I'll be the first to admit it; it was wrong the way I felt about Luke. He was my brother- adopter, but still my brother never the less. He had been with the Ross family since he was five.

I still remember when I was six and Mom and Dad told me I was getting a brother. I had thought she was pregnant. Imagine my surprise when I came home from kindergarten and there was a boy sitting on the couch, suitcase in hand. My parents thought he was the cutest thing ever- and that infuriated me. I, and I alone, was the the cutest thing ever, not some black haired, freckled faced little boy from Detroit with a dead mother and an abusive father. I made it my mission throughout the ten years he had been living here to make his life miserable. The worst part was, though, it didn't faze him. Actually, he liked it! And tortured me right back by being the cute baby of the family until Ravi and Zuri were adopted.

I had to watch him grow up- physically, not mentally- He still acted like he was five most of the time. Even I had to admit though, he had grown up to be a pretty hot fifteen year old. His freckles had faded out and he grew out his dark hair, cutting it in that really cute way that seemed to make his blue eyes really shine. It mad me even more mad! It was impossible to sit in the same room with him and not want to just kiss him or something.

"Emma!" Luke's blood-curtailing scream was no doubt heard around the whole building. I smiled. It appeared that he had just discovered my revenge for him swapping out my deodorant for itching powder.

"Yes, Luke?," I ask, oh-so innocently. He glared at me as I walked down the stairs. His black hair covered one eye, making him seem more sinister than he really was. His plaid shirt was undone, revealing his abs and his ripped jeans screamed 'I'm so cool! Look at me!'. In his hand were multiple copies of the pictures I passed out at school today.

"Why would you do this? Do you know how bad this'll ruin my rep? The guys are already laughing at me!" He threw the papers at me once I reached the landing. All of them were the same picture of my blue-eyed, little, bad-boy brother cuddling in bed with his stuffed kola Kenny. "I can't believe you would do something so low! I'm telling Mom and Dad. Be ready for the grounding of your life. You know how they are about reputations."

Unbelievable. He was going to get me in trouble for getting back at him! What the heck! And they weren't going to go easy on me- I knew that now. They were fine with all our petty pranks as long as they stayed inside the house. We were famous and one wrong move could completely destroy everything they had worked so hard for. So I used the only comeback I could think of to get me out of it; "I know how my parents are about it. Your's on the other hand- I've never met. I doubt they'd care much though."

Luke looked down at me- seeings as he'd grown to be about five inches taller than me, even in my heels- big, blue eyes shining. His lip quivered. It seemed so out of place on his rugged handsomeness. I hadn't seen him cry in at least three years, before he really hit puberty. He pulled his backpack from the ground and pushed past me, making his way up the stairs.

"Luke! Wait! I'm sorry!" I tried calling out his name several more times, but he didn't respond. I heard his bedroom door slam shut and I sighed. That had been really mean. He couldn't help it that he was adopted.

Just then the elevator pinged and Zuri came into the room. Her green dress fluttered around her as she walked and her little Afro ponytail bounced behind her. "Hey Emma," she said, pulling out one of the earphones to her iPod. "Forget to pick somebody up from school today?," She asked.

My eyes widened. "Oh Zuri! I'm so sorry! I totally forgot."

"It's okay," she said, waving her hand. "You're a blonde. What can I expect? Besides, all I had to do was call Jessie and have her pick me up. She was in the middle of yoga or something."

I laughed. "You know this year is probably the last year for Jessie, right? Your getting a little old for her."

"Yeah, but Luke still likes her, so it keeps her a job." I couldn't help but laugh. Zuri could be so intelligent at some points and so totally innocent at others. Then I remembered; Luke.

"Yeah," I mumbled racing up the steps to Luke's room and Zuri stared up at me confused. And racing isn't exactly easy in five inch heels. But beauty hurts. When I reached his door I entered without knocking, knowing he'd never let me in if I asked for permission.

"Luke, I'm sorry," I begin, before I see him. He was laying on his bed, face up, arms folded across his chest, staring at the ceiling. "Luke?"

For a few seconds he doesn't move, then finally he turns to me. "What do you want," he asks, irritated. I sat down next to him. My butt sunk down into the mattress.

"I'm sorry," I tell him for like the fiftieth time. I wan't thinking. Your just as much a part of this family as I am."

"No I'm not," he muttered. "You were right. They're not my parents. My mom died of an overdose and my dad liked to beat the crap outta me. I'm not really part of this family. I'm part of the other one, messed up as it it. Maybe that's why I'm messed up too. It runs in the blood."

I stared down at him. His face was grim and his eyes were dark, angry. "That's a lie!," I cried, reaching down and grabbing Luke by the shoulders. "Your not messed up and you haven't been part of them for ten years."

Luke sat up, my hands still wrapped around his shoulder blades. He reached up and removed them. "Look, Emma. I love them all. Mom, Dad, Zuri, Ravi, and even you kind of- but I don't belong here. You were right!"

I slapped him, hopping it stung as much as his comment about not loving me did. I knew he meant it in the family way- but I didn't want to take it that way. "I wasn't right! And what were you planning on doing, anyways? Your fifteen," I remind him. "You can't even drive."

Luke cradled his cheek, glaring at me again. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Besides," I started. "I would miss you if you left." Luke stared down at me, the anger draining from his eyes. "Really?" he asked, shocked. I nodded.

"You're my little brother- even if you weren't born that way. I'd miss you if you left just as much as I would miss Ravi or Zuri. Is that really too hard to wrap around your big skull?" Luke smiled. I wish I could tell him why I would really miss him. I don't think I could manage without seeing his black hair or too-blue eyes every day. And I would miss his occasional random outbursts of break- dancing, something he was amazing at. Plus, I would miss our fights. They're kind of what make me want to wake up everyday, wondering what dumb prank he had planned for that day. I couldn't tell Luke any of that though.

"Thanks, Emma. And I was kidding. I really do love you." 'Love you more,' I whispered in my head.

I sat there though, unable to move, staring into Luke's eyes. Something flowed between us, though I might have just imagined that. Luke sarted to lean forward, closing the distance between our faces. I sat there, shell-shocked, unsure what to do and not fully aware of what he was doing. Surly, he wasn't going to kiss me. He was my brother, after all.

When he was about a fraction of an inch away though, the door opened and Ravi's head popped in. Luke threw his head backwards and away from mine, eyes wide.

"Luke," Ravi said in his Indian-accented voice, fully oblivious as to what had just happened. "I just got 'War Zone 5. Would you like to play?" Luke shook his head. "Uh, no thanks. Not right now."

The thirteen year old shrugged. "I'll be in my room if you change your mind." Ravi had gotten to be pretty cute too, but in a more awkward way. He was tall for his age, almost as tall as Luke, who was still pretty tall. Ravi's dark hair, skin, and eyes gave him an exotic look compared to the other guys at school. We went to a privet, more upscale school so it was less racially diverse than alot of New York schools.

"Okay!," Luke called back. After Ravi shut the door behind him Luke wouldn't look at me. I was confused as to what just happened. Did Luke like me. Like, in a way brothers and sisters shouldn't like each other?