Rebecca laughed. "Come on, stop adoring the house," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, you're very lucky," said Daniel. He sat down on the bed with her, still looking around the large room. Something seemed to catch his eye.
"There is a leg sticking out of your closet, Rebecca," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah, I got angry at some of my Barbie's when I was younger," she explained. "Some of them ended up losing limbs."
"I think it's cool you still have them, though. I had to throw out most of my stuff from back then," said Daniel nostalgically.
Rebecca couldn't think of anything to say. She was suddenly overwhelmed by how close she really was to him. Was he doing it on purpose? Making her like him, of course. He had to be aware of it because she suddenly couldn't stop smiling around him, and were his gorgeous big hazel eyes really necessary? As for everything else, well, Rebecca was surprised she was still on her feet.
"Are you okay?" asked Daniel, noticing she'd been staring.
"Oh," she blinked, her cheeks turning red, "yeah. Listen, I'll be right back."
Daniel nodded, continuing his tour around her massive bedroom. He was completely fascinated by everything in it.
Rebecca opened the door to her father's bedroom, seeing him immersed in a book in the chair beside his bed. "Daddy, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked awkwardly, shuffling her feet.
Marco put the book down immediately. "Sure. Something wrong?"
"Not exactly," she replied, walking over to him. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind umm, well, Daniel doesn't know that you're—you're…"
"Gay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't be offended. It's just, I'd rather tell him than have him realize it, so could you possibly…" Rebecca didn't know how to ask.
"Turn off the gay?" he suggested, sounding more amused than insulted.
"Uh, possibly? And maybe not mention you have a husband?" she asked. She really didn't want to hurt his feelings even if it seemed like he really wasn't bothered.
"All right, Rebecca," said Marco. He and Dylan had talked frequently about the strange position they would be putting her in. She always seemed fine with it, but since she was admitting she wanted him to keep it quiet while her friend was there, Marco had been prepared for the day that would happen.
"No problem?" she asked.
"Nope, but I'm not going to prance around saying 'I'm straight. I'm straight!'" he laughed.
"I'm not expecting you to," she said, smiling. "Thanks."
Marco went back to reading his book, so she left the room. When she went back into her own room, she discovered Daniel was actually exploring her bathroom. She couldn't help but laugh.
"Enjoying yourself?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Sorry," he looked embarrassed about being caught. "It's just…you have your own bathroom! You're so lucky," he said excitedly.
"You're making me feel like a spoiled brat," she said, sitting down in her desk chair. She'd never paid attention to the wealth before.
"You're definitely spoiled," he agreed, opening her sliding glass door closet, "but you're not a brat. Do you mind?" he pointed to what was inside the closet.
"Go ahead," she nodded, logging on to her computer.
"You have a lot of Barbie dolls," he said, sounding amazed.
Rebecca smiled sweetly at him as she waited for her Internet to come up. "You sound like my uncle. No matter how many times he's seen them, he's always quite impressed."
"My sister would love some of these," said Daniel. "My mom keeps telling her that we have, you know, priorities, and she tries to understand, but she's just a kid."
Rebecca thought for a moment. She didn't really need to keep them anymore, but if her father had a baby girl, she sort of hoped to pass the Barbies on to her. If he had a boy, though, he probably wouldn't want the Barbies.
"You can take half of them home today," said Rebecca, making a compromise with herself. She never appreciated how giving up her Barbies would make her feel.
"Seriously?" he asked. This boy got so thrilled over the littlest things. Maybe she was too rich for her own good if she could give away half a million Barbies.
"Sure," she said, turning back to her computer. "I don't really play with them anymore."
"She will love these. Thanks so much," he said.
Rebecca had just gotten her email account opened when Marco knocked at her door. She sighed, minimizing the site again. "Come in."
"I wanted to eat something," he said. "Are you two hungry?"
Rebecca laughed. "I suppose I could eat. You?" she asked Daniel.
"Sure," he said rather shyly, avoiding Marco's eyes. Rebecca noticed he was very timid around most adults.
"Umm you two playing with the Barbie dolls?" he asked, holding back a laugh.
"Oh," said Daniel, realizing he had a few lying on the bed with him. "No…"
"Okay, whatever your pleasure," Marco teased. "Come down and eat."
"You go ahead, Daniel," she said. "I just want to quickly check my email." She gave Marco a look, and he threw an innocent smile her way.
"I won't be too 'gay'," he whispered, shutting her door behind him.
Rebecca opened her email, seeing that it was from Elizabeth, a girl she hadn't spoken to since her break-up with Anthony.
Hey, Rebecca, please don't delete this. When you have a minute, I'd appreciate if you could call me or just send me an email back to show that you read it. I miss you, and I'm really sorry for what happened between us. I should have never listened to them, and even if everything was true, I should have stood by you. Please find it in your heart to…forgive me.
Love, Elizabeth.
Rebecca read it over twice, and decided she'd reply after Daniel went home. He was probably already dying downstairs without her to be of some protection from her hyperactive and suddenly moody dad.
She walked downstairs, and saw that the conversation in the living room didn't seem to be going too badly. They were talking about school, Marco standing with, as always, a coffee cup in hand, and Daniel sitting on the couch.
"Hey, sweetie," said Marco, seeing her walk into the room with a suspicious look on her face.
"Hey," she started, "I thought you came down to eat."
"Well, I decided I wasn't hungry anymore, but you two can help yourselves," replied Marco, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Are you feeling sick still?" asked Daniel curiously, trying to inconspicuously move further away on the couch.
Marco laughed at his actions. "I feel just kind of…bleh is the word. Don't worry; you won't catch it."
"What's…wrong?" asked Daniel, confused.
Rebecca jumped in. "Want to actually eat something?" she asked, leading him into the kitchen. The last thing she needed was for her friend to find out Marco was not only gay, but also pregnant. She wasn't embarrassed! She really wasn't…but for the first time, she really didn't take too much pride in it either.
She'd always thought it would start out hard, and then get easier as life went on. People's opinions, of course, not her own. She loved her parents no matter what, but it was the judging that came from her peers. Actually, though, it was the opposite. It had started out easy, but the older she got, the more prejudiced people she seemed to have to deal with.
Daniel sat at the table while she rummaged through the cabinets. "Hey," he said, causing her to turn around. "You all right?" he asked. "You seem kind of flustered."
"I'm fine. I want to make something buttery…" she said, getting up again restlessly. "Popcorn," she said, putting the bag quickly in the microwave.
"Look, I am fine. I'm just kind of crazy right now," she said, wondering how to explain all the things on her mind.
"Crazy is not fine," he pointed out.
Rebecca smiled, not paying any attention to the popcorn anymore. Honestly, this boy had too much of a hold on her. She'd never felt so strongly for anyone before, and it just seemed like a lot of trouble for nothing.
"All right, maybe I'm not fine," she admitted, taking a seat with him at the table. He laid his hand over hers.
"If there's anyone who knows crazy, it's me. What's going on?"
First thing: 'I seem to have this enormous crush on you…after knowing you for only a few days.' Yeah, that didn't seem like a good idea to tell him.
'Uncle Dylan's gone…?' He'd ask too many questions about that one.
"I'm just a bit stressed," she said, hearing the beep of the microwave, but God only knew when he was going to have his hand over hers again…so she was not moving.
However, another noise ended their little moment, as Daniel's cell phone had started to ring. Perfect.
"Hey," he answered. Rebecca could just vaguely hear the voice of his mother, she assumed.
"Sure," he said, sighing. "Yeah, I understand. Bye."
"Rebecca, I have to go," he said, rolling his eyes. "My mom has to go back to work, and my sister's going to be alone."
Rebecca nodded, understanding. "Here, let's go upstairs to get your stuff and everything."
They went upstairs to her room, where Daniel said a very sad good-bye to the large room, and took a few Barbie's with him, (thanking her exuberantly again) and hugged her good-bye. Oh, why did he have to be so cute?
As soon as he left, she typed a hurried reply to her friend Elizabeth, deciding she'd wait until they saw each other in school to become emotional. It didn't consist of anything, really except for a statement of 'I forgive you,' but the point was it was something, and she just wanted her to understand that she did care.
Rebecca walked downstairs to join Marco in the living room, an ecstatic smile permanently on. She jumped over the leg of the couch, landing with her leg on his lap.
"Someone's happy," he said, still with his head in a book.
"You know how you said I'd tell you if I got a boyfriend?" she asked.
Marco dropped the book immediately, without even marking his page. He looked down at her. "Did you?"
"No, but does a crush count?"
"I knewww it," he said excitedly. "So, does he know?"
"No, and I mean…I did not feel this way about Anthony at all. It's just kind of amazing," she said, blushing slightly. " I really like him. As for his feelings for me, I don't know."
Marco rolled his eyes. "He likes you."
"How do you know?" she asked, laughing.
"No guy would ever be crazy enough to not see how truly incredible you are, Becky," he said, picking the book back up, and flipping through to find his page.
She wasn't sure if she could believe he liked her, but her smile didn't fade. She had Daniel, and she also had Elizabeth back. Things were looking up in the world.
"Damn," said Marco, getting up from the couch, startling Rebecca, and making her move her leg.
"What?" she asked, wondering why he was putting on his coat.
"I'm hungry again."
Rebecca laughed. "Well, we do ha—"
"—not what I want," he interrupted. Apparently, he was going to the store.
Author's Note: So, yeah, please review. It will get better because I have huge plans for this. It's just…well, you'll see. :)