“Good morning,” I kissed Alyssa’s cheek as she quietly stirred in my arms.

“Hi,” she said softly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She yawned and sat up, stretching her arms.

“You look a lot better,” I murmured.

“I feel a lot better. I slept fully last night,” she said positively.

“Then shouldn’t you go to school?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Eh… It’s Friday,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ve already missed all week. Can I just stay here with you?” she asked with a small pout. I chuckled and nodded. “Do you have work today?”

“Nope. Can I kiss you now? It’s been too many days,” I whined a little, referring to how she wouldn’t let me too close while she was sick this past week. Lucky for us, her mom was away on business for this entire week, so we’ve had the house to ourselves. That meant when I wasn’t working, I was here taking care of her. When I had to work, Tony stayed with her. But yesterday she was feeling a lot better and now today she seemed like her usual, healthy self.

“Hmm,” she contemplated, and I groaned. “You can’t kiss my lips. I’d rather be safe than sorry,” she said suggestively. I grinned and crawled over to her, placing a tender kiss to her jaw.

“So I can kiss you everywhere else?” I asked. She shivered underneath me, and I grinned again. I planted small kisses along her jaw and to the back of her neck, just behind her earlobe. I lightly ran my fingers up and down her sides, causing her to squirm a little.

“If your heart desires,” she giggled softly.

I pulled away and stared at her face. “Oh, it does,” I smirked. I leant down and pressed my lips to hers anyway, and I felt her smile a little before she kissed back. Our lips had barely been connected before she opened her mouth, allowing my tongue to slip inside. It wasn’t sloppy and desperate, though; our tongues tangled and our lips brushed over each other’s with so much control and calmness.

“Mm, Vic,” she sighed lightly, pulling away.

“Yes?” I breathed, resting my chin on her chest and gazing up at her lovingly. I planted a small kiss on her near collarbone and then continued to stare at her.

“I, uh,” she wriggled a little from underneath me, and I took that as my cue to roll off of her. I laid on my side and kept an arm draped over her abdomen, staring at her intently.

“What’s up, babe?” I asked. She scrunched her mouth in nervousness—a habit that I’ve noticed of hers.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Are you okay?” I asked. She sighed and rolled over, too, so she was facing me.

“I…” her voice trailed off and she ducked her head, burying it my neck, just below my chin. I kissed the top of her head lovingly and asked her what was wrong again.

“Lissy,” I sang lightly. She sighed again and looked back up at me.

Her eye flickered up to mine once before she leaned forward and kissed me passionately on the lips again. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion at first, but melted at her touch and soon kissed her back. Not only was her kissing passionate, but it also held a lot of nervous energy.

Before I could pull away and ask her what was going on, she dragged her lips over mine in a hot breath, moving them down to my neck and then up to my ear. I closed my eyes in content when her breath hit my ear. “Vic, I…” she began, whispering in my ear. I furrowed my eyebrows at her again, wondering what she wanted to say and why she couldn’t say it.

Her hands went down to my chest and gripped my t-shirt tightly. She held her lips at my ear, her cheek on my cheek, and spoke again. “I want you,” she whispered.

“You already have me,” I chuckled, pulling away to stare at her face. Before I even looked at her, I suddenly knew what she was talking about and felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. She must have noticed my realization because she started to kiss me again, her lips much more hungrier and full of much more purpose than before.

“Lissy,” I laughed, pulling away slightly.

“What?” she asked innocently. She tilted her head to the side. “Don’t you—”

“Of course I do, silly,” I laughed again, kissing her nose.

“Then what’s the problem?” she asked, snuggling into me.

“It appears that I’ve come ill-prepared,” I whispered. She jutted her bottom lip out, and I chuckled, kissing her nose again. She groaned and we sat up together.

“C’mon, aren’t guys supposed to keep those things in their wallets or something?” she laughed, throwing her arms around my neck.

“I’ve had other things on my mind than picking up condoms, Alyssa,” I rolled my eyes playfully.

“Right. Sorry,” she whispered.

I shook my head and smiled at her. “There’s nothing to be sorry for,” I assured. She smiled back shyly at me. I reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

“I love you,” I sang with a goofy grin.

“I love you, too,” she mumbled. I just chuckled and wrapped my arms around her waist, falling forwards. She gasped slightly, and I immediately attacked her face with kisses.

“Vic,” she giggled breathlessly.

“Hm?” I smirked, sucking on the skin on her neck right below her jaw.

Her breath faltered. “Wh-what are you d-doing?” she breathed.

“Kissing you,” I mumbled against her skin.

“Ah,” she whispered. I chuckled at how flustered she was. I grinned and trailed my hands down her hips, squeezing them firmly and earning a positive yelp from her.

“B-But you just said…” her voice shook as I continued to kiss her.

“We can still have fun, can’t we?” I grinned with a wink. She grinned back and tangled her hands into my hair, pulling me closer. She smiled before she leaned forward and kissed me on the lips, and I took that as a yes.

~~

“Can we go back to yours tonight?” Alyssa asked. “I need to get out of this house,” she added.

“Yeah, sure,” I said, stroking her cheek with my thumb.

“Wait, I should probably call Tone first. He might be with Drew tonight. I don’t want to intrude,” she said.

“I’ll do it. He probably would be an ass to you,” I laughed.

“Yeah, probably,” she agreed with a laugh.

“Alright, I’ll call him then,” I said, taking out my phone.

“Hey, Tone,” I said.

“Hey, man, what’s up?”

“Are you busy tonight?” I asked.

“Not really. Drew’s just coming over. Why? Were you thinking about coming back tonight?”

“Yeah, actually. She’s been cooped up in this house sick all week and just needed a change of scenery,” I said.

“Yeah, no problem. Maybe we can all do something fun together tonight, maybe,” he suggested.

“Yeah, that’d be cool,” I smiled.

“Sweet. See ya soon, then?”

“Yup. Bye, Tone,” I said, hanging up. I turned to Alyssa. “We’re good,” I said.

“Yay,” she smiled. “I’m just going to shower and then we can go, okay?”

“Alrighty,” I said, patting her head.

“Do, uh, whatever,” she waved her hands around and I chuckled.

“I’ll just wait here,” I laughed, belly-flopping onto her bed. I heard her laugh lightly before the door to her bathroom closed and the water started running. I sighed, rolling over and then running my fingers through my hair. I stared up at the ceiling and smiled a little. I knew, deep down, that Bree was okay wherever she was. Logan was surely taking care of her, and I knew she was in good hands with my brother up there, too. And Alyssa… I genuinely felt okay with her—more than okay. I felt like even though certain parts of my life felt like they were crumbling to pieces, I was still hanging in there because of Alyssa. She was, for lack of a better word, was my rock. I was happy because she was in my life. Amongst all of the shit that has happened, she was always there. She was my sanity, and I think a lot of that was because she was the only person in my life that wasn’t somehow involved with my past.

I rolled back over and buried my head into her freshly scented pillows. I had made sure to wash her sheets and pillowcases throughout the entire week, preventing her small flu from spreading.

I closed my eyes and smiled, breathing in the pleasant flowery smell.

“Vic,” I heard someone whisper softly, nudging my shoulder. I reopened my eyes and turned my head, gazing up at Alyssa.

“Hi,” I grinned.

“You fell asleep,” she giggled, climbing over to me. I kept my head turned and half of my face pressed into the pillows, and she hovered over me and planted a kiss on my exposed cheek.

“Really?” I yawned.

She chuckled. “Yes, really,” she straddled my lower back and leaned over, kissing the back of my head. Her wet hair dripped across my face.

“You smell nice,” I smiled.

“Thanks! It’s french vanilla,” she said.

“It’s wonderful,” I said.

“I’m glad you like it,” she laughed. She leaned back and gently slapped her hands down on my upper back. “Ready?” she asked, sliding off of me and landing on the ground.

“Yes,” I sat up and shook my limbs out, waking myself up. “Aw,” I said when I got a better look at her now that I was sitting up.

“What?” she asked, flipping her hair and towel drying it.

“You look pretty,” I said softly.

She turned her head to look at me and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” I laughed.

“You sound surprised,” she stuck her tongue out at me.

“I was just expecting you in pajamas or something,” I laughed. “You’re always pretty baby,” I grinned sheepishly at her. She smirked and continued to towel dry her hair. Once it was only damp, she flipped her hair back and put it up in a regular ponytail.

“Can I help you?” suddenly she appeared in front of my face.

“Yes,” I grinned, kissing her on the lips.

“Stop staring. You’re creepy,” she laughed, shaking her head. “C’mon, let’s go,” she smiled, holding out her hand. I grabbed it and stood up, interlacing our fingers and walking down to the car.




When we got back to the apartment, Tony answered the door with a large grin on his face. That probably meant that Drew was already there. He was always really happy when she was around.

“Hey,” I said.

“Brother!” Alyssa squealed, tackling Tony into a hug.

He laughed. “Hi, Alyssa,” he shook his head. “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said.

“Me too,” she grimaced, pulling away.

“I feel like I haven’t been here in forever,” I said, walking into the apartment.

“That’s ‘cause you haven’t. It’s been nice. The place has been nice and roomy,” he snickered. I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, uh, Vic, you’ve met Drew before. But, Alyssa,” Tony motioned further inside the small apartment to a maroon colored hair girl shyly walking up to us. “This is Drew,” he smiled softly at her, who was now standing closely next to Tony’s arm. I saw him snake his hand around her arm, curling his fingers against her palm. I could see just in the way he gazed down at her small form that he adored her.

“Drew, this is Alyssa,” he introduced them.

“Hi, Drew. It’s nice to meet you,” Alyssa said warmly.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Drew grinned. Her cheeks brightened up a little and she looked down shyly. I noticed Tony give her hand a reassuring squeeze. He was so confident around her.

When we walked further inside, I saw that he had already ordered pizza in.

“Holla,” Alyssa said, and I laughed.

“Fat-ass,” I teased.

“Shut the fuck up, I haven’t eaten right in three days,” she said.

“Pizza is what you consider 'right'?” I laughed, referring to the unhealthiness of pizza.

“Substance. I haven’t had substance in three days,” she retorted. I laughed and ruffled her hair.

“So what are we doing tonight?” I asked.

“I got Monopoly,” Tony said with a goofy grin. “StarWars version,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“I love Monopoly,” Alyssa breathed.

“Must run in the family,” I laughed, staring at the siblings who seemed overly excited over the game. I made eye contact with Drew and we both laughed at them.

“What? Got any better ideas?” Tony said sassily.

“No,” I laughed. “This will be fun. Let’s play an innocent game of monopoly,” I grinned. We all grabbed a few slices of pizza and sat on the floor of the tiny living room Tony and I shared.

We set up the board and divided up the pieces and cards and paper money. “Vic should be Jabba the Hutt,” Alyssa said.

“What are you trying to say?” my draw dropped when she handed me a piece, representing a fat blob slug thing.

She grinned wickedly at me.

“Lissy you’re whatever the heck this is,” I held up a piece that looked like an adorable teddy bear. “‘Cause you’re cute as fuck,” I grinned, eying the piece.

“That is called an Ewok. And,” he snatched the piece from me, “Drew is going to be that, ‘cause, sorry Lis, she’s cuter,” he snickered. She stuck her tongue out him, and Drew blushed.

“That’s okay. I know this character,” I said, picking up another piece. “You can be Princess Lea instead,” I winked.

“Should’ve thought of that sooner,” Tony muttered. “Well I guess that makes me Chewbacca. I’m not about to be Han Solo against my sister,” he grimaced. We all laughed at Tony’s comments.

The game of Star wars monopoly lasted for hours. Monopoly was just that kind of game, where you could play it all night and still not have a winner. Alyssa and Tony were competitive, making and breaking deals with properties and stacking their properties with starships—the equivalent of hotels from a normal monopoly game.

I, on the other hand, went near bankrupt very quickly, along with Drew. We tried to make an alliance against the masterminds of Tony and Alyssa, but we failed. I was never good at board games, but that was because I never really played them. I imagined Tony and Alyssa sitting down with their family, playing games like this on certain nights.

It was still fun, though. We had a blast in each other’s company, and it was kind of amazing how fun something as innocent as Monopoly could be. By midnight, though, we decided to call it quits. Tony had to take Drew back to her place, and he was probably going to stay there.

“It was really nice meeting you,” Alyssa said, giving Drew a friendly hug. Drew smiled back, reciprocating the statement. “Bye Tone,” Alyssa hugged her brother, while I said bye to Drew.

“Bye, freak,” Tone patted Alyssa’s head. Then, he pointed at the monopoly game on the floor. “Clean this up,” he ordered mockingly, and Alyssa just hit his arm.

“See ya later, guys,” I said. They waved and left, leaving us alone. “Eh, we’ll clean it tomorrow,” I shrugged my shoulders. I turned to see Alyssa not next to me anymore. I smiled and walked into my room. She was already under the covers and everything. “Aw,” I cooed. I changed quickly and slid in next to her, wrapping my arms around her.

“You look tired,” I said softly, brushing back her hair from off of her face.

“I am tired. I exerted a lot of energy today,” she said. A light blush crept her cheeks and she buried her face into my neck. I chuckled softly.

“Go to sleep, sweetheart,” I murmured. She nodded and snuggled up against me, sighing contently. I rested my head next to hers, her calming breath luring me quickly to sleep, too.



When I opened my eyes again, I was still holding Alyssa in the same position from before we fell asleep. I smiled and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, careful not to wake her.

I turned my head to see the time—it was only nine in the morning. It was a Saturday, and I wasn’t working today, which meant I could sleep all day with Alyssa if I wanted to. I smiled at the thought, putting my head next to hers again and snuggling closer.

The moment I closed my eyes, though, I heard a knock on the apartment door. My eyes snapped open quickly, and my body shivered in paranoia. Not that I had any reason to be afraid of anyone—but who would be knocking at our door at nine in the morning?

Whoever it was, knocked again. I sighed and carefully peeled myself away from Alyssa. She sighed softly and curled up with a pillow in my absence.

I slipped on a pair of sweatpants and lazily stumbled to the door. “I’m coming,” I sighed when they knocked again.

I opened the door and narrowed my eyes.

“Jaime?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah, hey,” he said anxiously.

“What the fuck,” I muttered. “Creep,” I said lowly, going to close the door. My eyes widened when his foot caught the door from closing. I stared at him incredulously.

“No, don’t close the door, shit, sorry,” Jaime rambled. He jumped around a little on the soles of his feet and ran his fingers through his hair anxiously. I held the edge of the door firmly with my left hand, blocking him from coming in but allowing him to continue. I stared at him curiously. “I keep being stupid, but, honestly, I’m just so freakin’ nervous,” he said, bouncing on his toes again.

“Calm down,” I said. “How the hell did you know where I lived? Why are you nervous? What the hell is—”

“Because I’m afraid it won’t go well, or you’re the wrong guy…” he said anxiously. “Okay, okay, fine… um, Vic…” he scratched the back of his neck, and, suddenly, his eyes were the calmest I’ve ever seen them. He wasn’t bouncing, and his face was serious. His hair might have deflated a little, too, but I couldn’t be sure.

“I think there’s someone you might want to meet…” he mumbled.

“Uh… huh?”

“Er, Vic. If I’m not mistaken…” his voice trailed off, and he looked to his right, down the hallway. I saw him beckon someone towards us with his hands.

“What are you…” my voice trailed off when I poked my head into the hallway to see who he was waving over.

My eyes widened. The tall, slender form walked anxiously forward. He was gnawing on his pierced lip, his eyes flickering to mine immediately after I noticed him. I felt my heart twist and turn painfully in my chest, as I struggled to figure out if this was really real. I knew I had taken my medication, but surely that wasn’t my brother walking towards me. Surely that wasn’t Mike, standing a foot over me with tears in his eyes.

Notes

A lot happened in this chapter! Yay!

Alyssa wants the D hahahahahahah

And we finally meet Drew! Yay! (Even though it was a short part and she doesn't really talk. They just aren’t super important right now as characters, sorry :/) Sorry Tony and her haven't been in it lately, but I promise I'll put them in more!
And do you guys know if there’s a star wars version of monopoly? That'd be sick. Maybe I'll look it up.

And I suppose I should address what happened there at the end...........
I've been waiting to do that for forever.

Loads of drama headed your way. Get ready.