Annie pulled into the parking lot of Britta's apartment complex and got out of her car. She had only been to Britta's apartment a couple of times, and each time she was there she had to resist the urge to start cleaning and organizing the place.

As Annie rode the elevator up she tried to figure out what Britta wanted. When she called her that morning all Britta said was that she wanted her to come by. After last night Annie could think of a multitude of reasons Britta might want to see her. There was one reason in particular Annie was hoping for, but she didn't want to get her hopes up in case she was disappointed.

Annie knocked on the door a few times before it opened. "Hey Annie. Come in." Annie followed Britta inside as she grabbed a bowl and threw it into the already full sink. "I just wanted to thank you for last night. I might have been a bit…" She raised her eyebrows and waved her hands in front of her, as if that fully indicated how she had acted. "But you stuck by me and helped me. So, thank you."

"Of course Britta. That's what friends do. Help each other out, not take advantage of them."

"Right, advantage. That's kind of the real reason I asked you over here." She reached in her pocket and pulled out a purple pen, which she handed to Annie. "Before when I texting Blade I started doodling what to say to him with the pen on your dresser. And then afterwards I put it in my pocket and forgot about it until this morning. So…"

Annie frowned as she looked at the pen. "This is why you wanted to see me?"

"Well yea. You once turned Gestapo over a lost pen, so I wanted to give it back before you saw that it was gone."

The frown on Annie's face intensified as she put the pen in her purse. "Thanks."

"Are you ok Annie?"

"I'm fine." She said in a voice that clearly indicated she wasn't fine. "I'll see you on Monday Britta." She stormed across the room before stopping abruptly at the door and turning back around. "Really Britta! THIS is the reason you called me over?"

"I was being nice and giving you your pen back. I know I was a bit much last night but-."

"Last night you said I was like a sister to you Britta! A SISTER! Do you have any idea what that meant to me? How moved and touched I was to hear that? And then I found out it was all just a lie to manipulate me. I thought maybe that's why you wanted to see me, to apologize. But no, you just wanted to give me a pen back."

"Cause I know you like your pens." Britta said in a small voice. "Annie, I'm sorry for that. But, I mean, I was basically an addict last night. You know what that's like."

"Yes Britta, I know what being addicted to something can do to you. But I also know that that excuse only gets you so far. That having an addiction does not give you a get out of jail free card for everything that you do or say. Eventually you reach a point where you do something that goes beyond saying 'it's just because I have a addiction'. And honestly, what you did was one of those times."

Annie pulled open the door and started walking down the hallway. She made it to the elevator when Britta came running down the hallway. "Annie, wait." She grabbed Annie's hand and practically dragged her back to the apartment. "Annie, I'm sorry for manipulating you like that. But listen, what I said last night. Yea, I might have been trying to get my phone back to call Blade."

"Might have?"

"Ok, definitely was. But that doesn't mean I was lying about what I said. I actually do think of you like a little sister."

"Really?" Annie said suspiciously.

"Ya. You're annoying, pushy, you need my guidance on how life actually is."

Annie scoffed as she folded her arms over her chest. "How is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"Because that's how I'd expect a little sister to be around me. She wouldn't be a obedient simpleton. She'd be someone who sometimes annoys me, but who I still manage to care about." Annie tried to make sense of that as Britta grabbed her forearms. "Also, you might not realize it, but what I did last night just proves how much of a sister I think of you."

"OH COME ON!"

"I'm serious Annie. You're an only child; you never grew up with siblings. I grew up with two older brothers, and we were always manipulating and screwing each other over. Whenever we watched horror movies I'd cover my eyes during the scary parts and tell them to tell me when it was over. And they always told me too early so I'd see something terrible and get really scared. And one time Trey hit a tree and dented our dad's car, and the next day I was sent home from school for smoking and ended up rating him out to try and take some pressure off me."

"Britta, I don't get how this is supposed to make me believe you care about me."

"I'm saying Annie, that this is what siblings do. They screw with each other. But when things are really bad, they know they can turn to each other. When I backpacking across the country I got arrested in New Mexico. Long story, I was totally right, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Point is, I called Trey and he came and bailed me out. Despite all the crap we gave each other I still knew I could count on him. Yes, I may have manipulated you to get my phone. But I also knew I could turn to you when I needed someone, even if I got out of control. I may not have said it for the right reason, but I do think of you like a little sister."

Annie fidgeted, trying not to be moved by Britta's warped view on siblinghood. But her resolve only lasted a moment before she hugged her. "Thank you Britta. You drive me crazy. But I also think of you like a sister."

The two women held each other for several minutes before finally separating. As Annie wiped her eyes she noticed the stuffed animal on the couch. "Oh, what a cute bear."

Britta glanced behind her until she saw what Annie was talking about. "Oh, thanks. Jeff gave it to me."

"Jeff gave you a purple bear?" Annie said as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Yea. He said he won a bunch of stuffed animals at Blade's BB gun booth. He gave most of them to Shirley, but he got that one for me."

"Oh. Well, that's good. What are you naming him?"

"I don't know?" Britta said as she shrugged. "It's a stuffed animal. They don't really need names."

"Britta, you have to name him."

"How you even know it's automatically a him?"

"Ok, fine. How about Billy? That works both as a boys and a girls name."

Just then her phone rang. As she pulled it out of her purse her eyes widened when she saw it was Jeff. It was unusual for him to call her out of the blue on a weekend. It was even more unusual that he was actually calling her instead of just texting. "It's Jeff." She turned around as she answered the call. "Jeff?"

"Hey Annie."

"Why are you calling me?"

"Not much for banter today are we. Are you busy tonight?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want you to do something with me tonight."

Annie's widened at that one. Jeff was willing giving up a Saturday night to spend time with her. It seemed way too bizarre to be real. Then again, she didn't really have plans, so she might as well take advantage of this unusual occurrence. "Ok. What did you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise."