Oh Brother

very nice start i am expecting next episode realy interesting [hr] •Episode 2 •Episode 3 •Episode 4 •Episode 5 •Episode 6 •Episode 7 •Episode 8 •Episode 9&10 •Episode 11&12 •Episode 13-17 •Episode 18-20 •Episode 21-23 •Episode 24&25 •Episode 26&27 •Episode 28-30 •Episode 31-32 •Episode 33-34 Episode 35-38 •Episode 39-40 •Episode 41&42 •Episode 43&44 •Episode 45&46 •Episode 47-End

seated

@myraruby @jummybabe @ryder @sabinto @oneal32 @chimmy @denciebabe @fb-joshuajohn @sanctus4real

seated......thanks for the i'v @senatordaniel

seated, thanks for the iv @senatordaniel

Interesting

@senatordaniel Thanks 4 D Iv

(i had a bad feeling thats how my life would be from now on) dats how u need it to be

Thanks for the iv @senatordaniel

Continue

Seated

Thanks for the I V @senatordaniel

interesting story cheer up autumm, accept them as ur family nd move on

Loose up a bit and you are gonna love them

Waitin patiently for d next episode

seated

Take away the pain of your heart and love them

following

Episode 2 Continues.. I was sitting on the black sofa in the living room, reading manga. My mom and Stephen were out, and so was Christian. For the first time in two weeks I was home alone. The thought had never made me happier. Like I expected, things had been awkward and quite annoying around the house. My mom was intent on making the four of us one big, happy family, so she would make the four of us spend an extraordinary amount of time together doing random activities. Just yesterday, we had baked as a family - which was quite awkward because only Stephen and my mom would speak. Flirt, would actually be the better term for what they were doing. That left Christian and I alone to fill the cupcake trays with batter together. Neither of us spoke as we did that, we didn't even look at each other. I was glad to see that he was planning on leaving me alone, just like I had asked him to. Suddenly, I heard the doorbell ring, causing me to jump a little in surprise. Putting my manga down, I walked to the door, hoping it was my mom. Turned out, it was Christian. Once I opened the door, I turned around quickly and walked back to the couch. Falling onto it, I picked up the book and began to pretend he didn't exist. "Autumn." I heard him say. I looked at him, trying to make myself look as annoyed as possible as I raked my eyes over him. Christian was wearing a black leather jacket over a white v-neck. He was also wearing black skinny jeans. I didn't understand why he always wore black. It wasn't like he could ever look like a bad boy with his child-like smile. "Yes?" I raised an eyebrow. "Our parents are coming to pick us up in about thirty minutes," he said, sounding tired. "We're going bowling as a family." I sat up quickly. "We are?" For the first time in a while, excitement filled me. Seven years ago - when my dad was still alive - was the last time I had gone bowling. It had been a family tradition with my dad, but the second he left us my mom couldn't stand bowling. I couldn't believe we were going. "Yeah," Christian replied, confused. Finding myself smiling, I stood up. My heart was pumping in a good way for once. "Wait," Christian said cautiously. I looked at him, suddenly remembering I hated him. My pumping heart soon began to pump with hatred as well. "Let's try to have fun together today, okay?" he said. I rolled my eyes. "How about no. You have fun with your family, and I'll have fun by myself." "It's your family too." Once again, I rolled my eyes. I wasn't in the mood to have this conversation again. "You know you look like your mom," Christian suddenly said. My eyes widened slightly at that. No one had ever told me that, and I found it hard to believe. My mom was beautiful. The type of beautiful that drew people in. She had long, wavy chocolate brown hair, and hazel eyes. Her body was long and thin, but she had the perfect hourglass figure. The only similarity we had was the same hair and clear skin. Other than that, I had chocolate brown eyes and was short. My figure was also less curvy than hers. There was no way I looked like her. "No I don't," I eventually said. Without waiting for a reply, I turned around and rushed upstairs. Now away from Christian, excitement began to fill me again. Bowling was one of the many things I missed from my old life. ***** We were all standing in front of a bowling alley, waiting for Stephen to input our names into the computer that calculated points. I was staring at the area in awe, taking in the place I missed so much. It was quite empty to my surprise, but I enjoyed that because the place seemed to be just mine today. Mine and twenty other people I didn't care about. "Okay, we're ready to go," Stephen said, approaching us. He was wearing a big smile, as he usually did. My eyes softened at the sight and I felt sorry about the fact that I was about to destroy him and the others at bowling. "I made the order of names by age. I'll go first and Autumn will go last." I huffed to myself, feeling annoyed. My excitement had been pumping through my veins for the past hour, and I just wanted to start bowling. Stupid Stephen. "You did that so you could go first," my mom said, amused. Stephen winked and walked away. My mom giggled and I rolled my eyes. For the past two weeks she had been giggling at everything Stephen said, and I was close to banging my head against a wall. I was glad to see that Christian didn't seem that comfortable with their flirting either. Moving away from the wooden lane, the three of us watched Stephen walk back with a bowling ball in his hand. He looked dead serious as he walked, seeming to be in the zone. I found myself becoming amused. Once he reached the lane, he winked at my mom again. She giggled again, and I found myself annoyed again. Then, Stephen pulled his hand back and rolled the bowling ball forward with a sudden speed. My eyes widened in amazement, but then it hit the gutter and I found myself smiling as Stephen walked back to my mom with his head hung low in shame. When he reached my mom, she pecked his cheek and said, "You did well honey." He shook his head. "I got a gutter ball." "But you looked cute doing it." Stephen chuckled and I quietly gagged. Seeing old people flirt was disturbing. Especially, when one of them was your mom. Stephen then bowled one more time, earning him three pins. He was still ashamed, but happy he had some sort of score. My mom went next. Unlike Stephen, she hit eights pins. Years of practice was to thank for that, and if she wasn't rusty she would have gotten a spare at least. I knew how good my mom was, and I was slightly disappointed in her. Stephen wasn't though, he was extremely proud of her. Christian went next. My eyes glued onto him as he casually walked over to where the bowling balls were, picked one up with his two fingers, and then walked to the front of the lane. Smoothly, he then proceeded to extend his arm with the ball back, take a few steps, and throw the ball forward with enough power that kept the ball fast but steady. My eyes widened as he got a strike. "That's my son!" Stephen cheered, clapping as Christian walked back to us. My mom also cheered, "Good job!" Christian wore a smug look as he ended up standing beside me. My eyes were still glued to him, so I was surprised to see him look at me in a way that I had never seen before. A way that was almost condescending, saying that he was better than me. Huffing, I stormed up to the area where the bowling balls were and grabbed one. I was now annoyed. Annoyed by the stupid boy who thought he was better than me when he clearly wasn't. I would show him that through bowling. I walked up to the lane and played the movements I had done years ago to be a great bowler in my mind. The moves that Christian had done. When confident with them, I did them precisely as seen, and was amazed to see all of the pins fall down. "Good job!" Stephen yelled as I stood there with wide eyes. Collecting myself, I walked back to them with my own smug look. The fact that my mom didn't say anything stung, but I ignored that and focused on the fact that I would beat Christian. The fact that his eyebrows were also raised, showed me that he didn't expect that. We continued fighting for the win after that, but to no success. Almost creepily, we would always get the same score as each other in every round. Our parents noticed that, but they were too impressed to be frustrated like myself. I couldn't believe we kept tying. The last round eventually came, and we were tied for one hundred and forty points. Christian brushed past me as he went to bowl for the last time, shooting me a smug look. He had been doing that the entire time, and I was growing insane from it. It took everything within me to not smack him in front of everyone. Happily, I watched Christian earn a spare and then eight pins. I smiled smugly as he walked back, clearly not pleased with himself. It made sense since this was an easy win for myself. Now brushing past him, I grabbed a bowling ball and shot him a devious smile. Without trying, I knew I could get a strike and hopefully nine pins as well. If so, I would win by a lot. That was all I wanted. I pulled my hand back, ready to bowl and looked at Christian one last time. To my surprise, his smug look had been wiped off of his face. It had been replaced by a gentle, caring look. That threw me off guard as I threw the bowling ball forward, only hitting three pins. Christian snorted at that and my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. Not once in the game had I hit that little pins, and in the last round I had. I was horrified and a bit humiliated. Taking a deep breath in, I grabbed another bowling ball and threw it hastily at the pins. I hit six pins, leaving one standing. My jaw dropped again as I realized I had officially lost. Lost to Christian who I had badly wanted to beat. I couldn't believe it. "You cheated," I accused, pointing a finger at Christian. Christian held his hands up. "I did nothing. What are you talking about?" My cheeks heated up as I realized I couldn't say what I wanted to say. Saying that you looked at me like you cared would sound weird, so I decided not to say anything. "You both did good," Stephen said, trying to calm things down. "Good job." I snorted and walked away, not caring about the others. I was so angry. Angry at myself to be honest. It was such an easy win, yet I lost. Lost because the stupid boy had distracted me. I hated Christian even more. It continues after comments..

u better start liking him because the early the better.

Check it out, you are beginning to love that boy indirectly mistaking it to be hatred

u

u need to calm down

I think you are loving him

u are the one making this thing complicated to u... there is absolutely nothing u can do about changing the fact that ur Mom and his dad is married

so stop taking pills when. nothing is wrong with u...

cont...

Love in hatred form

u just don't want to acknowledge facts yourself, u don't hate Christian bt u are trying so hard to pretend that u hate him

Episode 3 Continues.. I found myself blasting Eminem songs in my room, wanting to forget about the world. Two long weeks had passed since the bowling incident, but I was still mad. Mad that I lost to stupid Christian. To his perfect self. The thought drove me insane, which was why I was listening to Eminem. The thing I loved about Eminem was that he seemed to be angry in a way that made you feel good because someone knew your pain. Someone, was actually experiencing it as well. That was how Eminem made me feel. I suddenly heard a loud knock on my door, making me pause my music. It was my mom, I knew. She was probably going to tell me to lower the volume on my speakers, which I found annoying. Ever since Stephen appeared she didn't seem to be my actual mom, so I didn't understand why she thought she had the right to give me instructions like that. Sighing, I walked up to my bedroom door and opened it. My eyes widened when the person I saw wasn't my mom. It was Christian. Quickly, I closed my door slightly, so that he would only be able to see me. My room was a mess. A complete mess because magazines were scattered across the ground, posters were stuck hastily onto the wall, and I had a huge pile of dirty clothes in one corner of my room. If golden boy saw that, he would be disgusted. "Hey Autumn," Christian said, looking nervous. "What do you want?" I asked flatly. A month had passed since Christian moved in, but I still hated him. Actually, I hated him more after the bowling match. Everything about him and his perfect self was just so infuriating. Christian sighed. "Your mom wants us to go out one more time. As a family. School is going to start soon and... Yeah." "Why?" I asked, exasperatedly. "Haven't we spent enough family time together." "Not enough." He raised an eyebrow. "You still seem to hate my dad and I." I glowered at him. "That will never change." "What did we do to make you hate us?" "Just leave," I snapped, growing tired. I quickly shut the door, wanting Christian to leave. The thing I hated about Christian the most was the fact that he didn't seem to hate me. In fact, he wanted us to get along. He wanted us to be the ideal family, which sucked for him because that was impossible. Groaning, I then realized I had to go to wherever my mom would take us. She would never let me miss out on our family time, which was incredibly annoying. So sighing, I got dressed in blue jeans and a white graphic tee, and then went downstairs. ***** I didn't know why my mom wanted to take us out to a restaurant. We were all perfectly capable of eating at home, but she had insisted on it. I wasn't complaining though, because I loved Chinese food, and we were now at a buffet filled with it. "This is a nice restaurant," my mom commented, looking around the restaurant as she sat down with her food. Once I also sat down, I looked around as well. The restaurant was simple, but cute with its walls painted with fishes in ponds and bright lights hanging from the ceiling. There was also a blue and red theme to the place, which I liked because those were my favourite colours. "It's lovely," Christian said, sitting right beside me. "Thank you for taking us here, Alice." My mom blushed and I nearly gagged. Around Christian she was like a typical teenage girl. Swooning over all of his actions and treating him like a god. I hated it. "It's alright," I muttered, just wanting to disagree with Christian. My mom frowned. "Autumn..." "Don't listen to her," Christian quickly said. "She's just cranky after listening to Eminem." I scowled at him. Christian seemed to want to get on my good side, but he was doing a lousy job at that. "Oh." My mom smiled. "I don't understand why people listen to that man. He's just so... Angry. It can't be healthy to hear him rap whatever he feels." "I love Eminem," Christian quickly said, sounding honest. "I feel like he understands pain in a way that makes you respect him, even though he has no filter to what he says." My eyebrows raised at that, but I made sure not to look at Christian as I began to dig into my food. For once, I agreed with what he said. I was also kind of happy to hear that he had good taste in music. Stephen soon came and the three of them began to chatter away. I didn't talk at all. I just ate quietly as they talked. No matter how much my mom wanted us to be a happy family, I didn't care. Some feelings could never change and that was how I felt about Stephen and Christian. After ten minutes, I realized I had finished my food. Everyone else was still eating, so I got up by myself and walked outside of the room we were in. Outside was where rows of trays of food were at, so I went there and grabbed some noodles and shrimp tempura. With a filled plate now in my hands, I inhaled the sweet, incredible smell of the food. My mouth even began to water as I closed my eyes briefly, welcoming the scent. Even though I wasn't enjoying my time with my family, I was happy to be able to eat Chinese food. "The food is amazing here, isn't it hun?" I suddenly heard someone say. I quickly opened my eyes and became surprised to see an attractive boy standing in front of me. He had blond hair and brown eyes, giving him an innocent look. The smile he was also displaying to me was quite beautiful, which made my stomach stir with butterflies. "Yeah, it is," I said, smiling. "The shrimp is the best." "It is." The guy's smile grew. "My name is Nate and I think you're pretty. What's your name?" Blushed instantly filled my cheeks. "My name is Autumn." "Like the season?" I nodded. "That's incredible." He chuckled lightly. "Do you want to hang out?" The butterflies in my stomach seemed to be having seizures as my stomach felt extremely uneasy - in a good way. I was kind of surprised a cute guy like Nate was hitting on me, but I was extremely happy too. Today was definitely going to be worth it if we hit it off great. I opened up my mouth to agree to his request, but I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. A large, warm hand that made me look up to see who it was. To my shock and disappointment, it was Christian. A serious looking Christian, who had his eyes glued on Nate. "Sorry," Christian said, forcing a smile. "She's spending time with our family." Nate frowned. "You're her boyfriend?" My jaw dropped and before I could say anything, Christian said, "No, I'm her step-brother." "But, can't she spend some time with me? I just want to get to know her." "No." Christian pulled me closer to him, so that my back was now pressed against his chest. "Bye now." I scowled as I felt Christian's hard muscles on my back. His hand was still on my shoulder, making me squirm away from him. I didn't know what he was doing, I didn't know why either. But, I was now furious. He had no right to interfere. Turning around quickly to face Christian, I snapped, "What the hell! This is none of your business." Christian didn't react. He just stared at me with a neutral expression, angering me even more. My hands even clenched into fists as anger boiled through my veins. "What are you doing!" I exclaimed. "I'm protecting you," Christian simply replied. "Protecting me from what?" I asked, exasperatedly. "You're the only one causing me problems lately, so you should be protecting me from you." To my surprise, Christian flinched. His eyes widened as well. Ignoring his reaction, I turned around to face Nate. To my disappointment, his eyes were also widened. "Nate, I'm sorry," I said tiredly. "Maybe I should go now," Nate replied, still looking shocked. Before I could say anything, he turned around and walked away. My butterflies seemed to die painfully as he walked away, knowing I lost my chance at being with a cute guy. Knowing it was Christian's fault, I felt my veins boil again. Turning around quickly, I began to scowl at Christian again. "This is your fault." Christian shrugged casually. "It is." "Stop acting like it's not a big deal!" "It isn't a big deal," Christian shot back, finally losing his patience. "He's just one guy." My hands clenched into fists again, but I turned around. I then walked away, knowing I would lose it in front of everyone if I continued talking to Christian. He had that effect on me and I hated it. Completely hated it because I knew I would get in trouble for it in the end. Not Mr. perfect, but me. That was how life would work from now on. It continues after comment's..

you are killing urself,,,, ur mum has tried not getting married since Ur dad died and she did, u hate her gut,,,, u hate her husband and his son,,,, u better be happy for Ur mum, so for u to experience full happiness again without hating on odas

Grow up autumn

Still observing.,.

h ..m.mmm

is it just me or what?? cus i don't think this girl loves this guy!!!

anyway still observing

Autumn is just putting up the act of hatred bt doesn't really hate them, as I said earlier, she doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that she is beginning to like them

Autumn is not happy,she don't wanna be happy with her new family

Chris is taking things to authority,like a senior brother...maybe he should take it slow with giving her orders like this last order to avoid wahala.

Even when she don't wanna love them,she's having fun...4 her to love him,he needs to take it easy her.

Episode 4 . Continues.. "Mom, do you have to go?" I whined, following her to the door. "Yes Autumn." My mom narrowed her eyes at me. "Be nice to Christian while I'm gone." I snorted, unable to believe she was leaving me alone with Christian. A near stranger I hated. Stephen had really made her screws loose. "I'm serious Autumn," she scolded. "If I come home to see a hair touched on that boy you will be in huge trouble. Got that?" My eyes widened as my heart clenched. I couldn't believe she was supporting Christian. Saying I would hurt him. I was her daughter. The person she knew for sixteen years. Despite my now aching heart, I said, "Okay. Bye." "Goodbye." Without another word, my mom quickly pulled on some black flats and left the house. I closed the door and sighed. School started tomorrow and she had abandoned me. Left me without any supplies because she had been so caught up with Stephen. Anger began to well up within me. Turning around, I inhaled deeply. My heart hurt, yet it was pounding. Pounding with anger that needed to be released. I knew who exactly it needed to be released on too. Loudly pounding my feet against the ground, I stormed upstairs. Taking a right turn, I stood in front of a closed bedroom door. A door that I would've broken down if I hadn't taken another deep breath in. I knocked on the door, heart racing as I waited. There was so much anger within me. So much anger for Christian. He had stole my mom away from me, ruined my chances with a cute guy, and so much more. So much more I couldn't explain. Before I knew it, the door flew open. Still holding the door with his right hand, Christian stood in front of me. Dressed in a black tank top and black basketball shorts, his tired eyes met mine. My heart froze for a second, but then it burst with adrenaline. "How dare you?" I asked, clenching my jaw so that I wouldn't yell. "What?" he asked tiredly. "How dare you ruin my life!" I exclaimed, completely frustrated. "You ruined everything ! School starts tomorrow and I have no supplies because of you!" Christian crossed his arms over his chest, looking like he wasn't in the mood for this. Too bad for him, I didn't care. "How did I do that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You... Your dad married my mom!" Christian suddenly shook his head tiredly. "Autumn, can't you see your mom is happy?" "She was happy before!" "No, she wasn't." Christian suddenly took a step forward, so that we were barely a foot apart. "But my dad isn't the issue. Your issue is me." My heart froze from how near he was. This was the closest we'd been face-to-face this past month, and I wasn't happy with it. But, I couldn't move. Not when his blue eyes were locked with mine, challenging me to be honest. "Yes, my issue is with you," I admitted. "Congrats, you're smart enough to realize that." Christian rolled his eyes. "Why don't you like me?" "Because-" "Don't say it's because I ruined your life," he cut in. "I've been nothing but nice to you since we've met. I've tried to be your brother. It's not easy and honestly, I'm tired. I'm tired of dealing with you." My eyes widened, shocked by Christian's words. This was the first time he talked back to me, and surprisingly I was happy about that. One sided hate kind of sucked, so I was glad I was angering Christian. Glad that he wouldn't be the nice guy anymore. But, I still didn't know what to say. "Because," I began angrily. "Because... Because." My anger diminished slightly, realizing Christian was right. He had been nothing but nice to me. Nothing but friendly. And he tried to get along with me too. So why? Why did I hate him? "You don't hate me," Christian said gently, seeing I wouldn't reply. "You're just angry." With those words, my anger returned. I hated it when Christian acted like I was such a fragile thing. That I had these issues that he could possibly resolve by befriending me. It was annoying. "You know what Christian!" I shouted. "I hate you because you're perfect!" He blinked. "Perfect?" My cheeks heated up as I realized what I said. I had just called him perfect, but in my eyes that was not a compliment. It was one of the worst things you could be. "Yes, perfect," I snapped. "Everything is given to you on a silver platter and it pisses me off. You don't deserve it. There's absolutely nothing special about you, yet everything comes easy to you." "Everything doesn't come easy to me," he said, eyes darkening. "What are you talking about?" I laughed bitterly. "You don't even see it. Wow." Christian took another small step closer to me, so that we were an inch apart from each other. I nearly jumped as all I could see were his bright, blue eyes. His vibrant eyes that expressed anger for the first time ever. "Never call me perfect," he growled. "And I don't know why you're talking. You're far from perfect. You expect everything to be given to you on a silver platter, yet you don't deserve it. With your attitude, you don't deserve anything you have in your life." My eyes widened as his words sunk in deep. For some reason, they actually hurt. Even though I couldn't care less about what he thought, his words hurt. I found myself looking down at the wooden floor as my heart ached from the honesty in his tone. Christian seemed to realize something because he suddenly stepped away from me. I looked up to see him now a meter away from me, his eyes glistening with sympathy. My gut twisted as I realized he pitied me, but I wasn't in the mood to fight with him anymore. I just wanted to be alone. "Autumn, I'm sorry," he said, eyes softening. "Just ignore what I said. I-" "Don't say you didn't mean it," I cut in, my throat constricting as he winced. "I know you did." "Let me take you shopping," he suddenly pleaded. "Let me make it up to you." I shook my head and walked away. Thankfully, he didn't call after me. He seemed to hate me, just like how I hated him. But it seemed like he had reasons. Reasons, I lacked when it came to him. I felt like screaming as I slammed my bedroom door shut, knowing I officially detested Christian. . To be continued..

Continue.........

observing

observing u guys

hmmmmm

Still following...

Continue......

following

I know u will later like Christian

bring more

Ride on

Continue

Episode 5 continues.. I exited the car, tired of hearing my mom and Christian talking. To my disappointment, I heard Christian's footsteps behind me. They were nearing me I could tell, so I picked up my pace. For some reason this city had grade thirteen. An extra grade that gave students an extra year to decide the rest of their lives. I had always thought it was a good idea, but then Christian appeared in my life. He was in grade thirteen, which meant I would have to see him at school too. I felt like God was punishing me at this point in my life. Thankfully, I couldn't hear Christian's footsteps as I entered the school. The hallways were already packed with teenagers. Teenagers who were screaming, flirting, texting, and goofing around. I found myself smiling at the sight, glad that I was back at the only place I felt like I mattered. As I walked through the hallways to my locker, I spotted it at the end of a crowded hallway. Dodging past people, I eventually made it to my locker. I smiled and opened it immediately, wanting to put my bag away. Before I could put my bag away, I was suddenly embraced from behind. I rolled my eyes and smiled, knowing who it was. "Autumn!" Dee, my best friend exclaimed. "Oh my god! I've missed you!" I pried her arms off of me and turned around, grinning. Her green eyes were bright, alive as they shined with excitement. Only then did I realize how much I missed her. "I missed you too," I admitted, still smiling. She hugged me again, her curly blond hair flying everywhere as she hugged me tightly. This time I hugged her back, happy to see her. She had been my best friend since I was ten and I loved her. Eventually letting go of me, she said frowning, "What have you been doing this summer? You were always too busy to hang out." "Sorry." I sighed. "My mom was forcing me to bond with my new step-dad and step-brother." "Oh yeah, I forgot. How are they?" "Horrible." I scowled. "I hate them. Especially Christian, my step-brother." Dee frowned. "Why? Did he do something to you?" "No." I sighed tiredly. "Let's not talk about it." Shrugging, Dee agreed. We then caught up and I found myself smiling my first real smile in a while. I realized I really needed school. Just because it gave me a vacation from my ruined family. ***** Dee and I were standing in line, waiting to buy some fries. By now we had caught up on each other's lives and I was satisfied with my day. My classes were awesome and my friends were all their awesome selves. Although, the best part of today was that I didn't see Christian. Not yet, at least. "Who is that?" Dee suddenly asked, sounding amazed. "He's hot." "Who?" I asked curiously, looking around. "That guy." She pointed to the corner of the cafeteria. "The one dressed in black." My eyes flew to where she pointed and I gasped. I gasped as I saw the very boy I detested - Christian, standing alone in the corner looking like a lost puppy. I rolled my eyes, seeing how innocent he looked. "That guy is my step-brother," I snapped. "The guy I hate." "What?" Dee's eyes widened. "He's hot. Like, really hot. How could you hate such a beautiful creature?" I scoffed, suddenly feeling annoyed. "He's not hot." "Oh yes he is hun. That boy is fine." If this were any other case, I would have laughed. Gave in even. But this was Christian we were talking about. The guy I blew up to a day ago. The guy who snapped back at me. We seemed destined to hate each other from the start, and there was no way I'd let Dee get at him. "Well he's off limits, okay," I said with finality. "Pretend he doesn't exist." Dee frowned. "You really do hate him, don't you?" "I do," I said, tiredly. "Let's end the conversation at that." Dee didn't seem happy, but she agreed. We - thankfully - changed the topic to lighter things. Things that didn't involve him. I found myself relaxing at that. After buying our food, we walked to our table. The exact table we had been sitting at for the past two years. My other best friend, Cheryl, was already sitting there. "Autumn! Dee!" Cheryl exclaimed once we reached the table. "I've missed you guys." I smiled and Dee squealed. Before I knew it we were all embracing each other thanks to Dee. I couldn't help but hug them back. After not seeing them for two months, I was able to suck up my hate for touchiness. After letting go of each other and sitting down, Cheryl asked, "How are you Autumn? It's been a while." "Good, I guess," I replied, smiling. "How's your new family?" "Cheryl!" Dee exclaimed. "Don't ask her about her new family. It's a sensitive topic." My eyes narrowed at Dee. Even though I knew she was trying to be a good friend, I still felt annoyed. Deciding to ignore what Dee said, I said to Cheryl, "They're whatever. I prefer them gone." Cheryl's eyes widened, surprised by my brutal honesty. It wasn't that I was innocent around my friends, but I was never an asshole. That was, until my mom married Stephen. "Are they that bad?" Cheryl asked, still shocked. I nodded my head. "The son of my step-dad is the worst." "Am I now?" I tried not to show my surprise as I whipped my head around. To my utter disgust, Christian was standing in front of me, raising an eyebrow. I scoffed. "What are you doing here?" I demanded. "We're supposed to act like we don't know each other. Remember?" Christian sighed. He looked exhausted as he shook his head. As usual, I couldn't care less. "Autumn, I'm not looking for a fight," he said tiredly. "Your mom called me. She's wants us to take the bus home." "What?" My jaw dropped. Christian shrugged. "She and my dad are going somewhere." "They always have to go somewhere!" I snapped. "Wait... Why did she call you? I have a phone too." Christian shrugged again. This time, he looked uneasy as he looked away from me. "I don't know." "Okay, now leave. I was having a good day." Without another word, he obeyed and walked off. I watched him leave the cafeteria, feeling uneasy. She was my mom, yet she called Christian. Christian, the boy who didn't have a single drop of her DNA in him. I didn't understand. "Autumn, are you okay?" I heard Dee ask. I quickly turned back around to face Dee and Cheryl. Both of them were staring at me with wide eyes, causing me to blush. I had forgotten about them. "Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, picking up a french fry to plop into my mouth. "You really do hate hiim, don't you?" Cheryl asked. I nodded. "I do. I really do." "Why? He's hotter up close," Dee said jokingly. I glared at her, not wanting to talk about Christian. Especially about his looks in a positive way. "Oh Autumn." Was all Cheryl said after I looked away from Dee. "I'm sorry." I ignored her and focused on my food, wanting to disappear. My mom loved Christian more than me and now I had acted like a bitch in front of my friends. Life seemed to be getting harder to deal with everyday. To be continued..

I don't the reason why u hate him so much

but u much try to like him as ur brother

more

You are acting like a kid...Wise up girl

u are the one making life hard for yourself,,,,, for one, u don't have reasons why you hate them

Continue with the charade of hating an innocent guy who did you nothing

You can't hate him forever

autumn, u are d one giving urself problem, try to like him, den u will know dat a load has been totally taken off u,,,,, but if u ask me, I will tell u, dat u are acting so/all bitchy

Autumn you are Just too silly

Still observing......

Just giving your self more problem

Continue pls

u are the cuz of ur problems.

next'

Episode 6 . Continues.. I found myself grunting in disapproval as I heard the front door click shut from my bedroom. Stephen and my mom were going out again, which meant Christian and I were home alone. Just great . Grabbing a manga, I began reading Naruto. I was almost done the series and a bit sad about it. In my opinion, Naruto was the best manga ever created. It might actually have the best storyline too. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. Groaning, I knew who it was as I got up and walked to the door. Annoyance filled me as I walked there. I wasn't in the mood to talk to Christian. Once at the door, I opened it and said flatly, "What?" Christian's eyes twinkled as he stared down at me. He stared at me expressionless, making me feel suddenly nervous as his blue eyes held my brown eyes. I couldn't help but look away. "I said what," I snapped, annoyed as I looked away from him. He sighed. "Are you hungry?" "No." I looked back at him. "I'm not." That was a bit of a lie. I was kind of hungry since I hadn't eaten since lunch, but there was no way I'd admit that to Christian. Not when it would mean he would probably try to help me. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I was planning on ordering pizza." "I'm not hungry," I insisted, not bothering to hide my annoyance. He shrugged. "Suit yourself." As he began to turn around, I slammed the door shut. Before I knew it I huffed, feeling the warmth of my boiled blood flow through me. Christian had a way of doing that easily. Sighing, I realized I should take a bath. Christian had already stressed me out, so a bath sounded like a good idea. Smiling to myself, I got the appropriate showering items and left my room. I then entered the washroom beside my bedroom and closed the door. Going to the tub, I opened the tap to fill the tub with warm water. No matter the weather I always bathed in warm water. That was just how I was. When half of the bathtub was filled with water, I pulled off my hair tie. My long brown hair fell over my shoulders and I sighed as I began to take off my shirt. It was almost sad that just to relax I had to take a bath. Life was never like that before Stephen and Christian came into my life. "Autumn!" I suddenly heard Christian yell as my shirt was about to come over my head. Frowning, I quickly pulled my shirt back down. I felt like I heard him yell my name clearly, but I felt like I had also imagined it. Christian and I never talked. Only once in a while when I'd snap at him when he tried to be nice to me. There was no way he's call me over to him like this. "Autumn! I need your help!" I heard him shout again. My frown grew as I quickly opened the washroom door and ran out. Before I knew it I was racing down the stairs and into the kitchen. The now smoky kitchen, I have to add. Coughing lightly, I rushed to where Christian stood at the oven. "What the hell happened?" I asked, eyes tearing up as smoke hit my eyes. "What did you do?" Christian's eyes widened in panic. "I don't know. I was trying to make macaroni and cheese and then... I messed up." "You messed up real bad!" My eyes flew to the pot overflowing with water and smoke. I realized the stove was still on and quickly turned it off, coughing once again. "You idiot," I said, grabbing the pot off of the oven. "Why didn't you turn off the stove?" "I don't know," he said, eyes still wide with panic. "I don't know how to cook." I shook my head and then exclaimed, "Useless! Go open a window at least!" Christian obeyed and rushed over to a window, opening it quickly. I rushed over to the sink and placed the pot in it, hoping it would cool down there. Quickly, I then grabbed a dish towel and began fanning the place. Only then did I realize my heart was racing. As I fanned, I noticed Christian walking up to me. I chose to ignore him as I fanned, wanting to just get rid of the problem and leave. The whole event had left me tired. "Do you need help?" Christian asked. I shook my head. "I'm fine." "Will the house be okay?" he then asked anxiously. Hearing the tone of his voice, I looked at him. Really looked at him for the first time since I got downstairs. Only now did I realize how panicked he looked. His eyes were wide and bluer than usual. His jaw was clenched, seeming to hold back any feelings of fear. The entire sight of him suddenly amused me. I found myself fighting back a smile, but it soon appeared on my face. Christian must of noticed because he asked, "Why are you smiling?" "This really scared you, didn't it?" I replied. Blush filled his cheeks. "Kind of... Yeah, I don't want my dad murdering me for burning down his new wife's home." My smile grew and I suddenly felt annoyed with myself. I couldn't believe I was showing Christian a positive emotion. It was almost sickening. Looking around, I realized the place was almost clear of smoke now. The windows had really helped clear the place out. Sighing to myself, I realized happily that I could go back to my bath. Oh no . "Christian!" I exclaimed, throwing the dish towel away. "My bath!" "What?" he asked, confused. Ignoring him, I quickly ran upstairs and nearly slipped at the top step. I gasped as I realized the bathtub had overflowed. Water was everywhere and I had no idea how I would get to the bathtub without slipping. "I'll get the tap," I heard Christian say behind me. Before I could say anything, he began walking to the washroom. Luckily, it didn't seem like a huge amount of water had flooded out, but it was enough for me to get into huge trouble. I hoped I would be able to clean everything up. Feeling my heartbeat accelerate, I nervously watched as Christian neared the washroom door. His sneakers squeaked against the ground and I winced as he lost his balance for a second. I couldn't believe he was doing this, knowing he could break his head by falling. Suddenly, he did fall. "Shit!" he shouted, slipping forward and landing on his face. I winced as a thud echoed out from him. My eyes then widened as I realized he wasn't moving. He was just laying there, still, his face firmly planted to the ground. Taking a cautious step forward, I asked nervously, "Christian, are you okay?" Suddenly pushing himself up, he looked over to me and grinned. "I'm great." I blinked. I had no idea what was wrong with him at this point, but I couldn't care right now. The tap needed to be closed. "Close the tap then!" I exclaimed. Still grinning, he nodded and walked into the washroom. Feeling even more nervous, knowing he had a greater chance of slipping again, I began to carefully walk to the washroom. My feet were soaked as I walked, but I was glad to notice I had great balance. It didn't seem like I would be falling anytime soon, but I needed to make sure Christian wouldn't. I couldn't be the blame for his death. As I neared the washroom, I heard the tap go silent. A smile flew to my lips as I realized Christian had did it. He had closed the tap. Now all I had to do was mop the place up so my mom wouldn't kill me. Waiting near the door, I saw Christian step out of the washroom. He was grinning, looking completely soaked in his white t-shirt. My eyes flew to his body, noticing his defined body that was now visible due to the water. Blush crept into my cheeks as I took in just how muscular he was. Looking away, I said awkwardly, "Thank you." "Shit!" Was his reply. I looked at him quickly, wondering why he said that. My eyes then widened as I realized he was falling towards me. I then gasped as I fell along with him, landing hard on my back. Grunting, I then felt Christian's body on top of mine, making my heart skip a beat for a second. Quickly propping himself up on his elbows so that only his legs were touching mine, he said with fear in his eyes, "Shit, Autumn. I'm so sorry. I... You can push me down to make things even." I studied his face for a second. His face that was only a foot away from mine. His eyes were huge with fear evident in them and his jaw was dropped a little. He looked both surprised and terrified, a weird mix. Staring at the eighteen year old boy who seemed terrified of me, I suddenly began to laugh. A real, joyful laugh. As I laughed, Christian just stared at me. At first he looked confused, then weirded out, and then he started laughing too. He laughed his own warm laugh, that made me laugh even more. Only when I realized I needed to clean the place up, did I stop laughing. "Christian, could you get off of me?" I asked. "Oh, yeah," he said, blushing slightly. He quickly stood up and I followed, now standing in front of him. I was still smiling and so was he. Unlike me though, he seemed confused. "I need to clean up," I said, knowing I really did. "I can help," he offered. I shook my head. "You need to clean up your own mess." He smiled sheepishly. "True." I turned around, knowing I needed to fetch a mop. Before I could walk off though, I suddenly felt a hand clamp around my upper arm. A large, warm hand. I turned around slowly, finding myself feeling warm as I now looked at Christian. His blue eyes also looked warm, causing me to look down at the wet ground. "What?" I asked, neither kindly or rudely. "Do you think we can get along?" he asked. I looked back up at him, only to see that he looked dead serious. Sad, yearning, and serious. Something about that look got to me, causing me to feel almost sad as well. "I don't know," I said honestly. "I'm still new to this." "So am I." "I know... I'm sorry." That was all I could say as I turned around and walked away. Even now I didn't know why I just couldn't accept Christian. Honestly, he wasn't a bad guy. He was the opposite of that it seemed, which made me wonder. Was I the real bad guy? . To be continued..

Abeg, is autumm a boy or girl, cuz i don't really understand sef

I think u guys will get along

u need to change from what u think of him

nxt

U guys will get along just very soon

Autumn, u are d real bad guy Hia,,, bcos Christian is trying his best to make u two go along well but u are not helping matter

Is autumn a boy or girl

Pls ride on

everything will be fine btn you two

You're are the real bad guy

Episode 7 Continues.. "Christian seems popular," Dee commented, smiling. I turned my head to my left and spotted Christian. He was leaning against a locker, talking to a couple of girls. A huge smile was plastered onto his face as the girls laughed at his words, causing my eyebrows to furrow. Just a weeks ago he had been a total loner. "Where's your comment about how he doesn't deserve this and should burn in hell?" Dee asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. My head flew to look at her. "Huh?" "You don't hate him anymore?" Blush quickly filled my cheeks. I had to admit, I did talk shit about him to Dee and Cheryl often. It wasn't that I wanted to be so negative, but Christian just brought that side out of me. Well, he did until the bath incident. Now I felt like I could just ignore his presence for some reason. "I still hate him," I said honestly. "I just don't care about him at this point. This is my new life and he's a part of it. Whatever." Dee smiled. "Wow, aren't you optimistic." I laughed. "Shut up." Dee laughed as well and I smiled. Things weren't perfect, but now that it was October life seemed manageable. Mom and Stephen were never home, but I was fine with that. Christian and I just left each other alone, which I was also fine with. Life had changed, but what the hell could I do about it. Honestly, what could I? "You know, those girls are flirting with him," Dee suddenly said. My eyes flew back to where Christian stood. Only then did I realize the girls were standing too close to him and were laughing at everything he said. I rolled my eyes, feeling disgusted. "He's not even attractive," I said, looking back at Dee. "I don't get those girls." "But he is attractive," Dee said, eyes brightening as she glanced at Christian. "Honestly, the things I'd do to that boy." I made a gagging sound, feeling suddenly violated. Dee had made a huge deal about Christian's looks, but this was unexpected. And, extremely disturbing to the point where I actually wanted to throw up. Dee suddenly laughed. "Okay, that was too much information." "Way too much." Dee grinned. "Come on, you have to admit it eventually. He's hot." I shook my head vigorously. "Stop. He's not." Dee laughed again. "Okay, you're his step-sister. It would be incest if you found him hot so that's why you disagree." I frowned. "It wouldn't be incest, we don't have any of the same blood." "Then admit he's hot." I groaned. "Dee!" She laughed and I couldn't help but laugh as well. This conversation was whack, but beauty was in the eyes of the beholder. To those girls he was hot, to me he wasn't. ***** "Well, Christian has gotten popular," Cheryl commented. I groaned as I found myself about to be thrown into another conversation about Christian. The exact person I didn't want to talk about, or see. "Perks of being hot," Dee chirped in. My eyes narrowed at her and she giggled. I shook my head at that and sighed as I looked at the table where Christian was sitting at. Once again, he was surrounded by girls. Gorgeous girls. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my can of coke and said, "Those girls are desperate. He's the new guy and they think they can get him." "And you think they can't?" Cheryl asked, raising an eyebrow. I felt blush rush into my cheeks, knowing I had an answer to that question. An answer, I would never admit to anyone. Not even to myself. Cheryl's eyebrows rose higher. "Did something happen between the two of you? You haven't been hating on him lately." "No." I sighed. "I just don't care about him or his life. This is my new life, so I have to deal with unwanted parts of it such as him." "She's turning into an optimistic," Dee chirped in again. I nodded, forcing a smile as Cheryl studied me. She seemed to be calculating me with her hazel eyes. I shifted uncomfortably. "Well, good for you." Was all she ended up saying. "How's your new step-dad?" "He's nice enough," I said, taking a sip from my drink. "He hogs my mom though." "And how's your mom?" "Everyday she is less of as mom, but she's happy. That's good for her." "Very optimistic, I see," Cheryl commented, frowning. I smiled sadly, knowing I was lying to myself. Really lying to myself because I hadn't accepted this new life I was given. In fact, I hated it. Despite being able to push through it, I despised it. But like I said, what could I do about it. "Autumn, you know you can talk to us, right?" Dee said, frowning at me. "I know, but there's nothing to talk about." I shrugged, lying. "This is my life." "And you're not happy with it," Cheryl said. "Why don't you talk to your mom about everything. You did say Stephen is hogging her." I shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about... With her. She doesn't really seem to like me anymore." That was also true. Now that Christian was here, she had a new child. A child, she preferred over me - her actual child. My heart ached at the thought. "Autumn." Dee slid closer to me. "You'll get used to the change. Trust me on this." "I know I will," I lied. "I already have." Deep down, in the depths of my heart I knew I would never accept the way things were. Not when only four months ago it was just my mom and I. The two of us against the world, both loving each other in the way a mom and daughter should. In a way, that was the complete opposite of the way my mom was now. Stephen was nice, I had to admit. And I didn't know why I hated Christian, but I could at least ignore him as of now. When it came down to it, it was my mom who was hurting me. She was hurting me without even knowing it, and that was the worst part. The person I was would never talk to her about my feelings. That was just too girly and depressing to me. "Change sucks," I suddenly admitted out loud. Cheryl and Dee's eyes softened as they stared at me. I was too tired to get angry at them for pitying me, so I closed my eyes. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the good old days. The ones that didn't consist of Christian or Stephen. To be continued..

nonsense

Hmmmn

hmmm

hmmmmm

thank God ur heart have accepted him

more stories

Hmmmm ride on

Hmmmm,,,, its Ur headache girl

its not your fault. but you both realy care for one another.

You don't need all this

EPISODE 8 . continues.. I sat on the couch, watching The Vampire Diaries. From where I sat I could hear the roars of laughter coming from my mom, Stephen, and Christian. Laughter from the kitchen where they were cooking as a family. They asked me to join, but I had refused. It wasn't that I was trying to be a brat, but I just didn't want to join them. Not when I would have to spend time with two strangers who lived in my house. And not when my mom was a changed woman who only saw flaws in me. Being alone was preferable now. "Autumn!" I heard Stephen call. "The food is ready!" Sighing, I got up and walked to the kitchen. A wave of spices hit me as I stepped into the kitchen, causing my mouth to water. It seemed like they made Alfredo pasta - my favourite. Spotting them already sitting at the kitchen table, I joined them. To my disappointment I was stuck sitting beside Christian who sat in front of them. He wouldn't look at me when I sat next to him, which was both confusing and satisfying. After the whole bath incident, he also chose to ignore me for some reason, and I was fine with that. "Doesn't the food look great," my mom gushed, looking at me with bright eyes. I forced a smile, not wanting to make the others happy but knowing I had to. "Yeah, it looks delicious." "It's all thanks to Stephen and Christian. You should ask Christian to teach you to cook one day," my mom said, grinning. I rolled my eyes. "I'd rather not." My mom gave me a disapproving look and Stephen frowned at me. By now everyone knew how I clearly felt about Christian, and only my mom hated it. Surprisingly, Stephen seemed to understand. "Autumn, I told you to stop badmouthing Christian," she scolded. "He's a good boy. You should be lucky to have him as a brother." I scowled, but I didn't say anything. No matter what I said, I knew my mom would support Christian. She always did. We then all began digging into the Alfredo pasta. It was piled onto all of out plates and I quickly dug in. I gasped lightly as the delicious taste of it exploded inside my mouth. Feeling like someone was staring at me, I glanced to my right. Christian was in fact, staring at me. He was smirking, looking completely amused by the sight of me. It annoyed me. "What?" I snapped. "Autumn, what did I say," my mom said, tone rising. My eyes flew to her. "He was staring at me!" My mom rolled her eyes. "Grow up, Autumn." Heat filed my cheeks as Stephen shot me a sympathetic look. I looked down and continued eating my pasta, suddenly feeling mortified. Mortified because Christian had watched my mom call me a child. An immature one, to be specific. Eating quickly, I decided to grab some more pasta before I would leave. Leave this hell hole of a situation I was in with three people I wasn't very fond of. The idea sounded good to me, so I quickly reached for the spoon in the large bowl of pasta. To my surprise, a larger, warmer hand ended up on top of mine. Before I could react, the pasta bowl was falling towards the ground as Christian threw his hand back, knocking it off of the table. I gasped and his eyes widened as we both jumped as the bowl clashed against the ground. "What the hell!" I exclaimed, looking directly at him. His blue eyes were still widened with shock and confusion. From his lost look, I could tell he wasn't processing what was going on. It didn't even seem like he was awake as he just looked away quickly, staring off at a wall blankly. "Autumn!" My mom suddenly yelled. "What have you done!" My eyes widened as I looked at her accusing face. "Me?" "How dare you ruin the food we worked hard on out of spite!" she exclaimed. My jaw dropped as I took in the fact that she was blaming me. Me, when clearly Christian had knocked over the pot when he threw his hand back. I couldn't believe it. "I didn't do anything!" I exclaimed. "Christian knocked over the pot!" "Stop lying," she hissed. "I'm so sick and tired of you Autumn." "Alice," Stephen said hesitantly. She stood up suddenly, surprising all of us as she glared at me. Glared at me as if she wanted me to disappear forever. I gulped, feeling my throat constrict as my own mother was looking at me like that. "I'm leaving," she hissed. "You better clean up the mess." She turned around and stormed off, leaving all of us wide-eyed. After shooting me a sympathetic look, Stephen ran after her. I stood up to watch them leave the house, feeling as if someone had shoved a dagger in my heart. Once they were gone, I found myself shaking. My eyes began to tear up as I realized my mom did hate me. She wanted nothing to do with me anymore. It was clear after today and I knew the reason why. I felt a hand on my shoulder and Christian said, "I'm so sorry Autumn. I honestly am." I bit my lip to fight back tears as I looked at him. Looked at his innocent face that was staring down at me with pitying eyes. The sight made my stomach churn and suddenly my blood was boiling. I shoved his hand off of me. "This is why I hate you!" I yelled. "This is why we can never be a family!" "Autumn, this wasn't my fault," he said, calmly but almost sad. "But it was!" I exclaimed, ignoring the tears slipping down my cheeks. "It's always your fault!" By now tears were streaming down my face and I was shaking. I felt horrible. Sickened by everything. I wanted to run, leave, but not until Christian understood. Christian reached out to touch me, but thought better of it and stopped himself. I felt a pang of anger at that, wondering why he dared try to comfort me. He didn't have the right to. "See, everything is handed to you on a silver platter," I whispered, finding it hard to talk with my constricted throat. "How dare you ruin my life like this." "I didn't ask for this," he suddenly said exasperatedly. "I never wanted to hurt you." "Good for you," I snapped. "But you have. You have and always will. Now that you live here, this is the way things are." "But I didn't ask for your mom to like me!" he exclaimed. "Autumn, I did nothing!" "I don't care," I whispered. "Just, let's never be in the same room again. Let's pretend the other doesn't exist." "Autumn-" "Shut up." I turned around quickly and rushed upstairs. A part of me felt embarrassed that Christian had seen me looking so vulnerable, but I didn't care. I couldn't care because my life was not manageable at all. It was horrible. The second Christian entered my life, it had turned horrible. I couldn't help but detest Christian. . To be continued

Autumn wise up....and to your mom, she doesn't have to treat you like that.,

things are heated up really bad, ,,, Alice doesn't have to behave that way really

but ur mother is adding more to the situation

Autumn, u av no reason to blame christian, i could see he's trying to make u happy

why is ur mother acting this way

let me reserve my comment for now

next

Hmmm still following you

At this i'd apologise to you Autum on behalf of Alice

your mum is at fault here though she might have reasons but she is not suppose ti treat her own child like and alws showing to her dat prefers her step son. she is causing a havoc here

Autumn...u can love your family,these three people are your family...things can only get better

Autumn...they are not even bad people,they are even trying to show some love,invite u 4 fun and all that goodies

Autumn...your name sounds good like a sound of something i know...look into your heart u can love and accept these family

Christain...u should take it easy with her even when u have done nothing to deserve it

Dee & chery has been on the right track,seeing what their friend cannot see in her porpular step-brother

Episode 9 "Autumn!" I pushed my legs to move faster. Faster, so that I wouldn't have to talk to Christian. Or even see him. "Autumn, just talk to me," Christian pleaded. I stopped in front of the school's front doors and closed my eyes briefly. Taking in a deep breath, I decided to face him. Just to tell him to screw off, I would fight my anger away. Turning around, I smiled sweetly at Christian's frowning face and said, "Look, Christian. There's nothing to talk about. Our lives are better off without each other, so let's leave it like this. Us two hating each other is for the best." "But I don't hate you," he said, sounding sincere. I couldn't help but look away, feeling sick. The thing I hated about Christian, ever since we met, was that he didn't hate me. He never did and it hurt in a strange way. Probably because he had every right to, yet he didn't. "You should," I said honestly. "I don't think I'll ever like you." Christian winced and I turned around quickly, knowing I didn't want to talk to him. Didn't want to pity him, especially. We were destined to hate each other, I knew that. It was Christian who needed to realize the truth. ***** I exited the school with my mind racing with thoughts. For the entire day I tried to forget about my main problem, but I couldn't. Not when it actually mattered that my mom now hated me. All of the sudden she did and I had no idea why. I looked up at the clear, blue sky as the sun shone down on me and smiled sadly. When it came to the outside world, everything was the same. Everything was perfectly in order, which was the complete opposite of my life. Taking in a deep breath, I decided to get going. My throat was constricted and I suddenly felt like a girl. Those typical girls that cared too much about everything in life, which had never been me. Well, until Stephen married my mom. Now I seemed to care about everything too much. Even insignificant factors such as Christian. As I walked down the sidewalk to the bus stop, I decided to finally think about Christian. The thought of him was already making my blood boil, so I knew I did hate him. I knew I never wanted to see him again. But for some reason, I suddenly felt bad about it. Almost sick. It didn't make sense. "Hey sweet cheeks," I suddenly heard a voice say. I stopped in my place and turned around, frowning from the unfamiliar voice. My eyes soon met almost black eyes of a boy who was staring at me, wearing a sly smile as he did. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, knowing these types of guys. Turning around, I continued walking as I chose to ignore him. I knew these guys only wanted attention. They were lonely and idiotic, so they chose to target girls that walked alone. "Hey, girl, I'm talking to you," he said, sounding close. I realized he was following me, so I rolled my eyes. I continued to ignore him though, knowing he would eventually get bored of me. Hopefully it happened soon. A minute later, I suddenly felt a hand clasp around my wrist, forcing me to turn around to face the guy. He was still wearing a sly grin, his eyes twinkling as if the situation was funny. I scowled at him, feeling completely annoyed. Yanking my hand away, I hissed, "Don't touch me. In fact, get away from me." His smile grew into a sloppy grin. "I just want to get to know you. You're a cute little thing." I narrowed my eyes at him and turned around again, making sure to pick up my pace. The bus stop was only a street away and I knew I could finally get away from the creep. I needed to, because if I saw his sly smile again I knew I'd wipe it off in an aggressive way. Suddenly, I felt a hand smack my butt. I gasped as I instantly felt violated when the feeling of the smack remained there, causing me to know that he had touched me. The creep had dared to touch me. Turning around quickly, I was shocked to hear someone shout, "What the fuck did you just do!" Both the guy and I were now staring at the boy storming up to where we stood. My heartbeat suddenly accelerated as I realized it was Christian. Christian, who looked livid as he clenched his jaw and closed up on the creep. "I said, what the fuck did you do," Christian hissed, glaring right at the boy as he stood in front of him. The creep rolled his eyes, but he grinned. "Is she your girlfriend? She's cute." Christian suddenly grabbed the front of the guy's black shirt, pulling him even closer so their faces were only an inch apart. My eyes widened as I never really saw Christian angry. Never, even though I had yelled at him plenty of times before. "Shut the fuck up," Christian hissed, pushing the guy away. "Don't you dare touch her again." "Or what?" The guy crossed his arms over his chest. Before I could do anything, Christian swung at the guy. His fist collided with the guy's face, causing him to land on the ground hard. I winced, but my eyes widened even more. The whole situation was hard to process. Seeing that the creep looked ready to fight, I decided to put an end to things. Rushing up to Christian, I grabbed his arm and dragged him away. He was reluctant, but he seemed to be obeying. Although, he didn't stop glaring at the creep. "He's not worth it," I said, dragging Christian meters away. Christian looked down at me, rage leaving his eyes. "You shouldn't walk alone. Things would have been much worse if I didn't show up." I couldn't help but scowl. "Christian, I could have handled myself just fine. I was going to tell him off, but then you came." By now we had crossed the street to the bus stop, and only now did I realize I was still holding Christian's arm. Feeling disgusted with myself, I quickly let go and jammed my hands into my jeans pockets. Christian frowned at me. "He touched you. It didn't seem like you were handling it." Suddenly, I felt angry. Annoyed with Christian. I just hated how he thought I was some delicate thing, when clearly I wasn't. Right now I was all alone - literally - and I was fine. Despite everything going on in my life, I was okay. I wasn't some weak girl. Christian seemed to realize I was annoyed because he sighed. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and looked off into the distance, seeming suddenly tired. And just like me, of life. I couldn't help but watch him, wondering just who exactly he was. Knowing him for three months hadn't taught me anything about him, except that he was a nuisance. But from his reaction to the guy, it seemed like he wasn't so innocent. Eventually looking back at me, he asked, "Are you okay?" "I am," I said honestly. "I'm fine." He nodded and looked away again, seeming suddenly awkward. I felt awkward myself, knowing there was just one thing I had to say to him. Despite my feelings towards him, I had to say it. "Thank you," I said, looking back at him. "For helping me." He looked back at me, eyes twinkling with slight happiness. "You're welcome... Does this mean we're okay?" I sighed. "Christian, I mean it. We're destined to hate each other." "Why in the world do you think that?" "Because of how messed up my life is. Because you stole my mom," I said, heart clenching at the truth. Christian's eyes expressed pity and I looked away. I bit my lip and stared at the ground, wondering why I was even talking to him. We were supposed to act like the other doesn't exist. "I did nothing, Autumn," he said. "You know that right?" "I know that," I said. "I just... Can't." "Can't you try to get to know me at least?" he suddenly pleaded. "Just spend one day with me." My eyes flew back to him, shocked by his request. From the way his eyes were wide with desperation, I knew he meant what he said. He honestly wanted this. "Why do you care if I like you?" I asked, wanting an answer to that single question that had been bothering me. I just didn't understand. We were basically strangers, yet he kept trying. Trying to know and befriend a horrible person such as myself. "I don't know," he replied, sounding honest. "I guess... because I don't have much of a family so it would be nice to have a sibling." I looked away, feeling my heart suddenly ache at the thought. To be completely honestly, I felt like it would be nice too. Nice to have someone there for me after everyone had left me. But despite that, my only reply to everything he said was, "I honestly don't know. I'm sorry." To be continued

Episode 10 "I'm going to give you a chance," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Christian's eyes widened as he sat up on the couch, tilting his head slightly as if to determine whether I was being honest. To the shock of myself and everyone else, I was. After an entire week of wondering, I had gone insane. It wasn't his request that had bothered me, or even my mom's treatment of me, it was Christian. He, himself had drove me insane with thoughts. Curious thoughts of who he was. Thanks to my mom, I had assumed he was Mr. Perfect. Annoyingly good at everything. Annoyingly too nice. But, I had been wrong. That was proven by the swing he took at the creep. Innocent was what I labeled him as, but it didn't seem like that defined him by the way he knew how to punch. "You're giving me a chance?" Christian asked slowly, still in shock. My eyes narrowed as I held up my index finger and brought it to his face. "One chance. You're going to mess it up, so I thought what the hell. Might as well gain a reason to hate you from it." Despite my harsh words, Christian smiled. He smiled his childlike smile of his that ruined his bad boy exterior. Now that I thought about it, was Christian actually a bad boy? Was the black clothing he wore actually supposed to match his dark soul? "When do I get to fulfill this chance for you?" he asked, sounding amused. "Um... Tomorrow." I smiled to myself. "You better come up with something fun by then." "Oh, I will." Christian's eyes suddenly shone with challenge, the exact way they did in the bowling alley. I couldn't help but smirk, knowing he was being overconfident. There was no way he'd win this. I was the judge, so there was no way. ***** Christian walked out of the house and locked the door behind us, looking as nonchalant as ever. I on the other hand was nervous, but surprisingly excited. He hadn't given me any details, so I had no idea where we were going. But, from the fact we had to wear casual clothing I knew we would be doing some physical activity. As Christian walked towards me, the sun shone down on him in a way that made him stand out. Dressed in gray sweatpants and a black v-neck, he somehow looked perfect. Not in an attractive way in my eyes, but genuinely perfect. His facial structure was well defined, his blue eyes bluer than the sky. Somehow his hair was both messy and neat, and his body - I had to admit - was something many girls would jump at. Not me, of course. "Why are you staring at me?" he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. Only then did I realize he was standing in front of me, staring down at me as his eyebrows furrowed. Blush filled my cheeks as I realized I gave him the satisfaction of me staring at him. Not even people I've crushed on in the past had that satisfaction. I glowered. "I wasn't," I said flatly. "Don't get cocky. His eyebrows rose. "I'm worried about today now." At that, I smiled. "You should be. Can we go now?" He nodded and led me to his new black car. A car that matched his everyday outfits. I shook my head, amused by the thought. ***** I blinked. "We're going hiking?" "Yes. Good job Autumn. I once brought a girl here and she thought we were going to do some very interesting things here." I fought back a smile and thought about the activity for the day. Of all the things he could've chosen, he chose hiking. A part of me couldn't believe it and was slightly disappointed. There was so much we could do, but instead we were going to shed pounds in a forest that was probably infested with mosquitoes. "Like I'd ever go near you like that," I couldn't help but say back. "Or in any way." "You wish you could." Was his simple, but surprisingly fact-like reply. I blinked as I made a mental note. Christian was cocky when he didn't have anything to be cocky about. It seemed like I was already learning something new about him a minute into our day together. "Can we get this day over with," I suddenly said, wanting to be rude after his response. He smiled slightly at that and nodded, taking a deep breath in. I then watched as his eyes wandered around the place, taking in the greenery of the dense coniferous trees and bushes. Now I realized he had brought me here for his own needs, not to please me. I added selfish to the list of traits he was. Taking a step forward, he said looking back at me with a sudden grin, "Follow me." "Only for today and then we don't know each other. Okay?" I replied, smiling despite my inner self telling me to stick to being a hardcore bitch. Christian rolled his eyes, but he smiled as well. ***** We were still walking. In silence, we dodged branches and twigs and just walked with no destination in mind. To both my surprise and dismay, I was actually enjoying something as simple as walking in peace. The sun was beating hard on us and the area smelled like nature. Other than the plants that surrounded us, there weren't any living creatures other than the two of us. And even though it was just the two of us, we didn't say a word. We just walked through the green forest with sweat trailing down our faces, and I was surprisingly happy with this. Probably because I was in the mood to be at peace when life was not peaceful at all. Looking at Christian's broad back as he led the way, I suddenly felt my heart clench as he was a physical reminder of my mom. Of how she didn't love me anymore. Of course I knew I couldn't blame Christian for that, but he did seem to be the reason why she didn't. Because of that, I couldn't help but still feel resentment towards him. Suddenly Christian stopped in his place, and with my ongoing thoughts I nearly crashed into him. I kissed my teeth at that and stepped back, narrowing my eyes at him. "What?" I asked, annoyed. I just wanted to keep walking in peace. It was the only way I wouldn't feel like crying like the girl I wasn't over my new life. Because honestly, having your very own mom hate you sucked. Even though I was an independent person, it sucked because she was all I had. Christian raised an eyebrow, but soon dropped it as his eyes suddenly softened. Once again he was looking at me with pity evident in his eyes. Anger welled up within me because he still seemed to think I was some sort of delicate thing. "Sorry," he said. "I want to take a break." "I don't want to," I shot back, feeling even more annoyed. Suddenly he reached out towards me and wiped a finger across my forehead. I flinched at the touch, surprised he dared touch me. As I narrowed my eyes at him, he held out his finger that now had a drop of water that I soon realized was sweat. "Autumn, I'm not the only one who's tired," he said. "Relax. This is my chance to get you on my good side, so let's take a break. Let's... Bond." My eyes widened slightly as I remembered that this had been my goal all along. To get to know this boy who happened to be my stepbrother. It was smart to know your enemies, which made me all the more excited. Tiredly, I said, "Fine." To be continued

after hiking you may end up liking him

steps in liking him, i know autumn is only pretending whereas she's been thinking of him

speechless

autuum after this I know u are going to love him

next episode pls

From Hiking To Loving

hmmmmmm

Watch and see how he'd break all your defences and supposed hatred

Episode 11 We were now sitting on a bare area of grass, facing each other but looking anywhere else. I was happy for the break, but I hadn't expected it to involve more silence. A part of had hoped he would try to talk to me. To at least get on my good side. He had to know that hiking wouldn't cut it, yet he wasn't trying. I didn't understand. Tired of waiting for him, I looked at him. He was looking to his right, staring at a tree that was enormous. From its size I had to guess that it was at least a hundred years old. Maybe more. That was why Christian seemed to be staring at it with great interest. "Christian," I said, causing him to look at me with his bright blue eyes. "Why aren't you talking to me?" "I've tried to in the past," he replied, lips twitching up into a smile. "But all I get are shut ups." I couldn't help but blush as I looked down in shame. From the start I knew I was being a bitch to him. It was obvious to everyone, yet I didn't do anything to change. I had assumed he deserved it, even though I didn't have a good or even clear reason to hate him. "Well, this is our day to take chances." I smiled as I looked back up at him. "I promise I won't snap or even tell you to shut up." His eyes shone with a happiness I rarely saw in him. Which was strange because I always thought he was a genuinely happy person. He was Mr. Perfect. Everything was handed to him on a silver platter. "I can ask you anything?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Anything you want." The happy shine in his eyes slowly turned into a challenging shine, and I found myself feeling defensive because I suddenly remebered. We were in a contest where I was the judge. The judge who would decide whether to continue to hate him forever or accept him as my new - still unwanted - stepbrother. This entire day would be the basis of the contest, and I knew he was determined to win. But, so was I. "Tell me about yourself," he said, smiling slightly as I crossed my legs. I sighed. "Ask me something more interesting." He shook his head, but smiled. "Were you always like this?" I couldn't help but smile as well, even though I should've taken offence. At least he was asking a question that should matter to him. "Kind of," I replied honestly. "You might've brought it out more." "I can tell." His smile grew. "You ask me a question as well." "Anything?" I asked, just in case. "Anything." "Were you okay with your dad marrying my mom?" Honestly, I always wondered that. In a way, Christian was in the exact same position I was in. Forced to live with strangers who would now be apart of your family you had been used to. It sure as hell wasn't a good surprise for me, so I wondered if it was for him. "Are we being honest for today as well?" he eventually asked. "We're taking chances, remember?" He smiled at that and looked down, contemplating something. I couldn't help but watch him, slowly becoming amazed by his long eyelashes that casted a shadow across his face. I never understood why guys got long eyelashes that girls would die for. Eventually, he looked back at me and simply said without a hint of emotion, "I don't know." I blinked, dumbfounded by his simple reply. When it came to me, I knew. I definitely knew how I felt about the news. Because we were taking chances, I said, "You don't know? Really? Because I was pretty horrified. When my mom told me on her birthday, I nearly shoved her cake onto her face because I hate change. Especially unexpected change." Christian looked away, but I noticed the corners of his lips turn up. "Well, honestly I guess I was pretty mad too. Especially because I had no idea my dad had been dating some woman for two years." "Me too!" I exclaimed. "She didn't even dare tell me she was seeing someone and she expects me to welcome her news with open arms." "Same. Then next thing I know I'm forced to pack up my stuff and move in with a bunch of strangers." I fought back a smile. "Same, but strangers actually moved into my house. They made it quite crowded too." Christian looked back at me with a huge smile now plastered onto his face. I couldn't help but smile as well because I realized I had finally met someone who could relate to me. Relate to all of the stress of having your life thrown upside down by the one person you thought would be your rock. This person was living with me, yet I had closed a door on his face at the first sight of him. Guilt twisted within me. "You can ask me the next question," I said, wanting to change the subject. "Okay... Best memory?" he asked. I couldn't help but smile as an answer quickly popped into my mind. Shaking my head, I realized I had nearly forgotten about that day. The day of my twelfth birthday, which was also the last one I spent with my dad. "On my twelfth birthday we went to this festival," I said, still smiling. "It was called the Festival of Lights because it was a festival held at night to give praise to the beautiful lights of the world." "Oh, I've heard of it," he interrupted. Ignoring him, I continued, "So my dad and I went together and it was fun and all, but near twelve o'clock we were given golden lanterns. The ones that you can let go so that they float up into the sky." "Like the ones in Tangled." "Exactly." My smile grew at the thought of him watching Tangled. "So, exactly at twelve we let go of the lanterns and so do about a hundred people. They all float into the sky and the sight is beautiful. It's like stars, but somehow even more beautiful. So as I watched them my dad told me that this was how you let go. You do it and watch as something beautiful disappears with a smile on your face." I suddenly laughed and looked away as I realized how cheesy my tale was. It was almost stupid because such a simple thing had been my favourite memory. I wouldn't blame Christian for thinking I was insane. When neither of us said anything for a minute, I decided to suck up my pride and look back at him. To my surprise, he was already looking at me with gentle eyes. Eyes that weren't pitying me, but instead seemed to be almost in awe of me. For some reason my heart skipped a beat. "That sounds beautiful," he replied, smiling. "Have you ever gone back to that festival?" I shook my head. "I wanted it to be a tradition for my dad and I, but..." His eyes softened even more, but thankfully they didn't seem to be pitying me. That was all I wanted when it came to these cases that included my dad, and I was thankful. "Can I ask you something?" I asked, realizing something. "Of course," he replied, extending his legs in front of him. I realized we had been sitting for a while and that we should get going soon. Four hours had passed since we left home, and my mom and Stephen would be back in about three more. They didn't know we were spending time together, and I preferred it to stay that way. I wasn't even sure why. "What happened to your mom?" I asked carefully. "I don't mean to intrude but my mom never told me." Christian looked away and I caught the sorrow in his eyes. A part of me regretted asking him such a question, but I had to know. If I wanted to fully come to understand this boy, I first needed to know something about his past. "She cheated," Christian simply replied, still looking away. "Then she ran when my dad caught her in his own bedroom cheating." My heart clenched at the thought because Stephen was a good guy. Even if he wasn't, no one deserved to see the person they love doing an act that showed them they actually didn't feel the same way. I guess my mom was luckier, which was a terribly sad thing to say. "I'm sorry," I responded, feeling the urge to force Christian to look at me. Sometimes I really did forget that just because he seemed perfect, it didn't mean his life was. Maybe we both had fucked up lives, and I chose to judge him because he had been a part of the messed up parts of my life. By now guilt twisted painfully at my heart. Wanting to return to the peacefulness of earlier, I said, "Let's go. We should hike back." Christian whipped his head back to face me as his eyes shone. They shone with curiosity, and even vulnerability as he looked at me. Once again my heart skipped a beat as I couldn't look away from his eyes that were bluer than the very sky. "Wait," he said, eyes slowly turning back to their neutral look. "One more question." I nodded, completely fine with whatever he wanted to ask. "Why do you hate me?" he asked. "Do you finally have a reason?" My eyes widened, surprised that he would ask that now. Of all the questions I thought he would ask, I didn't expect it at all. Maybe that was why I just stared at him blankly, trying to come up with an answer. "A real answer," he said, sounding serious. I blushed as I remembered my old response of him being perfect. By now I realized how stupid that was. His life had been pretty messed up and here I was, making sure that his life continued to be that way. Honestly, at this point I felt like I didn't hate him. Maybe I didn't like him, but I had just told him things that I never told anymore. My best moment being one of them, and I wasn't sure why. Probably because he could relate with my current fucked up life clearly. "I don't have one," I eventually replied. "And... I..." He raised an eyebrow. "You?" "Can we walk," I pleaded. "I promise you I'll be honest with my reply if we do." To my delight, he smiled and said, "Sure. I'll wait." Patient . I added that to my list with a smile as we both stood up and continued down a trail that someone had created. ***** I climbed out of his car and sighed as I felt relief. Relief that my mom wasn't home. Knowing her, I knew - despite ignoring each other - she'd ask a bunch of questions I didn't want to answer. Questions I didn't even want to answer to myself. As I began to walk to the door, I suddenly felt a hand clasp around my wrist. Instead of throwing a fist at the boy who had touched me, I slowly turned around to face him. Face his face that was staring at me with gentle eyes. "You promised me an honest reply," he said. "Do I have to?" I asked, feeling embarassed because the reply I would give was something I also didn't want to admit to myself. "Please," he said gently. Sighing, I looked down at his hand on my wrist. It was so gentle and that had been him. Always. Gentle to me, even though I had been a factor that changed his life a lot too. We were in the same boat, but he had never been a bitch. "You win," I eventually said, still looking down. His grip on my wrist tightened. "I did?" I nodded, making sure to not look at him. "Yes, but I can't say that things will be much different between us. It just means I'll try not to hate you." "So you still hate me?" Slowly, I shook my head. "No, I don't... Think so. It's just that things are complicated and..." "You rather just focus on your own issues than the stranger in your house." I smiled sadly and finally looked at him. "Exactly." He smiled sadly and nodded, letting go of me. He then walked ahead of me, and I looked down and shook my head. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew this was how things should be. Christian needed to remain as someone I knew, but wasn't close with. That seemed to be the best solution - for now.. TBC

Episode 12 Two weeks has passed since we had spoken. Maybe ever since we looked at each other, and I didn't know how to feel about it. This was what I wanted, what I had asked for even, but I couldn't help but think about Christian. Wonder about the boy who lived in my house. It was almost frustrating how everywhere I went he would be there, yet we had no interaction. "Autumn," Dee said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Why do you keep zoning out?" I sighed. "I don't know... I'm tried." That was kind of true. I was tired. Tired of thinking about Christian, that was. I finally had what I wanted. Us pretending the other doesn't exist, yet I was still bothered by his existence. Stupid, perfect boy. "Christian's bothering you?" Dee suddenly asked. I suddenly froze as my eyes widened. Somehow she had guessed right, and I was now horrified. No one should know that I actually thought about Christian. "No," I quickly replied, narrowing my eyes at her. "We don't talk anymore and I don't care." Her eyes widened. "You guys don't talk? What happened?" "Nothing." I shrugged. "He realized I hate him and gave up on befriending me. That's all." "Really?" I nodded, feeling pride at the lack of feelings I felt as I said that. He had given up on me and I was fine with that. Being alone with my issues was what I told him I wanted, and he had given me that. Honestly, that showed me that he was nowhere near a bad guy. "But, you don't hate him," Dee stated, frowning as she grabbed for a juice box across our lunch table. "What makes you say that?" I snapped, suddenly feeling defensive. "Because, your eyes don't look cold at the mention of him anymore." At that, my heart froze because she had spoken the truth. I didn't know about my eyes, but every other part of me had slowly lost its hate for Christian. Still, I wouldn't say I liked him, but a part of me was willing to get to know him. To finally discover what it was like to have a sibling. That part of me disgusted me, but I had faced the truth. I truly didn't hate Christian anymore. I suddenly sighed. "Can we not talk about Christian. I told you I'm tired." "Tired of pretending you hate him?" My head whipped to my left as Cheryl joined our table. Her eyes had their calculating gleam to them and I groaned as I realized this topic wasn't going to drop anytime soon. In fact, it seemed like I was about to have an intervention about Christian. "I don't like him," I stated, raising my eyebrows as Cheryl scoffed. "But you don't hate him," she shot back. Suddenly I felt my frustrations rise up within me. Everything I had been holding back was ready to erupt, causing me glower at Cheryl. They didn't get it, they would never leave me alone because they saw things differently than I did. Both of them needed to understand. "Fine!" I exclaimed. "I don't hate Christian. I don't hate that stupid, frustrating boy who I can't stop thinking about. But guess what, we aren't talking. We don't even look at each other and even though it's my fault, I can't help but feel annoyed by the situation." As a weight lifted off of my shoulders, I watched Dee and Cheryl's eyes widen. Both of them seemed equally as shocked because I never bursted like that before. I rarely talked about my feelings either. Christian was turning me into a psychotic person, I realized, who would end up with no friends. "You think about him?" Dee suddenly asked quietly. I scowled at the question, but I felt slightly embarrassed. "That sounds weird. I wonder about him, I guess. I don't know how to explain it." "Why don't you guys talk?" Cheryl then asked. Once again, I sighed. "We hung out one day and I guess I realized he's not a horrible person." I scowled as Dee broke out into a grin. "But I told him that things are complicated and that I would rather focus on myself then the stranger in the house." Cheryl frowned. "Why did you say that?" "I have no idea." Honestly, I didn't know why I told him that. I didn't even know why I kept pushing him away. With my mom hating me, Christian seemed to be my only option when it came to having a family member who cared. Yet, I kept pushing him away. "Autumn, things are really complicated," Dee said, smiling sadly. "They are," I agreed. "And you'll figure things out along the way," Cheryl added. "By first talking to Christian." "Never!" I blurted out instantly. "Not over my dead body." Both of their eyebrows raised as they stared at me, causing me to blush. I had to admit I had a huge pride that I would never let anyone touch. Especially, Christian. "Then continue on waiting for him," Cheryl said, shrugging casually. "Wonder about him for the rest of your life." I gulped at that, realizing that was actually the only other option. But being me, I had to go with that option. There was no way I'd talk to him first. It was just who I was and I wouldn't change for anyone. Especially not for golden boy. ***** It was time to go home. To go to my bus stop, I had to walk past this empty hallway that never had any traces of humanity in it. It was weird, but people seemed to avoid that hallway like the plague. Until today, that was. To my shock and horror, today that hallway had a single boy in it. A boy who was at his locker, packing his bag. This boy was Christian. I looked down at the ground as I walked nearer to him, shocked that he was here. I never knew where his locker was, but here was the last place I expected. The last place I wanted, since I passed there everyday. Internally, I groaned. Still looking at the ground, I took a deep breath in as I walked past him. For some reason, I found myself feeling nervous, so I tried to think about anything to forget about him. But then I thought about the conversation I had with Dee and Cheryl at lunch. Cheryl was right. As long as we didn't talk, I would wonder about him. Feel nervous about him, just like right now. Was it really worth it? Should I let my pride fall for a second? Those were the questions running through my mind at that moment. "Autumn," the low voice I knew well called, exterminating those questions from my mind. I stopped in my place and slowly turned around, feeling my nerves rack up. Christian was walking up to me casually, as if everything was fine between us, and I had no idea how to act. At this point being a bitch didn't seem like it would cut it. "Hey," he said when he reached me. "Are you heading home?" I nodded, finding myself looking at his black converse because his eyes seemed brighter than usual. He seemed happy, which was the exact opposite of how I felt the past two weeks. The thought stung. "Do you want me to drive you home from now on?" he asked. "We do live in the same house and I have a car now. It would be for the best." I looked back up at him and stared at his hopeful face. This was what I wanted, for him to talk to me, but it was so random. Out of the blue because he was acting like nothing had happened between us. In fact, he was acting like how we first met. Too polite and kind of annoying in his hopeful ways of pleasing me. Despite those things though, I said, "Sure. But let's start tomorrow. I want to bus home today." He looked confused, but he said, "Okay. I'll see you later." I nodded awkwardly and ran off, feeling like a typical girl. I had only asked for tomorrow because I needed to 'prepare', and I barely spoke during the entire time due to my nerves. He could probably tell I wasn't acting like myself, and I wondered if he would assume that he was the reason why. Even though it was the truth, my pride would take a huge hit at that. Christian couldn't know I was like this over him. Not yet, for sure. TBC

ride on

Keep on pretending

this getting serious

autumn u need to kill ur pride

Christian I like ur way

next episode pls

Queen of pretender

hmmmmmm,,,,,, such a cheap pride,,,,,you are just on Ur own,,,,

am sure later in ur life, u will eventually fall for christian

Good luck with the pretence

You and this your pretentious attitude

Episode 13 I was mentally prepared. After an evening of taking deep breaths and reminding myself that Christian was just some stupid boy, I felt ready. Ready to go home with him every single day. A small part of me hoped we would bond through this, but the other part of me wanted this to mean nothing. To just be efficient for the both of us. Walking to where Christian's locker was, I rolled my eyes as I realized Christian was surrounded by girls. It seemed like he always was at school, and I didn't understand why. There was literally nothing special about him. As I neared him, he spotted me and smiled his childlike smile, ridding me of any nerves I had left. I wasn't even sure why I was so nervous in the first place. Just because we hadn't spoken in a while didn't mean anything changed. I was still a bitch and he was still annoyingly 'perfect'. It was the way things had always been between us. "Can we go now?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at Christian who was packing up his bag. "Yeah, one sec," Christian replied, raising his own eyebrows at my demand. I couldn't help but smile as I realized nothing had change. As you know, I hated change so this was great news to me. "Who is she?" A blonde girl asked. She was scowling at me from her too close for comfort position next to Christian, raking her eyes over me. From the smug look on her face it looked like she didn't see me as a threat, which pissed me off. I glowered at her. If it wasn't Christian, I would've grabbed his hand and exclaimed that he was my boyfriend. The look on her face from that would be hilarious from that, but sadly this was Christian. There was no way I'd touch him. "Relax," I replied, smiling sweetly. "He's my stepbrother and incest isn't my thing." She scoffed at that and I couldn't help but smile as Christian actually chuckled. All of the girls suddenly looked at him like he was some sort of God, causing me to roll my eyes. I found girls like this pathetic. "Let's go Autumn," Christian said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Bye guys." "Bye," they all said, smiling 'flirtatiously' at him. I moved away so that Christian wasn't touching me anymore and walked ahead of him in silence. Thankfully he didn't speak either, which confirmed one thing for me. He was only doing this to be polite. That was the good guy he was, which made me feel suddenly sick. I shook the feeling away and exited the school. "My cars that way," Christian said from behind me. "Near the maple tree." "Okay," I responded. I quickly rushed to his car, suddenly regretting my decision because around Christian I felt like the bad guy. Even though I did want to bond with him, I was acting like a bitch. I was acting like a spoiled brat when he had offered me a ride home, knowing what a horrible person I was. My nauseous feeling returned to me. At his black car, I waited for him to unlock the door. Once he did, I got into the passenger seat silently and stared out of window, not bothering to even look at him as he started the engine. Before I knew it we were driving home. The ride was silent and thankfully we neared home quickly. Right now, I really wanted to go into my bedroom and blast music in there to forget about this whole event. I felt that bad. However, as we neared our street Christian suddenly took a right instead of a left, confusing me. Frowning, I assumed he made a mistake, but he kept driving as if nothing had happened. He looked indifferent, making my frown grow. After five minutes of driving away from home, I finally gained some guts and asked, "Christian, you know you're driving away from home?" He glanced at me and said, "I know." I frowned. I was confused. "Why?" I asked, trying to process what was going on. "We're going to get some pizza together," he replied casually. I blinked. "What?" "Aren't you hungry?" "Yeah, but there's food at home." By now I was completely confused. My mom would never force me to do something like this, she wasn't that insane. And Stephen seemed to understand that I was unhappy, so he wouldn't do this either. Honestly, I couldn't even process what was going on because I thought we were pretending the other doesn't exist. Christian suddenly sighed as he took a right turn. "Autumn, I want to spend time with you. Okay?" "You do?" I asked, feeling surprised. I didn't understand why he would want to. Today I had realized I was a horrible person. Someone you wouldn't want as your sister. It didn't make sense for him to keep trying. Even I had to admit that despite my pride. Wanting an answer, I asked, "Why do you keep trying? I'm kind of a bitch." The corner of Christian's mouth turned up. "Yeah, you kind of are." My eyes narrowed at him, but he continued, "But not always. And I understand why you're so cranky all the time." "Are you trying to make me cranky now?" I asked, scowling at him. He chuckled. "No, but I'll be honest. You're someone I want to get to know, so that's why I keep trying." He shrugged. "And despite everything, I like you." To my utter surprise, I felt my stomach tingle at those words. I felt what you would call butterflies, and I mentally slapped myself as I didn't understand why that feeling appeared. Ignoring that though, I smiled at him as I suddenly felt touched that he felt the same way as me. Just like me, he wanted to get to know me. He wanted us to bond. My smile grew as I suddenly felt really happy. "Really?" I asked. He glanced at me and smiled. "Yeah. Sorry for kidnapping you. I didn't think you'd come otherwise." I looked down, smiling sheepishly at the truth. Despite wanting to know him, I would've probably disagreed. It was just what I was used to around him. Being a bitch, that was. "Well, lucky for you I'm not mad," I said. "Shockingly, I'd like to get to know you too." He broke out into a grin and my heart fluttered with happiness. For a while I had been completely alone. My own mom barely spoke or even cared about me, and my dad was with the angels. I never had siblings either, so it was kind of lonely. But now Christian was apart of my life. I still had no idea how I felt about him, but he was something that I could hope would end up well. Someone, I hoped would be apart of the family I lacked. First I had to get to know him though. Maybe I didn't hate him, but liking him was a path I felt like I was on.

Episode 14 We had bonded. The pizza day went great and ever since that day we talked more. We weren't best friends, but slowly I was getting to know Christian. I was getting more comfortable around him too. I found myself suddenly smiling at the thought of my life working out in my favour for once. That also the boy I had once hated was the closest thing I had to a new, better family. Life was fucked up, but at least this was a good fucked up surprise. "Well aren't you happy," Dee commented, snapping me out of my thoughts. Blush filled my cheeks as I realized I probably looked like a freak who was smiling at nothing. It was a bad habit many people had, but I never had it. Until now, that was. "I am," I admitted, still smiling. "You know, everything is alright for once." Dee broke out into a grin as I found my smile growing at the truth. The everything part was a lie, but things were definitely better. Well, maybe I was just used to things at this point. "You're gushing," Dee commented, still grinning. "I'm happy for you." I actually giggled at that and shook my head, wondering what was wrong with me. For the past few months I had been a hardcore bitch, but now I was like a freshman around the senior she found hot. It was disgusting, but I decided to remain as the freshman because for once I was satisfied with everything. Nothing, could bring me down. "Christian," Cheryl suddenly said, reminding me she was here. "He's the reason why you're so happy, isn't he?" "I guess so," I admitted a bit reluctantly. "He's actually not much of a nuisance." "And hot," Dee chirped in. "Now that you don't hate him can you be my wingman?" I scowled as I still felt slightly disgusted at the thought of any girl wanting Christian. More disgusted that my best friend wanted him. Maybe I didn't hate him, but I prefered my friends not getting with him. "No," I replied, still scowling. "His attractiveness is still very debatable." "Fine, don't be my wingman." Dee frowned. "Just let me get at him." "Dee!" Dee laughed, and I found myself smiling and shaking my head. It was nice being able to smile like this with the mention of Christian. It takes a lot of muscles to frown, so it had been tiring doing that for the past few months at his name. "Anyways," Cheryl cut in. "You two are good?" I nodded, unsure of why Cheryl was so obsessed with how Christisn and I were. Before I assumed it was because she really cared about me and he was my biggest issue, but now I wasn't so sure. We were good now, yet she kept asking questions about him. "Do you hang out a lot?" she then asked. I shook my head. "No, we just talk on the ride home." That was literally the only time we did, which was strange because we lived in the same house. I didn't mind because I liked being alone at home, but a part of me wanted another day to hang out - like at the pizza place. Just another day to feel like we were actually close. I found my cheeks reddening at the thought, knowing I was going insane. Literally two weeks ago I hated him, but now I was hoping we would hang out. Shaking my head, I realized how fucked up my life was. It was actually making me become a psychopath. "Why are you blushing?" Cheryl suddenly asked. "Are you keeping something from us?" "What?" I asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Cheryl!" Dee suddenly exclaimed. "Autumn is happy. Let her be." Cheryl sighed and I smiled appreciatively at Dee. She was my best friend and I had loved her ever since we met. She was strange, but strange in a funny, not entirely creepy way. In a way I could accept. "I'm happy for her," Cheryl simply said. "It's just..." "What?" Dee asked. Cheryl shook her head. "Nothing." Dee and I frowned at each other as Cheryl dug into her food. She didn't look up once as she ate, so we shrugged at each other. Knowing Cheryl, we knew she was trying to figure something out. Trying to put the puzzle together in her own jigsaw puzzle. I wasn't sure what her puzzle was of, but I was fine with it. Cheryl was that type of person to calculate everything, and I loved that about her. It made her interesting. ***** I was sitting in the car with Christian, ready to go home. We hadn't said much yet, which left us with this soothing silence that I was conflicted about. Conflicted because a part of me wanted to break it because I had a question. A question I had been wanting to ask for a while. As Christian pulled out of the parking lot, I exhaled and gained some guts. Now that we talked more, I felt like I could ask him the question. "Christian," I said. "Yeah," he replied, glancing at me as he drove away from the school. "Did you use to fight?" I asked, suddenly feeling nervous. "What?" I stared at him for a second, wondering if I should change the subject. The question wasn't personal, but it would definitely be the most personal question I'd ask him yet. That was probably why I found my heartbeat accelerating, knowing I might be crossing a line. "Like, get into fights with people at your old school?" I asked. "You were quick to throw a punch when that creep touched me and..." At this point, I regretted asking him the question. From the way he suddenly stiffened up, my regret grew. I didn't even know why I asked him such a question. "Did you tell your mom about that?" Christian suddenly asked. "No," I scoffed. "We don't even talk to each other." That was why not everything was alright. Stephen and Christian were alright, but my mom wasn't. After the whole pasta incident we barely spoke. Other than a few words a day, we avoided each other. Well, surprisingly she avoided me at all costs. My own mother really hated me, it seemed. "Good," he replied, seeming to relax. "It was an accident. I shouldn't have hit him." He looked at me for a second and the regret was clear on his face. It made sense though. Christian was innocent in a sense where him punching a guy right off of the bat was really surprising. Even after getting to know him more, it was the truth that he wouldn't do something like that. "Why did you do it?" I asked. "I don't know." He shrugged. "He touched you and I just... I don't know. I was mad." Christian sighed and only then did I realize my heart was pounding. With no reason, it was. I smiled sadly, suddenly realizing something as Christian kept his eyes on the road. Even though we had gotten closer, I still really didn't know who he was. I knew nothing about his past, nothing about him really, and it was hard to figure him out. At this point, I realized it would take a while to actually get to know him. Maybe years. Surprisingly though, I was fine with that. With my mom hating me, I had all of the time in the world to add someone to my nonexistent family.

Episode 15 "Can those girls get away from him?" Dee suddenly said, causing me to turn around from my locker to face her. "He's off limits." "Dee," I said, raising an eyebrow as I knew exactly who she was talking about. "Off limits for you too." "Psh." She grinned. "I know that. I'm just trying to be a good friend to you and watch out for your stepbrother." I smiled as well and shook my head. Looking to my right, I spotted Christian standing beside a set of lockers. As usual, he was surrounded by gorgeous girls who wouldn't give him any personal space. Watching him talk to them, I wondered if he knew they were into him. That they didn't want to be just friends. Knowing how dense he could be, I had a feeling he didn't. "I really can't get at him?" Dee asked in a whining tone. My attention returned to her and I scowled. Just like before, I didn't understand why all these girls were acting like he was some sort of Greek god. There really wasn't anything spectacular about him. "No," I said flatly. "Best friends don't go for each other's brothers." "But he's your stepbrother ." I scowled again, but before I could say anything I heard someone say my name. I froze from the familiar voice, shocked that this was happening. "You go here?" The low voice continued to ask. Turning around slowly, I decided to see if this situation was too good to be true. In my brain, I knew it was. But in my heart, I knew this was true. After everything bad that happened, God seemed to be owing me with Christian and now him . Now facing the boy, my eyes widened as my heart was right. Here in front of me was Nate. The cute guy with blond hair and hazel eyes from the restaurant. Seeing him suddenly in front of me, I found myself speechless. "Autumn," he said. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," I said, snapping out of my trance. "What are you doing here?" "I go here," he replied, smiling. "I'm guessing you do too?" I nodded as my heart skipped a beat. "Yeah. How come I haven't seen you before?" "It's a big school." He shrugged. I couldn't help but smile. "And a small world." Nate broke out into a grin and I found myself amazed by how gorgeous he was. With his hair neatly pushed to the right, his perfect tan, and gorgeous eyes, he could possibly be the best looking guy at our school. My smile grew at the thought, knowing he once hit on me. Now my heart fluttered with hope of that again. Suddenly, I felt someone elbow me. Wincing, I turned to see Dee standing beside me, smiling widely. My eyes narrowed at her as she looked at Nate with her large eyes sparkling. "Nate," I said, forcing a smile. "This is Dee, my best friend." "Hey," she says, smiling wider. "Hey," Nate replied, smiling back. He then looked at the clock that hung at a ceiling near us and frowned. Watching him, I wondered what had happened. Looking back at me, he said, "Sorry, I got to go. You know, we never did get to hang out cause of your stepbrother. We should soon." I broke out into a grin as that was exactly what I had wanted. For him to still want me, even with my annoying stepbrother. Slight blush filled my cheeks. But as I opened my mouth, I was interrupted once again. "Didn't I scare you off last time?" All three of our heads whipped to our lefts to see who had spoken. To my annoyance, it was Christian. He had his hands shoved into his leather jacket pockets and was walking towards us, looking unpleased with the situation. My eyes narrowed at him. "What are you doing here?" I asked, completely forgetting about how much we bonded over the past few weeks. Ignoring me, Christian asked Nate, "You go here?" "Yeah," Nate said, looking just as unpleased with the situation as Christian. "Well, I hope you stop hitting on my little sister." Christian raised his eyebrows. "She's too young to date." "Excuse me?" My eyes widened. "You're not my dad. You're not even my brother." To my surprise, Christian's eyes narrowed at me. He looked annoyed of me, which was insane because once again he was ruining my chances of being with an incredibly cute guy. My eyes narrowed back at him. "Autumn," he said, almost patronizingly. "I'm trying to watch out for you." "Why?" I hissed, not bothering to hide my annoyance. "Because I'm your stepbrother," he replied simply, looking like he was already tired of this conversation. As he looked away from me, I suddenly felt furious. I felt like yanking his shirt to bring him to face me, and then telling him to leave me alone. That I did not need someone watching over me. That I was not the delicate little thing he treated me as. But instead of doing that, I took a deep breath in. My mind was still muddled up with angry thoughts, so I decided to say the first thing on my mind. "Christian," I said. "We may talk now, but you still meaning nothing to me. You need to realize we're not a family, and that you have no right to interfere with my life. So do us all a favour and leave me alone." Christian had been looking away from me, so I couldn't catch the expression on his face. However, I did catch the way his body suddenly stiffened. Being as mad as I was, a part of me felt satisfied knowing I caused him to do that. It showed me my words stung. Suddenly, Christian looked at Nate and said, "I expect you to stay away from her. Got that?" Despite wanting to punch Christian, I looked at Nate. He looked both awkward and nervous, making my anger for Christian rise. Once again, Christian had ruined my chances with him. Without saying another word, Christian just left. He turned around and walked away, leaving me watching him with anger burning within me. Shaking my head, I decided to forget about him for now. It was Nate who I needed to talk to. "I'm sorry," I said, looking back at Nate. "This always happens around you and I know it probably freaks you out, but... I don't know. Honestly, I don't know." That was the truth. I didn't know why Christian felt the need to protect me from Nate. He was just a guy and I was a teenager. Dating was what people did at my age, yet Christian was acting like it was a sin. I didn't understand. "It's okay," Nate said, smiling nervously. "You know, I still want to get to know you. Even with your stepbrother, I want to." With those words my anger vanished. It slipped away and now I felt the blossoming of butterflies within my stomach. Despite my freak of a stepbrother, he was willing to still get to know me. I smiled. "Really?" "Really." My smile turned to a grin.

Episode 16 Roars of laughter were erupting from the kitchen. That was where Christian, Stephen and my mom were cooking, bonding, doing whatever. From where I sat in the living room, I could tell they were having a great time. One without me. Sighing, I turned the volumn up on the television, trying to block off the sound. The sound of their laughter made me feel horrible. Not because I felt left out, but because I felt like I was back to the beginning of my hellish life. It was me against my family, which felt depressing when I thought Christian could be on my side. Even though I was the one ignoring him, the thought of my last hope getting crushed was unpleasant. But at the same time, I knew he deserved it. After what he did, he needed to learn that he was not my actual brother. Sighing, I brought my attention back to The Vampire Diaries. It was a Delena scene - the reason I watched the show - but I couldn't focus. Not when the one person I was furious at was laughing loudly, sounding as happy as ever. The idea stung, knowing he was happy without me. When it actually came down to it, he didn't need me. He never did. Maybe this entire time he was trying to be the nice guy and get to know me. And just maybe, he pitied me. I scowled at the thought, knowing that if Christian pitied me I would go back to hating him. Pity was the last thing I wanted, so if anyone gave me it I would detest them. Want them out of my life, in fact. My life may suck, but I didn't want anyone's pity. "Autumn!" Stephen called. "The food is ready." This time instead of getting up and going to them, I sat still. For a single second I contemplated going to them, eating with them like a family, but then I sighed. If we weren't a true family, what was the point in that. "I don't want to!" I yelled back, turning the volumn up higher. "Why?" Stephen asked. "Why should I?" My insides began to tingle as adrenaline flooded through me. It had been a while since I showed any of my family members my wrath, and a part of me was itching to do so now. Every single one of them annoyed me, and they needed to realize that. Stephen didn't reply, but I heard his loud steps come my way. Exiting the kitchen, he stood at the door with a frown plastered onto his face. My eyebrows raised as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the doorway. "You're not hungry?" he asked, staring at me with his eyes that almost matched Christian's. "Yeah," I replied. "But I don't want to come to the kitchen." "Why?" "Because, I don't want to eat with our dysfunctional family." Stephen suddenly sighed. He put a hand to his forehead and massaged his temples, looking exhausted. I rolled my eyes, but felt happy at the thought that I was acting bothersome. Hopefully that taught them to leave me alone. "Autumn, if we spend more time together we can become less of a dysfunctional family," Stephen said, sounding cautious. I scoffed. "Yeah, because all that time we've spent together in the summer has helped us so much." "Autumn..." "Dad, stop. Let me take care of this." I tried not to look surprise as Christian walked into the room, also looking tired. Ever since the Nate incident, we hadn't spoken. I didn't even go home with him ever since that day because I was that angry. Now that he wanted to suddenly talk to me, I was caught off guard and annoyed. "Autumn," Christian said, eyes hardening slightly. "You're mad at me. Don't take it out on our entire family." "What family?" I asked. "My own mom won't talk to me and you two are practically strangers. Why should I go to a kitchen with you people?" "I don't talk to you because you act like this." This time, I didn't try to hide my surprise as my mom entered the room. Her eyes narrowed at me as I froze on the couch, shocked she was here. This was the first sentence she said to me in a while. "You're my mom," I replied, trying to fight away the constricting of my throat. "You can't expect me to be fine with everything." "You didn't even give anything a chance," she snapped. "You just decided to hate everything the second you laid eyes on this change." "Because it was a horrible surprise!" I exclaimed. "You just changed my entire life without any warning. How do you expect me to be happy with this!" "Shut up Autumn!" she yelled back, causing me to jump. "You're so ungrateful! It's because you're a spoiled brat that you're not happy with this change!" My eyes widened at her words. Never had she ever spoken to me like this. Even with some of the terrible things I did in the past, she would never have said those words. My heart clenched and to my horror, I found my eyes tearing up. Not knowing what to say, I looked at Stephen and Christian. Both of their eyes were widened, and I knew they didn't expect my mom to say that either. This wasn't who she was. Well, that was what we all thought. "Alice," Stephen said gently. "Relax. Autumn has every right to be unhappy. You have to understand that." My mom's eyes lost their coldness as she looked at Stephen. She still didn't look happy, but at least she didn't look ready to murder someone. Knowing I made her look like that, I found myself fighting back tears. "I don't understand," my mom replied, shaking her head. "There's nothing wrong with you guys. She's being unreasonable." "She's a kid. We shouldn't have thrown this at her." My mom rolled her eyes and turned around, storming off. Stephen looked uneasy as he glanced at Christian, and I didn't know how to describe how Christian looked. From what I could tell, he looked empty. But looking down at his hands, I saw that they were clenched into fists. My eyes widened, wondering why he was mad. Stephen soon walked after my mom and I was back to feeling like shit. More than anything, I wanted to run upstairs and bawl my eyeballs out, knowing my mom hated me. Detested me even. She probably wanted me to die, I realized. I really wanted to run away at this point, but I didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction of me bawling my eyes out. Honestly, I also didn't want Christian seeing me be the delicate thing he thought I was once again. Suddenly, I heard footsteps move away from me. Looking back at where Christian once stood, I saw that he had left. Sighing to myself, I decided to bring my attention back to the television. Although, it was hard to focus with a heavy heart and teared filled eyes. However, literally a second later I heard footsteps enter the room. My eyes flew to the entrance, and they widened as I watched Christian walk to to me with two plates in his hand. Seeing the expression on his face, I knew he was angry. But not at me - surprisingly - but at something else. I wondered if it was my mom. Once he was in front of me, he handed me the plate of noodles and said, "Here." I stared at him for a second, wondering what his intentions were. Deep inside I knew he felt bad for me, but right now I didn't care. I couldn't care because I did feel pitiful. Taking the plate for him silently, my attention returned to the television. I expected him to leave, but to my surprise I felt the couch sink beside me. Glancing to my left, I saw that Christian was sitting beside me, digging into his food as he turned his attention to the television. I suddenly heard footsteps entering the room again, and my eyes widened as Stephen walked up to us with his own plate of food. He had a sad smile on his face as he made eye contact with me, but he quickly sat down next to Christian and also turned his attention to the screen. My once sad heart was now beating rapidly, wondering what was going on. "Alice is mad," Stephen whispered so quietly to Christian, that I barely caught it. "Good," Christian simply replied. At those words, I found myself smiling to myself. Even though I still felt like crying, I now felt like crying for another, better reason. A reason that was because they had chosen me. Over my mom, they picked to eat lunch with me. Knowing at least two people who I had to see everyday didn't hate me, I suddenly felt both relieved and to my surprise, happy.

Episode 17 I laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling as my manga book lay on my stomach. Closing my eyes, I thought about yesterday, of how my mom snapped at me like that. It sure as hell hurt, but I was over it. Mostly over it, because there was literally nothing I could do. After the whole incident, I had run into my room and stayed there for the entire day. I didn't cry, I didn't throw a fit. I just sat on my bed and thought. Thought about ways of just leaving, running away from my problems. My mom wouldn't care, I didn't have anything or anyone left here, so why didn't I? The answer was simple. What Stephen and Christisn did yesterday showed me that I might actually have people who care about me. Who would stick by me, even when I didn't deserve it. What they did really touched me. Especially since Stephen chose me over his wife, who was actually pretty annoyed that the three of us were eating in the living room. Knowimg he did that, my respect for him grew a lot. However, when it came to Christian, I didn't know what to feel. Even though I was touched by what he did, I couldn't help but still be mad at him. Not just because of what he did to Nate, but because he was the biggest reminder that my mom hated me. Actually, I was pretty sure she only hated me because of him. Mr. Perfect who had seemed to accept this new life with open arms, unlike me. It seemed like we were back to the start, and I was too tired to care at this point. Opening my eyes, I stared up at the ceiling that was blank. I began to wonder what I would do from now on, or even how I would survive in this house. My mom hated me, whatever that was Christian related was complicated, and Stephen was just Stephen. Someone who didn't harm anyone, but wasn't very helpful anyways. As I stared up at the ceiling thinking about my life, I suddenly smelt smoke. Frowning, I shook my head and assumed it was just my imagination. But then, I smelt it again. My heartbeat picked up, knowing it wasn't just my imagination. Getting off of my bed quickly, I rushed out of my room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Just like two months ago, the kitchen was filled with smoke. Surprisingly, I found myself smiling instead of having an heart attack as I rushed to the stove. Christian was standing in front of the stove, waving a dishtowel around wildly. I stared at him dumbfounded, wondering what the boy was doing. Soon it hit me. He was going the steps wrong. "Again Christian?" I asked, taking the dishtowel from him. He looked at me, eyes wide with panic. "Why are you so calm?" I shrugged and shook my head. "You're the adult here. I can't believe it." As I looked back at Christian, I was surprised to see that he was actually smiling. Even though he looked nervous, he was smiling naturally. I bit my lip and fought back my own smile, knowing we weren't exactly on the best terms. "I'll take you through the steps of dealing with burning food," I said. "You really need to know how to do this." Christian's smile grew. "I know, but won't the house burn down at any second?" "No... I hope." Christian chuckled at that and my heavy heart from yesterday lightened up a bit. I decided to forget all about my feelings of anger towards Christian and my sadness from yesterday as I watched him chuckle. "First," I began. "Turn off the stove." He obeyed quickly and I was pleased to see that the bowl of pasta had stopped overflowing. A part of me realized how stupid I was for not rushing through this process, but at least the house didn't burn down. There was no need to worry, I assumed happily. "Next, open the windows. We need to get the smoke out of here," I told him. "I'll put the pot in the sink while you do that." Christian obeyed once again, eyes softening as he turned around and left. Using the dish towel I was still holding, I grabbed the pot and walked over to the sink, pouring the water out of the pot. Seeing that the pasta was completely burnt, I frowned. I wondered what he was trying to do by himself. As I began to open my mouth to ask Christian, I heard a shriek. I jumped and nearly dropped the pot from the shriek. Quickly putting the pot into the sink, I turned to face where the sound came from. There, standing with her hands on her hips was my mom. Her eyes were narrowed, her jaw was clenched. I gulped, realizing my mom was about to blow. Just like when Christian had dropped the Alfredo pasta a while back, she'd freak out. "What have you done!" Mom screamed, pointing a finger at me. "What is wrong with you Autumn!" I stared at her stunned. At this point, I knew there was no point in arguing with her. No matter what I said or did, she would be on Christian's side. I was smart enough to know that much. "Autumn, can't you do anything right?" she continued to scold, seeing that I wouldn't say anything. "Who told you to cook in the first place? You-" "Alice," Christian suddenly said, cutting in. "I was cooking. Not Autumn." My eyes widened as they flew to where Christian stood. He was standing in front of the window, staring at my mom as he crossed his arms over his chest. Somehow, he looked both innocent and stern. My heart skipped a beat, shocked overall that he was actually speaking up. "Christian," my mom said, frowning. "You're too nice. Don't take the blame for Autumn." I nearly scoffed at that, wondering what the hell was wrong with my own mom. Christian was not her son. They weren't technically related. Yet, she was choosing him over her actual daughter. "I'm not," Christian replied. "I was cooking and I messed up. Autumn just helped me. Without her the house might've burned down." "Christian," she said tentatively. "You-" "Alice, stop," he said, sounding suddenly annoyed. "You need to stop treating your daughter so poorly. No wonder she snaps a lot, you made her like this." My mom actually flinched at those words. Maybe from Christian's flat tone as well. To her he was golden boy; innocent and genuinely a good child. What he said must've stunned her, but not me. I knew this boy better than her, it seemed. I fought back a smile at the thought. My mom looked down suddenly and turned around. My eyes widened, shocked that she was just going to take that from him. If it were from me, I would've gotten screamed at. Despite everything, it seemed like my mom really loved Christian and she always would no matter what he said or did. "Okay," my mom said, walking away from us and up the stairs. "Just don't do it again." I scoffed as she disappeared, annoyed that he only got a simple response. Shaking my head, I chose to ignore that and finally let the warmth at the pit of my stomach blossom. Honestly, it was such a small thing, but it meant a lot. A lot because it was my mom he had stood up to for me. He had put her in her place, for me. I was pleasantly surprised. Looking at him, I was surprised to see that he was staring at me. His eyes had a gentle look to them as he stared at me, making me blush. Just like those weird moments with him, I felt like I was transforming into a girl. "Thank you," I said to him. "I can't believe you actually talked back to her." "It's the least I could do." He shrugged. "Your mom... She needs to be taught a lesson." I couldn't help but smile. "What you said should hopefully be a rude awakening." He smiled as well. "Hopefully." We stared at each other for a second, and I found myself feeling warm. It was strange because what he did was what anyone with a good heart would do, but it had meant a lot to me. Probably because I knew he did it for me. Shaking my head, I decided to be the bigger person. For once, I would suck up my pride. "I'm sorry," I said, letting my smile fall. "I've been an asshole to you lately." "Don't be sorry," he said, frowning. "I shouldn't have tried to scare Nate away. You're right, I'm not your actual brother. I don't have the right to interfere." "No, you had good intentions in mind." I shrugged. "I prefer you not act on your intentions, but I guess it's nice to know you care." To my surprise, he blushed. Not just a small blush, but a full on reddening of his face blush. I had to fight back a smile at the sight, actually finding it cute. To more of my surprise, he then said, "Yeah, I care about you." This time I blushed as I looked down, not wanting to show him the reddening of my cheeks. My heart skipped a beat from the honesty in his tone. Not knowing what to say, I simply said, "Okay." To be continued

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its good u are loosening up,,,,,, but Wats actually wrong wit Ur mum

Episode 18 Dee and I walked to our lunch table carrying trays of food in our hands. As we made our way there in silence, I spotted Christian walking in our direction with another guy - surprisingly. And even though the guy was talking to Christian, Christian's bright eyes were on me. Before the day Christian stood up for me, I would have scowled at him. Maybe even have yelled at him for simply looking at me. But, things had definitely changed and I didn't want to do either. I didn't want to be a bitch anymore. So instead I actually smiled at him as his shoulder brushed my own. I noticed that he was smiling as well, glancing at me as we walked away. "Oh god," Dee suddenly said, snapping me back into reality as we reached our table. "It's so hard to keep up with you nowadays." I frowned. "What do you mean?" Sitting down, she said, "Weren't you about to murder him when he told Nate to leave you alone. What happened to that?" "That was a while back," I shot back, suddenly feeling defensive. Dee smiled as her eyes softened up. "I know. You don't need to get so defensive. I was joking." My cheeks reddened as I realized how I was acting. Even when Christian and I were on good terms it still seemed like I was becoming a psychopath because of the boy. Seeing that I wouldn't say anything, Dee asked, "How did you patch things up this time?" "He stood up for me to my mom," I replied, smiling at the thought. "He actually kind of told her off for me too." My smile grew at the thought. Even though nothing had changed between my mom and I, I was satisfied with the silence we had. A part of me hoped Christian's words had hit her hard, hurt her even, because she deserved to feel like shit. From the very person she cared about, she deserved it because that was what she was doing to me. Hurting me, when I still cared about her a lot. I shook that thought away and focused back on the thought of Christian. A smile instantly flew to my lips, feeling touched by the simple thing he'd done. "You're so cute Autumn," Dee suddenly commented. "Huh?" I frowned. "You're just smiling to yourself. It's cute." My cheeks turned red as I huffed, feeling embarrassed. Choosing to ignore Dee's comment, I grabbed my fork and dug into my salad. Dee did the same thing, smiling to herself as well. Much to my annoyance, her smile looked smug. After a few minutes of silence, Cheryl joined us. Carrying her own tray of salad, she came to our table with her glasses seeming about to slip down her nose. "Cheryl," I said once she sat down. "Your glasses are falling off." She quickly pushed her glasses back up and asked, "You and Christian. You guys are good?" I frowned. "Yeah. How do you know?" "You seem happier, he seems happier. The usual." My frown grew. "What do you mean?" Cheryl shook her head, grabbing her fork. "The both of you are too innocent. I wish you both the best of luck in the future." By now my eyes were narrowing as my frown stayed on my face. I had no idea what she was talking about. To me it seemed like gibberish. "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, wanting to understand. "Don't worry about it," she simply replied. Now, I felt a annoyed. She had been the one talking and now she wouldn't explain. I didn't get it. "Cheryl!" I snapped. "I-" "Autumn." I froze from the voice that still hadn't been scared away. The one that made butterflies form in my stomach. Mentally slapping myself for sounding like a bitch in front of him for the millionth time, I turned to face Nate. With his charming smile and lovely eyes, he asked, "How are you?" "Good," I replied, smiling at his gorgeous face. "How are you?" "Great." Neither of us said anything after that for a bit. We just looked at each other, smiling for no good reason. I felt nervous, like a girl in a way I was fine with. The fact that this boy would take time out of his day to talk to me was flattering. "Because of your stepbrother," Nate said, smiling with amusement. "We never got to hang out." "I know," I groaned. "But I dealt with him." Nate grinned. "Good. Cause I want to take you out on a date." My eyes widened. This was what I wanted. What I had hoped for secretly. I didn't expect it to happen so soon though, but I sure as hell was happy. "Yeah, that would be great," I replied, grinning. "Okay, let's exchange numbers so I can text you the details." "Okay." We did exactly that. Both of us wore smiles the entire time, and I felt my butterflies having seizures within me. If he wasn't still here, I would probably be dancing in joy at the thought of going on a date with his gorgeous guy. After we were done, Nate said goodbye and he left. I was still smiling as he walked away, feeling full of joy. I couldn't believe it still. "Autumn!" Dee exclaimed, making me turn around to face my friends I had forgotten about. "Oh my god! You're so lucky!" "I know." I grinned. "I can't believe it." "Who's that?" Cheryl suddenly asked. Remembering she didn't know him, I said, "Oh, he's this guy I find really cute. We met a while back and turns out he goes here." "And you're going on a date with him?" she asked. I nodded as my smile grew. It being said out loud was even better. "Why?" Cheryl asked, frowning. "What do you mean why?" I shot back instantly, wondering what was up with her. First she spoke gibberish and now she wasn't happy for me. She was one of my best friends, yet I didn't understand her. I didn't know what was up with her actually. Cheryl shrugged and I rolled my eyes. Choosing to ignore her, Dee and I talked gleefully about my future date. Excitement was fluttering throughout me the entire time as I ignored Cheryl. At this point, I didn't care about people who weren't happy for me. To be continued

Episode 19 "Christian!" I yelled, banging the washroom door loudly. "Get out! I need to straighten my hair!" This had never been a problem before. It wouldn't even be a problem if I didn't have a date with Nate. In two hours he would be picking me up, so I needed to straighten my hair in the washroom Christian was occupying. I groaned as I heard the shower still on and then yelled, "Christian!" Thankfully, at that moment the washroom turned silent. A smile flew to my lips as I heard Christian mutter to himself, sounding annoyed. I shrugged, knowing it wasn't my fault that my date with the cutest guy I'd seen was in two hours and my hair was a mess. Five minutes later, the washroom door flew open. I was about to say something to Christian as he now stood in front of me, but those words disappeared when I realized something. Christian was shirtless. His chest was at my eye level and it was rising and falling in a soothing pattern. Bringing my eyes down, I soon saw his well-defined abs, and it took everything within me to not stare at them. Because of that, I continued to bring my eyes down. But to my shock, I realized he was wearing nothing but a towel. My cheeks instantly reddened. "Why are you rushing me?" Christian asked as I stared down at his large, bare feet. "I need to use the washroom," I replied, trying to ignore the fact that his body seemed to be sculpted by God. Quickly, flying my eyes straight to his face, I looked at him. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was frowning, but I ignored those things. What I couldn't help but notice was his hair that had been brushed hastily by his fingers, and how it dripped water. Much to my horror and disgust, I began to feel nervous. So nervous that I couldn't look at him anymore. "There's like three other washrooms," he said, and I could hear the confusion in his voice. From living with Christian for six months, I knew he took long showers. Showers that were so long that I was surprised he didn't look like a prune. I knew I cut his shower time in half, but obviously I didn't care since I needed to straighten my hair. "But my straightener is in this washroom," I replied, still looking anywhere but at him. "I need to straighten my hair." "Why do you need to straighten your hair?" he asked. "Why are you even dressed up? I've never seen you in a skirt." Finally deciding to gain some guts, I looked at him. I looked at his face, ignoring everything that caught my attention and made me nervous, and just looked at his blue eyes. He looked genuinely curious, but there was also something in his eyes that I couldn't quite describe. Something, I couldn't help but wonder about. With a bit of reluctance, I said, "I have a date." Christian looked expressionless at that, but I caught the bit of annoyance in his voice. "With who?" "Nate." I halfheartedly smiled. "It seems like you couldn't scare him away." Christian exhaled heavily and ran his fingers through his wet hair. I couldn't help but notice the way his biceps flexed as he did that, causing my gut to twist. Looking back at me, he said with complete seriousness, "I should've tried harder." This time, I sighed as I realized we were about to go back to what happened a couple of weeks ago. Even though I felt annoyance at the way he was acting, I decided to not let it get the better of me. Today was supposed to be a good day. A day with a gorgeous guy. I wouldn't let Christian ruin my day. To be continued

Episode 20 I exited my room and froze, spotting the very boy I wasn't ready to see yet. He was standing a meter away from me, his arms crossed over his chest as he just stared at me. His blue eyes seeming to pierce my soul as I just stared at him blankly, unsure of what to do. "Come with me," he suddenly demanded. "Excuse me?" I replied, raising my eyebrows at his sudden demand. "We're leaving this house." I stepped back as he stepped forward, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Did the water from the long showers finally get to his head? "Are you okay?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. He sighed at that and ran his fingers through his messy hair. A small smile suddenly appeared at his lips, and I frowned as I became confused. Christian and I talked now, but we weren't close. Talking at home to each other was rare due to that. Christian eventually looked back at me and his eyes looked suddenly sad. "I want to hang out today. It's an apology for... Yesterday." I frowned, unsure of why he was apologizing. It was I who had yelled at him. "Why are you sorry?" I asked. "I snapped at you, I should be sorry." He suddenly blushed and I tilted my head, curious of what was going on. As he looked away from me, I saw that his ears were completely red. This seemed to be the first time I ever saw him blush. "You're not going to make me say it, are you?" he asked, still looking away from me. "Christian, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," I said honestly. He sighed lightly and kept his face turned from me. "I'm sorry... For closing up on you and saying those things." With that vague sentence, what he was talking about hit me. I had been so focused on my nervous feelings and Christian's body, I forgot about what he did. Of how he put his arm around me and asked if I liked what I saw. My own cheeks turned red at the memory, and to my horror my heart started beating rapidly. "Oh," I simply said, looking away from him as well. "It's fine. From the lack of girls in your life, what you did was sadly normal." To my relief, he actually chuckled at that. The awkward tension dispersed and I brought my eyes back to look at him. He was still blushing, but I knew that I was as well. We were even, for once. "Do you still want to hang out?" he asked as his eyes softened. I nodded. "I do." ***** I got out of Christian's car and took a deep breath in. The smell of the place was fresh, wonderful, and something I wasn't used to because my mom hadn't brought me to a beach in years. Once again, because it was a reminder of my dad. I heard footsteps near me and I knew who it was. Naturally, I knew those footsteps anywhere. A perk of living with him. "Do you like it?" Christian asked. I smiled as I looked at him. "I love it." Christian was already smiling, but his smile seemed to grow at those words. Putting a hand on my lower back, he gently pushed me forward. I found myself stiffening at that, but not necessarily in my old hateful ways towards him. "We should find a spot," he said. "Before more people come to the beach." We both began walking at that, but I rolled my eyes. There were barely anyone at the beach, and I knew there wouldn't be much more coming. The beach we were at was your not-so typical beach. It had a bit of sand, but a lot of large rocks varying in sizes. Those rocks were aligned naturally in front of the deep sea, and that was where people sat. No one swam - it was illegal - but it was still an amazing place to be at. The scenery of it was truly beautiful. As we reached one large rock, the both of us got on it. I was thankful that I was wearing leggings today, because at my short height it was difficult to get onto the rock. Christian actually looked amused at the sight. "You're an ass," I said, huffing as I crossed my legs on the rock. "Selfish too because you could've helped me up, you know." "I thought you didn't need someone taking care of you," he said, grinning as I scowled. "Shut up." I shook my head and tried to hide my smile that was appearing. "So, what are we going to do?" "What do you mean?" he asked. "Did you expect me to plan something for the day?" "Um, yeah. Did you expect us to have a blast just sitting here on rocks?" He sighed and I knew as usual I was annoying him. It was a notable that he didn't just run to his car and leave me here to die at this point. I probably would've done so to him, if he wasn't a nice guy. "Well we could swim," he eventually replied, smiling. My eyes narrowed at him. "Yes, let's swim in our regular clothes illegally. It'll be a blast when the cops come." Christian bit his lip, looking like he was trying to fight back a laugh. I couldn't help but also fight back my own smile, wanting to seem as serious as possible. "Well, we could just wear nothing and swim," he offered. "You know, we missed all those years of bathing naked together. We could catch up now." My jaw dropped at those words. "Christian!" He laughed. "And if you're worried about the police, fuck them. Us fulfilling those memories we've missed out on is more important." "You're disgusting!" I exclaimed. But before I knew it, I was laughing. Dying because this boy was strange in a way I hadn't really noticed before. My whole body was shaking with laughter, and I was glad to notice he was laughing too. When I finally calmed down, I said, "That seems like fun, but at this age that would be incest. Remember, I'm not about that life." Christian smirked at that. "Didn't seem that way yesterday." At that my face turned completely red. My embarrassment and horror seeped through me, realizing he knew the effect he had on me yesterday. Mentally, I kicked myself for acting like such a ditzy girl. "Screw you," I huffed, annoyed with myself more than him. Christian broke out into a grin, but he changed topic, "Let's find something to do, okay." "Okay." I took a deep breath in. ***** "Catch it Christian! You suck at frisbee!" I yelled, watching Christian sprint for the frisbee we found laying across the ground. I laughed as Christian nearly tripped over a rock to catch the red frisbee. As he recovered, he glared at me from where he stood meters away. I grinned innocently. "It looks like we're still tied!" I yelled as he continued to glare at me. "But guess who's going to be the winner?" "Me!" he yelled back. "Remember bowling." I huffed. "Screw you! Don't be so cocky!" Christian broke out into a grin and rolled my eyes. He threw the frisbee towards me, and despite being caught off guard I caught it with ease. I smiled smugly at him. "See! Unlike you I don't struggle to catch a frisbee!" I yelled. I watched him roll his eyes and point at me. "What a shit talker! Watch me win!" I grinned and threw the frisbee his way, and to my annoyance he actually caught it with ease. This time, he smiled smugly at me as he got ready to throw. He then proceeded to pretend throw it a few times, making me annoyed. Suddenly, he then yelled, "Autumn! You're beautiful!" My heart froze at those words and I just stared at him blankly, completely thrown off guard at those words. At the same time he threw the frisbee and after a few seconds, I noticed what he did, and leaped for the frisbee. To my horror and annoyance, I didn't catch it. I glowered at him as he ran up to me. "Guess who won!" he shouted, racing towards me. "Screw you!" I yelled at him. "You cheated." He grinned sheepishly and kept running at me. As he neared me he didn't slow down, so I frowned as I stepped back. He looked ready to plow down anything in his way to me. Expecting him to make an abrupt stop in front of me, I was shocked to see that he wouldn't. Instead, he actually bent down quickly and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I screamed at the sudden action, fearing for my life as he continued running. "What are you doing!" I yelled, slapping him on the back as he continued to run. "I'm going to punish you," he simply replied. "For what!" "For shit talking and then losing." I knew he was smiling at this point, so I decided to pound my fists against his back. To my annoyance, he wouldn't loosen his grip on me, so I was stuck being carried by him. I groaned, but then yelped as he suddenly jumped. Looking at the ground, I realized we were on top of a rock. "What are you doing?" I asked, suddenly feeling nervous. "I'm going to throw you into the sea," he said casually. "Christian! Let go of me!" "Not until you apologize," he said, and I could hear the amusement in his voice. "Never!" I shouted defiantly. To my horror, he moved me from his shoulder to his arms, so that he was holding me bridal style. He looked down at me as I simply stared back up at him, surprised by how strong he was. Despite all the running and carrying me, he didn't look tired. "You really want to test me?" he asked, taking a step forward so that he was at the edge of the rock - right in front of the sea. "You would never," I shot back, smiling proudly at the truth. He then shrugged and put his arms forward so that I was a foot away from him and above the sea. I shrieked, wondering how the hell he hadn't dropped me yet. "Christian!" I screamed. "Stop!" "Say sorry," he said, smiling at me despite my life being literally in his hands. "No! Christian!" "Goodbye Autumn. It was nice knowing you for six months of my life." "Christian!" I shrieked as he lowered his arms. Seeing that he wouldn't change his mind, I yelled, "Fine! I'm sorry!" He grinned as he quickly pulled his arms towards him, almost crashing me into his chest. With one graceful movement, he then stepped away from the edge of the rock and jumped off it. At the sandy ground, I then pushed myself away from him and nearly fell onto the ground. Thankfully, I landed somewhat gracefully in a crouched position on the ground. Standing back up, I glowered at him. "I hate you." "Sure you do, Autumn," he said, smiling smugly. I huffed and he began laughing, annoying me as usual. By to my surprise, I actually began smiling at the sight of him laughing his childlike laugh. He looked so happy and carefree that I almost felt touched by the very sight of him. "I can't believe I ever thought you were nice," I said as he laughed, biting my lip to fight back a smile. He stopped laughing and said very seriously, "I was, but I met you." "Asshole!" He began laughing again, and this time I joined him. The rest of the day was just as great and I found myself truly becoming fond of Christian. I felt thankful that he was my stepbrother. Not some boring, asshole, but him. A nice, fun, somewhat asshole that actually wanted to be around me. With no family, I felt happy knowing that I might've made a new one. To be continued

Autumn, you see what you've been missing all these while. So much fun and happiness you're now having with your stepbrother

thank God u guys are going along now

next, epizode

Wow i love it

I am happy for you

Episode 21 "It was so much fun," I gushed to Dee, leaning against the locker next to hers. "I would do it all over again." Dee smiled. "Your date with Nate was that great, huh?" I suddenly blushed, realizing I hadn't specified who the person was. To make it worst, Nate was definitely not the person I was talking about. It was actually Christian, who had given me the best Sunday of the year. Seeing my reaction, Dee frowned and then asked, "Wait, you're not talking about Nate?" I shook my head, suddenly feeling embarrassed. At this point, I knew my friends would think I was obsessed with Christian. Dee broke out into a grin after I finished shaking my head. Her eyes brightened up and I sighed, knowing what would happen. "Christian, you had a lot of fun with Christian?" she asked. I nodded awkwardly. "Yeah." "Okay, you definitely don't hate him anymore." Her grin grew. "Do you love him, actually?" "Yuck!" I exclaimed at those words. "Even if he's a part of my family I would never say those words about him." Dee laughed. "You will soon." I scowled and she laughed harder. Shaking my head next, I found myself smiling at the thought of the future. Maybe I didn't have any blood related family, but at least I had some sort of new family. One that wasn't perfect, but was the closest thing I had to one it seemed. I wasn't just talking about Christian either. Stephen was kind of a cool guy as well. "I still can't get at your gorgeous brother?" Dee suddenly asked, growing serious. I groaned, tired of this conversation we seemed to always have. She needed to realize no means no. " Dee you can't," I said, narrowing my eyes at her. "You can't now, you can't ever. Okay?" She frowned. "Why can't I? You don't hate him anymore." "But he's still my stepbrother. He's off limits." "Why?" She tilted her head slightly with curiosity evident in her eyes. "Why does that even matter anyways?" I huffed and tried to think about a smart yet sassy remark to shoot back at her. To my disappointment though, I couldn't. Not even a small reason could come to my mind. Eventually, I huffed again. "Because, okay." Dee opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by a guy saying my name. The both of us turned to face the owner, and I found myself smiling at the guy I recently went on a date with. Even with our bad date, I was glad to see he hadn't given up on me. "Hey," Nate said, smiling at me. "Hey," I said, feeling my stomach stir at the sight of his handsome face. Some things were too good to be true, and it seemed like Nate was definitely one of them. He was gorgeous. His face looked sculpted from Jesus himself. Glancing at his body, I wondered if his body was also sculpted as perfect as Christian's. My face reddened at the thought and I mentally slapped myself. I had no idea what I was thinking. "Are you okay?" Nate asked, frowning as I quickly nodded my head. "Yeah," I lied. "I'm great." "Your face is red... You sure?" At that, my cheeks heated up even more. From my peripheral vision I noticed that Dee was watching me, tilting her head as if deep in thought. Horror rose up within me at that, wondering if she'd find out about what I thought. If she did, I would transfer schools. Trying to change subject, I asked, "What are you doing here?" "Oh." Nate's eyes brightened up. "I want to ask you out on another date." My heart lightened at those words and I forgot all about my embarrassment. Nate asking me on another date so soon was touching. Self esteem boosting, as well. "Sure," I said, grinning. "Where are we going this time?" "The New Year's Dance," he replied. "That's fine with you, right?" With everything going on in my life, with all of the flipping around with liking and hating Christian, I had allowed a lot of the holidays to fly by. Usually I would dress up for Halloween and we would buy a turkey for Thanksgiving, but this year we did nothing. Probably with all of the drama going on, none of us were in the festive move. I know I wasn't. Nate asking me to a New Years dance was both thrilling and scary due to that. "Sounds great," I replied eventually, forcing myself to snap out of my thoughts. "Text me, okay?" "Okay." Nate grinned. "I'm shocked your stepbrother isn't hunting me down in the hallways for taking you out on a date." I laughed awkwardly at that, getting a reminder of the day from those words. If he hadn't did what he did, I knew Christian would've been hunting Nate down. In fact, I doubted Nate would be alive at this point. I still didn't understand why Christian hated Nate, but by now I knew what Christian would do to this boy. He had the muscles to do so too. Shit . My face turned red as a picture of Christian's body flashed before my mind. By now I had to urge to slam my head against a locker so that I would get amnesia and erase the memory from my mind. It was literally haunting me at this point. "Are you sure you're okay?" Nate asked again, frowning. "Yeah," I lied again. "I'll talk to you later. Bye." His frown grew as I flatly said that, and he turned around and walked away. I sighed at that, knowing as usual I had scared him away. Unlike Christian, I had a bad feeling that Nate wouldn't take my random bitch moments for long. I sighed at that. "What was that about?" Dee asked. "What?" I asked tiredly, wanting to forget about what happened. "Why did you keep blushing?" She tilted her head slightly as curiosity filled her eyes. "What were you thinking about?" At that, I blushed. It took everything within me to not bash my head into a locker, knowing I was truly a psychopath. And as usual, it was Christian who was turning me into one. Not my mom who hated me, not my new dad who could never replace my old dad, but an eighteen year old boy who happened to be both nice and annoying, but fun as well. Dee smiled as I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. Holding my head up defiantly, I knew there was one response I could give to my best friend. "Nothing, it's none of your business," I said. She pouted and gave me puppy dog eyes. "Ouch. I'm your best friend. We're girls. We tell each other everything." "Not this," I replied, smiling as her pout grew. "Why not?" "It would show you and myself that I lost my mind," I admitted, knowing the truth. I had once hated this boy. Hated him so much that I wouldn't care if a car ran over him. Only six months later was I now having his bare chest flashing before my eyes, making me nervous in that disgusting, teenage hormonal girl way. This was not who I was, and it showed me that Christian was turning me into a psychopath. Tbc

Episode 22 "Do I look like a slut?" Dee asked, raising her eyebrows as she twirled around for me. Her dress was black and skin tight, so I didn't understand the purpose of twirling around. There was no space for it to soar, especially when it barely reached half her thigh. But despite that, I had to admit she looked great. And even though she was going to the New Years dance alone, it didn't seem she would be leaving alone. "Yeah, you do," I said, smiling as her jaw dropped. Before I could admit I was joking, she then closed her jaw. She straightened up and smirked, looking suddenly pleased with the response. "Where's Christian's room?" she suddenly asked, sounding as innocent as ever. This time my jaw dropped. My eyes even widened as her words echoed through my mind. Before I knew it I was scowling at her, feeling disgusted. "Dee." My scowl grew. "That's... Sick." She laughed. "Saying your best friend looks slutty is sick." I couldn't stop my smile from appearing at that. Shaking my head, I forgot about what she said. Thankfully . "I was joking," I admitted, smiling. "You look great. Straight hair suits you." "Thank you." She grinned, flipping her hair away from her shoulders. "Think I can find myself someone hot?" I shook my head at that, wondering how I was friends with someone so boy crazed. "Maybe." Dee smirked. "Someone as hot as Christian?" I groaned and turned around, ignoring her words. At this point I knew she'd be obsessed with Christian forever, and there was nothing I could do but ignore her. So shrugging, I got ready. ***** "Autumn," Dee said, sounding amazing. "Wow." I found myself blushing as I wondered what I should do with my loosely curled hair. Leaving it out completely looked great, wow like Dee said. But, it wasn't a look I was accustomed to. Curling my hair was something I wasn't accustomed to either. This was all new to me, and I felt awkward. "Thanks," I replied awkwardly. "What should I do with my hair?" "Leave it out." She smiled from where she sat on my bed. "It looks great." "But-" I suddenly heard a knock on the door, causing me to frown. No one had been at home, yet now someone was knocking on my door. I wondered who it was. Quickly, I opened the door and Christian stood before me. His mouth opened as if he was about to say something, but when his eyes met my face, no words came out of his mouth. Instead, he just stared at me with his blue eyes glistening with thoughtfulness. My heart suddenly began to accelerate as he brought his eyes down my body slowly, analyzing every part of me. In the maroon dress I wore that hugged my body, I suddenly felt insecure. In front of this young adult, I wondered if he was judging my child-like body that lacked any sort of curves. With Dee now standing in front of my bed, he had her - who had wonderful curves - to compare me to as well. My cheeked heated up. But then, Christian slowly brought his eyes back up to my face. When his eyes locked with mine again, I became surprised when I noticed that his eyes lost their thoughtfulness. Instead they now looked gentle, affectionate almost as they just stayed staring at my own brown eyes. Not knowing what to do as my heart thumped, I just stared back at him. In about a minute, Dee cleared her throat from behind us. That seemed to waken Christian up because he quickly moved his eyes away from mine to look at Dee. Finding my heartbeat slowing down, I also looked at Dee who stood where she was watching us. With her head titled slightly, she almost seemed to be studying us. "Do you think Autumn should leave her hair as it is?" Dee asked, looking at Christian as her eyes glistened with awe at the boy she found gorgeous. Christian quickly brought his eyes back to mine, and looked at my hair. With his eyes still looking gentle, he nodded as he suddenly walked past me and into my room. "Yeah, she should," he replied as I turned around. For some reason I was lost for words as Christian leaned against my mirror table. He looked comfortable. Too comfortable in my room when my heart was still beating faster than I would like it to. Knowing it needed to calm down, I took a few deep breaths in and out. This was Christian, I tried to remind myself. Just some guy you lived with. Once my heart calmed down, I looked back at Christian. He was still in the same spot as before, but now he seemed to be analyzing my room. To my horror and surprise, I realized this was his first time in my room. I found myself scowling, also noticing that Dee had moved closer to Christian. Wanting him gone, I asked flatly, "What do you want?" To my annoyance, he asked, "Where are you going?" I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. "I asked you first." "I wanted to hang out." His face remained expressionless at that. "So, where are you going?" Adrenaline pumped through me - even with those words - as we stared at each other for a second. I still didn't know why, but Christian could easily do that to me. Just his presence sometimes put me on this sort of edge. Even though I liked him, it seemed like he could easily get on my bad side. "I'm going to a dance," I said, trying to sound firm because I knew I would anger him with this information. "With Nate." He didn't react to my words. Instead, he just stared at me for another second. I stared back, waiting for his response. "Why?" he simply asked, remaining expressionless. "Because I want to." I took a step towards him. "I want to go on a date with him because I find him cute." "Isn't that a bit shallow?" I rolled my eyes. "And because he's a nice guy. Don't worry Christian, nothing will happen if I date a guy like Nate." This time Christian rolled his eyes. "You don't even know him." "I would if you let me get to know him," I snapped. Christian sighed at that and he ran his fingers through his hair tiredly. When he looked back at me, his eyes looked at me as if I was that little kid he had given up on. That kid he knew lecturing would never help. Instead of getting angrier, I suddenly felt hurt by that. Hurt that he thought the same as my mom. "Guys," Dee suddenly said. "Please don't tell me you guys are going to fight. It's not a pretty sight and I would rather leave." Christian sighed at that, his body sagging as he leaned back against my table. "No, I'll leave. Take care of Autumn, okay?" "I don't need to be taken care of!" I exclaimed, exasperated. Ignoring me, Christian stood up. Without looking at either of us, he then walked towards the door I stood beside. Unlike him, my eyes stuck to him. "Wait, Christian," Dee suddenly said. "Why don't you come to the dance. As my date." Both Christian and I froze at those words. He turned around and my eyes flew to Dee, shocked. As she stood there, smiling boldly, I suddenly have the urge to slap her. After seeing what had gone down between the two of us, after all of the times I told her to back off from him, she didn't seem to listen me. Anger boiled in my veins. To my horror, Christian replied, "Sure." "Really?" Dee asked, sounding just as shocked as I felt. "Yeah, it sounds fun." He shrugged. "What should I wear?" "Um." Dee broke out into a smile. "Just a dress shirt and pants. Even if you come dressed like a hobo, you'd still look better than the others." Internally, I gagged at that. I then watched as Christian's lip tugged up as he suppressed a smile. To my confusion, I suddenly felt sick. As if someone had punched me in the gut. "Okay, I'll get ready," he then simply said. He quickly left after that without even sparing me a glance. My eyes widened as I just looked down, wondering what the hell had happened. We had almost fought and then my best friend had asked him to be her date. To a dance where my date - who he hated - would attend. Anger was pumping through me at this point. Before I knew it, I slammed the door shut. My eyes then flew to Dee, who's eyes were now widened. I scowled at her. "What the hell was that?" I asked, throwing my hands up into the air in frustration. "What?" Dee asked, trying to look innocent despite that fact that her eyes looked bright with happiness. If this had been another case, I would've been happy for her. Hell, I'd be celebrating with her. But in the situation we were in, I felt betrayed. "How many times did I tell you that you can't date him?" I hissed. "And really, after our near fight you ask him on a date. Do you even care abut me?" To my shock, Dee suddenly looked tired. She sighed and just like Christian, I knew she felt like she was dealing with a child. Both hurt and fury rose up to my throat. "Relax Autumn," Dee said. "You guys didn't even fight, and Christian is just looking out for you. That's such a stupid reason to fight." I felt like someone slapped me with those words. Fighting back any sort of expression, I decided to go back to my original reason of why I was so mad. "That doesn't change the fact that you didn't listen to me," I said, noticing my anger sinking as hurt filled my chest in an almost physically painful way. "I told you a million times not to go after him." To my surprise, Dee's eyes teared up. She looked at me with her eyes looking sad, and suddenly my own feelings of anger and hurt vanished. Dee was always so happy. Seeing her like this was rare. "When was the last time I went on a date?" she suddenly asked. "When was the last time I had someone to call mine?" I looked down as the pain in her eyes were evident. My last boyfriend had been two years ago, and hers was before that. It had been a long time. "You have a date," Dee continued, and I looked back up at her. "You can't just expect me to be the third wheel." I was speechless as she walked towards me. My throat felt constricted, and I knew that she had a point. Everyone hated being the third wheel. What she had asked for was beneficial to herself. I should be happy for her. I should. When Dee reached me, she gently grabbed my arms. I stared at her, still speechless as she looked at me with her tear filled eyes. "Why is it such a bad thing for me to go on a date with Christian?" she asked. "What is your problem with it?" I had no response. Deep inside, I kept telling myself that I should be happy for her. That this was okay. But the other parts of me still felt hurt. For some crazy feeing, I felt betrayed by not only her, but by Christian. Shaking my head, I decided to push all this drama away. This pointless, heartbreaking drama. I had a date with Nate soon and I needed to make it a good one. Every time we tried to get closer there was always an issue, so I couldn't let this be one of them. Knowing his patience would eventually tire, I just had to suck up everything. Looking Dee in the eyes, I said seriously, "Fine. It's okay." Her eyes brightened up and I wondered if she was actually sad in the first place. But before I could question it longer, Dee embraced me. She squealed and hugged me tightly, and I groaned. Deep inside I wasn't satisfied, but I knew this was the best option. I couldn't keep fighting with everyone. . TBC

Episode 23 I glanced at Nate who was driving and frowned. Bringing my eyes away from him, I internally sighed as I realized he wasn't happy with the situation we were in. Lucky for him, I wasn't either. Christian had gotten ready quickly in a blue shirt and black pants. I was caught off guard when I saw him because I rarely ever saw him dressed up, and because he never wore anything that wasn't black. Instead of commenting on those things though, I just ignored him and left to wait for Nate. Nate soon came. Like a gentleman, he got out of his car and rang the doorbell. Since I had been waiting for him while Dee and Christian talked, I opened it quickly and commented on how great he looked. He did the same, saying that I looked hot. At that moment Christian stepped forward and asked him to refrain from using that word on his 'sister'. I rolled my eyes at that, and Nate's eyes widened as he realized Christian was coming with us. Being the bigger person, he then chose to ignore Christian - just like me. We all then went to Nate's car. So there we were, on our way to the dance held at a hall. Nate and I hadn't said a word the entire time, but from where I sat in the passenger seat I could hear Christian and Dee talking. As I glanced up at the rearview mirror, I saw that Dee was doing most of the talking. She looked animated doing so, and Christian was listening attentively. After watching her for a bit, I noticed with a heavy heart that she looked really happy. We soon reached the hall and the four of us got out of the car. Nate quickly came to my side and I smiled at him. I hoped we would be able to talk inside, away from the two people I couldn't help but slightly resent after the events of today. Suddenly leaning close to my ear, Nate whispered, "Your stepbrother isn't going to watch your every move today, is he?" "He better not," I muttered, glancing at Christian who still seemed to be listening to Dee attentively. "I'm so sick of his overprotectiveness." "Me too," he muttered. With that response, I knew Nate was getting tired. I didn't blame him at all because I was also tired. If Christian did anything to ruin my seemingly last chance with Nate, I knew I would never forgive him. "Shall we go?" Nate asked louder this time, moving away from me. I nodded. To my delight, Nate then grabbed my hand. He smiled at me as I blushed lightly, and then lead me inside. Dee and Christian became a background noise at that. ***** Our hands were still holding each other's, but I now had to urge to let go of his sweaty hand. Not even because of its stickiness, but because I wanted to get away from Nate. Away from how awkward I felt. This date was not what I expected. What I had expected was for us to talk. To laugh and get to know each other. And while doing that, we'd be dancing until our ankles snapped. But instead of all that, we were standing off in a corner, holding hands without saying a word. That was the exact opposite of what I had wanted. I glanced at Nate, wondering how he wasn't dying of boredom. When I saw his face, I noticed he looked intrigued. Almost fascinated as he stared at the dance floor covered with sweaty teenagers. The very teenagers I wanted to join, but couldn't. Seeing him so fascinated, I decided to look at the dance floor as well. I just needed something to get rid of my boredom. Something that wouldn't make me regret going on this date. Honestly, a part of me felt pretty shitty that I had gone through so much trouble for him. It wasn't worth it at this point. As my eyes flew to the dancefloor, I saw what I expected. Teenagers dancing their hearts out, laughing, and some public displays of affection that I quickly looked away from. I wasn't entertained yet, but seeing them have fun lightened my heart up a bit. Also made feel a bit jealous too, I had to admit. My eyes wandered around the dance floor for a bit more. Nothing caught my attention for a while, but soon my eyes widened as I saw a pair dancing their hearts out. Standing incredibly close to each other, they were laughing as they looked like they didn't have a care in the world. They were the replicas of what Nate and I were supposed to be today. As the girl threw her head back, I realized in shock that the girl was Dee. At that very moment, my eyes widened and my heart sunk. Without giving Dee a second glance, my eyes flew to the boy that happened to be Christian. With my eyes still wide, I stared at Christian. I watched him laugh with his eyes as bright as ever. Right now, he looked incredibly happy. Happier than I'd ever seen him. And for some reason, I felt like I got punched in the stomach from that. Forcing my eyes to move away from him, I began to look at the ground. My heart felt heavy and I knew exactly how I felt towards them. Envious. For some crazy, stupid reason I wanted to leave. I didn't want to be here anymore. Nate and I had no chemistry it seemed, so there was no point of being here anyways. Suddenly, I felt my hand being tugged. I looked up at Nate who was smiling at me. Somehow, he still looked happy. "Hey, let's dance," he said. My eyes widened as he finally asked the question I'd been waiting for. My heart lightened up and listened for the song, wondering what I would be jamming out to. To my slight disappointment, the song was a slow one. I realized that was why he even asked me to dance. "Sure," I replied, forcing a smile. He took me to the dance floor where everyone else was slow dancing. Putting his arms around my waist, he then pulled me closer. If this had been yesterday, I would have been gushing at our close proximity. But now, I had the slight urge to pull away from him. Ignoring that urge, I wrapped my arms around his neck. We began swaying side-to-side at that, and his eyes were on me. Instead of staring back at him, I decided to look at the other couples. Actually, I was looking for one specific couple who I couldn't help but be curious about. To my surprise, I spotted them quickly. Dee and Christian were in the same position as we were; standing close to each other and swaying side-to-side. The only difference was that they looked happy doing so. With smiles on their faces, they seemed happy to be slow dancing unlike me. And for some reason, I felt sick. I didn't know why the sight of them was making me feel that way. "Okay!" The DJ suddenly shouted, bringing my attention to him. "We're going to switch things up!" All of us froze at those words, wondering what he meant by that. I frowned as I moved away from Nate, listening closely to what the DJ would say. "So I know everyone has a date or whatnot on the floor," the DJ said, grinning. "But just for the hell of it, all of you need to find a new partner to dance with. Anyone." My frown grew at those words, wondering if the DJ was insane. Most of these pairs were actual couples, so dancing with another person would be somewhat wrong. I shook my head at the thought, knowing I wouldn't go along with it. Glancing at where Nate was, my eyes then widened. A gorgeous girl was talking to him, and before I knew it they were walking off hand-in-hand. My jaw dropped and I thanked myself for not falling for him. It seemed that I saved myself a whole lot of trouble. I rolled my eyes at the truth. Moving my eyes away from the pair who was now slow dancing, I sighed as I realized I didn't know what to do. Literally everyone was on the dance floor, and even then I barely knew any of these people. It seemed like I was a loser. A loner even. My pride took a hit at that, so I hung my head in slight shame. But suddenly, I felt a hand grab my upper arm gently. I froze at the warm, gentle touch that I knew belonged to a guy. Looking up slowly, my eyes soon met blue eyes. Blue eyes, that I could draw just from the image I had permanently stuck to my mind. "Hey," Christian said. "Hey," I replied, feeling a variety of feelings. From shocked to warmth, I didn't know how to describe what I was feeling - or thinking. "Would you dance with me?" he asked, smiling his childlike smile. For some insane reason, my heart fluttered at that. A response didn't come to me for a second as I just stared at him, completely caught off guard. I didn't understand. "Me?" I couldn't help but ask. "If you feel sorry for me and that's why you're asking, then the answer as no." I was slightly shocked from how defensive I sounded. But at the same time, it made sense to me. Christian had always saw me as this delicate little thing, so I knew he was asking me to dance because he felt sorry. I just knew, and there was no way I'd agree to that. Christian shook his head. "That's not why I'm asking." "Then why?" I prodded as my heart did summersaults. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I was both touched and angry at him, and for both I didn't know why. By now I realized I was a psychopath. "What's with all these questions?" he asked, smiling as he suddenly pulled me closer to him. As we were only a few inches apart, I felt my cheeks heat up. I gulped as I stared at his eyes to see if he was hiding something. But all I could see what affection. "Answer that one," I suddenly said quietly - almost pleadingly. "Please." "Because I want to." His reply came out quickly, casually yet sincere. I stared at his eyes for a bit more, and they looked dead serious as well. All of my defensiveness vanished at that. Before I knew it his arms wrapped around my waist, bringing me even closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and a smile quickly flew to my lips. He smiled back as we began swaying in sync. It didn't occur to me that I was slow dancing with my stepbrother. I was too focused on his eyes that were staring at mine. The blue of his shirt made them bluer, and I had to admit his eyes were gorgeous. I always thought that, but today I could admit it. Probably because all of the butterflies I felt made it hard to think straight. To even be the bitch I was around him. It was different, but from my light heart I knew a good different. We didn't say a word as we danced. Not even a sound. We just stared at each other with smiles spread across our faces. I still didn't know why he asked me, why all of the sudden, but I didn't care at this point for a couple of reasons. One of them being that this had been the best part of today. After Nate, I was glad something good was happening. Suddenly feeling tired, I sighed and his smile dropped. He suddenly looked concern. "You okay?" he asked. "Should we stop?" "No," I blurted out, causing me to blush. "I mean, I'm okay. I..." "Today was not what you expected, right?" His eyes softened. "I'm sorry." My eyes widened. "How do you know?" "I'm always watching you." He shrugged. "I could tell." My heart skipped a beat and my blush grew. Deep inside I felt disgusted with myself, but my butterflies made that feeling small. So instead of running away from him, I actually moved closer. "Let's not talk about this," I said, closing off the space between us. "I'm tired." Without another word, I then laid my head on his chest. His arms tightened around me at that, and I smiled. I just smiled as I listened to his rapid heartbeat. To my absolute delight, it seemed like I wasn't the only one feeling this way from a simple dance. The thought reassured me, so I just stayed where I was. After a minute, he said quietly, "I'm sorry for earlier." "Stop apologizing," I muttered, feeling too calm to bring up the memories of the unpleasant afternoon. "It's my fault." "Autumn, I just forget that you can take care of yourself. That you're strong. I'm apologizing for every time I forget that," he said, sounding as sincere as ever. Once again, my heart fluttered. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but every touch, every word of his made me feel warm. Calm in a strange way I hadn't felt in a while. I didn't understand, so I decided to go back to our calm dancing. "You're forgiven," I said with finality, but a smile flew to my lips as I snuggled into him. "Because of this dance." Even though I couldn't see him, I knew he was smiling. The thought made me satisfied, so I just stayed where I was for the rest of the slow dances. Even when we were supposed to switch back to our original partners, I didn't. I stayed where I was and didn't care about who I angered. The feeling of being with him like this was too relaxing. It continues after comments..

seems u Hav deeply fallen in love with Ur stepbrother

U've fallen in love with ur brother

Autumn...u got to ignore many things as u allow Dee to have fun just like u do have

Christain...is ok that u are not moving in to spoil her show...just watch her back...let the friendship between both of u continue

Dee...i can see your smile having the man of your dream beside u having fun with u

Nate...it's nice if u don't wanna let go by coming back 4 her but don't make her date boring

Autumn...it's nice that u don't hate him anymore...as u see him as your brother...as u see him as your friend

Christain...remember what i told u before...continue to watch her back just like u saw her lonely and came

Cherryl...others are having fun...your friends Dee,Autumn and many more people

Autumn in love with stepbrother,,,, the feeling is mutual though

There is happiness in friendship

ARE YOU FALLING FOR YOUR BROTHER

they are in love

Episode 24 I screamed into my pillow as blush rushed into my cheeks. Mortified was the perfect way to describe how I felt. To the point where I never wanted to leave my room again, I was mortified. All because of Christian. Stupid, stupid, Christian . Rolling over so that I was now facing the ceiling, I sighed. Saying I was drunk would be the perfect way to explain why I danced with him like that. Why I felt all those disgusting butterflies. Why I even felt so comfortable with him. But, I knew I hadn't consumed any alcohol. To my disappointment, I had been completely sober the entire dance. I groaned, knowing that I had to blame Nate for all this. If he hadn't given me the worst date of my life, I would never have danced with Christian. I would never have laid my head on his chest. My cheeks heated up at the memory and I face palmed myself. For my sake, I had to blame Nate for this. Tiredly, I closed my eyes as I wanted to take a nap. But instead of having good dreams, my mind decided to bring up the memory of our dance. Of how close we were. Of how my stomach was filled with butterflies. Of how both our hearts were beating so quickly. I opened my eyes quickly, groaning as I sat up. I needed a distraction. But then I remembered that Christian lived in my house. The perfect reminder of the events of yesterday was in his bedroom down the hall. With him around, I knew there was no way I could be distracted here. That was when it hit me. Dee. I needed to talk to after yesterday. She was mad at me. I could definitely tell during the awkward, silent car ride home. She had every right to be though. I had stole her date from her. Getting up, I decided the best thing to do was apologize to her. Then I would explain how horrified I felt about the whole thing, and maybe she could help me with that. My mortified feelings definitely couldn't stay when they involved my stepbrother. After all the work it took for us to bond, I couldn't just let it get destroyed by my stupid mistake of agreeing to dance with him. ***** I was in Dee's perfect, pink room. Sitting on her bed, I debated on how to apologize to her as she closed her rooms door. We hadn't spoken a word yet, so I knew my apology had to be good. As she came over and sat next to me, I suddenly felt nervous. Nervous at the thought of bringing up yesterday. Saying it out loud proved that it was true, and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. As Dee looked at me with her curious hazel eyes, I blurted out, "Sorry." I mentally kicked myself at the terrible apology and groaned. Psychopath, that was what I was. Dee tilted her head, looking as curious as ever. "For what?" "You know," I replied, feeling my cheeks heat up. "For yesterday." Dee stared at me for a second, seeming confused. As she did that, I tried to fight off my blush. I couldn't allow the thought of Christian ruin my chance of forgiveness. After a few seconds, Dee's eyes widened as she said, "Oh. You don't need to apologize. I'm not mad." "Really?" My eyes widened. "You're not?" She shook her head. "Nope. It's not like I liked him." "But I thought you were on your way to that..." She shrugged. "Maybe, but... I don't know. I don't think we're meant to be anything other than friends. Like, he's nice and hot and all, but I just don't think it'll work out between us." I frowned. Just yesterday Dee was ready to jump at him. Even if he was moving to Australia, I knew she'd move there too for him. Her response was shocking and kind of unbelievable because of that. But despite that, I chose to go with it. I had been obsessed with Nate for a few months, and that changed in a day as well. I smiled at Dee. "Okay, as long as we're good." "Yeah." Dee suddenly smirked. "So, now. Tell me about the boy you used to despise. I think I saw you slow dancing with him." I groaned. "Dee, I hate myself. What was I thinking?" Dee's eyes widened at that. "You regret it?" "Yeah. I'm so mortified!" "Really? Didn't seem like that yesterday." She smirked. I groaned again. "I was just upset about Nate. I wasn't thinking straight. Now that it's the next day, I want to bang my head against the wall until I forget about the yesterday." Dee frowned. "Wait, so now you feel like you didn't enjoy dancing with Christian?" I blushed at the question. I hadn't really put much thought into it, but that was mainly because the answer was one that disgusted me. One, I couldn't admit. "That isn't the issue," I said, trying to sound stern. "I can't believe I danced with my stepbrother. The one I used to hate." "You so did like dancing with him." Dee broke out into a grin. "And like you said, you guys aren't related by blood. There's no incest here." "Dee!" I exclaimed. "Stop!" "Why don't you deny it when I say you liked dancing with him. Because it's the truth, right?" My cheeks heated up. I began to regret coming here. She was supposed to make me feel better, less mortified with myself. Instead she was making me feel more mortified. "You won't answer because it's true," Dee said, eyes softening. "It's okay, Autumn. Why is slow dancing such a big deal anyways?" "Because it was with Christian," I blurted out. "It because I didn't feel like myself. I felt..." "Happy? Relaxed? Safe, even?" By now I knew my face was as red as a tomato as I nodded. I hated myself for agreeing, but this was Dee I was talking to. If I was going to admit this to anyone, I would choose her in a heartbeat. "It's okay to feel that way," Dee then said. "What makes you so... Worried?" I sighed. "I don't know. It's weird, you know. I never felt like that so easily and the thought of Christian being the one to make me feel that way is strange. I hated him. I wanted him gone from my life. And now, he had been the only good thing in a bad day. It's just so messed up." Dee's eyes softened. "I know it's strange. I know it's hard to understand, but I guess you just have to accept what happened because you can't change the past. I know you feel weirded out and embarrassed, but like you said it was a good thing. It is a good memory." "But how am I going to face him?" I asked, looking down as I decided to listen to Dee. She was right. I had enjoyed our dance. As much as it made me feel embarrassed and strange, I had enjoyed it. There was nothing to do about it, but accept it. But now facing Christian was the issue. "You can just go on with your normal lives," she replied. "Don't let a dance affect anything. And if anything, he was the one who asked you to dance. He should be the one mortified because he initiated the whole event." "That's different," I muttered. "He did it out of pity." "Really?" I didn't reply as I stared at my clasped hands. That seemed like the most logical reason to me. Even though he said he wanted to, I found that hard to believe. Christian choosing me to dance with was just so unbelievable for so many reasons, that I decided it was out of pity. "Yeah," I suddenly said, looking back up at her. "I'll just forget it happened. I'll put it behind me." She frowned. "Is that really what you want?" I nodded, but for some reason I felt slightly sad. "Yeah." "Okay, Autumn. As long as it doesn't bother you anymore." "It doesn't," I lied, closing my eyes briefly.

Episode 25 "Hey, Autumn," Christian said as we waited in my mom's car. "I have to go somewhere after school so I don't think I can bus home with you. Is that okay?" "Yeah," I replied honestly. "It's fine." The both of us pretended the dance never happened. Neither of us brought it up or acted differently around each other. We had completely erased our slow dance from our memories, in hopes of keeping things normal between us. Oddly, I wasn't sure if I was happy about that. My mom soon came to the car, looking slightly annoyed. Christian's car had broken down yesterday randomly, so here we were having to be driven by her. The last person I wanted to see, and apparently the last person she wanted to see. She quickly went into the driver's seat and ignited the engine. Before I knew it we were on our way to school. Silence was surrounding us as she drove. An awkward one, because my mom and I hadn't spoken at all since the moment Christian told her off. Even though he had told her off, she seemed angry at me. I didn't get it, but I tried not to care. A minute into the ride, my mom asked, "Christian, how's school?" "Good," Christian replied. "It's a lot of work though, but that makes sense since it's my last year." I watched my mom smile through the mirror. "You're a smart boy. You'll do good." I rolled my eyes, annoyed with her love for Christian. After that day, even he wasn't as talkative with her either. It seemed like he was also mad at her, which was both surprising and touching to me. But despite his short, yet polite replies to her, my mom always looked at him as if he was some sort of prince. When it came to him, I knew with a sad heart, that she would always love him. I sighed and stared out the window at the sad truth, not wanting to be around this woman anymore. Whenever I was around her I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. Unable to breathe normally. In pain. It was an unpleasant feeling I learned to live with during these seven months. ***** "Autumn!" Dee exclaimed as I walked over to my lunch table. "Guess what?" "What?" I asked curiously, feeling happy at the sight of Dee's joy. It was nice to see my best friend happy. As selfish as I could be, I was always happy to see my best friends happy. Even, when I wasn't. "I got a hundred percent on my Math test!" she exclaimed, grinning. "Can you believe it?" I laughed. "Did you cheat?" Her eyes narrowed at me at that, but her grin remained on her face. "No! I suddenly became smart!" "Dee, sweetheart, this is you we're talking about," Cheryl said, smiling as Des gasped. "Cheryl! You're supposed to be the nice one!" Dee exclaimed. We all laughed at that. My heavy heart from seeing my mom lightened up a bit from that. "So," Cheryl said once we calmed down. "How are you Autumn? We haven't talked in a while." "That's because you're always at chess club," Dee chirped in, grinning. "Nerd." Cheryl narrowed her eyes at Dee, but chose to ignore her. I couldn't help but smile. "I'm good, I guess," I replied. "How are you?" Ignoring my question, she asked, "How's Christian?" Internally, I groaned. Christian seemed to be a topic Cheryl loved, and I didn't know why. Personally, I was sick of talking about him. We had finally overcome our constant fighting, so there was no need to bring him up. He was just one of many aspects of my life. "He's good," I replied casually. "We're good, if you're wondering." "Wait, does Cheryl know?" Dee suddenly asked me. "Know what?" Cheryl asked, confused. I narrowed my eyes at Dee, suddenly feeling annoyed. Thanks to her, I had put the whole event behind me. Pretended it never happened. Now she was forcing me to talk about it. I couldn't believe it. Sighing lightly, I said, "I slow danced with him. It's not a big deal." To my utter shock, Cheryl's eyes widened. No, they actually bulged out of their sockets. Her jaw even dropped. She looked completely shocked and that left me confused, unsure of why her reaction was so huge. "You slow danced with him?" she asked with her eyes still widened. "And you never told me?" "Yeah." I shrugged. "It isn't a big deal, that's why." Cheryl suddenly shook her head, looking both tired and happy as a smile flew to her lips. I stared at her confused, wondering if something had possessed one of my best friends. "You need to see the light, Autumn," she suddenly said, looking at me seriously. "You'll be at your happiness then." I frowned at that, wondering what in the world she meant by that. Whenever we talked about Christian she didn't make sense, which frustrated me. I needed to understand. But before I could open my mouth, someone said my name. Quickly, I turned around and saw that it was Nate. Wearing a grin, he stared at me as I tilted my head. Before I would feel butterflies around him. I would be in awe of his good looks. But now, I felt nothing. I didn't feel sad at the thought of my chance at love. I didn't feel mad at the thought of the bad date. I definitely didn't feel happy, like I used to. All I felt was absolutely nothing. "Hey," he said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Hey," I replied casually. "What's up?" "I wanted to ask you out on another date," he replied, smiling his perfect, white smile. I fought back the urge to roll my eyes at that. He was funny if he thought we would ever date again. "I'm sorry, but the answer is no," I said honestly, but gently. He frowned. "Why not?" "I don't feel anything for you," I said truthfully, wanting to pull the bandage off quickly. "Sorry." To my surprise, his expression didn't change. He just continued to smile at me, looking unfazed. It was kind of creepy. "Okay," he simply said, turning around. "See you around school." I watched him walk away, shocked by how easy it was to let him go. It seemed like he didn't feel anything, and neither did I. We were both off the hook it seemed, and I was glad. Snapping me out of my triumph, Cheryl asked, "What happened? Weren't you obsessed with him?" "I was," I admitted. "But we had a crappy date. He's definitely not my type." "What is your type?" she then asked. "Hm." I smiled as an answer hit me quickly. "Someone who's funny and you can talk about anything with. They also care about you, even though it can get annoying. And with one look, you know you want this person at your side forever." I blushed at how cheesy I sounded. "I don't know, but just someone who is full of life and fun to be around." My cheeks heated up as I thought about the day Christian and I had at a beach. He had been all those things on that day, and maybe that's why I wanted it. It had been one of the best Sunday's of my life, so it made sense. Even though it was disturbing that my stepbrother gave me what would be the perfect date, I couldn't help but be thankful for it. Cheryl suddenly smiled at me. "Sounds perfect for you." I nodded as my face heated up. "It is." Cheryl raised an eyebrow at me, analyzing me as my face turned even more red. Shaking my head, I changed the subject as embarrassment seeped through me. Then smiling, I became glad to see that everything was back to normal at the very least. More Comments More Episodes..

I don't know wat u will do,,, but am very sure,,,,, u are so in love

This girl is in love But I don't understand your mom o

Making of love

this is not Africa, so cases where step siblings marry are common. Autumn and Christian are in love, no doubt

Episode 26 "I don't get this show," Christian commented, glancing at me. "Why is she dating a killer?" I rolled my eyes and shoved popcorn into my mouth. "Because she loves him. She knows he's a good guy deep down." "A good guy who happened to kill at least a hundred people, right?" I sighed. "You don't get it. You didn't start watching the show from the beginning, so you don't understand Damon like us." "Fine, but what about Stefan?" he asked. "He's actually a nice guy, and I have to admit he's attractive. Why would she dump him for a killer?" "Didn't you say you shouldn't date someone just because their attractive?" Christian smiled at that. "Yeah, but I also said Stefan's nice." I shook my head and brought my attention back to the TV, just in time to see Klaus hit on Caroline. It was odd having Christian at my side at home, but it had been happening lately. A part of me knew he was trying to ensure things were normal between us, but surprisingly I didn't care. The company was nice, so it wasn't a bother. "And on the note of shallowness," Christian suddenly said, bringing my attention back to him. "What happened to my favourite guy, Nate?" I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm. "Gone." Christian frowned. "What do you mean, gone?" "I found out I don't like him and told him that." I shrugged. "He's gone from my life, I mean." Something in Christian's eyes sparked. It looked like curiosity, but I knew better. He was happy. Truly, utterly happy because finally the guy he hated was out of my life. He was lucky I didn't care about Nate. "Good," Christian suddenly said, smiling. "I never liked him." "Why?" I asked, always wanting to know the answer to that one question. "Why do you hate him?" Christian looked away as I stared at him, suddenly looking uncomfortable. I frowned as I watched him, unsure of why he wouldn't answer such a simple question. When it came to hate, I knew why I hated someone - for the most part. It was that one emotion that was always honest. Still staring at Christian, I jumped as somone suddenly said, "Sorry to interrupt, but I have a question." Christian and I's eyes flew to where Stephen stood at the doorway. His arms were crossed over his chest, but he looked happy. Satisfied with what he saw before him. It was strange. "What's up dad?" Christian asked, smiling at his father. "Nothing," Stephen replied casually. "I actually want to talk to Autumn." "Me?" I asked, shocked. I had never hated Stephen. I hated what he did to my life, but never him. But even though I didn't hate him, we didn't talk. Probably because when he tried to talk to me, I always gave flat replies. It was surprising seeing him wanting to talk to me personally now. "Yeah." Stephen smiled. "Do you want to go out today. Just me and you though." He glanced at Christian. "Sorry son." Christian shrugged as I fought back a look of surprise. No one in this family hung out one-on-one with the adults. Not even Christian and his own dad. This was out of the blue, but oddly I was touched by the request. "Sure," I replied, smiling. "Where are we going?" "Fishing." I blinked. "Fishing?" That was the most stereotypical thing to do with a father-like figure, but I was slightly intrigued. I had never been fishing, so it would be cool to try. Before Stephen could say never mine, I then said, "Sounds great." ***** "Is it supposed to take this long to catch one fish?" I groaned. "I have no idea," Stephen replied, sighing tiredly. "This is my first time doing this and I'm disappointed." I couldn't help but smile at how deflated he looked. We had been here for an hour and the both of us were exhausted. The weather was slightly chilly, but we were actually sweating from the strength we were using to hold the fishing poles up. For me I could admit I was out of shape, but Stephen was quite buff. That was how I knew this was a lot of work. "So, Autumn," Stephen said, breaking me out of my thoughts. "How's... Life?" "Alright," I replied honestly. "How about you?" "Alright." He sighed. "Not what I expected." "Why?" I asked curiously. "Can I be honest? Even if it may offend you?" I nodded. Stephen was the one person I didn't find myself getting mad at easily. Before I may of not been that friendly with him, but I never been rude to him. To my slight horror, I realized I had only ever been a bitch to Christian. I wondered why. "I expected this new family of mines to be one, big happy one. One without drama," he said, looking slightly sad. "I thought we would all take care of each other, but it's the exact opposite. You and you own mom don't talk, me and Alice aren't one good terms, and-" "Wait," I cut in. "My mom and you aren't on good terms?" From what I saw, they were in love. Deeply, madly in love. Even though I wasn't my moms biggest fan, I was happy she had that. But, now Stephen was telling me they weren't on great terms. That told me I really hadn't been paying attention to my mom lately. I wasn't really surprised about that, even though she was once the centre of my universe. "Yeah." Stephen sighed. "We have... Different opinions." "On what?" "You." His eyes softened. "I don't agree with how she treats you." I couldn't help but blush as something twisted in my heart. It was nice to know that he didn't agree, just like how it seemed with Christian. Too bad opinions couldn't fix anything. "I also don't agree with how she hates how close you and Christian have gotten," he continued. My eyes widened. "She hates it?" This was a surprise to me. I didn't even know that they knew we were close. We usually hung around when they were out of sight and made sure to still look like we weren't each other's biggest fan. I wasn't even sure why we did that, but from hearing my mom's opinion I wished we tried harder. I knew she would do about anything when she was angry. "Yeah, it's stupid." Stephen shook his head, looking unpleased. "I actually love how close you two have gotten." My eyes softened as warmth blossomed in my stomach. "You do?" "Yeah." He nodded, smiling. "You know, you make him happy. After the divorce he was so negative and always brooding alone. You've brought out such a better side to him. I-" "Wait," I cut in as my eyes widened. "Did you just say Christian was negative? Mr. Smiles and let's save the world with kindness. You're lying." "I'm afraid not." A sad smile appeared on his face. "He was so much different before. I have to admit his ways of acting out did die down as years passed by, but the Christian you know now is still different than the Christian I knew before the wedding. This Christian, is so much happier it seems." Now I let myself be surprised. My jaw dropped slightly as I was stunned. Christian having a past of acting out was surprising, something I would never have expected. He was always so nice. Always so happy. But then I remembered how his eyes were before, when we met. They were so tired, and I realized maybe because of life. And then I remembered the guy he punched. Of how horrified he felt about it, saying it was a mistake. I felt like an idiot suddenly, knowing I had never asked about his past. Never cared to ask about his own wounds. A sad and regretful feeling suddenly twisted at my heart. "That's why I want to thank you," Stephen suddenly said, snapping me out of my thoughts of regret. "I do want to bond with you, but today is a day for me to thank you. Like any dad, I love my son. I want him to be happy. He hasn't been that for a while, but you changed everything. You gave him a person to trust. A person to care about. Someone, to love." I blushed as Stephen stared at me with his old eyes. My once twisting, regretful heart was now full of warmth. I couldn't believe I was the one to make Christian happy. Me who had been nothing but a bitch to him before. A part of me found it unbelievable, but something in Stephen's blue eyes told me that this was real. That he had witnessed this blossoming of happiness in Christian with his own eyes. At that, my heart fluttered. "You don't need to thank me," I said honestly. "Christian has been nothing but nice to me. I should be thankful that he's in my life." To my surprise, I felt like that was the most honest thing I had said in a while. And it was true, I was thankful. As my heart pumped happily, I was glad to be the one who had made Christian happier. He definitely made me happier, so I was glad to see that somehow, I was special to him. "You know, Christian cares about you a lot," Stephen suddenly said, causing my eyes to widen. "It's strange, but-" I yelped as something pulled at my line. Turning my focus back to the fishing pole, I began to rewind the line. A thankful smile appeared on my face as I focused on the task of getting the fish. But to my disappointment, a garbage bag was what I found at the end of the line. Stephen laughed as I grumbled about it, and I found myself smiling at his low chuckle. Today was the first day I had spend with my stepfather, and I had to say I had a great time. With a warm feeling seeping through my body, I was surprisingly really happy. Maybe because of what he said about Christian. I was leaning towards that. more comments more episodes..

Episode 27 Holding the lunch I accidentally stole from Christian, I walked through the hallways that were filled with students making their way to the cafeteria for lunch. With a destination of giving the lunch to Christian, I felt surprisingly light. With every step I felt nervous - in a good way - to see him. It seemed that what Stephen said had definitely changed things. In a way that I couldn't complain about, it had. The soft spot in my heart told me that. As I reached Christian's locker, I was glad to notice that his secluded locker hallway would be empty if it weren't for him. Fighting back a smile, I noticed he was searching for something in his locker. My random nerves calmed at that, knowing I would be helping the guy I somehow made happy. "Hey," I said, pressing my back to the locker next to his. "I stole your lunch." He whipped his head to look at me, seeming surprised. With his blue eyes widened he stared at me for a bit, and I couldn't help but smile at how innocent he looked. Even when his life hadn't been great, he somehow kept his innocence. "Why did you steal my lunch?" he finally asked, taking the lunch from me with a frown on his face. I couldn't help but giggle at that. "I didn't, idiot. It was an accident." At that, he frowned. He looked slightly concerned as he studied me, causing me to blush. I knew I was acting strangely, but I had to blame the warmth I felt. What Stephen said made me realize I was thankful of Christian, so I was going to be more peppy around him. Someone who would hopefully truly make him happy. Staring back at Christian, I hoped he liked my change. "Are you okay?" Christian asked slowly, squinting his eyes at me. "You're acting... Weird." At that, my new resolve quickly crumbled. My eyes narrowed at him as he continued to stare at me with judging eyes. "Did my dad feed you some sort of happy potion?" he continued to ask. "You're acting strangely upbeat, which really doesn't suit you." I scoffed at that. "Screw your Christian." He grinned. "Ah, there's my Autumn." I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed, looking away from him. But even with that, I found myself blushing at his words. My heart even thumped as I realized that even though I found myself a horrible person, he didn't think so. In fact, I was the Autumn that he knew and cared about. With that realization, something hit me. I suddenly had the urge to speak the truth. To say something I would never say. With that strong urge, I ignored any signs telling me to refrain from admitting it. "You know Christian," I suddenly said, sounding surprisingly defensive. "I like spending time with you." I watched as his blue eyes went big. With surprise evident on his face, I was glad to see that his eyes held this affectionate gleam to them as they stared at me. Softening up, he then took a step forward. "Wait, I didn't hear what you said. Can you repeat it?" he suddenly said, growing serious despite the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. I rolled my eyes as my cheeks heated up. "Shut up." He took another step forward, now standing less than a foot away from me. With a smile now on his face, he suddenly reached out and grabbed my arms, pinning them to my sides. My eyes widened as all I could see was his face. His perfectly, sculpted face that had these piercing blue eyes. "You know what?" he asked, bringing his face closer to mine slowly. "No," I squeaked out, unsure of how to function as my heart pounded against my chest. By now Christian's mouth was near my ear. He was almost pinned against me, trapping me where I was. With my pounding heart, I knew without his body I would be trapped in place anyways. "I really like being with you too," he whispered into my ear, causing me to shiver - to my shock. As my heart skipped a beat, he then moved his lips to my jaw. I gasped as I felt the warmth of them pressed against my jawbone, moving along it to my chin. I felt the heart attack I once had. It was hard to move. Hard to think. Hard to breathe. But, to my surprise I hoped he didn't move away. In fact, I wanted him closer to me. Once he reached my chin, I froze as he just left his lips pressed against there. My heart was beating loudly, but all I could do was think. Think solely about how much I wanted to tilt my face down so that his lips would move somewhere else. With his hands now on my hips, grabbing them gently, I closed my eyes and shivered. But then, I jumped as I heard something fall onto the ground. My eyes flew opened and I was completely broken out of my trance. I jumped away from Christian, looking for the source of the noise. To my shock, I spotted Nate bending down to pick up a textbook. My face went red. As he quickly sprinted away, I momentarily forgot about him and my attention returned to Christian. Of what he'd been doing to me. Of how I felt. My heart pounded against my chest once again, but this time I felt like I was going to be sick. With horror rising up to my throat, I knew I couldn't face him. Without looking at him, I said, "Um, I have to see my friends. Bye." I didn't wait for a response as I ran away. I couldn't, because I knew I would throw up. With my heart pounding and my clouded mind, I couldn't be around Christian any longer. ***** "Why is your face so red?" Dee asked, frowning as I quickly sat down at our cafeteria table. Before coming here, I made sure to wander the hallways in circles a few times to cool down. With my heart pounding, I knew I wouldn't be able to function right. To even think right around my friends. I really didn't want my friends knowing about what happened, but now that seemed impossible. "No reason," I lied, not wanting to look at Dee who had been frowning at me. "Where's your lunch?" Cheryl then asked. "I'm not hungry," I replied, actually being honest. With my nerves, I had no appetite. I was too sickened with how I felt over one boys lips. His soft, delicate lips that left me wanting more. More that I could receive for so many reasons. "Why won't you look at us?" Dee then asked. "Talk to us. You look ready to explode." I was ready to explode. I didn't know what to do and that was killing me. One part of me was embarrassed, one part of me was angry, and another disgusting part of me was craving more. Closing my eyes briefly, I shivered at the recent memory. "Fine," I said, opening my eyes to look at my two best friends. "I need to tell you guys. Someone who can tell me I'm going crazy." The both of them frowned at me, and I knew that I had been crazy for a while. I couldn't help but smile at that, shaking my head. Christian had made me a psychopath. "I..." I began, feeling my cheeks heat up as my embarrassment rose. "Something happened." "No duh," Dee said, smiling softly at me. "With Christian?" Cheryl offered, raising her eyebrows. I found my heart freezing at his name being said out loud. Clenching my hands into fists, I wondered what was wrong with me. "Yeah," I replied, staring at Cheryl who seemed to be analyzing me. "We... I..." It was so hard to say out loud. I didn't know why - probably because that meant it was true - but it was. "Christian and I shared a moment," I finally confessed. Dee's eyes widened, but Cheryl's expression remained neutral. It was almost like she expected this. "What do you mean a moment?" Dee asked, eyes still wide, but with curiosity now. "I don't want to say." I looked down, finding my entire face turning hot. "I'm disgusted with myself." "Why?" Cheryl asked, sounding annoyed. "You like him. This should be good news." At that, my head flew up. My eyes widened as I stared at a dead serious Cheryl. With her glasses at the edge of her nose, easy to fall off, she looked like she was stating an actual fact. My heart stopped at the fact, but instantly I felt my walls flying up. "What?" I said, feeling more defensive than ever. "I don't like Christian." Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Autumn, I told you to face the facts. By now you have to realize that he means a lot to you. Not in a sibling way, but more. If you're worried about incest, don't worry. It's not like you guys are actually related. Your babies won't come out demented. I-" "Whoa!" I exclaimed, horrified. "What the hell are you saying! I don't like him! I never have, never will! Are you crazy?" She sighed. "Autumn, grow up already. Stop pushing away the only person who will always care about you." My eyes widened, only paying attention to the first sentence. "Excuse me?" For the past few months I had felt like everyone had been calling me a child. I felt like everyone was patronizing me. It was the worst feeling in the world, so now I felt a rage I hadn't felt in a while. One that had me burning. Before Cheryl could said anything else, I snapped, "Who ever gave you the right to determine how I feel? You think you're so smart because you're always reading books, but guess what, you're not. You just think you know everything and it's annoying. I don't even know why I'm friends with you." Cheryl winced at the, but I was too angry to feel an ounce of guilt. She had thrown all these words at me, trying to determine who I was and my future. She needed to realize that she couldn't just go around doing that. "Autumn," Dee suddenly said, sounding worried. "Relax." I got up at that, tired of always being the bad guy. Sometimes I was one, but it was never without some sort of reason. People needed to realize that. Without looking at either of my friends, I just turned around. Huffing, I stormed off without looking back. What Cheryl said had really angered me. It made me so mad for so many reasons, some unknown ones too. Here I was needing comfort, but she decided to throw imaginary facts at me. It was the last thing I needed. Especially because, what she stated could never be true. It just couldn't. More comments more episodes

Nxt

Autumn, Cheryl is right bt u don't want to admit the fact

You have to admit to the fact that you're in love

Why can't you just accept the fact that you love him

Autumn, stop being childish and face the reality

Autumn...this feelings can't be wrong,it can still be sibling things if u don't want it

Christain...u really love her the first day u saw her and that's healing your wound

Dee...u were just ready to change your mind about him after that dance with her

Cheryl...u got to take it easy with her but u and i will talk about it later

Stephen & christain...u guys should continue to be kind to autumn because alice attitude can chase her away

but can she really date her step bro? it myt not be incest but can dat be possible?

Episode 28 It was hard to be in the same room as him. My eyes were focused on my breakfast, but I couldn't help but be completely aware of his presence. By now I only felt anger at what he had done yesterday. Only because I had a bad feeling that his actions were a way to somehow punish me for how I'd treated him in the past. Kind of fair, but even then, I hoped it wasn't true. If it were, I knew I would be crushed. Sighing, I dug into my French toast. For some insane reason, my mom wanted the four of us in the same room eating. It had been a long time since this occurred, and with everything that had happened since the last time this seemed to be really awkward. After a few minutes of eating in silence, my mom spoke, "Okay, our cousins are visiting from France. They're currently living with my sister and today they're holding a party. We're invited." My interest sparked at those words. It had been a while since I had seen any of my cousins, so this event was something I actually wanted to attend. Especially with all of the awkward tension at home, this almost seemed like a blessing. "How come you didn't tell me about this?" Stephen asked, frowning. "Because I need to tell all of you this, together," my mom replied, sounding tired. "Everyone needs to behave. I want us to look like a happy, united family. Got that?" I rolled my eyes. It was funny how she wanted us to look like that, when she was the one who made us the exact opposite of that. "Autumn," my mom snapped, seeming to notice I rolled my eyes. "You especially need to control yourself. Got that?" Despite my annoyance, I agreed, "Yeah, I got that." As long as I didn't have to be around my family at the party, I was fine with agreeing to anything. Knowing Christian's eyes had been on me this entire time, I knew I couldn't stay here any longer. I needed some sort of distraction, and the party was that. ***** I sat on a couch, waiting for the rest of my family. Somehow, I had gotten ready the quickest. In a strapless white, laced dress, I had just left my natural waves out. It wasn't like there was anyone to impress, so I didn't spend too much time on my appearance. Too busy staring at my petite feet, I didn't notice that someone had entered the living room. I didn't even notice that someone was standing in front of me, staring down at me. That was why I jumped when the person said my name. Looking up, I saw that it was Christian who was dressed in a black button shirt and jeans. He was staring down at me with those gentle eyes of his, and I quickly rose. I didn't know what overcame me, but I suddenly felt insecure as I stared back at him. My heart skipped a beat as I hugged myself, remembering the events of a few days ago. "Hey," Christian said, sounding surprisingly breathless. Only then did I realized his eyes were on my shoulders, moving to where my collarbones were. His eyes then followed along the bones, and I remembered the feeling of his lips as I watched his eyes travel. To my absolute surprise, I suddenly wanted his lips to be placed where he was looking. My face heated up at my disgusting thoughts, but for some reason I shivered. And at that moment, I remembered what Cheryl said. She said that I liked Christian. It was impossible, I had to remind myself at that moment. "Hey," I replied suddenly, trying to ruin the moment as I moved away from him. "What do you want?" He snapped out of his own trance, bringing his eyes back to mine. To my surprise, his face reddened as he brought his eyes away from me. I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he suddenly said, not bothering to look back at me. "About what I did. I can't give you a reason, I can't pretend it didn't happen, but I don't want it to affect the way we are. Like I said, I like being around you. I don't want to lose that because of something as stupid as what I did." A part of me was glad to hear his apology. All I wanted was to put this behind us, but a part of me was slightly offended. He said what he did was stupid, but it had left me with a pounding heart and butterflies. It made me wonder if I was the stupid one here. Despite that, I said, "Yeah, it's okay. Let's not ruin what we have." Christian smiled at that, but it looked forced as the smile didn't look like his usual childlike one. "Okay, good. Let's have fun today." I forced a smiled as well, still unsure of how to feel. "Yeah." ***** I was sitting off to the side, feeling disappointed. There was no one at the party that I was close too. No one I really knew in fact. Years of avoiding contact with cousins showed me that you really do become an outcast once reunited with everyone. Sighing, I rested my head on my fist that was propped up on one of the arms of the couch. I was incredibly bored, but I didn't know what to do. I was never a social butterfly, so making friends was out of the question. Going home was out of it too, because I knew my mom would murder me. To seem like a united family, we all had to be here. I knew that much. Frowning, I realized I did have a single option of who to hang out with. Someone I did need to hang out with, so everything could go back to normal completely. Even though I did need space from this person, I also knew that I wanted this person to remain in my life. I wasn't about to lose Christian because of how uneasy his lips made me feel. He was right, that was stupid. Getting up, I fixed my dresses position and left the room I sat alone in. With a destination of finding Christian, I made my way through the hallway of many rooms. Most of the adults were in the living room, but none of the kids were. They were either in these rooms or outside. Knowing Christian, I wondered which room he would be in. Most of the rooms I passed were empty. A few of them had my cousins who I said hi to, but otherwise the hallways were empty. Quiet too. Frowning, I wondered if Christian was lame enough to stay with the adults. But then, I heard giggling in a room nearby. Curious, I walked up the the room and popped my head inside. Once I did that, I wished I didn't as I found my heart freezing painfully at what I saw. Christian was there. He was sitting on a couch, but not alone. In his lap was a blonde girl who I recognized from school - the girl who had asked me who I was with eyes that told me she thought she was better than me. That girl was laughing as she kept a hand on Christian's chest, looking like she wanted to make out with him as she kept her face near his. To my disappointment, Christian was smiling his real smile back at her. Christian seemed to notice I was standing at the doorway because his eyes flew to where I stood frozen. He looked surprised and the girl's eyes also flew to the door. She looked annoyed by the sight of me, but somehow pleased with the situation. At that, I felt angry. "You again," the girl said, not bothering to hide her annoyance. "Can't you live without your stepbrother?" "I can," I replied, sounding equally annoyed. "But I can sense when he's around slut. I need to protect him, you know." I glanced at the girl's dress that barely reached passed her butt. She gasped at that, her eyes narrowing at me as my own eyes hardened. I suddenly had the urge to rip her away from Christian, so I clenched my hands into fists to refrain from doing anything I would regret. "Excuse me?" she snapped. "At least guys want me. You're going to die alone if you haven't noticed with that face and attitude." I rolled my eyes, not really caring about what she said. Sadly for her, she didn't hit a sore spot. I smiled sweetly. "Sweetheart, guys want you temporarily. No one wants to wife you." Her jaw dropped at that. She quickly stood up, rage filling her eyes. I smirked as I felt adrenaline pumping through me. If a fight was about to go down, I was ready. But to my disappointment, Christian intervened. He got up and grabbed the girl's hand, pulling her back. I pretended not to care as he held onto her hand. "Liz, relax," Christian said. "Ignore her. Actually, I'm going to talk to Autumn." He looked at me, but there was no anger in his eyes. Christian never got angry at me, but I wished he did. I was about to go off on him, and it would be nice if he'd respond in some sort of way that could fuel my anger. I stepped out into the hall as Christian marched towards me. Facing him, I was surprised to see that he was still walking towards me, nearing me when we already had a close enough distance. My back hit the wall as I backed away, and my heart fluttered at the thought of being pinned against the wall by him again. Forcing those thoughts away, I glared at him as he stood a foot away. "What was that about?" he asked, a fire entering his eyes. I was glad to see that fire because they meant I could explode. With him also fired up, I could let out everything I'd been feeling at the sight of him with that girl. Liz . The name gave me an unpleasant feeling in my stomach. "What was that about?" I asked back, narrowing my eyes at him. "What were you doing?" He raised his eyebrows. "Spending time with my friend. Well, until you rudely interrupted." I scoffed. "Really? A friend? What type of friend sits on your lap!" "Autumn, this is none of your business." "Yes it is!" I exclaimed, feeling frustrated. "Just like how Nate was your business, this is my business. How dare you judge me when you were ready to make out with that girl." "I'm eighteen. I'm a man." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "A man with bad taste," I shot back, feeling rage at the depths of my heart. "What are you even doing with a girl like her?" At that, Christian's eyes lost their anger. He looked almost caught off guard as he stared at me, seeming to wonder something. With this pause, I realized my heart was pounding. Eventually, Christian asked gently, "Why are you even mad?" At that, I froze. Because at that moment, he saw past my angry exterior that was telling him I was mad because he was with a girl when I couldn't be with a guy. He was right for thinking I wasn't mad because of that. I wasn't even mad because of who the girl he was with. The truth was, I was hurt. Actually, my rage came from the jealousy I felt at seeing him with another girl. I didn't know why I felt this way. It shouldn't hurt to see him with another girl. It shouldn't make me feel like pushing the girl away from him, so far that they could never make contact again. But it did. And with those feelings, what Cheryl said hit me hard. I liked Christian. The most reasonable reason of why I felt like this was that. But even knowing that it made perfect sense, I had the urge to throw up as I denied it. There was just no way that this could be true. "Autumn," Christian said gently, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay?" I wasn't. I really wasn't, but there was no way I'd admit that to him. It was hard enough to admit to myself. So without another word, I ran off.

Episode 29 Jealous was definitely what I had been yesterday. I had been jealous of a girl being too close to Christian. Hurt too, because he had allowed her to touch him. Both of those things I admitted to myself, but I wouldn't let those things change anything. I couldn't. Cheryl's idea of me liking Christian made more sense now. Feeling jealous of another girl being around Christian showed me that I may feel something. That maybe, what I felt was more than what you'd feel for a sibling. But even knowing that, I couldn't help but push that idea to the very back of my mind. Christian was someone I once hated. Someone who was my stepbrother. It wasn't my pride getting in the way of liking him, it was the fact that this couldn't be true. It was just too unbelievable. Sighing, I got up from my bed as I perfected my plan. These feelings I could possibly have needed to go, so I had made a plan to return everything to the way they formerly were. Knowing our friendship started with a certain event, I decided to spend the day with Christian teaching him something that related to that specific event. That way, we would return to the past that didn't involve all these complications. I knew it was kind of a crazy idea, but I had to try it. I just had to, for my sake. Getting up from my bed, I decided to go see Christian. With my offer for him fresh in my mind, I made my way to his bedroom. Before I knew it I was knocking on the door to his room. He quickly popped up, looking tired. Running his fingers through his hair, he analyzed me for a second. From the way his eyebrows furrowed, I knew he was confused. "Hey," I said, forcing a smile since the awkward tension seemed dense. "Hey," he simply replied. "What's up?" "Everything has been crazy lately," I admitted, looking away from his bright eyes that had been locked on my own. "And I'm tired of it. I'm tired of fighting with you." That was the truth. Whether I liked him or not in a certain way didn't change the fact that I was also really tired of fighting with him. We seemed to fight a lot for the stupidest reasons, and I hated it. Hated it so much because I did care about him and hated having these situations where we didn't talk and then needed to apologize to one another. It was just so tiring. "Me too." Christian's eyes softened. "By now you'd think we'd know how not to get on the other's bad side." I couldn't help but smile. "I know right. Well, that's why I want to teach you something." "You want to teach me something?" He raised an eyebrow. "What?" I smiled, almost shyly. "How to cook. I'm kind of worried that you might burn the house down one day, so it seems like a good idea." He smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Shall we?" "We shall." I stepped away from his door and turned around, beginning to walk away. But then suddenly, I felt a hand wrap around my wrist. My heart froze at the warm touch, and I fought off the urge to rip my arm away from him. If we were going to go back to the way things were, I knew I needed to stop feeling this way by something as simple as his touch. "Autumn," Christian said as I stayed facing away from him. "I know you probably don't care, but Liz means nothing to me. Well, she's my friend... but nothing more." At that, I found my heart oddly relaxing. I didn't even know I had been worried about that until now. With my relaxed heart, I frowned as I knew I shouldn't be feeling this way. "You're right, I don't care," I lied, starting to walk again. Thankfully, Christian didn't say anything as I placed a hand on my heart that was now fluttering at the realization that my task of returning things to normal was impossible. Shaking my head, I knew I had to try. ***** I laughed as Christian's eyes widened in fear. Taking the pan from him, I shook my head as he calmed down quickly. It was strange seeing Christian so uneasy from something as simple as cooking. "Why are you so nervous when it comes to cooking?" I asked, smiling as I flipped the omelet we were making. "I don't know," he said, frowning as he watched me cook with confidence. "I guess because I know about nothing when it comes to it." "Your mom never taught you?" I instantly regretted asking the question, knowing you shouldn't ask about someone's parent that wasn't around anymore. Even though I didn't mind, the topic of my dad was a soft spot even for me. Christian was the last person I ever brought him up to, and that had been months ago. Before I could take back my question, Christian replied, "No, my mom had always been distant with us. She was a good mom and all, but my dad and I rarely interacted with her." "Why didn't you?" I couldn't help but ask. "I don't know." He shrugged. "Like I said, she was a good mom. A good wife too. She did all of the house work and had an actual job, and she made sure that we were alright. But even though she was perfect in those aspects, she never really seemed happy. I guess that's why she had an affair." I frowned at that. I never understood why people would pretend to be happy when they weren't. It only made the situation worse in the end, like how his mom cheated on Stephen. That was one of the reasons why I never hid my feelings of unhappiness. "I'm sorry." I looked up at him, my eyes sad. "I hate when people say that because that usually don't mean it in the way in these situations, but I do. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He shrugged, but I caught the sadness that overwhelmed his eyes. As he looked away, I felt sad myself. Thinking about what Stephen had told me, I knew what his mom did really hurt him. It had changed him to this person that I knew I would never recognize. But then, I thought about what else Stephen told me. Of how I made Christian truly happy. The thought always touched me, and seeing how sad he was now urged me to comfort him. Because the truth was, he was the one person I wanted to keep happy. My face reddened at the thought. Ignoring my embarrassment, I knew I had to comfort him as he continued to look away from me. Not knowing what to do, I didn't give myself time to rethink the idea that suddenly hit me. So sighing lightly, I rested my head on his shoulder. To my shock, he almost instantly wrapped an arm around me. I smiled at that and closed my eyes, allowing him to comfort me instead of the other way around. At first I didn't know why I needed to be comforted, but then it hit me. Hit me not as hard as I expected, because I kind of knew it by now. I liked Christian. Knowing I loved being with him. Knowing I wanted to keep him happy. Knowing I wanted to be able to touch him whenever I wanted to, for the butterflies and everything else, I knew I liked him by now. The thought of liking him was scary, a bit horrifying, but at this point I decided to just admit it. For once I had to let my pride fall down, and admit that I liked this incredible guy I was cuddling with. Sighing, I smiled as I felt almost relieved at my confession to myself. Thinking back to the months of progress we had since I hated him, I realized one thing. I had been pushing him away for a long time. For almost no reason, I had. But this all made sense now. I had been pushing away Christian because of these feelings I had. These feelings, I couldn't let become true. But now, I couldn't care less about them being true. He made me happy, and apparently I did the same for him. Even if we weren't anything special, I was happy with this. "Autumn," Christian suddenly said, snapping me out my thoughts. "The omelet, it's burning." My eyes flew opened as I gasped. Quickly moving away from him, I grabbed the pan and turned off of the stove. I frowned as I saw that the omelet was burnt. I had to blame Christian for it, even though it was I who had gotten lost in thoughts. "You're really bad luck when it comes to cooking," I grumbled, walking towards the garbage can. He laughed. "Hey, you should've been paying more attention to it." I couldn't help but blush as I dropped the omelet into the garbage. A part of me wondered if he knew he was what distracted me, but then I remembered how naive he was. I was safe - for now. "Well, you could've paid attention to it too," I shot back, turning around and crossing my arms to glare at him." "Sorry." He grinned. "I was distracted by someone." This time, I didn't try to hide my blush. I just stared at him. Stared at his perfectly chiseled face. With his blue eyes bright, his plump, pink lips, and messy black hair that I really wanted to run my fingers through, I finally admitted that he was attractive. Incredibly attractive, he was. Smiling to myself, I was glad to see that I fell for the perfect package. Even though I knew I would regret admitting I liked him, I was temporarily glad.

Episode 29 Jealous was definitely what I had been yesterday. I had been jealous of a girl being too close to Christian. Hurt too, because he had allowed her to touch him. Both of those things I admitted to myself, but I wouldn't let those things change anything. I couldn't. Cheryl's idea of me liking Christian made more sense now. Feeling jealous of another girl being around Christian showed me that I may feel something. That maybe, what I felt was more than what you'd feel for a sibling. But even knowing that, I couldn't help but push that idea to the very back of my mind. Christian was someone I once hated. Someone who was my stepbrother. It wasn't my pride getting in the way of liking him, it was the fact that this couldn't be true. It was just too unbelievable. Sighing, I got up from my bed as I perfected my plan. These feelings I could possibly have needed to go, so I had made a plan to return everything to the way they formerly were. Knowing our friendship started with a certain event, I decided to spend the day with Christian teaching him something that related to that specific event. That way, we would return to the past that didn't involve all these complications. I knew it was kind of a crazy idea, but I had to try it. I just had to, for my sake. Getting up from my bed, I decided to go see Christian. With my offer for him fresh in my mind, I made my way to his bedroom. Before I knew it I was knocking on the door to his room. He quickly popped up, looking tired. Running his fingers through his hair, he analyzed me for a second. From the way his eyebrows furrowed, I knew he was confused. "Hey," I said, forcing a smile since the awkward tension seemed dense. "Hey," he simply replied. "What's up?" "Everything has been crazy lately," I admitted, looking away from his bright eyes that had been locked on my own. "And I'm tired of it. I'm tired of fighting with you." That was the truth. Whether I liked him or not in a certain way didn't change the fact that I was also really tired of fighting with him. We seemed to fight a lot for the stupidest reasons, and I hated it. Hated it so much because I did care about him and hated having these situations where we didn't talk and then needed to apologize to one another. It was just so tiring. "Me too." Christian's eyes softened. "By now you'd think we'd know how not to get on the other's bad side." I couldn't help but smile. "I know right. Well, that's why I want to teach you something." "You want to teach me something?" He raised an eyebrow. "What?" I smiled, almost shyly. "How to cook. I'm kind of worried that you might burn the house down one day, so it seems like a good idea." He smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Shall we?" "We shall." I stepped away from his door and turned around, beginning to walk away. But then suddenly, I felt a hand wrap around my wrist. My heart froze at the warm touch, and I fought off the urge to rip my arm away from him. If we were going to go back to the way things were, I knew I needed to stop feeling this way by something as simple as his touch. "Autumn," Christian said as I stayed facing away from him. "I know you probably don't care, but Liz means nothing to me. Well, she's my friend... but nothing more." At that, I found my heart oddly relaxing. I didn't even know I had been worried about that until now. With my relaxed heart, I frowned as I knew I shouldn't be feeling this way. "You're right, I don't care," I lied, starting to walk again. Thankfully, Christian didn't say anything as I placed a hand on my heart that was now fluttering at the realization that my task of returning things to normal was impossible. Shaking my head, I knew I had to try. ***** I laughed as Christian's eyes widened in fear. Taking the pan from him, I shook my head as he calmed down quickly. It was strange seeing Christian so uneasy from something as simple as cooking. "Why are you so nervous when it comes to cooking?" I asked, smiling as I flipped the omelet we were making. "I don't know," he said, frowning as he watched me cook with confidence. "I guess because I know about nothing when it comes to it." "Your mom never taught you?" I instantly regretted asking the question, knowing you shouldn't ask about someone's parent that wasn't around anymore. Even though I didn't mind, the topic of my dad was a soft spot even for me. Christian was the last person I ever brought him up to, and that had been months ago. Before I could take back my question, Christian replied, "No, my mom had always been distant with us. She was a good mom and all, but my dad and I rarely interacted with her." "Why didn't you?" I couldn't help but ask. "I don't know." He shrugged. "Like I said, she was a good mom. A good wife too. She did all of the house work and had an actual job, and she made sure that we were alright. But even though she was perfect in those aspects, she never really seemed happy. I guess that's why she had an affair." I frowned at that. I never understood why people would pretend to be happy when they weren't. It only made the situation worse in the end, like how his mom cheated on Stephen. That was one of the reasons why I never hid my feelings of unhappiness. "I'm sorry." I looked up at him, my eyes sad. "I hate when people say that because that usually don't mean it in the way in these situations, but I do. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He shrugged, but I caught the sadness that overwhelmed his eyes. As he looked away, I felt sad myself. Thinking about what Stephen had told me, I knew what his mom did really hurt him. It had changed him to this person that I knew I would never recognize. But then, I thought about what else Stephen told me. Of how I made Christian truly happy. The thought always touched me, and seeing how sad he was now urged me to comfort him. Because the truth was, he was the one person I wanted to keep happy. My face reddened at the thought. Ignoring my embarrassment, I knew I had to comfort him as he continued to look away from me. Not knowing what to do, I didn't give myself time to rethink the idea that suddenly hit me. So sighing lightly, I rested my head on his shoulder. To my shock, he almost instantly wrapped an arm around me. I smiled at that and closed my eyes, allowing him to comfort me instead of the other way around. At first I didn't know why I needed to be comforted, but then it hit me. Hit me not as hard as I expected, because I kind of knew it by now. I liked Christian. Knowing I loved being with him. Knowing I wanted to keep him happy. Knowing I wanted to be able to touch him whenever I wanted to, for the butterflies and everything else, I knew I liked him by now. The thought of liking him was scary, a bit horrifying, but at this point I decided to just admit it. For once I had to let my pride fall down, and admit that I liked this incredible guy I was cuddling with. Sighing, I smiled as I felt almost relieved at my confession to myself. Thinking back to the months of progress we had since I hated him, I realized one thing. I had been pushing him away for a long time. For almost no reason, I had. But this all made sense now. I had been pushing away Christian because of these feelings I had. These feelings, I couldn't let become true. But now, I couldn't care less about them being true. He made me happy, and apparently I did the same for him. Even if we weren't anything special, I was happy with this. "Autumn," Christian suddenly said, snapping me out my thoughts. "The omelet, it's burning." My eyes flew opened as I gasped. Quickly moving away from him, I grabbed the pan and turned off of the stove. I frowned as I saw that the omelet was burnt. I had to blame Christian for it, even though it was I who had gotten lost in thoughts. "You're really bad luck when it comes to cooking," I grumbled, walking towards the garbage can. He laughed. "Hey, you should've been paying more attention to it." I couldn't help but blush as I dropped the omelet into the garbage. A part of me wondered if he knew he was what distracted me, but then I remembered how naive he was. I was safe - for now. "Well, you could've paid attention to it too," I shot back, turning around and crossing my arms to glare at him." "Sorry." He grinned. "I was distracted by someone." This time, I didn't try to hide my blush. I just stared at him. Stared at his perfectly chiseled face. With his blue eyes bright, his plump, pink lips, and messy black hair that I really wanted to run my fingers through, I finally admitted that he was attractive. Incredibly attractive, he was. Smiling to myself, I was glad to see that I fell for the perfect package. Even though I knew I would regret admitting I liked him, I was temporarily glad.

Episode 30 Surprisingly, I didn't regret admitting to myself that I liked Christian. Sometimes I'd feel disgusted at the thought and slightly annoyed, but I didn't regret it. The only thing I did regret was keeping it a secret, because it was harder to be around him nowadays. With my urges to touch him and be with him as more that what we were, I found myself annoyed with myself for keeping my feelings at bay. Sighing as I grabbed my textbook from my locker, I wondered about what to do. A week had passed since I admitted my feelings, but nothing had really changed. To my disappointment, we actually seemed to go back to the way we used to be. The way we were when we never touched, never really teased each other. I was glad to be around Christian constantly, but I hated how we were just friends. I hated how we stopped sharing moments. Knowing I liked him, it was the worst outcome ever. I sighed again and shut my locker, not knowing what to do. There was one part of me that was angry at myself for falling for Christian. Mad because falling for Christian was too complicated. Even though we weren't related by blood, I wasn't sure how everyone else would react to my feelings. Wasn't even sure how he'd react, because he had always treated me like a sister. It also didn't help that I fell for the guy I once hated. The guy my pride had took a hit from a couple of times. The logical answer was to ask my friends for help. Dee and Cheryl would be ecstatic over the news of me liking Christian, but I couldn't help but hate the idea of approaching them. We all still hung out, but things were still really awkward between us. I hadn't apologized to Cheryl, and she didn't either. The tension at our lunch table was thick due to that. Damn . That was all I could think as I realized I was kind of screwed when it came to my feelings for Christian. Anything related to him was always complicated, yet I fell for him. Fell for him when my life was already pretty messed up. But even with that, I still didn't regret falling for him. For some crazy reason, I just didn't. And that was when it hit me. Christian was someone I really seemed to like. We bettered each other, and he was perfect despite his humanly flaws. There was no point in hiding my feelings from him. No point because as long as we were happy, there was no need to worry about anything else that could occur. And even if he didn't return my feelings, I would be glad to know I tried at the very least. There was no way he'd let my feelings ruin what we had anyways. With a smile now on my face, I decided to run to where Christian's locker was. I didn't even care about the hall monitors lurking around in the hallways, all I could think about was letting out my feelings. Finally I could tell him the truth. I liked him. I wanted to be at his side. I wanted to touch him whenever I could. When I would tell him these things, I knew I would finally let go of all of the wounds I still held onto in my heart. I just knew. As I went to the hallway near his, smiling wide, I suddenly heard someone call my name. Freezing in my spot, I frowned as I wondered who it was. Turning around, I soon saw Nate walking towards me. My eyes widened. "Autumn," he said, smiling sweetly as he stopped in front of me. "Where are you running to, Christian?" Something about his fake smile or angry eyes made me put up my defenses. It had been a while since I saw him, and suddenly I had the urge to back away. Before I could do that though, I needed to know what he wanted. "Yes," I simply replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "Do you have a problem?" "Yes, I do." His eyes hardened. "Incest." My eyes widened as he suddenly looked disgusted. Feeling suddenly nervous, I decided to try to end our conversation quickly. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "Don't play stupid with me." He rolled his eyes. "You know, I wondered why you wouldn't go on another date with me. I'm too good for you, not the other way around. It was a huge hit to my pride, but then I got my answer. You like your brother. You disgusting little thing." I froze at the venom in his voice. It didn't even seem like he was trying to hurt me, even with his harsh words. I realized that he was just trying to throw his opinions at me to somehow inform me of something. Something, I didn't quite understand. "He's my stepbrother," I corrected. "And I don't like him. But even if I did it wouldn't matter. We aren't technically related." Nate laughed cruelly. "You think blood matters? You think that anyone cares that you guys aren't actually related?" My throat constricted as I began to see the way he saw everything. Even as I tried to ignore what he was trying to get at, the idea kept fighting its way to my mind. "Guess what, sweetheart," Nate continued, his eyes looking angry. "Everyone sees you two as siblings. They see you as family, and family can never be together in the way you want. Unless you want to be a social outcast and unless you want your own parents hating you, you can't like him. To everyone, it's disgusting. I feel sick thinking about it." With those words, I felt like someone punched me. My eyes widened as I took in his words. His words, that were actually true because Christian and I would be outcasts. If we ever got together, people would find us disgusting. Even without actually being related, we would be seen as the incest couple. As selfish as I was, I could never let the world hate Christian. Especially his own dad. "You're lucky I don't have feelings for you," Nate said, seeing that I would speak from the horrifying truth. "I don't want to be with someone who agrees with incest." With that, Nate turned around and left. Leaving me on the verge of screaming, he left me on my own. Once there was no sight of him, I finally let my eyes tear up. Even though I knew Nate had said those things because he was butthurt over my rejection of him, it didn't change the fact that he was right. People would be disgusted by us. Our parents would be too. I never thought that people would actually view us as siblings, and now knowing that I felt disgusted with myself. I wondered if Christian would be too, if he knew how I felt. I began to take deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I wanted to cry. To scream too, because I had been so happy about finding out that I liked Christian. Was just about to tell him how I felt, not knowing the consequences. But now that was ruined, destroyed even. I never knew that I would end up finding myself disgusting. Never knew that what I felt was incest, a taboo. Closing my eyes, I realized I had to forget my feelings. I had to foget they were ever real. Opening my eyes, I then walked away from the hallway and to my friends. There I pretended that I didn't have the most horrible realization ever. The pain in my heart was hard to ignore though, but I fought it off as I pretended that everything was okay. To be continued

Ur mother caused dis,,,,

Ride on queen of pretender

No comment

observing..

hmmn (speechless)

go and talk to Stephen

Oh Brother Episode 31-32 . Continues.. It wasn't hard to remove most of my feelings for Christian from my heart. It was painful whenever I saw Christian and spoke to him as if one piece of news hadn't destroyed something I wanted, but it wasn't hard. Probably because the thought of incest disturbed me. For as long as I could remember, incest was this taboo. It was the one thing no one could accept, even people who were all about peace. It was just too disgusting to people, and that was why I erased any feelings I had for Christian. There was just no way I could be the disgusting person no one would want to speak to. I sighed as I picked up a french fry from my lunch tray and stared at it. I wasn't hungry. I hadn't been in a while. My life was just too fucked up that even eating was something I wanted to avoid. "Autumn, what's wrong?" Dee asked, sounding concerned. I looked up at her as I dropped my fry onto my tray. A part of me was caught off guard since we hadn't really cared for each other's lives in a while, but then I remembered that she was my best friend. My best friend of them all, too. She would never hold a grudge if I were in pain. That was why I felt bad for lying to her. "No," I lied. "Just not hungry." Dee frowned. "Autumn, you look anxious. There's no need to lie to me, I'm not mad." "Me too," Cheryl said. "I'm not mad at you. Hurt, yes. But mad, never." My heart softened up at that. Even with the horrible things I said, Cheryl didn't hate me. She wasn't even mad, which was surprising. But even with that, I couldn't help but feel a slight resentment towards her. Even when she had been right, I hated how she pushed me. But, I really did need to apologize anyways. It was for the best. "I'm sorry," I said, glad for the change of topic. "I was an asshole to you, Cheryl." She smiled, her white teeth shining. "Don't worry." "Thanks." I smiled, but it felt forced. "So," Dee suddenly said. "Did you find out if you liked Christian?" At that, I sighed. My heart flipped, but painfully as if it would fall halfway through the flip to my stomach and burn in the hydrochloric acid. I cringed at my graphic vision of that. "No," I lied again, ignoring the guilt I felt. "I can't." The second part was the truth, but I still felt more words burning at my throat to speak. Words I needed to say out loud, to finalize the truth that these feelings I had were related to incest. Only then I felt like I would have closure. "It would be incest if I did like him," I continued. "That's... Disgusting." The both of them blinked, giving me blank looks. My cheeks heated up as I looked down, regretting bringing up the topic. "Weren't you the one who told me that it wouldn't be incest since you're not related by blood?" Dee asked. I looked up to see Dee smiling. I frowned, knowing this wasn't the time to joke. Right now, I needed serious facts. "Yeah, but that was when I hated him. Now that we're close, we're like actual siblings," I lied. "Siblings don't fall for each other." Cheryl snorted at that. "Do you really consider him your brother? Your actual brother?" I nodded, feeling my stomach twist at the lie. In my heart, I badly wanted him to be anything but my brother. Anything, that would make me feel less disgusted with myself. "That's a lie," Dee jumped in, frowning. "You don't think about him in that way... And please never. I would be disturbed then." "Why?" I asked, frowning as well. "Because you guys don't act like siblings." She sighed. "Well, you guys look at each other like you want each other. And I don't mean that you guys want each other as family." I scowled at that, my heart aching. From what I knew, we didn't look at each other that way. Especially when I only started liking him recently, I knew our intentions had been pure at one point. If I tried hard enough, I knew I could allow us to be just siblings. Even though I didn't want that, I knew that it was the only way to not be disgusting to others. "We don't," I said flatly. "But anyways, enough with this topic. Christian and I will never like each other. Honestly, I rather be siblings with him." The last sentence was strangely true. With my current aching heart, I was suddenly done with my leftover feelings for him. Done with all of these complications. With everything else in my life, I couldn't bare to struggle with these taboo feelings I had for Christian. I couldn't afford to. Knowing that, I had a bit of closure. "I'm going to answer the question I think you wanted to ask," Cheryl suddenly said, bringing our attentions to her. "You guys aren't related by blood. In no way are you guys related. Falling for each other isn't incest. Like I said, your babies won't turn out demented." At that, I scowled. Even though I knew my friend was being honest. Using her brilliant brain, she was giving me her most logical response. But by now, I had given up on the thought of Christian. After what Nate said, the thought of anything near incest made me nauseous. "Okay," I simply said, picking up a fry again. "Good to know that useless prove of information." "Autumn," Dee said cautiously. I suddenly sighed, knowing this topic would never die down until I admitted one thing to them. The very thing I had realized. "Guys, falling for Christian would just be a hassle," I said. "With everything in my life, do you really think falling for him, my stepbrother , would be for the best?" "No, but he makes you happy." Dee frowned. "He does, as my stepbrother." I sighed. "End of discussion." Neither of them brought up the topic after that. I was pretty sure they knew I would blow up if they did, which made me thankful for once that I had slight anger issues. Because right now, I wanted to forget about Christian. I wanted to forget about the very thought of him in any other way than as my stepbrother. . No one spoke about Christian's birthday, but it had been on my mind for while. It had been helpful even, because as I focused on that I was able to fulfill my sister position in his life. The very position I was supposed to have, much to my dismay. It didn't surprise me when a few days ago, a friend of his called me and said that a party for Christian would be held at my house. I had no idea how he pulled it off, but he convinced my mom to allow them to hold a surprise party for Christian at our very home. Well, I had an idea that my mom wanted to be anywhere but home lately. With her tired eyes and lack of enthusiasm, she seemed thankful that Stephen and her could go somewhere for the entire day and night away from the house. So with that news, I invited my friends. It wasn't going to be a small birthday party. I knew about half of Christian's grade would be at the party, and their friends. If the house didn't get wrecked after today, I would be surprised. So here we were at the party, smiling as Christian looked utterly surprised by the fact that there was a party. With his blue eyes looking ready to pop out of their sockets and dropped jaw, I was glad to see that he was caught off guard. The smile that sprung to his face next made me even happier. Watching him mingle with his friends who created the whole party, I found myself smiling with a heavy heart. As everyone got ready to party, I watched his eyes brighten up. He was happy, but I wasn't. As much as the thought of incest disturbed me, the sad part of me wished the very word would disintegrate. ***** I laughed as I watched Christian's friends try to do backflips. A lot of them were failing as they nearly smashed their faces into the ground, which was amusing. The party had been great so far, and I hadn't even had a sip of alcohol. "Autumn!" Dee shouted over the loud music that was oddly soothing to me. "Where's Christian?" "I don't know!" I shouted back, ignoring the question. It was better for me to have Christian out of my sight. I wasn't avoiding him or anything, we acted normal around each other, but I preferred to not be around him. Especially now, knowing he was probably with some girl. Just like the last time I saw him with a girl, he was probably ready to kiss her. I shook my head at the thought and focused on his friends almost breaking their noses. Sometimes I felt angry. Purely, genuinely angry. Not even at Nate who had delivered the horrible news to me, but at myself. Even when I pretended I felt nothing for him, I knew I was hurting myself. "I'm worried about him!" Dee shouted suddenly. I shrugged at that, not knowing what she wanted me to do. He was older than me. More mature too. The one thing I knew for sure about Christian was that he could take care of himself. "You know he was drunk," Dee continued on, frowning. "And he's nowhere in sight." That caught my attention. Caught me off guard, too. "Christian's drunk?" I asked slowly. Saying it out loud was strange. It wouldn't settle with me because this was Christian. Him being near alcohol was shocking enough, but drinking it was a blow. For some reason, I suddenly felt uneasy. "Yes." Dee frowned. I didn't wait to make a plan with Dee. Getting up from the couch I sat on, I rushed out of the living room and into the kitchen. No one other than drunk jocks were in there, so I turned around and ran upstairs. My heart was pounding at this point. Upstairs was quieter. There weren't many people around - thankfully - and the doors to our bedrooms were closed. Frowning, I made my way to his bedroom. As I grabbed the doorknob, I found myself feeling unpleasantly nervous. If he were in here, I knew he wouldn't be alone. And just like last time, I would feel like someone had punched me in the stomach. I didn't know if I could face that feeling again. But then, I remembered that I couldn't be selfish. Especially when it came to him. So taking a deep breath in, I opened the door and frowned. His room was empty. I quickly shut the door and frowned. By now I felt a bit panicked as I looked around, seeing that he was nowhere in sight. The door to my parents room was opened, but a bunch of people were in it talking. I hoped for Stephen's sake they wouldn't do anything other than that as I marched to my own room. I didn't expect him to be here. I didn't know why he would be as I opened the door quickly. But to my shock, he was there. Sitting on the edge of my bed, he was there hanging his head low. I relaxed at the sight of him, but my heart continued to pound against my chest. He looked upset. On his birthday, for the first time in a while he didn't look happy. I frowned as I closed the door behind me, knowing I needed to talk to him. When the door clicked shut, Christian's head flew up. He looked dazed as his eyes wandered around my room, not really focusing on anything. So when his eyes met mine, I was surprised to see them lock on mine. They lost their confusion and sadness, and looked more affectionate. "Autumn," he said slowly, as if he wasn't sure. I frowned, knowing Dee was right. Christian was drunk. Even with him in front of me, I was caught off guard. He didn't seem like the type to get drunk. He didn't seem like the type of guy who was now in front of me. "Yeah," I said gently. "Are you okay?" "Yeah." He tilted his head slightly, still in a daze. "Do you care?" I frowned. My heart even stopped a little because Christian and I never talked like this to each other. We would never ask each other personal questions like that. But knowing he was drunk and probably wouldn't remember this, I decided to let my defences fall. "Of course," I replied, sitting on the ground in front of my bed tiredly. "Isn't it obvious by now?" He smiled at that and my heart softened up. Christian was just so gorgeous, even when he looked like a mess with his hair sticking out wildly and his clothes wrinkled. I was proud of that, even though he wasn't mine and could never be. "Sometimes." He ran his fingers through his hair. "But you're a confusing person." "I know I am. Sorry." "So, did you get me a present?" he asked suddenly, changing the topic. "Duh." I couldn't help but smile as he broke out into a grin. "Can you bring it here?" I groaned. "It's in your room. Open it later." He shook his head vigorously. "I want to open it now. Here, when we're alone." I frowned at that, but got up. It was his birthday and I wasn't in the mood to argue with a drunk Christian. He was already so different that I wondered if he would be able to get angry for once. I smiled as I left the room, knowing an angry Christian was near impossible. Dodging past teenagers in the hallway, I quickly made my way to his room. Finding the blue gift bag I bought, I grabbed it and ran back to my own room. Closing the door, I held the bag towards him. "Here," I said, suddenly feeling nervous about whether he'd like my gift or not. "Sit beside me," he responded, patting the spot next to him. "I want you next to me when I open your gift." He grinned at me as I walked towards him. With my nerves slightly wracked up, I sat beside him and looked into his blue eyes as I handed him the gift. The only time his eyes looked focus was when they were on mine, and that was comforting. Without a word, he then put his hand into the bag. My heart froze for a second as he pulled out a black leather jacket. He smiled at that and put it on his lap. "Thanks-" "There's more," I cut in. "In the jacket." He opened up the jacket quickly and a black chain fell out along with a book. Smiling once again, he picked up the book and stared at it. Fascination was evident in his eyes. "The Outsiders." He brought his eyes to mine. "Since when did you know I read?" "I didn't." I grinned. "I just thought you should meet your people, the greasers. They're like bad boys who dress the way you do." He laughed. "Ah, and you're encouraging me to join them with all these black pieces of clothing." My grin grew. "Well, you already got the awesome fighting skills down." At that, Christian suddenly grew serious. He frowned and looked away from me, making me regret saying that. But before I could say anything, he shifted closer to me. Now our legs and shoulders were touching, and my heart froze. I wasn't ready for this. "Autumn," he said, still serious. "I don't think I ever thanked you." "For what?" I asked, trying to forget about how near we were. "For changing me." He finally looked at me, his blue eyes sincere. "You made me a better person." Even though I had heard this from Stephen before, I asked, "How?" I wanted to know his feelings. What he thought. And honestly, what he genuinely felt for me. Even if we couldn't be what I wanted, I wanted to mean something to him. "I don't know." He suddenly smiled. "I just look at you and want to be a good guy. I want you to think good of me and I never want to disappoint you." It was probably because of how near we were, but I suddenly felt like an open book as my heart melted. Words I would usually never say were on the tip of my tongue, and I didn't care if they were too mushy for my liking. As for now, I wanted to let us mean something to each other. "You are a good guy," I said. "And you never disappoint me." His smile grew. "You make me happy, you know. Really happy and sometimes it's scary." I couldn't help but look away from him at those words, knowing I couldn't let him see how much they meant to me. "Me too." I felt my ears heat up as I wondered what had gotten into me. This wasn't the person I was; I hated talking about feelings. I hated admitting how much someone truly meant to me. It had always made me feel vulnerable, but here I was doing it. As I continued to look away wondering, I suddenly felt a finger on my chin. Before I knew it, the finger was pushing my face so that I was looking at Christian again. He was already looking at me with eyes filled with affection and to my surprise, lust. "You have no idea how much what you just said means to me," he said quietly, as if it was supposed to be a secret between the two of us. "You have no idea how much you mean to me." This time, I couldn't look away as my heart skipped a beat. We were so close to each other, so intimate with just our eyes. Even though this was a moment I had wanted between us, a moment I even cherished now, my mind started screaming incest. But before I could move away from him. Before I could even tell him that I had to leave, knowing I couldn't take being so close to him, he moved forward and planted his lips on mine. It happened so fast that I froze, completely thrown off guard. My eyes widened as he kissed me gently. With his lips just as soft as I assumed, he kissed me. My heart was pounding hard and my body felt limp from the touch, but my mind was screaming. Screaming that I needed to get away from him. That this was wrong. That this was incest. So no matter how badly I wanted to kiss him back. No matter how much my body screamed for me to just hold him against me and kiss his lovely lips, I didn't. I just stayed where I was frozen. After a few seconds, he pulled away from me and frowned. I looked away as I spotted the hurt in his eyes, knowing that we were in a horribly awkward situation. We shouldn't be, but we were cursed to be step-siblings. I felt anger at the thought, knowing I just ruined something I really wanted because of such a simple name. "You didn't kiss me back," Christian commented. "You... Don't want to?" I couldn't look at him. I couldn't bare to because what I would say next was something that would probably hurt me more than him. "Obviously." I smiled sadly to myself. "We're step-siblings... Incest. That's disgusting." We were still sitting right next to each other, so I noticed him wince. My own heart dropped painfully as I told him the truth I wanted to deny. I told him something that would make him reconsider ever putting a move on me. Suddenly, I wanted to cry. "Do you really think... It's disgusting?" Christian asked, sounding flat. I looked at him to see if he was angry, but he was expressionless. He was staring blankly at me, looking slightly confused. My heart stung and my brain hurt, even though it had been the one screaming incest a moment ago. "Yeah," I said quietly. "Don't you?" He shrugged and suddenly laid down on my bed. I frowned as I watched him close his eyes. Right now I wanted to cry, but he looked so relaxed. It hurt more to see him like this, but I considered the fact that he was drunk. This whole event happened because he was drunk, I realized miserably. After a couple of minutes, I decided to tell him that we should just erase this from our memories, just like every other moment we had together. But as I looked at him again, I saw that his chest was rising up and down in a peaceful rhythm. I frowned as I realized he was asleep, and I suddenly slid to the ground. With him asleep, I allowed myself to cry quietly. Even if Christian was drunk, I wondered if he wanted more too. If he craved our touched, our affection, just like me. If so, my heart would shatter. Knowing he wanted me back would break me since we could be more if it weren't for that stupid word incest. I hated it and everything it represented. I hated what it was doing to me. . To be continued..

Ride on........

NEXT

hmmmm

ride on

Christian...it's like u are in love with your step-sister...maybe u can put things inorder

Autumn...u are gonna think more about it and see what u can do about it

Dee...u can see love in there eyes and they can see love too in there own eyes...i will tell u something later

Cheryl...there's something going on before now...she didn't like him before now

Christian...u are lusting after her or maybe u are drunk,no it's not u are drunk.u are loving her

Autumn...u have got feelings 4 him,he's not blood related to u but what people will say couldn't let u to...

Episode 33-34 . Continues.. I woke up twenty minute ago, but I stayed lying on the ground of my room, staring up at the ceiling. My heart still felt heavy from yesterday, even though this should have been the closure I needed. I told him why we couldn't be together and my brain seemed to agree with me, but that didn't seem to help with my aching heart. I groaned as I realized I was becoming such a lovestruck girl. A girl who had heartache over one guy. One guy she knew would only hurt her if she continued to fall for him. But even knowing that, I knew this was different. That I wasn't one of those girls because Christian was worth fighting for. It was just one stupid word that was stopping us from happening. "Why are you on the floor?" My eyes flew up to my bed, to where Christian was sitting up on. He looked confused, but more tired as he stared at me. "You kind of stole my bed," I replied casually, sitting up as I stretched. From his confused face and ability to talk to me, I knew he didn't remember what happened yesterday. He had been too drunk it seemed, which was a blessing now. I didn't think I would have been able to face him if he remembered. "From my headache I'm guessing I was drunk." He frowned as he touched his head, but a small smile fought its way to his lips. "And I'm guessing you took care of me." I shrugged, wanting him to leave my room. "Kind of. Well, we just hung out here for a bit. You fell asleep after." His smile grew. "Well, thanks." I shrugged, not knowing why he was so happy. It wasn't like I saved his life. Glancing at him, I was glad to see him packing up my present and opening the door. "Let's hang out again later." He smiled. "Okay?" "Okay," I replied quietly, even though I didn't want to. The door soon closed and I sighed in relief. Now I could officially drown in sadness because Christian could never be mine. His stupid, drunk kiss gave me hope that we could be something more, but the word incest told me otherwise. Suddenly, my life was becoming overwhelming. ***** "We're going to Niagara Falls," my mom announced, catching me off guard. Stephen smiled and planted a kiss on my mom's head. She smiled at him and I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed by the fact that they made up - probably from their day together. I couldn't believe it. My cruel mom had everything she wanted in life and I had nothing. I wondered what I ever did to deserve this. "We are?" Christian asked, frowning. "Yeah, for your birthday." My mom smiled. "We didn't get to do anything as a family, so we might as well now." At that, I huffed. I knew for my birthday I would be getting nothing from her. Not even a birthday wish. I smiled bitterly to myself, suddenly feeling sorry for myself. Everything sucked and I just wanted to hole up in my room. Too bad I had this trip now. Seeing that nobody would say anything, my mom said, "Guys, get ready. We're not staying overnight so no need to pack, let's just go." I turned around and left at that, glad to be able to brood on my own. Even for a bit, every second away from these people was beneficial. ***** I stared at the enormous waterfall with amazement. It wasn't the first time I had been here, but I was still amazed by its beauty. It was huge and incredible. That was all I could think about right now, which was the perfect distraction. "Autumn," Christian suddenly said, snapping me out of my amazement. I froze in my spot, shocked that he was right beside me. With my arms gripping onto the rails that kept people away from the natural wonder, I fought the urge to run off. I wasn't in the mood to see him now - or ever. "Yeah," I said, keeping my eyes on the waterfall. "What's wrong?" I could hear the concern in his voice, which made it more painful to be next to him. "Why do you look so upset?" "I'm not upset," I lied quickly, ignoring the yearning I had for him. He cared about me and he was such a good guy. Such an incredible guy even, who could deal with my baggage. All those factors made it so hard to forget about him. "Liar." He moved closer to me. "You can tell me. I thought we were close now." "We are," I said, finally looking at him. "I'm just so tired." "Tired of what?" he prodded gently. His eyes softened up and I knew I couldn't hold back anymore. Not my affection for him, but genuinely what I was so tired of. Even though the memory of yesterday was fresh in my mind, it didn't mean I would let it destroy what we had. "Everything," I admitted. "Just... Everything." He sighed lightly at that and looked away. I frowned as I watched him stare at the waterfall, unsure of why he suddenly looked tired as well. Wasn't he supposed to be helping me? "You know, you remind me of Niagara Falls," he suddenly said, still staring at the waterfall. I frowned at that. "Um, are you trying to call me fat?" "No! Of course not." He chuckled lightly. "I mean, you're strong. Just like its currents, you can knock down the obstacles in life. Something in me softened up. The one thing I wanted him to see me as was exactly that. Strong. Not delicate. Not weak. But simply strong. I wanted to be that girl who could handle anything, which was what I hoped I was. "You think I'm strong?" I asked, wanting him to say it again for reassurance. "For sure." He smiled at me. "Look at you. You're still full of life, even when your own mom won't talk to you. Even when you're forced to make a family out of two strangers, you still keep pushing through life. I don't blame you for being tired because others would of lost their minds in your shoes." I smiled, even though I knew I did lose my mind. Over him though, which was what we weren't talking about right now. What we were talking about was life and family, something he had to be strong about too. "You're strong too," I said, grinning at him. "You had to deal with what I had to, and someone like me. Being around me alone should have had you checking into an mental institution." He laughed and the sound gave me a warm feeling. He was nineteen, yet his laugh was so childish. Almost high, which would've been a turn off to most girls. Not to me, though. I loved his laugh. "Well, you actually kept me sane through everything." He grinned. "So thank you." My eyes softened as I suddenly wanted to hug him. With his thank you from yesterday as well, I really wanted to embrace him. I knew that was something siblings could do, but it still felt wrong. Anything related to touching Christian would make my brain scream incest, I knew by now. I sighed quietly at that, but smiled anyways. "Thank you," I said. "I'm sorry I was such an asshole to you before. But thank you so much for not giving up on me." He smiled and shrugged. "Hey, it's not everyday you meet a girl who hates you for being perfect." I laughed and rolled my eyes. My heart felt light as we continued to talk. Even though I wished for more, I was satisfied with this. Satisfied with just having him here as my stepbrother. It was all I could get from him, and I knew I could live with it. Just being at his side was okay. . I smiled as Christian placed his lips on my forehead, kissing it lightly. He smiled as I grabbed his arms tightly, and looked at me. With his large smile, I couldn't help but grin as I suddenly hugged him. This was what we were meant to be. Not siblings. Not friends. But so much more. Then locking his eyes on mine, he moved his face closer to mine. I sighed quietly as I parted my lips and closed off our distance, kissing him. Kissing him the way I wanted to for so long. With our lips moving in sync, everything felt right. Everything felt the way it was supposed to be. That was when I woke up. With my body alert, I sat up quickly and gasped. Placing a hand over my heart, I realized I hadn't been with Christian. Not like that - ever. It was just a stupid dream, an illusion of what I wanted. Suddenly, I felt upset. In my dream it had felt so right. Being with him made perfect sense. In fact, it would have been the only thing to have made sense in my corrupted life. But it had been a dream and incest existed in reality. With that, there was no way my dream could become reality. I didn't know why my dream got to me, but I was now clutching my hair in frustration. One part of me wanted to scream, another wanted to let go of him, and another wanted to cry. For once I felt like I was leaning towards the crying side, which was frustrating. I couldn't bare to cry over a guy. No matter how incredible he was, I just couldn't. I got up at that, knowing I'd be a fool to go back to sleep after a dream like that. There was no way I'd go back to that world I wanted because I needed to forget about Christian. I needed to move on, because we could only be step-siblings. My heart needed to learn that. Pacing around my room, I wondered what was stopping me from moving on. I had learned about incest, told myself to forget him, and even rejected him. There was something stopping me from getting my closure, and suddenly an idea popped into my mind. The one thing I hadn't done was tell someone about my feelings. I had been holding it in all this time, which made me realize I needed to visit my best friend. ***** The door to Dee's house soon flew open and Dee smiled. But as her eyes landed on my own, her smile fell. Suddenly, she looked concerned. "What's wrong?" she asked. For some reason, I began to cry at those words. Something inside me snapped, and I was suddenly like a waterfall as I began to sob in front of Dee. Her eyes widened, but she hugged me. "Hey," she said gently. "Let's go inside and talk." I nodded and she gently pushed me inside. Still keeping an arm around me, she then brought me upstairs and into her room. Tears were streaming down my face the entire way, but I found myself oddly relieved. I guess because I had been holding everything in for so long. Once in her room, she sat me down on her pink bed. I wiped my tears away as she sat next to me, knowing I needed to confess to her. I needed to tell her that I liked Christian when I shouldn't. My stomach twisted, knowing this would be a painful conversation. "Autumn," Dee said as I finally looked at her eyes. "What's wrong?" "I like Christian," I said, letting myself become an open book. "That's what's wrong." "You finally admitted it." Dee's eyes softened. I frowned. "How did you know I like him?" "It's obvious from the way you guys look at each other." Dee shook her head and smiled. "Why do you think I backed off from him? When you two danced together you guys looked really happy. There was no way I'd come between that." I frowned at that. Back then, I had no idea I had feelings for Christian. But then again, I felt like I had always liked Christian. And that was why I pushed him away in the past. It wasn't that I ever hated him, but I was scared of my feelings for him. Seeing that I wouldn't say anything, Dee said, "So, what's the problem with liking Christian? You guys are perfect for each other." "Incest," I muttered. "My feelings for him are a taboo. It's disgusting and everyone would hate us if we got together." Dee frowned. "You guys aren't related by blood. There's no incest." "But everyone views us as siblings!" I exclaimed, feeling frustrated with myself. "My feelings are so wrong." My eyes began to tear up again as I looked away from Dee. I didn't want people finding us disgusting. I didn't want anyone thinking that of Christian. Even if I could ignore how disgusting it was to like him, everyone else would not ignore it. We would become outcasts. "Autumn," Dee said gently. "No one even knows you guys are step-siblings. Even the people who do wouldn't judge." "What about our parents?" I grumbled. "Your parents would understand." Her eyes softened. "You guys are their children." I laughed bitterly. "My mom would think I'm some demon who made Christian fall for his own sister. I would get disowned." Dee's eyes widened. "Who gave you all these crazy ideas?" "Nate." "Ugh, him." Dee rolled her eyes. "He's just mad because you rejected him." "That doesn't mean his words aren't true..." "Autumn!" Dee suddenly exclaimed. "Christian makes you happy. He probably likes you back and you're letting yourself despair over a stupid word. Isn't being happy the most important thing in life? Ignore everything else and be that." "I can't, Dee," I groaned. "Incest. That's so wrong." "It is, but your situation is not incest. Tell me one situation where you seriously felt like what you were doing was incest." My mind flew to the party and I found my face heating up. My mind had been screaming incest, but my heart really wanted to kiss Christian back. I had wanted to know his lips so freaking badly. If it weren't for Nate, I probably would've kissed him. Just like at the lockers, I would have just felt like I was kissing the boy I really liked. "Have you guys kissed?" Dee suddenly asked. My face turned even more red as I sighed. "Kind of. He kissed me and I didn't kiss him back. I couldn't with the though of incest." "You probably broke his heart." Dee's eyes widened with horror. "Do you guys talk anymore?" "Yeah, he was drunk so he doesn't remember anything." I smiled sadly. "He was wasted, so I know that's why he even kissed me." Dee raised an eyebrow and I looked away. The one thing that left me also conflicted was how Christian may feel about me. He kissed me, but he was drunk. But then again, he had put his lips on me before when he was sober. A part of me wondered if he did like me back, but I also knew things would be so much more complicated if he did. "Autumn," Dee said softly. "I don't know how I can help you. You seem intent on this incest thing." I frowned at her, wondering why she was the one giving up. It was I with the huge problem. I, who needed her counselling. Her giving up destroyed my last ounce of hope. "But do one thing for me," she continued on. "The next time you guys share a moment, be selfish. Don't think about anything except him, and follow your heart. If it really feels wrong to you then you'll know he's not the one. You'll know you have to move on. Okay?" I nodded, even though what she said was something I couldn't do. With my brain filled with thoughts of incest, I didn't know if I could follow my heart. The kiss had been something my heart wanted, but I had listened to my brain. Deep down I knew I wouldn't get my closure because of that. Wanting to change the subject, I said, "I'm always selfish." I forced a smile, but Dee frowned. "No you aren't. You try to be, but you care too much about everything." And with those words, I began to cry again. It was like Niagara Falls, which reminded me of what Christian said. I was strong. Even if there were many obstacles, I knew I could get through this. I knew I would make it. As tears steamed down my face and Dee hugged me, I smiled as I realized Christian had given me hope of getting over him. How ironic. . More comments more Episodes..

Hmm.....observing

hmmmmmm,,,, I really don't know wat to say abt Ur feelings but I thing both u and Christian need to trash it out, talk to him instead

it is obvious that christian also has feelings for u but the problem is ur mum and what people is going to think of the relationship

Why don't you talk to Christian instead

Oh Brother Episode 35-36 . Continues.. "I don't know if it's because he has the same name as my dad, but I feel really bad for Stefan," Christian commented, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl I was holding. "I know." I sighed. "But Damon. Think of all the pain he's been through." "What about all the pain Stefan's been through?" "Well, he's more attractive than Damon." I grinned at Christian. "That makes up for everything." Christian rolled his eyes and I giggled. Everything felt okay. Just being here like this with him was okay. Crying to Dee a week ago had really helped me. A part of me had accepted that this was as much as I could ever get from him, and I was okay with it. There were plenty of fish in the sea, so the most I could do was move on from him. "Are you going to the school dance?" Christian asked, throwing a popcorn at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and wiped the popcorn away. "Yeah, how about you?" He nodded, but frowned. "Yeah, but..." "But?" I raised my eyebrows, intrigued. "It's a formal dance, right?" I nodded. "Which means we have to do ballroom dancing, right?" I nodded again. He sighed. "I don't know how to ballroom dance." "Really?" My eyes widened at Mr. Perfect. "It's actually not that hard." "So you know how to?" "Yeah, I love it." Suddenly he brightened up. His blue eyes shone and I frowned, wondering what would come next. "Will you teach me how to ballroom dance?" he asked, eyes shining with hope. "Please." The question caught me off guard. For a fact, I knew this was a bad idea. I was supposed to be getting over him, which made dancing with him a bad idea. But seeing how he excited he looked, I was left with no choice. I couldn't bare to reject him. "Sure," I replied, looking away as he grinned. "Later though. When our parents are gone." "Yeah, for sure." He chuckled lightly. "Your mom would have a heart attack at the sight of us dancing together." I smiled, knowing it was true. My mom would get a heart attack. I knew that ever since Stephen told me that she wasn't happy with Christian and I getting closer. That was one of the reasons why I knew being with Christian was impossible. My mom would definitely never accept us together. "Okay, I'll teach you at around six. Got that?" I eventually said. He nodded and the excitement I saw on his face was almost painful. Even though a part of me was also excited, I also felt like this was a bad idea. After all the feelings I forced away from him, I had a bad feeling this would bring them back. But, there was nothing I could do ***** "Why are you wearing heels?" Christian asked, frowning as I walked to the middle of the living room. "Makes the ballroom dancing more elegant." I shrugged. Christian walked towards me with a smile on his face. I wasn't sure of why he was so excited, but I was glad to see him so happy. "Well," he said, stopping in front of me. "At least you're finally taller than my shoulder." I glared at him as he laughed, even though he was right. He was six feet and I was barely five feet. Our height difference was huge, and finally I caught up - a bit. "Do you want to learn to ballroom dance or not," I said, grinning as his eyes widened with fear. "Yes, sorry, don't be mad," he quickly said. With a satisfied smile, I stepped closer to him. My heart was repressing any sort of feelings as I stood near him, but I still couldn't stop my heart from pounding at the smell of his cologne. It was like a forest - like the forest we hiked in. "First," I said, forcing myself to forget about the nice smell. "Put a hand on my waist." He did that gently and his eyes softened as I smiled. A part of me was loving this, but the other part of me felt wrong. I hated how I always had an inner war with myself. "Now I'll put a hand on your shoulder," I said, doing that. "And we'll hold our empty hands together." He grinned as we were now in the position to ballroom dance. My smile grew as well, seeing his gorgeous grin. Shaking my head, I knew I had to shower to forget his his touch. Probably in holy water. "This is the most intimate we've been," he commented, staring right into my eyes as he continued to grin. I laughed, but blush flooded into my cheeks. That was a total lie, but he didn't know that. The memory of his birthday party was missing for him. "Anyways." I rolled my eyes, trying to get rid of my blush. "Let's dance." I began showing him the moves to ballroom dancing. At first, I had to admit he was terrible. He kept stumbling over his own feet, stepping on mine, and moving in the wrong direction. If it wasn't so amusing, I might've been annoyed by the pain in my toes. But eventually, we got it done. Slowly, but surely. Christian and I twirled around the living room together. We were only a few inches apart, but that didn't stop us from grinning at each other. With our eyes bright, I knew he was enjoying this just as much as I was. After a few minutes of perfect dancing, I stopped in my spot and said, "Okay, enough." He pouted. "Aw, really?" I nodded. "Finally you've mastered it." "But it's so much fun!" "It is, but I'm tired." My eyes softened as I noticed how disappointed he looked. "Sorry. The dance is tomorrow, you can dance with someone there." I was about to let go of his hand and shoulder, and move away, but his grip tightened on me. Looking up at him, frowning, I was surprised to see that he suddenly looked dead serious. Nervousness blossomed in me at that. "Autumn," he said, staring at me with eyes that suddenly held affection. "Can I ask you something?" "Yeah," I said quietly. With his blue eyes piercing me, I suddenly felt really nervous. Deep inside I wondered if he figured out that I liked him. It had been obvious when we danced because I had been so happy with my butterflies. So yearning too. Now I was scolding myself as he stared at me. "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while," he said, suddenly smiling sadly. "It's been killing me, but I'm scared." "You can ask me anything," I said quietly, wanting to know why he suddenly looked sad. "You know that right?" "Do you have feelings for me?" The question flew out of his mouth, but his eyes looked so sure of the question. Horror rose up within me as I became right. He knew. Christian knew that I liked him. I didn't know what to do now. "Why are you asking?" I asked, avoiding the question. "Because I like you." His eyes softened. "But scratch that question, do you think we would be disgusting together? That if we were a couple, it would be incest. You said it at my birthday, but... I can't believe it." My heart stopped at his confession and by the fact the he remembered his birthday. For so long I wanted to hear that he liked me back. That he had the same affection I had for him. But I wasn't happy from his confession like I should've been. Christian and I could never be together, which meant he could never feel that way about me. I couldn't either, which was horrible. But, the thought of incest was worst. I forced myself to think about incest as I fought the urge to confess my own feelings. But something else was also bothering me. "You remember your birthday?" I asked cautiously as my stomach twisted with nervousness. He nodded. "Yes, every second of it. Now answer my question... Please." His eyes looked almost pleading as he stared at me. I knew he wanted what I said in the past to be a lie. Wanted it untrue like me, but I just couldn't do it. "Yeah, it is incest," I said gently. "Incest is wrong... Disgusting." He winced as if I had slapped him, and I found myself feeling the same way. This was wrong. I couldn't help but feel like this wasn't the way things should've went down. "Do you really think that?" he asked, eyes expressing pain. I nodded, looking away. My legs felt limp, but I wanted to run. To run away from this situation that would've been perfect if it weren't for that stupid word. To my surprise, I realized Christian was moving closer to me as his smell became heavier. With my heart freezing, I realized his chest was right in front of me as he moved his face to the side of mine. His breathing was soft, but it gave me shivers. "This is wrong, huh?" he whispered into my ear. At that, I froze. My whole body was warming up at how near he was, and my heart suddenly stopped beating as he placed his lips on my jaw. I loved it when he did that, I realized as I shivered. My heart began pounding again as he trailed his lips along the bone, but my brain was screaming incest. My stupid brain was getting in the way of the his lips on me, but I still felt warmth and lust. "Does this feel wrong?" he mumbled, sliding his lips onto my neck. My body was screaming for more as he did that, which made me hate myself. I was supposed to be getting over him, but here I was allowing him to freeze me with his lips. I closed my eyes as he kept kissing me. Gasping, I moved both of my hands to his shoulders and tightened my grip on him. Even though I was loving this, I wanted more. I just wanted his lips on mine, but my brain was still screaming incest. As he continued planting kisses on me, my urge for a single kiss grew. I wanted it badly. So badly that my body felt like it was on fire, with only a kiss from Christian to die it down. But even with that, I just couldn't because of the thought of incest. The thought of being disgusting. But then, I thought about what Dee said. She told me to aim for happiness. To listen to my heart who wanted nothing more than to kiss Christian. Just once, she told me to give it a chance. To be selfish, and ignore everything else. Only then would I get the closure I needed, and that was exactly why I forgot about my brains screaming. Why I moved my hands to Christian's face. Moving away to look at me, Christian asked with his eyes full of lust, "Does this really feel wrong?" I didn't answer his question as I brought my lips to his and kissed him. I kissed him as passionately as I wanted to with no regrets. It didn't feel wrong. It didn't feel like incest. As his lips moved along mine in perfect sync, I knew that this was right. I sighed lightly as we kissed. As my whole body relaxed at his lips, I felt a sudden want of taking in as much as I could of him. So for a while, we made out. We kissed as if this would be the last time we'd ever be able to, knowing the possibility of that being true. With smiles in between our kisses, the word incest never occurred to me. . Visit my website.. https://www.entertainingpalace.cf for more interesting stories.. Thanks.. . With yesterday fresh in my mind, I felt giddy. As I got ready for the dance with Dee, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Mainly because I had an answer to Christian's constant question. It didn't feel wrong. In fact, it felt incredible and I knew that this was what I wanted. To be able to touch him whenever I wanted. To be with him as more than just siblings. I was sure of it after yesterday. "Why are you so happy?" Dee asked as she straightened her own hair. "Obviously it's Christian related, but what happened?" I blushed at how obvious it was that something had happened between me and Christian. He had turned me into someone who was love struck, but I wasn't complaining. After yesterday, I had nothing to complain about. "We made out," I simply said, smiling shyly. "That's all." "That's all?" Dee's eyes widened. "Are you seriously saying that's all. Oh my god! You made out with him!" I laughed. "Okay, sorry for trying play it down." "Why in the world are you trying to play it down! This is incredible!" I laughed again at her clear happiness for me. This was definitely why I loved her. Even when Dee had once wanted him, she was able to be happy for me. "Wait, does Cheryl know anything?" Dee suddenly asked, stopping my laughter. "No," I said, slightly ashamed. "Can we keep it that way?" "Why?" Dee frowned. "She'd be so happy." "I know, but it's not like we're dating. I'll wait for that to tell her." I shrugged. "I don't want to jinx anything, you know." That was only sort of true. I was still slightly mad at her, even though she had been right. It was strange, but that side of me made me wonder how Christian could ever like me. I wasn't about to ask him that though. What we had now was good enough. With the word incest buried in the back of my mind, I was excited to see him at the dance. ***** I flattened out my dress as I stepped into the school gymnasium. With the long, royal blue dress I wore, I was glad to see that I matched the decorations of blue balloons and streamers around the gym. It should've made me less noticeable, but my royal blue seemed to stand out beautifully with the colour of it surrounding me. I smiled as the lights dimmed, looking for Christian. "You guys look incredible." Dee and I turned around to face Cheryl, who had her straight hair curled for the first time. In her red dress, she looked stunning. I was glad to see her dressed up for once. "Wow! Look at you!" Dee exclaimed, grinning. "Someone isn't going home alone tonight." Cheryl and I laughed at that, but I couldn't help but think of Christian. I had gotten ready at Dee's house, so I hadn't seen him in a while. I hadn't seen him since our make out session actually, which made me nervous. "Looking for Christian?" Cheryl suddenly asked. "No," I lied, not in the mood to bring him up to her. "I'm not." Her eyes widened as I turned around and walked off. Dee followed me and I sighed, knowing I was being a horrible person. Christian should be hate me, I knew. But, he didn't. He never did. I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, and I froze at the warm touch. Without turning around, I knew who it was. "Where are you running off to?" Christian asked, and I could hear the amusement in his tone. I turned around and smiled at him. He looked incredible. In his black suit that fit him just right, he looked like he should be modelling. Pride welled up within me at that. "Looking for something," I answered, smiling innocently. Moving his hands to my waist, he said quietly, "You mean, someone?" I bit my bottom lip to fight off a smile. Sometimes it was strange seeing this side of Christian. He had always been so innocent to me, but then he had this side that was so flirtatious. It drove me insane - in a good way. "Yeah," I replied just as quietly, wanting to be with just him. "You." He broke out into a smile and pulled me closer to him. I smiled back at our close distance. One wrong move and we would be making out again, I realized. Knowing that couldn't happen here, I pulled away and walked off. I gave him a flirtatious smile as he huffed, causing him to smile as well. My heart fluttered. ***** I had spent most of the dance with Cheryl and Dee. Even though I wanted to be with Christian, I was kind of scared. I knew people would talk, which worried me. The word incest had disintegrated, but it didn't mean that others judgments had too. Suddenly, I heard the music playing turn into classical music. I glanced at Dee and Cheryl who were talking, and smiled to myself. The memory of Christian and I dancing was fresh in my mind, so I decided to live off of that for now. But suddenly, I felt a hand grab my own. Bringing my eyes up to my favourite blue eyes, I smiled. "You told me to dance with some girl," Christian said, smiling. "I choose you." I found myself melting as he dragged me to the dance floor. Before I knew it we were in the same position as yesterday, and we were moving gracefully across the dance floor. And to my utter surprise, I couldn't care less about everyone else. This didn't feel wrong, so I didn't care. As Christian and I danced, we stared at each other. There was a huge smile on his face and I had a feeling I also wore the same smile. With my heart racing, I suddenly had this urge to just confess. To tell him that I really like him. Looking away from him to see my friends who were smiling at me, I knew that I should. We had been through so much together, and it was time to have a happy ending. I looked up at Christian and my eyes softened. He was still staring at me, looking as if I was the only thing he cherished in this large, beautifully cruel world. Knowing he did like me back - as shocking at it seemed - I felt confident. The music stopped after a bit and everyone stopped dancing. Christian didn't let go of my hand as he led me away from the dance floor, and I smiled as I walked side-by-side with him to a table nearby. With my heart still racing, I was ready to tell him how I felt. As we stopped near the table, I looked up at him and blushed when I noticed that he was staring at me. He never seemed to take his eyes off of me, which was comforting to someone who never felt pretty. I hated rushing into feelings, but I definitely felt like what I felt for him was more than just a crush at this point. More than just a special like. I wasn't sure if it was love, but I sure as hell cared about him a lot. I opened my mouth to tell him that, but then someone else said, "Autumn, isn't that your stepbrother?" I turned to see who had spoken. It was a girl in my Math class, Sam, who I spoke to here and there. With curiosity evident in her eyes, she smiled up at Christian. A bad feeling began to stir in my stomach. Reluctantly, I said, "Yeah." "Oh." She frowned. "And you were dancing with him?" "Yeah..." The bad feeling grew. "Oh, how cute." She laughed suddenly. "I guess he's just a nice guy who didn't want you being alone. If his intentions were anything else, it would be incest." Sam continued to laugh, but I cringed. I cringed at the very word I had tried so hard to repress. With the word popping into my mind, I found my heart sinking. "That would be disgusting." Sam smiled, seeming to think we found this situation as funny as her. "Two siblings dating... Ew." At that, I found my heart aching. I found myself thinking about what I was doing. Of how bad it must look to others. As much as I liked Christian, I realized I couldn't do this. I just couldn't deal with others judgement. My brain screamed at me for ever thinking I could repress the stupid word. "You should leave," Christian suddenly said, sounding gentle but stern. I wouldn't dare look at him as I looked down from Sam's frowning face. With this realization, I knew that this wouldn't work. I had to forget about Christian. For the both of us, this was for the best. My stomach twisted and I suddenly wanted to scream. Cry maybe, but mostly scream. "Autumn," Christian said, sounding cautious as Sam walked off. "I'm sorry," was all I said, before I ran off. Incest . Who knew a single word could ruin my life. Could make me want to cry until I shrivelled up. It was so horrible. To be continued.

Oh Brother Episode 37-38 . Continues.. I never wanted to hurt Christian. That was the last thing I ever wanted to do, which left me torn. He had told me he liked me, but there was no way I could admit I liked him back. No way after Sam's comment. If innocent Sam thought we would be disgusting, everyone else would. They would definitely not accept it either, which would end terribly for the both of us. Christian had a good rep at school. Guys respected him and girls loved him. He was such a good guy too, so I didn't want everything he had being ruined. A horrible, selfish person like me was not worth that much. But sadly, I was still selfish enough to want him. To want to be with him, too. Shaking my head, I decided that I had to forget about him. That was my last choice after everything. Obviously I wouldn't push him away because that never worked. Instead I would just keep my distance, making sure we acted like siblings and nothing more. That way, my heart would realize that we were siblings and stop craving him. I got up from my bed and walked downstairs, internally groaning as I remembered that my mom wanted us to eat lunch together. The one time I really wanted to be alone, she wanted us all together. God seemed to be punishing me at this point. Once downstairs, I saw that my family was seated at the table. They had already set up our lunch of lasagna and salad, and seemed to be waiting for me. If this had been any other day, I would have been touched. Without looking at any of my family members, I went over to the only empty seat - beside Christian. As I sat down, I felt his eyes on me. I found my heart pounding at that - to my disappointment. Everyone dug into the lasagna once I was settled. Stephen and my mom talked feverishly about the lovely weather we'd been having, and Christian and I remained silent. My eyes stayed glued to the lasagna, but I had a bad feeling he was staring at me. Analyzing me, even. I hoped he didn't notice I was trying to get over him. "Autumn," I heard him mutter under his breath after a few minutes. I nodded, not bothering to look at him. My heart stung because I knew that in the end of the day, we would both end up hurt. While everyone else and their judgmental selves would be happy, we would suffer because of the fact that our parents were married. Suddenly, I felt a hand touch my hand beneath the table. I jumped from the warm touch, almost screaming because I assumed it was a bug. But as the hand slid up my arm gently, I realized it was Christian. My cheeks heated up. I tried to move away discreetly, knowing I would lose it - as usual - from his touch. But as I moved away, his hand flew back to my hand and he intertwined our fingers together, pulling me back to him. I gasped and glanced at my parents who were too busy talking to notice what was going on. Thank god. Knowing I needed to tell Christian to stop, I looked at him and scowled. He grinned innocently, and I rolled my eyes. "What are you doing?" I hissed as he began to trace circles on my hand that remained beneath the table. "What are you talking about?" he replied innocently. I glared at him as he grinned, but my heart was pounding. My body felt like it was on fire as he continued to touch me. His touch was always so gentle. Always so sincere, just like him. And maybe that was why I loved it when he touched me. Even if it was as simple as this, it made me unexplainably happy. With my heart pounding, I decided to ignore my decision of pushing him away and squeezed his hand. I intertwined our fingers together and smiled at him, hoping he understood how thankful I was for him. Maybe we couldn't be what we wanted, but I was still thankful. As I smiled at him, he smiled back and began to lean forward. All I could hear was my pounding heart as he slowly moved closer to me. With his pink lips right there, I had an urge to grab his shirt and kiss him just like last time. With no restraints. No regrets. "What are you guys doing?" The both of us moved away quickly. My face turned red as I looked at my mom who was scowling at us. She had asked the question. With disgust evident in her tone, she had caught us in the moment. "W-what?" I stammered out, both horrified and embarrassed. My mom finding out about us was the last thing I wanted. I hadn't given much thought about her opinion on our feelings, but now I knew that if we got together she could never know. She would never accept us, because she hated me. "What in the world were you two doing?" she asked again, still scowling as her eyes narrowed. "That was... A disturbing scene." My face felt hot as I glanced at Stephen, not wanting to look at my mom. He looked confused, but calculating at the same time. The answer wouldn't be a pleasant one to him, I could see from his emotionless eyes. I chose to look down. "We were doing nothing," Christian said casually. "Well nothing looked like incest," my mom replied. "So stop with that. We don't want people thinking we're mentally ill." Without thinking, I stood up suddenly. I felt like something was stabbing my heart, and I had to leave. I had to get away from everyone and everything that found my feelings disgusting. It was becoming too much. "I'm not hungry," I muttered, still looking down. Before anyone could say anything, I turned around and ran upstairs to my room. My heart was pounding, but painfully as I slammed the door shut. Jumping onto my bed, I grabbed my pillow and placed it over my mouth. I then screamed into it, hoping that this hell would be over soon. It was becoming unbearable to know that the one thing you wanted would make you seem like you had a psychological illness. ***** I knew my parents were out, which allowed me to calm down as I sat up on my bed. Even though I expected my mom to say something like that, it still hurt. It hurt because that was how the world would view us. As two siblings with an illness that made them fall for each other. We were a taboo everyone would shun. She had confirmed that. I sat up on my bed and stared at my surroundings. My room had definitely gotten messier, just like my life. Surprising, since I thought my life would get better as time passed. But, my life was so much more of a mess than when I met Christian, which was strange. He made me so happy, but gave me all these problems. A lot of people would question if he was worth it, but I knew he was. The only thing I was a hundred percent sure of was that. But the thing with knowing that was, I knew I couldn't be completely selfish. I could be selfish enough to still want him, but not selfish enough to go after him. Just because I couldn't bare the idea of him getting shunned. I had that much of a heart. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. My heart froze, knowing it was the one person I wasn't ready to see yet. The one person I needed to keep my distance from, for his sake. Getting up, I opened the door to Christian. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't even giving me his usual affectionate stare. In fact, he almost looked angry. "Autumn," he said, sounding exasperated. "What happened?" "You were there," I muttered, looking down from his piercing blue eyes. "Fuck that. I'm talking about earlier. Even now. Why won't you look at me? What did I do?" "Nothing." I still couldn't bring myself to look at him. "I just... Can't." "Oh no, don't go messing up the only good thing in our lives," he snapped. "Don't." My eyes flew to his at that, surprised to see him mad for the first time. With his jaw clenched and his eyebrows furrowed, he actually looked mad. I was stunned. "What are you talking about?" I simply asked, losing my sad mood. "How do you feel about me?" he asked, ignoring my question. "Tell me the truth." My eyes widened at his demand. This Christian I didn't know. He was mad, demanding, and surprisingly hotter than usual. If we weren't in our current dilemma, I might've kissed him. "Don't you dare say you feel nothing," Christian said. I looked down and knew that this was it. This was my time to cut off our entire bond that involved possible incest. As my heart ached, I knew that I had to deny my feelings. I had to tell him I felt nothing, so the both of us would move on. Even though my heart was sinking at the thought, I knew this was for the best. "Christian," I said gently as I looked back up at him. "I-" "Don't lie to me." He stepped towards me, eyes hardening. "I always respected you for your honesty. Always thought that made you beautiful, even though you can be cruel. Don't become ugly." I should've been touched in a way, but his last words stunned me. Rage filled me at how demanding he was. Of how ignorant he was because he assumed I could just tell him how I really felt and we would live happily ever after. He was such an idiot sometimes. With my anger boiling through my veins, I narrowed my eyes at him. He didn't react as I clenched my hands into fists, which angered me even more. I was ready to blow. "You know what you idiot! I like you! You know I do, so what's the point of asking!" I snapped. "It's for your own satisfaction, but guess what. Things are just going to get worst from here on out. We're both going to be unhappy, even though we having mutual feelings!" He frowned. "And why is that?" "Because of that stupid word! Incest!" I exclaimed. "I like you. I like you so much, but that doesn't matter to others. They'll all just look at us and think siblings, how disgusting. Don't say that it won't happen because just look at Sam and my mom. They thought that. Trust me when I say we will be shunned." "Autumn." Christian's eyes softened. "Since when did you care about what others thoughts?" A part of me deflated, seeing that Christian wasn't mad anymore. I was so tired. Just so tired of everything that I was willing to just give up on this argument. I wouldn't agree with him, but I wouldn't force the truth onto him. "Since they had the ability to ruin our lives," I replied tiredly. "Your life. I don't want you getting ruined." "Autumn, listen to me now. You don't need to think abut me. Not like that because I don't care about others," Christian said, sounding confident. "We finally have this sort of happiness that bloomed with our feelings. This happiness that we lacked, and you really want to throw that away?" "We'll be miserable with everyone else shunning us and-" "Fuck everyone else!" he exclaimed. "As far as I know, I never needed anyone. No one has really been there for me until you. You, Autumn. Our feelings are not disgusting. Me wanting to be with you is not because I'm mentally ill, it's because I think you're incredible. I like the way you laugh. I like how you pretend not to care, even when you're such a caring person. I like how you get angry at me because you're honest when you are, and I never need to worry about pleasing you because you make sure I do. I never felt this way about anybody, so I sure as hell won't give up on you." My eyes teared up as his words hit me hard. I liked him. So very much, I liked this beautiful boy. But incest. Everyone else. I didn't know what to do about them, even though I really wanted him. "Our parents," I said quietly, not knowing what else to say. "They would never accept us." "Autumn." He grabbed my hand gently, placing it on his beating heart. "If they really loved us, they would." "I don't know," I said helplessly. "Christian, how do you know everything will be okay?" "I don't, but we'll figure it out." He smiled sadly. "One last question." I nodded, unable to speak as his words wrestled in my mind. "Does this feel wrong?" He squeezed my hand that he held on top of his heart. His heart was beating fast, but it was comforting. Him in general, was comforting. And even with everything else, he was right. He made me happy unlike anyone else in my life. Christian did not feel wrong. "No," I whispered, staring into his blue eyes. "It doesn't." "And are we really going to worry about others?" he asked. I shook my head. "No, because you're right. At our single chance at happiness, I'm not going to give up on you. For others, never." He leaned in and kiss me at that. I quickly kissed back, wrapping my arms around his neck. This didn't feel wrong. It didn't feel disgusting. In fact, it felt like the exact opposite of that. As I kissed him, I realized he was right. Fuck everyone. Anyone who wouldn't allow us to be happy, screw them. Christian and I had this opportunity to finally have something after everything we had lost in life, and it would be so stupid to lose it just because of others judgements. Pulling away from him, I smiled and said, "Why are you so smart?" He laughed. "I'll tell you my secret when you tell me how you're so incredible." I laughed and shook my head, kissing him again. This didn't feel wrong and I was happy. Those two things made me realize that this was okay. This was something that was fine because after everything I'd been through, I needed some sort of happiness of my own. Fuck anyone who would ruin that happiness. . . "Stargazing." I laughed lightly. "How romantic." "Hey," Christian said, sitting down next to me on the cool grass. "I hear you judging me." I grinned as I sat down next to him. It was night time and no one was around the park. A part of me knew Christian had planned that, knowing I wasn't comfortable with the idea of anyone knowing we were dating yet. My respect for him grew at the thought. "I know nothing about stars," I admitted, lying down on the grass. "Neither do I," he replied. "But we're going to use our imagination." "And what are we going to do with our imagination?" Christian laid down next to me and grinned. Pointing to an area of bright stars in the night sky, he chuckled. "That looks like a whale," he said, tracing the stars with his index finger. I squinted my eyes at the sky, trying to see what he saw. With my eyes trying to form a whale, I eventually huffed when I couldn't form the image. I glared at him. "Are you sure you see a whale?" I asked. "Do you have an imagination?" he shot back. My jaw dropped and he laughed as I rolled over to my side, facing away from him. Christian was such a jerk sometimes. I loved it. "Autumn, I'm sorry," he said, but the amusement in his tone was clear. I snorted. But soon, I felt an arm on my waist, pulling me towards him. I was then right next to him, and I turned so that I was facing the sky again. Somehow, my head was now placed on his arm and I was smiling. "Someone is happy," he commented as I stared up at the starry sky. "Shut up." I grinned. "You're acting like you're not happy either." I glanced at him and saw that he was grinning. My eyes softened as he turned his face to look at me with those eyes that ensured me that he really did care about me. "I'm sorry for the crappy first date," Christian suddenly said, sounding apologetic. "How is it crappy?" I replied, frowning. "As long as I'm with you, it's perfect." "Whoa." His eyes widened. "Since when did you get so mushy." I rolled my eyes and looked back at the sky. It was beautiful. Black and covered with bright stars, I was fascinated by it. Christian had chosen right when coming here for the scene. "What do you want to do?" Christian asked after a few minutes of silence. "We have this whole park to ourselves, you know." "I know." I bit my lip nervously. "But I want to talk." "About?" "You." I looked at him. "I have a lot of questions." "Ask away." He smiled. "I'm an open book for you." I smiled, but my gut was twisting nervously. First dates were supposed to be fun. Full of excitement and new experiences. What I would ask would bring us into serious territory. I didn't know if he would be okay with that. "Autumn," Christian said, seeing my dilemma. "Ask anything." Before I could think it through, I asked, "Is it true that you used to act out?" His smile fell, but he didn't look angry at the question. Not even sad. More regretful, I would say. "Yeah," he said. "I did." "Cause of your mom?" My eyes softened. "Did she make you act out?" He sighed lightly and looked up at the sky. I wondered if I was prodding into his life, but I also felt like I should know about his past. To heal his wounds, I had to understand before I could help him. This was something I wanted to do since my day with Stephen. "Yeah," he replied, still staring at the sky. "I know I told you she was always distant with us, but it still hurt when she left. When she cheated, it stung. I guess it's because she's my mom and you can't help but love your mom no matter what. Just like your limbs, your mom is needed too." That hit me hard, but not just because I felt sorry for him. No, I also felt sorry for myself as I thought about my own mom. She hated me. She wanted nothing more to do with me. Yet, I still loved her. I cared about her, even when we hadn't spoken for months. I wasn't sure whether to hate her or myself for that. "Autumn," Christian said, looking at me again. "Can I tell you something?" "What?" I asked quietly, my heart pounding painfully. "I kind of hate your mom," he admitted. "I hate the way she treats you. She's your mom, yet she treats you like trash. It's horrible." "Yeah, she's a bitch." I smiled sadly. "But, she's your mom." Christian smiled just as sadly. "And just like me, you can't help but love her." I closed my eyes at that. My eyes were watery and I didn't want to cry in front of him. Especially on our date. It was weird that we were talking about such dark things now of all days. "Autumn," Christian said gently, making me open my eyes. "Let's go back to the topic of me. Of how I used to act out." "Yeah." I forced a smile. "How did someone like you rebel?" "Well, I got into a lot of fist fights." Christian smiled. "Partied, did drugs, drank... Basically all of the bad boy cliches. I was that guy." I couldn't help but smile, even though it was hard to imagine Christian like that. The Christian I knew would never do drugs. He would never get into fist fights. It was strange how someone could change so drastically. "Why did you change?" I asked. "I saw how stressed out my dad was." Christian looked away from me and ran his fingers through his hair. "He was so worried about me and I felt bad, knowing how much he'd been through as well. My dad's a good guy and I knew he didn't deserve to go through more shit." My eyes softened at that. "He is a good guy. You made the right choice." "Yeah." Christian smiled sadly. "You know, I doubt he would have met your mom if I hadn't changed. And that would mean we would never have met." I never thought about that, and suddenly I was glad our parents were married. If they hadn't been, we would never have met. Never have had what we had now. Even though our parents being married was a problem, I was suddenly thankful. "Yeah." I grinned. "It's a good thing they met." "Do you ever miss your dad?" Christian suddenly asked, sounding as gentle as ever. My heart froze at the mention of my dad. I loved him. I didn't think anyone knew this, but he had meant the world to me. The answer was obvious due to that. "Yeah, I don't go a day without missing him," I admitted. "He was my best friend. My everything. It's so unfair that he had to die. Cancer... I hate it." "You didn't deserve that and neither did he," Christian replied gently. "Why is this world so cruel?" "I don't know." I sighed. "Why are we talking about such depressing things on our first date?" "I don't know." The corner of his mouth turned up. "But I like this. It's nice to let everything out here and there." "Can I ask you one last question?" I suddenly asked. "Of course." "Are you okay?" My eyes softened. "You can be honest. I like you no matter what." I needed to know this much. To ensure Christian was happy, I needed to know this. With everything we talked about, I felt relieved in a strange way. If he answered this, I hoped he would feel the same way. "Yeah, I think so," Christian replied. "What about you?" I smiled sadly. "For the most part, yes." Christian suddenly turned his entire body to face me. With his eyes looking affectionate, he smiled at me. I smiled back, and decided to turn to face him as well. My head remained on his arm, but we were now only a few inches away from each other. "Hopefully we can be sure of how okay we are soon," he suddenly said, closing his eyes. "Hopefully." I smiled as I stared at his peaceful face. "I know it can happen if we stick together. I wasn't a very hopeful person, but I suddenly felt hope now. I didn't know if it was the night sky or the company, but I had hope. Hope that everything would be alright and we would have a happily ever after. I tried not to think about others or my parents, but now I knew that I didn't care about them. As for now, this was all that mattered. To be continued..

hmmmmmm I don't know oooo, though u are step siblings, so I dont know if its incest but since brother is dia,,,, I don't know, anyways u are oyinbo, so some things don't really make sense to u

I agree with you @Emmanuel

I don't know what to say about this ur relationship

Well well well

Still following

they are related by marriage and not by blood so it's not totally wrong

Oh Brother Episode 39-40 . Continues.. Dee, Cheryl, and I were lying down on Dee's bed. Pink was surrounding us and silence was all we heard. My heart was thumping because I had invited them to meet up just to tell them about Christian. I couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Are we just going to sit here in silence?" Dee asked. "I love you guys, but I have a project due tomorrow." I laughed. "Sorry. It's just... Weird." "Weird how?" Cheryl asked. "I'm dating Christian." I smiled at the confession. "Who would've thought that would happen." Dee sat up quickly and Cheryl followed her. The both of them quickly looked at me with their eyes wide and their jaws dropped. I laughed at their expressions, expecting nothing less from them. "When, where, how, what!" Dee exclaimed. "Finally!" "Finally," Cheryl agreed, smiling as well. "So, how did it happen?" "We were fighting, as usual." I grinned, feeling unexplainably happy. "I was obsessed with the whole idea of incest, and he wasn't. That led to him convincing me that as long as we're happy, it's okay." "Aw." Dee grinned. "When was this?" "A month ago?" "And you only decided to tell us now?" Cheryl asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's complicated." I shrugged. "I don't know." Cheryl frowned. "But we're best friends. We-" "Hush Cheryl," Dee cut in. "I'm so happy for you Autumn. Finally. You guys are the cutest things ever." My face heated up as I smiled. "Thanks, I'm happy." Cheryl looked at me with gentle eyes for the first time. She usually looked calculating and wise, so this was new to me. "I'm happy for you too," Cheryl said, smiling warmly. "I'm glad you guys are together." My eyes softened. "Thank you." As my two best friends smiled at me, I felt incredible. So happy that nothing could bring me down. With Christian and I dating in secret and my two best friends at my side, I felt like life was changing for the better. "What does your mom and Stephen think of this?" Cheryl suddenly asked. At that, my happy mood deflated. They had no idea. Christian and I made sure of that. But even though I knew they could never find out, dating Christian was harder. We had to go on dates only when our parents were out, avoid each other at home, and even pretend to hate each other when my mom was around. It was surprisingly a lot of work. "They don't know about us," I replied, looking at Cheryl who didn't look surprised. "I don't think I can tell them." "You don't think they'll accept you guys as a couple?" Dee asked, frowning. I shook my head. "Stephen, maybe. But my mom, never." Dee's frown grew larger. "But you guys aren't even siblings." "But that's what people see us as." I shrugged. "We're keeping it a secret because of that." "You guys are so cute," Dee then whined. "Why does this have to happen to you?" Cheryl sighed. "It's stupid that people are so judgmental." "Yeah, but what can you do." I sighed as well. "And I kind of understand them since if we were actual siblings, I'd be judging myself too. Incest is an annoying word, but in reality I would be creeped out if siblings were dating." "But you guys aren't related by blood," Dee said. "I don't know. It makes me sad that you guys have to be secretive." It made me sad too. I wanted nothing more than to be able to go on dates in public. To show of Christian, my incredible boyfriend, to the peers at school. But because our parents were married, that was impossible. I just knew it, even though I tried to ignore others' opinions. "Yeah," I said. "But... I'm hoping with him graduating in a month everything will be better. With him probably going to a university far away, it might be easier to date." Cheryl frowned. "But won't it be lonely at home?" "Yeah," I admitted. "But it's for the best. Being home with him is hard enough when you have to pretend you're not attracted to him." "Oh yeah." Dee suddenly smirked suggestively. "Living with your boyfriend must also be a blessing as well as a curse." My face heated up and Cheryl narrowed her eyes at Dee. I didn't know why I felt so embarrassed, but I looked away from Dee. "She just said she can't be attracted to him at home," Cheryl said. "What are you thinking?" "Autumn," Dee said, giggling. "Why won't you look at me?" My face felt hot, but I looked back at Dee. Her eyes were wide and Cheryl looked slightly curious too as she stared at me. Smiling to myself, I knew I was about to disappoint them. "No, we usually avoid each other at home," I said, grinning at Dee's disappointed face. "My mom already called us out on incest, so we're taking precautions." "Enough about incest!" Dee groaned. "I hate that word. Let's never bring it up again. "Fine by me." Cheryl nodded in agreement and I smiled, satisfied with that. Incest. I really hated the word and everything it had done to my life. "Are you happy with the way things are going?" Cheryl suddenly asked. "For sure." I nodded. "It's scary knowing things can get messed up at any time, but I feel like God is on my side for once. I don't know what will happen, but I'm trying to be hopeful." "I like seeing you like this," Dee suddenly said, smiling warmly. "You really brightened up after meeting Christian." "Yeah," Cheryl agreed. "Hope is a nice look on you. My insides melted at my friends compliments. I was happy. So happy with Christian and them at my side. A part of me knew there'd be a storm that would ruin what I had, but another part of me decided to let things be good. Christian and I had been together for a month now, and we were going strong. As long as we were good, I had a good feeling that everything else would stay good too. . I hummed happily as I stirred the ravioli I was making. It was almost ready and I couldn't wait to serve it to Christian and I. With it being a surprise, I found myself grinning as the delicious smell wafted over me. Everything was good. We were happy, my friends were happy, and that was as much as I could ever ask for. Even if my relationship had to be a secret and my mom hated me, I was satisfied with my life for once. So satisfied, that I was making my dad's favourite - ravioli. Seeing that the ravioli was almost ready, I turned the heat down on the stove. Going to the nearest cabinet, I opened it and searched for two plates. But to my shock, there was only one available plate. I frowned, glancing at the sink that was filled with dishes. It seemed like my mom had forgotten to do them. Sighing, I wondered what to do. Washing the dishes was the simple answer, but I wasn't in the mood to do a chore my mom was supposed to do. I didn't want to help her in any way, so there was no way I'd do that. But now, I didn't know what to do. Staring at the cabinet, I wondered if there was another plate I could use. One of the new ones or one of the old ones. There seemed to be no old ones though, and the new ones were still in packaging. Disappointment began to fill me as I realized I probably had to wash the dishes, but then I spotted a single plate. A plate I had forgotten about - my mom's favourite plate. My eyes widened as I stared at it and its beautiful, clear, glass glory. It was her favourite plate that had a significance that left me touched. Her grandma had given it to her for her wedding, saying that it was blessed by a priest. My mom used it on the day of her wedding, and never again because of its value. It was something she truly cherished too. As I stared at the plate, I thought about pretending it wasn't there. I thought about washing the dishes, but that was when my mind reminded me that my mom was a horrible person. My brain told me that I was an idiot if I was going to help her instead of using her dish, just because it had such a sentimental value to her. After everything she did to me, it would be stupid of me. Reaching for the plate, I thought about what a good person would do. She would wash the dishes, knowing that a single plate meant the world to the person who hated her. I smirked, realizing it was too bad that I wasn't a good person. I grabbed the plate and held it in front of me, admiring it. It was beautiful in its own pure, shining way. I would definitely let Christian use it. He deserved such an honour. Too busy staring at it, I didn't hear the front door shut. I didn't hear footsteps coming my way. That was why I was completely thrown off guard when I heard the shriek. With my surprise, the glass plate then slipped out of my hands and tumbled to the ground, shattering at impact. I gasped and before I could do anything, I was yanked away from the plate. "What have you done!" My mom screamed, crouching down to where the glass shards remained. With my eyes still wide, I froze. I couldn't process what happened. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had destroyed my mom's prize possession, and she had seen it. I was done for. "Autumn!" she screamed. "What is wrong with you!" Watching her touch a shard, I suddenly felt guilty. She looked miserable and lost as she stared at the shard that was now on her palm. It was like she lost something that meant the world to her, and maybe she had. I had to take my blame. "I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't mean to break it." "I don't care," she snapped, dropping the shard and getting up. She turned to face me with her hands clenched into fists. Anger was radiating off of her and I internally braced myself for her incoming wrath. Unlike before, I felt like I would deserve this. With guilt clenching at my heart, I would allow her wrath. "Why in the world did you touch my plate! The one my dead grandma gave me!" she shouted. I looked down. I didn't want to talk back. "Answer me!" she snapped at that. I looked back up and mumbled, "There weren't any other plates." "And that gave you the right to touch my plate?" She stepped closer to me. "You stupid child. There are dishes in the sink. Are you too lazy to wash them yourself?" My eyes returned to the ground. She had never been this harsh to me, and a part of me wanted to leave. I wanted nothing more than to run outside and get away from her wrath, but my feet were glued to the ground. For some reason, the guilt was too much. "Your dad is looking down at you right now with disgust," she continued. "You shattered the one thing that kept me and him linked. Useless and clumsy is what we both think of you." At those harsh words, tears filled my eyes. I couldn't look up as I clenched my hands into fists, realizing why I felt so bad. My dad had loved this plate, just like my mom. Its beauty was the one thing my mom and dad could truly agree on. She was right, he was probably looking down on me in shame. It hurt to think about it. "What's going on?" My head flew up at the low voice I loved. With my eyes growing wide, I watched as Christian made his way towards my mom and I. As his eyes landed on me, I saw shock and sadness flash before his eyes. Before I knew it, they then hardened as he glared at my mom. "Your wonderful, useless sister broke my plate," my mom simply replied. "She's such an idiot." "Don't say that!" Christian snapped, stepping in front of me. "Don't you dare talk about her like that!" Both my mom and I's eyes widened. I would never expect him to talk to my mom like that. And seeing my mom's reaction, she didn't expect it either. "Christian," my mom said calmly. "She destroyed something I cherish with her clumsy hands. I'm not the bad guy here." "It was an accident," he hissed. "And even if she did something wrong, that doesn't give you the right to be a shitty person." "Excuse me?" My mom's eyes widened. "What did you just say?" "I'm tired of you treating Autumn like trash!" Christian shouted. "I'm so fucking tired of you treating your only daughter like she's a waste of space! What type of mother are you!" "You know what, Christian!" My mom suddenly yelled back, rage evident on her face. "You should shut up! You're only protecting her because you're in love with her!" At that, Christian and I froze. It took everything within me to hide my shock as I stared at her rage filled face. I couldn't believe it. She knew. Somehow, she knew. This couldn't be happening. "What are talking about?" Christian asked quietly, sounding calm despite the anger evident in his eyes. "I'm talking about the way you look at her. The way you're always near her," my mom hissed. "You're in love with your sister. How disgusting." I couldn't help but wince at the venom in her tone. It wasn't like I was planning on telling her about us, but I knew that I would never now. Even if we were to get married, it would have to be as far from her as possible. "You're delusional," Christian said, rolling his eyes. "I care about her because she's the family I never had. And because she has you as a mom, she needs someone who will protect her like I do." "Don't lie to me." She laughed bitterly. "I'm not stupid, so here I am telling you the truth. Your feelings for her are disgusting. You will get nowhere in life with them, so use that smart brain of yours and forget about Autumn before it's too late." I watched as Christian's jaw clenched. He looked ready to fight her, but just like me he seemed to notice how sure she was of this. Somehow, she could see how Christian felt about me and that left me terrified. "You're not my mom," Christian suddenly said casually, losing all of his anger. "Don't tell me what to do." My moms eyes widened and I could see the hurt in her eyes. Even I was caught off guard by what he said, but at this point I didn't feel sympathy for my mom. All I could feel was hate. "I'm happy for that," my mom replied, regaining her composure. "I don't want my child having these taboo feelings." Christian rolled his eyes. He looked too tired to fight, so he turned around and walked away from her. Passing me, he mumbled, "I'm done. Let's leave." I didn't know why I didn't follow him when he went upstairs, but as I stared at my mom who was glaring at me, I realized I was furious. Furious at the way she talked to Christian. Furious at the way she treated me. She needed to feel my own wrath for once. "Don't you ever talk to Christian like that again," I snapped. "Leave your petty hatred for me." "Don't you dare tell me you've fallen for him too," she hissed. "Don't you dare." I stepped forward, suddenly feeling courageous. With my heart pumping and adrenaline pumping through me, I suddenly felt invincible. "And what if I do," I replied, smiling sweetly. "What are you going to do about it?" Her eyes widened and I smiled smugly. That news would be the worst thing to her, and oddly I was satisfied with that. Right now, I just wanted to see her burn. "That better be a joke," she said, her eyes burning. "Autumn, I swear to god if-" "It is one," I cut in, knowing not to test the waters too much. "But answer me. I want to know." Her eyes narrowed and she stepped towards me, closing off the distance between us. With her brown eyes right in front of me, looking cold, I found fear blooming in me. Fear that I tried to ignore, but couldn't because the topic at hand was one that meant a lot to me. "I would disown you," she replied almost quietly. "You'll be out of this house in a heartbeat." My eyes widened, even though I should have expected that. I didn't know why, but I was caught off guard by that fact that she would actually do that to me, her daughter. By now I realized she was not even a true mother, and that Christian and I had to be careful. As much as I wanted to get away from her, I didn't want to be homeless. "Well, it looks like I'm lucky then." I stepped away from her and turned around. Without waiting for her reply, I walked off. With only anger and fear burning through me, I stormed upstairs and into my room. For the first time, I felt like I truly hated my mom. . No more delay as long as you find time to comment ur opinions after reading.. . so comment fast to receive the next episodes quickly..

This is getting messy I wonder what Stephen will think About the whole new found feeling of his children... Next pls

Hmmm....you've to follow your heart

Kasala wan burst

By dis act of ur mom, I think ur real dad is nt ur father, u both are true siblings

if truly she is Ur mother,,,,, she is not suppose to treat u like dis

move on

are u sure dat woman is ur mum Autumn?

Too bad

Autumn...this things are things of love...it's a good thing that u let it out to your friends

Christian...u have come from a long way to this love very close to u...it can only get better if it was meant to be

Cheryl...it nice,that u are happy 4 your friend...that u are smiling 4 your friend,her new found love

Dee...u are that friend that she has trusted more...that friend that that that will know everything about her

Alice...u are fu<king getting crazy about all these your attitude towards your daughter...they are not blood related

Stephen...maybe u have got to say something about this...u tried to talk to her at first but now is a different issue

Autumn...this is all u ever wanted in your heart...the love that cares 4 u,there is nothing to worry about

Christain...it's a good thing that u don't wanna give up on her...this one is love...incest has got nothing to do with this.

Oh Brother Episode 41-42 . Continues.. "Happy Birthday," Christian said, hugging me. He placed a kiss on my cheek and I smiled. It didn't feel like my birthday, but with Christian here I was glad to celebrate it with him. With my my mom bolting out of the house in the morning along with Stephen who was dragged away, Christian and I were completely alone. "Thanks," I said, pulling away from him so that I could see his perfect face. He suddenly frowned. "What's wrong? It's your birthday and you seem down." I shrugged, even though I knew the answer. What happened between my mom and I left me feeling down. I did expect her to kick me out for incest, but hearing her say it stung. She was my mom and she would kick me out in a heartbeat because of the one thing that made me happy. It hurt even more that she didn't even wish me for my birthday. Christian suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him. He smiled as my eyes widened, which made my heart flutter. A lot of people would wonder if being with him was worth all of the complications, but whenever I saw him smile the answer was yes. "Look, you're going to have the best birthday ever," Christian said, grinning. "Forget about your mom. She doesn't deserve to have a child like you." I smiled as my heart softened. "Okay. Let's celebrate." Even though my heart was still heavy, I decided to try to make the best of my birthday. I was seventeen and I had Christian all to myself. This should be a happy day. ***** I found myself smiling as Rapunzel and Flynn threw their lanterns into the sky. It gave me memories of my twelfth birthday with my dad. That was one of the best moments of my life. "You know, I wanted to take you to the Festival of Lights for your birthday," Christian suddenly said, bringing my attention to him. "But the festival is only held in summer. Sorry." "Why are you apologizing?" My eyes widened. "I can't believe you remember my best memory." He smiled. "Obviously I would remember your favourite memory. Why are you surprised?" I found myself smiling back, and this time it felt genuine. I was glad I got to celebrate my birthday with just him because now I felt a lot more relaxed. Safe, even. Christian had that sort of effect on me, and that was one of the many reasons why he was different than any other guy I've liked. "You're so old now," Christian commented. "Damn, seventeen." "I'm old?" My jaw dropped. "This coming from a nineteen year old. You're an adult." "An adult who can drink alcohol," he shot back. "I can drink alcohol too." "Legally?" He raised an eyebrow. I grinned sheepishly and he laughed. My insides felt warm and I hoped the day wouldn't end. It was the evening already though. We had binged on movies and played video games, so time flew by. That made me sad, knowing we couldn't spend time like this at home anymore because of my mom's suspicions. "I got you a present," Christian suddenly said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Really?" I said, smiling. "Obviously." He grinned. "It's in my room. Let's go." "Wait, but Tangled isn't finished." "We'll finish it later." He got up. "Come on." He grabbed both of my hands and pulled me up. Before I could argue, he then dragged me away from the living room and we were walking up the stairs. I found myself suddenly excited, having no idea what his present would be. When we reached his bedroom, I was led in quickly. As he shut the door behind us, I suddenly realized I had never actually been in his room. With that realization, my eyes began to wander. His room was clean, unlike mine. Other than a few black shirts laying in a corner of the room, there was literally nothing out of place. I wondered what he must think of the mess in my room as I looked around, but then I noticed that other than a bed there weren't any furniture in his room either. There was a nightstand and a closet, but otherwise his room was mostly empty. The large bed that sat in the very middle of it took up most of the space. "Is my room really that interesting?" Christian asked, snapping me out of my thoughts once again. I rolled my eyes, but I found myself fighting back a smile. "No, just wondering how your room is so clean. The answer is: your room has next to nothing in it." "Ouch." He grinned. "Someone's jealous." I grinned too and watched as he walked over to his bed. Dropping onto it lightly, he then patted the spot beside him. Feeling slightly nervous, I made my way towards him and sat next to him. He smiled at me as he then bent over and pulled out a large gift bag from under his bed. My heart began to flutter. "Here you go," Christian said, handing me the gift bag. "Please don't tell me you spent a lot of money on me," I said, amazed by how heavy the bag felt. "I'll feel bad until your birthday, which is ten months away." "Just open it." He grinned. "I'm excited." Seeing him wearing his childish grin, I decided to listen to him. So putting a hand into the bag, I pulled out the first gift that felt like a poster. It was rolled up, so I opened it and gasped. "Naruto!" I exclaimed. "You got me a Naruto poster? How did you know I needed one?" "I didn't." His eyes softened at my happiness. "You just have a lot of posters and you read Naruto all the time, so I thought what the hell." I grinned. "I love it. Thanks, you're incredible." He laughed. "You're the only girl I know who'd get excited over a poster." I laughed as well, knowing it was true. It was just that it was my favourite anime and I really needed to fill up a blank space on my wall. The poster of Naruto and Sasuke - the two main characters - was perfect because of that. "There's more, you know," Christian said, bringing me back to reality. I nodded, placing the poster down beside me on the bed. Putting my hand into the bag again, I then pulled out a book. I read the title, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. "Just like what you did for me, I wanted to give you a book that will allow you to meet your people," Christian said, grinning. "The Wallflowers." I laughed. Laughed hard at the irony. Christian joined me, and I knew this was meant to be a joke. Once I calmed down, I said, "Yeah, the people who see things but don't say anything are my people. This is perfect." "I'm guessing you watched the movie?" I nodded, smiling as I admired the book anyways. "It's a good book though," he said. "I'm not sure if you read, but I thought might as well." "Thank you," I said. "I loved the movie, so I'll love the book." He smiled and pointed to the bag. I rolled my eyes, wondering why he was so eager. But then again, watching others open your presents was exciting. A part of me couldn't blame him for being so excited. I put my hand into the bag again, and this time I wasn't sure what the item was as I felt it. Slowly, I pulled the present contained in a clear bag. When it was in front of my eyes to view, I gasped. My heart actually stopped for a second as I saw the gold hue of the item. It was a golden lantern. "You did not." My eyes were wide with excitement. Christian grinned. "I did." I screamed in excitement and Christian laughed. Seeing a lantern now in my hands brought back so many memories that I didn't care if he thought I was crazy. Didn't care if today wasn't a special day. I wanted nothing more than to go outside and let the lantern fly into the sky while letting go of everything in my heart. "Christian," I said, starting to rip the packaging of the lantern. "We have to go outside and let it fly. Come on." I was about to get up, but Christian put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from moving. His eyes were gleaming with happiness, but I frowned as I wondered why he stopped me. "There are two tickets for a festival in August," he said. "Let's save it for then." My jaw dropped and I hugged him. I hugged him tightly as my heart pumped with excitement. It had been forever since I had been to a festival, and I was beyond excited. With Christian coming with me, I couldn't wait. "Thank you. Thank you," I said excitedly, still hugging him tightly. "You're the best and I love you and you're amazing." He laughed. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it. Honestly, I was kind of nervous." "Why?" I frowned as I let go of him. "I don't know." He shrugged. "You're hard to figure out and... I don't know. I really wanted to make you happy." "You always do." My eyes softened. "You don't need to worry." He smiled and I decided to pull out the tickets out of the bag, just to look at them. August was still a couple of months away, but I was still excited. This was the best gift I could ever ask for. As I looked into the bag, I was surprised to see what looked like a card. Frowning, I pulled out the purple card instead of the two tickets that remained at the bottom of the gift bag. "You got me a card?" I asked, admiring it. "Yeah." He smiled, suddenly looking nervous. "Now I feel really bad." I pouted. "I didn't get you one." "Don't worry. It's not a big deal." I opened the card, still feeling bad. Looking at the inside, I was surprised to see one side of it filled with his writing. My eyes widened as I wondered what he wrote. "Can I read it?" I asked. "Sure," he replied, looking even more nervous. "Out loud?" "Um, no..." Deciding to be an asshole, I ignored him. "Dear, Autumn. I love you. I hope you know that." Christian groaned, but I ignored him. The second sentence had already made my insides melt, so I was now obsessed with reading the rest. "It's kind of stupid of me to admit that I love you in a birthday card," I continued on, my heart pounding. "But I do. I love you and everything about you. From your brown eyes to your short temper, I love you. And maybe I fell in love with you fast, but I don't think I've ever felt so sure about it. It's strange you know, with the world against us you'd think I would be running for the hills. But instead, I'm here. Here wondering how the hell I was lucky enough to win your heart. I don't really know why I telling you this in a card, but it feels right saying it here. I love you. Happy birthday to the girl who changed me for the better. I hope from now on life works on your side because I want nothing more than for you to be happy." I stared at the card for a bit after I finished reading it, stunned. Stunned from how simply beautiful it was. No one had done anything like this for me, and my heart had melted with happiness. "I know it's cheesy," Christian said, sounding embarrassed. "But I mean it. I love you and-" I didn't let him finish his sentence as I quickly grabbed his shirt and kissed him. Dropping the card onto the ground, I then pushed him back so that he was lying down on his bed. Ignoring the sound of my other presents dropping to the ground, I then sat on his stomach and began kissing him passionately. I loved him. I loved him too. My heart was pounding and my brain was clouded, but all I knew was that he meant the world to me. He was one of a kind and all mine. Christian was wrong. I was lucky to have won his heart. Moving my lips away from his lips, I gently kissed his jaw. I then moved my lips to his neck, and then to his collarbone. Sprinkling kisses everywhere, I smiled when he sighed lightly. "Whoa," Christian mumbled as I began kissing the part of his chest that was exposed thanks to his v-neck. "I should buy you gifts more often." I laughed as I brought my face away from him and looked at him as I sat up on his stomach. His face was red, but he looked happy. Indescribably happy, just like me. And suddenly, as I stared at his handsome face and his chest that was rising and falling faster than usual, I had this urge. This sudden urge to be closer to him in a way that I would never have thought about for years to come. But knowing I loved him and he loved me, and that it was my birthday, now felt like the perfect time. "I love you too," I suddenly said, smiling as his eyes softened. He suddenly sat up and we were now face-to-face as I was moved to his lap. I could close off our distance in a second, but there was something I needed to ask him. It would definitely be embarrassing, but I wanted to know if it was okay. Christian began to lean forward, but I stopped him by placing a hand on his chest. He frowned. "Can I have one more gift?" I asked, feeling my cheeks redden. Christian frowned. "Sure, anything." My faced turned redder as I realized I didn't know how to ask for what I wanted. I didn't want to come off as creepy either, if he'd say no. But knowing we only had this once chance, I ignored my embarrassment. "You," I said quietly, putting my hands on his chest. Christian looked confused for a second, but as my hands went higher up his chest his eyes widened. His own cheeks turned redder, and suddenly I felt embarrassed. I began to wish I could take back what I said. "Autumn, are you sure?" Christian asked with his eyes still wide. I nodded, looking to where my hands were. "Yes." He stared at me for a few seconds as I ran my hands towards his neck. His muscles were evident and I found my heart pounding so hard that I felt like I might throw up. Maybe it was my nerves, but I felt sick and excited all at once. Christian suddenly smiled and then kissed my lips gently. He then lifted his arms up and smirked. I was confused at first, but then I realized what he wanted. Quickly, I pulled off his shirt and threw it across his room. My embarrassment vanished as I grinned. He laughed, running his fingers through my hair. "Eager, aren't we?" I smiled sheepishly and pressed my lips to his bare chest. Kissing him across his chest, I heard him sigh as I ran my hands around his body. My own body was itching for him, but I knew I had to make this moment perfect. We only had this one day together. Christian suddenly hugged me and I yelped as he fell back onto the bed. Before I knew it, he then rolled over so that he was on top of me. With his blue eyes staring down at me with lust, I found my brain ignoring what I originally wanted. Right now, I wanted to be as close as possible to him soon. "Are you sure?" Christian asked again, breathing heavily. "Yes," I said, becoming surprised by how husky my own voice was. Christian smiled at that and he kissed me. He kissed me like I was all he needed, and I kissed him back the same way. I loved him. It was clear as we became one that day. . I woke up and yawned, stretching my tired body out. Turning to my other side, I was surprised to see a shirtless Christian sleeping beside me. He was sleeping peacefully, and that was when I remembered the events of yesterday. I blushed, but I was surprisingly happy with what had gone down. Being with him in that way had made me feel closer to him. It made us feel like one, and I definitely didn't regret anything. Smiling, I decided to make breakfast for him. My mom and Stephen had stayed at a hotel - purposely missing my birthday - so I was glad to know I had a few more hours alone with Christian. Finishing the rest of Tangled sounded perfect right now. I sat up and stretched, and then got out of bed. After listening for any sounds of people, I then glanced at Christian who was still sleeping peacefully. I smiled as I stared at his perfect self. I really did love him. After staring at him like a creep for a bit more, I then exited his bedroom and walked down the stairs. Entering the kitchen, I wondered what to make as I opened the fridge. Spotting eggs, I remembered the day I realized I had feelings for him. We never did get to eat the omelet after I burned it, so it would be perfect to make it now. I smiled. Honestly, I was just so happy. I didn't even know why, but everything about yesterday was perfect. From the movies we watched together to his gifts, and then the aftermath, it was like I had my own fairytale yesterday. With that, I had completely forgotten about my mom. Grabbing the carton of eggs and some meat, I went over to stove. Humming quietly, I began to cook. I was suddenly thankful I could cook. As I cooked, I realized I should add some vegetables to the omelet. I went back to the fridge and that was when something caught my eye. A single note was stuck to the freezer's door. A note I had never seen before, that was written in my mom's handwriting. Curious, I read the note. And at every word, my heart sunk. My body froze and my eyes widened, shocked by what the note said. By the end of it, my eyes were filled with tears. The letter said that my mom was disgusted with me. She had seen Christian and I asleep in his bed, and she wanted nothing more to do with me. I was to go to a motel she would pay for, and I would live in it from now on. She wanted me out of the house today. I took a deep breath in, trying to calm myself down. I couldn't believe it. After how happy I'd been, I couldn't believe my mom found out about Christian and I. It was at the worst possible time, too. I covered my mouth with my hand, fighting back tears. She was kicking me out of the house. I had to leave today and that would mean I wouldn't be able to see Christian anymore. My own mom was ruining my life. That was when another idea hit me. My mom was ruining my life. The very woman I lived with was paying for me to live somewhere else. She had been making me miserable for quite some time, but now I was rid of her. Even if Christian and I couldn't see each other at home, we still had school. He could always visit me too, which made moving out seem like a blessing. As I tried to think of the positives, my heart lifted. However, tears remained in my eyes. "Good morning beautiful." I turned around, jumping from Christian's sudden voice. As I looked at him and his shirtless glory, his grinning face fell. He suddenly frowned as concern became evident on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked. I took a deep breath in. "Read this." I extended my hand with the note in it towards him, and he walked over and took it. Reading it quickly, I watched as he scowled. Unlike me, he seemed more mad than sad. "What the hell," Christian said, crumpling up the note in his fist. "She can't be doing this." "It's okay." I forced a smile. "I'm finally away from the bitch, right?" "But she's your mom," he growled. "She can't be that heartless." I put a hand on his arm, wanting to calm him down. As I stared up at him, trying to tell him to calm down with my eyes, he sighed. He then ran his fingers through his hair tiredly. "You're okay with this?" Christian asked tiredly. "It doesn't make me happy," I said honestly. "But it seems like it's for the best. My mom and I haven't spoken for almost a year, and we can't even act like a couple here. I think this is for the best." Christian frowned. "But you'll be all alone. You'll-" "I love being alone," I said honestly. "I'll miss you like hell, but we'll make things work. Okay?" "Why are you so calm?" "I don't know." I shrugged. "I guess because this was bound to happen." Christian suddenly hugged me and I sighed lightly, feeling sad. I tried to keep the pros of getting kicked out at the front of my mind, but I still thought about how much I'd missed Christian. Even if we couldn't speak at home, just having him around was enough. His presence was always soothing, and now I wouldn't be able to see him everyday. It was almost scary. "I hate her," Christian muttered, running his fingers through my hair as we hugged. "Hey, let's not let this ruin what was supposed to be a good day," I said, smiling. "I was making you an omelet." He laughed, letting go of me. "Ah, memories." I laughed lightly, even though the word memory struck a chord in me. With me leaving, we wouldn't have these memories. We would only be able to see each other once in a while, and it would be difficult with my mom. I had no idea how this would work. "You know, I came here wanting to tell you something," Christian said, smiling shyly. "What?" I asked, curious. "Thank you, for yesterday." He looked away, blushing slightly. "It was more of a gift to me." I laughed as I felt my face turn red. Only Christian would thank me for something like that. He was so cute. Smiling, I put a hand on his cheek and forced him to look at me. "My birthday. My treat." He rolled his eyes and chuckled. I grinned and hugged him again. This was our last day and suddenly, I realized I had to pack up all of my belongings. We couldn't even spend our last hours together, I realized. As if reading my thoughts, Christian said, "I'll help you pack. I'll drive you there, too." I hugged him tighter. "Thank you. Thank you for everything." "Don't thank me." He kissed my head. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to your life." "Shut up." I rolled my eyes, but my heart felt heavy. I had no idea what the future had in store for us. I had no idea what it had for me either. All I knew was that I had to try to stay positive or else I would break. After everything good that happened, I didn't want to break. Instead, I wanted to stay strong. I wanted to overcome the obstacles in life. Just like Christian said, I wanted to be like Niagara Falls. . To be continued..

but why is Ur mum not sending Christian away too,,,, both of u committed dis crime so why is she been bias

abi dia is a secret surrounding Christian's birth,,,, maybe Ur mum is Christian's mum or Wats d reason behind her hatred for u,, her own child and doesn't hate Christian,,, her husband's son?

I wonder how yovr mom could be this heartless

There most be a secret this woman is hiding from u

i dnt think she is ur biological mum!... bcuz if she is, she supposed to be after ur happiness and not ur sadness! after all u and chris are nt related bloodically

I think there is something ur mum is hiding, bcos I don't know why a mother can be this cruel to her only daughter

seriously, instead of Alice and Stephen sitting with their children and guiding them, Alice is busy hating her own child to an extent of throwing her out of the house.... maybe she is not autumn's biological mother

Oh Brother Episode 43-44 . Continues... I wrapped my arms around my knees and brought them to my chest. Burying my face into them, I then allowed a few tears to escape my eyes. I hated being here. I hated how lonely I was. As a teenager, I felt like I should feel free at being alone in a motel. With my bitch of a mother home and no parental supervision, I thought I would be having a blast here on my own. But it turned out, I was miserable. With no one I knew in kilometres, I was horribly lonely. It didn't help that I hadn't seen Christian for a month. Even though we went to the same school, we never got to see each other. Christian was two years older, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was how strict my mom became. Nowadays she forced Christian to go home for lunch so that we couldn't see each other. I swear I hated her. Sniffing as more tears ran down my face, I lifted my head up and looked around the ugly motel room. There were two rooms. One bedroom and one kitchen/living room. Both rooms were plain, and from how yellow and smelly the place was I could tell it was getting old. It was still better than what I expected from my mom who was paying for it, but I still missed my house. My home actually, and all of my memories in it. The memories of my dad, the memories of Christian, and even the memories of my old mom were what I missed especially. All those were there, yet I could never return to that place. I hated what had become of my life. I covered my mouth and fought back a sob. Emotional was all I'd been for the past week, and it wasn't even my time of the month. I was just so done with everything that happened in the past year, so I guess all of my emotions were coming out now. That was the only benefit of living alone. No one could see my meltdown. As if on cue, the doorbell rang. I froze on the couch I was sitting on. Wiping the tears away from my cheeks, I got up and went to the door. Assuming it was a salesman, I took a deep breath in and opened the door. My eyes widened as Christian stood in front of me. "Oh my god," Christian said, breathlessly. Without waiting for a reply, he then hugged me. The door shut behind him as I began crying into his chest. I couldn't believe he was here. I couldn't believe I was crying into him like this. But right now, I was too busy to care. Still holding onto me, Christian led me to what I realized was my bedroom from the walking distance. He then sat me down on my bed and sat next to me. His arms remained wrapped around me as I continued to cry. I didn't know why I was so emotional, but I was just so happy he was here. After I felt like I cried my guts out, I moved away from him and asked, "What are you doing here?" "What do you think?" he asked, brushing away some of my tears with his thumb. I smiled sadly. "Well, thank you." "Idiot." He ruffled my hair gently. "Why are you thanking me? I'm sorry I didn't come earlier." I shrugged, unsure of what to say. For so long I'd been missing him. He was right, he should have. "You hate it here?" he then asked. "Yeah," I whispered. "I hate this place." "I don't blame you." His eyes wandered around the place. "I'm so mad." "Why?" "Because you don't deserve this!" he exclaimed. "You fucking mom needs to be taught a lesson!" "Christian..." "She does!" His eyes hardened. "What kind of mother kicks their daughter out of her own house. I hate her. You should too. We should hate her together." A part of me was touched by how passionate Christian was about this, knowing it was because he cared about me. But the other part of me was worried. Christian rarely got mad, but my mom seemed to anger him nowadays. That side of Christian was a part of a past he wasn't fond of, so I was worried that the past was returning. Wanting to calm him down, I gently put a hand on his arm. His eyes met mine, and they lost their hardness. Instead they seemed sad, which made me wonder if he pitied me. Even if I was pitiful, I hoped he didn't. "She's a bitch," I agreed. "But there's nothing we can do. This is how things are, so please don't waste your time plotting revenge on her. She deserves nothing from us." "True." Christian sighed. He put an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I laid my head on his shoulder, suddenly feeling tired. I knew seeing him was a rare occasion, but after everything I was too tired to bask in the glory of the moment. Silently, I prayed we would get more days together. "So, tell me. How have you been the past month?" Christian asked. "Okay." I smiled sadly, snuggling into him. "It gets lonely though." "I know. This place is horrible and empty." His voice seemed to almost crack at those words. "I'm sorry this happened to you. This is all my fault. If only I-" "Christian," I cut in, surprised he felt at fault in the situation. "It's not your fault. It's not mine either. Life is just..." "Unfair? Yeah, it sure as hell is." I smiled sadly, knowing he was right. All we ever wanted was happiness, and once we got a bit of it we were now stuck with new reasons to be unhappy. Life was cruel, I realized. Feeling down, I asked, "Can we change the subject? This is depressing." "Yeah." He chuckled, but I knew his heart was not in it. "Let's do something." I smiled, moving away from him so that I could see his face. My heart fluttered at the question. "What do you think we should do?" I asked. "We should have... Fun." He grinned. "If you know what I mean." I smirked, knowing exactly what he meant. "Oh, we should. What would be fun though?" He grinned mischievously and I knew where this was going. Adrenaline was pumping through me as my smirk grew. "We should..." He winked slowly. "Play video games." I laughed, glad to see that he had the same mind as me. Even with other options, I knew video games was the answer since the beginning. I shook my head at how strange we were. Getting up from the bed, my heart lightened up. Christian had a way of making me feel like everything was okay, and I was thankful. Smiling, I said, "Let's go." He nodded and got up as well. My smile grew and he smiled back at me. Just a few minutes ago, I had been crying. With him here, I now felt better. Less emotional too, which was as much as I could ask for ever since coming here. This was why I needed Christian, I realized. . please visit my website https://www.entertainingpalace.cf/?m=1 for more interesting stories.. . I stared at the clock, watching as it struck six o'clock. And with that, I found my veins boiling. I felt indescribably mad as I clenched my hands into fists. I had missed Christian's graduation. All because of my mom, I had. This to me was cruel. Even if our family was messed up, this one event was something we all had to attend. Me, being his stepsister, should have been there. I should have gotten an invitation at the very least, but instead I got nothing. I only knew about his graduation because I went to the same school as him. Otherwise, without any sort of communication with Christian because my mom took my phone away from me, I wouldn't have even known that this special occasion occurred. I got up from the couch I was sitting on and began pacing around my tiny living room. With a TV and couch already taking up most of the room, there wasn't much space to pace. Seeing that, I only felt angrier. My mom was ruining my life. I found myself taking in quick breaths as rage filled me. A rage I hadn't felt in a while began to consume me, and I needed an outlet for it. So without thinking, I walked over to a vase that sat on a counter and threw it at the wall. It shattered instantly, and I smiled as I instantly felt relieved. I felt like I was going crazy, but I also felt like I had every right to. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I jumped, surprised by the sound that interrupted my rage. Frowning, I wondered with a bit of excitement if it was Christian. I jogged to the door to see. When I did open the door, my jaw dropped. Standing in front of me was someone I didn't expect to see. Someone I hadn't seen in a while. With his eyes expressing pity, Stephen smiled at me. "Hi Autumn," Stephen said. "It's been a while." I didn't know what to say as I stared at him. Stephen was the one person I never had issues with. I never really hated him, but I never necessarily loved him either. I was fond of him, but knowing he allowed my mom to kick me out made me angry. So angry that I scowled at him. "What are you doing here?" I asked flatly. He seemed caught off by my tone, but his smiled remained. I found myself getting annoyed. "I came to see you." He scratched the back of his neck, seemingly nervous. "Can I come in?" "Why?" I asked. "You kicked me out of your house, so why should I let you into mine?" His eyes widened, but I saw that there was also guilt in his eyes. As I glared at him, a part of me saw how innocent he really was. My mom was more like his ruler than his wife, I realized. He didn't have any say when it came to things. Suddenly feeling tired, I said, "Fine. Just come in for a bit." He smiled in relief and I turned around. Hearing the door shut behind me, I made my way to my couch. Stephen sat on it too, but made sure to leave a lot of space between us. I was thankful. "So, how have you been?" Stephen asked awkwardly. "Great." I said sarcastically. "I'm living the life." "Autumn." Stephen frowned. "Don't lie to me." "Why did you let my mom do this to me?" I blurted out without thinking. "How could you?" The guilt on Stephen's face was clear and he looked uncomfortable. Not caring, I stared at him with eager eyes. Eyes that pleaded for him to tell me that I didn't mean absolute nothing to him. That even though we were never close, he still saw me as part of his family. I didn't know why I suddenly cared so much, but I did. "Autumn..." Stephen started, sounding surprisingly sad. "I don't agree with this." "But you let it happen." My eyes were wide with hurt. "Why didn't you stand up for me?" "Your mom... You know how she is." "You're a grown man. How could you let her kick out a child. Her child." "How could you fall for your brother," Stephen suddenly shot back, looking disappointed. My eyes widened. From the look on his face, it was clear. He didn't agree with Christian and I being together. I should have expected it, but I had always thought Stephen was more open minded. "He's my stepbrother," I said calmly. "Do you really think that what we have is... Incest?" Stephen looked away, shaking his head. He looked upset, but not with me. "When I married your mother, I was hoping the four of us could be a happy family. Christian and you would be siblings, and your mom and I would be a happy couple." He laughed bitterly. "Being a happy family was out of the picture a long time ago, but you and Christian. You guys gave me hope that at least my children would have a family within each other." Stephen suddenly looked at me and the disappointment was clear on his face. My eyes widened and I felt something clutch at my heart. It was painful, and I realized I felt guilt. For some reason, I felt bad for Stephen. "But then you two fell for each other," Stephen continued. "You two were supposed to be siblings, but you guys are a couple instead. The last of my dream was destroyed by that." "But we're happy," I quickly said, suddenly feeling hopeless at Stephen's disappointment. "We have that." "Really?" Stephen asked. "You're happy here, all alone in this ugly motel?" I nodded, looking away as I lied. Something about Stephen's piercing blue eyes made it hard to be the strong person I usually was. Maybe because they looked so disappointed, and he had been one of the few people I didn't want to disappoint. "Don't lie to me," Stephen said, bringing me to look at him again. "I see that broken vase over there." He pointed at the vase that laid shattered on the ground. I had forgotten about it, and suddenly I felt ashamed of myself. Stephen had somehow seen right through me. "It wasn't like I was happy at home," I muttered, knowing I had to win this fight. With Christian and I's relationship up for the test, I knew I had to fight back all of his claims that our relationship had ruined my life. I already knew it hadn't, but I had to show Stephen that. I had to show him in hopes that he would also convince my mom that it was okay for us to love each other. "Maybe, but you weren't lonely," Stephen said, eyes softening a bit. "As long as your mother was out of the way, you didn't hate living at our house." He clearly saw through me, and I was shocked. Stephen and I weren't related in any way, but somehow he knew me. In the eleven months we had known each other, Stephen had figured me out. I was terrified. "But..." I began, unsure of what to say next. "Tell me this," Stephen suddenly said, ignoring me. "Is it worth it? Is your relationship with Christian worth it?" "Yes," I replied confidently. "It is." "I want you to really think about it." His eyebrows furrowed. "Think about what has happened. Think about where you live now, and of how lonely you are. Then compare it to your old life. Give me an answer then." I rolled my eyes, but listened to him anyways. Knowing I was sure of myself, I was surprised to find my heart dropping at the thought of living in this motel for the next couple of years. With the idea of being all alone in this ugly apartment, my heart sank even more. And that was when I connected this to Christian. I could never see him. I couldn't even go to his graduation just because of our relationship. I loved him - I knew that for sure - but I thought about the past. Christian and I had been so close. We could see each other whenever we wanted, and he had become the family I had always wanted. And the truth was, I was somewhat happy back then. Willing to stick with that, even though my heart wanted more. It was great dating Christian, but I had suffered so many losses because of it. Stupid losses that could have been prevented if we never loved each other. I froze at the truth. Seeing that I was so conflicted, Stephen sighed lightly. He suddenly got up and walked to the door, surprising me. I frowned at him. Opening the door, he said, "I see you understand. If you're willing to break up with him, I'll convince your mom to allow you to come home. Okay?" I nodded robotically, still in a daze from the horrifying truth. Stephen then left and shut the door, snapping me out of my thoughts momentarily. Was it worth it? That was the question he had asked me, but I had no idea now. A few days ago I would have agreed wholeheartedly, but now I didn't know. Christian and I both suffered a lot. Just because we loved each other, we had. Knowing we were once happy as just siblings, I began to wonder if I should listen to Stephen. My heart didn't want to, but knowing my future was set to live in this motel, I was conflicted. . To be Continued..

but Wats Christian doing abt Ur situation? he should leave dat house for dem if he really love u as he claimed and not allow u to suffer alone for wat both of u committed

u need to follow ur heart

Hun hmmm

Autumn...u don't deserve to be alone in this tiny place...if u are really sure about this love...u can still make a choice

Christain...she's the one suffering 4 this kinda love...she's too young to be in this kinda suffer

Stephen...now that u have said what u want,what u wanted the family to be like...all u wanted is siblings

Alice...this it ìs u that it is wickedness,shut up u there,commotu u there....some may even ran away because of that loneliness

Why is Christian still staying with your family

Alice...this it ìs u that it is wickedness,shut up u there,commotu u there...it is u that is heartlessness...it is your head very very very biggy

Autumn...u are gonna do something about it or even pretend to break up with him...u told me the other day that u don't like this place

Christian being a graduate should have his own house

Oh Brother Episode 45-46 . Continues... It was worth it, I reminded myself for the millionth time. All of this to be with Christian was worth it. I suddenly frowned, knowing I didn't wholeheartedly believe what I thinking. A part of me hated what Stephen brought up, but with the chance of returning home I couldn't help but spend my days thinking about everything. I loved Christian - there was no doubt about that. But like Stephen asked, was it worth it? Being here alone was the cost, and I wasn't a hundred percent sure if it was worth it. I sighed and ran my fingers through my long hair. Now that school had ended, I was lonelier. Without a car, I couldn't see my friends. I couldn't see anyone really, which left me all alone at home. I'd often debate on whether boredom or loneliness would kill me first. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I huffed tiredly and got up from the couch I was sprawled on. Hoping it wasn't Stephen looking for an answer, I made my way to the door and opened it. To my shock, it was Christian. My jaw dropped and my heart froze, completely surprised that he was here. Here when my heart was so conflicted. I wasn't sure if I should've been happy or horrified by his sudden appearance. "Autumn." He stepped into the motel room and hugged me, snuggling his face into my hair. The door shut as he pushed me back, still holding onto me, towards the couch. My heart was now racing as I hugged him back, realizing how much I missed him. I knew I loved him at that. We landed on the couch as he fell forward. Smiling from on top of me, he kissed me and I kissed him back immediately. Grabbing onto his shirt to bring him closer to me, I kissed him as if I had deprived of him - which I had been. Christian smiled against my lips and I knew I didn't want to lose this. As he grabbed my hips, I knew he was all I needed. But the question was still in my mind. Was it worth it? Was just him and nobody else worth it? Suddenly, I pulled back as questions formed in my mind. "How did you come here?" I asked. "I thought my mom would be watching you like a hawk." "I have my ways." Christian winked, grinning. "We have all of today to ourselves." Christian began leaning forward again, but I put my hand on his chest to stop him. There were important questions I had to ask him. To know if it was worth it, I had to see his views too. "Can we talk?" I asked. "Sure," he said, frowning in confusion. Christian sat up and I moved away from him, so that I was now sitting next to him. Clasping my hands together, I found my heart racing with nerves. I really wanted the answer to Stephen's question to be yes, but there was really no way to tell. "Why do you think we fell for each other?" I suddenly asked, looking at his blue eyes. He frowned. "Why are you asking?" I looked down, knowing I couldn't tell him about Stephen's visit. Christian would be mad, I was sure. And even if he had every right to be mad, I was looking for answers to questions that would make everything make sense. Not just for Stephen's question, but for the fact that life had changed solely because we loved each other. "Don't you ever wonder?" I replied, looking back at him. "We could have fell for anyone, but we fell for each other. Knowing it would be difficult to be together, we still chose each other." Curiosity shone in Christian's eyes. I was glad to see it because I was also curious. Falling for him had been one of the most beautiful and horrible things in my life. There were so many fish in the sea, but I still chose this destructive path that made me so happy. I didn't understand why. "That's a good question." Christian suddenly smiled as his eyes wandered around the room. "But I guess because we can relate to each other." "How so?" I asked, curious. "Well, we both only have one parent left," he replied. "Both of our lives were changed drastically. We can understand each other's pain, and pain can bring people together in the strangest way." I frowned. I never thought about it, but that was true. Christian and I could relate in many ways, and now that I thought about it, that was how we originally bonded in a sense. But the thing was, I didn't understand how that made us fall for each other. Friends, yes. But lovers, not really. "But why would we fall for each other because we can relate to each other?" I asked, frowning. "I bet there's a lot of people like us. There has to be a reason." "I don't know, we're messed up people." He suddenly broke out into a smile. "You know, I used to wonder if I was so messed up that I fell for my sister." My eyes widened as I felt like I got slapped. Staring at him, I had this horrifying realization that he also thought our relationship was disgusting. That he was so mentally disturbed that he had fallen for his sister. It hurt. Hurt so much that I transformed that feeling into anger as I narrowed my eyes at him. "Excuse me?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "That was a while back." His smile fell, seeing my reaction. "It was before I realized you weren't my sister." I didn't care if it had been a while back. The fact that he thought his feelings for me was some sort of mental illness hurt. I once thought we would be disturbing because of incest, but never have I thought my feelings for him were sick. Wrong, maybe. But I didn't think I was corrupted enough to fall for my brother. "Wow." I laughed bitterly. "You thought you were so messed up that you fell for your sister. I'm glad to see that, that's why you fell for me." "Autumn... What I said was meant to be a joke," Christian said cautiously, seeing my anger. "The past is the past." "But it matters!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe you. You fell for me because we were both in pain. You thought you were so corrupted that you liked me. Do you understand how wrong that sounds?" Christian's eyes widened and I didn't care if we were fighting after so long. My heart hurt and I was angry. Angry at the harsh truth I wish he never brought up. I loved him, but his reasons for us falling for each other were horrible. "I didn't fall for you because we can relate through pain," Christian said defensively. "Sure, it helped us connect, but I don't like you for that. Gosh Autumn. Why are you overreacting?" My jaw dropped at his accusation. My life had fallen apart because of him, which gave me every right to freak out over this. It was his fault I was living here. All his fault I was all alone. "I'm not!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up into the air. "After everything I've been through, I just can't believe your feelings are based on such stupid things. It makes me feel like our relationship isn't worth it." I froze as the truth came out. The very answer I didn't want had fallen out of my mouth. My eyes widened, and so did Christian's. Both of us seemed to know that this was not a good sign. "You don't think our relationship is worth it?" Christian asked slowly, still in shock. "No... I mean... I don't know." I sighed tiredly. "Christian, what's wrong with us?" "I don't know." Christian also sighed. "I'd love to say nothing, but clearly it isn't." "Yeah, maybe you're right." I laughed bitterly. "Maybe we're both so messed up that we fell for each other even though we're siblings." "Autumn..." "Maybe you should leave," I quickly said, looking away from him. "Autumn, I-" "It's for the best." I hugged myself, suddenly feeling both exhausted and emotional. "I want to be alone." To a bit of my shock, Christian stood up. I heard him walk away and my heart thumped painfully as he walked away from me. Yes, I wanted this. But I never thought he would have given up so easily. To my surprise, I heard him say, "I never wanted to hurt you. I just wanted to make you happy. That was all I ever wanted from the moment I saw you." I looked to where he stood in front of the door. He looked sad in a way I hadn't seen before. Crush might've been the way to describe it. It was almost heartbreaking seeing him that way, but with everything that happened I needed to be alone. Just to clear my mind, I needed him away from me. "I know," I said honestly. "But when we're together everyone else decides to hurt us." I smiled sadly and he nodded, opening the door. Before I knew it he was gone, and I was left alone to hug myself. I felt like I was breaking, but only because the one thing I had been so sure of seemed like a lie. Christian had always made me feel secure, but what he said left me wondering if he was right. We were just so corrupted by our pasts that we sought comfort in each other. Seeing how bad life was now, it was a horrifying possibility I hoped wasn't true. . . I grabbed the doorknob of the front door and closed my eyes. Repeatedly, I reminded myself of what happened yesterday. Of how crushed I had been from what Christian said. With everything that had happened since we got together, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this anymore. Even though I loved him, Stephen was right. So much had happened, even though I was alright before. My grip tightened on the doorknob and I took a deep breath in. Even when I knew that I could get my old life back by breaking things off with Christian, I didn't want to. What I felt for him was something I never felt for anyone. Something I felt like I would never get again. Christian was one of a kind, I knew. I groaned and laughed bitterly. Everything Christian related was so complicated. It had always been that way, and would always continue to be that way. Life seemed to want me to be both happier than I ever been and more stressed than ever. It was so messed up, but that made me realize that maybe I should try to let him go. My life had never been perfect, but this entire situation was too much for a kid like me. Smiling sadly, I opened the door. But, at that very moment the phone for my home rang. Frowning, I quickly shut the door and walked back in. No one called the motel phone, so I was curious. I walked over to the phone that sat next to the couch and picked it up, seeing that the phone number was unrecognizable. With a frown of my face, I waited to hear a familiar voice. "Hello?" An unrecognizable voice said. "Hello?" I responded. "Who is this?" "Is this Autumn?" The person asked, ignoring my question. "Yes..." My heartbeat sped up, wondering who this person was. "Hi, sweetheart." The person's voice softened, sounding sympathetic all of the sudden. "I'm a nurse and... I'm so sorry." My heart dropped. "Why... What happened?" "Your father, Stephen. He passed away a few minutes ago. I'm so sorry sweetheart." My heart froze. My entire body froze along with every system in it as well. I couldn't breathe or think. This was impossible I told myself. Stephen and I talked a few days ago. He was okay. He was alive. "Are you sure you have the right number?" I asked nervously, hearing her mumble apologies. "My stepfather and I spoke a few days ago. He's a healthy man... There's no way." "He had a sudden heart attack. It happened fast and the doctors weren't able to save him. I'm sorry." My breathing became uneven. That was when I realized this was actually happening. Somehow, Stephen had passed away. Stephen, who had been a good guy, had died suddenly and out of nowhere. My throat constricted at the thought, wondering how in the world this happened. That was when I remembered Christian. Before I could allow tears to reach my eyes, I realized with horror that Christian had just lost his father. I gasped as my heart ached. I needed to see him. "Is Christian, Stephen's son, at the hospital?" I asked the nurse. "Yes, so is your mother," she replied. Ignoring the second part, I asked, "What hospital?" "Sentential. Are you coming?" "Yes. Thank you for calling." Before she could reply, I hung up the phone. With a dagger twisting at my heart, I ran to the front door. The next thing I knew I was running to catch a bus, wanting to see Christian as soon as possible. A part of me hoped that this was some sick dream, but I knew better. Life could be cruel. ***** "Where is Stephen Woods room located?" I asked the nurse at the front desk. "Second floor," she replied. "Room B12. I'm sorry about-" I ran off before she could finish. I hated when people apologized for things that were out of their hands. It was useless and it didn't make the person feel better. Well, that was how I felt. With every step I took, my heart pounded against my chest painfully. Christian was all I could think about as I walked up the stairs and down a hallway. He had lost so much, so this was unbelievable. It was just so cruel of the world to do to him. Sweet, innocent him. I was so angry that I found it hard to be sad, which was helpful because I didn't want to cry. Not when I needed to support Christian. I saw the sign that said room B12 and rushed over to it. Entering it, I was surprised to see a waiting room that consisted of two people. The very person I wanted to see, and the very last person I wanted to see. Without thinking, I ran to the boy who had his head hung low. I ran past my mom who had tears streaming down her face, and embraced Christian who stiffened at the touch. He then hugged me back and I heard a sob escape him, breaking my heart. He didn't deserve this. That was all I could think about as I hugged him. Christian's body rocked with tears as he cried into my shoulder. I rubbed his back, wondering why this world was so horrible. Why everything had to be taken from us. Why was happiness so hard to achieve? "Fuck this world," I mumbled, finally allowing myself to tear up. "It's cruel." "Fuck it," Christian choke out in agreement. My sight got blurry as more tears filled my eyes. Stephen . We may never have been close, but I knew he didn't deserve this. No one deserved to die, but Stephen especially should never have died. He was so young. So alive with dreams of his family being strong. It was unbelievable. As Christian continued to cry against my shoulder, I felt a tear run down my face. All of my sadness I tried to withhold finally released, and I was okay with it. Being with Christian in this situation suddenly made me realize something. I was such an idiot. I was just about to give up on him, even though he meant the world to me. Sure, things were complicated. And sure, my life was a mess. But that didn't mean he wasn't the one person that meant the absolute world to me. The one person who actually made me feel like I mattered. I definitely needed to appreciate him for as long as he remained reachable. That was what I realized as tears streamed down my face. "I'm sorry," I choked out as I became Niagara Falls with my tears. "For everything. You're worth it. This relationship is worth it, and Stephen deserves to be here with us." Christian held onto me tighter, which made me smile despite my tears. It seemed to me like we realized something today. People in your life can disappear at any moment. It was for the best to hold onto them, knowing you could have your last moment with them at any second. To be continued..

Hmmmn.....What a painful death

RIP Stephen

eeya sorry for the loss!

eeyah,,,,, sorry for d loss Christian

Autumn...u just have to make use of a lot time to decide how u want it to be like love like love

Christian...u thought about it and u have discovered that u are not doing incest

Autumn...it's a big lost on ya side too...seeing the one u love in pain makes u share it with them

Christian...i heard about your father...Autumn called me on her way to the hospital...TAKE HEART my FRIEND

I was having a conversation with him the other day about all these family issues which he later visited Autumn...STEPHEN was NICE MAN

Oh Brother Episode 47-48 FINALE EPISODE'S Continues.. The funeral was depressing. I tried to be strong for Christian, but I ended up crying my eyeballs out as we lowered Stephen into his grave. Knowing he should be standing with us, seeing him placed in a grave broke me. He didn't deserve this. Christian hadn't spoken much since the day I comforted him at the hospital. I went home with him and my mom allowed it - surprisingly - so I stuck by him. From his face I could tell this was killing him, but I didn't bring it up. By giving him space and by being at his side simultaneously, I tried to be his rock. Grabbing onto Christian's hand, I led him to his black car. Without a word, we walked there and I sighed sadly. The graveyard was depressing and I wanted nothing more than to go home. I was tired of crying and the place brought back bad memories. "Are funerals always like this?" Christian suddenly asked. "This is my first one." "Yeah, pretty much," I replied, hiding my slight shock. "Are they supposed to make you feel like screaming until your insides melt?" He avoided my gaze. "That was how I felt for the ones I went to," I answered quietly. "They're horrible." "Was your last one your dad's?" I nodded, looking down. "Wow, you're strong." He smiled sadly as I looked back at him. "You made it through it." "You will too." I kissed his cheek quickly. "Christian, the one thing I can tell you is that you'll make it through this. It's hard, but you will." He looked away, but I noticed tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. From what I saw, he didn't cry at the funeral. A part of me hoped he would later because it wasn't good to hold everything in. It would destroy you, I knew. So even though I hated seeing him cry, it was for the best if he did. Christian and I finally made it to his car, and I was surprised to see my mom already in the drivers seat. Pretending she didn't exist, I sat in the back seat along with Christian. As she began to drive, I laid my head down on Christian's shoulder. It had been a long week. After a few minutes, my mom said, "Of all the times you could act like this, don't be selfish and choose now. Stop touching each other." I rolled my eyes, but listened to her. Even if I hated her, I felt sympathy for her. She had just lost her husband. For the second time, she lost her soulmate. It was almost heartbreaking for me to know she had to suffer like that twice. The rest of the car ride was silent and we soon got home. Not caring about what my mom said minutes ago, I grabbed Christian's hand and we exited the car. Looking at him, my heart broke as I realized his cheeks were wet. He was in so much pain and I hated it. I hated seeing the guy I loved like this. The three of us went into the house and the minute the door shut, my mom said, "Listen. I need to talk to you, Christian." "About what?" Christian asked tiredly. "I want to talk to you alone," she said, also sighing tiredly. "Autumn, go up to your old room." Christian's hold on my hand tightened. I looked up at him and watched as his jaw clenched. It was clear he didn't want to deal with this. "Whatever you need to tell me you can say in front of Autumn," Christian said. My mom's eyes narrowed at me - to my slight surprise. It really did seem like she would never hate Christian. He could burn the world into ashes, and she would still love him more than me it seemed. "Fine," she eventually said, bringing her attention back to Christian. "Okay." She took a deep breath in. My mom looked nervous, which made me nervous. I wondered what she wanted to say. "We suffered a great lost. You lost you dad, and you have no parents now." Her eyes teared up, but there was a certainty in her tone. "I have always loved you like my own son and I've been thinking... I'm going to adopt you, so you can be my own son." My jaw dropped and Christian stiffened beside me. I never expected this. It made perfect sense, but the fact that my mom desperately wanted him as her actual son was almost out of the blue. Without giving it much thought, I knew I didn't want this. "No," Christian said. "I don't want to be adopted by you." The hurt was evident on my mom's face. "Why not?" He shrugged and I was thankful. With the recent loss, we didn't need anymore drama. I hoped my mom had some sort of common sense to know that. "Is it because of Autumn? Because of your relationship?" My mom asked, eyes widening wildly. "Is it because if you and I aren't related, you two being together would be fine?" My eyes widened. I never thought about that. As selfish as I was, the thought never crossed my mind. My heart lightened as I realized that all of my problems were gone. Christian and I could finally date because we weren't related in any way as of now. I hated myself for feeling happy, but after everything it was the best news ever. "I'll disown Autumn," my mom suddenly said, seeing that no one would reply. "I don't care if you two are dating, but I want you as my son." I winced because I felt like someone slapped me. Her own words felt like a wrecking ball smashing into my heart because she admitted it. In a somewhat blunt way, she admitted that I meant nothing to her and Christian meant the world to her. Even if I already knew that, it hurt. It hurt more than I would like it to, and I felt stupid. She hadn't been a mom to me for a while, but I still cared about her. I was an idiot. Christian suddenly let go of my hand and stepped in front of me. That reminded me he was here, and my eyes widened as I saw his hands clench into fists. With his body stiff, I realized he was furious. My eyes widened as my pain turned smaller. "What is wrong with you!" Christian shouted. "How could you say that!" My mom and I both jumped. I had never heard him shout like that, and even I was caught off guard. Maybe even a bit scared. "What?" my mom asked calmly. "Why would you say you'll disown your own daughter for me!" he exclaimed. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" "Don't you understand that I hate her!" She yelled back suddenly. "I want nothing more than for her to be gone!" I didn't stop the tears from pooling into my eyes. With my heart painfully thumping, I allowed a tear to slip down my face. My own mom hated me. The last of my own immediate family despised me. "Why?" he snapped. "How could you hate Autumn?" "Because she reminds me of my old life!" My mom exclaimed. "She reminds me of what used to be!" I didn't get that at first, but then it hit me. Our past. The one where we were all happy and never lonely. I reminded her of that. I scowled. She had to be kidding me. "That's a horrible reason," Christian spat. "You're the worst mother ever and guess what, you're all alone now. I'm out of here." My mom froze. "What are you talking about?" "I'm taking Autumn and we're never coming back." He smiled, but there was no happiness behind it. "Have a good life." Christian grabbed my hand again and with my eyes wide from what happened, I felt myself being dragged away. It was hard to process everything, but I soon realized as Christian opened the door that we were getting away from my mom. I smiled, knowing she hurt me enough. "Wait!" My mom screamed as we stepped outside. "Christian! Let's negotiate." "Never," he simply replied. My mom continued to scream things at him, but he ignored her. She screamed so loudly that I began to question her sanity. Christian seemed unaffected though. With his eyes set with determination, he dragged me to his car. Without saying a word, we got in and he began to drive off. Finally realizing this was actually happening, I asked, "Where are we going?" "I don't know." He smiled sadly. "Anywhere but where she is." I couldn't help but smile, even though I was nervous about our futures. "That sounds great." He smiled back, and suddenly I felt like everything was okay. Even after everything that just happened, I felt oddly relaxed. My mom who made me feel nothing but pain was finally out of my life. Christian and I weren't related anymore. Even with Stephen gone, things were changing in a way that looked bright. It was scary, but I felt hope. Epilogue "Yes Dee, I'm fine," I said, smiling as I held my cellphone closer to my ear. "And yes, Christian is too." "Good, tell him I said hi." I could tell Dee was grinning. "I miss you though. It sucks that you're moving schools." "I know, I miss you too." I sighed. "But I'm at my happiest here. You and Cheryl are the only things I miss from my old life." That was true. Leaving home a month ago was the best thing that had ever happened to me. With my mom out of the picture and the word incest nonexistent, I was truly happy. "Autumn!" Christian's aunt called. "Come. I want to do your hair." I smiled excitedly. "Sorry Dee, I have to go. I'll talk to you later." "Bye. You better come visit soon." "Bye." I smiled sadly. My friends were the only things I missed from my old life. I made a mental note to visit them soon. Then smiling, I thought about ways to convince Christian to come back to our old home. He was more than happy to be gone from it, so I knew that, that would be a mission. Getting up from the couch, I walked to the stairs. I walked upstairs and into Christian's aunt's room. She was there, sitting in front of a table with a mirror attached to it. A straightener was in her hand. Before letting her know I was there, I stopped by the door and admired her. I wondered how a woman could be so nice. When Christian and I left with no destination in mind, he offered to show me his aunt that he loved. I agreed, expecting to just see her and have a casual chat. But, that didn't happen. Christian's aunt, Tracy, had embraced the both of us the moment we stepped out of the car. She fell in love with me before I had spoken and made preparations for our wedding. That made Christian mention how we were homeless, and before we knew it we were telling her our life story. And before we could refuse, Tracy had forced us to live with her - not that we were complaining. Ever since that day, my life had been looking bright. Tracy suddenly looked at me and grinned. She was beautiful. With her bright red hair and blue eyes that were replicas of Christian's, she screamed beauty. And hot with her curvy figure, despite being in her forties. "Sweetheart, what are you doing standing there?" she asked, still grinning. "Come here. You and Christian need to be there in an hour." I smiled sheepishly and made my way towards her. I wasn't sure if an hour was enough time, so I quickly sat down in front of her and allowed her to move my hair around. The entire time, I stared at myself in the mirror. Whoever said how you're feeling inside can affect the way you looked on the outside was right. I definitely looked brighter now. "Are you excited for the festival?" Tracy asked as she straightened my hair. "For sure." I grinned. "I've been waiting for it ever since Christian gave me the tickets for my birthday." "Yeah, I love these type of festivals." She sighed. "If only my husband was home more often." "You could come with us." "No, it's fine." She smiled. "I don't want to third wheel my favourite couple. Are you guys planning on marriage anytime soon?" I laughed lightly. She asked us that everyday, which was odd because our answers were always the same. "Tracy, we're still young," I replied, admiring how she curved the ends of my hair to give it a nice shape. "We have a lot more to get through in life before we can even question marriage." "I know." She sighed lightly. "But you two are perfect for each other. No couple would have went through so much for each other." I shrugged, even though I agreed. Breaking up with him had always been the easiest solution, but we had fought for each other. We never gave up, and here we were at our happiest. Perseverance was something I learned from this one year and a month journey of knowing Christian. "Christian learned to really smile with you," Tracy said, finishing straightening my thin hair. "I love you for that, you know." My heart fluttered. Hearing that I bettered Christian was always my favourite thing to hear. The fact that I helped him as much as he helped me meant a lot. "He makes me happy too," I said honestly. "And I love you, Tracy. Thank you for all of your help. We'd probably be homeless and unhappy without you." She kissed the top of my head. "You're welcome. I love having you two here, so no need to thank me." I smiled and wondered if this was how it felt to have a mom who appreciated you. After my own mom, I had no idea what it was like. Watching as Tracy played with my hair, my heart softened. Christian, Tracy, and I seemed to be the family Stephen wanted. I hoped he was watching us now. ***** "You look beautiful, did I tell you that?" Christian said as I got out of his car. I rolled my eyes, but smiled. "Yes. You've been telling me that for the past thirty minutes. He grinned sheepishly and my heart softened. Seeing him in his black jeans and black buttoned shirt had me wondering how he was so gorgeous. With his blue eyes sparkling and his grin that made him seem younger, he was perfection to me. Patting my dress down, I stepped towards him and kissed him. My lips pressed against his gently, and he kissed me back. The both of us smiled as we then moved apart when we heard fireworks. The festival seemed to be calling us. "What was that for?" Christian asked, grabbing my hand as we began to walk to the entrance. "I love you," I answered simply. "And I'm happy." "I like seeing you like this." His grip on my hand tightened. "Happiness looks beautiful on you." I blushed as we reached the entrance. Giving the guy at the booth our tickets, we went inside. Excitement filled me as I glanced at the bag Christian was holding in his other hand. In just a few hours, we would be letting go of the lantern he got me. I couldn't wait. ***** Christian and I were sitting on a large rock away from the glowing Festival of Lights. We weren't talking. Instead we were admiring the fireworks that splattered the night sky with colour. I was counting down the minutes until we could let go of the lantern that was in Christian's hands. My heart was pounding with excitement. "Did you ever think that you'd find love this young?" Christian suddenly asked. "No," I replied honestly. "But I'm more than glad I did." He grinned at me. "Same. If people knew how much we've been through, they'd think we should be joining your mom. But, our relationship has been the best thing that's happened to me." I smiled, but the line about my mom bothered me. After Christian and I left, she began to go to a therapist. It was confirmed that she wasn't mentally stable after all of the losses she faced, and even though I hated her, I felt sorrow at the news. Maybe she had made me miserable, but she had been miserable herself. With me reminding her of her old life, she just wanted someone - Christian, to make her happy. But even knowing that, it still wasn't hard to hate her. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that about your mom," Christian said, seeing that I hadn't said anything. "But honestly, I'm happy. I'm glad we never gave up." "Me too," I said honestly. "You're all I need." I laughed lightly and he frowned. Nothing was funny, but I was surprised to see how cheesy I had become. Love had a funny way of softening you up. "Five more minutes," Christian said, glancing at his watch. He handed me the lantern and I held it to my chest. It was already glowing, and memories were brought back to me. My dad and I had done this too. At midnight, we had thrown a lantern into the air. He taught me to let go while doing it, and that was when I realized I needed to do that now. My mom, Stephen, and everything that happened the past year was always at the back of my mind. I was happy. Happier than I had ever been since my dad passed away. But, that didn't mean I wasn't bothered by the past. By everything I had been through. Letting go like my dad taught me to seemed perfect now. "Christian," I said, eyes sparkling as he looked right at me with eyes that told me he loved me. "Remember how I told you my dad taught me how to let go by throwing a lantern into the air?" "Of course." His eyes softened. "How could I forget?" "Well, we should do now that." I got up and held the lantern with one hand towards him. "Together, we should let go of the past." Christian got up as well. "That sounds great." I blushed as he stood beside me. He must think I was crazy, I thought as he grabbed onto the lantern with one of his hands. But as he suddenly looked at me, his determined eyes told me that he also wanted to do this. He wanted to let go. "One minute left," he commented as we just stared at each other. "One minute left," I repeated quietly. I stared at the sky that was now blank. In just one minute, we along with a hundred people would be letting go of our lanterns. We would be letting go of everything as well, and my heart fluttered. This had been a day I'd been waiting for. "Ready?" Christian suddenly asked. I nodded. I was more than ready. "Let go!" he then exclaimed. The both of us let go of the lantern simultaneously, and a grin flew to my face. The lantern steadily flew up to the sky, and slowly I felt relieved. I felt like I could finally forget about my old life as the lantern floated up. Christian grabbed my hand and I laughed as more lanterns joined the night sky. The sky glowed brightly as it was now filled with many lanterns. My heart was pounding as I admired the beautiful sight. "Your dad is a smart man," Christian commented, also grinning. "I feel like I let go." "Same," I said honestly. "I feel like life is finally good." Christian's eyes softened as he pulled me to him. He wrapped his strong arms around me and I hugged him back. With him, I felt secure. With the lanterns in the sky, I felt relieved. This was how life should be. It should be spent knowing that everything is good. And that was exactly how I felt. With Christian by my side for many years to come, life was finally good. THE END... THANKS for reading.. Try to comment your views about this story..

Waoh!!!Nice write up

To god be the glory

Finally u and Christian are getting the life u've always wanted, Happy ending

this is wonderful,,,,, but come to think of it,,,, how can a mother agreed to disown her own child to adopt anoda person's child???? Dats bullshit

Glory be to God But Autumm mom is something else o she wanna adopt another person's child and disown her won blood unbelievable

Nice ending but truth be told,You two have got guts to have pulled through all these.......

Nice ending. Kudos writer

Autumn...u have got your lover beside u...u have got what i wanted 4 both of u...this is true love

Christian...it wouldn't have been easy 4 u guys without her by your side,u are a strong man

Alice...i was told that u are mentally sick...that's the truth because there is no reason to decide such,to disown your daughter

Dee...u really miss your friend who was away 4 some time...she will visit u very soon...i will be there too...send my message to cheryl

Tracy...u are really a good aunt...being by their side when she wants to disown her daughter

Cheryl...u said,u have got my message...i know u missed her too...she will visit

THE END