Grace stomped up the front porch to her house, angry at having waited nearly an hour for her brother to let out of football practice before learning that it had been cancelled. He didn't tell Grace, of course, because he just loved to get under her skin. It only took her about 20 minutes to walk home, which wouldn't normally bother her one bit, but that wasn't the point.
She practically threw open the front door, only to find two of her brother's friends occupying her couch. Finn smiled and awkwardly waved in greeting, all big head and goofy smile. Grace grimaced and dumped her backpack to the floor. Her grimace turned into a hard glare as she noticed the mohawked boy next to Finn.
Her brother came out of the kitchen with an uncooked hot dog sticking from his mouth. "Luke!" she barked as he grinned at her.
"Hey Gracie!" he responded happily. "Where've you been?"
"Oh, shut up," Grace rolled her eyes. "Thank you for informing me of your lack of practice. I waited for you."
"I thought you had Cheerio's practice?" he feigned stupidity while dropping onto the couch between his friends.
"You know I quit, like, 3 weeks ago," she muttered, all the while feeling like she wanted to explode.
Luke Harper was something else. Something entirely else. That was about all Grace could say about her older brother. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing; the duo may have been two years apart, but most of the time they acted like it was two minutes.
Luke played cornerback for the football team and was the best player on their defensive line. He was a very well liked senior, popular, and a huge goof. What Grace appreciated most about him was the fact that he'd never stooped so low as to tossing slushies.
Unlike one of the guys that were currently sitting on her couch.
Luke's only response was to shrug with a smirk as his friends snickered. She glared at them again as she stomped past them and into the kitchen. It was Wednesday, which meant it was her day to start dinner and she was more than glad to if it meant she got away from her two nimrod classmates.
Grace pushed up on her tip toes and reached over the sink in the kitchen for the family iPod that sat on the windowsill. Her dad had jury-rigged a sound system in the kitchen months ago, since it seemed to be the most communal spot in the house.
And, God forbid the guy chop any vegetables without Journey.
She quickly clicked on the Oldies Goodies playlist, knowing her Dad would be pleased when he arrived home. Grace tapped her foot and bobbed her head along to Renegade, smiling at how she thought the song was an excellent beginning to the playlist.
Grace received enough peace to finish preparing a salad and begin boiling noodles before Finn came busting into the kitchen.
"I love this song," he practically gushed, grabbing two of her utensils from her and drumming them against the counter. Grace paused as she stared at Finn, perplexed by his actions while also struggling to hide her smile.
Finn reached over her and turned up the volume to REO Speedwagon. "And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might!" Finn sang loudly as he continued drumming on the counters. Grace laughed out loud at his antics and joined him, snatching the wooden spoon from his hands to stir her pot of noodles.
"I can't fight this feeling anymore! I've forgotten what I started fighting for!" She continued to laugh as Finn enthusiastically sang along. She was impressed with how well he sang; Grace knew he was an avid fan of oldies, but damn.
Luke and Noah came trailing in, the latter toting a guitar with him. He jumped onto the counter with his instrument in his lap as Luke helped his sister finish up with their dinner. Finn chuckled as the song ended, taking a seat behind the counter with a smile.
The music switched and Grace inwardly sighed as Neil Diamond played, reached to turn the volume down a couple notches. Luke nudged his sister's arm while pulling garlic bread from the oven.
Puck strummed along, instantly irritating Grace.
Everything he did irritated her, especially since he grew up next door and knew every insignificant thing that drove her crazy. Grace turned to look at him and narrowed her gaze as he was looking back at her knowingly. He knew her mother loved Neil Diamond. He knew that she loved him so much that Grace's middle name was Caroline, after the song. His smug smirk grew as he continued to strum.
"Where it began, I don't-" Puck laughed and tried to duck as Grace grabbed a few hot noodles from the strainer to toss at him. "Hey!"
"Shut up," Grace all but snapped.
Her irritation faded away as she heard her dad enter through the garage.
Jonathan Harper greeted the teenagers with a large grin. "Hey guys!" he high fived Finn and knocked Noah's shoulder.
"Grace Caroline," he sang along to Neil Diamond while ruffling his daughter's hair.
"Hi, Dad," she smiled fondly at her Dad as he slung an arm around Luke's shoulders.
"'Sup, dude," Luke greeted casually.
John rolled his eyes, "I'm not your dude, I'm your Dad."
"And I'm your hungry child," Luke retorted while ducking under John's arm and pulling a stack of plates from the cabinet, leading the group to the dinner table.