foot in the air when I sat up, awake. "Jesus Christ, Amanda Sanders! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" He held his hand over his heart and batted at my playfully. He sat on the edge of his bed and took a deep breath.

I giggled and got up, walking over to the mirror. I checked my makeup and hair, fixing the nap hear and smudged eyeliner. I brushed my teeth again and walked into the room where Skye stood by the open window. "How do I look?" I whispered, putting myself on display and doing a turn.

He laughed quietly and gave me two thumbs up. "Stun 'em, Amy. I won't wait up for you," he whispered with a wink as I climbed out the window. "Don't do anything I wouldn't," he called quietly, waving.

I snickered and tiptoed across the roof outside the window. I dropped to the ground and quietly walked through the yard until I got to the sidewalk where I turned me quick walk into a brisk jog toward the park.

When I arrived at my destination, I could hear laughter and see vague shapes moving in the darkness. I knew it was them, the Cadillac was parked by the curb. I walked up and found myself laughing. Bill was on the swings, going as high as he could; Tom was swinging across the monkey bars, bending his knees so his feet didn't drag across the ground; George and Gustav were fighting over who got to go down the slide first.

"Hey Amanda!" Bill slowed his swinging down until he was just swaying back and forth. "We thought you'd forgotten about us." He grinned at me.

I shook my head and walked over to him. "No, of course not. I was just waiting for the opportune moment to sneak out." I winked, but doubted he could see that in the dim light from the street lamps. I shivered at the chill in the air, again forgetting my jacket.

Bill tilted his head and pulled his leather jacket off before handing it to me. "Here. I think you need this more than I do." He smiled.

I returned the smile and took his jacket. His body heat already made it warm. "Thank you." I walked over to the swing next to him. "Have you ever just swung high and jumped off?" I asked, kicking my legs to gain momentum to swing.

He nodded, following my lead. "I haven't since I was little, though. I could land perfectly on my feet a lot, made the other kids jealous." He chuckled at the memory.

I watched Georg and Gustav push Tom back and forth on the zip line, laughing like kids. I wondered what they were like when they were little. I looked at Bill as he swung beside me. I imagined he was cute, probably drug into a lot of trouble by his twin. I giggled and pushed myself off the swing, flailing my arms as I landed on my feet but was sent off balance and toppled over. I laughed and watched Bill push himself off and land on his feet, almost doing the same as me but regaining his balance. "Now I see why everyone was so jealous," I muttered as he helped me to my feet. "I bet I can get it this time."

He laughed and we raced back to the swings. He swung, nearly in unison and side by side. "I bet you'll fall again," he teased, swinging an arm out to bat at me.

I stuck my tongue out. "No, I bet you will," I said back, sounding like I was six years old again.We pushed ourselves off the swings again and this time I landed on my feet while he fell over. I pointed at him and laughed, but screamed as he grabbed my arm and pulled me to the ground. My face went bright red as I landed on top of him, my face inches from his. I hoped it was dark enough to hide my blush. We there for a while, just laughing. "You smell really good," I blurted, not meaning to say it but to just keep it in my head.

He laughed again, then leaned up to smell me. "Danke. You do too." He looked at me, and I was unable to read his expression. We both just laid there, looking at each other. Then it was his turn to blurt something: "You have the prettiest blue eyes."

I smiled and blushed again. "You have the most gorgeous brown eyes. Until I met you this afternoon, I thought my brother's eyes were the prettiest." I laughed sheepishly and cleared my throat, moving to get up.

I had barely moved an inch when Bill put a hand on the back of my neck and leaned up, pressing his lips to mine. I blinked, startled, then relaxed and gave in to it.

I hadn't realized that the others had gone silent until I heard their applause and whistles. I pulled back and looked at them, almost immediately hiding my face in Bill's hair. He laughed and nuzzled his face against my cheek, kissing it.