We pull into Ben's driveway, and we get out.
"Thanks." I sigh, looking at my house. "I guess I should go inside."
"You don't have to go home until twelve, right?" Ben questions, locking his car.
"Oh yeah." I say, remembering. "I'm not allowed in." Ben snorts.
"Oh yeah." He giggles. "Important business meeting."
"What are you talking about?" I ask. "They wouldn't tell me why I had to leave."
"Come inside." He says. "We'll explain." I shrug, and follow him inside. What else can I do? Josh will kill me if I come home at ten. Plus, I really want to know what's going on. We get inside, and everybody's in the living room. They look up, and chorus their hellos. Liam pats the couch spot next to him. I smile softly, and sit down next to him.
"How was your date?" He asks. I don't notice any sarcasm.
"Well." I sigh. "I'm home before eleven." He chuckles softly.
"Did you at least kick him in the balls?" He asks smiling.
"I threw my drink on him." I grin. We both laugh, and I lean back. "I'm an idiot." I say softly.
"No you're not." He says staring at me. "You're just too trusting." I smile at him, and then Ben catches my attention.
"So." He says. "Do you wanna know?"
"Know what?" Liam asks curiously.
"Gemma doesn't know why she wasn't allowed home tonight." Ben says, reaching for a slice of pizza. Liam chuckles.
"Oh yeah. His important business meeting." He grins.
"What's going on?" I groan. "Just tell me!"
"Fine." Liam teases. "Your brother is trying to get an alliance with another gang across town."
"He'll never get it." Ben adds. "We're friends with McFreind's gang. They're just doing it for fun." I giggle.
"Sounds like Josh." I say. "Why does he want the alliance?"
"Because they want to over rule us." Liam says. "Good luck to them." I laugh.
"This is so weird." I wonder. "I never knew any of this, and now I'm right in the middle of it." They look at me concerned.
"Are you ok?" Liam asks.
"Yeah, yeah." I reassure. "I'm just a little edgy sometimes. I mean, it can be dangerous, can't it? And they don't know that I know about all of it."
"If you ever think you're in danger." Liam says seriously. "You tell us." I nod.
"Thanks." I say. Everyone goes back to watching the movie, and I watch it too. It finishes, and everybody but Liam goes off to do their own things.
"So." I muse. "You guys seem really close here."
"Yeah." He says softly. "We know each other like family."
"Where are your parents?" I ask. "You don't have to answer if you-"
"No, it's no big deal." He says smiling. "They died two years ago." My jaw drops, and he continues. "Car crash. I was nineteen, so I'm the triplets legal guardian now."
"You're such a good brother towards them." I say seriously.
"Thanks." He says. "I try. But sometimes... Sometimes it's hard." He runs his hand through his hair, leaning back on the couch. "I feel like they need more than growing up in a gang house with just males." I smile.
"You're doing a great job." I say grinning. "They're great kids."
"They really like you." He smiles. "They always talk about you." I smile.
"Well." I say, gently punching his arm. "I'm just that irresistible." We both laugh, and he wipes my hand away.
"I don't really see it." He teases.
"Oh yeah?" I say toughly.
"Nope." He grins. I look at him, waiting for the right moment.
"What? Are you-" But before he can finish, I launch forward, sending him off the couch, lying on the floor. I land on top of him, and I attack him, trying to see if he's ticklish. He bursts out laughing, and I grin. Bingo. "Gemma-Oh...my god." He starts crying. "Please." I keep going, but before I can react, he flips us over. I struggle, but I can't get him off me.
"See?" I grin. "I'm tough." He grins down at me.
"Aha." He says. "You are. But I'm tougher." He starts tickling me, and I'm worse. I burst out laughing, and I struggle.
"AHHH!" I scream. He stops, trying to catch his breath. We both stop laughing, and gasp for air.
"Ok." He says. "Truce?"
"Truce." I agree. We stare at each other, and I frown. "You can get off me now. If you want." He doesn't answer, and he doesn't move. He stares at me, and he leans closer. And closer. He's so close to my face. He keeps going. He's going to kiss me. I close my eyes, waiting for contact. I can feel his breath on my face. His lips just brush my nose, when-
"GEMMA!" I sit up quickly, and bang heads with Liam.
"Ow." I say, as Ben walks in. I'm going to kill him.
"What's going on?" He asks, staring at us on the floor.
"Nothing." We unison, frowning at him.
"What do you want?" Liam asks stonily, rubbing his head.
"Umm." He says grinning. "They just drove off. And it's eleven fifty five." My eyes widen, and I jump up.
"Thanks Ben." I look at Liam, and smile, embarrassed. "See you later." I rush outside, and run to my house. I quickly open the door, and rush inside. I look at the clock, and it's twelve. Perfect.
"I'm home." I call, walking into the kitchen.
"Hi." Josh says, sitting at the table. He checks his watch, and nods. "Right on time."
"Yep." I say cautiously, pouring myself a glass of water. He doesn't seem angry. I thought the business meeting was supposed to be bad for them? I guess they're just covering it well.
"Make us some food." He says cheerfully, and leaves. I shake the bad feeling off. Just pretend you don't know anything, it will be easier. I put some toasties in the oven, and pour some beer. I don't have to be told anymore. I know it's what they will want. Everybody wanders into the kitchen, and sits down. Mark walks in and grins when he sees me.
"Hello short stuff." He says, patting me hard on my cheek. Ow. I grimace, and move away. He chuckles and sits down. The oven timer rings, and I get the toasties out. I put it in the middle of the table, and jump back when everyone starts to devour them. Everybody is talking, and I'm not doing anything, so I creep towards the door. I need a packet of oreos, and a bubble bath. At the same time. With the good smelling stuff. And a Taylor Swift CD.
"No."Josh says. "Come back." I groan inside my head, and turn around and stand still. "Sit down." He says. I look for the nearest available chair, and I frown when it's next to Caleb and Josh. Of course. I hesitantly sit down, and Josh grins at me. "We've had such a good night." He says. "We're going to have fun." Everybody laughs, and I freeze in fear. What the hell?
