Doorstep

Ever since summer break started, Lauren couldn't remember doing anything but stare at the ceiling and do nothing. The weather didn't help either; it was scorching hot and the humidity made it worse than it actually was. The only comfort she had was her tortoise, the air conditioning and her bed.

She curled into a fetal position, wrapping herself with blankets like a cocoon. Resting her head on top of a pillow, she sighed comfortably before her eyelids started to close from drowsiness. Suddenly the door burst open, awakening her from her stupor.

"Why the fuck is it so cold here?" Her brother complained loudly. Wearing nothing but a thin shirt and trunks, he shivered as the cold air from the air con touched his skin, sending goosebumps all over his body. He looked around for something to wrap himself with but found nothing except a Hello Kitty bathrobe which he wrapped around himself quickly (albeit reluctantly).

Lauren groaned and turned to look at her brother. He was standing there, shivering from the cold wearing her Hello Kitty bathrobe. Her brows furrowed as she took in the sight in front of her. Her brother wearing Hello Kitty? It wasn't possible. Lauren sat up and rubbed her eyes thinking that maybe it was an illusion. But when she saw that it wasn't, she tried to suppress her laugh by biting the insides of her cheek.

"Pete, what the fuck are you wearing?"

Pete groaned and rubbed his arms, "It's so cold! What do you expect me to do?"

Lauren laughed and shook her head at him, "Like to stop complaining and be a man?"

Pete rolled his eyes and glared at his sister. He opened his mouth to retort when a woman sauntered up to them and said, "Pete, stop bothering your sister will you?"

Lauren laughed again when she saw Pete hastily throw the Hello Kitty bathrobe away before his girlfriend, Liz, walked up to them. She was wearing a thin shirt and a neon pink bikini underneath but the cold didn't seem to bother her. Lauren threw the blankets off her and grabbed the air con remote control and turned it off. She sat on the edge of the bed and asked her brother, "Pete, why can't you be like Liz? She's more of a man than you!"

Liz laughed while Pete glared at his sister. He wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's waist and kissed the crown of her head and murmured, "Babe, you don't believe her, right?"

Liz giggled and faced him. She smiled while Pete grinned as if he won but Liz raised her hand as if to cup his cheek then suddenly, she flicked him on the forehead. "Oh, I believe her alright."

Pete pouted and rubbed his forehead as he leaned against the doorframe. Meanwhile, Liz plopped down on Lauren's bed, grinning as she said, "So there's a party tonight at the beach your stupid brother and I are going to and you should come with us too."

"What!" Pete shouted in disbelief. He was no longer leaning on the doorframe; he stood near the bed, his brows furrowed and his hands crossed over his chest. "She's not going."

Lauren groaned and fell back to the bed. Her brother was as stubborn as a bull and when he stood like that - arms crossed over his chest, brows furrowed - no discussion was needed. But his girlfriend was as stubborn as him and she was the only one who could get him to change his mind.

Liz frowned. She sat up and opened her mouth to retort but Lauren quickly said before an argument would ensue, "It's fine, Liz. I don't want to go anywhere tonight anyway."

Liz looked at her and sighed. Pouting slightly, she said, "If that's what you want, babe, then okay."

She turned to Pete and glared at him, dragging her thumb across her neck as a threat for later. Pete gulped and left quickly, not wanting to face the wrath of his girlfriend. Liz turned to Lauren before she left and said, "If you need anything, you can call me anytime. I'll have my phone with me all the time, okay?"

Finally, after Lauren heard her footsteps get farther away and the door click, she turned and stared at the ceiling.

"Finally! Some peace and quiet."

Little did she know that the peace won't last for long.