"I'm home!" No response. Michael closed the door behind him. He made his way to the kitchen and saw a note on the table. Mike read it aloud.

"Over at grandma's and grandpa's. Chris is with us. Will be home really late." Michael looked at his watch and sighed. "I guess I'll just head to my room and get my homework out of the way. I got nothing better to do anyway."

He ascended the stairs and made a beeline for his room. He passed Haley's room and saw light shining from beneath her door. "I guess Haley didn't tag along with mom and dad this time."

LATER THAT EVENING

Mike quietly groaned as he put down his English textbook. After reading and writing for about three hours straight, he felt like he needed a much deserved break. He let out a yawn.

"It's already 9? Jeez." He got up from his desk and made his way towards the door. As he was walking down the hallway, he heard something from the neighboring room.

"Ahhh. Harder. Nya~." That sounded a lot like Haley.

Mike put his ear closer to the door. That was Haley. Well, it was her room after all. Thanks to his excellent hearing he was able to make out what sounded like his sister...making inappropriate sounds.

"Jeez. She should really keep it down. If she wants to do that, she should at least try to do it quietly. What if Chris hears...or our parents." Mike suddenly remembered that his parents took Chris and were at his grandparents' house and Blur was over at Lucy's. "Hmm. I guess that makes Haley and me the only ones home. That doesn't mean she has to be so freaking loud."

"Oh, Mikey. Mmm...fuck me...nya~. Mikey! Nyaaaa~AAHHH." Mike couldn't help but feel a little heated and felt a blush creep across his face. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was doing but what she was saying was a little bit more difficult to decipher. Mike muttered to himself.

"Mikey? What is she talking about?" Mike slowly backed away from the door and quickly made his way downstairs. He tried to dismiss the notion that she might be...talking about him. He went over to the table and pulled a chair to sit on.

"C'mon. Michael. Get a hold of yourself! That's gross. Bad Michael! Of course she isn't talking about you! There are millions of Michaels. I'm so gross for thinking about this. So freakin' gross." The subject refused to leave his mind. "Haha...but who is this other Mikey? I'm the only Mikey I know."

This question was driving him crazy. Why was he so intent on knowing the answer? Not long after he left, a door opened and closed. He heard the steady thump of someone going down the stairs. While locked in his thoughts, Mike felt himself getting hot under his scarf and he gulped.

"Why am I so freakin' nervous? Big deal. I heard my name! A name actually. That doesn't mean anything does it?" Mike was so deep in thought, he failed to notice Haley pass by him and open the fridge. She placed a jug of milk on the other side of the table. The sudden noise caused him to flinch out of his thoughts. His eyes widened as he identified the other person in the room. He tried to compose himself and managed to blurt out a simple greeting. It was spoken a little quickly too.

"Ah-ahh. Hi, Haley!" Mike couldn't help but stutter his greeting.

Haley gave him one of her usual trademark 'you weirdo' looks as she poured herself a glass. It was clear to her that he was acting weird. "Huh. When did he get home? Wasn't he at Lucy's? I guess I must have lost track of time."

"Uhh...hi?" He had this nervous look plastered all over his face. "Jeez. What the heck is your problem?"

A random thought permeated his mind. He noticed that her and Lucy were a little similar. That was something he paid no mind to in the past. But why was it bothering him now? "It's nothing. Just a random thought." Mike rummaged through his mind and tried to find something to say to defuse the awkwardness he felt.

"Nn-nice weather we're having, right?!" He mentally cursed himself. "Smooth, Mike. Real smooth. Jeez. Why am I acting like this?! Why am I so damn nervous?"

Haley simply raised one of her eyebrows and shrugged.

"I mean, I guess?" She sat down in the opposite of Mike and pulled out her phone, her interest in him quickly disappeared. Haley glanced at him once more before going back to browsing on her phone. She muttered an insult under her breath. "Weirdo…"

A few minutes passed and she put down her phone to drink from her glass. As she drank, Mike couldn't help but stare at her. Her bow complemented her hair perfectly. The way the tufts of fur on her cheeks framed her face. Her eyes were the perfect shade of green. She looked so cute. It came to his realization that his sister was quite...attractive. "Wait, what?" Unfortunately for him, she also noticed him staring as well. Her cheeks turned slightly red and she scowled at him.

"What are you looking at?!" Mike mentally sighed. He had acknowledged the fact that she can be very self conscious at times, especially around him for some reason. She was like to this to him as long as he could remember. "Come to think of it, she never really acts this way to anyone at school, or even other places. Everyone he knew that hangs around her always say that she's really nice and quiet." He really couldn't think of anything to deserve her ill treatment towards him. He usually tried his best to avoid fighting with her most of time. Unfortunately, they still end up doing it anyway. Why this happens was beyond his understanding even to this day.

"Nnnn-nothing! I'm just-" She cut him off.

"Just what?!" Mike began to stutter in response. He thought she was so cute when she was angry. "Stop thinking that, Michael. Jeez."

"What the heck? C-ca-calm down! I didn't do anything!" Too late. She was worked up. "Yup. She's definitely like Lucy."

"You were staring at me, you creep! Something wrong with my face?! Huh?! HUH?!" Mike didn't know what to think. Why his sister was such a temperamental bitch sometimes or why the hell she was so cute. He cursed himself again. He tried not to think he asked that last part.

Mike took a deep breath. He's normally not like this around Haley. He just needed to compose himself before things...got out of hand.

"Ahh. No, Haley. There's nothing wrong with you or your face. It's just, ahh. I thought you looked really cute right now. I mean, I mean-" He realized he just said that. He called his sister cute right to her face. So many thoughts raced through his mind. Knowing Haley, she might just kick his ass right now and call him a creep or a weirdo. "Shit. That is a weird thing to say to your sister, isn't it?"

Haley just stared at him. Mike saw her cheeks now burning a crimson red. Her expression was replaced with a mixture of confusion and surprise. Instead of infuriating her even further, his words did quite the opposite. It's almost as if his words had a calming effect on her. This was quite ironic due to the fact they argued frequently and for the most part, it always ended on a bad note. A few seconds passed and she began to smile.

"Ummm...you really think so? That's...really sweet of you to say. Thanks." She began to fidget with her bow.

"Ahh. Yeah. I honestly do. Y-you're welcome…" Mike was more than surprised. He fully expected her to call him a creep and avoid him or something along the lines of that.

"Nobody has really called me cute before...haha..." She laughed weakly and looked down towards her feet. "You're like the only guy who's said that to my face." Mike just shook his head in disbelief.

"What? That's a real shocker, Haley. I'd expect a lot guys to have called you cute or something." Mike gulped. "Also, I don't know if it means much to you...but I think you're more beautiful than most girls I know." Haley's eyes widened and she started poking her index fingers together.

"R-really?...what makes you say that?" Mike decided there would be no harm in telling her why. "There is nothing wrong with a few complements. Besides, she seems to like it!"

"Well, for starters. You're eyes are pretty." Haley frowned.

"We have the same eyes, idiot." Mike simply smirked at her insult, finding her petulant attitude amusing.

"Your point is?" She quickly diverted her attention from Mike to the table. She clearly found it more interesting compared to the handsome Korat in front of her.

"Nevermind...go on."

"I really like your smile. It make you stand out. You're really pretty when you smile." She looked back at Mike and couldn't help but laugh at him

"That's so cheesy, Mike. You're such a dork!" Mike blushed and looked away. They were both quiet for a moment then Haley softly spoke up.

"Do you mean it? Mike slowly looked her in the eye.

"Yes." Haley was at a loss for words at this point. "Mike thinks I'm pretty..."

"...Hey, umm. Sorry I blew up at you. I'm just a little irritated from talking to my friend. We had plans this weekend and she bailed on me." Mike let out a laugh. "Is that why she was in a bad mood yesterday?"

"Nah. It's cool. You can be like that sometimes." Haley stood up from her seat and shot him a glare. She quickly walked over to where he was sitting and slammed her hands on the table.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Mike smiled nervously.

"Nothing! It means nothing, haha..." She smirked. "Yeah. It'd better mean nothing, creep."

A few moments of silence passed. Mike let his curiosity get the best of him.

"So, ahh. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you guys going to do?"

"Hmm? Oh. We were just going to see a movie."

"You can still see it by yourself, can't you?" Haley stared at him as if he was an idiot.

"Why would you go to the movies by yourself? That's really weird! Everyone would think you're a loner. Besides...I bought two tickets."

"Oh..." Mike saw the look of disappointment on Haley's face. "Man, she looks so bummed out."

"Yeah. Whatever. I don't really-" Mike suddenly cut her off.

"Maybe I can come with you." She suddenly perked up.

"You will?! I mean, uhh. I GUESS I can take you along if you want to so badly." He simply smiled.

"As long as you don't charge me for that ticket." The effects were visible. She looked so happy. "Wow. We're actually going to hang out for once. I thought I would never see the day."

"Alright, cool! The movie is going to start an hour after school ends tomorrow. So let's meet up as soon as possible once school is out. I don't want to miss any of it."

"Okay then. I'll try not to be late." She stretched and yawned.

"Nyaaahh~. You better not. Well, I think I'm calling out for the night. Goodnight, Mikey. Ahh! I mean Mike. That slipped out!" She began to blush again. Mike shook his head and laughed. He hadn't heard her call him that for years. His sister was so cute...wait. Didn't she say that name earlier? Pfft. He reassured himself, she was most likely talking about someone else. "That'd be so weird, right? Haley fantasizing about her own...shut up, Michael."

"It's okay, Haley. I don't mind! In fact, I kinda liked it when you used to call me that." A devious look replaced Haley's embarrassed expression.

"Can I call you jerkface? You like that too, right?" Mike frowned at that pet name.

"Only Lucy gets to call me that." Haley shook her head and laughed at him. "I'm your sister. I should be allowed to call you what I want~."

"I'm kidding...Mikey." She began to make her way up the stairs. Halfway up, she looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Haley." Mike couldn't help but watch her walk upstairs and he felt his eyes wandered all over her backside. "Wow..." He quickly looked away in shame. His mind thought about what caused him to act so weird to Haley this evening. The way she moaned earlier before...he shook his head and scolded himself.

"Damn it. Get those thoughts out of your head."