Disclaimer: These characters were not created by me nor are they owned by me. I'm only having some fun with them – and I hope you will, too!

Thanks: to my friend WriteAtNight for the feedback and encouragement

Reader Advisory: Rated T (for Teen) for implied mild slash and potential step-cest!

Author: therubyone

MEGAN'S BIG CRUSH

Chapter 1. – Crushing

The alarm clock sang Megan Parker awake on Monday morning. She arose quickly, even though she didn't need to leave the house for another 2-1/2 hours. She got up early because it was time for her brothers to get ready and leave for school. Megan has a secret crush and she can hardly admit it, even to herself. It's been building for a long time. She isn't sure yet what she's going to do about it. As she waits for the sound of the shower to stop, she sits on her bed, doodling and drawing in her notebook, as she thinks back, reviewing the last few years since she gained a stepbrother. At first, she classified Josh Nichols as just another smelly boob, like her birth brother. And she pranked Josh, hard. He was so easy: he wasn't expecting it and he never fought back. He tried to, at first, but since she was always one step ahead, he soon came to toe the line – just like Drake. She didn't know then what she knew now, that Josh Nichols was gentle and kind; he was certainly intelligent enough to prank her, not like some brothers she could name, but he never did.

Megan hadn't anticipated that the end result of her pranks was the forging of a bond between Josh and Drake, and the two of them had become closer than true blood brothers. Since she frightened them, they avoided her whenever they could. She'd made overtures: she wanted to join them for the salsa contest, and she even offered to cut them in on her Cup-O'-Stuff idea. But they refused. So she had to play them even harder and act like she didn't care. Megan still treasured the memory of their night at the amusement park, when the three of them snuck out to ride the Demonator.

Megan wasn't totally evil. She didn't, however, wear her heart on her sleeve. When she learned that her two pet boys were in jail for selling the stolen Gary Grills, and that they weren't just joking with her that they were calling from jail, she volunteered to help capture the real criminals. Then there was that time in L.A., when she rescued those boys from the counterfeiters. She even let her brothers take the credit, while she went off to Denver to visit her friend. She'd done her best to help Josh think of disguises when people mistook him for the "Theatre Thug." When Josh was in the hospital for foot surgery, all she'd managed to tell him was "I hope you don't die." But he knew what she meant. He'd answered "Love you, too."

Megan opened her bedroom door a minute or two after the shower stopped. She stood and watched as a towel-clad Josh came out of the bathroom and ambled barefoot back to the bedroom he shared with Drake.

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Clutching at the bathsheet that encircled his waist, a damp Josh Nichols went into his bedroom and leaned his back against his bedroom door, with a panicky look in his eyes.

Across the room, Drake Parker was pulling up his jeans, getting dressed for the day ahead. The morning rush to get out the door for school usually didn't include pauses for introspection, so when Drake noticed Josh lost in thought, he called out "Hey, something bugging you?"

"I was coming down the hall from the bathroom and I caught Megan staring at me. I hate to be paranoid, but it seems like she's always watching me lately."

"Dude, not a good sign. She could be planning anything."

"But why has she singled me out? I go out of my way to be considerate."

"I gave up trying to answer those kinds of questions years ago. It's like guessing why tornados or lightning strike in one place and not another."

"She's actually been rather kind to me lately – for her, I mean - and it sets my teeth on edge, wondering when and where she's going to spring her trap."

"I've got your back, bro, although when it comes to Megan, I still don't know how to stop her. Don't let yourself get so worked up over this that your rash comes back. For all we know, Megan's just trying to psych you out. Are you working tonight?"

"Yes. You can drop me off after school on your way to your rehearsal."

"You better hurry up. If I get one more tardy, it's detention again for sure."

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While she was waiting for the boys to finish getting ready and head downstairs for breakfast, Megan got out a special box from her bottom desk drawer. She thought of it as her shrine to Love. She had a lock of Josh's hair, tied with a piece of blue yarn, and some small things of his that she had liberated from his possession. It pleased her to look at these items while thinking about Josh. She dropped her latest acquisition, a button from his shirt, into the box where it hit the bottom with a tiny yet satisfying clink. She picked up and put down the little lava rock monster with its fat tongue, and a small, carved wooden bird.

Josh was good. Every year he gave Megan a Valentine, birthday gifts and Christmas presents. He did this without being nagged into it by their mother, as Drake was. Josh took her places: to the mall, the movies, The Magic Shoppe and to Guitar World. He gave her rides whenever she needed to go somewhere and sometimes he stayed to watch her soccer practice. When she asked him, he never hesitated to look over her homework or answer questions pertaining to her studies, even though she did it only so she could sit right next to him, so close that she could feel his body heat and inhale his clean, sexy scent while touching his arm with hers.

Megan smiled to herself as she added to her list of all the things she liked about Josh. Josh was sensitive and thoughtful, had read a lot of books. He was so funny – silly, even – and he liked to cook. She never would have won that salsa contest if she hadn't sabotaged Josh's recipe. Josh knew show tunes and could sing them from memory. His voice was amazing, different, sounding scratchy yet soft, high and low at the same time. He was happy enough sitting and watching television with the family. Josh was dutiful, responsible, a hard worker, and through all things he had a cheerful disposition. He watched Oprah. She couldn't think of any other boy who was that in touch with his feminine side!

Megan put away her treasures of Joshness and her notepad with a contented sigh. She went downstairs to eat breakfast with Josh and Drake.