The next morning Twister didn't wake up until 10:30. Even though he was awake he couldn't bring himself to get out of bed. He was glad his mom was at work or she would have been calling the doctor for sure. He looked out the window and saw Otto and Squid on the halfpipe. Reggie was there too, but she was just sitting on the sidewalk looking really sad. He guessed that things were ok between her and Otto now or she wouldn't have been out there. He was glad about that. He flopped back down on his bed.
******
Reggie got up from her place on the sidewalk where she had been waiting for Twister to come out of his house. She walked over to Otto and Sam on the halfpipe. "I guess he's not coming out."
"Good." Otto said.
"You SAID that you aren't going to be an ass today!" she yelled at him.
Otto just ignored her and kept skating.
Last night when she got home Otto wouldn't speak to her. He was still fuming. This morning thought he went into her room and woke her up first thing.
"Reg? Reggie? Hey! Get up I need to talk to you." He said.
"About what?" she asked sleepily.
"I couldn't sleep last night. I kept thinking that maybe I was wrong."
After she heard Otto Rocket say the words "I was wrong" she was wide awake. She sat up in her bed to face him.
"Did I hear you right, Rocket Boy, or am I still dreaming?" she asked.
"You heard me. Don't rub it in. I was shocked when I saw you and Twister kissing. Why did you keep it a secret? It would have been better if you had just told me what was going on. Finding out like that was really harsh." He said.
"Because we thought that you would Freak. Obviously we were right."
"Who wouldn't freak when they see their best bro and sister playing tonsil hockey!!! If you had just told me first...I had to find out from Lars."
Her eyes grew wide as she realized why Lars was there right after everything happened. "Lars told you?"
"He didn't really tell me. He just said to meet Twister at the pier at 8:15. I guess he knew that you and him would be there together."
"THAT LYING NO GOOD SON OF A…" Reggie shouted.
"Anyway." Otto said interrupting her. "That's beside the point. I wanted to tell you that even though I don't like it, I guess I can be cool with you and Twister going out." He said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I guess. We've known Twister like forever and I know that he'll be good to you. Besides, after what happened two weeks ago, I really don't want to argue with him again."
Reggie couldn't believe that this was her little brother talking to her. Maybe he really had changed and was starting to grow up. "Thanks Rocket Boy" she said and hugged him.
"Hey! I didn't say that I liked it! I just said that I could DEAL with it." Otto said trying to keep his 'I'm so cool' attitude.
"So does this mean that you're not going to whomp Twister next time you see him?"
"Whatever. But it's not like I'm going to hug him either. It's going to take me awhile to get used to this."
"I know. I promise that everything will be like it always was. We'll keep it cool around you if it makes you feel better."
"Ok thanks." Otto said. This being nice and understanding stuff was starting to get to him. He was used to getting his way and giving in was something new for him. He had to leave before he cracked. "Well I'm going to go rip it up on the halfpipe. Later!" He got up and left the room before she could say anything else.
Standing by the halfpipe, Reggie thought back to that conversation this morning and wondered if Otto was really going to keep his word.
"I STILL can't believe that you and Twister are dating!" Sammy said.
"WERE Sammy. He broke up with me, remember?"
"He'll be back" Otto said finally coming down. "I KNOW Twist. He's weak. He's probably over there bawling about it right now."
"Well it's YOUR fault if he is! He broke up with me because he was worried that WE wouldn't get along. I know you would have done that for him." She said sarcastically.
"I doubt it." He said climbing back up to the top of the halfpipe.
'He is so difficult' she thought. 'I can't believe we're related.'
"Maybe you should go talk to him. I don't think he's coming out." Sammy said.
"Nah, just let him come begging. I'm looking forward to seeing that. It won't be long." Otto shouted as he zoomed by them.
"You are such a jerk Otto!" she yelled up at him. "I think I will go talk to him." She said to Sam. With that she walked off toward the Rodriguez house.
********
Reggie rang the doorbell and Lars answered it. When she saw him she felt the anger flashed in her eyes. "I can't believe you TOLD Otto, you LAME-O!"
"What?" he asked trying to look like he didn't know what she was talking about.
"Don't act like you didn't do it Lars! Otto told me everything."
Deciding that there was no need to keep lying he said "Yeah, I told Rocket Dork to go to the pier, but..."
"I don't want to here your damn excuses Lars." Cutting him off "You're just an ASSHOLE that will do anything to ruin his brother's life. Get out of my way. I need to see Twister."
"He's sleeping." Lars said.
"I don't care I want to see him NOW!" she shouted.
"Please calm down Reggie and listen to me. I have to talk to you." Lars said softly.
"I don't want to even SEE you let alone TALK to you!" she said angrily.
"Just give me a minute…please!" he begged.
She looked into his eyes and thought about it for a minute. She could see that he was being sincere and really did have something to say to her. "Ok, you have ONE minute then I'm going up to see Twister."
"Thanks. Come sit down for a second." He said and pointed to the couch. She agreed.
"Uh…listen Reggie…I know it was really lame for me to tell Otto, but I HAD to."
"Why did you HAVE to?" she asked angrily.
"Well…cause…um…" he paused trying to find the right words. He decided just to spit it out. "Reggie, I really like you. I know I don't act like it, but I've liked you for a long time. When I found out about you and Twister I was crushed. I guess maybe I should have told you sooner."
She was shocked and didn't really know what to say. After a few minutes she finally spoke "Lars, that's really sweet, but I've loved Twister for years. I think you can be a nice guy, when you want to, but I don't think things could ever work out between us. I would really like for us to be friends though."
"But I don't want to be just friends. Please just give it a chance. If you're not happy I SWEAR I won't bother you anymore."
"Sorry Lars, I can't do that to Twister."
"But he BROKE UP with you. He's a complete LAME-O! Why are you even here to see him anyway after what he did?"
"He only did it cause of Otto. He didn't want to." She said.
He didn't know what else to say that would convince her to change her mind. He could only think of one thing and hope that it worked. He put is arm around her, pulled her close and kissed her.
*******
Twister HAD to see Reggie. He just couldn't take it anymore. He would go out of his mind soon if he couldn't atleast talk to her for a few minutes and try to explain why he did what he did. He didn't care what Otto said. He didn't even care if Otto beat the hell out of him, which he probably would. He had to see her. Around 11:00 he finally got the strength to crawl out of bed and change his wrinkled clothes from yesterday. He slowly made his way downstairs, dreading the thought of dealing with Otto again. He stopped at the bottom and looked around wondering where Lars was. He thought maybe talking to Lars about what happened would make him feel a little better. Two weeks ago, this thought wouldn't have crossed his mind, but Lars had changed now. He figured that he was in the living room watching TV so he turned to go in. What he saw there made him feel ill all over again.
AN: Another cliffhanger. Sorry bout that. Well, not really, but anyway ;-)
AN2: Thx for the reviews everybody. You're all so sweet :::sniffs:::: More soon.