A/N Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Just to clear up some confusion - Jesse and Hector are two different people, as are Suze and Anna in this fic. I hope you'll like the end of this chapter...

Merry Xmas, everybody. I'm hoping to have a little Christmas treat up for everybody later on today.

TODAY'S HEADLINE: DE SILVA'S NEW CATCH

The actor leaves his birthday party with mystery brunette

Chapter Three

The Non-Date

"Suze!"

When my sister is annoyed, her usually chipper voice turns to one of a howler monkey. She has been calling my name for a couple of minutes, but I ignore her, choosing to cross my legs and continue reading Star Magazine instead. I decide that if she wants me, she can come and get me.

"Suze!"

She shouts again, and is met with silence. Eventually, I hear the angry clack-click-clack as her almost-Manolo Blahniks make their way across the landing, and she bursts through my door, looking less than peaceful. However, as she struts into my room, she seems to calm down, and begins rifling through my drawers casually, like there's actually something in there that she would be caught dead in.

"So," she begins, nonchalantly. I can tell by her ridiculously short outfit, paired with the fact that it's a Saturday night, that she's going to a party. And, no doubt, she wants me to cover her. "Kelly got us in to this great party in L.A, and I need you to tell Mom I'm staying over at Debbie's or something." I roll my eyes. "Or, you know." Her eyes glint. "The Ackermans. You know Mom wouldn't call up to check at that house, she's too weirded out by Mr. A's crush on her."

"I am not covering for you," I insist, watching in disgust as Anna pulls her lip-gloss from – where else? – her bra, and starts applying it to her lips. "Mom will be home any minute; you can tell where you're going yourself." Anna doesn't look deterred, and instead adjusts her stilettos. I sigh, and turn my attention to my magazine again.

"Mom won't be home till I'm gone." She's confident. "What's the big deal?" Anna demands, sitting on my bed and stretching her smooth legs. "I mean, it's not like you have anything better tonight. Unless," she looks like she's dying to laugh. "You have a study date tonight with Señor Dorkus." I frowned, and tossed my magazine aside.

"Don't call him that," I argue defensively, in spite of myself. "His name is Jesse. And anyway, we don't have a study date. He's just going to be tutoring me in math for a while." Anna looks amused, but then we both hear the doorbell ring. "Looks like Mom is home sooner than you thought." Anna leaps off my bed, and brushes her outfit lightly with her fingertips.

"Do I look like I'm going out for the night anyway besides Debbie's?" she asks me, pulling off her high heels and sticking her feet in my slippers. I examine her outfit.

"You look like a slut," I inform her, and then I call to whoever is at the door – though we're convinced it's Mom. "Coming!" I make my way towards my doorway, though Anna throws herself across it. "Move!" I cry, trying to push her out the way.

"I'm staying at Debbie's," she reminds me of the 'story'. "Right?" I give her a hard shove – my weight does have one advantage – and she falls to the floor with a bump. I walk past her, shooting her a contemptuous look before I make it downstairs and answer the door. It's not Mom.

"Hey," says Jesse, with a grin. "Do you always have that look on your face when you answer the door?" I blush and shake my head. "Can I come in?" he asks, and I nod, holding the door open. With a bump, my sister hobbles down the stairs, and shoots an amused look in my direction at the sight of Jesse.

"Well," she says, pulling on her heels again. "Who would have thought we'd be seeing you here again tonight?" I widen my eyes at her meaningfully. It's obvious by the you that she can't remember the name I told her less then twenty seconds ago. Jesse is oblivious to my mortification.

"Yeah," Jesse replies, looking bashful. "But I wasn't doing anything tonight, and so I thought maybe I'd see if you wanted any tutoring?" His gaze is locked on me. Man, even the nerds know that I never have anything to do on a Saturday night. He lifts up his textbook and pencil case. "I thought we'd start with something easier… simultaneous equations?" I groan inwardly. Only Jesse De Silva would find simultaneous equations easy.

"Sure," I surrender uneasily, and Jesse smiles. I think it's identical to the smile on my poster of Hector De Silva.

"Have fun on your date!" Anna sings, as she slips out the door before I can notice. I am then left to deal with the embarrassment and silence that comes from the word 'date', but decide to pretend like I haven't heard it, even though it's obvious Jesse has.

"It's not a date," I say hurriedly, turning a furious pink. "I mean, we're just tutoring and it's not like we're going to make out or anything…" My insides squirm as I realise I have lost total control of my mouth. I clamp a hand over my mouth and look sheepishly in Jesse's direction.

"A non-date," he confirms, with a curt nod. There's an awkward pause for some time afterwards. We walk silently into the kitchen and sit down at the table.

"I hate my sister," I say, eventually, hoping desperately that a change of subject will ease the burn of my cheeks. "Sometimes I hope I'm adopted. Or she is. And my mom just happened to adopt one of us the same day the other one was born." Jesse grins as he flips open his textbook.

"And it's just a coincidence that the two of you look alike," he adds, helpfully. I am surprised at this remark, as I've never thought of Anna and me to be similar. I don't say anything though, and instead watch quietly as Jesse finds a place in his textbook.

"Here," he says, pushing the book towards me. "Let's work through this example. I'll tell you if you go wrong." I start to copy it down, and then chew my lip, and stop. Jesse looks concerned. "Are you O.K?"

"I'm fine," I assure him. "It's just…Saturday isn't a math day. I'm just not in the mood." Jesse's face is expressionless now, and I'm unable to tell whether or not he agrees with me. "Do you…do you just want to watch a movie or something?" What am I doing? I think, wondering if I'm insane. Jesse is the type of person my sister would avoid like the plague.

But I'm not my sister. With that determined statement, I stand up, and Jesse looks surprised. "Come on," I encourage him. "I'll get us sodas – and we'll watch a movie. We'll… we'll set a definite date for tutoring-" I cringe inwardly at the word 'date' again – what is wrong with me? "-and stick to it." Jesse finally seems convinced.

"O.K then," he agrees, and he stands up. "You're right. What movie do you have in mind?"

We decide on a war film – firmly pushing aside Anna's romantic comedies – and I slip it into the DVD player. As the opening credits begin to roll, I become more relaxed. Maybe this is what it feels like to have something to do on a Saturday night.

A clank from the kitchen wakes me up immediately, and the first thing I realise is that it's light. I must have fallen asleep during the film.

God. How embarrassing.

I wander out into the hall, and notice that my mom's shoes aren't beside me and my sister's shoes. She didn't come home last night. Another clank from the kitchen echoes through into the hall, and I follow the noise curiously. It's not like Anna to eat breakfast at all, let alone so early in the morning.

"I can't believe you're here. You do know that she's sixteen, don't you?" I frown at the unfamiliar voice, and approach the kitchen with caution. And then, in the doorway, I think I have a minor heart-attack.

Jesse is there, drinking coffee at my kitchen table. But beside him, eating Cap'n Crunch hungrily, is Hector De Silva.

In his underwear.