chapter 7

Didi, I'm still not sure this is a good idea, Chuckie's never slept away from home unsupervised before"

He whispered the next part so the others wouldn't hear…"with girls".

But before Didi could answer Betty interrupted in her usual loud boisterous voice so that everybody could hear. She had never really got the whole whispering thing. She gave Chas one of her usual heavy handed pats on the back that nearly knocked him off his feet, "Stop fretting Chassy the pups have been friends since they were babies, they'll be fine".

For once Didi agreed with Betty, "You know Chas Chuckie and Kimi are growing up now, they are teenagers and The Lipshitz Teen Survival Guide says that teenagers that aren't allowed a bit of unsupervised freedom bottle it up, become rebellious and eventually resent you because of it".

She said the last part with a hint of worry in her voice; she was always concerned about that happening to her. Which was one of the reasons she had agreed to this sleep over in the first place. Chas nodded, he had never been one to argue with Lipshitz. "You're right Deed, it's just so hard seeing my little boy grow up and becoming a man. Didi smiled sympathetically, she would never say this but she always thought that Chas was overprotective to Chuckie and she thought he needed to give his son more freedom. She was aware that he was trying to hang on to his childhood as long as possible, it was so hard to let go.

She remembered that it started not long after his first wife, Melinda had died. Didi had almost immediately noticed a change in both Chuckie and Chas. Chuckie had become afraid of everything without the security of his mother's presence and in turn Chas had become very overprotective of him, perhaps trying to be both a mother and father to his son. She knew he worried that he was going to lose Chuckie and end up alone. She sensed that Chuckie was filling the gap in Chas's life that Melinda had left and her heart ached for him. Even though Chas had been happily married now for 12 years, the overprotective nature of his relationship with his son had never left him.

"Tommy's been looking forward to this for months, we have organised the sleeping arrangements, Kimi, Lil, Susie and Angelica are sleeping in mine and Stu's room and Tommy, Phil, Harold and Chuckie are sharing Tommy and Dil's rooms. I've stocked up on microwave popcorn, left money for a pizza delivery and bought a supply of drinks". Didi was justifiably proud of her organisational efforts and couldn't help but smile as she relayed all her days' efforts to the other adults.

"So where are you and Stu going" asked Betty curiously. "We're going for a meal at La Petite".

Betty and Chas perked up at hearing this, "I've heard it takes six months to get a reservation there" said Chas surprised and a little jealous. "Oooh swanky" added Betty nudging Didi's small frame and adding a cheeky wink.

"Seven months actually…we can't wait, it's going to be so romantic and then we're off to the Ritz Hotel"

"Whoa Deed, looks like Stu has pulled out all the stops this time" Betty said with a smirk and a snigger.

"This is going to be the best night ever"! Kimi Finster said excitedly.

"I still can't believe your mum actually agreed to let you do this Tommy" Chuckie exclaimed to his best friend.

"Well I am turning the big 13….I'm officially going to be a teenager now" he replied grinning like a fox. As he looked around the table he saw all his friends who had turned 13 and could already say they were teenagers. Apart from his younger brother Dil he was the last one in the group to reach this milestone. Tommy had been to everyone else's fantastic parties and now he was determined to make this one just as good, if not better.

"It's gonna be so great, instead of playing childish games like pass the parcel and musical chairs, we can play teen games like truth or dare and spin the bottle" said Lil.

Tommy looked down as he blushed listening to his friend and his secret crush talking about playing games that involved kissing and revealing truths that would otherwise be private. Chuckie noticed Tommy withdraw and put a hand on his friends shoulder, "You okay T"? He asked. Noticing that everyone had turned to stare at him he looked up faking a confident smile, "Ye I'm fine" he replied nervously as he placed his hand behind his head trying to reassure the others as well as himself, "Why wouldn't I be". There was a hint of scepticism in the looks from his friends but this was soon dismissed as they resumed chatting amongst themselves about the night's forthcoming events.

By 7pm Didi and Stu were nearly ready to leave, "Come on Deed we don't want to miss the reservation, not after seven months of waiting". Didi could hear the impending panic in her husband's voice but chose to ignore it as she was still fussing over Tommy. She had suddenly become very apprehensive about leaving her little boy alone, "The numbers are on the table, call me if anything goes wrong, the money's in my safe jar, you know the combination don't you?" Tommy nodded desperately trying to hide his exasperation with his mother and her fussing ways. She continued "Don't spend all of it and don't go out in the dark and…" Tommy interrupted "Mummmm" he could take no more; he couldn't stand there all night while she spelt out every potential danger that would now become him because he had turned into a teenager. He gave her a reassuring look "Stop worrying mum I'll be fine, I'm a teenager now you know". Didi looked at him for a moment, more than aware that this was delaying tactics on her part. "Just be careful" giving him a kiss on the cheek and a slightly tighter than usual hug. When she let go he practically pushed her out of the door, "Enjoy the meal" he shouted as he quickly slammed the door behind his parents grateful that they had, at last gone. Just to check, he listened attentively for the sound of the car engine starting and driving off down the path.

With Dil at his friend's house and his parents safely on their way to the restaurant Tommy grinned….now the fun could really begin.

At 7:30pm the doorbell rang and Tommy went to answer it. He greeted his twin best friends who he had known since he was one, Phil and Lil Deville. "Happy Birthday T" said Phil as he handed him a card and high fived him. His twin sister Lil followed suit as she handed him a perfectly wrapped box of shiny paper and a giant purple bow. "Happy birthday Tommy" she said as she handed him the present. She smiled sweetly at him, he had liked Lil ever since Phil had asked him to dance with her at the Valentine's Day dance so that he could sneak one of the cupcakes that Lil had made. Back then he had only been 11 years old and had been very niave about the topic of love, but over the years as Lil had grew and matured with him, Tommy found it ever more difficult to not notice how much of a beautiful woman she had developed into. At first he was confused about these new and unfamiliar feelings he was having but as he had more girlfriends and lost them all for the same reason he began to understand how he felt better, so now at 13 years old he was single for one reason, he was in love with Lil and no one would be able to be as good as she.

Next at the door were Chuckie and Kimi Finster, "Hi T" Chuckie said as he handed Tommy a ball shaped present that he had got for him, Chuckie's little sister Kimi followed behind, when Kimi passed Tommy she gave him a friendly hug and a birthday card from her and Chuckie.

Tommy smiled as his friends started to arrive, for a few moments as he sat waiting in the time between his parents left and Phil and Lil arrived he worried that no one would show up. Now his worries were over and he couldn't stop smiling as they continued to arrive.

"Go into the living room guys, there are snacks and drinks out ready for you, help yourself."

As Tommy was about to close the door it slammed back in his face knocking him to the ground, he rubbed his nose before he looked up at who had done this, he saw the one person he hoped wasn't going to come, his older cousin Angelica Pickles. She offered him only a brief glance as she felt no remorse for what she had done to her cousin, she threw a card into his lap and stormed into the living room saying, "This party better be good Pickles, or else I'm leaving."

I wish you would he thought to himself as he picked himself up. He had only invited her because his parents had made him. He was a teenager now and bigger and stronger than Angelica, he wasn't about to let her control him anymore. Gathering up all the courage he could muster he walked briskly over to her and grabbed her arm pulling her back into the hall and out the door.

"You listen to me he spat, "If you so much as torment me or try to control this party I will personally throw you out whether my parents like it or not, do you understand?" Angelica tried for a few seconds to struggle out of his grip but upon failing she reluctantly said "Fine!" with that he released her watching her nurse her wrist. He didn't feel sympathy for her as after all the things she had put him and his friends through he had grown to resent her.

Harold who had been stood holding Angelica's bag with Susie Carmicheal stared gobsmacked that someone had the courage to finally stand up to Angelica. Angelica had reached her limit, Tommy and his friends weren't going to take any of her crap anymore. Angelica walked in the house still slightly shaken by what had just occurred. Meanwhile Harold and Susie had composed themselves and now made their way to the front door.

Tommy looked embarrassed when he realised they had witnessed the scene. "I'm sorry you had to see that guys." "On the contrary" Susie said with a big grin on her face "I quite enjoyed it, you really put her in her place Tommy." "Yeah good going Tommy" Harold said in his usual lispy voice.

When Harold had given Tommy a card he preceded inside, Susie held back for a minute, "If you don't mind Tommy, I have a few things in store for the ice queen." They both laughed at the title, "of course not Susie" he replied, winking at her.

Tommy went upstairs and put all the sleeping bags in the correct rooms then continued to the kitchen to begin preparing the microwave popcorn while everyone chatted amongst themselves. In the living room Chuckie, Angelica, Susie and Harold were sat on the 4 person sofa, Kimi and Phil were sat on the sheepskin rug in front of the TV and Lil was sat on the oversized beanbag.

When Tommy walked in with two big bowls of microwave popcorn he handed one to Harold for his friends on the sofa and one for Kimi and Phil. Noticing that Lil didn't have any he rushed back into to make one more batch. When he returned he stood in front of the TV holding a DVD in his hand. "Prepare to be scared! I give to you, Apocalypse 2, Return of the Were Zombie, rated R" He smirked as he put the DVD in the player.

When he turned around, he looked around for somewhere to sit, Noticing his problem Lil scooted over to the edge and tapped the space next to her. Tommy tensed up for a moment, the thought of sitting next to Lil, touching her and sharing popcorn seemed to fill him with nerves and terrify him. Lil looked at him confused, had she done something wrong she thought to himself? Tommy composed himself and slowly made his way towards her.

"I'm not so sure about this guys, I don't want nightmares" Chuckie exclaimed although the real reason was that when he had nightmares he sometimes wet the bed and that was the last thing he wanted to happen at a sleep over.

As the DVD title menu came up horror music started to blare out of the speakers, Chuckie was starting to shake already and the movie hadn't even started yet, he just couldn't shake the impending fear and worry that he was feeling.

"Here" Angelica exclaimed exasperated, as she tossed him the cushion she had been leaning on. Chuckie held the cushion for a minute surprised beyond belief that Angelica had gave him a means of comfort for her. It was so unAngelica style. Angelica rolled her eyes as she watched him stare at it. "It's to cower behind you baby" but as she said it she felt Tommy's eyes on her, he was trying to secretly remind her of their agreement. Angelica sighed and turned back to Chuckie rephrasing, "It's so you don't have to watch the scary parts" she tried to fake a smile for him to believe she was sincere.

"Thanks Angelica" he said smiling at her, perhaps she's not as bad as I imagined, Chuckie thought to himself.

Tommy pressed play on the DVD remote as everyone got comfy and helped themselves to popcorn and drinks. Lil grinned as she looked over and saw the nervous look on Tommy's face, "I won't bite" she teased as she popped a piece of butter popcorn in her mouth. "Mmm yummy" she said. Tommy watched her mouth move as she bit and chewed and popped in pieces of popcorn, how he wished he could be that piece of popcorn, the stuff he wanted to do to her mouth. Tommy was snapped out of his fantasy when he heard an almighty screen. Looking over he saw a very amusing sight, Chuckie was huddled with his feet up to his chest and the cushion firmly pressed against his face, he looked over and saw Angelica clenching one fist as the other flicked the large amount of popcorn that Chuckie had undoubtedly chucked on her. Tommy didn't know if Chuckie was more scared of the movie or Angelica's reaction to having popcorn dropped on her.

Angelica tried to contain herself but she was reaching boiling point, Tommy watched as her pale skin turned a bright pink. Matters were made worst when Chuckie started to chant, "I'm a big brave dog, I'm a big brave dog, I'm a big brave dog" a line he had picked up when he was 2 to help him conquer his fear of the slide and since then it had brought him great comfort so it had stuck. Tommy could see Angelica was about to blow so he reached over and tapped Chuckie's arm, "Chuck is there any chance you could chant that in your head, we are trying to watch the movie and it's sorta…well…distracting" Chuckie peeped his head out of the cushion "Sorry Tommy".

"You know Finster, watching the movie instead of hiding away from it may make you less scared" Chuckie looked at her like she was crazy as did Tommy and everyone else. "How?" he asked very interested now. "Well it's like potty training, the more you do it the easier it gets" she shrugged matter of factly. Chuckie thought back to how scared he had been of the potty when he was first told by his dad that he had to use it, and she was right, over time it did get less scary and easier. Chuckie decided that Angelica may very well be onto something here. He took the cushion off himself and held onto it tightly in his lap as he forced himself to watch the screen. Her words had felt not angry and scary, but loving and reassuring, somehow they made him feel braver and more confident though he didn't understand why, Angelica had never had that effect on him.

"Oh and Finster, Don't EVER spill popcorn on me again!" she shouted not taking her eyes off the screen. Chuckie gulped as he took a piece of popcorn and popped it in his mouth.

After a few minutes she looked over at Chuckie, her words had had the desired effect, she smiled briefly. Though she would never admit it she felt a lot of sympathy for Chuckie because he was scared of everything, had to wear braces and as a result found it hard to talk to girls. That was why she set him up with her friend Samantha Shane when he was 12. She sometimes felt an overwhelming urge to protect him as a big sister would and at other times she felt something different, feelings she knew she shouldn't have but could not help. Being here reminded her of when her and Chuckie were 2 and 3 years old and had their first sleepover together, despite it not going exactly as she would have liked, that was her most treasured memory of him. The worst was when Chuckie decided he liked a bully named Megan who despite pulling him, putting bugs in his pants and pushing him over, for everything she did he was more drawn to her.

After that Angelica had bullied Chuckie more than ever in a bid to get the same attention Megan did, but it never worked, he just got more and more scared of her, so now she was attempting to be nicer to him in order to catch his eye. This way was a lot harder though as she had to do it without seeming suspicious but it was working much better.

Three quarters of the way through the movie Tommy looked around at his friends, he saw some rather peculiar sights. Chuckie was sat up bravely munching popcorn and watching the movie intently however Harold and Angelica two of the three oldest were cowered on the couch covering their faces with cushions. Susie had her arm around Harold trying to comfort him. Lil nudged Tommy and inclined him to glance down at Phil and Kimi, Kimi had her face buried scared into Phil's shoulder. Lil and Tommy smirked at each other upon seeing this. Tommy reached for a piece of popcorn and Lil did at the same time, their hands touched for a brief moment before both pulled back and turned away blushing. Tommy knew he needed an excuse to leave for a minute; he looked at his watch and saw it was time to order pizzas.

He got up out of his seat and made his way to the kitchen. He didn't noticed Lil follow him as he made his way over to the safe jar to retrieve some money, then over to the phone. He took the piece of paper he had got when his friends came in with their orders on. "Yes' errrmmm, one pepperoni, two farmhouses, a spicy beef, 2 margaritas, one vegetarian and one extra cheese, extra anchovies margarita" He waited a second for the man to write it down. The man explained it would be 30 minutes or it was free. "Thanks" with that he put the phone back and turned to go back to the living room, only then did he notice Lil standing in front of him.

"What's up Lil?" he was surprised to see her as he thought she would be busy watching the movie. "Nothing, I just wanted to stretch my legs" she smiled at him; how he loved that smile. "I know what you mean those bean bags can give you serious cramps" Tommy said wiggling his own legs to loosen them up.

"Did you see Kimi and Phil?" Lil said going into gossip mode but being quiet enough so no one else would hear".

"I know, it's a good job Chuckie was so into the movie or else he would have flipped, you know how he feels about anyone dating his little sister, especially his friends" Tommy said, as memories of when Chuckie had thought Kimi and Tommy were in love, it had almost ruined their, at the time 10 year friendship, Tommy remembered Chuckie's words. Because you know it's against friend rules to hit on your best friends sister.

Tommy knew if Chuckie ever saw then Phil would have some serious explaining to do.

"But what about Angelica and Chuckie?" Lil said changing the subject.

"I know, what's got into Chuckie being so brave and all and why's Angelica suddenly being so considerate to him?" Tommy asked stroking his chin.

Lil laughed at this, "Maybe she likes him" Lil said with a cheeky grin. They both looked at each other and said at the same time, "Nahhhh" they laughed together as they made their way back to the living room. But as Tommy tried to focus on the movie he kept glancing at Chuckie and Angelica, his mind was swirling, he was doubting what he had said earlier, maybe there is something there he thought to himself, memories of Megan swirled in his mind that he barely noticed the doorbell ring and the movie end.

He got up to answer it, when he opened it he saw a scrawny spotty teen about 18, "Sorry about the delay, the pizzas are on us he said slurring through his braces" "Errr Thanks" Tommy said taking the pizza's off him and going inside.

"Pizzas here" Tommy announced, everyone swooped down on him like a flock of birds, you would never have guessed that they had spent the last 2 hours eating popcorn. "Pepperoni for Chuckie, Margaritas for Susie and Angelica, Spicy beef for Harold, Farmhouses for me and Lil, Vegetarian for Kimi and last but not least, Extra cheese, Extra anchovies margarita for Phil" everyone grimaced at Phil's choice of pizza.

They all made their way back to the living room taking their previous places and enjoying their pizzas. As they ate them they all chatted happily about the movie, "I liked" Phil began chewing with his mouth open as a result food was flying everywhere. "Phillip! Eat with your mouth closed, you're spraying instead of saying" explained his twin sister Lil who was clearly annoyed. "Sorry" he said as he burped from the cola he was drinking.

"As I was saying, I loved the part where one zombie ripped the humans head off and ate it" Phil said with much enthusiasm. Everyone looked down at their pizzas, they were glad they were free because they didn't feel very hungry anymore; Phil on the other hand finished his pizza and a piece of everyone else's.

"That movie wasn't so scary" said Chuckie as he did an impression of a zombie walking. Angelica huffed; she hadn't expected the movie to be so scary and now felt stupid for telling Chuckie it wouldn't be scary and to stop being such a baby.

"Let's play spin the bottle" Angelica said trying to move the attention away from Chuckie and onto her.

Everyone looked at each other all feeling the same thing, worry, because soon they would be kissing each other whether they liked it or not,

"Don't tell me your scared of a few friendly kisses" she said putting emphasis on friendly smirking evilly.

"Of course not", Tommy said holding his head up high remembering Lil's words in the Java Lava today about not playing childish games, "I'll get a bottle, you guys make a circle" He grabbed an empty bottle from by the TV and brought it into the middle of the circle placing it down, he then took his place.

When he was comfy, Tommy looked around the circle, "Ok let's make some rules" he explained taking charge as the true leader that he was. "First, no same gender kissing, second, no family kissing and third, you have to kiss on the mouth for five seconds minimum" he grinned as he said the last part. Everyone nodded now extremely overcome with nerves. "Oh one more rule", he looked at Chuckie, "No overprotectiveness towards siblings" he gave Chuckie a stern look.

"Fine!" he said knowing he'd regret it, he didn't so much mind Kimi kissing, and he just didn't want to watch it.

"Then it's settled, we will all have one go before we play truth or dare?" Tommy explained, everyone agreed. "I'll go first" Tommy said as he got up and slowly made his way over to the bottle, he gulped looking round at all his friends knowing he'd be kissing one of them in a minute, he just prayed it was Lil. He had only agreed to play this as Lil had been the one to suggest it and he knew there was a good chance he would get her as it was only out of, Susie, Kimi and Lil.

Tommy spun the bottle, his hand shaking; he closed his eyes knowing he was delaying the inevitable. When he opened his eyes they met with Chuckies, the look on his face told him everything he needed to know, that the bottle had landed on Kimi, even though she was behind him he knew it was pointing at her. Tommy gulped. He just hoped Chuckie understood it was a game and that if Chuckie had got Lil Tommy would be the one giving Chuckie menacing looks.

Tommy was worried though after what happened last time when Chuckie thought Kimi and Tommy liked each other, Chuckie's words echoed in his head, Because you know, it's not cool to make a move on your best friends sister. He could already tell Chuckie wasn't happy about it but he knew he had no choice he had to do it.

He turned around and looked at Kimi, he could tell she didn't want to do this as she wasn't looking at Tommy. He followed her gaze and noticed she was looking at Phil, she looked just as nervous as he did and probably for the same reasons. He walked over to her slowly and leaned in whispering a silent sorry into her mouth, as their lips touched Tommy felt nothing, no spark, no fireworks, and no butterflies, they made no attempt to deepen the kiss. He smiled when he pulled away, this had confirmed a long running debate in his head that he didn't have feelings for Kimi as he thought he had done when he was 11. Tommy didn't notice the jealous faces of his twin friends Phil and Lil as they were forced to watch their secret crushes kiss one another.

As Tommy made his way back to his space he didn't dare look at Chuckie or Phil, but he could feel the eyes of his best friends boring into him. He felt awful, he had just betrayed two of his best friends.

"Your turn Phil" Tommy said avoiding eye contact; he was starting to regret agreeing to play this. Phil stood up and walked towards the middle of the circle, his eyes focused completely on Kimi, he wanted to wash the scent of Tommy off her lips and replace it with his own. He reached down and spun the bottle trying to manipulate it to land on Kimi.

When it stopped he looked in the direction that the bottle was pointing and silently cursed. This was the least person he ever wanted to kiss. Just my luck he thought to himself. When Angelica realised the bottle had landed on her she was ready to puke. "You have got to be kidding" she said aloud a look of horror plastered on her face, "I have to kiss fish boy?" she said cringing, everyone burst out laughing at this, everyone but Kimi, she felt horrible for him.

Angelica immediately started to panic and rummage around in her bag trying to find her breath mints as Phil approached, when he was in front of her she pulled them out and handed him one. "Use this before you even think about bringing that fishy found onto my beautiful lips" Phil rolled his eyes but obliged by popping the mint into his mouth; Angelica was repulsed, this was the boy who still enjoyed eating spaghetti because he thought they looked like worms.

"Does it have to be on the lips?" she pleaded to Tommy. Tommy who was smirking at her displeasure at the whole thing nodded, after a minute of chewing he swallowed it and leant in. Angelica counted very quickly to five and then pushed him off of her. They had both never been more thankful that something was over.

"Excuse me" Angelica screeched as she ran upstairs as fast as she could to rinse her mouth with mouthwash. "Hey, she wasn't any better" Phil joked, everyone laughed except for Chuckie who felt oddly sorry for her.

Next it was Susie's turn, the bottle landed on Harold. They both seemed to enjoy their kiss a little more than they had expected to. Everyone "Whoooed" and wolf whistled as they eventually pulled away from each other. Harold was blushing like crazy and his pale skinned lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh wow, thanks Susie,that was my first kiss" he replied, feeling rather shy and embarrassed by the others who were intently watching his reaction with some surprise. "No problem Harold, maybe later I give you second one" she replied with a cheeky wink. His smile, if possible, got bigger.

Just at that moment Angelica came bounding back downstairs, "Alright, alright, let's get on with game" she declared bossily. She was sick of seeing the lovebirds flirting and was a bit jealous that Susie had got a kiss from someone she liked and all she had got was a kiss from Phil. It was Harold's turn next and to his surprise and overwhelming joy the bottle landed on Susie again. Angelica's jaw almost hit the floor as she saw the result of the spin. Susie giggled, "I guess you'll be getting that second kiss sooner than you thought". Harold couldn't believe his luck….2 kisses in 5 minutes off Susie Carmichael. He had never been a lucky person in his whole life but now he felt like the luckiest man alive. The second kiss was even more passionate than the first; neither of them wanted it to end. "Okay you two get a room" Angelica said.

As they both broke away they stared dreamily into each other's eyes.

Next it was Chuckie's turn. For Angelica who always competed for Chuckie's attention and against Susie at everything it was heart-breaking and horrifying when the bottle landed on her arch enemy. "That's it" Angelica screamed as she stood up, furious and defeated towering over everyone else with a scowl of jealousy etched across her face. "Why does Susie get all the nice kisses and all I get is stuck with fish boy over there. Susie looked up at Angelica with a sense of disbelief and confusion about her anger. "It's not a completion "she replied calmly, "Why are you so bothered"? "I, I, I …" stuttered Angelica, suddenly losing the fury and appearing a little nervous. "Just forget it" she muttered and sat down hanging her head. As she did, she caught sight of a sympathetic Chuckie glancing her way who now felt guilty that he had to kiss Susie when it was definitely not what he wanted. He made his way over to her without looking towards Angelica, the girl he really wanted to kiss.

Lil and Tommy exchanged glances, they could see Angelica liked Chuckie and as they watched the displeasure in Chuckie's face as he kissed Susie they could see Chuckie clearly felt the same way.

Lil picked her iPhone out of her bag and text Tommy. Tommy had anticipated this move and in turn fished his Samsung Galaxy out of his blue jeans pocket. He read the words in the screen "We need to get them together", "Agreed" Tommy text back.

"Stupid Susie, first she takes my loyal friend from me and then she starts kissing the one boy I like" thought Angelica, but this time she kept her views to herself. When she raised her head she looked over at Tommy, he seemed like he was about to blow. She viewed the others in the circle and immediately noticed why. Lil was kissing Harold! She knew Tommy must like Lil by the look on his face. She somehow got pleasure from his dismay after what he had done to her wrist earlier in the evening. She would have some fun with that later. For now she waited for her turn. Tommy only unclenched his fists when he saw that Harold and Lil had finished.

Harold couldn't contain the smug look on his face.

Finally it was Angelica's turn; she looked around the circle at the three boys she could get, Phil, Chuckie and Harold. She spun to the bottle and to her dismay it landed on Harold. She wasn't going to make a fuss again and she strolled over to Harold quickly and put her lips on his. She waited five seconds and then let go, feeling no emotion whatsoever. Harold grinned, "Thanks Ange", he did have a little crush on her and had been trying since preschool to get a kiss from her.

Everyone was thankful that the game was finally over.

"Let's play truth or dare" chirped Kimi. Tommy thought about it for a moment, he was reluctant after the emotions that had emerged during the previous game. He glanced at his phone to check the time. "Okay, just a quick one though, it's getting late". "Who's going first"? he asked. "You should T, you're the birthday boy" said Chuckie, smiling at his best friend.

"Okay Phil, TRUTH or DARE" challenged Tommy? Tommy thought carefully for a second before turning to Phil and smirking as he suggested "I dare you to take your top off and do the robot dance for 5 minutes". Phil grinned and quickly yanked his top off replying "No probs T, I'm sure all the ladies would love to see my manly pecs". He winked at all the girls who were mostly amused more than attracted by his bravado. As he started to do his own version of the robot with a twist Tommy started the stopwatch on his iPhone. Lil got out her phone and text Tommy. "This is so embarrassing, I could kill you lol" Tommy replied "Lol, check Kimi out". Lil turned her attention to Kimi and knew straight what Tommy was referring to.

Kimi's eyes were glued to Phil's every movement; they followed his body with an aching and passion that struggled to hide her inner desire.

"OMG" Lil text back.

Chuckie turned around and his gaze fell on his sister Kimi. He couldn't believe how she was fawning over Phil, and he couldn't control the anger he felt as his blood boiled inside his veins. "You don't hit on your friends sister" he whispered through gritted teeth. Chuckie picked up Phil's shirt and angrily threw it at him. "Time's up" he said trying hard to disguise the anger in his voice, but not succeeding. Lil rolled her eyes, "Chuckie stop spoiling it" she shouted, "Just because Kimi is enjoying the view for once why do have to ruin her fun by being so overprotective. You don't see me stopping Phil, he's your friend, and you should trust him".

The room fell silent as Phil stood frozen to the spot holding his shirt looking over at Kimi who was embarrassed, furious and excited all at the same time.

She's right, you better stop Chuck or you're going to end up pushing me out of your life, you're not my Dad".

They all waited with baited breath for Chuckie's response. He stood silently for a minute thinking about Kimi's angry face, he had wished all his life for a mother a sister and now that he finally had his dream he was on the verge of losing her because he couldn't control his protective nature. He felt an overwhelming surge of guilt to both Phil and his sister. He knew what he had to do. "I'm sorry Kimi, can you forgive your stupid overprotective brother"? He offered, smiling and hoping this would be enough. Her face relaxed and the anger disappeared; she knew he was only behaving like this because he cared so much about her. "Yeah of course I can" she said as she gave him a sisterly hug. Lil whispered to Phil "You can put your shirt on now".

"I'm sorry dude" said Chuckie as he made his way over to Phil, "Friends?" he asked hopeful.

"Sure".

Phil sat back down, it was his turn and he knew just who he was going to ask, "Kimi, truth or dare?"

"Truth" she said staring into his eyes, she knew what he was going to ask and after the drama with Chuckie, she welcomed it. "Do you…." He began but stopped as he took a deep breath, this was a lot harder than he had previously thought, and he was struggling to get the words out. "Do you like me" he said it all in one breath; she barely heard him but knew what he had said.

She knew the next words out of her mouth would change their relationship forever, she was ready, "Yes, yes I do" she said. a sudden confidence sweeping over her, it was her turn next and she knew just what she wanted to ask, "Phillip truth or dare?" He smiled giving her a cheeky grin, "I'm a dare boy through and through" he winked at her. She smiled; she had hoped he would pick that. She made her way over to him swaying her hips as she went, she didn't care that everyone including her brother was watching, as she got to him she stood above him and then putting both legs over his sides sat on his lap, she placed her arms around his next and whispered, "I dare you to kiss me!" she demanded.

Phil looked up at Kimi, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his 13 and a half years, he loved her and he hoped later tonight he could tell her, but for now having her finally in his arms after 2 years of waiting was enough. He looked over at Chuckie who gave him a weak smile and heard Susie saying "You go girl!" but everything else was white noise, he had never felt this way before, he had butterflies in his stomach and he quickly felt the blood rushing to his pants, he knew there was no way to hide it, knew she would feel it. He leaned and touched her soft delicate lips, savouring the taste and hoping it would never end, after a few minutes she pulled his face closer and deepened the kiss, her tongue was like a magic wand, it worked wonders on his mouth. She wasn't like Angelica, she didn't mind that he had eaten anchovies, this was apparent when she forced her tongue into his mouth and started to battle with it. When they eventually broke away both were breathless and in a daze, it took them a while to regain themselves. Kimi went to get off him but not before looking down at his pants, at what she had achieved, she grinned and gave him a small peck on the cheek. When she got off him he fell backwards putting both hands on his face, this couldn't be real, he had to be dreaming.

It was Phil's go again, "I'm ok he said still out of breath, you take my go Lil". Lil grinned, "Harold truth or dare?" she asked him.

"Truth" he answered being cautious of the dares. Lil looked him dead in the eyes and asked, "Who do you like more, Susie or Angelica?"

He gulped getting ready to duck in case he got hit, "I…I…..I like Susie more" he said smiling at her and even chancing a kiss. He was surprised that he hadn't been shouted at or hit by Angelica, because he knew how much Angelica hated to lose to Susie.

"Aww Harold" Susie put on hand on Harold's cheek and the other behind his head as she brought him in for a kiss, just before she kissed him though she smiled, "I like you too Harold". Chuckie watched on, he was confused about how Angelica was acting. When Susie and Harold were finished kissing, Harold turned to her with the most sincere eyes she had ever seen, he got down on one knee and said, Susie Carmicheal, will you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?" Susie wanted to cry, she had always admired how sweet Harold was but never had she imagined this, "Yes Harold" She flung her arms around him almost knocking him to the floor. Now that Susie had her boyfriend she wanted to make sure Angelica got hers.

"Truth or Dare Angelica?" Susie said smirking evilly at her. "Dare" Angelica said almost afraid of what she would be made to do.

Susie grinned, "I dare you to apologise to Chuckie for all the nasty stuff you ever did to him, tell him why you did it and tell him how you feel about him" Angelica went white, she gulped, for the first time in her life she was absolutely terrified. "Can I do it in private?" she asked. at least she would have a shred of dignity that way.

Susie thought about this for a moment then nodded. Angelica grabbed Chuckie's arm and led him upstairs into Tommy's wardrobe, she wanted it to be dark because she didn't want to see his face as she told him all she had to say.

Chuckie stood quietly, he didn't know what to say, Angelica took a deep breath and began, "Please Chuckie, this is so hard for me to say, so don't interrupt" although she could barely see his face she knew he was nodding.

"I am truly sorry for everything I have ever done that was mean to you, I'm sorry if I made you scared, lied to you, or hurt you in any way, the reason I did it was because of that bloody Megan, I always secretly liked you, then I saw Megan being mean to you, you wanted her more, the more she hurt you, the more you liked her, I was jealous so I tried to copy her technique but it never had the same effect and now I'm trying to be nice to win your attention."

"Ang…" she put her finger to his mouth, he could see the tears streaming down her face, he knew how hard this was for her so he closed his mouth and let her continue.

"I love you" she said, so quietly he barely heard her.

"What?" he asked, he had heard her he just wanted to check he wasn't hearing things?

"I LOVE YOU!" she shouted. Chuckie stood opened mouthed for a minute before looking down at her, "Angelica, tonight you have shown me that you can be a nice person and made me realise that I love you too, will you hurt me if I try to kiss you now?"

Angelica nodded tears still brimming her eyes, Chuckie held her face in his hands not minding how wet his hands were getting, he leaned in and kissed a salty tear away from her eyes. She stood paralyzed by his touch, it felt so right. He leaned in and kissed her lips that tasted wet and salted but to him they tasted perfect, he made a brave move by pulling her close to him and deepening the kiss, she ran her hands through his messy red hair while he stroked her perfectly straightened blonde hair, they could have stayed like that forever but they knew they needed to get back to the party.

"Go wash your eyes before you come down, I'll make sure Tommy and Lil get together" Chuckie said winking, it was like he could read her mind. Before he left though Angelica asked "Chuckie are you my boyfriend now?" he smiled and nodded as did she as she made her way into the bathroom.

When he came down everyone was waiting for news, "It went well", by the love struck look on his face everyone guessed what had happened.

"Tommy truth or dare?" Chuckie asked, whether he picked truth or dare he would make sure he got with Lil.

"Truth and dare" he said grinning, everyone gasped.

"Okay smart boy, I dare you to tell Lil how you feel about her and then kiss her!" Tommy knew this day would come, he turned to Lil but before he could say anything she started to talk, "Tommy I know how you feel about me because I feel the same way and I would love to kiss you" With that she got up and kissed him to the ground.

I could really get used to this teenage thing he thought as he kissed her.

That night everyone slept dreaming of their new boyfriends and girlfriends, before Tommy drifted into a peaceful slumber he thought about how this had been the best party ever and how he had the best friends ever, even Angelica, with that he drifted to sleep, dreams of kissing Lil and more danced in his little 13 year old head.