Drew slammed the front door shut behind him. Luckily, his mom wasn't home to yell at him and make his day even worse. He threw his backpack down in the kitchen and stormed upstairs. Sure his neighbors would hear the loud thumping of his feet; Drew ran his hand through his hair frustrated.
Walking down the hallway, Drew noted that Adam had his door slightly ajar meaning Adam was home. How he hadn't heard Drew's little rampage on the stairs Drew was unsure. Adam probably had his headphones in blasting Dead Hand in his ears until he goes def.
Today had been hell on Drew. Actually, the past few days have been hell on Drew. And the reason was Alli Bhandari, the girl who turned his world upside down every time she looked his way.
This was a new feeling to Drew. He had never had to chase girls; they always came to him. Alli had too at first. But he had to go and mess that up like he does whenever he gets scared. What was he scared of? He was a quarterback, a player, and likely homecoming king. He wasn't scared of anything.
Except Alli Bhandari.
Drew couldn't unscramble the thoughts jumbled up in his head. He needed help. And who better to go to than his female to male transgendered brother? Adam was Drew's girl expert. Sounds silly, but makes a lot of sense. Adam can see everything from both a girl's and boy's perspective. It was just an added bonus that he had a way around girls and was the flirt master.
Propelling himself off his bed, Drew made his way down the hall to Adam's room. Before opening the door, Drew took a deep breath preparing himself for what Adam might say. That was the one downside about going to Adam for advice; he was always brutally honest no matter how much it hurt. Drew pushed open the door and knocked lightly.
"Knock, knock," he called into Adam's room. Drew opened the door fully to see Adam sitting at his desk reading a new comic. Adam didn't even flinch as Drew walked into his room.
"Andrew," Adam greeted his older brother who took a seat on his bed. Adam spun around to face Drew. "Let me guess. Girl problems?"
Drew was shocked. How is it that Adam knows stuff like that so easily? Sometimes Drew thought his little brother was some sort of super human advanced beyond the years. Of course, that was only after a Sci-fi marathon.
"Um, yeah," Drew said still shocked. Adam raised an eyebrow signaling Drew to continue. "It's Alli," Drew confessed.
Adam rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid, Drew. I knew this was about Alli."
"How?" Drew asked perplexed. He hadn't told anyone about just how badly he wanted Alli.
"Because I see the way you look at her, the way you talk about her, the way your face flushes when someone mentions her…" Adam trailed off.
"Oh," Drew managed to say. He was unaware that he looked at her differently or talked about her differently or blushed when she came up in casual conversation. They were both silent for a few moments. Then Adam spoke up.
"What do you need, Drew?" he asked. Drew took a deep breath again.
"I like her – " he started.
"That's quite obvious," Adam remarked sarcastically.
Drew shot him a glare before continuing. "But she wants me to commit."
"And we all know you can't do that," Adam added sarcastically again. Drew looked at Adam with desperation in his eyes. Adam sighed at his brother's inability to have any humor what so ever. "Okay, so she wants a commitment. You said you like her. What's the problem?"
"She wants me to commit," Drew repeated annoyed.
"And?" Adam pressed.
"Well, that's it. Alli wants labels and commitment, but I'm not that type of guy," Drew shrugged.
"Drew," Adam said growing serious, "get serious. We both know that's not the reason. You could easily be that type of guy and you know it. So what's the real issue here?"
Drew sat silent for a moment. "I don't know," he admitted. "That's why I came to you. What do you think?"
Adam sighed. Drew often came to him with girl problems but most of those were about how to talk up a girl or how to get her to go out with him. Drew had never come to Adam with this serious of an issue.
"I think that you're afraid of the chase," Adam stated. Drew sent him a confused look so Adam expanded. "Girls always come to you, right? But now, you're the one chasing the girl. You've never been iced before and you've never had to win a girl over. You don't know what you're doing and are in uncharted waters." Adam told Drew simply. Drew looked at his brother in awe. How was Adam able to be so specific and know exactly what was wrong?
"Okay," Drew said slowly, accepting Adam's answer. "Then what do I do about it?" Adam laughed heartily at Drew.
"There's only one thing you can do," Adam said after calming down a bit.
"And that would be…" Drew asked. Adam rolled his eyes. Drew should know this stuff; after all, he was the one of the two that actually got girls.
"Be yourself," Adam stated obviously, "and try harder." Adam spun back around in his chair to face his desk and continue reading his comic thinking that he had helped Drew to the fullest extent he possibly could.
"I…I don't know how," Drew shamefully admitted softly looking down at his feet. Upon hearing this, Adam spun back around to look at his brother. Drew looked like a wreck. He'd never seen him so messed up over a girl before.
"There's a first time for everything," Adam reminded Drew who now looked up sadly at his brother. "And, if you need some help navigating the unchartered waters of commitment, I'll always be here to help you out, bro," Adam assured Drew. Drew smiled at his loving brother. "Not that I have much experience in that particular field," Adam added. "But I can try." He gave Drew his signature smile and Drew returned it.
Just before he walked out of Adam's room, Drew turned back to his comic book reading, female to male transgendered little brother. "Thanks little brother. You're pretty cool sometimes," he said.
"Yeah, I know," Adam shrugged nonchalantly.
Drew returned Adam's door to its original position before leaving his room. Lying down on his own bed, Drew found himself smiling. He didn't know why, but he had a good feeling that with Adam behind him and Adam's brotherly advice in his head he was going to be just fine – even with things concerning Alli Bhandari, the girl who scared him.
