"The red one," I said.

"I think I like the blue one better," Nikki Boone said contemplatively, studying her doll like a scientist.

"Then put the blue one on it," I told her. I didn't enjoy playing entertainer for two ten-year-old girls. Sheryl I liked because she was into cooler stuff than Nikki was. But Nikki was kinda stuck-up, and all she wanted to do was discuss what colours went best on what doll.

I shifted around on my lawn chair, wincing as my bare legs stuck to the plastic. The chair was leaving patterns on my skin. I surveyed the backyard. Sky and Petey were tossing a football back and forth. Sky looked bored; Petey looked ready to crack a joke any minute as usual. Summer and Ronnie were standing close to each other, eating potato chips. How very romantic. Uncle Bill, Coach Boone and his wife were laughing about something, standing in a little circle together like old friends. Sheryl and Nikki were arguing beside me. Sheryl wanted to play with the guys, and Nikki just wasn't through accessorizing yet.

Holding back a sigh, I glanced up at the sky over my head and prayed for rain.

"I'm going to go inside and make a salad quickly," I overheard Uncle Bill say to his guests. I looked up and leapt out of my seat to intercept him before he made it to the back door.

"I'll do it!!" I offered, a little too eagerly. Sky and Summer both turned to look at me, but then looked away immediately, probably chalking it up to normal Lyric behavior.

A slow smile grew on his face and he patted my shoulder in an almost fatherly way. "You're pretty bored, huh, kiddo?" he asked quietly.

"Just trying to be helpful," I told him, trying to be cheerful.

"All right," he said. "Well, everything you'll need is in the fridge. Thanks, Lyric."

Washing lettuce in the kitchen, I wondered how long one could possibly take to make a salad without people thinking she was either a) stalling; or b) dead. I decided fifteen minutes should be long enough.

There was a knock on the front door, and then a head poked in. "Hello?"

I dropped my lettuce in the sink and walked out of the kitchen to see who it was even though I immediately recognized the voice. "Alan," I said. "You made it! Come in."

Alan grinned, and came towards me. "You smell like fresh air," he told me.

"Really?" I sniffed my shirt. "I should smell like bug spray. I lathered myself in it."

"I was being polite. You actually smell toxic," he teased.

Laughing, I thanked him and told him, "Go on out back. That's where everyone else is."

"What are you doing?" he asked, apparently not hearing me.

I shrugged. "Making salad."

"I hope you washed your hands before you touched the food otherwise you'll get bug spray poison all over it."

I winked. "I would advise you not to eat the salad."

"Nice, Lyric."

I laughed. "Kidding."

"Do you want help?"

"Uh, no, not really, thanks."

"It'll go faster if two people make it."

I smiled to myself. "That's kinda the point."

"Oh, you're stalling," he laughed. "Why? Still mad at your sister?"

"I guess," I admitted, feeling a little surprised at how comfortable I felt talking to Alan. That didn't happen with anyone usually, especially not a guy I kinda had a crush on. "And everyone else is paired off out there."

"Awww, Lyric's got the lonelies," he taunted.

I grinned resentfully. "Just because I don't have a flock of friends following me like sheep doesn't mean you can mock me."

"Hey, I'll keep you company!" he said proudly, as if he were the best thing since sliced bread. "I can even do tricks."

"Yeah, right, you'll take one look of Summer in her halter top and start drooling and then you'll be all 'Uhh Lyric who now?'"

He jabbed me in the side with his elbow, then picked up a knife to begin dicing a cucumber. "You think I like Summer, do you?"

"You'd be like the first teenage male in history not to if you don't."

"Lyric, I'd be lying if I told you I didn't think she was pretty dang hot," he told me quietly.

"Honesty is a good quality."

He scraped the cucumber slices off the cutting board into the glass salad bowl. "But I'm not interested in her. Sincerely, I'm not."

I nodded. "Hm. Go figure," I muttered.

"She doesn't quite have the personality I'm into." He shrugged. "I mean, she's nice and all…"

"There's nothing wrong with Summer's personality," I said defensively. "She's sweet and funny and--"

He whacked me in the arm with a carrot. "You're a good kid, Lyric."

I looked up at him. He was looking back, a sweet glimmer of kindness dancing in his blue eyes.

"Pickles!" he suddenly cried.

"What about pickles?" I giggled, even though I was sad he had looked away first.

"Can you put pickles in salad?"

I made a face. "Ew, no."

"That's maddening." He appeared sad. "Do you have any pickles in your fridge anyway?"

"Yep," I said, pulling open the fridge. "Want some?"

"Only if they're dill pickles."

"Is there any other kind?" I laughed, taking out a jar and setting it on the counter. I unscrewed the lid and let him fish out a pickle.

The back door swung open and Sky burst into the kitchen. "Hey, Lyric, do we have any lemonade?" he called.

Startled, Alan and I spun around with pickles clutched in our raised hands like weapons.

"Hey, Alan," Sky said. "When did you get here?"

"Uh, a couple minutes ago," he replied.

Sky looked confused as he went over to the fridge and looked around for the lemonade pitcher. "And you've been standing in the kitchen eating pickles with my little sister?"

"Well, I like pickles." Alan grinned.

Alan held the door open for me with his foot while I carried the salad outside. Uncle Bill glanced up. "Lyric, there you are! I was thinking the salad ate you." He smiled at Alan. "I didn't know you were coming, son. Glad you made it."

"Thanks Coach," Alan said with a smirk.

I noticed Summer watching Alan. Ronnie apparently noticed too, and it looked like he was trying to keep her attention by talking louder.

I sighed when Summer caught Alan's eye and they smiled at each other. I looked up at him, saw that he was still checking my sister out and reclaimed my lawn chair.

The sky was bright blue. It didn't look rain was going to happen.

Alan plopped down on the chair beside me. "Don't get all mad because I was friendly with your sister. I'm allowed to be friends with her. Remember? You're the one who was all praising her personality and stuff."

"I am not mad," I said indignantly.

"You're something," he insisted. "And it's not happy."

I sighed again, and peered up at him helplessly. "I'm jealous."

"Of what?" he asked. "Your sister? Because I smiled at her?"

"You checked her out."

"Well jeez, look what she's wearing!" he hissed. "It's check-outtable!"

Shrugging, I said, "Granted."

"But why are you jealous?" Alan poked me playfully in the side, and I squirmed away. "Lyyyyyric…"

I smirked, a blush flowering across my cheeks. "I would like to sneakily change the subject now, but I don't know how to go about doing so."

Alan was about to say something when the football flew past him and hit me squarely in the chest. I yelped. I heard Sky laughing hysterically. Petey ran over. "Holy crap! Are you okay?"

Favouring one side, I looked up and said in a pained voice, "Yeah, it's okay, I didn't need that one anyway…"

Alan burst out laughing.

Boone called, "That's what happens when you fumble the ball, Petey."

"Ow, ow, ow," I grumbled, and handed Petey the ball. "Go play with my brother please, Petey."

"I'm sorry, Lyric, I wasn't watching."

"Don't worry about it," I told him with a strained smile.

I sat up, the dull, shooting pain not leaving. Alan grinned at me, clearly amused. "Want me to go get some ice for that?"

I shot him a dirty look.

"I hate reading," he said out of the blue, startling me so that I momentarily forgot about the pain that no girl should have to endure.

"What?" I demanded.

"I didn't borrow your book because I wanted to read it." Alan was blushing.

"Then why?"

"I didn't know that we would become friends," he said, shrugging. "I thought if I had your book, I would have to return it to you eventually and…"

"I'm afraid I'm not following."

"I thought it would give me an excuse to see you again."

I raised my eyebrows skeptically. "So. You borrowed my book so that you could see me again?"

"That was before I knew we would get to be friends."

"And now what?" I asked. "Now that we're friends, I mean?"

"Your sister is beautiful, Lyric," he said. "But not in the same way as you."

"Umm…" I stammered, rather flustered. "Neat?"

"Hey, Bosley, come throw the football around with us for awhile," Sky called.

I thought I was going to have a brain aneurysm from the amount of blushing I was doing, so I couldn't quite look Alan in the eye when he glanced over at me for permission to play. He seemed to sense that, so he tousled my hair and jogged over to his friends. I leaned forward in my seat and covered my face with my hands.