Carter laughed and threw a pillow at Zac. "You need to just shut up before I come over there and beat your sorry little white ass."
"Nanananana." Zac mumbled, mocking her. "I'm just telling you, you want him bad."
"I DO NOT! Damn you Zac, you say that about every guy."
"And every guy you meet, you want really really bad."
Carter shrugged. "So I need a boyfriend. You don't have to make fun of me for it."
"You don't need a boyfriend. You're a strong person. Nobody NEEDS a boyfriend or girlfriend."
"Ok, so I want one... really really bad." She whined.
"So go back home, call Todd, and ask him out."
"Not a good idea. I'm still not convinced that his goals aren't to rape me."
Zac laughed and jumped as somebody pounded on his front door. "Geez, urgent much." He stood up and opened the door.
The cold air rushed in as a pretty blonde girl with shoulder length hair appeared. "Could I use your phone?"
"Huh?" Zac asked, surprised.
"It's kind of an emergency." She was very tall, taller than Zac, maybe even 5'11. Her eyes were deep brown, filled with anxiety.
"Yeah. Sure." Zac nodded. "It's over here."
Carter handed them the cordless phone, watching out of curiousity.
She dialed seven numbers, very quickly. Carter and Zac only heard one side of the conversation, confusing them even more. "Hi. It's me. I'm really sorry. Can you come and get me?" She turned to Zac. "What's your address?"
"1006 Louisa."
"Hear that? Oh, ok. Ok. Bye." She pushed the talk button and handed the phone back to Zac. "Thank you."
"No problem. Uhm... Do you want to stay here until..."
"My brother should be here in a minute."
Carter stood up. "So what happened."
"Carter." Zac snapped.
"What, I'm just curious."
The girl smiled. "It's ok. My parents just blurted out that they're splitting up and everybody got into a fight. My brother is coming to get me."
"Oh." Carter and Zac said in unison.
The doorbell rang again and Zac answered it to see Todd. "Uhm, Carter.. it's for you."
"No, I came here to pick up my sister." Todd stepped inside. "You ok, Bianca?"
Bianca looked around. "Wait, you're... Carter?"
Carter nodded. "You're Todd's sister?"
"Half sister. We have the same mom. I live with my dad and Todd lives with our mom and Abby." She blinked. "You're Carter?"
"Yeah that's me." Carter looked at Todd. "You didn't tell me you had another sister."
Todd nodded and turned to Bianca. "You ok?"
"Yeah I just had to get out of there. It was way to fast. I had no idea they weren't getting along."
Todd put his arms around Bianca and gave her a long hug. "Adults suck."
Bianca had lived with her stepmother and dad for almost her whole life. After she was born, her parents split, and her mother met Todd's father. Then came Todd, then Abby. Bianca and Todd were always very close.
Zac sat back down on the couch. "You look like a Bianca." He said politely, really thinking that he looked like another snob from the Melissa crowd.
"It's not my real name. It's just what Todd called me. He said I look more like a Bianca when he was a baby and it stuck." She smiled, never revealing her real name. "My last name is Peters."
"Oh." Carter sighed, still confused why she didn't know about Todd's whole family. Todd, I thought you and your dad lived together... since you guys have the whole club thing."
Todd nodded. "We do. Remember, we have different fathers."
"Oh. Dammit... half siblings are confusing as hell."
Bianca brushed her hair back. "So how old are you Carter?" She'd heard a lot about this girl, but never her age.
"16. And Zac's 14. I'll be 17 in a few months."
Zac nodded. "My brothers are 16 and 19."
Bianca smiled. "I'm 19 too. I think I've met Melissa. She's.... 14? Really cute girl. But I never knew you were sisters. You look nothing alike."
"Yeah I know." Carter sighed. "Neither do you and Todd."
Bianca shrugged. "Nope, Abby and Todd look more alike. So you like my little brother?"
Carter's face turned red. "Your little brother likes me." She smiled at Todd, still slightly embarrassed. and slightly uneasy about Bianca's forwardness.
Todd nodded. "So are you ready to go?" He asked, turning to Bianca.
"Uhm. Yeah. But I really don't wanna go home. Can I go back to your house? I didn't bring my car, I just went out walking. Can't believe I ended up at the object of your affection's house."
Carter stood up. "It's Zac's house actually. I live next door."
"Oh."
Todd pushed Bianca out the door. "Yeah we'll go to my house and you can call dad and your mom."
Bianca nodded and waved to Carter and Zac. "See you around."
"Bye."
After Todd and Bianca were gone, Zac sat down next to Carter and sighed. "So what do you think of her?"
"A little crazy. I dunno."
"She's pretty. But kind of... overwhelming."
Carter laughed. "She could kick your ass."
"Could not."
She nodded. "Hey I promised Taylor I'd help him with something. I'll be back down in a little bit ok?"
"Ok." Zac laid down on the couch and stared at the tv while Carter went upstairs.
"Hey." She pushed the door open to find Taylor sleeping on his back with no covers on. "Hey." She stated, a little bit louder. No answer. Carter shrugged and sat down next to him. She leaned over and touched his nose with the tip of her finger.
Taylor's eyes opened slowly and he smiled. "How long have you been there?"
"About 4 hours."
Taylor's cheeks turned red.
"Kidding. You said you needed help with something?"
Taylor rolled over on his side and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm really tired today. I was hoping you'd clean my room for me."
"Uhm. No."
"Oh come on!" Taylor whined. "You clean Zac's room for him."
"That's cause he's not allowed to clean his room. The dust would screw with his brain."
"Pleaaasseee?"
Carter grabbed the pillow from under Taylor's head and smacked him in the face with it.
"OW!" He rubbed his forehead. "What was that for?"
"Nothing." Carter laughed and touched his chest lightly. "That's a really cool shirt." His shirt was red with a Pepsi logo written on the front. Carter glared at him. "And on the back it says 'The Coke for wussies'."
"How'd you know?"
"Cause it's my freakin shirt Tay!"
Taylor blushed. "Oh yeah."
Carter paused. "No wait... I stole it from you last summer. Nevermind, it's yours."
Taylor laughed. "Oh I see, it's ok for you to steal my clothes, but it's not ok for me to steal yours?"
"Yeah cause you're a guy." She smiled. "Kind of."
"So? And by the way I resent that statement."
"So it's a rule. You see girls wearing guys clothes all the time. I sleep in one of Zac's old t-shirts and a pair of Isaac's sweatpants. And I wear Zac's clothes all the time. But it'd look just.. bad if he walked around wearing one of my silver skirts or black tanktops."
"In a conventional world."
"Stereotypically." Carter let out a small, "heh", and looked back down at Taylor. "Have you talked to Nique in a while?"
He shook his head. "I broke up with her. She's not really as psycho as she's seemed the past few weeks, but I don't like the way she treats Jade. Jade's just there to keep her company. Nique should be grateful."
Carter shrugged. "Jade's cool. Nique was cool. Maybe she still is. Second impressions are always the worst. In my opinion." Carter picked up the pillow and whacked Taylor in the face with it again. Then she smiled and left the room.
On her way back downstairs she heard Taylor yelling. "Dammit woman! Whackin me all the time... gonna get brain damage!"