Ich weiß, ich weiß: ich hätte eigentlich schon viel, viel früher updaten sollen, aber irgendwie hat alles nicht so recht geklappt, wie ich es wollte. Schreibblockade! Doch in letzter Zeit kamen mir endlich wieder ein paar gute Ideen und das wollte ich ausnutzen, daher ist dieses Kapitel auch etwas länger geworden als die vorherigen. Gut, damit kann ich nicht unbedingt wieder gutmachen, dass ich knapp zwei Monate nichts von mir habe hören lassen, einen Versuch ist es mir jedoch wert. Ich werde jetzt wieder versuchen, mich des Öfteren an den PC zu setzen und zu schreiben. Übrigens möchte ich mich bei allen sich ärgernden Lesern entschuldigen. Ich hätte euch nicht solange warten lassen dürfen, das war unfair, zumal ich es selbst nicht ausstehen kann, wenn jemand eine Story schreibt, die mir gefällt, und mich dann mit einem Update auf die Folter spannt. Also, an dieser Stelle: Tut mit leid!!

Ich hoffe, ihr könnt mir noch mal verzeihen und habt Spaß dabei, das neue Kapitel zu lesen, das ich eigentlich erst am 29. posten wollte, aber da es jetzt schon fertig ist...........Surprise!!!!

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A Brother's Worries

"Folks! Some attention, please!" Tej stood on one of the chairs, waving his hands slightly to make the people around him stop their conversations and look at him."I now how much y'all like to party, hell, even the ones like me, who have ta work today", he grinned," love to party. But, unfortunately, every party has to have an end. So, before everybody's leaving, tell me, please: who wants to win some money this night?!"

The people whooped, while the handsome black man got down from his chair, taking out his pager and waiting for the young men and women to tell him their groups.

"Excuse me, will you?" Brian smiled as charming as possible, his blue eyes sparkling, having turned around, though, the smile changed to an annoyed grimace. How did he manage to chat with this air-head for so long? He merely hoped that she wouldn't be too hurt when she figured out that he wasn't interested in her, but looking back over his shoulder, he saw her already clinging on to some other guy's arm, giggling like a little school-girl. Brian sighed half-relieved, half-confused, walking over to Tej.

"Hey Brian", Suki sat on a lounger close to the crowd around Tej, looking at her younger brother, who was amongst them.

"Hey Suki", sitting down as well, the blond man followed the young woman's eyes, noticing Shane and grinning,"going to let him drive?"

She smacked his biceps."He can drive, Bullitt, you know that! And it's not like you're the one to make any jokes, having a younger sister yourself!"

"Yeah, but Lilly doesn't wreck my car", Brian laughed, scanning the crowd for his little sister,"where is she? I haven't seen her since we arrived."

"I don't know. The last time, I saw her, she was with some cutie."

"Who and when?"The man didn't like the thought of his baby being together with somebody Suki described as cutie.

"They were just talking, Brian", the sexy Asian shook her head slightly. She found it sweet that Brian was that worried about Lilly but she was sorry for her as well. A 16-year-old girl wasn't especially fond of having an overprotective father or older brother, she could tell from experience. "Stop being such a Daddy and get used to the fact that she's …………. developing."

" I'm not listening. I'm so not listening", Brian said, covering his ears with his hands, while Suki was laughing. Finally, the blond man stopped joking and beacme once again serious. "And you really don't know where she might be? I mean, there aren't that much possibilities and I can't spot her somewhere around here",checking the people who hadn't gone home yet, he sighed. "Actually, at this time, she should be begging me to let her drive."

"Don't worry, Bullitt", Suki patted his shoulder,"she's able to watch out for herself. You taught her how to."

"You're probably right, but still", Brian saw Jimmy coming over," hey bro! You seen my sis somewhere?"

The mechanic looked at his friends. "She went home an hour or so ago", standing in front of the two people sitting on the lounger, he put his hands into the big pockets of his pants.

"She told you her group?"Brian didn't appreciate his sister being mad at him for not signing her up. Jimmy shrugged.

"She said that she didn't want to race tonight. Rather odd for her, but I thought that she had a date or something, so I didn't ask her any further." By the look Brian gave him, Jimmy felt uncomfortable and shifted his weight on his feet. "Anything wrong with that? I just……. well, ya know, I ………"

"No, it's alright, you didn't do anything wrong", he stood up,"but I have to go home." Waving his left hand while leaving, Suki raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows.

"Ya know", she said to Jimmy, who was still standing in front of her, looking slightly confused,"I really don't know, if I should think of his over-protectiveness as cute or simply annoying."

***********************

Brian left his car standing at Tej's and was already across the street, walking faster than he usually did, but then again, the circumstances were rather unusual. His sister had said that she hadn't wanted to drive! His mind was already racing. Lilly might be sick. Lilly might be lying somewhere on the sidewalk, unconcious. There had to be a reason for her not wanting to drive and it was making him nuts!

Calm down man, she's okay, she's okay. Oh God! Please let her be okay! There has to be something wrong with her, I just know it and I don't like this knowledge! Why would she refuse to race? That's just not like her! Did I do anything wrong? No, she's my baby, she knows that I only want the best for her, Lilly can come to me, when she's got a problem. So, what's wrong?! I don't understand her behaviour! Maybe she went home because she was tired, okay, but she could have told me that she was leaving!

By the time he had a headache, he could - fortunately - already see the door of their apartment house.

***********************

Lilly was tossing and turning around in her bed. She cursed. Why wasn't it possible for her to sleep?!

The girl could answer the question herself: Mike Anders. Mr. You can't win by yourself. Why were his words still nagging on her mind? Why didn't she give a damn about his opinion?

"C'mon girl", she tried to distract herself,"close your eyes, take deep breaths and calm down. Don't think about Anders, just don't." She laid her head down on the soft white pillow, shut her eyelids and breathed in and out…………until her eyes snapped open again.

"This doesn't work",she groaned, pulling the fabric of her covers over her face, when she heard the door of their apartment being opened.

Brian! Shit!

Lilly quickly turned her back to the door of her room and steadied her breath, while the sound of footsteps rang through the silence of the hall. The door was shut, keys clattered.

Brian saw that Lilly's door was merely leaned against its frame and he pushed it slowly open, careful not to wake his sister because it seemed as though she was already asleep. Well, it only seemed like that and ,actually, most people would have believed in the girl's act, but the man could tell whenever his sister was faking sleep. With each breath, the covers rose a little and then sank down again. The breaths were too deep, they looked forced and that's unusual for a sleeping person. So Brian walked to where the bed stood and sat down on its edge.

"Stop pretending to be asleep. You know that doesn't work with me",he spoke in a low, almost whispering voice. No answer. "I just wanna know what's wrong, 's all. C'mon Lilly, talk to me, please."

Lilly couldn't stand it, when her brother was worried about her, it made her feel bad. She sighed once more in this particular early morning.

"Nothing's wrong", she didn't turn around to face Brian, though. It was easier to hide something from him when he wasn't looking her in the eye.

"Yeah. Right",his fingertips played with her hair,"and that's why you didn't tell me that you were leaving and that you didn't wanna race tonight."

"What's wrong with that?" She was still lying on her left side, staring at the wall in front of her.

"It's just………strange. My antenna receives these certain vibes what only happens whenever something's not okay with you."

" 'Big bro-antenna', huh? And there I always thought they wouldn't be more than a myth."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but they're pretty much real", Brian stroked carefully up and down his sister's back, trying to make her realize that he wasn't mad at her," turn 'round?"

At first, she wanted to answer him that she would like to get some sleep, but it seemed cruel to her. Lilly hated the thought of not being able to explain what she felt and why she behaved the way she did, but she wanted to solve this problem on her own. If she told her brother, he would deny everything Mike had said and she knew that this would make her feel merely worse. Nethertheless, she turned around to face her older sibling.

She studied his features and saw that he was worried and somehow confused, while his eyes were completely calm and sparkled a little with happiness as he caressed her cheek and tucked a strand behind her ear.

"Why don't you want to drive tonight?"Brian was holding his palm against his sister's forehead to check if she had a temperature, but everything seemed to be okay.

"Because",Lilly sat up, making the covers drop down into her lap,"I promised Chris to watch this Chinese movie together with her and some of the others." So maybe this hadn't been the original word order, Lilly could remember using the words she had just told her brother, though. To be exact, the girl had promised to think about watching this Chinese movie together with Chris and some of the others, take the 'think part' and she hadn't just lied to her brother who was frowning.

"Chris? I don't happen to know him, do I?"

"Chris is a girl! Don't you listen to me? I said together with her not him. Her name's Christine. We've got some classes together and get along pretty well",Lilly grinned at the relieved breath Brian took.

"And you can't watch this movie, like, not today?"He really tried to convince his sister to spend the evening with him due to them not having much time for each other under the week.

"M sorry, bro. This is like a one-time offer, you know because the film is more like a documentation it means that there won't be much people who are willing to watch it, so they're only going to show it twice: this afternoon and tonight. Chris and two others have to work today, therefore, we decided to go in the evening. That good with you?"

"Of course, it is",Brian smiled, feeling somehow relieved, though knowing that Lilly hadn't told him the whole truth, but pushing her wouldn't do any good. He would have to wait until she found that it was time for a serious talk, for now, he was suddenly embraced by his younger sister and returning the hug, he rested his chin on her shoulder, looking down her back that was covered by………

"Hey, is this one of my T-shirts you're wearing?" It was an old black 'Scorpions'-shirt with all the different cities and dates written in white on the back. Brian had been searching for this one for about five weeks now and here Lilly was, wearing it to sleep in it like it was some kind of nightgown.

"Ah…..yes. Why? You wanna have it back?" Grabbing the bottom of the shirt to pull it over her head, Lilly smiled evilly at her brother who was already looking away, waving his hands.

"No! Keep it on! You can have it………at least for one more night!"He still refused to look at her direction, though his eyes were closed."Tell me that you're dressed and make this really embarrassing scene stop."

"I'm dressed", she replied, smiling even wider than before and when their eyes met, both of them started laughing.

"You're cruel",Brian coughed a little and gave his little sister a kiss on her forehead,"time to sleep."

"'kay."Lilly lay down, pulling the covers up to her shoulders.

"You want me to call Tej so that you are off for today?"The man bent down to brush a few strands of hair out of his sibling's face."It's already very late, or early, and you need to rest."

"Nah", the blond shook her head, yawning slightly,"I've an appointment today at four p.m. and if I was to stay at home, I'd just get bored. We'll be at Tej's anyway cos you let your car there."

"How'd you know?"

"The garages of this house are on my side, remember? And I can extremely well distinguish between your car and any other one. Time for you to go to bed, too", she shut her eyes and cuddled into her pillow while her brother stroked her cheek.

"Good night, baby", he said in a sing-song voice.

"Good night, Daddy", she answered like a four-year-old.

Brian stood up and left the room, closing the door behind his back while Lilly shut her heavy eyelids, trying to finally get some sleep.

The young man walked slowly into his own room, stripped his clothes of, except for his boxers, and lay down in his bed, not caring that he actually still had to brush his teeth……….he was too tired for things like that by now. But, all of the sudden, a thought occurred to his mind.

Did Lilly say 'your car' while talking to me? She did, didn't she? Why would she do that? It's our car, not only mine. She never used to choose her words like that before.

He yawned.

We'll talk 'bout this later this day. I have to sleep otherwise I won't be able to convince her that it's better for the both of us, when we're honest to each other.

With this one last thought, he closed his eyes and it didn't take him long to fall asleep.

***********************

A light breeze made Lilly open her eyes very slowly due to her just waking up. She looked around, noticing that her room was already lit by sunlight coming in through her opened window and door.

2.18 p.m. showed the blue digital figures of her alarm clock.

It hadn't been just the breeze that woke her up, but also a certain smell: food, very tasty food. Turkey……. and some kind of sauce……….. fried mushrooms…….. Lilly's stomach growled a bit. Flinging her legs out of the bed, she got up and strolled silently into the kitchen where Brian was standing in front of the stove, wearing nothing but a pair of light gray boxers.

"Look who's finally awake",he joked and his sister smacked his arm playfully.

"Says the man who didn't have a 20-hours-day",she replied, rubbing some sleep out of her right eye.

"Still, smacking my arm while I'm cooking for you isn't very nice."

"You haven't shaved yet, so it's only fair that you get to kiss my cheek. C'mon",she pointed at her right cheek, pressing her eyelids together,"quick and painless."

Brian grinned. He knew exactly how much his sister hated it when he gave her a peek on the cheek without being shaven. It simply scratched. Taking advantage of her offer, he bent down and kissed her cheek……….longer than he usually did, of course.

"Okay",Lilly protested, turning her head away,"that's enough, bro. The food's ready, I guess, so I better set the table."

"Don't you love me anymore?" Brian faked hurt, his voice trembling a little.

"I do love you, bro",the girl sounded annoyed, although smiling,"but I'd love you more, if you sat down so that we can eat this delicious-smelling lunch together."

And that was exactly what they did.

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After having done the dishes with Brian, the teenage girl went into the bathroom to take a shower and to shave where it was necessary. Fortunately, she wasn't a bloody beginner anymore, so she didn't cut herself like she had done it last year.

Wearing clean panties and a shirt, Lilly walked into her room and while drying her hair with a towel, she opened the doors of her wardrobe, searching for clothes which looked good but not too good. Something occasionally that was tight but at the same time not tight. Throwing the towel over the little armchair to her left, she grabbed a red sleveless top.

"Too red",she murmured, putting the item back into the wardrobe,"what can I wear that makes me look a little better than usual but not dressed up?"

Looking through her clothes again, she settled for some dark blue jeans with worn-out looks which clung just a little tighter and a little more below her hips than the usual ones, but the most important thing was that they looked ordinary, neither too fancy nor too girly. The matching top was dark green, its neckline merely a bit wider and the cut a bit shorter than those of the ones Lilly usually wore. She knew that her brother wouldn't be pleased with her choice of clothes, a fact that reassured her to have chosen the right outfit. It was like an old game to them: Brian would, once again, discover that his little baby had grown female curves and try to forget this thought as soon as possible, after having forbidden Lilly to wear such tight an outfit. Lilly liked the game a lot, because it showed her how much her brother actually cared for her and it reminded Brian of the fact that little birds had to spread their wings and leave the nest sometimes.

Combing her fingers through her already dried hair to get it out of her face, she sat down on the edge of her bed to put on her sneakers.

"Ready?"Brian knocked on her door. Why was it taking his sister so long to get dress? She usually didn't spend more than five minutes on it. He himself had already showered, shaven and dressed, too.

"I'm coming",she called back while raising. Taking one last look into the mirror, she grabbed her "work bag" and went into the hall only to see her brother's eyes widen. So she knew that she looked good.

"You……",Brian couldn't find the right words to form a sentence, instead, he just kept on regarding his sister. Lilly had a body. A body with well-developed female attributes! She didn't have these before, did she? He had always known that his sister was pretty……….a pretty girl, not a beautiful young woman who was standing in front of him. When did she grew so much? All the guys would look at her in that certain kind of way no big brother appreciated. Today, Brian would have to watch his sister a little bit more carefully, not that anybody dared coming too close to her.

Though, maybe I can……..

"You can't wear these things",he said very determined, folding his arms in front of his chest, but he received nothing but a laugh.

"I already am wearing them, bro",the girl smiled, then opened the door and left the apartment,"and you can't forbid me to do so."

"Yes, I can",Brian sounded somehow desperated by now, watching his sister walking down the stairs. He didn't want his baby to look so……..grown up. He wanted the small five-year-old who used to crawl into his bed when she got scared by a nightmare or a monster sitting under her bed.

Deciding that it was better to keep an eye on her, he closed the door, following Lilly. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Brian saw his sibling leaning against a streetlamp, smiling.

"Finally",she grinned, beginning to walk into the direction of Tej's garage.

"And there's really no chance…..",the man tried again but she cut hin off.

"No there isn't."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Why did you even…"

"Promise me not to yell or to get……. like you get at times, okay?"

"Lilly."

Walking next to each other, Brian looked at his sister who focused on her shoes.

"Remember the appointment I told you about?"

"Yeah, why….?"He understood………and he didn't like what he understood."Why didn't you tell me you had a date?!"

"Because then, you would have done anything to stop me from leaving home",Lilly defended herself.

"Exactly!"Brian couldn't believe that his baby actually had a date and had tried to hide it from him! She ought to know better than that."Who's it, by the way? Suki's bro?"He liked the boy, although Shane could be quite childish at times.

"Of course not",the girl smiled to reassure her brother that there was no reason to hold a grudge against her date,"we're just friends, bro. He's too…….. I don't think that we could be in love, ya know. We just don't like each other in that kind of way."

"But you like your date in that kind of way?"

"Yes, I do", seeing the demanding look he directed at her, she started,"his name's Sam. Samuel Keith. He's 17 and visiting another school. Maybe you know his cousin, what was his name, Robert……..Robert Lorley."

"I know Rob, he's okay",Brian shrugged, relaxing a bit. After all, this Sam didn't seem to be too bad and Lilly liked him. It was only fair that Sam got a chance to prove himself. "What kind of car does he drive?"

"Well", Lilly swallowed. Her brother had already accepted that Sam would meet her at Tej's, that was definitely a good sign,"actually, he's not driving a car:"

"What do you mean he's not driving a car? No",the man shook his head slightly no,"he's a biker, right? At least a successful one?"

Lilly nodded.

"But no kissing or anything, I could happen to watch",Brian tried to sound determined, but his grin traited him. He still didn't like the idea of his baby dating guys, therefore he took the opportunity to be somewhere around, just in case.

I have to get used to this. She isn't a small little girl anymore who needs to be protected. I must accept that, if I want to or not. She has to learn how to handle relationships like that, it's important. Oh God, please let this Sam be nice. I don't want Lilly to be sad.

"Bro, personally, I don't consider Tej's garage to be a rather romantic place, so don't be worried about the kissing-part."

By the time Lilly spoke the last few words, they were already walking onto the parking lot in front of their friend's garage. 

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The afternoon was perfect. Perfect weather, perfect atmosphere, perfect Jimmy, Suki and Tej who would distract Brian from the fact that Sam was flirting with Lilly and the other way around. By the time it was obvious to the teenagers that the others couldn't stop an overprotective brother from getting up and walking over to them anymore, they quickly exchanged phone numbers and Sam was on his Cash in not even a second. Unfortunately, even after the boy had driven away, Brian wouldn't stop having at least one eye on his sister due to her clothes which seemed to attract the majority of the men coming by. They actually didn't really try to flirt with her, but, of course, they knew the 16-year-old and complimented on her clothing………..while Lilly thought that they were merley scared of her brother who didn't seem to have at least one minute to relax and sit back into his chair, playing poker with Tej, Suki and Jimmy.

So, at a certain point, Lilly decided that she didn't want her older brother to worry anymore……..it was simply too much a stress for the both of them. She sat down next to him and watched her friends playing cards, not a very entertaining thing to do, but her neck was already getting sore from all this turning around to look where Brian was.

"Time to go",Lilly said looking at her brother's watch. It was eight o'clock and the film she wanted to watch would start at 8.30.

"You need a ride?"Brian offered, knowing all too well that his sister would have taken the bus, if he hadn't. She really needed a car and the man decided to take care of that problem during her vacation period.

"I love you",she replied happily. They said goodbye to their friends and got into the Nissan. Brian was driving.

"When are you coming home?" They stopped at a red traffic light.

"Somewhere around 12, I guess",leaning back, the girl regarded her brother from behind her blond bangs, wondering what he might be thinking.

"Shall I pick you up, then? 's no problem, really."

"That's nice but I can't expect you to wait for my call, like, the whole night, bro."

"Ya sure?"

"Yeah, bro."

"What if…?"

"Bro!"

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Almost three hours after having driven his sister to the movies, Brian decided that he needed another shower.

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Tej Parker wasn't very happy. Suki, Julius and Jack were all standing in front of him, next to their cars, and it didn't seem like the fourth member of their group would show up anytime soon.

Graveyard shift.

He had planned something special for this race and he wanted to see how it would work out. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind, while Suki and Julius were beginning an argument.

"Why don't I just find you a fourth and we settle this on the streets?"

The three drivers nodded their okay.

"Anybody I want?"

Again, they nodded.

"No matter who it is?"

Tej took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

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Brian had just come out of the shower, wearing nothing but a towel around his hips, when the telephone rang. Getting it, he heard Tej's voice.

"Yeah, man. You wanna race tonight?"

"Yeah, you know I could use the money."

"You got four minutes, man."

"All right, I'll be there."

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I guess that we all know how this night ended up for Brian……………..

Please, please review???