"You look great."

"I look like a skank."

"Well, it's perfect," Leslie assured me now, pulling my shirt down just a little. I didn't complain, even though I really wanted to. "Where did you even get these clothes, anyway?"

I couldn't help but make a face. "Cassie."

Leslie nodded in understanding. "Of course."

The dark blue tank top I was wearing went too low and it was way too tight, but Leslie thought that it was perfect. My skirt, which was way too short and white, definitely didn't leave much for the imagination.

"How did you explain to Cassie that you needed these clothes?" Leslie asked me now, seeming nervous that I had told someone else about what she had asked me.

"I told her that I needed it for my Halloween costume," I shrugged. When I showed up at her party later, I'd tell her that I decided to go with something else and I would give her the clothes back on Monday.

Leslie seemed relieved, but this didn't stop her from pushing me toward my car. "Okay, you should go over there now so you'll have enough time afterwards to get ready for Cassie's party. I'll see you there!"

I only gave her a wave before getting into my car and driving to Derrick's house. The closer I got, the more nervous I became. I really couldn't believe I was doing this.

Without even hesitating, I knocked on the front door right when I got up to it. If I hesitated, I wasn't ever going to do it. I made sure to wipe the very unamused look on my face and replace it with a smirk once Derrick opened the door.

He blinked at me before looking down at my outfit as if I was crazy. "Leah?"

"Can I come in?" I asked as sweetly as possible, still unable to believe that I actually agreed to this.

He was still looking at me as if I was utterly insane. "Yeah, sure..."

I gave him a smile as he stepped to the side and let me into his gigantic house. I had been there a few times before, but every time it looked different somehow.

"Where are your parents?" I asked him, not wanting to be seen by them.

He shrugged. "They're out. I'm the only one here."

"Perfect."

"So..." he started, still unsure of what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

I shushed him, taking his hand and leading him toward the stairs. He didn't stop me, mostly because he still didn't know what exactly we both were doing. I knew exactly where his room was, so I led him right to it and neither of us said a word until the door was closed behind us.

He was still looking at me as if I was insane. "Leah... what's going on?"

"I've just been..." I started slowly, taking a step toward him as I twirled my hair with my fingers. Though it was longer than it had been since Blake had woke up, it was still a lot shorter than it had been the year before, so it was a lot harder to attractively twirl.

Jeez, I sounded nuts.

"I've just been thinking about you lately," I finished now.

He blinked once again. "Okay..."

I didn't want to kiss him. He was an amazing kisser, yes; I had learned that from experience, but not only was he my best friend's boyfriend, and I was getting permission from her to do this, I was still in a relationship... albeit it be in secret.

"Leah, what's up?" he asked me now, knowing that something wasn't right.

I forced out a giggle. "What are you talking about?"

"Something's... not right," he observed now, as I made my way closer to him.

I just continued to smile, placing my hands on his chest. "Everything's... perfectly fine," I assured, even though it sure didn't feel that way.

I pushed him down onto his bed, and before he could even respond, I got right on top of him and straddled his waist. He didn't even respond at first, which I was surprised about, considering he was such a good football player.

My skirt rode up, my hair went everywhere, and I could feel my small top go south just a little but I tried my hardest to ignore all of this. I had to see how he'd react.

"You're always on my mind," I purred now.

No emotion crossed Derrick's face as he said, "Is there something you want to talk about?"

I let out a groan, pushing myself away from him so I was now sitting on the bed beside him. He now sat up, waiting for me to tell him what was wrong.

"Okay," I sighed, running my hand through my hair and becoming very aware how scantily clad I was. "Just please, don't get mad about what I'm about to tell you. Don't get mad at Leslie, or me."

Derrick was now looking up at me suspiciously. "Leah... What are you talking about?"

"Leslie's thinking about breaking up with you," I blurted, and the look on his face took me by surprise. He looked genuinely shocked and... hurt? "She thinks that you're cheating on her with other girls and she asked me to come over and prove it."

"Why..." he started, but then trailed off as he stood up from his bed. He ran a hand through his hair and began pacing aimlessly. I hadn't ever seen Derrick like this before. "Why would she think something like that?"

"Because, apparently, you're flirting with other girls," I explained to him now.

He seemed to think for a moment, so I waited for whatever he was going to say next. I didn't know what I was exactly supposed to do now.

"I'm... flirting with other girls?" he questioned now, sounding completely confused, just like I had been when Leslie had first told me this. "I'm not flirting with any other girls!"

I let out a slow breath, glad that I no longer had to act like I was trying to come onto him. "She thinks that you're flirting with other girls. I don't know why. She just does."

"I love Leslie," Derrick informed me now, but I already knew this. I was the first person he had told. "I haven't flirted with any other girls since we got together. Actually, I haven't flirted with any other girls since I realized that I liked her. You were the last girl I tried to hit on.

I made a face at him. "Don't remind me."

Back then, I had always found it flattering that Derrick found me attractive. I couldn't help but be a little insulted when I found out the only reason he ever hit on me was because he, at first, wanted to piss Sean off, and then after that, wanted to forget about his feelings for Leslie.

"Whatever she thinks is flirting is just the way I act toward other people," he finished now.

I guess that made sense. Derrick had always been charismatic toward almost everyone, so I wouldn't have been surprised if Leslie thought he was flirting with other girls when he was just being nice to them. That was definitely a relief...

But I didn't like the look on Derrick's face. He looked hurt, more hurt than I had ever seen him before, and I didn't like it because I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I didn't know what it was like to learn that the person you were dating didn't trust you. Blake trusted me; he just got easily jealous when it came to other guys.

"Now, I think I should go," I informed him now, not wanting to be in this awkward situation any longer. "If I want to be able to get ready for Cassie's Halloween Party in time, I have to get home. Are you going?"

Derrick let out a sigh as he plopped himself back down on his bed. "I thought I was," he answered with a shrug. "But I was supposed to go with Leslie. Now I'm... not so sure."

I didn't like this. I didn't like this at all! What was going to happen between the two of them now? Leslie felt betrayed because she thought he was cheating on her, and now Derrick felt betrayed because not only did she not trust him, but she sent a mutual good friend of both of them to try to sleep with him.

I didn't know what I was supposed to say, so I only told him goodbye before making my way out of his room. I fixed my clothes as I made my way down the stairs, but I couldn't make it all the way out of his house before I saw that Derrick and I were not the only people in his house anymore.

Morgan stared at me. "Any particular reason you're dressed like that and coming from upstairs?"

I nervously ruffled at my messy hair and tried my hardest to fix my outfit. This... definitely did not look good.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her instead of answering.

She shot me a flat look before jabbing a thumb at her husband, who was standing right beside her. "This is his parents' house. We're not always over at Mom and Dad's."

"Sometimes I forget that you're Derrick's brother," I muttered simply to my brother-in-law.

Kyle shrugged. "Derrick seems to forget that Morgan's your sister, too."

Speaking of my sister, her eyebrows were now furrowed and her eyes were narrowed. "Leah, what's going on?"

"There's nothing going on," I assured, even though I could tell that my sister didn't believe me. "Derrick's dating my best friend, remember? Why would I want to do anything to hurt her?"

"Maybe because your friends haven't always been exactly the nicest to you?" she suggested now, and it wasn't like it was something I could deny.

"Leslie wasn't like that," I tried to defend, but I couldn't help but think about how what she had asked me to do was a lot like something the old Cassie would ask me to do. Except, if Cassie had asked me to sleep with her boyfriend, I knew he wouldn't deny me.

Morgan let out a sigh as she ran a hand over his face and through her dark blonde hair. "Leah, were you upstairs with Derrick?"

I gulped. "No."

"Then you were upstairs by yourself?" she questioned me now.

As much as I wanted to say yes, I knew that I couldn't. I didn't have any reason to be in their house by myself. Especially upstairs.

"Alright, I'll admit it." I tried to stare right at my sister as seriously as I possibly could, my arms crossed over my chest. "I was robbing the place."

Kyle let out a laugh, but Morgan was still glaring at me in suspicion. I knew she didn't know anything about Derrick and my relationship, but it hadn't ever really been romantic. When he had kissed me the year before, it was because he refused to admit to himself that he was having feelings for Leslie. I only kissed him back because I was confused about my feelings for Blake.

"Could you call Derrick down, please?" Morgan asked her husband now, not believing that he really wasn't there."

"Hey, Derrick!" Kyle called out now, and I wanted to run right out of the house. "Could you come down here?"

And so much for my whole robbing-the-place lie...

"Yeah, what is it?" the younger Smith brother called out, making his way down the stairs until he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. "Ah, crap."

I almost slapped my hand over my eyes when I saw that his hair was messy from when he had been running his hand through it while we were talking upstairs, and I was sure he had been yanking on it in frustration after I had left. No matter what we said, our siblings were going to think that we were hooking up.

"Were you guys doing anything up there together?" my sister asked Derrick now.

"Yeah, we were having a tea party and making flower necklaces," Derrick explained sarcastically, and I just wanted him to shut up because he was just digging an even bigger grave for us. "Then after that, we braided each other's hair, but then took them out because we thought we looked childish, and that's not what we wanted to go for."

"That would explain the messy hair," Kyle muttered to his wife, and I wasn't sure if Derrick and I were supposed to hear it or not.

My sister repeated herself, this time more sternly, "Were you guys doing anything up there?"

Derrick seemed to think for a moment, as if unsure. "Yeah."

I mean, it wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't like we actually slept together! We stopped before anything serious could happen!

Morgan seemed a little uneasy. "Were you two..."

"Yeah, we were fooling around up there," Derrick now shrugged uncaringly, and all I could do was stare at him with my mouth agape.

My older sister let out a sigh. "Now was that really too hard to admit, Leah?"

Yes, yes it was! Mostly because it wasn't true!

I couldn't find my voice to tell her that Derrick was lying. My throat was totally constricted and I felt like I was going to choke.

"What about Leslie, Derrick?" Kyle asked his brother now. "I thought you were dating her. I thought you two were really happy together."

Derrick merely shrugged. "It's over between Leslie and me."

I really hoped that he was only saying this to go along with this whole façade, not because he really meant it. I knew that Derrick had every right to be angry, but I didn't know if this was bad enough to end their relationship after how much they meant to each other!

Morgan's eyes now widened, looking like she was trying to remember something. "Wait... That friend that you said kissed you the other day... Was that Derrick?"

My voice was still gone, which gave Derrick ample opportunity to nod and say, "Yeah, that was me."

I was going to kill him!

"I thought you said you weren't over Blake, Leah," Morgan said now, and this was the last person I wanted to show up in this conversation. "You told me that last week when Derrick kissed you."

I gulped. "I... I actually didn't tell you that. You just assumed."

I really wasn't helping myself.

"But you said you didn't like your friend that kissed you," Morgan continued now.

I wanted to hit Christian for causing this whole mess, but I then remembered that he wasn't the one I wanted to hit. Derrick was!

"I lied," was all I was able to say, since there was really nothing else I could say to her about this. "I was just... afraid of how you would respond because he's your husband's brother."

Damn, this was weird. And I didn't like it.

"Well, this is... surprising," was all Morgan had to say about it now, and she then turned toward the kitchen and made her way inside of that. Kyle followed right after her, as if knowing that she wanted to talk to him about this in private.

I just watched her go. "She was so happy when she found out I was dating Blake, and now..." I said to no one in particular.

Derrick let out a laugh. "I'm her husband's brother. Of course she's going to be a little iffy about the idea of us being together."

Without even a second thought, I punched Derrick right in the shoulder. It caught him off guard just a little, but other than that, it really had no effect on him. He was used to getting hit a lot harder in football.

"What about Leslie?" I demanded, hands on my hips. "You're still dating her, you know! Are you going to break up with her?"

"I don't want to be with a girl that doesn't trust me."

"But you love Leslie!"

"I do, but I don't like that she didn't just talk to me about it and sent you to try to sleep with me instead," he informed me seriously now, and I was starting to feel bad until he smirked once again. "So this is your punishment for agreeing to help her."

I just stared at him. "My punishment is letting our siblings think that we're having sex with each other?"

Derrick shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Isn't that what you came here to do?"

I felt my face grow hot. "No! I would have stopped if you had gone along with it!"

Derrick only shrugged again. "So let them think it. They obviously also think that we're dating, which won't really be a problem if I break up with Leslie."

"So you are breaking up with Leslie?" I swallowed.

Derrick looked away from me. "I have to think about it," was all he said.

I really had to get out of there before Morgan and Kyle came back to talk to us. I had to go to Blake's, where my costume for Cassie's party was. I also didn't want him questioning me about why I was late.

"Wouldn't it be kind of funny to just freak them out a little bit?" Derrick whispered to me now, and I bit the inside of my lip. "After all the things they did to us while we were growing up, wouldn't it be fun to just play a little prank on them? It's not like we're actually doing anything together."

I refused to admit that he was kind of right. Even though Morgan and I did have a really good relationship, she had tortured me just like any older sister would. So maybe... Derrick had a point. But I still didn't like it.

Before I could turn around and make a break for it, Morgan and Kyle made their way back into the living room, telling us that they wanted to have a talk. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach.

Derrick and I sat down on the couch together while Kyle and Morgan sat on the smaller couch across from us. They looked like they were dreading this talk as much as I was.

"Are you guys using protection?" was the first thing Morgan asked us.

"Oh, my God," I choked, covering my face with my hands so I wouldn't have to look at any of them.

"Nope," I could tell Derrick smirked now, leaning back into the couch and putting his arms around my shoulders. "We like to live on the edge, you know? We like surprises. We also wanted to be the first in the family to have a baby."

"This isn't something to joke about, Derrick," Kyle scolded his brother now, and I couldn't look at any of them. "Are you using protection?"

Derrick now scoffed. "Do you want to go check my trashcan? I guarantee you'll see a couple used ones if you do."

"Oh, my God!" I repeated even louder now, my hands still over my face.

All Morgan was able to mutter was, "A... couple?"

"You'd be surprised how many times we can—"

"Okay!" I nearly shouted now, removing my hands from my face and slapping them right over Derrick's mouth. "You believe him, right? We use lots and lots of protection."

I realized this wasn't helping my case, so I kept my mouth shut.

Morgan was making a face. "We believe you..."

Derrick seemed to be expecting that they wouldn't go up into his room to check, since there really was nothing of that sort in his trashcan. I was just glad that they weren't going to go check or they really would have thought that Derrick and I were having unprotected sex.

"How long has this been going on for?" Kyle asked us now.

"Since I kissed Leah," Derrick answered, and I almost screamed because I thought he was talking about the time we had kissed the year before. I then remembered that our older siblings thought that Derrick had been the one that kissed me instead of Christian. "When was that again, Leah?"

"Last week," was all I was able to squeak out.

I wished that this would have been more enjoyable. The looks on our older siblings' faces were priceless, but I just couldn't enjoy this for some reason. I wanted it to be funny, because it was, but I just... didn't feel like laughing.

I did not want to know what reaction Blake would have to any of this. He hated the fact that Christian and I were just friends, so I was sure he'd hate the fact that another friend of mine was claiming we were together.

Thinking about Blake reminded me that I really had to go back to his apartment, even though I really just wanted to go home and take a shower.

"I've got to go," I've told them now, since it really was the truth. I was already a half an hour late and there was the possibility I wouldn't be able to change into my costume and get to the party on time. My costume required... a lot of fake blood. "I'll see you all later."