Ain't It Fun

"Alright, stop sulking."

A teal throw pillow went flying through the air, hitting Devin square in the face. She broke from her thoughts and glared at her younger brother. He was sitting on the other side of the living room, smirking at her in triumph.

"What the hell, Sam," Devin hissed at him, hurling the pillow back. It missed him by a few inches.

"Language!" their mother shouted from the kitchen.

Sam chuckled. "I said, 'stop sulking.' It's getting really annoying."

"Oh, sorry to annoy you. Too bad, I don't care." Devin smirked and then looked in the direction of the kitchen. She lowered her voice before mumbling, "Jackass."

It had only been two days since Devin had returned home and she was already itching to leave. She always felt cramped in the house. She had two younger brothers and two older sisters so growing up in their five bedroom, three bathroom home was chaos. Devin had shared a room with her sister closest in age, Alyson. She was two years older than Devin but she stayed home for college so Devin never had the chance to have her own room. Jocelyn, the oldest of all five kids, moved when she graduated high school five years before but moved back after college graduation. Sam had to share a room with their youngest brother Wyatt and at the rate the rest of the family was going, they weren't ever going to move out either. The extra room was always reserved for their grandparents who were prone to impromptu overnight visits.

Devin wondered for a while if the fact that her home was so chaotic had helped her decision to go to Australia. She dismissed the idea when she realized just how lonely she was in her single dorm room. Being away for so long though, got her accustomed to the lifestyle. It didn't help that Aly had brought home her lovable, yet loud boyfriend for the holidays and Jocelyn had invited a two of her friends to spend Christmas with them so the house was even more packed than usual.

"Can you believe this mad house?" Sam stated, as if he knew what Devin had been thinking.

"Where is everyone going to stay?" she asked in reply.

Sam shrugged. "Mom and Dad were fighting last night about letting Aly and Grant stay in Jocelyn's room. Obviously Dad doesn't like the idea. But anyway, I guess Jocelyn and her friends are going to stay in the basement. Which Dad hates even more because it's his 'man cave.''

Devin rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh. "Well, at least I get my own room."

"Lucky you."

----

"Either you can tell me what's wrong or you can help me bake some pies," Devin's mother stated, her back to her daughter.

Devin snorted at her mother's attempt to get her to help. Devin had not inherited her mother's flare for baking. All the meals she had school that weren't from the cafeteria were microwavable. Her mother knew she would be no help. She just wanted information.

Pulling one of her legs up so her foot could rest on the barstool where she seated at the island, Devin rested her chin on her knee. "Mom, there's nothing to tell. I'm fine." When her mother turned and gave her a raised eyebrow look, Devin shook her head. "If there was anything important to tell, I'd tell you. You know that."

"Sweetie," her mother sighed, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "I do know you. That's why I know something's wrong."

How do mothers do that?

"Why are boys so stupid?" Devin blurted, unable to hold back her thoughts and tears any longer. She knew her mother was right. She couldn't deny it any longer. The more she held it in, the worse she felt. She had to tell someone.

Her mother set down the dish cloth and rushed to her side. She brushed back the younger girl's blonde hair so their matching hazel eyes could meet. "Oh sweetie, what happened? You know you can tell me everything."

And Devin did just that. She told her mother all that had happened between her and Ashton. She did leave out how intoxicating it felt to kiss Ashton and how she never wanted to kiss another boy that way, though. She left out how her skin still burned where Ashton fingers had grazed her skin while in their embrace. She even left out how she actually didn't mind the feeling of Ashton's tongue against her own. She figured her mother didn't need every little detail. Her mother didn't need to know how she thought about the kiss every second that she wasn't preoccupied. No one needed to know.

"Honey, have you talked to him?" the older woman asked. She sat down on the barstool next to Devin. "It sounds like you two need to talk."

Devin shook her head and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her sweater. "I haven't really talked to anyone, honestly."

Her mother sighed. "You inherited that from your father, let me tell you. I can't pry anything out of him. If he's upset, there's no use in trying to find out what's wrong. Now, your sister on the other hand, I can't get her to shut up about her problems-"

"Mom," Devin cut in, furrowing her eyebrows. "Can we get back to me for like a second?"

"Right, right. Okay, the first thing that you're going to do when you get on campus in January is march to Ashton's room and demand to talk to him. Don't take no for an answer. You need to talk to him. That's the only way you're going to work this out, okay?"

Devin only hoped she was right.

----

Michael called during Christmas dinner. It was the worst timing in human history. Devin's family had a strict rule against taking calls on Christmas and especially at dinner. They had a tradition of eating dinner at 3 P.M. and just snacking on food the rest of the day while watching various Christmas movies. She did manage to slip away, faking a sick stomach and locking herself in the bathroom.

"Michael?" Devin whispered into her cell phone. She sat on the edge of the bathtub, waiting for a reply.

"Why are we whispering?" a voice that was not Michael's murmured in response.

Devin froze up; she knew that it was Ashton right away. She knew that it was a very drunk Ashton.

"Ashton, oh my God, give me my phone. Who are you even talking to?" Devin heard Michael shouted at him in the background.

Ashton just giggled. She heard them fighting for the phone before Michael's voice filled her ear.

"Oh my God, Dev," he mumbled. "No, Ash, stop. Lay down. You need to sleep. Devin, I'm so sorry. Fuck. I just let him mess with my phone 'cause he's drunk but I didn't think he would call anyone, much less call you. Jesus. I mean he could have called anyone."

She knew that he was just trying to make her feel better but he wasn't doing a great job. "Isn't it like 6 in the morning over there?"

"Is it?" he asked, directed more towards himself. He paused and Devin could imagine him pulling his phone from his ear to check the time. "I guess it is. Ash, showed up at my house at like 4 A.M., half drunk and on his way to getting pissed. He fucking pounded on my window until I opened and then he threw a six-pack of beer into my room, along with himself. I've been awake with him since then."

"Merry Christmas," Devin muttered, sarcastically.

"No kidding. Jesus, I can't believe he did this. Who gets drunk on Christmas?"

"I don't know, Mike."

"And then he has the nerve to call you," Michael kept rambling. "What a dick move."

"I know."

"I'm sorry, Dev."

"I know." They both went quiet for a moment. Devin no longer heard Ashton's giggles in the background. "Is he asleep?"

She heard Michael shuffle around, assumably towards his bed. "Yeah. He's out. When he wakes up, I'm so lecturing at his ass."

Devin chuckled as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Don't be too hard on him. Sounds like he'll have a killer headache."

"I wouldn't worry about him. Are you okay? I really am sorry."

It was obvious how sorry Michael was. She could hear it in his voice. "I'll be fine, Mike. I really should get back to dinner, though. I'm not supposed to take calls during Christmas. You should get some sleep, now. Ashton'll probably be out for hours."

"Yeah, alright. I'll text you or something," Michael stated. She heard him sigh and then the creak of his bed. "I'll have to sleep on the floor because of this asshole."

"Merry Christmas, Mikey."

"Merry Christmas, Dev."