Authors' Note: From both of us, thanks to everybody who reviewed! Here's the second chapter...read it, review it. Thanks!
Anthony sat on the staircase outside his school, Rage Against the Machine pounding out of his iPod. His parents always warned him that he was going to ruin his eardrums, but, like everything else they ever told him, he shrugged it off and kept doing things his way. Stupid Ciara was probably getting help from one of her teachers on something or another. Why did she even bother? The girl was as smart as anyone, she didn't need help. He needed her to come out so she could drive them home. Logan was going over to his best friend, Andrew's house, and Anthony had had his license taken away by his parents for staying out after curfew. Where is she? thought Anthony. He glanced at his watch. She was twenty minutes late.
Suddenly, he heard the door burst open behind him and he whipped his head around to see who it was. Oh, no. It was Danielle.
"Hey, Anthony," she said cheerfully. Anthony felt his throat get dry.
"Hey, Dani," he replied.
"Who are you waiting for?" she asked.
"Ciara. She's twenty minutes late, and I want to go home," he admitted.
"I can drive you," Danielle offered.
Anthony thought for a few moments. He didn't see any problem with it. "Uhh...sure. Thanks," he told his friend. They had been flirting around each other for months now. Danielle had lived on the same street as the Stokes since they were eight. Both he and Logan had a bit of a thing for her, at least at some point in their lives.
"I'm supposed to stay after for extra help in chemistry, but I really don't feel like it today." Danielle confessed to her friend as they began to walk down the steps of the high school to her Honda Accord.
"Oh yeah?" Anthony asked, a bit surprised. "Why not?"
"Because your sister's only interested in getting help from Jason," Danielle said, rolling her eyes as they got into the Accord. "Why does she even come to Chem help? She's good enough to actually give the help, and she's not really interested in giving me a hand with helping me learn the difference between dispersion forces and London dispersion forces."
Anthony, without even thinking about it, said, "They're the exact same thing."
Surprised, Danielle looked at him. "Well, what are they?"
"It's when you have all the electrons whipping around the nuclei, but sometimes you can get a temporary dipole because if the electron is on the far side of one nucleus, then there's a positive end and a negative end. It happens in every single substance."
Danielle gave him a bit of a Look as she turned the ignition. "I thought you didn't care about school, nerd." She told him, stroking some of her hair back away from her face. The truth was, he didn't care about school, but he did care about Danielle. He cared enough to want to impress her with his knowledge. Anthony didn't really pay attention in class because it came easily to him. The problem was, as his parents had told him many times, that he didn't apply himself. He could get straight A's like his siblings, and, in truth, was probably the smartest of the three of them, but he'd rather be doing other things.
"I do care minimally, just not as much as Ciara. She has no life."
Danielle laughed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder to check behind her as she was pulling out of her stall. "She has to have some life," Danielle reasoned. "I mean, she's coming to the movies with us tonight."
"Yeah, and it's the first time she's been out of the house in ten years," Anthony said sarcastically.
Danielle chuckled. God, she was gorgeous. "So, what's it like being a triplet?" Danielle asked. She'd always wanted to know but had never really had the chance to ask.
Anthony laughed a bit. "Well, here's how it works. You have two siblings. You share a birthday. People mix you up with your brother all the time."
"Smart and witty," she said. Anthony was, for the only time in his life, thankful for his freckles freckles – they hid the colour rushing to his cheeks.
"I'm just glad there's not three of us identical." He confessed honestly. Having one identical brother was bad enough.
Danielle smiled and nodded a little. "True. It would be pretty weird if you and Ciara were identical." She told him, trying not to laugh at the thought of that.
"Yeah, I think I'd put myself up for adoption if that happened."
Anthony knew there was a coffee shop about three blocks ahead, and if he were able to work up the nerve, he might be able to ask Danielle to join him. He prepared himself. The words almost stuck in his throat. Casually, he tried to ask, "There's a Starbucks just ahead. Care to join me?" Quickly, he added, "I'll buy."
Danielle stopped at a red light and looked over at her neighbor. "Are you asking me on a date?" She asked him, and Anthony almost felt like curling up into the fetal position. Why had he asked this? Why would she be remotely interested in him?
"Uhh..." He stuttered.
"I'd love to." Danielle told him, smiling as the light turned green again. "I've been dying for a cappuccino all day." Anthony let out a breath of relief. Well, she'd said yes and she could've said no, but she probably just wanted a free cappuccino. "Let me just call my parents to tell 'em where I'll be." Danielle told him, whipping out her pink glittery cell phone.
Speaking of cell phones, Anthony felt his vibrate in his pocket. He opened it up and saw that he had a new text message from Ciara. "Where are you?" Making sure Danielle couldn't see him, he answered, "got a hot d8 - c u home". He hated chatspeak, but he knew Ciara hated it more, so he used it to get on her nerves. Moments later, he got a reply, "Use real English, nerd bomb. Who are you going with, and where are you going?" "Danielle, & wer going 2 Strbcks, MOM". "Alright, I'll see you later. Have fun." "Bye."
Ciara rolled her eyes at her brother's messages. So what if she was the responsible one? Their parents trusted her much more than they trusted him. Ciara shouldered her backpack and headed towards the car, which she'd actually get to drive without one of her dweeby brothers accompanying her. She put her iPod in the holder and turned on some Pussycat Dolls, which her brothers never allowed her to listen to. She rolled down the windows and pulled down her shades, ready to ride home in style.
Ten minutes later, Ciara pulled up into her family's driveway. Knowing her parents were sleeping, she entered quietly and closed and locked the door behind her. The familiar sight of her dad's rug with the green T on it always brought her comfort. She may have looked like her mom, but she was so much like Nick. To her surprise, her father was awake, sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. "Hey, Daddy!" she said, and went over to the couch to give him a hug, then sat down beside him.
"Hey, sweetie," her father said, giving her a kiss on the temple. "How was your day?"
"Really good. I got 100 percent on my English essay and Mrs. Sperling wants to use it as an exemplar," Ciara beamed, knowing she was free to do so in the absence of her brothers.
"That's awesome, honey! Was that the one about Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene?" he asked, always interested in the kind of work his daughter was doing in school.
"No, it was the one about Agamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia," she corrected. "My Lady Macbeth one is due next week."
Nick chuckled. Due next week, and she had already been finished for five days.
"Why are you awake?" Ciara asked, curious.
"Mmmm, Ecklie called me about a case about an hour ago, and I couldn't get back to sleep." He confessed, putting the paper down so he could give his full attention to his daughter.
"That Ecklie's a real pain in the ass." Ciara told him, then mentally kicked herself. "I mean butt."
Nick smirked and nodded his head. "He can be. But your mom's still asleep." Nick noticed then that Anthony had not come in the door with his sister. "Where's Anthony?"
"He went out with Danielle," Ciara answered.
Nick raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh? Where'd they go?"
"I don't know," Ciara said, "I didn't ask."
"Do you know when he'll be back?"
"No, he didn't say. He just said he'd see me here."
"Alright..." Nick said, a bit uneasy. "I have to leave for work in about two hours - Ecklie wants your mother and me to come in early. If Anthony's not back by six, I want you to call me, okay?"
"Sure, Daddy." Ciara promised him, secretly a little pleased that Anthony could get in a little trouble. She had been that way ever since they turned about twelve or so. Ciara smiled and grabbed Nick's arm, moving it so it was around her shoulders, and she snuggled into his side. Lying with her dad made Ciara feel so safe. She had always felt protected by him, and having his strong arms around her just made her feel so loved.
Soon, Sara came into the room. "Hi, sweetie," Sara said. It was weird having kids and working the night shift. They slept while their kids were at school, woke up when they came home, went to work and left them at home, and were back in time to make breakfast. Last night had been a little more normal, since Nick and Sara had both had the night off. "Did you have a good day at school?"
"Yes, very," Ciara replied. She told her mother about her essay.
"That's great news, honey! Congratulations." When the triplets were little, they had a nanny that would come over when Nick and Sara went to work, but once they got to high school, they'd allowed them to stay by themselves. This seemed to work well most of the time, but there had been occasions where one of them had to leave work to deal with a situation that had developed.
"Thanks," she told her mother and looked at her watch. It was a few hours until the movie, but at least she didn't have to do homework tonight since it was Friday. Thank goodness for Fridays. Ciara worked so hard during the week to keep her grades above 90 percent that Fridays were a welcome retreat from homework. Tonight was about her and her friends.
"So who are you going to the movies with?" Nick asked.
"Danielle, Mark, Braden, Louise, Macayla, Logan might come if he's back from Andrew's in time, and Jason's coming too."
Nick cringed. "You're still seeing that boy?"
Ciara got a little defensive. "What do you have against him?" she asked, a little put out.
"Nothing really," Nick said. "But he's not the best you can do, sweetie," he added.
Ciara sighed. "Oh, come on, Dad. He's smart, he's funny, and he's really cute," she reasoned. Feeling a bit rebellious, she added, "And he's got a cute butt, too."
Sara laughed out loud from where she was making some more coffee in the kitchen, knowing Nick really didn't want to hear that sort of thing. "Ciara, that wasn't necessary," he told her, trying to keep a sense of humor about it, but the thought of his little girl being interested in guys was just frightening.
"Lighten up, Daddy." She told him as she stood up from the couch to get a snack from the kitchen.
"How about Spencer from down the street?" Nick suggested.
"Oh, please, Dad," Ciara sighed. "He's totally not my type."
"Well, what is your type?" Nick asked.
Ciara poked her head around the corner and gave him a Look. "Dad, this isn't the type of thing girls usually talk about with their dads."
Nick raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright," he said. "Just trying to get an idea."
Ciara smirked at him as she returned from the kitchen with an apple and a glass of milk. "So, what did you do today?" Ciara asked. "Other than sleep, that is."
Nick chuckled. "Well, after you and your brothers left for school, your mother went to bed."
"She's been really tired lately, hasn't she?" Ciara said.
Nick nodded. "I stayed up and cleaned up breakfast. Then I went back to bed too." He didn't think he needed to fill in his daughter about the other events that had transpired while their kids were gone. "That's about it," he said.
Ciara rolled her eyes at his explanation. "That's parent code for 'we had sex'." She filled in for him quite bluntly. Sara bit back another laugh and Nick scrubbed a hand over his face. She could see right through him, even from an early age.
"Ciara, Ciara." He muttered.
"Daddy, Daddy." She jokingly mocked him back, taking a crunch of her apple. Ciara then took out her cell phone to check if she had any messages. "Want me to text Anthony to get his butt home?"
"No, that's alright," Nick declined. "Just make sure he's back on time, and if he's not..." Nick left the rest unsaid, knowing that Ciara would understand him completely.
"Got it," Ciara said, and winked.
"Well, I'm going to go shower," Nick said, patting her knee before standing up. "Gotta go bring home the bacon."
Ciara chuckled, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Ciara, like her mother, was a vegetarian and had been for quite some time.
Nick ruffled her hair. "I mean that metaphorically, honey," he said, winking.
Ciara smiled up at him. "I know, Dad."
Nick then walked back to the master bedroom where he would take his shower before work. Ciara took another bite out of her apple and Sara came back into the living room moments later with a coffee mug. "I was going to make a caesar salad before I left for work. You want one too?" she asked her daughter as she joined her on the couch.
Ciara was mindful of her health, but she was also a teenager. "No thanks. We're gonna load up on popcorn and gummy bears at the movies." She told her mother, propping her feet up on the coffee table.
Sara chuckled. "Alright, CC," she said, using the nickname they'd had for her since she was still in diapers.
"When are you leaving for work?" Ciara asked. "Well, after your father gets out of the shower, I'm going to take one and get ready, and we'll probably leave right after that."
Ciara nodded and yawned a little after a long day at school. "You tired?" Sara asked her, gently stroking her hair a bit.
"Tired of school," Ciara told her after a yawn.
Sara gave her a Look. "You love school, just like I did."
"Yes, it's you I have to thank for my psychotic work habits. I'm tired of homework, I guess is what I should say," she corrected herself, stretching her arms a little bit. Ciara then spread herself out on the couch, propping her feet up in her mother's lap.
"Oh, I see how you feel about me." Sara joked, giving her bare feet a tickle. Ciara smiled and closed her eyes, deciding to take a short cat nap before her parents had to leave.
Meanwhile, Anthony and Danielle sat in the Starbucks a few blocks from their houses, two warm cappuccinos in their hands. It was a nice day, so they sat on the patio and let the sun warm their faces. Anthony, as the pair talked, realized how little he knew about this girl he saw nearly every day. He learned that she had a four-year-old sister, and that her parents were divorced and she hadn't seen her father in over ten years, and that she took Taekwon-Do, and that she played the piano, flute, and violin, and that her favourite food was burritos. Anthony felt like he was unable to reciprocate, though he shared what he could.
"What do you usually do for fun?" Danielle asked him, nervously playing with her cup a little bit, watching the liquid swirl around inside.
"Uhh...music stuff I guess." Anthony rubbed the back of his neck. He really didn't think he was an interesting person now that he had to explain himself to the girl he was crushing on. "I listen to music a lot, and play the guitar when my family can stand the noise," he told her honestly.
Danielle smiled. "Yeah, Ciara's complained about the noise before. You get along with your parents?"
Anthony shrugged. "They're okay, I guess. I mostly avoid them."
"Yeah? Why is that?" Danielle asked.
"I really just don't like hanging out with them. I'm more of an introvert, I suppose," he admitted. "I really just prefer to hang out by myself with some music, but I like hanging out with my friends too."
"What kind of music do you play?"
Anthony grinned a lopsided grin. "You'll laugh at me," he said.
"Aww, come on. Tell me," Danielle said, and very convincingly too.
"I write my own stuff."
Danielle gasped. "Really? That's so cool! I could never do that. I'm nowhere near creative enough."
"Sure you are," Anthony argued. "You just have to write from your heart, and the music comes."
Danielle smiled a half-smile and looked at him gently for a moment, making eye contact. Anthony looked away after a second. He really wanted to kiss those perfect lips of hers, but didn't know if Danielle was the type of girl who would want to do that right away. Well, technically, he'd known her for eight years, but this was the first time they'd had a genuine, adult conversation.
"Maybe you could teach me sometime. Give me a lesson." Danielle suggested a bit quietly, and put her hand over his, which was resting on the chair's arm. Anthony's eyes shot up to Danielle's, checking to see if they told the same story as her touch did. Did she like him?
"I'd like that," Anthony said.
"Yeah, me too," she agreed. Her perfect brown eyes met his, and for a brief moment, they felt connected.
Anthony glanced at his watch. "Oh, shoot! It's almost five-thirty!" he exclaimed.
Alarmed, Danielle said, "What, do you have to get home?"
"Yeah, and now," he said.
"Well, let's get you home," she resolved, standing up and grabbing her cappuccino.
"Yeah, for sure," he agreed. "My dad's going to open a can of whup-ass on me if I'm too late."
Danielle chuckled. "I told you, smart and witty. Smart and witty."
Anthony laughed at her, and had the urge to kiss her whenever she smiled at him. However, he knew he needed to get his butt home fast before he got in more trouble. They took their drinks to the car and Danielle drove them home as quickly as she could without speeding. Danielle pulled in to the Stokes' driveway.
"Well, here we are." She told him, smiling as she put the car into park.
Anthony unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to her. "Thanks, Dani." His tongue darted out for a millisecond. "Uhhh...listen. I know I don't normally do this, but would you like to go out to the movie tonight with me?" he asked, knowing he was kind of inviting himself, but he was entranced by Danielle.
"Yeah, I'd love to," Dani said. "Is it alright if I just stick around at your place until we leave? Then you, Ciara, and I can all go together."
"Sounds like a plan," Anthony said.
Authors' Note: Click the button. :)