"Nope. No way. I'm not doing it," I snapped, as I firmly shook my head.

With a loud slam, I closed the fridge door and turned around to face my mother.

"I'm not looking after Damien, he's evil!"

Damien was my evil 6-year old cousin, whom my mum was trying to convince me to look after. I had just come into the kitchen for an innocent snack, and then boom - I was hit with a ten-minute lecture from my mum.

The last time she made me look after him, not only did he bite me, but the little prick called the child protection services on me. He told them that I was abusing him because I wouldn't let him watch Game of thrones. I repeat, Game-of-fucking-thrones. A program that spends its time fluctuating between sex scenes and scenes of gruesome violence. I tried to explain to him, that it wasn't at all age-appropriate in any shape or form, but he just wouldn't take no for an answer.

My mum sighed heavily. "Please, Mia, your Dad and I have to go visit your grandad today."

"And, taking him with you isn't an option because...?" I drawled.

"Mia, for goodness sake, he's already had a heart attack. The last thing your grandad needs is Damien to induce another one," she yelled.

She had a point; he was definitely capable of causing one.

I sighed in defeat, "Yeah, that's true, I guess," I mumbled defeatedly.

She smiled with relief. "Aww, thank you, Mia," she said as she pulled me in for a hug.

I frowned. "Just don't be surprised when you come back, and he's dead. I only have so much self-control," I warned.

A few hours later, I was sat next to Damien on the sofa watching Game of thrones.

Yeah, I know. I caved. Sue me.

I watched in horror as one of the characters was burnt alive. The actress let out the most awful blood-curdling screams, as she begged for her life. I looked over at Damien in worry, only to see he didn't look upset in the slightest. He didn't look remotely bothered and was just staring at the screen emotionlessly, as he munched away at his crisps.

Yup, he was definitely a psychopath.

I really shouldn't be letting a 6-year old watch a program like this, but it kept him quiet and occupied, so I didn't care.

Suddenly, Damien snapped his demonic head towards me and frowned. "This episode is boring. I want to go out," he whined, as he rudely threw his crisp packet down on the ground.

"Damien, you shouldn't throw your rubbish on the ground, that's very naughty," I scolded, as I picked it up. "Can't you just find something inside to do," I snapped.

I didn't have enough energy to take him somewhere, and besides, taking him somewhere out in the public was asking for trouble. There was no telling what he would do.

Damon shot me the nastiest glare and then threw himself on the ground. He started to kick and scream at the top of his lungs, in the most irritating fashion known to man.

"Give me fucking strength," I muttered under my breath.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the sofa, as I tried my best to ignore him. The screams soon grew too loud, and I snapped.

"Okay fine, whatever, you win."

He immediately stopped screaming and calmly picked himself off the floor and sat back on the sofa. It was incredibly creepy how quickly he managed to compose himself.

"Let's go to the park," he cheered.

Taking him to the park, turned out to be a surprisingly good idea. He was too preoccupied with tormenting other children to bother me. So, now, I was quietly reading my book on a park bench, far, far, far away from him.

"Mia, Mia, Mia!" I heard a high-pitched voice call in the distance.

I looked up in confusion, not recognizing the voice. But then I smiled when I saw Dylan, Ethan's little brother, charging his way towards me with a massive grin on his face. He stopped once he reached me, panting heavily to try and catch his breath.

"Aww, Dylan, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages," I laughed.

"Yeah, you haven't come round all week. We miss you," he pouted.

My ears focused on one word-We.

So did that mean Ethan misses me too?

"Dylan, wait up," I heard a voice call from behind me. My heart stopped, at the sound of the familiar voice.

Before I even got the chance to turn around, Ethan jogged into view. With a wild smile on his face, he grabbed Dylan and picked him up. He flipped him upside down, which caused Dylan to squeal with excitement. Ethan put him down with a laugh and playfully ruffled his hair.

"You cheeky little devil, don't run off," he said in amusement.

The sight of them together was just so overwhelmingly cute, that a smile broke out onto my face. Ethan must have felt eyes on him because he looked up at that very moment. As soon as his eyes met mine, the smile on his face slowly faded away and a guarded expression crossed over his face.

This confirmed my worse suspicions- he still hated my guts.

He just gave me an awkward nod, and I reciprocated with a forced smile. "So..erm...why are you just sitting here?" Ethan asked as he eyed my position on the bench in confusion.

"Oh right, I'm babysitting my little cousin. He's somewhere over there," I said as I gestured in the general direction of the playground.

An awkward silence filled the air, as we just stared at each other, neither of us knowing what quite to say.

Dylan must not have liked the silence either, because he randomly ran off in the direction of the playground. Leaving us completely and utterly alone.

Cheers for that, Dylan.

Ethan put his hands shyly into his pockets and cleared his throat. "Mind if I sit there?" he asked, as he nodded his head to the place beside me.

I was so deathly shocked, that he wanted to sit next to me, that I momentarily forgot how to speak.

"Erm, yeah, yeah, sure, of course," I stammered as I quickly slid over to one side of the bench to make room for him.

As he sat down beside me, his leg accidentally brushed against mine, which sent a tingle up my body. There was a lot more space on his side of the bench, so I wasn't sure why he didn't move over slightly. I tried my best to ignore the fluttery feeling in my stomach and went back to reading my book.

However, every five seconds a part of my brain would remind me that the guy I kissed was sitting right beside me. Not being able to talk the silence anymore, I closed my book and looked up at him.

"You know, you're lucky your little brother is so cute because not all six-year-olds are. My cousin is six, and he's the spawn of the devil," I laughed.

The corners of his mouth raised slightly. "I'm sure he's not that bad."

"Haha, yeah, sure," I snorted.

"Just wait until you meet him. I promise you; you'll change your mind."

As those words left my mouth, a chorus of high-pitched screams echoed from the direction of the playground, causing both of us to look up in shock. I let out a sound halfway between a groan and a cry as I saw what had caused the ruckus.

Damien was running around by the swings, with a dollop of mud (or what I hoped was mud) in his chubby little hands. And for some reason, he had decided to throw it at random children for absolutely no reason.

"For fuck's sake," I muttered under my breath.

Ethan immediately burst into laughter. "I'm guessing that's him," he said, nodding his head over to Damien.

"Unfortunately," I sighed.

"Well, aren't you going to go get him?" Ethan laughed.

I snorted. "I probably should, but I'm not."

My plan was just to pretend I didn't know him until it was time to leave.

Ethan pulled my attention as he cleared his throat. "Can I ask you something, Mia?" he asked in a serious tone.

I looked over at him curiously and nodded my head.

"Why do you like Ben?" he asked. I could tell he was trying to propose it as a casual question, but I could hear the tension in his tone as clear as day.

"I don't," I said honestly. "Sure, I like him as a friend but not in the way you're thinking. Ben's not my type," I explained.

Ethan let out a bitter laugh. "So, you just sit on anyone's lap, do you?" He scoffed.

"Ethan, I have to tell you something...," I sighed as I looked up at him nervously.

"None of what you saw was real. I knew you were watching, and I was trying to make you mad. I just wanted you to talk to me again, and messing around with someone you hated seemed like a pretty good way to get your attention," I confessed.

I cringed a little when I realized how dumb my plan sounded when you said it aloud.

Ethan stared at me in complete silence for a couple of seconds, but soon, the tension eased from his body, and his eyes softened.

"Oh," he said simply.

More silence ensued, before he finally spoke.

"Well, you definitely succeeded in making me mad, that's for sure," he snorted.

"Wait a minute...," he mumbled. "Does that mean I punched Ben in the face, for no reason?" he asked quietly, as a look of guilt washed over his face.

"Erm, yes, yes, you did," I replied bluntly.

Ethan groaned and ran a hand down his face. "I'm such a fucking idiot."

I patted his back in sympathy. "Well, the first stage in recovery, is admitting you're an idiot," I joked.

He shot me an unimpressed look and narrowed his eyes. "He's still not entirely innocent though, he still kissed your neck," he argued.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Relax, overprotective pants, he didn't even touch me. It just looked like he was kissing me from your angle."

This silenced him. "Whatever, fine, maybe I owe the bastard an apology," he grumbled.

"Maybe?" I laughed.

Ethan smiled. "Chubs, I don't know why you're acting all high and mighty, you were the little instigator," he playfully remarked.

I was so happy that he called me by my nickname, Chubs, that I couldn't help but smile. I'm not sure why I missed a nickname, that implies I look like a chubby baby.

"Ethan, do you seriously think I look like a twelve-year-old?" I asked abruptly. I think it would kill me if he thought I did, so I was anxious to hear his answer.

"Wait, what?" he laughed. "Why the fuck would I think that you look twelve?"

"Isn't that why you call me Chubs?" I asked.

Realization crossed over his face, and he laughed. "Oh, no. I just like calling you that because it pisses you off," he snorted "Trust me, I don't think you look twelve at all. An ass like yours doesn't come from no twelve-year-old," he winked.

My jaw dropped open in shock, and I quickly reached out to slap his shoulder. "Stop looking at my ass, you weirdo."

This only seemed to make him laugh harder. "I tried to keep a stern look on my face, but I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"It's not my fault your yoga pants are so tight. Where else am I supposed to look?" he laughed.

I shook my head at him in disbelief. "My face, perhaps?"

My eyes then drifted back over to the playground to check on, Damien, but the problem was, he wasn't there. I stood up in a panic, as I looked around frantically trying to locate him.

"Where the fuck is, he?" I yelled as I started to hyperventilate. My mum was going to kill me!

Oh, and of course I was worried that Damien might be in danger too.

"Hey, isn't that him over there?" Ethan said.

I glanced over to the area he was pointing at, and as soon as I did a scream escaped my lips.

Damien was at the edge of the pond with a stick in his hands. He was whacking at the ducks like a maniac, in a clear attempt to drown them.

Yes, you heard me, drown the fucking ducks. The boy wanted to drown a duck. Could you even drown a duck?

I immediately pushed myself off the ground and started to sprint my way over to him.

"Damien, put the fucking stick down," I screamed.

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