Dylan watched angrily as Max and Fang made out on the couch. He was so sick of their lovey-dovey crap. It went on constantly, and he had to put up with it every time he was with them. He wished they would get a room.
Fang started tickling Max and whispering things in her ear that made her giggle. A few seconds later, they got up from the couch and went up the stairs, no doubt to Max's room so they could continue their make-out session in private. Dylan grimaced at the thought of Fang touching Max that way.
"Dylan?" a familiar voice spoke. He turned to see Max's half-sister Ella smiling gently at him.
"Hey, El," he said. "What's up?"
"I know you hate that," she said, gesturing to the staircase. Upstairs, he could hear Fang and Max distantly giggling. "It gets annoying sometimes, doesn't it?"
Dylan nodded, and Ella smiled again. Her eyes got all hazy when she looked at him, and he suddenly noticed how pretty she was. Her long dark hair fell in gentle waves down her back, and her brown eyes sparkled in the light.
"But they're in love," Ella said with a dreamy sigh. "You can't ignore something like that. Love is powerful, and I've never seen two people more in love than Max and Fang. I'm glad they have each other."
She was leaning towards him, and Dylan blinked, suddenly out of sorts.
"Uh, yeah," he said. Even if he hated Fang, he was glad Max was happy. She deserved happiness.
"Have you ever been in love?" Ella asked. "I mean, besides with Max?"
"N-no," he stuttered, struck by the way her eyes sparkled. They were actually kind of beautiful. How had he never noticed before?
"Have you ever tried to love someone else? Because I think you could, Dylan," she whispered. "You have a mind of your own. You can make your own choices. You don't have to follow their rules."
He was sure she was referring to the whackjob scientists that had created him. And she was right. He did have a mind of his own.
"You know, you're really pretty," Dylan said, staring at Ella. She smiled and blushed, and Dylan smiled back.
"You're not so bad yourself," she replied. She was leaning forward again, and Dylan didn't pull back. He liked the way she smelled – like roses. Different from Max. But that's probably because Ella got to take a shower every day.
"Thanks," Dylan said. He was staring at her eyes and losing concentration. Gosh, she was really pretty. He couldn't believe he'd never noticed it before.
"You can't ignore love, Dylan," Ella whispered. Their faces were inches apart now. "No matter how hard you try."
"No," he whispered back. "You can't." And their lips met. The softness of Ella's lips was comforting to Dylan. He ran his hand over her smooth hair, soft and untangled, unlike Max's.
When they pulled away from each other, they were both smiling dopily at each other. And Dylan realized that maybe he should try to love other people, because Max wasn't the only girl in the world.
He leaned forward to kiss Ella again.