Chapter Thirteen

"My dreams are finally coming true, not just when I shut my eyes and sleep."

LUCY

That day sucked. Hard, too.

It started off with my brand new school spirit shirt getting makeup stains on the front (and of course I did not notice until I left the house); then I left my English vocabulary conveniently by my printer, resulting in a zero I definitely did not need; plus the yogurt I found in the fridge and packed into my lunch was anything but edible. I nearly skipped the rest of the school day because of how sick I felt.

The worst had yet to happen shockingly enough. That blessing was waiting for me when I got home and popped my phone out to text Abby about homework due tomorrow.

By the comfortable silence I had assumed my parents went out with Jacob somewhere since that was his last week home before heading back to school for a while. So I snuggled onto the couch, wrapped myself in a blanket, and flicked on a recording of The Flash. I had already seen every episode more than once, but I couldn't help it. The show was addicting and worth losing brain stems on as I watched it like a mindless drone.

I placed my phone beside me on the coffee table, but did not think much of it. Barry Allen was much better to stare at after all.

My mind was so set on how adorable The Flash was in his costume that I didn't notice the shadow casting over me. I continued popping candy in my mouth, too infatuated to care.

I did, however, see an arm literally hovering over me, it's path towards my phone. I instantly flew into Momma Bear mode and swatted the hand away, groaning.

"Jacob leave me alone." One interaction and he was testing my patience already.

His hand didn't budge though, so my eyes gradually went from his anchor wrist tattoo to his mischievous face. Ever since he found out about Clinton-- Clayton, he has been trying to get my phone to read through our messages.

"What do you have to hide, huh?" He asked with raised brows.

I smacked him across the face for the fun of it. That was a typical thing between us, especially when we were younger. He always treated me as if I were his pet so he would carry me everywhere like a rag doll. So eventually hitting Jacob became second nature.

He pressed his eyes shut for one second and nodded his head, taking that in. "If you are going to play like that then." When his eyes opened, and a fierce blue twinkled under the bad lighting, I should have handed my phone over without shame.

It wasn't as if I had anything juicy on my phone.

But no, I am my brother's sister after all, so I had to stand my ground.

Before I had a chance to process Jacob hopped over the couch, half of his body landing on mine, and in a blink of an eye my phone was in his grasp. It didn't matter that his prosthetic leg collided hard with the coffee table and probably left scuff marks; he had gotten my phone and because of that he was smiling like true idiot.

In his attempt to run and flee, Jacob jumped up with a start. "You'll never catch me now--" Before he could balance himself steady, his leg must have gave in after colliding with the table. I watched him fall to the ground - but more importantly I watched my phone leap out of hand, smashing into the floor with a loud bang.

Instantly I flew to my phone's side, praying it was in one piece.

And of course it wasn't. A bad day just turned into a horrible one.

I wanted to yell out while watching shards of my screen fall to the ground. I wanted to smack Jacob across the face a few more times.

"Thanks a lot, wow." I huffed, finally looking back to him.

He was in a crouched position, slowly hoisting himself up with the couch.

"You act like I did it on purpose." Jacob gripes back, gesturing towards his prosthetic leg lying helplessly on the ground. He was holding himself up with the help of the table behind him, but if you were to ask him, he would have said he was holding himself steady. "I can take you to get a new one, if you want," he grumbled out while attempting to bend down and grab his leg.

I wanted to stand my ground and be angry - I really, really did - but my heart fell at the sight of Jacob being so powerless. He might not have seen it as a big deal, but I did. I was being so artificial caring only for the well being of my phone. So instantly I tossed my phone out of my mind and bent down, picking up his leg.

Shakily he steadied himself from another close call, then allowed me to attach his leg back under his guidance. I knew his grumbling frustration wasn't directed towards me, even though it should have been, but instead directed to himself. It was the first time I had seen Jacob so upset.

"It's okay," I eventually said, sighing while I stood back and admired my work. "I'm glad you're not hurt. . ." It was beginning to be a bit more serious that I liked, so I quickly added, "you idiotic dufus."

He laughed, but it never quite reached his eyes. They were stormy with agitation. I wish I could have understood what he was going through, but I couldn't. That was impossible unless I had been through the hell he had endured with such heroic ease.

Abby must have gotten my message to come over before Jacob dropped my phone, because there was a familiar set of knocks echoing. I gave Jacob a sad smile, then headed over and let her in. I heard a loud huff behind me once the red head was revealed, making me smirk.

"Hey, Abby," I moved before she ran me over. Her eyes were set on my brother, but not exactly at his face -- towards his lower regions.

"Whoa, your leg." Abby bent down and placed her hand out to touch it.

Jacob was quick to back up, a sour expression imprinting his face. "Whoa, you're too close." He held his hands out and motioned around him. "I have a bubble for a reason."

She shrugged Jacob off easily. If only I had that ability. Her blue eyes flashed to me. "I finished that paper for Psychology yesterday, so here it is." Abby let her backpack fall to the ground, then rummaged through it before getting out a crumpled sheet.

I grinned. "Thank you. I still don't understand how you want to get into this field though."

At this Jacob spoke up after he settled himself onto the couch, his leg lounging down on the floor next to him. My work; it was gone. "You want to be a psychology major?" He exasperated.

Abby didn't even give him a glance. All she did was hum out a brief yes, then continued to attending to her messy backpack. It was a strange combination, I had always thought. She was a very. . . emotional person, but never sad or depressed. She was angry a lot. Goofy. Dare I say the epitome the attitude of a pubescent teen with a higher range of vocabulary.

"Problem?" I inquired, popping a brow up at him.

It was his turn to shrug in return. I saw his mouth move a little, but whatever he said wasn't audible.

"I want to become a therapist for the mentally ill," Abby gave Jacob a pointed look. She was being way more serious than usual. "It sounds crazy--"

"Literally." Jacob interjected with a smirk.

"-- but they are people too. They need help like anyone else."

I could tell by the way Jacob was messing with his hair that he was taken aback. The subtle curl of his lips suggested he liked this surprise.

"Wow, that's actually a good way to putting it." Jacob finally responded, then gave his hair one final comb through. "Maybe I was wrong about you, Abby. You are cool enough to sit at our lunch table. Or, in this case, enter our house."

I figured Abby would scoff at such a lame joke - since she despised Mean Girls and everything about it - but instead I watched her serious face crack into a soft smile, teeth and all.

I, on the other hand, gagged. "The moment stupid jokes come from Jacob, that's our queue to head to my room." I shook my head disapprovingly at Jacob.

"The ladies love my jokes. Right, Abs?" He cheesed and winked towards Abby.

I was surprised she didn't give him a lecture about how her name is Abby, not a set of muscles. Instead she clicked her tongue, actually playing along with this charade. "Yeah. Definitely. Might as well change your name to Casanova while you're at it."

"Jesus." I wrinkled my nose and grabbed Abby and her bag, then pulled her into the hallway and away from Jacob.

I liked it better when they weren't getting along.

"You can't runaway from the truth, Lulu!" Dear lord I hated that nickname. With a passion. He knew that, too.

I shut the door hard behind me, ignoring the amused face of Abby.

"Your brother isn't too bad, I must say," she chuckled, and I fully knew what was coming next, "Lulu."

I gritted my teeth but couldn't holdback the smile teasing my lips.

"You know I hate that nickname," I said smoothly while sitting down at my desk.

She began to snap her fingers and when I turned towards her, she was swaying back and forth. "Lulu and Clint sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

First comes love.

Then comes marriage.

Then comes a baby in a baby carriage.

I smiled wide at this, but hid it behind my hand. Abby was being so. . . Abby. If I didn't know better, I might have assumed she changed her mind about Clinton -- Clayton. Clayton.

Abby laughed a little to herself before settling herself in the bean bag across the room.

"On the topic of Clinton or whatever." She waved her hand at me. "Did he ask you today?"

That was a pretty dumb question to be honest. Even if I didn't particularly enjoy bringing Clayton up with Abby, if something like that happened, she would be hearing an ear full every second after he asked.

I shook my head, frowning a bit. Last night I could barely fall asleep, my stomach sick at the thought of Clayton actually liking me.

J.K. thought I would be overcome with joy and excitement, but I felt more ill than anything. For so long I wanted Clayton to like me, but I guess I pinned it as such an impossible thing to happen. A harmless crush didn't involve embarrassing yourself because you don't know the first thing when it comes to relationships. How were you even supposed to hold a guy's hand, yet alone dance with them without stepping on their toes.

"I think you should go solo, personally," Abby suggested lightly. "Or go with me because I need a date."

I pursed my lips. "Since you're getting along with Jacob so much why not take him?"

She scoffed at this, then tossed the nearest thing by her - thankfully a soft plush toy left by my cousin - and threw it at me. I swatted it away easily.

"He's your brother. That's hella weird." She fell deeper into the bean bag, her pale skin flushing.

"So if he wasn't you would?" I asked with wide eyes. My mouth was agape and slowly morphing into a ecstatic grin.

"Dude," she paused, "--no. He's not my type."

"You hesitated." I pointed out immediately.

Was it wrong for me to take pleasure in her obvious discomfort. She was blushing for God's sake. That was a rare occurrence.

"No, I was stopping myself from saying hell naw. For your information."

Good. The last thing I needed was one of my friends liking my brother. That would be so weird.

"But do you really think that picture was meant for you? He deleted it after a while." Abby cocked her head, analyzing my expression.

As much as I wanted that message to be about me, I didn't count on it. J.K. might have been dead set on it, but I wasn't.

I shook my head while writing down my name on the homework.

Lucy Hugh. That had a nice ring to it, my inner fan girl thought. Really nice.

PLEASE IGNORE MISTAKES BC I WILL FIX THEM LATER. I wrote this on my phone.

We hit ONE MILLION guys and I can't believe it. I never thought I would reach that number when I first started writing teen fiction, but the fact it is with this story and with a you lovely people makes me so happy. Thank you. Just thank you.

Okay can we take a moment and appreciate the gif with Abby and Jacob? I personally like these two.... What do you think? You think they're into each other?