Unapproachable

Chapter 1

Last day of freedom

It was early morning on the last day of summer when Darren felt something poke him. He decided to ignore it and laid still. He was poked a few more times in the ribs until, finally, it stopped. He sighed in relief and turned around in his bed, trying to go back to sleep. Two minutes and one painful landing later Darren found himself sprawled out on the hardwood floor of his room.

He was staring wide-eyed at his bed, trying to understand what had happened, when he heard joyous laughter. He looked up and saw a girl standing in front of his bed. She was holding her stomach with one tan hand and in the other were the green covers that had been so comfortably wrapped around him not five minutes ago.

'Seriously, Nelly? It's the last day of summer break! Why couldn't you just let me sleep till noon?' Darren rumbled sleepily as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He was one of those people who didn't quite wake up after landing on their ass at eight o'clock in the morning.

'It's because I love annoying you. Besides that, you promised to hang out with Liam today.'

Darren just stared at his older sister.

'Liam? Your best friend? You remember him right.'

Darren really hated his sister's teasing. It could go on for weeks before she finally stopped. Darren had quickly learned that he most definitely did not want to be around her when she had that mischievous glint in those green eyes of hers.

Darren grunted and pushed his sister out of his room. Then he plopped back onto his warm, comfortable bed and was about to reach for the covers when he realized that they'd never left his sister's grip. He yawned as he stretched his arms out over the white sheets and looked up at the boring grey ceiling of his room.

'I should really decorate that someday,' he thought.

A few minutes passed and he was just beginning to drift off when his sister's irritated voice called his name. Darren's eyes opened and for a while he just lied there and let laziness wash over him. He decided it'd be less painful to just get up when he heard the familiar sound of Nelly's determined footsteps getting closer and closer to the dark rectangular piece of wood which he liked to call his door.

Putting aside the mornings when his sister was the one waking him up, Darren Hales was pretty damned happy with his life. He was quite handsome – tan complexion, black hair, dark brown eyes and a fit body. A lot of girls wanted to be with him and a lot of guys wanted to be him, or in the very least friends with him.

Contrary to what you might think, he didn't like that. He had considered the possibility that something might be seriously wrong with him because of it but Darren honestly didn't like all those fake smiles directed at him, especially when they belonged to people who could barely even remember his name. Yes, at first it had been nice but then he realized how hard it was to tell who actually cared for him and who didn't.

He'd once trusted someone with a beautiful smile. It had belonged to a boy, not much older than him, with wide brown eyes. As it turned out, it had been a fake smile. Darren had ended up the one getting hurt and the little bastard got away with everything.

The worst part was that it had strained Darren's relationship with his sister. Nelly had tried to warn him: 'He's using you Darren'. Had he listened? Obviously he hadn't. He'd been angry at her, he'd yelled at her. Worst of all, he'd hurt her.

It took her two weeks to even look at him after that and when she did he felt like the guilt would kill him. Then, one day, she'd dragged him to her room and started talking. That was one of the worst talks of his life but also one of the best. It had felt like she was helping guilt drown him but then she dragged him to shore and revived him. They'd hugged and Darren had learned his lesson. People wore masks. Some masks were better than others and you need to be very careful who you trust. 'Because those you care about and feel safe with are the ones with the best view of your back.'

Nelly had told him that last part. He still wasn't sure what to make of it. When he asked her about it a few days later she just told him to never ignore his instinct when it came to people.

Well, he didn't need instinct to know that the 'popular crowd' consisted of annoying brats who thought they were better than everyone else in the school, all because they sat at a special table during lunch break. They would sometimes gather around him and start talking about things he couldn't care less about. Honestly, who would find a conversation about the pros and cons of hot pink stilettos or the pattern on your new motorcycle helmet interesting? It was so irritating when people wouldn't take the hint and just leave him alone for two minutes.

Unfortunately, once you're on top of that high school social ladder, it's like you can't get down, not on purpose at least. No matter what you do, people will laugh it out, ignore what you've said or just misunderstand. It's strange isn't it? One little mistake and your reputation crumbles but when you try to tear it down on purpose, there's always something to prevent it. Well no, that's complete bullshit. However, Darren couldn't help but feel like it was true in his case. But then again, maybe he just wasn't trying hard enough.

You see, a lot of the time, Darren would enter a school and instantly be labeled as 'another popular douche bag' or 'a brainless jock'. He hated it because anyone outside his 'social ring' would either steer clear of him or hate him for no real reason. You know what the best part was? It was that the people who were in his 'social ring' either acted like they were stupid or truly were stupid. The most intelligent conversations they ever had were about leather jackets and different shades of lipstick. Darren could only remember two places where things hadn't been that way. Although they didn't really count as, at the time, he'd had yet to enter the strange world of hormone driven teenagers and hadn't really had the chance to appreciate it.

You might be wondering what's with all the schools. Well, Darren's family used to move around quite a bit. But then, after a year of living in the seemingly quiet town, tragedy struck and the brokenhearted family was forced to stay in the comfy town of Clearwater where, surprising as it was, rumors didn't spread at the speed of light. At least that's what it had seemed like in the beginning.

As it turned out, word got around a whole lot faster than that if you weren't careful. People just didn't rub it in your face because there was always the chance you knew something even worse about them. In the end all that mattered was whether 'Chuck' was more afraid of his possessive wife learning about his dirty little secret or if 'Benny' was more scared of his religious daddy hearing that his son swung the 'wrong' way.

Darren was also thankful that his family was never one for drama. If you liked boys you liked boys. As long as no one walked in on you and got scarred for life, everything was fine. After his parents had explained that in detail they'd moved onto sex education. His father had told him what a woman should feel like and his mother had tried to explain to him how to make a girl feel good. Darren had never run to his room so quickly in his life. He could hardly bring himself to look them in the eyes for a week after that.

It was one thing when some hot shot from eleventh grade bragged about his latest conquest or when a group of senior girls commented about a guy's abs or something. But when your parents sat on either side of you and went into details about what went where, how it was supposed to feel and what might happen afterward? Yeah, that was a whole other world, filled with infinite awkwardness and embarrassment. However, after Darren got over his 'initial shock', as he liked to call it, everything went back to normal.

Darren knew that people would kill to have his life, minus a thing or two, and quite frankly, if it was just for school, he wouldn't mind swapping lives with someone else. But then there was his family: his proud step father, Eric, loving mother, Darla, and pain-in-the-neck of an older sister, Nelly. He loved them all and he would never give them up for anything in the world.

When Darren got downstairs he was hit with the scent of his mother's 'delicious food from heaven', as it was known to their family, coming from the white countertops in the kitchen. He practically floated into the room and was met with the mouthwatering sight of a few plates with stacks of pancakes on them. Just as he was about to take one, his hand was slapped away. Something between a yelp and a whine escaped his throat as his sister's face came into view once again. Nelly rolled her forest green eyes at her brother.

'Don't you have somewhere to be?'

Nelly was looking at him pointedly.

'What?'

Darren had his favorite you-just-took-my-puppy-from-me look on his face. He really wanted his pancakes! Nelly gave out an exasperated sigh.

'I reminded you not ten minutes ago! Did you hit your head or something? You promised to spend the day with Liam! You remember, don't you?'

'Of course I do.'

Nelly just looked at him in that special way of hers that let him know she was not impressed.

'I totally believe you,' she said sarcastically as she cocked her hip.

'You know what? I'll just go outside where it's slightly less sarcastic.'

'Or you could keep you promise to Liam and go get him,' she suggested as if she was talking to a child. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had sclerosis. And stop pointing at the door already!'

'I hate it when you nag me,' Darren murmured, annoyed out of his wits.

'I know. That's why I love doing it so much!'

She pinched Darren's cheek, feeling unusually childish, and ran away laughing, her dirty blond hair swishing behind her.

Darren was still staring after his sister when a tan, petite woman walked in. It was Darla, Darren's mother. He turned, meeting her calm green eyes. It was painfully obvious who Nelly got her looks from. Nelly had taken mostly after their mom when it came to looks: the petite build, the eyes and the shape of her nose among a few other things. Darren on the other hand had taken their father's bigger build, dark eyes, dimples, and so on. He had gotten their mother's straight hair, for which he was thankful. Each hair on his head was fighting for its own independence as it was. He didn't even want to imagine what he'd look like if he'd taken their father's curls.

'Are you sure she's the older one?' Darren questioned. She chuckled slightly as she leaned on one of the cream-colored walls of the kitchen.

'Honey, I think we would've noticed if you were born first.' Her normally velvet voice turned in to a loud giggle. Darren hated it when his parents did that, especially when he was in the room with them. They always had these inside jokes that no one else understood and they would laugh while he and Nelly just looked at them, confusion written all over their faces.

'I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or an insult.'

'Oh, sweetie, I would never,' Darla said as she went to stand before him and started smoothing out his clothes. He leaned back the slightest bit when she tried to tuck his shirt in.

'Never compliment me?'

Darren smirked when his mother smacked him on the shoulder.

'It's too early for this.'

He raised his eyebrows.

'Too early for what exactly?'

'To be setting traps for your mother.'

'What traps?'

'Your kind of traps. Now eat your breakfast!'

Darla pointed at the pancakes.

'Yes, mother.' Darren said as he quickly shoved a whole pancake in his mouth, nearly chocking on it, and headed to his car. His mother watched him go with a loving smile on her slightly freckled face.

Right before Darren entered the car he saw a tall man doing something on the red tile roof, blond hair constantly falling into his eyes.

'Be careful Eric! You might fall off!'

Annoy his stepfather had become something of a hobby for Darren. It didn't always work though.

'You could just call me 'dad' you know?' the older man yelled back, panting slightly.

'Ok then, daddy,' Darren said teasingly as he got in his car and drove off.

For some strange reason driving his greyish blue Impala relaxed him to no end. Sure, the thing used to be his grandfather's but it still purred like a kitten (or a tiger according to Liam). It rode smoothly over the heated asphalt and it barely ever gave him any trouble. The Impala had only been repaired once. It was after Darren's biological father had a car accident and passed away. The car had been brought back to its former glory but there were still a few scratches and a slight dent on the otherwise smooth surface.

Darren didn't like to think about that day, or the day after. He didn't like to think about the whole six months after the accident. It had been torturous. He had felt like he needed to stay strong for his mother and sister so he'd hid his sadness and let it tear him apart on the inside. When he'd finally let it all out, his mother and sister calmed him down, took care of him and comforted him. In the end he realized that he still had people that loved him. It wasn't the end of the world. So he decided he would just look forward to tomorrow. He wouldn't let himself fall into depression. Seeing the scratches on the driver's side every time he climbed in helped remind him of that.

As time went by, Darren started to realize that the car was his only connection to his father since it had belonged to the man before it was passed down to Darren. Now, whenever the young man felt stressed, insecure or just needed to relax, he would get in his beloved Impala and drive around for hours.

Darren didn't even realize he had stopped until there was a knock on the passenger's seat window. He jumped slightly as he was pulled away from his thoughts. When he looked to his right he saw his best friend's concerned eyes. He let out a sigh in relief and opened the door for the boy.

'Dude, jumpy much,' Liam asked in his British accent as he got in the passenger's seat.

Darren smiled fondly at Liam's grinning face. His friend was always like that, constantly happy and carefree. His looks suited his personality. Liam was blond with naturally tanned skin and cerulean eyes. He was the slightest bit shorter than Darren but definitely broader. The blond had stuck by Darren's side ever since the two had met in kindergarten. They had tried to keep in contact after Darren's family moved for the first time but then Liam moved away as well. The two never saw or spoke to each other afterward. However, as luck would have it, they met again in Clearwater and recognized each other instantly.

Both Liam and Darren were on the football team at school. Darren was aiming to become co-captain of the team or maybe even head-captain, if he got lucky enough. Liam? He was the goal-keeper. He was the best goalie in their whole town. It was safe to say that their coach had no intention of kicking them out of the team any time soon. On the other hand, he probably would kick their butts if they lost a game to "The Crows". What kind of name was that anyway? Then again it was cooler than "Crazy Monkeys". Coach Williams was definitely going to kill him if he heard him say that.

'Hello? Earth to Darren Hales! You still there mate?'

Liam's teasing voice cane out of nowhere as did the wildly waving hands in front of Darren's face. The later laughed loudly and pushed the boy away playfully.

'Yeah, I'm here. So anyway what are we doing today?'

'Well I was thinking we should do everything we possibly can. Like freeing all 10 of old McAlister's vicious dogs…' Liam trailed off at Darren's incredulous look.

'What? It's our last day before we're pushed into the prison known worldwide as high school. I thought we might as well spend it being as reckless as possible while we're not buried under heaps of homework,' he said defensively.

'Yeah, only if we do that, we might end up in actual prison!'

He wasn't scared of getting in trouble with his parents, teachers and neighbors. What was the worst they could do? Yell at him, suspend him and yell at him some more. Getting in trouble with the authorities was a completely different matter.

'Man, I hate it when you get responsible,' Liam whined.

'Yeah, well that's what's kept us in one piece all these years.'

Darren calmly started the car.

'That…! Is a very good point.'

Liam slouched in his seat, pouting.

Darren just chuckled at his friend's antics and drove off. He was surprised that Liam managed to sit quietly in the passenger seat for five whole minutes before he started blabbering about everything and anything he could think of. A lot of it was absolutely idiotic and so purely Liam that Darren couldn't help himself.

Liam looked at him strangely when he started laughing. Thankfully he managed to keep the car steady. He didn't want to hurt his friend. On the not-so-thankful side, Liam started asking him why he'd laughed. Darren didn't want to answer because the blonde's reaction was unpredictable. One time these kinds of things would just roll off his back. However, other times he'd take them seriously and get self-conscious. Last time that happened, it hadn't been pretty and nobody wanted a repeat of it.

Darren didn't want to ruin the mood so he tried to ignore the blonde's pestering. Somehow he managed to tune out his friend until they got to the beach. Darren parked the car and got out.

When Liam saw where they were he immediately forgot what had happened and happily bounded off toward the clear blue sea, leaving Darren in his dust.

'I'm getting something to eat. You want anything,' Darren yelled to his excited friend.

'And waste valuable swimming time? No way!'

Liam made a bee-line toward the clear blue waters of the sea, or attempted to at least.

Darren watched amused as his friend jumped and tripped over towels and people. He felt sorry for the umbrella that was unfortunate enough to have collided with Liam's tall frame. Darren didn't feel all that surprised when he saw it didn't even faze the blonde. Liam was a headstrong person. Once he decided something, nothing could stop him.

'Although,' Darren thought, 'it would've been easier to have just gone around the umbrella, not through it.'

Darren kept an eye on his friend until he disappeared from sight. He chuckled under his breath and headed to the hot dog stand next to the concrete stairs that led to the warm white sand of the beach. "Best Dogs in the City" read the wide sign with big yellow letters at the top of the stand. It was a wonder how those people got any costumers. The hot dogs were good though so maybe it didn't matter.

Darren was heading back to his best friend balancing the hot dogs in one hand and two cokes in the other. It was just his luck that said friend would choose that precise moment to crash right into him.

'See what you made me do now? I almost dropped them on us and…' Darren slowly trailed off and his thick eyebrows furrowed in concern as Liam hid behind him, obviously distressed.

'Dude, what's wrong?'

'I may have dropped ice-cream on the Ice Queen,' Liam said in a high-pitched voice and he tried to completely hide himself behind Darren.

'You what,' Darren yelled out incredulously. 'Are you trying to get us both killed?'

'It wasn't my fault! I-I was just walking around with ice-cream in my hand when this stupid beach ball comes out of nowhere and hits me in the head and I tripped and I dropped the ice-cream a-and it-it, well it d-dropped on top of h-her.' Liam spit out as quickly as possible and Darren got scared the boy might start hyperventilating right then and there.

'Ok, ok. Just try to calm down, alright,' Darren comforted him while trying to find a good hiding spot. After all, nobody wanted to face the Ice Queen's wrath.

The palm tree not too far from them wasn't nearly thick enough to hid one of them let alone both.

The two boys could hear swearing in the distance.

His eye caught several benches that seemed like they could do the job but they really didn't have the time to get up the stairs to reach any of them.

'This is bad. This is bad! Oh this is so very, very bad,' Darren thought frantically as he tried to take in his surroundings in hopes of finding something that could hide both him and Liam.

The enraged yelling was getting closer and closer. Taking desperate measures Darren made a mad dash toward the jets that were lined up on the waterfront, crouched down in the small space between two of them and pulled Liam along with him. He really hoped that would work. Of course they had to get in some uncomfortable positions, but it didn't matter as long as the "Ice Queen" didn't spot them.

'Remember how I said we hadn't hung out in a long while and needed to get closer? This isn't exactly what I meant.' Liam said in a rushed whisper.

'For fuck's sake, Liam shut up!'

'Sorry!'

A few seconds passed and they could see the so called "Ice Queen". She was actually quite beautiful: medium height, pretty face with freckles adorning the area across her nose, full pink lips and a pale complexion. Blondish wavy hair cascaded down her back and shoulders. Her cold, angry aquamarine eyes kept darting over the place in search of a culprit. Her glare was impressively intimidating and, despite her smaller frame she seemed to tower over everything. She was by no means buff and she was in no way fragile. She was, however, on the volleyball team and the captain of the swimming team. It was a mystery how her grades stayed high despite all the sports she played.

'That's Jacqueline Taylor for you. She's beautiful, athletic and a royal pain in the ass.' Derek summed up in his mind. He was right. Jacqueline was the most popular girl in school but she was also a stuck-up, self-centered little bitch. She was rolling in money and she got everything she wanted. However, her personality pushed people away. Some of the freshmen even thought she was some kind of android. Darren would've believed it if he didn't know any better.

As she walked on angrily Darren could barely keep his laughter in. The sight of her trembling with anger, melted ice-cream flowing from her hair down her flushed face and dripping from her chin onto her black bikini halter top was absolutely priceless. The comic effect of the situation was increased by the way she stomped away furiously.

The moment she was gone a loud roar of laughter filled the air. Both Liam and Darren were doubled over from laughing. The people walking by either couldn't figure out where it was coming from or averted their eyes the moment they saw how close the two boys were. Their laughter died down when a shadow came over them. They looked up to see the lifeguard glaring at them sternly. The effect was a bit lost as the boys had trouble averting their eyes from the man's bright red skin. Nevertheless they smiled sheepishly and got away from the jets.

'OK, let's get out of here before you do something like this again,' Darren managed in between his still fading laughter. Liam didn't protest. He did not want to meet up with Jacqueline again.

After a while the two boys found themselves sitting in Darren's car chatting away, having calmed completely by then.

'Where to now?'

'I don't know. Anyplace without beach balls and little miss pissed would be nice,' Liam replied looking nervously out of the car's window.

Darren lifted an eyebrow at him. 'Little miss pissed,' he asked with an incredulous look in his eyes.

'Well she was pretty damn pissed after I dropped my ice-cream on her. And what's the deal with that anyway? She's the Ice Queen right? Shouldn't ice-cream power her up or something? And another thing: who just throws balls at random people...' An animated Liam rambled on as he motioned wildly with his hands.

Darren just laughed and started driving. He drove around for thirty minutes until he saw the town's largest park and decided to stop for a bit.

They stepped over lush grass that was in need of mowing, leaving a barely visible trail. There were tall trees with long branches and beautifully colored leaves that cast shadows over white benches. The gray concrete was smooth, not a single crack on it. Children were enjoying the colorful playground made for them as their parents watched them from the sidelines. Liam started walking toward an empty swing seat but Darren pulled him back.

'But why?'

'I know that look.'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' Liam said as his hand came up over his eyes as if to block out the sun.

'First off - you're lying,' Darren grabbed his friend's hand and guided it back to his side 'and secondly - that's the look you get when you're about to excitedly run off. That usually ends up with you running something over.'

'What's your point?'

'My point is that I don't think any of the mothers or fathers there would appreciate you "bumping" into their kid.'

Liam's mouth opened and closed.

'That,' he held up a finger 'is a very good point, my dear friend.'

Darren chuckled at the poshness his friend forced into that sentence.

'Good. Now how about we run a few laps. I didn't get the chance to work out today.'

'But it's so hot,' Liam said to Darren's retreating back.

'Quit whining and run!'

'Fine!'

After about 10 minutes of sprinting Darren could feel sweat running from his temple down to his neck and judging by the panting on his right, Liam wasn't faring much better. It really was hot.

Darren stumbled to a halt and outstretched his hand to stop Liam.

'We should probably rest for a bit.'

'Yaha,' was all the warning Darren got before Liam slumped on the nearest bench.

Darren joined him a few seconds later and tilted his head back, trying to get his breathing under control.

'We're might regret this tomorrow during practice.' Liam managed to get out in-between heavy pants.

'Good thing we don't have practice tomorrow.'

Darren placed a hand on his heaving chest and focused on getting his heart rate down.

The edges of Liam's mouth curled upward and a strange sound, resembling a cough, made its way into the air. Darren assumed it was a laugh.

He lazily turned his head to the blond and raised his eyebrows in enquiry.

'Why do you always do that? I mean, does it actually help?'

'I don't know. I guess it does.'

'Right.'

They spent the next five minutes in relative silence. However, as soon as they got their breathing and heart rates under control they started chatting animatedly. They went from talking about cars, to girls, to pumas and finally reached the topic of motorcycles. Liam was just telling Darren about a beautiful black bike he'd seen the other day when his stomach growled.

Darren chuckled.

'Protesting are we?'

'Why, yes, my kind sir! We are protesting against being deprived of food for so long.' Liam said, waving his fist in the air. No sooner had he finished the sentence than the growling started again and he wrapped his arms around his middle.

'Seriously though, we've got to get something to eat.'

Liam's face was getting red.

'Right, back to the car it is. Let's hope you don't turn into a tomato before we find some food.'

'Shut up!'

Darren couldn't help but laugh.

'I heard there's a new diner opened in town,' he said as he took his place in front of the wheel.

'Yeah? Is it close?'

'I think so.'

'Drive then!'

Darren looked at Liam pointedly.

'Um, sorry, you know I get cranky when I'm hungry.'

Liam rubbed the back of his neck. Darren chuckled under his breath and shook his head as he drove off.

He pulled up at the first diner he spotted as his stomach gave out a growl of its own.

When they got out of the car Liam started laughing. It was quiet but it didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. When Darren asked him what was so funny all he got was a finger pointing to the diner. When he looked at the building he couldn't help but feel slightly stupid. There was a huge neon sign right above the diner's entrance. "The Diner" was written on it.

'There are so many swirls on that thing,' Liam said.

'Honestly, it's things like this that make me ashamed of this town,' Darren said as he shook his head with an irritated expression on his face. 'People here have no sense of originality.'

'What are you talking about dude? This is very original. I mean where else can you find a diner called "The Diner"?'

Liam was already walking toward the large red double door. And for once he actually made sense in that weird, inconceivable way of his. Darren chuckled once again and followed him inside the white building.

They found a table with a bright blue cover next to the window and kept on chatting and fooling around until a waitress in a plain white shirt and red skirt came up to them. She filled the clothes out nicely, her smile was pretty, although a little fake, and she was very friendly.

'Maybe a little too friendly,' Liam thought as he watched her bat her pale eyelashes at Darren. Suddenly the smile on her face looked a little more honest.

They ordered and Darren remained oblivious. The girl walked off with a slight bounce in her step, strawberry-blonde hair swaying with each step forward. When he looked at Liam he was met with a mock glare.

'What,' he asked confused.

'This is why I don't like going out for coffee with you. The girls never ever notice me because of you! It's like I'm invisible when you're around!'

Liam playfully punched Darren's shoulder. They both laughed afterwards and just kept the banter going. They didn't even pause when the waitress brought their food. And just like that the bounce was gone.

To the diner's credit the food wasn't half bad, even though their interior design wasn't the best. The colors were too bright and clashed brutally. It was enough to give you a headache. The boys ate quickly, eager to sate their hunger and get back in the Impala again.

Soon they were on the road again and were just exploring their town despite the fact that they knew nearly every inch of it.

They kept it up for quite a long time. By the time they got to Liam's house the sun was already setting, painting the sky with beautiful streaks of orange, red and yellow.

'See you later mate. I'd invite you inside but you know how my parents get if I'm not in bed extra early on the night before the first day of torture – school. I meant to say school,' Liam said as he got out of the car.

'Yeah, see you tomorrow,' Darren said, 'and don't forget to wait for me in front of the school's entrance this time,' He added, sending a pointed look to Liam.

'That only happened once! And it was an accident, ok? I saw a butterfly and I just had to catch it. I HAD TO,' Liam said franticly, afraid that his best mate was mad at him.

Darren laughed at his distraught look. 'I was just pulling your leg. Come on Liam. You know I'm not one to hold a grudge, especially not at my friend.' He said, trying to calm him down.

Liam glared at Darren.

'That was not funny,' he huffed and smiled mischievously a second later.

'See you tomorrow, mate,' he said with a cheerful tone as they bumped fists.

Darren headed off home as soon as he saw Liam enter his house. Sometimes his friend got a crazy idea and instead of going home like intended he'd just run off somewhere. And then the whole neighborhood would spend all day looking for him. Yeah, Liam was a bit weird like that. Some said he was touched in the head but that really wasn't the case.

The thing was that Liam was more of a stay at home kind of kid and didn't really get out much unless it was with Darren. He had a sort of naiveté about him that no one else in their school did. The blonde seemed to be stuck between the mentality of a child and that of a teenager. That was reason enough for him to be branded a weirdo. But because of his tall, muscular frame the girls thought he was hot and the guys didn't mess with him. So all in all, Liam didn't have it all that hard at school.

When Darren got to his house Eric was just coming down from the roof. When the older man's chocolate brown eyes landed on his adopted son he waved to the teen. He got a small smile in return.

'Well, it's not much but it's better than a month ago.' Eric thought as he entered the two story house.

Darren carefully parked his beloved Impala and followed his stepfather. He grinned at the sight that greeted him in the living room. His sister was on babysitting duty again and was currently trying to feed an adorable little girl some kind of orange mush. She was failing terribly judging by the food that decorated the coffee-table, one stray cushion and Nelly's face, shirt and pants. The little girl just kept turning her head away from the pink plastic spoon. Darren laughed whole-heartedly when the girl pouted and threw the stained cushion at his distressed sister. Nelly turned toward her brother and mouthed 'Help me'. Darren called forth all his acting skills as he took the bowl and spoon from her and took a mouthful of the mush himself.

'Wow, this is delicious!' Darren pulled the most convincing expression he could muster up.

'If you don't want it, I'll eat it all by myself,' he said as he pretended to take the mush away from the girl. She yelped loudly and quickly took the orange bowl from Darren. After which she proceeded to eat the mush Nelly had made.

Darren smiled at her and Nelly just threw herself on the brown chair behind her. Soon the little girl was fast asleep on the couch, now clutching an empty bowl in her small hands. Both teens had to smile at the sight. Darren picked the girl up and carried her to their guestroom on the second floor. There was no way they would let a child sleep on the couch no matter how comfortable it was. He tucked her in and went back downstairs. He fell down on the brown couch and for a moment Nelly looked like she wanted to join him. Her fingers twitched and that was the end of her efforts. They'd both had a long, exhausting day.

'Since when are you so good with kids?' Nelly turned to her brother.

'Since I got used to being around Liam.'

'That actually makes sense.'

'You two better stop sitting there and head up to bed. You both have school tomorrow,' a soft but stern voice came somewhere behind them. They turned and came face to face with their determined mother. Both teens sighed dejectedly and got up.

'Yes mom,' they said in unison. It was quite creepy actually. They sounded a lot like those robots in the creepy movie Darla had watched the night before. She'd only caught the last half of it but it had been enough to disturb her.

She followed her children up the stairs and watched them go to their rooms. Normally they put up a fight before going to bed. But then again, Darren never spent all day hanging out with his friend and Nelly never spent the whole day babysitting.

Darla headed to her room and chuckled to herself as she remembered how hectic it had been with the little girl. The kid would start jumping from the couch to the table and then to any other piece of furniture she could reach and Nelly would run after her, begging her to get down and just watch TV or something. It was really amusing to watch. Which Darla did happily. She wasn't worried because she had watched over the child once and as energetic as the little one was, she was no idiot. She'd never do anything if she knew she'd get hurt. She now realized that trusting a girl who was still in kindergarten to judge what could and could not hurt her was probably a mistake.

'Oh well,' Darla thought. 'It's over, and she's fine. I'll be horrified of this tomorrow.'

Darla went to bed and crawled under the cream colored covers, her dark wavy hair spreading around her head. Soon she felt the mattress dip behind her and strong arms wrapped around her.

Everything was quiet at the Hales house that night except for the creaking of a window opening sometime during the night.