A/N - We're back ... now, where were we?
Chapter 4 - Green With Envy
Halloween was always an excuse to take the mansion's usual opulence and turn it up a few notches to match the spooky season, and as usual, it looked amazing. Storm had arrived early to set the tone with some ominously thick fog, and the kids and many of the teachers from the other schools all flooded in for dancing and fun.
But while most of the mansion residents were excited about the yearly excuse to have fun and dress up - whether that was costumes or formal dress - Cody was still a little nervous about it.
He couldn't quite ignore the fact that he had been dead to a lot of these people for well over a year, and whether they meant to or not, they couldn't stop thinking about it around him either. Or if they weren't thinking about that, it was the fact that he was quieter and less combative.
But he knew he needed to get out there, so he headed to the Wagners' suite to pick up Kari - somehow not surprised at all to see that the family had gone with themed costumes for everyone who didn't have a date. They were the incredibles - with Ariel dressed up as Jack-Jack to Kade's dash and Chelsea's Violet, since Kate and Kurt were babysitting while Sying and Krissy celebrated their anniversary.
Kate smiled warmly when she saw Cody at the door and made sure to pop up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek as she passed him. "She's ready; just distracted. Go ahead and knock on her door," she informed him.
Cody couldn't help but smile at her as he nodded and did just that - and just like Kate had said, he somehow wasn't surprised to see that Kari was elbow-deep in her sketchbook.
You know, if I'm interrupting…
Kari looked up when she heard his mental voice and quickly shook her head, teleporting over to where he was standing so she could wrap him up in a solid hug. "No, no," she said quickly. "I was just trying to decide what I'm comfortable with making public - and seeing if any of my sketches are worth painting."
"They all are," Cody said with a smirk.
She laughed at that as she pulled her arm through his. "Good, good, flattery. That's a good way to start a date, even if it's just between friends," she teased him.
He couldn't help but smile at that as he let her lead him toward the dance, though he was admittedly walking a bit slower. Not consciously - he just hadn't been around a crowd that size for a long, long time. And while Sinister had taught him how to keep a handle on his augmented powers, like telepathy, that was still a lot for a new telepath.
It wasn't just about the pitying looks.
Kari patted his arm with one hand. "Still remember how to dance?" she asked him, getting his attention back from the mass of people on the other side of the door.
"Maybe not some of the more complicated things you're used to," he said, trying for a smirk as she grinned at him.
"That's alright. We can just shuffle in a circle," she said, taking up a dancing position with him once they got to the outskirts of the dance floor. "The more complicated stuff is just for showing off," she added, tipping her head toward where her brother and Sadie were definitely putting on a show.
Cody followed her gaze and couldn't help but smile as he nodded. "Yeah, and as much as I'm trying to get out more, I don't really want a spotlight."
"Didn't think you did," Kari agreed with a warm smile and a nod.
"So… shuffling it is," he decided, which got a little laugh out of Kari.
Of course, Kaleb and Sadie had attracted more attention than just Kari and Cody - though at first, Howard just thought that it was the two of them being, well, them. They'd been best friends growing up for a while, and it wasn't like it was the first time that they had decided to show everyone else up on the dance floor.
He was making his way over so that he could cut in when the dance was over and tell Sadie how amazing she looked - her dress was beautiful and hugged every curve, but she was even prettier than the last time he saw her, if that was possible - when Kaleb pulled Sadie into a deep dip that turned into a fairly… involved kiss.
Howard froze where he was when he saw it.
He couldn't believe it.
Sure, he had always known that Sadie and Kaleb were close, but… This was not on his radar. At all. Even if he and Sadie had agreed not to be exclusive when he went to Chicago, this… no.
When the initial shock wore off, he found himself stalking over to the two of them, almost without even thinking about it, to cut in anyway, though with a much more dangerous-looking glare Kaleb's way when he did so.
"Can I have this dance?" Howard asked, though he wasn't really asking, already taking Sadie's arm without even thinking about it.
Sadie turned and looked up at him, totally not expecting the look he was giving Kaleb. "That's up to Kaleb when you're looking like that," Sadie said. "What's gotten into you anyhow?"
"I didn't know you two were that… close," Howard said, though he wasn't dropping Kaleb's gaze at all - and Kaleb, for his part, had almost frozen, his tail still behind him, though that was usually a sign that he was ready to get out if need be.
"That's not really your concern anymore." Sadie frowned at Howard deeper before she pulled her arm back from him and then took a few steps away from both of them. "When you boys decide to pull me into the conversation to actually talk ... " She tipped her chin up a bit higher and strutted off, leaving both of them behind.
"You've insulted her," Kaleb said, narrowing his eyes at Howard - though he had turned to watch her leave with a sort of drooped-ear look before he decided to get mad at Howard for the interruption.
"I don't see her dancing with you anymore," Howard shot right back without even thinking about it.
"That's her decision," Kaleb said evenly. "You know she would have danced with you if you'd asked her instead of picking a fight."
"That's not - how long have you two been so involved?" Howard asked. "She didn't say anything to me about it."
"I'm sure she didn't," Kaleb replied. "I doubt she's giving you updates on much of anything that isn't your business." When Howard still seemed to be worked up, he let his shoulders drop slightly and then shook his head. "Think what you want; I'm going to go make sure she's alright," he said before he simply teleported out of the middle of the dance floor before he reappeared close to Sadie with an apologetic smile on, leaving Howard standing there and still feeling like he'd been blindsided.
"That never should have happened," Sadie said to Kaleb quietly, well away from the initial scene. "He's being ridiculous."
"He is," Kaleb agreed with a nod. "But let's not bother ourselves about him when we could be dancing, right?"
She turned his way and the smile quickly returned. "Yes. Though we don't have to stay here if he continues to act like a preschooler."
"I could always teleport you off just before he gets there," Kaleb teased. "Like an extended game of 'almost there'."
"I'd hope that would be a last ditch effort," she said. "Especially since we do so much better when we're not paying attention to other people."
He agreed with a little nod and stole a quick kiss. "But are you okay?" he asked. "Never mind Howard.I want to know that you're alright"
"I just wasn't expecting the caveman routine," she said, waving it off. "I knew you'd be dashing and handle it." She gave him a slightly longer kiss. "So I'm fine. Thank you."
"Well, yes, of course I'm just perfectly dashing," he teased. "Though I suppose if I'd seen someone as beautiful as you and realized I missed my chance, I would lose my mind too," he had to add, still obviously teasing as he raised her hand to kiss it in a perfect imitation of his father.
"I'm so lucky to have such a rogue."
He grinned at that and then wrapped her up a bit tighter. "Let's get out of here. We can come back if we want, but let's go do something else."
"I think that would be best," she agreed easily.
When Kaleb and Sadie disappeared in a poof of blue, their disappearance didn't go unnoticed - though while some of the adults were sharing looks and Howard was hurt, Kade was rolling his eyes. So. Hard. His brother was ridiculous.
"I am never going to be like that," Kade told the nearest person, who just happened to be Nina. Even though she'd scared the crap out of him, they got along great when they were on the same side. And she was great for helping with pranks.
"Sure you won't," Nina replied, rolling her eyes right back.
Kade turned her way and shook his head more fervently. "He's just obsessed with kisses," he said, pulling a face.
"What's wrong with kisses?" Nina asked.
"They're not the end-all be-all," Kade said, shrugging. "I mean, look at my sister. She's not even an X-Man anymore now that she's all wrapped up!"
"You know, my Grampa says most people that have issues with kisses aren't getting enough of them. You just need to try it."
Kade shook his head. "I'm good. I just want to prank people and shoot stuff."
She nodded along. "I hear you there. I just want to learn how to be a ninja. I can do the sneaky thing pretty well."
"Yeah, you can," he agreed. "I'm fine being a pirate, though."
She grinned and took a step back into the wall. "That's because you're not sneaky enough to be anything else."
When he turned to look at her again, there was just a blank wall, and he made a face. "Really, Nina?" he said. But before he could turn away, Nina darted forward and simply planted a kiss on him before he could react more than with a muffled noise of surprise.
"Ha! Ninjas rule!"
Kade let out another noise - this one more annoyed, despite the fact that he was bright red - but before he could do anything about it, she phased so that he couldn't grab her or anything.
"Hey! No fair!"
"Didn't think pirates cared about fair!"
"Un-phase so I can take you down!"
"Like you could do that anyhow!" she said, halfway up to the ceiling as she floated up.
Kade let out a half-squeaky growl and teleported up to the ceiling to meet her there. "Ghost ninja!"
She fell apart giggling at that. "Whatcha gonna do about it?"
"I - I'd do more if you weren't intangible!"
Nina reached over and grabbed his arm to phase him and drag him through the ceiling, then immediately tackled him when they were both solid. "Bring it, demon boy!"
"Oh, you are totally on, space princess."
James and Alyssa had taken a break from the movie marathon they were involved with to refill some snacks and stretch out a little bit. They were generally just picking back and forth, flirting away while they mulled around and picked out snacks.
"Little celebrity. Can't go anywhere," James was teasing her after she'd made some offhand comment about people recognizing her in public lately. "Must be awful."
Alyssa rolled her eyes at him. "Don't joke," she said, though she was smiling and pushing his arm slightly. "This is what I get for dating you - you're the celebrity."
"Oh no," James said, shaking his head. "No no. This is all you and your thing. I had nothing to do with it."
Alyssa just laughed at that and kissed his cheek. "Uh-huh."
"It's true," he argued. "Besides, I thought you said everyone was still just speculating. It's not confirmed, is it? The dating thing."
"No, I haven't said anything," she said.
"See? Can't pin it on me then, can you?" he replied with a crooked smile.
She just laughed again as she put some popcorn in the microwave - though it hadn't even started popping before they were joined by someone she'd never met before. A huge black man that went right for James and tackled him in a hug to the ground.
"Hello is still acceptable," James said as he did his best to return the hug.
Anton laughed at that. "Yeah, but this is more fun," he pointed out, then helped James to his feet to pull James into a better hug. "Leslie Ann showed me that interview of yours. You didn't have to talk me up like that."
"I didn't talk you up, you giant jungle gym," James replied. "I pointed out who was helpful to all the little brats around here."
"Uh-huh," he said, laughing to himself. "Don't go climbing me now, though. I'm gettin' old, and you're getting heavy."
James smirked and put one hand over his stomach. "Yeah. I should shave off a little. Somehow."
Anton shook his head, still smiling, before he turned to Alyssa. "You got a good one, missy," he told her, messing up James' hair.
"He's only saying that because I got busted being nice over him," James said. "He absolutely didn't have the same outlook when I got arrested."
Anton shook his head. "Yeah, what'd I tell you about that?"
James shrugged. "I didn't hit the cop. That was good, right?"
"Yeah, we're still not done talking about that," Anton chuckled.
James gestured to Alyssa to quickly introduce them, though he got a look when he tacked on 'legal advisor' to Anton's duties.
"Don't let him kid you. I just teach the kids how to interact with cops when not all of 'em are gonna be on your side," Anton said.
"Well, it's really nice to meet you," Alyssa said with a smile - though she didn't get much further than that before they were joined by Anton's wife and Leslie Ann.
"You giant goober," Leslie Ann said - and she did take James to the ground.
"You're getting better," James said. "Not quite to the level I nail Chance with but … keep it up."
"It's harder to take down a metal kid," she teased, kissing his cheek for good measure. "Dad already got you, right?"
"A little bit, yeah," James said. "Were you waiting for him to show up to do this?"
"It's more fun en masse," she teased.
James was still on the ground as he, again, gestured to Alyssa. "Have you met yet? If not … I am really repeating myself."
Leslie Ann smiled at Alyssa. "We've seen each other around. Hi, Alyssa."
"Hi, Leslie Ann," Alyssa said.
And then, of course, Rachel had to hug James, though she was softer about it. "You're a good boy," she told him into the hug.
"I really, really didn't do anything," James said as he hugged her back and was sure to kiss her cheek.
"Oh, do you have to do things to be a good kid?" she teased.
"Um. Yes?"
Rachel just smiled and ruffled his hair. "Well, you are."
"You and Annie drink the same Kool-Aid."
"Well, of course we do," Rachel said. "She's my sister."
"She's supervising, if you're looking for her," James said. "Last I heard, anyhow. We were just having a little movie marathon, since Alyssa can't leave the house without people asking for autographs."
Rachel and Anton shared a little smile at that and both nodded. "Well, don't let us stop you," Anton said.
"We really just wanted to say hello," Rachel agreed.
"And tackle you. That's important too," Leslie Ann laughed.
"Make sure you two get to dance this time," James said, sure to give Anton a look.
"Don't worry; I ain't gonna neglect my girl," he promised with a deep laugh, taking Rachel by the waist as they headed off.
"You didn't need them to come after me," James pointed out to Leslie Ann as he put the popcorn into the bowl.
"No, but like I said, it's more fun," Leslie Ann said.
"Did you see Amadi and Bashir?" James asked with a coy smirk.
Leslie Ann matched his smirk before it turned into a much wider grin. "Oh yeah. They're adorable, aren't they?"
"I'm not surprised. The Little Goddess makes everyone around her look good," James said.
"Absolutely accurate," Leslie Ann agreed. She popped up on her toes to kiss James' cheek. "I am off to find my husband. Have fun, you two."
"Uh-huh. Try to keep the lights on," James called back to her before he turned back to Alyssa. "Sorry. They're insane. Pretty sure it's treatable, but Southerners …. You know. They self-medicate with sweet tea."
Alyssa couldn't help but laugh at that. "Well, I love seeing you get tackled," she teased him.
"Oh, you're in that crowd, then?"
"Uh-huh," she said, not even bothering to dance around it. "It's sweet."
"Getting hit to the floor is sweet?" James said, scrunching up his face.
"For you? Yes. Yes, it is," she said. "Now, come on; are we watching Raiders of the Lost Ark or not?"
"That's your call," he said, taking her hand. "I'm just filling the seat."
She leaned over to kiss him with a smile. "You do more than that."
"Steal half your popcorn?" he teased.
"Yes, that," she agreed, giving his hand a little squeeze before they headed up together.
Kaleb and Sadie did end up returning to the dance, mostly because they weren't going to let anything stop them from being the best, most elegant couple on the dance floor - and apparently, Amadi was threatening to take that title with Bashir, who seemed to be more confident than his father while showing off. Which, Kaleb insisted, just wasn't allowed. They had to tie, if nothing else.
Still, after a couple dances of constantly trying to one-up each other with lifts and spins, they both had to admit that it was time to sit down for a little bit and let Kaleb at least get his breath.
He leaned back in his chair with a smile aimed Sadie's way. "Keeping up with you is so fun."
"I would hope so," she replied with a smile before she gave him a quick kiss. "Otherwise, I'm wasting your precious time, sweet Elf."
"And you absolutely are not a waste of time," he assured her. The two of them were leaning back and watching the others, particularly getting a kick out of the fact that Chloe had roped Cody into dancing with her. She really was glad to have her big brother back.
"You wouldn't be terribly upset if I made Cody dance one too, would you?" Sadie asked. "We were talking about everyone keeping him going. Especially since his sense of humor is returning in force."
Kaleb grinned at that. "A noble cause," he said, pretending to look thoughtful before he simply shooed her with both hands. "I think that's a great idea. You'll crack each other up."
"We can try," she said with a grin before she kissed him again and headed over to cut in.
Kaleb teleported over to the two Summerses ahead of her, though, giving her a teasing smile before he offered his hand to Chloe. "May I have this dance, pretty little Summers?"
Chloe looked a little off guard, but when she realized that Cody was smirking at her, she nodded. "Alright. But none of the crazy dips and lifts, Fred."
Before Cody could slip off, Sadie took a hold of his hand and pulled on him a little. "You're not getting out of dancing that easily; come on, my turn." She took a moment to place his hands, smiling to herself. "You've been doing better with everyone tonight - but how about an actual lesson?"
"What, the shuffling isn't fun for the professional dancer?" Cody asked with one eyebrow quirked up.
"It's fine," she had to laugh. "I just thought you'd want to learn a little bit."
"Not really big on waltzes," he told her. "Maybe something more modern."
"Well, of course you don't want to waltz," she said, shaking her head. "You haven't got a girl yet to want to be good at waltzes with. That helps a lot."
"Probably," he said with a small smirk. "So, are you the dance instructor or the matchmaker, exactly?"
"I'm not suggesting anyone," Sadie promised. "I just wanted to dance with the cute Summers boy."
"Your brother-in-law would be so offended," he teased. Even if you're right.
"How sad for him," she said with a little sniff, tipping her chin up so her nose was in the air.
Cody shook his head at that. "Alright, so - what are we learning today?"
"Just a step over a shuffle," she promised with a grin.
"So, this is for wooing girls, not for when I have one," he teased.
"Yes," Sadie laughed. "It's just a box step, but it's a solid way to build up to very close, very slow dancing - or, if you're so inclined and flexible, a little dirty dancing. Which I am not teaching you right now, okay? Don't have a coronary."
Cody couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I'm not dirty dancing with you," he said.
"No, that would bring more shame upon the house of Summers," she laughed.
"And we've already got my big brother for that part," he agreed, smiling her way as he let her take him through the basic steps.
As soon as he had it even halfway, she looked up at him with her eyebrow raised. "You're leading … and you said you couldn't dance."
He glanced up at her and then smiled a bit. "Not well. But I'm a fast learner."
"Which I appreciate," she said with a smile.
He grinned outright and then picked her up at the waist to spin her around slightly, just to get a smile out of her. "Well, that and I have a little help with the whole - you weigh nothing to me," he teased.
"Oh. Yes. I'd dance with you again," she giggled.
"Five-star review?"
"For the compliment alone." Sadie was nodding seriously. "I dub thee 'Smooth Summers'."
"I feel like I've been knighted," he joked.
"Sir Smooth Summers?" Sadie tipped her head to the side. "Too many s's."
"Agreed," he said, pulling her back into the box step as the song started to come to a close. He looked beyond her to where Kaleb was clearly teasing Chloe further out on the dance floor, teleporting around with her just to keep her off guard, and had to chuckle. "Should probably save my sister from your imp of a boyfriend."
Sadie looked over and smiled lightly. "No, she needs the picking, and they're having so much fun."
"She does, but I feel like it's my big brother duty or something."
"Well, I won't keep you from your duties, kind Sir Knight."
"Thanks for being my dance instructor," Cody said, even going so far as to give her a little bow before he headed over to go rescue Chloe.
Sadie didn't quite make it back to her seat before Howard got there, looking a lot less combative and properly abashed. "Hey, Sadie," he said with a small smile. "Can I try that dance again?"
"Howard," she replied curtly with a little tip of her head. "Only since you asked nicely." She took his offered hand, and the two of them took a moment to situate before he started to lead her into the slow dance.
He was quiet for a long moment before he took a deep breath and held it. "I'm sorry about earlier," he said. "I wasn't thinking. At all. And my mother is going to kill me for it, I assure you."
"I'm not going to tell her," Sadie pointed out. "But I really wasn't expecting any kind of a reaction like that."
"I guess I'm just jealous," Howard admitted. "Here I was about to tell you that you're only getting prettier every time I see you, and then I find you kissing someone else…"
"Howard, we broke up," she pointed out.
"Yeah, because I went to Chicago for a job," he said. "It wasn't because I stopped liking you."
Sadie bit her lip and watched him for a long moment. "Are you going to try to tell me you haven't gone out with other people?"
"No, I've gone out with other people, but just dating, not…"
"So you haven't kissed anyone?" Sadie challenged with narrowed eyes. "Because I don't believe that for a second."
Howard let out a breath. "No, I have, I just - like I said, I wasn't thinking," he said.
She frowned at him again. "I guess I don't see why you'd need to think."
"Well, clearly, if my response to seeing you have a boyfriend is that, I definitely need to think," Howard said, shaking his head. "I did not mean to ignore you like that. I just… reacted. I'm really sorry."
Her whole expression shifted as she thought it over. "Apology accepted," she said quietly. "I didn't think you'd even care at this point. It's been a while."
"Yeah, well, I do," Howard said, watching her carefully. "I miss going out with you. Protective big brother and all," he added, shooting her a winning grin.
She couldn't help but smile at that. "My protective big brother is a little preoccupied with his borderline serious girlfriend."
Howard shook his head. "More reason to be jealous. He has you and James is distracted? Lucky, lucky Elf."
Sadie laughed outright at that. "You're still just trouble, little Stark."
"Yeah, but as I recall, you always liked that about me," he said with a smirk.
"Oh, absolutely," she agreed. "Second favorite part."
He couldn't help but lean forward a bit with a troublemaking grin. "And what was your favorite part?"
"Honestly? How sweet you are when no one's watching," Sadie replied.
He looked surprised for a moment before he broke into a much more honest smile. "Well, if you ever get tired of blue… I'll try to be just as sweet. Probably moreso to make up for lost time," he said.
"Which would mean more trouble," Sadie pointed out.
"Yes. And?"
She broke into an honest grin and started to chuckle. "You really can't help yourself, can you?"
"Why would I want to?" Howard asked.
"I have no idea," she answered with a raised eyebrow.
He just smiled and rearranged the way they were dancing to be a bit closer. "I mean it, though," he said, dropping his volume.
"Howard, I'm sure if and when that happens, you'll have plenty of girls falling at your feet already," Sadie replied.
"None like you," he said without missing a beat.
"Only because I'm not going to fall at anyone's feet, little Stark."
His troublemaking look just seemed to get a little brighter as he leaned forward to all but whisper in her ear, "So would you rather I fell at yours?"
She turned her head slightly to look him in the eyes. "Only way it'd ever happen."
"Well, now I know what needs doing," he said. "I'll bring a pedicure scrub."
She blinked for a moment then burst out laughing. "You're completely ridiculous."
"No, no, I'm trouble. Keep your story straight," he said, grinning at her widely.
"What makes you think you can't be ridiculous and trouble?"
"Good point," he said, then very quickly kissed her cheek. "I should let you get back to your Elf - he looks like he's not very happy with me right now," he said, tipping his head to where Kaleb had stopped teasing Chloe.
"Had nothing to do with the close dance or kiss, I'm sure," Sadie said.
"Hey, it's just a dance. And just the cheek," Howard said.
"If you were smart, you'd be a gentleman and apologize to him for earlier, too," Sadie said.
"Then I will," he said. "I've never been accused of being dumb." With that, he offered her his arm to take her to where Kaleb and Chloe were. "Sorry about earlier," he told Kaleb. "I wasn't thinking."
"No, you weren't," Kaleb said simply, then looked Sadie's way. "Would you like to dance, or should we stargaze on the roof?"
"Whichever you prefer," Sadie said, smiling warmly at him.
He smiled at that and then took her hand to teleport them up to the roof, pulling her down with him to lie back and look up at the stars. "Away from the noise and drama," he said with a smile that wasn't quite as wide as usual.
She snuggled right into him and gave him a kiss. "I like this plan."
He smiled at that and put his hand to her face to cup her cheek and run his thumb over her cheekbones. "I like you," he said.
"And I like you, too," she replied.
"Not pushy Starks?" he couldn't help but ask with one eyebrow raised.
"He apologized," Sadie said with a shrug. "That's all."
"Mmm."
"I called him out on his crap, I swear," she said, wide-eyed. "And told him he was an idiot."
"A charming idiot, by the looks of things," Kaleb said.
"Second place charmer," she said with a little sniff. "I prefer first."
Kaleb let his shoulders drop and then leaned forward to kiss her. "Yes. Well. Obviously." He kissed her again and then smiled. "I just can't help but be a bit protective."
"Well, there aren't many that get protective over anyone in my family," she said before she started to pepper him with little kisses. "It's very appreciated."
He just had to laugh at that as he pulled her closer. "You're very welcome."
When the night was out, everyone was more or less going their own ways, though Charlie made sure to catch up to her little sister and pull her aside for a moment. "You doing okay?" she asked, pulling Chloe under her arm.
Chloe shrugged. "I'm always doing okay."
"Eww, are you using Dad's lines on me?" Charlie said, making a face at her little sister, which, of course, got Chloe to burst into a laugh and shake her head.
"I'm really fine, though," she said.
"No, you're crushing hard," Charlie said, shaking her head at Chloe, still with one arm around her shoulders. "You have more of a poker face than Chance does, but it's the same melody," she said, tapping the side of her head.
Chloe blushed brightly. "I. Am. Not." She pulled herself up straighter. "Who would I be crushing on anyway?"
"A certain fuzzy blue boy," Charlie said. She smiled lightly. "And don't try to tell me you're not, because you have it bad, and I can hear you every time he walks in the room." When Chloe gaped at her, Charlie let out a sigh and then ruffled her sister's hair. "You can't lie to an empath, sorry."
"He's so totally taken - and I do not."
"You do, and he is, which is why I was asking if you were okay," Charlie said. "He's caught up with Sadie, but if it makes you feel any better, it's more about being competitive and having fun than it is about anything like love."
Chloe paused and watched Charlie for a moment. "Does Sadie know that?"
Charlie nodded. "I think she does. They both genuinely care about each other and love each other, but it's not love." She waved her hand. "I don't know if that makes sense. They're different melodies." She shook her head. "I'll tell you what I told Sying when he was in your shoes watching Krissy with someone else. You need to get past it, or you need to get comfortable waiting. He'll either pull his head out or you'll move on. But don't try to pretend it's not happening or it'll just eat away at you."
Chloe watched her sister for a moment. "I'm not crushing."
"Chloe." Charlie turned the full force of a disbelieving look her way. "I know you are. Every time you see him, you're either crushing or you're jealous of him and Sadie. Don't lie to me."
"Sure, Charlie, whatever you say."
Charlie rolled her eyes at that. "Well, if you're comfortable outright lying to your big sister, I suppose that's your business. But I really thought you were the sensible one."
"And I thought you'd be the non-judgemental one," Chloe shot back.
"I have a problem with liars," Charlie said with her hands on her hips.
"Apparently, you also have a problem minding your own business, too."
"I'm your big sister. It's literally my job to give you life advice," Charlie said.
"You're fired."
"Fine. But when you're pining away, just remember that I already offered," Charlie said. "And you decided to hide it all away and wither instead."
"Ugh. Are you sure you're not ready to go be a drama teacher?"
"No, but you'd like to take a bite out of the drama teacher's son," Charlie said, grinning with pure trouble in her gaze.
"You're so full of it," Chloe said before she started to head out.
"Alright, but next time I see you pining, you owe me an apology!" Charlie shouted after her.
"Not going to happen!"
Charlie stuck her tongue out at Chloe's retreating back and then rolled her eyes. "Little sisters," she muttered under her breath like a curse and then headed off to go find Gerry.