chapter 12

this takes place a year after they went to Japan the first time Tommy saw that kimi was feling homesick so he made plans to take her to Japan for to weeks he got the tickets for the trip to Japan then went to tell her she was excited to see her dad again he told her parents that he was taken her to Japan for to weeks they got there and tommy said Takushī timi said how did you learn to toke Japanese he said i learned it just for this moment they went to Kimi's dad's house then Tommy said Kon'nichiwa then he said she was homesick and i payed for the tickets to come here for 2weeks it was 2weeks later then he said i have a soccer game tomorrow but if you wont i can bring her back in 2 weeks hes said ok then they went home the next day

It wasn't simple being in love with your best friend's little sister. I mean, I loved the entire Finster family, don't get me wrong, but I was in love with Kimi. We'd been best friends since we were in diapers and I'd pretty much been in love with her since I was nine.

"Aye yo bitch, what are you thinking so hard about? Get your head in the game," Phil said, kicking a soccer ball at my head that I barely dodged.

I growled before picking up the ball and throwing it harder than necessary back at him. "Hey dick, can you refrain yourself from causing me permanent brain damage?"

The rest of the team laughed and coach called a break so I ran over to my bag to grab some water. I heard someone let out a whistle and turned to see Kimi and Lil standing by the field. I ran over to them while unscrewing my water, yeah I'm pretty talented sometimes.

"What's up ladies, you enjoyin' the show?" I asked, leaning back against the fence that surrounded the field.

"If you're the show then baby I want front row," Kimi giggled, eyeing my naked torso.

I flexed my arms and made sure that my muscles were on full display. "You want to come backstage? I can show you how good I am with me hands too; you don't get to see that too much on the soccer field."

Lil let out a gagging sound and said, "You two are so disgusting. Why don't you just fuck and get it over with? This tension and flirting thing that you're doing isn't helping anything."

I felt my cheeks heat up but I scratched my head and rolled my eyes to cover it up. I glanced over at Kimi out of the corner of my eye and saw her glaring at Lil. Something was seriously weird with her right now and I needed to figure out what it was.

Before I could say anything I heard the coach shouting at us to get back out onto the field. "Sadly I have to bid you adieu, the coach calls. Wait; are you two hanging out here until after practice is over?"

Kimi gave me a cocky smile and asked, "I don't know, do you want us to? What if we have more important things to do on a Saturday in the middle of June?"

I sheepish rubbed the back of my head. "I don't know, I just thought we could go grab some ice cream and head out to the beach or something…but you don't have to if you don't want to."

She smiled and placed a hand on my arm. "That's why I'm here; I took Chuckie's car today so that meant that I had to come pick him up from chess practice or whatever it is that he does after school, but apparently he got a ride with someone else so my afternoon is completely free."

"Pickles, get your ass onto that field," the coach shouted. Then he caught sight of the girls, "I'm sorry for the language girls, I didn't realize that you were there."

I ran back onto the field and into the laughing that was coming from the guys. One of the forwards slapped me on the back, "Does Finster know that you're banging his sister? I think he'd beat your ass if he did."

I rolled my eyes before dribbling the ball back down the field and kicking it into the goal as hard as I could. I hated it when the guys teased me about Kimi, she was way better than what they gave her credit for.

Kimi's Point of View:

I sat on the bleachers and watched the boys practice. Tommy looked so good with his shirt off and his torso covered in sweat. He'd worked hard on those muscles since freshman year and now that we're going into junior year he had an amazing set of abs with yummy arms.

"You're so crushing on Tommy. Why haven't you said anything to him about it yet?" Lil asked, leaning back on her elbows. "You two would be the cutest couple ever."

I sighed before rubbing my face. "Lil, it's not that simple. You know Chuckie would flip shit if we ever got together. He hates it when I date guys in general but could you imagine his response when I date his best friend? I mean do we have to think back to that Halloween when we were eleven?"

She let out a groan before shaking her head and saying, "You're just using that as an excuse. You're afraid that Tommy's going to treat you like Evan did and it's stupid, we've known Tommy pretty much our entire lives. We know that he's not going to be a prick like he was."

I sighed before lying down on the bleacher bench. "I know that he's not going to be like Evan but I'm afraid that if I tell him how I fell he'll stop talking to me. I have to have Tommy in my life; he's one of my best friends."

Lil let out a loud groan that had the girls on the other side of the bleachers looking over at us. I made a face at them that made them look away from us in disgust. Lil and I locked eyes before bursting out into a fit of giggles.

Soon enough the practice was over and someone was blocking the sun that was warming my face. I cracked my eyes open enough to see Tommy staring down at me with a smirk on his lips. I rolled my eyes and slid my Ray-Bans further up my nose.

"Are you going to hang out or do I have to go with one of those bitchy girls who've been stalking me all of practice?" he asked, flopping down across to my hips.

Oh sweet Jesus, Tommy was sitting on my pelvis. I didn't know what to do or how to respond to this. I looked over and saw Lil running onto the field so there was no way that she was going to tease us over it so I figured that I shouldn't make a big deal out of it.

I shrugged it off by putting a finger to my chin and tapping it like I was in deep thought. "I don't know, wouldn't you like to go with one of those girls? I mean they'd put out at the drop of hat for you. Or I guess the drop of her panties is more precise

He shook his head before jumping off of me and taking my hand in his. As we started off towards the car Tommy smile, "You know that I'm not into that stuff anymore. I'm looking for a girl that I can have a serious relationship with instead of a meaningless hookup. I figured you would know that after the millions of times we've talked about it."

I rolled my eyes again before unlocking the car and sliding into the driver's seat. Once Tommy was inside I said, "Do you realize how naive that sounds? You're a sixteen year old boy and you're saying that you want a serious relationship? You're either so deep in the closet that you found Narnia or you're in love with someone, which one is it?"

I saw him run his thumb across his lower lip before smiling. "I'm in love with this girl and she's the most amazing person that I've ever met in my life. She fun, smart, and insanely beautiful; she's so far out of my league that I don't stand a chance with her though. Not that her brother would let me get anywhere near her anyways."

I couldn't help but flinch at the thought of him loving another girl. I bet she was perfect in all of the ways that I would never be. I sighed and pulled out of the parking lot.

I needed to be more than just Chuckie's sister in his eyes and I had no clue how I was going to do that. Maybe I should go to Angelica and Suzie; I bet they'd help me spice up my look a little bit. I needed to do everything in our combined power to make Tommy Pickles notice me as more than just a friend.

I couldn't help but watch Kimi as she concentrated on the road. She was so adorable with her forehead all wrinkled up and her eyes crinkled. I think I was borderline obsessive with my feelings for her, it was kind of scary. Then again I was having a conversation with myself inside my head so I think the crazy ship has sailed.

I shook my head quickly to try and clear it but ended up drawing Kimi's attention to me. "What are you doing over there, Tommy? You were just chilling out and then you decided to start spazzing out."

Real smooth, Pickles. "Oh sorry, I was thinking and I guess I got a little bit lost in it. You know how I am about some things; I just can't let them go."

That answer seemed to satisfy her because she focused back in on the road and we rode in silence. She turned off of the main road and started off onto a back road that brought us to the beach. Once we were there she parked and we jumped out of the car.

I started to freak out when I didn't see Kimi anywhere and then suddenly I felt someone jump onto my back. Her perfume reached my nose and I recognized the toes of her worn out converse. "What are you doing? What if I wouldn't have caught you?"

She let out the most adorable giggle that I've ever heard before whispering into my ear, "I know you'll never let me get hurt again. You promised me that when I broke up with Evan."

I remembered that Evan prick better than I wanted to. He dated Kimi, played with her, and then he broke her heart. I heard him bragging about how far he got with her in the locker room and I just snapped. I punched him and we ended up knocking into each other on the locker room floor. I ended up sitting on the bench for four games after that but it'd been worth it to knock that smirk off of his face.

"I did make that promise and I'm always going to keep it," I said walking up to boardwalk and the ice cream shoppe. "What kind do you want, babe?"

"Like you seriously have to ask me that," she said, pushing my head to the side. "But I want a vegan chocolate cone with sprinkles."

She was always so different but it was one of the things that I loved the most about her. "You're always so weird, Finster. Why are we even friends, I mean you're a vegan and I eat more meat than what's healthy. We're quite a pair, aren't we?"

She didn't answer but I heard her giggle behind me. After I got our cones she slid off of my back and we walked back to our spot on the beach. We ended up spending the entire day there laughing and completely goofing off.

Kimi's Point of View:

It was the next day and I was sitting in the middle of Angelica's floor with her and Suzie surrounding me. They were trying to figure out what direction they should go in to make Tommy notice me. I'd already turned down the slut appeal; I wanted Tommy's attention not an STD.

"I think we should definitely add more heels and skirts to your wardrobe. Maybe if all of the other boys notice you then Tommy will too," Suzie said, picking at a loose thread on the couch. When she saw that I was about to protest she held up a hand, "They're not going to be whore skirts or anything just something that'll show off your legs."

Angelica started to bounce in her seat. "Oh my God, does that mean that we get to go shopping? Oh my God, let's go!"

I couldn't help but smile at her excitement. I honestly hated going shopping but I knew that it was necessary for this plan to work. I needed new clothes because my old ones made me look like a prepubescent boy. Yeah, don't think that was Tommy's type.

Once we got to the mall they pulled me into Forever 21 and started to pile me with clothes. I won't bore you with the details but I ended up with like seven skirts with cute tops to go with them and a couple of cute dresses. I got four pairs of heels that would probably kill me to walk in but, according to Angelica, they would make my legs look miles long.

By lunch time I had about twenty bags and my feet were about to kill me. We were sitting in the food court when I caught a familiar head of such black hair that it was purple. Tommy, Dil, Phil, and Chuckie were all heading towards us.

Tommy had a carefree smile on his lips and a Dicks bag in his hand. I figured they were out buying stuff for soccer and brought Chuckie along with them. Tommy pulled a chair up next to me and accidently knocked over one of my shopping bags. The Victoria's Secret one of course because I have the best luck in the entire fucking world.

Luckily enough though nothing came out but it drew Tommy's attention. I figured he would say something but he just picked it back up and acted like nothing had happened but I caught the pink coloring his cheeks.

I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I won't ask about what's in your bag if you don't ask about what's in mine. Do we have a deal?"

I saw his shoulders sag in relief as he snagged my pop and took a swig from it. "Hey! That's mine; if you want one go get it yourself."

"You two need to just get together already. It starting to get a little bit painful for us," Phil groaned, covering his eyes with his hands and groaning. "I know I can't be the only one that thinks like this."

"I don't think that, it's actually the farthest thought from my mind right now," Chuckie said, glaring at Tommy. "That would be a terrible relationship."

I flinched at his statement and looked down at the fries sitting on the table in front of me. Just when I thought Tommy and I had taken one step forward we ended up being knocked four steps back. I wanted us to work out but it seemed like almost everything was against us.

"I think I'm going to head home, I have to finish working on some things for my end of the summer film," Tommy said, running a hand through his spikes.

I looked over at him and placed a hand on his wrist. "Can I catch a ride home with you, Tommy?"

I saw Angelica give me a subtle wink and Suzie smiled discreetly down at the table. Tommy didn't notice their change in behavior; he just nodded and took a couple of my bags from me. After we'd put all of the bags in the backseat of his jeep we took off towards my house. When we got there I tried to get out of the jeep but I ended up getting my foot tangled up in the seat belt and falling face first towards the asphalt.

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the asphalt to hit my face but the blow never came. When I opened my eyes I saw Tommy's big brown eyes a couple of centimeters away from mine. I felt his breath hot on my lips and my hear start to pound like crazy.

"Won't you look at that? I thought you were out shopping with Angelica and Suzie but apparently you're hooking up with Tommy. I thought we were best friends," Lil shouted. Then she held up her wrist with the friendship bracelet I'd given her freshman year was dangling off of it. "I thought these bracelets meant something."

I felt Tommy tense with me in his arms before making sure I was steady on my feet. Then he nodded at me before getting back in his jeep. I ran over to the drivers' side window and tapped on it till he rolled it down.

"Thank you for catching me and preventing me from becoming concuss. I'll talk to you later," I said, kissing his cheek before running back over to Lil.

I was going to start the 'baby sister no more' project tomorrow and Tommy Pickles wasn't going to know what hit him.

Kimi's Point of View:

It was Monday morning and I had plans to go over to the Pickles' house so Angelica and Suzie were making me 'hot'. Once everything was finished I went into my closet and tugged out a tube top that I paired with a black vest and some jean shorts that were mine to begin with.

Suzie was holding up a pair of pumps that I knew I'd bust my ass in most of the day so I immediately shook my head. "Suzie, I'm going to chill at Tommy's with him and Phil today not to a fashion show in Milan. Why don't we go with something simple and cute?"

Angelica made a noise and rooted around under my bed for a while before jumping up with a pair of gladiator sandals that I'd bought forever ago but never worn in her hand. "These are cute and comfortable. Why haven't you taken the price tag off of these yet, you've had them forever."

I just rolled my eyes before pulling them onto my feet. They'd changed my black backpack into a white one that had blue flowers all over it because apparently it was more girly. After they made sure that I was completely put together I left the house and made my way down the block to Tommy's.

I didn't knock before walking inside because this place was like my second home. I caught sight of Tommy and Phil playing soccer out in the backyard so I threw my backpack onto the couch and made my way out there. At first they didn't see me and I'm not one to be ignored so I ran and jumped onto Phil's back.

"Holey shit, who the fuck just jumped onto me?" he shouted, turning around in circles trying to catch sight of me. Then he saw my wrist and recognized my friendship bracelet, "Kimi, why are you on me? I thought you wanted Tommy's dick, not mine."

"Are you seriously still on our case about this…relationship?" Tommy shouted from the other side of the yard. "It's starting to get annoying."

I dropped off of Phil's back and gave him a wink. I caught sight of an unfamiliar blonde boy with glasses holding the soccer ball. He was sort of familiar in that 'I may have had a class or two with you' kind of way but not enough for me to remember his name.

"Damn Kimi, what happened to you? I didn't even know that you had any tits and now they're on full display," Phil said, his eyes bulging slightly.

I tried to stop my cheeks from heating up so I said sarcastically, "No Phillip, I just woke up this morning and they were just there. It's the damnedest thing."

An unfamiliar laugh broke through the awkward silence and I looked over at the blonde guy. I finally placed where I'd saw him before; he was one of the players on the soccer team with Phil and Tommy. Every time I'd previously say him he had his glasses off and a bandana on his head.

"I feel like a leper. I'm Xavier and I'm one of the soccer team with Tommy and Phil," he said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. "I used to sit behind you in Geometry last year as well."

I felt like a total tard, he was the one that taught me how to do most of the work and I'd completely forgotten his existence. "You were the reason that I didn't fail that class. I greatly appreciate that, by the way."

I heard a through being cleared loudly behind me and I turned to see Tommy standing there with his arms crossed on his chest. "I thought we were going to play a game but it seems like we're talking instead."

I sighed before sticking out my lower lip like a little girl. "Aw, did I hurt your feelings Tommy? Did I give you a booboo?" I walked closer to him and placed a hand on his stomach before leaning into him and whispering, "Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?"

I pulled back and saw that he was trying to say something but he couldn't seem to find his voice; he looked a lot like a fish out of water. I giggled before punching his shoulder, "It's like you've never heard a joke before or something. Are you going to be okay?"

Phil was the first to start laughing followed by Xavier and Tommy was last to let out an uneasy laugh. Then Phil spoke, "We got this. Tommy and I against you and Xavier, you guys okay with that?"

I looked at Xavier and nodded. Seeing this, Phil spoke again, "Let's do shirts verses skins. Kimi, your team wanna be skins? Ladies first, or at least that's what I've always been told."

"As much as you'd love to see my skin, Phillip, I think it'd be wisest for us to be shirts," I smiled, leaning back onto the porch railing. "Sorry to crush your pubescent dreams."

He rolled his eyes before taking his shirt off and throwing it over onto the porch. Suddenly the door came open and Didi appeared, "Tommy, can you come in and help me with something for a minute?" Then she looked over and saw me, "Kimi, can you come in as well? I think I'm going to need some more help.

"Phil, Xavier; can you guys come back over on another day? I need these two to help me do some things," she said, giving them a motherly smile.

They both gave her a smile and nodded before Phil pulled on his shirt and jumped the fence over into his yard. I walked up to Xavier and pulled him into a hug; I figured I might as well make Tommy jealous.

I glanced over at him and saw him kick the soccer ball at the goal before stalking into the house. I followed closely behind and couldn't help but watch as his back muscles contract with each of his steps. Tommy was one of the sexiest guys that I'd ever seen; he was really fit but not in a grotesque kind of way. No, he was lanky and muscled at his 6'3 stance he was really gorgeous.

He stopped and I didn't realize it so I ended up running smack into his back and knocking us both over. I felt Tommy's hands grip my waist tightly as he tried to keep either of us from getting seriously injured. I looked up and caught sight of his gorgeous chocolate eyes that absolutely made my heart melt.

"You're lucky you're such a lightweight or we'd be in a situation," Tommy whispered, making absolutely no move to get up or move me in any way. Then he pushed a curl behind my ear before saying quietly, "You're so beautiful."

I struggled to regain my breath but it was so hard when he was so sweet. I heard Didi and Stu shouting something back to us but I couldn't break through the fog in my brain to understand what it was. Tommy apparently didn't either because he still wasn't trying to get up.

"Hey you two, can you stop…mating on the living room floor and go help mom and dad?" Dil asked, walking into the room on his hands. "And I'm the weird one in the Pickles' family…"

I giggled into my palm before jumping up and running into the kitchen where everyone else was. Didi had her hands on her hips and she was staring at Stu with determination. "Stu, I need you to go downstairs and grab that empty box for me."

"What can I do for you today, Didi?" I asked, jumping up onto the counter and crossing my legs.

"I want you and Tommy to make some cupcakes for me while I go to the store and get more frosting and sprinkles. Can you two do that for me?" she asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. Then she added, "I need you here to keep Tommy from catching the house on fire."

"Of course we can, mother dearest. It's not like I have any other plans, you kicked my friends out," Tommy said, walking into the room pulling a muscle shirt on over his ball shorts.

Disappointment flooded my body but I made sure to cover it up. "Ignore him, I'll whip him into shape and we'll go all Cake Boss on these cupcakes. I'm quite the whiz in the kitchen, little known fact there."

She gave me a thankful smile before kissing the top of my head and the side of Tommy's before I heard the door shut. I head Tommy let out a groan when he caught sight of all of the cupcake ingredients on the counter next to the oven.

"Man up Pickles and put this apron on," I giggled, throwing one of the aprons towards him. "I even gave you the one with the flowers, don't you love me?"

He rolled his eyes before throwing the apron on to the counter and walking closer to me. I figured he would stop but he didn't until he was between my legs. I didn't know what he was doing until he pulled down a mixing bowl and gave me a smirk.

Tommy 1 Kimi 0.

Tommy's Point of View:

I watched as Kimi pulled her curls back into a bun on the back of her head and tied an apron around her waist. She was staring intently at the recipe that mom had left on the counter with her full bottom lip caught between her straight, white teeth.

I walked up behind her and placed my hands on the counter on either side of her hips. I made it seem like I was reading the recipe over her shoulder but I honestly just wanted to be close to her. I wanted to inhale her scent and feel the warmth radiating off of her body.

"So, let's see what we're going to need for this. Looks like 1 ½ cups of self-rising flour, 1 ¼ cup of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of softened unsweetened butter, 2 cups of sugar, 4 eggs, 1 cup of milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. I'll preheat the oven if you'll combine all of the flour into a bowl," Kimi said, turning around to face me.

I saw shocks color her features; she must not have realized how close we were. Our noses would have been touching if I wasn't so much taller than her. I looked down into her eyes and felt my heartbeat accelerate; she was so beautiful but I couldn't figure out why she was trying to change herself. She was completely perfect the way that she was before.

"Are you going to move your arm and let me out or are you going to keep me here?" she asked quietly. Then she started to fidget with the bangs that had fallen out. Then she scrunched up her nose and said, "You smell all sweaty and stuff, I don't like that."

I gave her a grin before bending down to her ear. "You smell amazing and I do like that. I guess you're just going to have to push me off of you, aren't you?"

She stomped her foot onto the ground and placed her tiny hands on my chest. I felt her pushing as hard as she could against me but it barley even made me move. She barely had the force of a kitten when she tried but I'd never tell her that.

"You're killing me, baby. I don't want to be all bruised up for soccer tomorrow," I said, taking both of her wrists in my hands. Then I took a leap of faith and said, "Unless you want to take me up to my room and bruise me up."

I saw her cheeks tint a pretty pink color before I let her go and gave her her space back. I put all of the flour into a bowl before mixing it and setting it farther back on the counter. Once she'd set the oven she made her way back over to me. She put the butter, sugar, and eggs into a different bowl and used the mixer to beat them together without even glancing over at me.

"Are you just going to ignore me the entire time we do this? I didn't mean to get your panties all in a twist, I was just playing around with you," I said, hoisting myself up onto the counter next to her hands.

"I know you're not putting your ass that close to me when I'm making food. That is the grossest thing that I've ever seen in my entire life. What were you raised by? Wolves?" she asked, picking up the bowl and walking to the other side of the kitchen furthest away from me.

Damn, I must have really pissed her off. It wasn't like we didn't do things like that all of the time, I guess this time I hit a nerve or something. I knew I was going to end up regretting this.

Kimi's Point of View:

I was still trying to calm my racing heart from Tommy's little stunt. I knew that I was coming off as a complete bitch but I was afraid to say very much. I may say something that would embarrass both of us and I really didn't want to do that.

I looked over at him and saw that he was looking down at his fingers with a frown etching his features. I sighed before sitting the bowl back on the counter and walking over to him. I placed my hands on his knees and waited for him to look at me before I started talking.

"I didn't mean to be such a bitch to you but I'm having some insane emotional conflicts right now. It's really complicated and it's starting to take a toll on me," I said, giving him the biggest smile that I could muster. "Please don't be too mad at me."

The corners of his mouth pulled up and his brown eyes sparkled. "I could never stay mad at you. You're way too important to me."

I felt relief course through my body at that statement. I hadn't realized how awful this situation could have been if he'd stayed mad at me. I needed Tommy in my life to work, he was what I needed.

"I think we need to finish these cupcakes before the batter gets all gross," Tommy said, jumping down from the counter. Then he pulled me into his arms and whispered, "But I needed this before we get started."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and closed all of the gaps between us. I wish this meant as much to him as it meant to me but I knew that it didn't. To him I was just his best friend's little sister, one of the boys, I was never going to be the one that he wanted to be with.

I pulled away from him and started to mix all of the ingredients together and poured them into the cupcake molds. When I wasn't paying attention Tommy stuck his finger into the leftover batter and wiped it down my cheek.

I gasped and looked up at him. He had that finger in his mouth and was licking the excess batter off of it like nothing had happened. I stuck my entire hand into the bowl and smeared the liquid all across Tommy's face.

"Did you seriously just do that? I barely even got you," Tommy scoffed, pinning me against the counter again but it was different this time. It wasn't as tense as the first one; this one had a playful edge to it.

He pulled the big bowl of batter off of the counter and held it up over my head. I looked up at him and started to beg, "Oh my God Tommy, please don't pour all of that on me! Tommy, please don't do-"

I didn't get to finish my statement because the goo poured down my face, hair, and all over my shoulders. I felt tears burning the back of my eyes but I refused to let them fall over something so stupid. I wasn't going to tell him that I'd worked so hard on this outfit just for him to ruin it.

"This is why you don't mess with Tommy Pickles!" he bragged sitting the bowl on the sink edge behind me. Then he caught sight of my face and he quickly said, "Shit, I went too far didn't I?"

I let out a whimper before my resolve broke, "I tried so hard to catch your attention and you went and ruined it. I spent so much time this morning trying to be pretty for you and your pour fucking cupcake batter on me. YOU RUIN EVERYTHING, TOMMY PICKLES!"

I pushed past him and grabbed my backpack off of the couch. I wiped the goop out of my eyes and ran the entire way back to my house.

Tommy Point of View:

What the hell did I just do? More importantly, what the hell did she just say?

Tommy's Point of View:

It had been three days since Kimi last talked to me. I'd called her so many times that I'd filled up her voicemail, I'd been by her house but Kira just told me that she wasn't there. I knew she was but I respected the fact that she didn't want to talk to me. I just wish I knew what I'd done to make her so mad at me.

I was sitting in my living room with Chuckie and Phil playing video games. No matter how hard I tried to distract myself my mind kept going back to Kimi with the tears in her eyes. I would do anything to go back to that moment and do it differently.

"You're sucking my dick right now with how bad you're playing," Phil shouted, shooting me with whatever gun he'd gotten when I stopped paying attention.

"Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind right now," I said, feebly playing back with them but not really paying that much attention.

"Yeah, you've got my sister on your mind. You haven't stopped calling her since your fight," Chuckie said, cringing when something exploded on the television.

I sighed before dropping the controller onto the couch next to me and tugging a hand through my hair. "I don't know what to do about her, man. I've been in love with her forever, it's not like that's a secret or anything. I'm afraid that I've messed up any chance of being with her."

Chuckie let out a groan. "I really don't want to hear about your fetish with my sister. She's supposed to be completely off limits but now you're admitting your love and it's disgusting."

Phil nodded his head in agreement with Chuckie. I saw him pause the game out of the corner of my eye before he started talking, "It is sort of bad. I mean it's sort of turning you into a pansy."

"Your mom's a fucking pansy," I muttered before getting up and walking to the kitchen. I'd thought that going in there would get me out of their hair but apparently not because they followed me. "I thought you wanted me to stop talking to you about Kimi, why did you follow me in here?"

"I just got a text from Lil; she said that Kimi was outside in the old tree house waiting on you. I'd run," Phil said, smirking at my overeager smile.

I didn't think twice nor did I say anything to them, I just took off full speed towards the Finster house. Once I was in their backyard I felt my breath burning its way through my lungs as I climbed up to the top level. I caught sight of Kimi's black hair and felt my heartbeat speed up rapidly.

I knocked lightly on the threshold of the door and waited for her doe eyes to meet mine. "Can I come in or are you still mad at me?"

She sniffed before nodding her head. She pulled her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on top of them. I sat in front of her and took her hands in mine, giving them a tight squeeze.

"I'm not mad at you I'm just disgusted with myself," she said, barking a humorless laugh. "I fooled myself into thinking that I was actually what you wanted in a girl. Then you went and shot that horse in the face."

My heart started to thump heavily in my chest. I figured that now was the time to put all of my cards onto the table. I took her face in my hands and pulled her mouth to mine. I felt her lips turn to stone underneath mine and I went to move only to have her knot her fingers into my hair and pull me closer to her.

Once I started to get lightheaded I pulled away from her. I kept her face between my palms and just watched her eyes. I figured if she didn't want me to be this close she'd either push me away or her eyes would tell me.

"You're so clueless sometimes, Pickles. I've been in love with you for years and I was trying to change my look a little bit to get you to notice me. Then you go and pour batter on me," she said, tugging me down next to her. "You're an ass."

I smiled before pushing her shoulder with mine. "You're in love with an ass, are you proud?"

She pushed on my shoulder back before straddling me and sitting on my knees. She looked down at her hands with a little girl expression on her beautiful face. "You love me, real or not real?"

I laughed before knotting our fingers together. "It's completely and totally real, the most real thing that you've ever said in your life, so much that I don't even think that I can put it into words."

That answer seemed to satisfy her because she leaned down and laid her head against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her back and pulled her as close as possible. "I'm glad we had our first kiss in here."

"Are you two finished? We really want to come up there too!" Dil shouted from the yard below. "We honestly don't want to see you two sucking each other's souls out of your bodies or anything."

I felt Kimi's laughter against my chest. "Yeah, we're not doing anything you all can come on up!"

Multiple sets of footsteps rattled outside and soon enough they were all inside with us. Lil was the first to speak, "It's about damn time you two got together and it's time that Chuckie and I make an announcement. We've been together since the end of last year; we just didn't want to say anything because we were afraid of how you'd take it."

Kimi looked up quickly and jumped over onto her. "What the hell, Lil? I thought we were best friends why didn't you tell me?"

Lil giggled and pushed Kimi off of her. "I didn't know how you'd react to me dating your brother, I mean Chuckie wasn't a fan of his best friend dating his sister so why would you be okay with your best friend dating your brother?"

Kimi shook her head before sitting herself back in my lap, this time she was facing the others instead of me. "I'm not Chuckie; I want you to be happy Lil. I don't care who you're dating as long as they treat you well."

She smiled at Lil before taking my hands in hers in an offhand manner. Then I looked at Chuckie who was already looking over at me. I took one of my hands out of Kimi's and held a fist up to Chuckie, "Are we cool man?"

He thought about it for a minute before bumping his against it. "Until you hurt her and then I can't be held responsible for my actions. She is my little sister and she comes before you do sorry bro."

I nodded before wrapping my free arm around Kimi's waist. I leaned back against the wall of the tree house and thought about all of the memories that it held. From watching us all grow up to watching Kimi and I get together, it'd pretty much seen it all.

I sort of liked that.