Chapter 10

"Tell everyone that I'll be back in there when the pizza arrives," Shane told Chris as they stood outside of the den. He ran his fingers nervously through his black hair and peeked into the room, looking over at Amy.

"Dude, why don't you just go in there?" Chris asked, looking into the room. His eyes landed on Steph, and he smiled. She really had grown up a lot. He could remember when he had first met her, back when he was eight and she was five. He hadn't been like other boys, saying that girls had cooties. Maybe he had grown out of it early or something. He'd always liked Steph. She'd been one of the main reasons he used to love coming over to visit Shane...

"You do that a lot," Shane said, shaking Chris lightly.

"Do what?" Chris asked, still distracted as he looked over at Steph.

"You, like, zone out a lot," Shane said. He followed his friend's gaze over at his sister and his eyebrows rose a bit. "Just how much do you like my sister?"

"More than you know. More than even she knows," Chris answered truthfully. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going in there."

"You go ahead, Mr. Courageous," Shane joked, but he was only half-teasing. "I'll be waiting on the stairs for the pizza delivery guy to get here."

Chris entered the den and looked over at the couch where Steph was now sitting. When he'd left, she had been sitting on the floor with everyone else. Now, however, Amy and Ty were sitting on the floor listening to C-Dawg freestyle, and Steph was sitting on the couch, clutching the shirt Chris had been wearing and looking off into space. He walked over to Steph and sat down next to her. "Truth or Dare was a bust, huh?" he asked softly in her ear.

Steph looked at him. "Well, not entirely. We learned some interesting stuff, and it got you out of your clothes," she pointed out. "You in your boxers... A sight I'll never forget..."

You'll see a lot more of that, someday when we're together, he thought, smiling to himself. "I'm sure you won't forget it," he agreed. He looked over at C-Dawg and the two other girls. "Does Amy like Shane?"

"She's had a crush on him for about as long as I've had a crush on you," she said, also looking at the three still sitting on the floor. "She's been liking him for years now."

"Shane likes her, too," he said. "He just thinks that she won't like him the same way he likes her. It's crazy."

"Everything's crazy. Life is crazy," she said. She held out his shirt. "You want this now?"

"Oh, so you want me to cover up these hard-defined muscles of mine?" he joked. He reached for the shirt. "Well, if you insist..."

"No, keep it off," she said, pulling the shirt out of his reach. "I'm just letting you know now, you might never get this shirt back from me."

"That's ok," he said, putting one arm around her shoulder. "Consider it...an early birthday present."

"My birthday is coming up soon... You remember what day it is?" she asked, leaning against him. His body was so warm and muscular... She felt like she had died and gone to heaven. She had never really been this close to him... Ok, so maybe she had, but then he hadn't known that she'd had a crush on him...

"Of course I remember when your birthday is," he said. "I'm appalled that you think I could forget my favorite girl's birthday... It's September 24."

"You remembered!" she exclaimed, surprised.

"Well, how could I ever forget?" he asked, pulling her a little closer. "It's next month... When's mine?"

"November 9," she said right away. "You know, I never noticed how close our birthdays are."

"Close? I don't know about close... What do you want for your birthday?" he asked curiously. "Believe it or not, I already have something in mind, but I want your opinion."

You, she thought, and she almost said it. "You don't have to get me anything... You just have to come to my party."

"Party, huh?" he asked. "You mean a private party with just me and you, or will there be other people as well?"

"I haven't decided yet," she said. "But the idea of you and me alone is very appealing..."

Just then, Shane poked his head into the den. The smell of pizza wafted into the room ahead of him. "I have pizza...so if anyone wants some, I'm taking it in the kitchen."

Amy, Ty, and C-Dawg got up and left the room, heading for the kitchen, leaving Chris and Steph alone. He looked at her and smiled. "So...we're alone..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, turning to look into his eyes.

"What do you want it to mean?" he asked, answering her question with a question. When she didn't answer, he smiled at her and touched her cheek lightly. "You're really pretty... Have I told you that today?"

"I'm not sure," she answered, touching his chest lightly. She could feel his heart racing in his chest, and she smiled to herself. She was responsible, she was the one making his heart race. She looked back into his eyes again. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked softly.

Hungry for your lips, he thought, looking at her lips. He sighed, though, and stood up. "Yeah, I guess."

Steph stood up as well, and they walked together into the kitchen so they could get some pizza. "Dang, you guys are already done with a whole box of pizza?" she asked incredulously as they entered the kitchen and saw one box already empty.

"Hey, it's not our fault you two were busy making out or whatever to come in here," Amy teased, right before she bit into another slice.

"Yeah, really," Shane added, and he smiled when Amy looked at him and winked.

"We weren't making out," Steph protested, walking over to grab a paper plate. "Not that I wouldn't want to," she added in a voice only loud enough for Shane to hear.

"Ew! Was that really necessary?" Shane asked in a tone of mock disgust. "I mean, you weren't supposed to, like, agree with it!"

"What are you talking about, Shane-O?" Chris asked, coming over to get some pizza. "What did she say?"

"Oh, nothing," Steph said, grabbing some pizza. "Absolutely nothing." She smiled at the bewildered look on Chris's face, then walked over and joined Amy and Ty at the table. "So what's up, guys?"

"The guys decided that we shouldn't play Hide and Seek after all," Ty said as Steph sat down next to her. "Shane was saying something about not feeling in the mood to play games anymore."

"How can they back out? They're the ones who suggested the stupid games in the first place," Steph pointed out.

"I know, right?" Amy agreed. "But C-Dawg suggested a nice alternative to the games."

"And what would that be?" Steph asked curiously.

"C-Dawg thinks we should watch a scary movie instead, in the theater," Ty said. "I never knew you guys had a theater in your house."

"We've always had it... Now what scary movie are you talking about?" Steph wanted to know.

"House of Wax? Are you serious?" Chris asked loudly a few feet away from them. "You guys decide to watch a scary movie, and you choose House of Wax?"

Steph looked at Amy with wide eyes. "That's what we're watching?" Amy nodded, and Steph looked down at her pizza, suddenly no longer hungry. "That movie really freaks me out, guys."

"But it's totally fake," Ty said. "Besides, Chad Michael Murray is in it, so you have to love it no matter what."

"Yeah, and the way Paris Hilton's character gets that-" Amy started, but Steph cut her off.

"Oh, I so don't like that part," Steph said, holding her hand up. "The way that pole thing goes through her head... I think I just lost my appetite."

Shane walked over to where the three girls were sitting. "So Steph, how do you like our movie choice?"

"I think it sucks, Shane," Steph said honestly. "You know how that movie freaks me out. You do remember the first night I saw it, don't you?"

"Yeah. You made me camp out in your room because you were so scared," Shane remembered. "But it'll be different tonight. You have your friends here with you."

"And you have me," Chris piped up, walking over to join the conversation. "You can totally hold on to my hand when you get scared...or if you just want to hold it."

"Ok, Chris, you're getting a little weird," Shane said, shaking his head. "You're supposed to be making fun of her, not flirting with her... Where's your head tonight?"

"You don't want to know," Chris replied, winking at Steph. "Let's finish this pizza so we can go watch the movie..."

Twenty Minutes Later

"I'm sitting next to Steph," Chris said as they all headed down the hall to the movie theater. He looked at Steph, who was walking next to him. "You want to sit in the front of the theater or the back?"

"Let's sit in the back," Steph suggested. "I don't want to be up close and personal with the screen..."

"I feel that," Chris said, nodding. He understood where she was coming from. House of Wax wasn't exactly his favorite movie, either. He didn't hate it or anything, but it wasn't on the list of movies he liked to watch more than once.

"I hope that's all you'll be feeling in here," Shane said pointedly, opening the door to the theater. "I don't want you feeling on Steph..."

Chris blushed a little. "Shut up, dude," he said quickly. He grabbed Steph's hand. "Come on, let's go find our seats."

The movie theater had four rows. The first three rows each had four seats, but the fourth row in the back only had two seats. Those two seats were each made to hold two people... Steph led Chris up a few steps to the fourth row, then sat in one of those seats and gestured for him to sit next to her. He looked at the seat, then sat down next to her, putting a little space between them. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable by sitting too close...

The others found seats as well. Ironically, all four of them ended up sitting in the second row. The arrangement went like this: C-Dawg sat on one end, followed by Ty. Amy sat next to Ty, and Shane claimed the seat next to Amy on the other end...

"Anybody want popcorn or anything?" Steph asked, standing up. No one wanted any since they'd just eaten pizza, so she sat back down, this time closing the space Chris had put between them. He looked surprised, and she just smiled at him.

"Ok, I'm going to go start the movie and turn the lights off," Shane said. He walked over to the control center and started the movie and turned the lights off, then came back over and sat next to Amy.

"This movie really freaks me out," Stephanie said to Chris in a low voice. "I hope I don't annoy you when I'm squeezing the life out of your hand."

"Like that would annoy me," Chris said with a laugh. "What do you think I'm here for?"

"Shhh!" C-Dawg exclaimed from two rows below. "The movie's starting!"

The beginning of the movie wasn't that scary, and Steph didn't start freaking out until the people on the movie were camping out the night before the big game they had planned to see. Chris glanced next to him and saw her covering her eyes, so he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer. "It's not that bad, Steph," he whispered into her ear. "Nothing bad is going to happen yet."

"I know," she whispered back. "But I know what's going to happen later, and it just freaks me out..."

"It'll be ok," he said in a low voice. He kissed her softy on the cheek, and waited for her to look at him before he spoke again. "Because I'm right here."

She smiled at him, then turned back to the movie and leaned against him. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, she thought...

A/N: I SO just want to get this weekend over but I haven't figured out how! It's only August, too, and Halloween isn't until October... Bear with me, though, because the Halloween chapter I mentioned before is crazy!