A/N: Well, here it is! I really like this one for some reason and I really hope you all feel the same. I just feel so dang giddy when I get reviews, so even just little comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks guys! :-)

Chapter 6 – The Sibling Zone

"Are you magic?"

"Are you a leprechaun?"

"Can you turn Stacy into a leprechaun?"

"Can you turn Stevie into a dog so he has to stay outside all the time and leave me alone?"

"Well can you—"

"Guys! Leave Rory alone!" Sam yelled.

"But Sammy, I wanna see his magic powers!"

"He's not magic and he's not a leprechaun. He's a normal person just like us."

"Are you sure? He looks kinda funny."

Rory laughed as Sam smacked his little brother in the back of his head.

"Be nice," Mary Evans said. "Go and wash up for dinner, you two."

"Don't wait too long. Stevie will have to wash himself for years to be clean enough to eat at the table."

"Whatever, cootie-monster," Stevie heckled, pushing his sister down the hallway.

"I'm sorry about them. You know how kids are."

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I have a brother. Not quite as young as them, but I understand."

There was a loud crash as a pan slid out of the kitchen.

"You OK, hun?" Mary asked as Dwight came out covered in some sort of weird liquid and hair tussled around.

"I tried cooking dinner so it could be ready when you guys got home. Obviously, it didn't work too well."

Rory tried not to laugh as Mr. Evans walked over to him. He wiped his hands on his apron that said 'Kiss the cook' and reached his hand out for Rory to shake.

"So you must be Rory. Sorry you had to come home to this mess. I can usually cook."

Rory saw Mrs. Evans shake her head in the background and he held in a chuckle.

"Dwight, why don't we just order some pizza? You can cook some other time."

"But…fine. I'll make some burgers or something tomorrow night."

"Sure you will, dad," Sam said.

"What kind of pizza do you like, Rory?" Mary asked.

Rory just shrugged. Sam came up behind him and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be afraid to talk. You're part of the family." Rory shivered as Sam's breath ghosted along his ear.

"Uhh…pepperoni is fine."

"OK," Mrs. Evans said, grinning, and picked up the phone.

"You need help cleaning up, sir?" Rory asked, trying to be polite.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I can handle it," Dwight said. "I made the mess so I can take care of it. How 'bout you have Sam show you the house?"

Rory nodded and Sam smiled. "Come on, Rors." Sam pulled Rory's arm to follow him down the hallway by the kitchen. There were pictures of the family lining the wall. School pictures of the kids were all in orderly rows. Rory was able to see Sam's transformation from a young boy to the startlingly handsome man he had become. He stopped and stared at the most recent picture. Wow, he is amazing.

"Don't look at that. It's really bad."

"No…it's a really good picture. You look…" Rory wanted to say something along the lines of handsome, beautiful, amazing, gorgeous, perfect. But he didn't want to push it. "You look good," he finished.

He thinks I look good in my school picture? He probably just said that to be nice. Come on, look at it. My hair is stupid and long because I forgot to go get a haircut beforehand. And look at the flab on my arms. How gross. I really should have worked out more and not eaten all those Cool Ranch Doritos. I'm so gross.

"Uhh come on, let's go." Sam pulled Rory away from the picture.

"Here on the left is Stacy's room and on the right is Stevie's. They really don't like having their rooms by each other, but there was no way I was going to trade one of them. At the end of the hall is the laundry room, but you won't have to worry about using it."

"Because I don't have any of my clothes?" Rory said, solemnly.

"Oh, no," Sam said. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant you won't have to worry about using it because when you do get some clothes, I'll wash 'em for ya."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"Because my mother told me to treat you like a sibling and since I do their laundry, I'm going to do yours too."

"Y-you really don't have to."

"Yeah I do. Now let's go upstairs.

He's treating me like a sibling? Great. There goes any chance I have with him. Not that I really expected anything anyway. How do they say it around here? I'm stuck in the sibling zone? Sounds close enough I suppose. I'm definitely stuck in the sibling zone.

Sam led Rory up the stairs, passing more family photos on the way. The plush carpeting and beautiful windows and fancy doors humbled Rory. He was used to the cramped space and bland feel of his home in Ireland. Though this new place was nice, he did miss his home a bit. There were just so many new things for him to absorb here; it felt like he was in a new world.

"This is mom and dad's room. We're not really allowed to go in there," Sam chuckled a bit as they continued walking down the long hallway upstairs. "There's my bathroom, and here," he pointed, "is my bedroom. Unfortunately we don't have the spare room fixed up quite yet. We couldn't get dad to put away his trains. He's a big fan. So that means you'll have to stay in my room for the time being."

Sam opened the door but Rory didn't follow. He felt like he was entering Sam's secret world and he felt sort of odd about it.

"You coming?"

Rory stepped in and was amazed at what he saw. Sam's room was immaculate, much different from his own room at home (much to his mother's chagrin). Multiple Avatar posters covered the wall, with some Star Wars ones thrown in for good measure. Numerous superhero action figures sat on top of the dresser and were on top of the television set as well.

"Umm…Sam...I don't want to take your room from you. I can just sleep on the couch or the floor or something. I don't even need a blanket or a pillow; I don't want to be a burden to you or—"

"Stop."

"H-huh?"

"You're going to sleep in here, end of story."

"But…"

Sam put his finger to Rory's lips. Rory froze at the contact. "I know my mother told me to treat you like one of my siblings, but that's not good enough…for you, Rory. I dunno why but I just feel like you're something special. I know I suck with words and feelings and stuff and I know this is weird because I just met you but there's something about you that's great. Something amazing. And you are really too good to sleep on the floor. I know it's not much, but I at least want you to have my bed. While you're here, I'm going to treat you like a prince. No! A king. That's the least you deserve. OK?"

Rory nodded, mouth held open in shock.

"Sam, can you come help me for a second?" Mary Evans yelled.

Sam slowly stepped away from Rory and headed down the stairs.