This one is a bit shorter, sorry.

WC: 1762

Chapter 2

Green, the first thing I noticed was that the paper in my hand was, in fact, green. I pinched myself, making sure I hadn't fainted and this was some hallucination. A wide grin appearing on my face as I excitedly waved the paper in the air.

"She cheated!" Alan accused. His eyes were fiery, his face red and livid.

"Yeah, did you see how easy it was for her? She had to have cheated somehow." Tommy agreed, crossing his arms and giving a pointed look at Jen who wasn't paying attention. After two weeks of fighting, both boys finally united once again. I would have been happy; had the joining force not been to put me on blast for cheating, which I didn't.

Maybe…

In all honesty I was just as shocked as they were; I was only about five foot one, hardly any NBA star. There's no way I could have gotten close enough to tell the colors apart, but somehow the right one floated directly to me. All I had to do was wait.

Well, I guess I did have some help. I scratched my head at the unfamiliar voice that had penetrated my thoughts

"Come on guys, don't be such sore losers." Jen said, placing a hand on both Tommy and Alan's shoulders, smiling.

Steve grinned at me, clapping me on shoulder. "I'll swing by around 8 tomorrow night; we can ride our bikes there."

"Actually, I think it would be better if you waited down the street," I said, remembering my parents didn't want us hanging out. "I'll tell my mom I'm going to Jen's." I smiled for effect, hoping to soften the blow. Steve nodded, but the way he clenched his jaw made me think that he was still bothered by my parent's view of him.

After quickly running back to my locker and grabbing a few notebooks for the weekend I started heading back outside. I fixed the collar of my t-shirt, pulling my golden cross out and laying it flat,smiling when I saw Alan and Steve waiting for me.

"Jen and Tommy decided to stay after for 'extra credit'," Steve used air quotes and snickered, he noticed how weighted down my bag was and tried to take it from me.

"Ehh, Steve it's ok," I pulled away from him. "I'm not some weak little girl." I smiled and he shrugged, it was the truth. My legs were strong from years of playing sports, and I wasn't sickly thin. Rather I was more on the curvy side; full breasts, but not very much in the hip department, and with a slightly chubby waist. I never thought much about my weight or my body; I wasn't trying to impress anyone. But, like most girls my age; I did experience moments of insecurity. And I never wanted people to feel obligated to fuss over me; like I wasn't able to take care of myself.

Steve and Alan started chatting about gym class, and the girls they thought were hot. I rolled my eyes, but smirked on the inside; happy to know Alan was getting over Jen.

"How about you, Sam?" Alan asked a devious glint in his eyes.

"What?" I laughed.

"Any boys you find particularly handsome?" he waggled his eyebrows and flexed his stick-like arms.

I laughed again, louder this time, "HA! Keep dreaming, I'd rather date Steve. At least he doesn't make his mom lay his clothes out in the morning." I teased gently. Steve laughed then, messing up Alan's hair and putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Careful what you wish for," Steve smirked and I gave him a dubious look; I gently slid his arm off, but I still held his hand to show I wasn't angry.

"Get a room." Gagged Alan.

"Shut up! Steve is like my brother, that'd be gross." We stopped in front my two story white house, the slight breeze making the pink flowers I helped my mother plant sway; the grass was glinting in the sunlight. The metal door slammed as tiny footsteps hurried down the steps.

"Sissy!" Annie launched herself at me, and I caught her with quick reflexes you acquire when being a big sister. This eight year old bundle of energy insisted on being up my bucket 24 hours, 7 days a week. Whenever I thought I was finally rid of her, she would sneak up on me in some way.

"Have fun with the gremlin Sam," Steve teases, messing up Annie's hair and then did something unexpected; kissed my cheek. I could feel my cheeks burning as he left with Alan, I watched them walk away for a long time, they were laughing about something.

"STEVE'S YOUR BOYFRIEND?" Annie shouted laughingly in my face.

"Absolutely not!" I yelled back, almost dropping her on the ground.

"Play dolls with me!" she demanded, little hands on her hips. Her pigtails were all messy from Steve.

"Come on Annie," I groaned.

"I'll tell mom Steve kissed your cheek!"

"FINE!" I yelled and stomped my way into the house.

The evening was spent in its usual Thursday night routine; dolls with Annie, dinner, and then struggling over homework for the next hour. Eventually I gave up on my math books and flopped down on my bed, curling up with my white comforter and stared at my walls. One was dedicated to pictures and mementos of my friends and family, one face stood out the most; Steve.

Why did he have to kiss me? I groaned inwardly. Steve sometimes did things without thinking, and I never dwelled on them before. But I wondered, maybe if this time he actually put some thought behind his actions. Which begged the question: did Steve like me, more than a friend?

More importantly, did I like him?

No, I didn't. I've had crushes before; I knew what it felt like to have those kinds of emotions. This was different; I cared about Steve like I cared about Annie. Both of them could be pains, but I would do anything for them. I sighed and sat up, looking into my vanity. I didn't consider myself very pretty; blue eyes, light brown hair, slight tan. Sometimes I would catch a glimpse of myself in a reflective surface and think that I wasn't too bad looking. But I guess because I didn't feel that way towards Steve, I couldn't fathom what he saw in me. Flopping back down, I cleared my mind and after what seemed like forever and fell asleep.


The next morning as I was getting ready for school I wondered whether to ask Steve about the kiss, in the end I decided it would go for it. Throwing on a sundress and some sandals, I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs for breakfast. Mom made pancakes, and Annie's plate was stacked with them and saturated in syrup.

"That sure looks healthy." I commented when Annie made a face at me. "Hey mom," I said as she flipped a pancake in the skillet. "Can I go to Jen's after school today, and maybe stay the night?" I rubbed my sweaty hands on my dress and tried to stay calm.

"Sure thing sweet-pea, as long as it's ok with her parents." My mom smiled, she trusted me and I felt bad for lying to her. But nothing was going to happen; after all, it's not like I was going alone.

Steve showed up not too much later, even if we couldn't hang out my parents didn't stop us from walking to school together.

"You look nice today." he smiled, we were walking so close together I could feel his hand brushing mine and smell the soap on his skin. You could say he was handsome with his had dark hair and eyes,full lips, straight nose and a strong jaw, tall and toned; he was classically handsome. Steve would look better if he didn't have such deep purple circles under his eyes from staying up late.

"Thanks," I grinned as we neared the campus.

"Listen," Steve said slowly. "I need to talk to you about something tonight, its important."

"Fine," I shrugged.

I barely even realized it when he held my hand, not until he ran his thumbs over my knuckles.

"Um…" I gave him a confused look. He dropped my hand and parted ways with me in front of the school, not saying goodbye. I bit my lip and continued walking. "What the hell?" I mumbled.

The day passed in a blur; I couldn't pay any attention in class. All I could think about was the way Steve looked at me, and that he held my hand. In a way, I felt grossed out. I didn't have amorous feelings towards Steve, and I didn't have enough experience with guys to nicely tell him I wasn't interested.

But enough was enough, tonight after he said what he needed to say I would put my foot down. No more touching, no more kissing. Friendship, simple friendship, or nothing at all.

I left school slightly earlier than usual, wanting some alone time for myself. After grabbing some things from home and saying goodbye to my parents, I began making my way down the street to Jen's house on my bike. We agreed during break it would be best to have me come over and leave from her house, that way she could cover for me. She promised the party her parents were going to wouldn't end until early in the morning, and not to worry. We joked around and played some card games for a while; gin, tonk, BS, even some go-fish. Jen's parents had ordered pizza for us and we watched The Warrior on Netflix. Before long, it was already 7:30. I fixed up my hair in the bathroom mirror, letting in cascade around me in waves, and put on some makeup before changing into jeans shorts, flip-flops, and a dark red oversized sweatshirt. Nothing fancy in case I had to make a mad dash across town before her parents got home. At 8 o'clock, I pulled out of the driveway on my bike and went to find Steve. The sun had almost completely set; casting rays of orange, pink, and red on the landscape. Once I found Steve we set off into the city laughing excitedly, and waiting anxiously to see the freak show