Slightly Edited (seriously what else is new?) 

Song above is...Malibu Nights by LANY (This song is so freaking good!) 

Happy Reading! :)

The moment Alex pulled up to the bookstore five minutes before 3 my nerves skyrocketed. Why? Because I was about to spend the afternoon with Alex and his little sister. This would be the first time we've spend an extended period alone together. I just knew I was bound to do something stupid.

We were now heading towards the elementary school. Alex was quiet the entire time, leaving me to my own thoughts. I wasn't sure why I was so nervous to meet his little sister. It probably didn't help that Olivia made a big deal about me meeting his sister. It made me wonder what the big deal was.

"Warning you beforehand. It is about to get crazy." He warned as he parked.

"Oh come on they can't be that bad." I rolled my eyes at his exaggeration, getting out of his car. "Its just a few kids."

The two of us walked through the parking lot towards the building. I looked around as memories hit me full force. I hadn't been back to the elementary school in years. It all still looked the same too.

All around us little kids ran towards their parents, walked with their friends towards the bus's. I was to busy looking around that I didn't notice Alex stopped until I ran right into his hard back. I stumbled back a few steps and rubbed my chin. Damn it was like hitting a brick wall.

"Are you always so clumsy?" He questioned, looking over his shoulder at me. Not wanting to embarrass myself anymore I said nothing and came to stand beside him. Standing next to his 6'2 frame I felt like one of the little kids walking around us.

"Alex!" A little voice yelled, gaining my attention. I watched as a little girl ran across the pavement before jumping towards Alex. Alex easily caught the little girl, not even stumbling back from the momentum.

"Hi!" The little girl chirped, a wide toothless mile upon her face.

"Hi little nugget." Alex grinned back.

The little girl was beyond beautiful. She had dark hair like her brother but it was cut into a cute little bob. Her face had that cute baby chubbiness that would make anyone want to pinch them. When she turned to look at me I found a similar pair of grey eyes staring right back at me.

It was a little unnerving seeing how similar her and Alex looked. Whoever their parents are sure know how to make gorgeous babies.

"Are you Alex's girlfriend?" She asked suddenly, looking me up and down. I blushed at her words and quickly shook my head.

"N-no." The 6 year old didn't seem to believe though.

"Nugget this is my friend Riley. Riley this is my little sister Harper." Alex introduced us, turning to face me.

"Nice to meet you." Harper said in her cute little voice. My eyebrows raised at how polite she was.

"Nice to meet you too." I smiled.

"Is it okay if she hangs out with us today?" He asked his little sister.

"Um...do you like barbies?" She asked, her face completely serious

"I love barbies."

"Do you like ice cream?"

"Who doesn't love ice cream."

"Do you like pillow castles?" I tried to fight a smile at the way she spoke, looking so serious. Alex stood there smiling at his sister as she questioned me.

"Only way I'll hang out with someone."

Harper continued on staring at me for a good minute before a huge grin broke out on her face.

"I like you." I was pretty sure that was the biggest compliment I could get from a 6 year old.

"Where are your friends nugget?"

"Over there!" She wiggled in his arms until he put her down. Seconds after her feet touched the ground she was running in the direction her friends were. I stared after with a smile. She was beyond adorable.

"She looks just like you." I commented.

"Yeah she does." I stole a look at him and found him watching his sister with a soft expression on his face. The love for his little sister clear as day on his face.

Harper worked her way back to us, two other little girls in tow. My heart grew when I noticed they were all holding hands.

"You girls ready?" All three nodded, wide grins on their faces. Ah to be 6 again.

We all made our way to Alex's car, the little girls talking animately to one another. When we got to the car I had no clue what to do so I stood there watching as Alex expertly put all three girls in the backseat, buckling them up and placing their backpacks on the floor.

He was done in a matter of seconds which was very impressive.

"You coming?" He asked, drawing my attention back to him. With a nod I slid into the passenger seat. As soon as my door was closed I was suddenly being questioned.

"What's your name?"

"What grade are you in?"

"Are Harper's brothers girlfriend?"

The last one was asked by the little girl with bright red hair, who's name I learned was Rina. Turning in my seat I found her pale green eyes narrowed at me. I was slightly taken back by the little girls heated glare.

"Am I his girlfriend?" I repeated not sure I heard her quite right.

"Yes."

"Uh no I'm not." At my words her glare softened and she nodded.

"Good." She looked away from me to the window. I grinned as I realized Rina had a little crush on Alex. From the corner of my eye I looked at Alex but he was focused on the road. Of course even little girls have crushes on the guy sitting beside me.

"You're very pretty." The other little girl, Layla, said. Her big blue eyes staring at me and making me melt. Her blonde hair was done in two pig tails at the side of her head making her look even cuter.

"You are very pretty." I said making her smile widely at me, showing off a few missing teeth.

I found it very cute how the three of them were so different. Three different hair colors, eye colors, and already I could tell they had different personalities.

Once they started amongst themselves again I turned back to face the front. I noticed we were driving in the direction of my house making me look at Alex in confusion.

We drove until we were two streets away from my house. Alex pulled into the driveway of a cute house that looked similar to mine. I had absolutely no clue he lived this close to me. My house was literally less than a mile away.

As soon as the car was parked Harper flung open the door and ran out, Rina and Layla following after. All three ran right into the open garage and through the door leading into the house.

I laughed under my breath at how eager they were as I grabbed my stuff. I met Alex around the front of the car, his hands full of the girls backpacks.

"Look at you being the pack mule." I teased. He looked kind of ridiculous holding three bright pink, purple, and yellow backpacks. They each had different colored unicorns on the back.

"Only these muscles can handle the weight." Alex purposely flexed his biceps as he lifted two backpacks in one hand.

"I don't see anything."

"How about now?" He flexed harder making me resist an eye roll.

"Nope. Still flat as a pancake." At the appalled look on his face I laughed and walked through the door into the house. Seeing that I was in the laundry room I stepped to the side to let Alex in, seeing that I had no clue where to go.

"I'll get you back for that." He ask, sliding past me.

"I'm so scared."

"You should be." I didn't see the glint in his eyes as he moved deeper in the house.

I followed behind him, taking in the house. The walls we passed held beautiful paintings, I found myself almost reaching out to touch them. Coming into the living room my eyes widened slightly. Alex's house was so beautifully decorated. The layout was similar to mine but it couldn't have looked more different.

Everything just blended in so well with each other. A beautiful dark wood entrainment center matched the dark leather furniture. It all felt so homey and it instantly made me want to stay. Whoever decorated their house was amazing.

"Girls come get a snack!" Alex yelled making me notice he wasn't beside me anymore. Following his voice I walked through a doorway that lead to the kitchen. I barely made it through the door before three pairs of feet came barreling into the room.

Leaning my shoulder against the wall I watched as the girls climbed into three chairs at the table, patiently waiting for a snack.

Nothing could prepare me for the sight of Alex moving around the kitchen so confidently. He grabbed three pre-made sandwiches from the fridge, alongside containers that were filled with something I couldn't see, and finally three juice packets. Alex somehow managed to carry all of that over to the table and set one of each in front of the girls.

There were no words to describe how shocked I was. Here is the so called 'bad boy' who made three cute little girls PB&'J's, along with celery and peanut butter and juice. No one our age, even me, would know to give little kids snacks like that. His mom must have told him what to do and made the stuff beforehand.

"I want all of those gone before you go back to play." Alex said sternly. They mumbled as they bit into their half sandwiches.

"Do you like celery and peanut butter?" Alex asked, turning to me.

"Uh yeah?" He placed another container on the counter and gestured for me to take it.

"I'm fine, really."

"You didn't eat lunch." My eyes slightly widened at the fact that he noticed that. "Eat."

Sending him a small smile I moved to grab the container and took a seat next to Layla, who sat there happily munching on her celery sticks.

"So how was school?" Alex asked, sitting across from me next to Harper.

"We got bugs today!" Harper yelled enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah?" Alex's eyebrows raised.

"Mrs. Lynn gave us little worms that we will take care of." She explained.

"They are so cool."

"They are gross." Layla and Rina said at the same time. I looked over at Rina who's face was scrunched up at the thought of bugs.

"That sounds really cool." I added in, earning a wide smile from Harper and Layla.

"Then we can bring it home."

"We'll have to think of a name then." When Alex smiled at his sister I felt my heart melt a little bit. It was an actual smile to, not a smirk like he always has.

Our eyes met for a brief second before I looked down and ate my celery sticks. We spent the next five minutes listening to the girls talk until they finished their snack. Right before the girls got out of their seats Alex stopped them.

"Homework?" Harper shook her head and went to move but he stopped her again. "Harp?" His tone firm.

"No." Alex looked over at Layla and Rina who both nodded. Satisfied with their answer he nodded.

"Okay go play. Riley and I have some homework to finish then we'll do something together."

"Yay!" All three girls squealed before jumping off their chairs and racing out of the room.

I laughed under my breath as they ran out. Oh how I wished I was 6 again. To not have to worry about things and get excited over the littlest things.

"Their really cute with you." I said suddenly, making Alex pause slightly while cleaning up the mess on the table. He didn't say anything and continued on moving around the kitchen.

"You kind of remind me of my brother actually."

"You find your brother hot, freckles?"

"Ew no! Not like that." The thought of thinking my brother as hot made me want to throw up. My brother, Trent was anything but cute. He was the guy who always put me in headlocks, gave me wedgies, and who farted all the damn time. So no, Trent was not cute.

"My brother use to act that same way with me, when we were younger. Always making me sandwiches and making sure I did my homework." I smiled at the memory. The two of us were in-separate-able.

Trent was the best big brother anyone could ask for. While he did take on the father role, with making sure I ate and did my homework, he always knew when to have fun. Countless times we had water fights in the backyard and played video games. He taught me about cars, how to play football and soccer.

I use to hate how protective he'd be about me. If a guy so much as looked in my direction he was there, threatening the poor kid to never look at me again. When someone made me cry in middle school he punched the guy and then took me to get ice cream.

Now though I would kill to have his protective ass here. 2 years of him being gone has been hard. He was my brother but also my best friend, and when he left it was like I was left all alone. My parents never coming home never helped either.

"Why did he enlist?" Alex asked, looking at me from across the counter.

"I asked him that the day after he told me he enlisted. He said 'I want to help my country and others if I can.'. I didn't believe him though until he got the call that he was expected at boot camp that next week."

"Were your parents supportive?"

"Hell no." I laughed shaking my head. I can still remember the look on my parents face when my brother told them. "My parents expected he would go to Harvard or somewhere like that and get a degree in medicine. You know, keep the family legacy going." I rolled my eyes.

"They weren't happy that he wanted to play soccer professionally for a while there either. But when my brother told them he enlisted they blew a gasket. They came around eventually but I think they still resent he never went to school."

"It takes a special person to go into the Marines."

"Yeah. When Trent puts his mind to something though he won't stop until he gets it." I sighed softly, my mood dropping at the thought of my brother. I hadn't heard from him in ages and who knew where he was right now.

"Wait, Trent Carson? Trent is your brother?" He suddenly asked.

"Uh yeah..."

"Wow I didn't put it together until now. Your brother is an amazing soccer player."

"You know my brother?"

"Everyone at school knows your brother, freckles. He lead the soccer team to four years of state championships!" I grinned at the way he spoke about my brother playing soccer. He was an amazing player. He was the first freshman to be let on the varsity soccer team and for four year straight they won the state championship game. Trent even got a scholarship to play at a school after graduation.

"Yeah he was really good."

"Can't believe I didn't put two and two together." Alex mumbled under his breath, making me duck my head so he wouldn't see me smile. "Anyways, ready to finish being my model." He said after a moment.

"Sure. Uh what about this?" I lifted up my empty container, having devoured the celery sticks.

"Just leave it, I'll get it later." He waved me off, moving around the kitchen counter towards the door leading back to the living room.

"Sit anywhere."

"Are you almost done with it?" I asked, moving to sit gingerly down on his couch.

"Yeah." He supplied nothing else as he grabbed his backpack. While he got his things I looked around the living room a bit more. I noticed quite a few pictures hanging by the entertainment center. From here I could make out it was a family portrait. I badly wanted to get up and have a closer look at it but I didn't want to go snooping.

Alex took a seat across from me before getting to work. We sat there in silence, the only sound was the scratching of his pencil against paper. I didn't bother posing since I was pretty sure he was almost done so instead I just sat there watching him.

He was once again biting the corner of his lip as he concentrated. Staring at him like a total creep I decided to speak to make it less awkward.

"So uh...any plans after graduation?" I didn't miss the way his hand stilled and gripped the pencil tighter before he quickly released it.

"I"m undecided. You?"

"Same." I replied softly.

"Not going into medicine?"

"As much as my parents would love that, no. I can't stand the sight of blood or needles." A shiver went down my spine as I spoke. Even just the mention of that was enough to make my knees weak.

"But your parents are doctors." Alex glanced up a small smile playing at the edges of his lips.

"Its not passed down through gene's dorkus." I rolled my eyes.

"Did you just call me a dorkus?"

"Yes I did." I lifted my chin as I stared back at him.

"Thats not even a word."

"Yes it is."

"Then give it to me in a sentence." Alex asked, leaning forward.

"Okay fine. 'Alex is a dorkus'." At the unamused look on his face I found myself laughing at my own joke.

"You done?" He asked as I tried to calm myself down. I nodded but one glance at him I started laughing again. It was definitely not as funny as I was making it out to be but now I couldn't stop the laughter.

"Sorry now I'm done." I hiccuped, finally calming down. I wiped my eyes as I caught my breath. "That was funny though."

"Yeah you are a hoot." He deadpanned.

"You're just jealous you didn't think of it as fast as I did." Alex shook his head and looked back down at his sketchbook. I smiled in triumph, leaning back in the couch. Its not often I have a good comeback.

Five more minutes passed before Alex announced he was done.

"Let me see." I put my hand out for him to pass it over.

"Not until I see mine." I narrowed my eyes at him only making him smirk. "Tit for tat."

I was beyond curious to see how well he drew me but I didn't want him to see mine. It wasn't the greatest and I bet he would just make fun of it. He sat there unwavering as I debated in my head. I knew from the other day he was severely stubborn.

"Fine." I conceded, my curiosity getting the best of me. Getting up I grabbed my bag I put by the door. Pulling the sketch from the little folder I had it in I held it to my chest. Once again taking a seat across of him I gave him a look. "Don't you dare make fun of it."

"I won't...unless its horrible."

"Alex." I warned.

"I won't. I promise freckles." Hesitating for a second finally held the picture out. He handed me his at the same time. The moment I saw his sketch of me I stopped worrying about mine.

I had fully expected Alex to draw me as a stick figure but he once again surprised me. This was nothing like a stick figure. Instead of sketching me in the pose with my chin in my hands, Alex captured me with one hand up by my lip staring straight ahead.

The one little detail I couldn't tear my eyes away from was the light dusting of freckles along my nose. It wasn't until Alex pointed them out to me did I finally notice. 

(I couldn't find a good picture to show off Riley's drawing of Alex so you'll just have to use your imaginations :D )

"Alex this is really good." I finally breathed out, not able to tear my eyes away from it. I had