Three different emotions flooded through me as soon as I recognized the voice of the person hugging me tightly.

Shock then gratitude then confusion.

"It's okay, Will," I mumbled out as I tried to pry his hands away from where they were embarrassingly placed, that was just an inch or two above my breasts. "I'm fine." If anything, my attempt at removing Will just made his grip tighter.

The smell of chlorine still remained on him mixed with the undeniable aroma of Big Mac and cologne. Separate they smelt good, tempting even, but together they were so potent that I had to hold my breath in order to not cough or even suffocate to death from its potency.

"I didn't know, Krys," he said, sadness laced into his voice as he placed his head on my neck. "I didn't know." He tightened his hold and my eyes widened when I felt my body tense, his hands an inch closer to the forbidden location.

"It's okay, Will," I tried to loosen his grip again, still holding my breath, my air supply depleting.

"I apologize on behalf of my senile cousin," he ignored my attempts to reassure him, still keeping his grip. "What he did was wrong and just plain jerkish."

Now I could smell the pickle in his breath. "Jerkish?" I turned my head around then hoping he would pull away instantly at the close proximity. He does, but at the last second. His lips grazed the corner of my lips.

A slight gasp escaped me as my fingers reflexively move to touch my face. Will's eyes widened as he finally pulled away and stared at me. "I...I"

I could feel the awkwardness dawning on us and did the only thing that could dissipate it. I laughed. Now before anyone goes thinking how bitchy that was, I had a reason. Will was the only thing that made coming to work at the Burns mansion somewhat bearable. If I didn't dissipate the awkwardness soon, I'd be looking at another reason to avoid this place altogether.

Will watched me confused for a couple of seconds as he wondered what I was doing.

I stood up from the chair I had been sitting on and put some space between us. "Why are looking like we had a full on make out session, Will? It's just a small peck," I playfully slap his shoulders as I took a step away from him. "What?" I smiled at his frown. "Don't tell me you're over thinking that small thing?" I was glad my voice wasn't shaky. After all, that had been the first kiss I'd experienced ever, if of course you didn't count the one I'd received in preschool from Sam Michaels, which I didn't. But then again, what Will and I did was a small peck what Europeans did to each other when they greeted one another.

He chuckled slowly as if still unsure of what I was talking about. "No," he half smiled at me. "Of course not. I'm Will Davis, love. You'd have to give me more than that to qualify it as a kiss."

I smiled. "Good to hear that." Just as I was about to ask him what qualified a kiss in his books I heard something loud hit the ground inside the house, and for the first time since I left the living room, I heard loud screaming. "So what? Are you saying it's okay for me to go outside right now and tell Krystal what happened to your mother?" Despite having known her for the past twenty minutes, I recognized Georgia's voice.

I was undeniably shocked and curious of what exactly had happened to Douglas' mother that was such a big secret. Why was it that everyone found it hard to talk about it? I made a mental note to go research on it.

"What? Of course it's not!" Douglas' voice is even louder than Georgia's, his voice laced with a tinge of worry and paranoia.

"Exactly. The same thing applies to her."

"It's different."

"How is it different, Doug? How? Don't go expecting to be a hypocrite and not have it come back to bite you in the ass."

I tried to shut them out after that. Despite the fact that Douglas was undeniably in the wrong here, I didn't like that I had caused them to fight, especially if what I had gathered in there that they had met after a long time was correct.

"Uhm, Georgia took up the duty of getting Douglas' head out of his ass, as she's always done since we were teens," Will said as he sat down on one of the seat and pointed for me to sit down too.

I took a sit. "How long have you guys not seen Georgia for?"

It took him awhile to reply to me. The argument inside had now died down and I had half a mind to go check if everything was okay in there.

"Four years," Will's voice interrupted my worrying. He was lost in his thoughts now. "...since Douglas last saw her. Six months since I did since I lived in London and she was over to visit Jace."

"Jace?"

He nodded. "Jace Frost. Georgia's older brother by one year. He's currently studying law in Oxford University. He's just the mirror image of Douglas really, which I guess is why they always seemed to get along perfectly well."

"So he's just as much as an asshole as that guy in there?"

Will looked at me before he burst out laughing. "In some ways he's more and in some ways less."

This time I was the confused one.

"He's all for him being right and only he knows what's best and everyone should listen to him. In that way, Jace is more of an asshole than Douglas," Will explained. "However, he doesn't like the whole using your family name to get anywhere in life. In fact, I would say he's the most down to earth arrogant bastard I've ever known."

"And in that way, he's less of an asshole than Douglas?"

Will nodded. "He likes to get through life with his own ability."

"I like him already. Wait, you said that Douglas wanted what you had which I believe would be a means to contact Georgia. Didn't he have her number?"

It took him another long while to answer me. "Let's just say the last time they saw each other, it didn't end well. They lost contact with one other."

"Oh." Guilt flooded through me. And here I was causing them to fight again just when they met.

"Don't worry about it," Will smiled as if he knew where my thoughts had drifted to. "Sometimes Douglas needs a good kick in the ass every now and then. And it wasn't your fault at all. Like I said, Douglas was in the wrong."

I nodded, reaffirming my belief that I had acted reasonably before, smiling at the person I trusted as a brother now. "Thanks, Will."

"Don't mention it, love."

We entered the house fifteen minutes later and I was surprised that Georgia and Douglas was not strangling each others neck instead they were playing G I Joe as if they hadn't been yelling at one another just minutes before.

Neither of them looked up at our entrance, lost in the world of gunfights and schemes.

"Doug, I'm gonna go drop Krys off at her house, okay?" Will said as he entered the living room while I still stood off by the doorway.

I was confused. We hadn't discussed him dropping me off at all. "I can take myself, Will," I gritted out through my teeth, making sure only he heard me.

Douglas didn't say a word, instead he remained focused on his game. From where I stood I noted that he was pressing the buttons harder than reasonably enough.

"Take my car," Georgia said as she cast a smile over her shoulder at us when Douglas still didn't acknowledge his words. "That is if Mr Moody here doesn't give his car. The keys are on the kitchen counter."

I was shocked she was offering her car. Maybe I had misjudged her. After all, she was the one who got into an argument with Douglas over me just mere minutes after we met. Maybe I have yet to truly grasp the principle behind not judging a book by its cover. Or in this case, a girl by her highlights and Manolos.

"I'm sorry, Georgie," Will leaned against the piano. "But that's just too demeaning to me as a man."

The game was paused suddenly as she turned around, dropping her controller on the couch beside her. "Demeaning?" She smiled, looking at us with amusement.

"Yes, it's too girly for my liking, don't you think?"

I tensed as I felt Douglas' stare on me. "I can take the bus, guys. Don't worry about it." I gripped my bag tighter about to say my goodbyes.

"The bus stopped coming here thirty minutes ago, Krys," Will sighed as he knew what I was doing.

"I can take the cab." I was already calculating the loss that would be to my piggy bank.

"Coming from the girl that chose the blueberry muffin because she didn't want to spend an extra thirty cents on the chocolate muffin." Will smirked as he remembered our chance meeting in New York.

"That's not fair, Will. Besides, I can take a cab tod-"

"I'll take you," Douglas said out of nowhere as he took the controller in his hands and placed it back on the sofa before he looked at me again.

What? No!

"No, it's okay," I replied as I held onto my bag tighter, ready to dart out of here at a notice, fear running through me. My high from the anger from before had already dissipated and I was not ready for a throwdown with him about my lack of manners before or his lack of respecting my privacy.

"I'm taking you and that's it, Krystal." He stared at me with a determined look in his eyes.

"I'll take her," Will said as he stood up straight. "Just give me the keys."

"My car, my decision," Douglas said before he walked towards me and stopped just meters away. "Be outside in three minutes. Not one second more." Then he pushed past me and I heard the main door close behind him with a slight slam.

No! My thoughts ran astray as I pictured my dead body found in a ditch in the highway or an unending yelling session throughout the entire drive home.

"On second thoughts," Will's voice intruded my thoughts, "Your car does have a certain manliness to it, Georgie," he started making his way towards me, most probably to grab the keys from the kitchen counter.

"I take my offer back, Will." Georgia smirked. "That's what you get for calling my baby 'girly'." She turned to face me, an almost apologetic smile in my direction. "I made sure he won't bite, Krys. Have fun."

I could hear the car honk from outside, informing me my three minutes were up.

Damn me.