Despite the heartache that I had felt after witnessing Emmy dance with Lois, the Halloween party hadn't been that much of a failure. At the very least, Courtney and I were now on a friendlier basis. I say friendlier and not outright friendly because I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. Courtney's unpredictability factored into our friendship and it made matters slightly more difficult. I was thankful for the fact that I hadn't had too much to drink at the party the previous evening because I knew that I had to attend Elijah's family dance today and I knew that they weren't exactly going to approve if I showed up hungover and messed up. 

When I woke up that morning, I decided to go and take a shower. I lathered up my shower gel over my pale skin and thought that I really needed a tan. It wasn't going to be an easy task given that the sun was barely out and I didn't want to become orange from a box dye. However, I knew that I would figure it out one way or another. I washed through my hair and then let the hot water wash over me a little longer, before stepping out of the shower to wrap myself in a towel. I then walked into my room and proceeded to get dressed into a black dress with autumn leaves on it. It felt appropriate, anyway. I then walked over to my mirror, so that I could apply a light dusting of makeup to my face. 

Once I was done, I thought that it was about time to go and check on Bow. I deeply cared about him. In fact, whenever I was home I tried to spend as much time with Bow as possible. He was the youngest and I couldn't allow Callie to have too much of an influence over him during his formative years. I walked out into the hall, where I could hear some birds squawking away as they passed by the window. 

Callie soon wandered over to me and smiled. 

"Now listen, you can't go and see Bow right now," she said. 

"Why can't I go and see Bow right now?" I asked her. 

"There's sort of been a... masterpiece?" she asked. 

I sighed and moved past her to go and walk into Bow's room to find that he had taken it upon himself to do some interior decorating with some markers and crayons on his bedroom wall. 

"Callie!" I yelled. 

"Now, he's sleeping. So, could you be quiet?" she asked me. 

"I can't believe you let this happen!" I told her. 

Callie sighed. 

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," she said. 

"It's okay, Callie," I told her with a friendly smile. 

"I understand if you're mad at me," she told me, with a sympathetic expression. 

I gave a slight shake of my head at that. 

"No, it's all okay," I told her warmly, as I moved a hand through my hair. I didn't want to upset her by getting annoyed. I knew that Callie could be sensitive, especially given the fact that she was now back with Ben. Her getting back with him was a matter that I would never truly understand but I supposed I would never truly understand my sister's ways as much as I may have wished to. 

Callie smiled in relief. 

"Hey! You look really nice," she told me. 

"I do?" I asked her, as I looked into the mirror in Bow's room for a moment. 

I supposed I did look pretty good, actually. 

"Yes," Callie said in agreement. 

"Thank you, Cal," I replied. 

"I suppose I should probably try to clean all of this up now, huh? Anyway, I'll see you later, Phoebs," she told me. 

"Of course," I said. 

I walked past Callie and out of the house so I could join Elijah in his car outside. 

"You're driving today?" I asked him. 

"I passed the practical test!" he told me in his excitement. 

"That's amazing," I told him, with a warm smile. 

"I'm here too," Emmy chimed in and I turned to see her in the backseat of the car. 

"Oh hey Em!" I greeted her. 

Emmy chuckled. 

"I still can't believe you're going to pretend to be Elijah's girlfriend and think that this is going to work out well," Emmy said. 

Elijah drove on until he reached his house. It wasn't all that far from mine. 

"Why wouldn't it work out?" I asked her, as we began to make our way towards the house. "I'm a really good actress," I said. I had to be, especially recently. It wasn't as though Emmy knew anything about it. 

"That works up to the point at which you begin to check out our female cousins," Emmy said. 

I rolled my eyes at her. 

"I'm not going to do that," I said matter-of-factly, "Besides, I do love Eli. It's just platonic." 

Emmy's lips lifted at the corner. 

The three of us made our way up the path to their house and soon were ushered in by the twins' grandmother. 

"Hello everyone! Hi Phoebe, dear," she greeted me. 

"Hello," I replied with my own smile. 

"Professor Snuffkins!" Elijah suddenly called out, which startled his grandmother. 

"Eli, I really do wish you would get your hamster to stop fleeing its cage every time there's a formal family event," Elijah's mother said, then. 

I smirked. 

"He is talented though! You have to admire his talent!" Elijah said. 

The twins' mother gave a slight shake of her head in disapproval. 

Elijah sighed and swiftly grabbed his hamster into his arms, so that he could take it back up to his room. 

Emmy and I followed him upstairs. 

"Do I have to dance here?" I asked him. 

"You'll be fine. It's just a family tradition, Phoebe," he told me. 

I took a deep breath and simply nodded. I supposed that I was going to have to be cool with this. I loved my friends and wanted to be there for them even if it meant embarrassing myself on my two left feet.