Chapter 3

Toby POV

"Megan, who's it from?"

Megan looked down at her phone. She looked worried.

"No one."

"Give me your phone."

"What?"

"Let me see it."

I grabbed Megan's phone from her hands. Without hesitation, she ran up behind me and jumped on my back.

"Get off!"

"Give me my phone back!"

Megan slid her hand over my eyes, and grabbed her phone with her free hand. She slid off my back, and jumped into bed, sliding her phone under her body.

"Why don't you want me to see it?"

"It's… about you."

"What do you mean?"

"It was from Kayla and we were talking about you. I didn't want you to see what she wrote."

"Was it that bad?"

"Forget about it. I'm going to sleep. I'll talk to you in the morning."

I walked back to my bedroom, annoyed. I got in bed and fell asleep, wondering about the text.

The Next Day…

Riker POV

"So what do you want to do today?" I asked Rocky as I flopped on the couch.

"Mmm, I don't know…" Said Rocky.

I swung my legs up to the top of the couch, sliding my body so I was hanging upside down. I squeezed my eyes shut and threw my hands back against the floor, stopping myself from sliding down.

"What are you doing?" Asked Ellington, as he walked into the living room and sat down next to me.

"I don't know. I'm just bored," I said, now looking at the floor.

Ellington started poking my stomach.

"Ellington don't!" I yelled, half laughing.

As my arms flew up to whack his hands away from me, I immediately started sliding down the couch closer to the floor. I screamed as my head slid closer to the ground. Suddenly Ellington grabbed my hands before my head could hit the floor, pulling me back up into a sitting position. I sighed as I leaned back and sank into the couch next to Ellington.

"Hey, let's go see what Toby and Megan are doing," said Ross, walking in from the kitchen.

"Ok. But what are going to do? We can't go swimming, it's raining out," said Rocky.

"We could watch a movie," said Ross.

"We already watched movies," said Rocky.

"Well, maybe they have some ideas," said Ellington.

"Should we go over and ask them if they want to hang out?" Asked Ross.

"It's raining. Not it!" Shouted Rocky.

"I can just text Megan and ask her, we don't have to actually go over and ask them," I said.

"You have her number!? Ooh! Riker you like her!" Said Ellington, elbowing me in the ribs.

"Stop," I said, pushing him away.

I could feel the blood flowing into my hot cheeks as I texted Megan.

"Hey Megan, we were wondering if you and Toby wanted to hang out today," I texted.

"Sure, I'll tell Toby. What did you guys have in mind?"

"We weren't sure. It's raining and we haven't unpacked yet, so we're out of ideas."

"Do you guys want to come over here? We could find something to do. I don't want you to feel weird about having people over when you haven't finished unpacking yet."

"Ok, thanks. When do you want us to come over?"

"Maybe like 30 minutes? Is that ok?"

"Yeah. We'll see you then."

"Megan invited us over to her house in about 30 minutes," I said.

"Ok, cool," said Rocky, standing up.

We all hung around chatting about nothing in particular until it was time to head over to Megan's and Toby's house. It was storming now, so we all sprinted across the street to their house. Rocky got to the door first and started pounding on the door. Megan quickly answered it, and we all ran inside.

"Hey Megan," I said.

"Hey," said Megan, giving me a shy smile.

"Where's Toby?" Asked Rocky.

"He's just getting out of the shower. He'll be out in a few minutes."

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Asked Ellington.

"Whatever. What do you guys normally do?" Asked Megan.

"I don't know. We do everything," said Ellington.

"Ok, well, does anyone have any ideas?" Asked Megan.

Nobody said anything. We all just looked at each other awkwardly until we saw Toby walking down the stairs.

"Hey Toby," said Ross.

"Hey. What are we doing?" Asked Toby.

"That's what we're trying to decide on," said Ryland.

"You guys want to play videogames?" Asked Toby.

"Sure!" Said Rocky.

We all followed Toby into the living room. It was dark like when we watched the movie because of the storm. Storms always made me feel a bit uneasy…

Megan and Rydel were in the kitchen, so we could all fit on the couches without having to sit on the floor. They had decided they wanted to bake something instead of watching us play videogames. I could hear plates and pans clinking in the kitchen.

Megan POV

"So what do you want to bake?" I asked Rydel.

"I don't know. What do you think?"

I handed her a cook book with dessert recipes.

"You choose," I said.

Rydel and I flipped through the book, looking at all the yummy things we could make.

"How about we just make plain old chocolate chip cookies?" Asked Rydel.

"Sounds good!"

I got out the ingredients and bowls as Rydel started mixing up the cookie batter.

A Few Hours Later…

Riker POV

We finished the movie and all headed into the kitchen to have lunch. We all made sandwiches. Megan and Rydel came downstairs to join us. After we ate lunch, Rydel and Megan took out the cookies they made so we could eat them. They were delicious.

"So… What do you guys want to do now?" Asked Rocky.

"It stopped raining, so we could do something outside now," said Ross.

"There's a park down the street. We could go hang out there," said Toby.

"Sounds good. Let's go," said Rocky.

We all filed out of their house, and started walking down the road. I hung toward the back of our group with Megan. She seemed to be thinking about something. 15 minutes later, we arrived at the park. There were swings off to the side near the woods, and a bunch of picnic tables all over the place. Toby had brought a basketball, so we all walked over to the basketball court except Megan. She walked over and sat on the swings. I slowly walked away from all the chaos of the basketball game and headed toward Megan. She was looking at the ground, slowly moving back and forth.

"Hey. Are you ok?" I asked, startling her.

"What? Yeah."

I walked over and took a seat on the swing next to her. She seemed nervous about something. I looked over to see her looking at the ground again.

"Why didn't you want to play basketball?" I asked.

"I'm not really a sports person. Why aren't you playing?"

"I was never really good at basketball. And I didn't want to leave you to sit here all alone."

I could feel my cheeks turning pink as I said that. I quickly looked away, pretending to watch everyone play basketball. I looked back to see Megan smiling to herself.

"So do you guys come to the park often?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah. We usually come here every weekend and sometimes afterschool. But school's over now so…"

Megan POV

Riker seemed like he wanted to talk to me, but everyone was so close by. I didn't think he wanted them to hear us for some reason because he spoke quietly. He seemed to be lost as to what to say right now…

"Do you want to go for a walk? They have a bunch of trails here," I said, trying to make Riker feel more comfortable.

"Yeah, sure."

We got up from the swings and I led Riker over to one of the trails. I could hear he was walking close behind me.

Riker POV

We kept walking as it started getting darker and darker. I wasn't really a fan of the dark, especially when I didn't know my surroundings. But I was with Megan, and I trusted her.

"Megan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we should turn around soon? It's getting pretty dark."

"Oh, this trail is a loop. I think we're close to the end."

"Oh, ok."

By the time we reached the park again, it was almost completely dark out. My siblings, Ellington, and Toby had all left. I followed Megan to the sidewalk, and we started walking home.

I could feel Megan slow down when 2 men dressed in all black came into view. They didn't look like the nicest people…

I placed my arm firmly around Megan's shoulder as we got closer to them. She stuck 2 fingers through my belt loop, holding on. We were stared at, almost angrily it seemed, by the men until we passed them. We finally arrived back at Megan's house, and went inside to the kitchen.

"Thanks for walking me home," said Megan.

"You're welcome."

"Those guys looked so creepy."

"I know."

"Do you know where everyone is?"

"Uh, no."

Megan looked in the living room, not finding anyone.

"They probably went to your house," said Megan.

I watched as she walked over to her fridge and pulled out a box of pizza.

"Want some?" She asked.

"Sure."

"Do you want me to heat it up?"

"No, I like it cold."

"Cool, me too," she said, handing me my plate.

We both sat down across from each other.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" I asked, trying to bring us out of the awkward silence.

"Uh, I don't know… I like to write… I like to… um… I don't know!"

"That's pretty cool though, writing. Do you play any instruments?"

"Yeah, piano."

"Oh, cool!"

"I like to think I can play the guitar too, but I'm self-taught, so… I don't really know exactly what I'm doing. You were actually my inspiration to learn the guitar."

I laughed. She was so sweet.

"Do you want me to help you some time? Playing the guitar, I mean?"

"Yeah, that would be awesome."

When we had finished eating, I helped her clean up from dinner.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Megan asked.

"I could show you some stuff on the guitar, if you want."

"Ok."

Megan led me upstairs to her room and handed me her guitar. I sat on the end of her bed while she closed the door.

"So what do you know already?" I asked.

"Uh…"

Later…

Riker POV

"Do you think we could take a break now? My fingers are killing me," said Megan, holding up her indented fingers.

"Yeah."

Megan flopped face down on her pillow.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just tired."

Megan sat bolt upright when we heard the front door close. Someone was walking upstairs. Megan's door flew open, showing Toby standing in her doorway.

"What are you guys doing!?" Toby exclaimed.

"Riker's giving me a guitar lesson," said Megan, getting up.

Megan walked out her door, pulling Toby with her, and finally closing the door.

Toby POV

"What do you think you're doing with him? Do mom and dad even know he's here with you!?" I asked.

"Yes they know he's here! Toby, he's giving me a guitar lesson. How exciting do you think it gets?" Said Megan, defensively.

"Why are you hanging out with him? I thought you guys went home hours ago."

"We did, to our house. I showed him one of the trails at the park, and when we got back to the beginning, it was dark, and you all had already left."

"You walked home with him!?"

"Yes! And it's a good thing I did! We passed these really creepy guys along the way."

"What happened?"

"Nothing! We were fine! Please, let us get back to our guitar lesson. We'll talk after he leaves."

"Megan-"

"Toby, I'm 17 years old! I'm fine!"

Riker POV

Megan came back in her room after a few minutes, locking the door behind her.

"I'm sorry about him. He's just… I don't know…" Said Megan, shaking her head.

"Nah, it's fine. I should get going anyway."

"You don't have to. I mean, I was just starting to get that one chord."

"Ok, well I'll stay if it's ok with you…?"

"Yeah."

1 Hour Later…

Riker POV

I sank into my bed as Rocky came into our bedroom.

"So what did you do tonight?" Rocky asked, poking my arm.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's going on with you and Megan?"

"What do you mean? I had dinner at her house, and then I gave her a lesson on the guitar. She knew the basics, and I was just refreshing her memory and teaching her some new chords and stuff."

"You like her don't you?" Said Rocky, smirking.

I turned over in my bed, facing away from him.

"Ha! So you do like her!" Rocky shouted.

"Shut up Rocky. Let me get some sleep."

Toby POV

"Why are you spending so much time with him?" I asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'M OBSESSED WITH HIS BAND! He's really nice, and he just wanted to hang out and stuff," said Megan.

"Well I don't think you should."

"Why not?"

"Because he's a guy, alone with a younger girl, who just happens to be my sister!"

"Toby, I'm fine. If I need you, I'll call, I promise. Just give me some space, please."

The Next Morning…

Megan POV

I was sitting downstairs, eating breakfast, when Toby came flying down the stairs.

"I'll see you later. I'm going to a concert with Tyler in Vermont," said Toby.

"Ok, be safe!" I called back.

"You! You be safe!"

"I'll be fine, Toby. I'll see you later."

"Bye!"

Toby flew out the door and got in his best friend's car. I watched as they drove off, thinking about how nice it was to be free from Toby for the day. I loved him, but sometimes he was too overprotective. Riker and I just wanted to hang out. Why wasn't Toby ok with that?