Falling For My Stepbrother

The winds picked up and it started raining all the time. I didn't know being in a hurricane would be like being in a snowstorm. Except, instead of a bombardment of snow it's a bombardment of water. Every time I would have to run through campus, it was like little pricks of needles was hitting my skin.

I pulled my rain jacket closer to me as I ran across campus towards Kellie's dorm. The rain was coming down hard and I couldn't use an umbrella because of the wind. I could get into the lobby of the dorm building by swiping my student card, but I couldn't get to Kellie's floor. So I texted her to come to the lobby.

"Hey," Kellie called when she walked out of the elevator. I had been sitting on one of the lounge chairs when I looked up from my phone and saw her.

I smiled standing up and heading towards her, "What's up?"

Kellie rolled her eyes, "We're setting up for the hurricane. Everyone is freaking out."

"So just like me?" I said causing Kellie to laugh.

According to the forecast, the hurricane will last about three days. We still have a few hours to get to safety but most roads are blocked now. Leaving the state would be impossible. The time to evacuate was over. Anyone who was left basically has to bunker down. My mom had already called me a billion times to make sure I was ok. She's worried that a car is going to fly towards me and kill me like in the movies.

By the time Kellie and I reached her floor, I realized why she had been rolling her eyes. Everyone was hysterical. All the girls were running around the floor. Some had grocery bags and other girls simply looked like they were in shock. Then there was the set of girls like Kellie who were watching the chaos and laughing.

Kellie still hadn't managed to move out of her dorm with her roommate. Because of the hurricane, everyone was required to stay in their assigned dorms for the next few days. Later tonight the RA's were going to go into lockdown and wait out the hurricane. Of course, classes have been cancelled the whole week.

When I walked into Kellie's dorm, I instantly got the stink eye from her roommate. She climbed off the top bunk and muttered she was going to see her boyfriend before the lock down. "Good riddance," Kellie scoffed after her roommate walked out the door.

I looked around the room realizing it's clean for once. Usually, it's a mess of clothes and food wrappers. Just by looking around I put all the pieces together, the RA was probably going to have a room inspection now that they have to go into lock down. Which is probably why Kellie and her roommate cleaned up.

The other thing I noticed while looking around the room was the darkness. I learned the day before that my apartment has shutters for the windows and balcony sliding glass doors. Just like this dorm has shutters for the small window. The shutters were already pulled down meaning absolutely no light passed through. The only light that illuminated the room was coming from a lamp in the corner and Kellie's laptop. It ended up making everything look very dark and gloomy. "So you ready for your first hurricane?" Kellie asked sitting on the small couch under her bunk. "No." I answered truthfully. There was no point in lying. I was definitely scared. Pierce and I went shopping for food and water the day before. The local stores were quickly running out of materials. Bread and water seemed to be the ones that were getting targeted more than anything else. Anything packaged or in a can also seemed to fly off the shelves.

I put my raincoat on the hook at Kellie's door and started rustling through my backpack. "Here," I said handing Kellie my notes. She had been sick a few days ago-catching a cold from all the rain that had been falling down-and I promised her I would bring her everything she missed. Kellie jumped up with glee, "Thank you so much Parker you're a lifesaver."

We sat on her couch and I explained to her everything she missed. We were supposed to have a test this week but it got pushed back. I didn't mind going over the notes with Kellie. Mainly because teaching someone the material I'm supposed to know helps me learn it better. "So did you like the Manny Dean movie?" Kellie asked after we went over the notes.

A few days ago, I went on that "double-date" with Kellie, Jackson, and Pierce. It didn't really feel like a date, it felt like a group of friends getting together for a movie. And trust me, I know the difference. I guess the best part about it was that we all are friends, it was just Kellie that seemed to have a misleading interpretation that it was a "double-date."

Kellie latched onto Pierce the moment he and I arrived. She stuck by his side even when he came to mine or when Jackson went over to Kellie's. Jackson and I ended up having many different and exciting conversations while watching Kellie try flirting with Pierce. Pierce was a gentleman about it and didn't push her away. But he toned down on his flirting and occasionally gave Jackson an apologetic look.

In full honesty, I wasn't paying attention to everything we did. We went to dinner at a burger place and then to the movies. The whole time, I was overly excited about seeing the movie. Then afterwards, I was freaking out so much about how amazing the film had been, that my mind wasn't comprehending what people were saying.

"It was so good," I nearly yelled. "Did you see the theatrics too? Oh my God Kellie, I love Malcolm Dean so much."

She laughed softly, "I know Parker. I know."

"Did you like it?"

"Surprisingly...yes." Kellie gave me a small smile before looking down at her hands.

I frowned realizing my friend was in distress, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah everything is fine," Kellie said way too quickly while pushing a smile. She went over to her mini-fridge and grabbed some of her roommates left overs. She heated them up in the small microwave and started sharing the food with me.

"You can tell me Kellie," I said munching on a soggy french fry.

There's this common trait people have that when they want to talk about something, they look sullen and depressed. Yet, when you ask if they're ok, they reply their perfectly fine when they obviously aren't. A small part of them always wants to talk about it, but their scared of opening up or showing their true emotions. And the only reason I know this actually happens is because I do it, and all my friends seem to do it too.

Kellie sighed signaling to me that she was about to open up-she turned her whole body to face me. "I got friend-zoned."

Maybe I should have been more surprised but I wasn't at all. I gulped, "By Pierce?"

Kellie looked down. Her voice soft with dismay, "Yeah."

I frowned, "I'm really sorry Kellie."

I knew it was going to happen, but seeing Kellie so disappointed about it managed to make me feel worse. I never thought Kellie was going overboard with flirting with Pierce. She wasn't a girl that flirted with every guy she talked to, in fact she doesn't flirt with a lot of people in general. When Kellie talked about Pierce it was more in the 'crush' stage. But I know she was hoping that it would advance to something more serious. I never wanted to tell Kellie what Pierce said to me because playing telephone was never something that appealed to me. Now I wish I had said something, simply to help cushion the blow.

"It's ok," She said taking a bite of the food. "I'm more disappointed than devastated." "What did he say?"

"Basically, he's still caught up in another girl." Kellie looked up deep in thought. "The way he described her is the way I want someone to describe me. It's impossible to be mad at someone who's deeply in love. Or someone who just honestly doesn't feel the chemistry. Does that make sense?"

I looked down at my hands, my eyebrows furrowing. "Yeah...it does."

Kellie and I lightened the mood with some TV. After a few episodes of Friends and How I Met Your Mother, I received a text from Pierce that he was waiting for me in the lobby. He had to come to campus to help tutor a student with Italian. During the car ride here, Pierce explained to me that one of his best friends ever is actually from Italy which is why Italian is one of his strongest languages. Then again, Pierce is strong in just about any language. Either way, I decided to come with him in order to give Kellie my notes.

I said my goodbyes to Kellie and she gave me a few pointers about the hurricane. I met with Pierce downstairs. While he was driving on the interstate, he went almost twenty miles under the speed limit. The hard rain was basically impossible to see through. I asked if on the way home he could stop at the salon so I could pick up my paycheck.

Pierce nodded and I thanked him. When I stepped into the salon I realized it was completely empty. There were no customers and none of my co-workers were here either.

"Hola Parker," Victoria called out from the back of the salon. She put the magazine she was reading down and came towards me. "You should be at home. The weather is getting worse." Isabella stepped out from the back room, "Que haces aqui? You a crazy American chica." I chuckled, "I came for my paycheck."

"You couldn't wait?"

"No," I said in Spanish.

Isabella smiled and went to the back to get my check.

"Your novio is waiting for you in that car? Is it his?" Victoria asked looking out the window towards the BMW. I nodded and she suddenly looked impressed. "That's a nice car." "He's not my novio though," I answered back. I wasn't learning much Spanish at the salon, of course I was suddenly understanding it a lot better, but my speaking capabilities were completely shot. Wanting to talk to the ladies here encouraged me to join a few seminars on the basics of Spanish at school. Pierce is helping me a lot too. Especially when we're driving back and forth from campus.

"Then I want him," Victoria winked just as Isabella came out of the room. "You be careful," Isabella said handing me my check. "Hurricane's are tricky."

"I've never been in a storm this bad," I admitted.

"Use the bathroom before the water goes out," Victoria suggested as she unwrapped one of the complimentary lollipops we keep at the front desk. "The water goes out every time."

I said my thanks and sprinted back to Pierce's car. When I got in, Pierce was singing to the music

on the radio. His eyes were closed, his head thrown back, and he was singing to Natural Woman.

I instantly laughed. "Having fun?" I asked when the song was finally over.