Siblings

He loved his sister-but not in the way that brothers should

Even after all the years of living together, Joey still didn't know what to do when her brother was in a bad moon. She always tried anything she could to make him feel better, which was more effort than she put in for anything else. She never realized that it was her silence at these times that he liked so much, which she did when nothing else seemed to work.

He would let her, and only her into his room during this, yelling at anyone else who tried to come in or even speak to him. She didn't find this odd, but others did.

"My big brother hates me." Her friends would say, "He never lets me into his room and when we walk to school he always makes me walk way behind him."

But her brother always let her into his room, never minded walking to school with her, and always wanted to spend lunch with her.

"Brother, why did you break up with Liz?" she sat on the end of his bed, knees up and arms around them.

"We weren't getting along." His back was to her, pencil in a non-stop race across the paper. The pencil always beat the words.

"But you were getting along yesterday."

"I don't want to talk about it, Josephine."

She made a face and threw his shoe, which hit his back, "Don't call me that!"

He spun his chair around and leaned back with that stupid grin on his face. "I know."

"You're an a*s. "She glared

"You still love me."

"Only because I have to." She smiled

Lucas stood up and switched on his CD player and plopped down on the bed rather ungracefully. She flopped back as well, using his back as a pillow, "Ow." He said, but didn't move.

"Joey, when I move out, do you want to come with me?"

"You want me to live with you?"

"Yeah."

"You're weird." She turned over on her stomach and laid next to him, eyes at the same level, "No one else I know has an older brother like you."

"What do you mean 'like me'?" He twitched, brought his hand up and tucked it under his chin.

"Other older brothers hate their younger siblings."

"I'm not other older brothers. I'm your older brother." He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her to him, tucking her under his chin. This wasn't unusual for them, it was their comfortable embrace. Usually for when something was wrong. Was something wrong? She wondered. She didn't ask. 

One hand came up and tangled in her hair. Her stomach flipped. She always felt his way when they were together- complete. Sometimes in class she couldn't pay attention because she missed him.

"Did you do your homework?" He asked suddenly.

"I hate it when you ask me that."

"Because your answer is always no."

"Then you shouldn't even have to ask me."

"I'm hoping that one day you'll say yes."

"I'm not as smart as you are. I'll graduate high school, if I'm lucky, and be done."

"You're going to college."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Now go get your books."

Joey gave a giant sigh, but got up and stomped out to do what he said. Her brother sighed as well, watching her go and reminded himself over and over again that she was his little sister and that siblings just didn't feel for each other in the way he did for her- like he wanted to kiss her. Not on the forehead, like when she was upset, or on the cheek when she was leaving, or even on the nose when they were having fun. But like a lover.

Author's Note

A twisted idea I had floating around my head