4-to-1

Two - Eavesdropping

Blaine

"That was interesting." I took another bite of my apple and observed the frown on Declan’s face. I had walked by the room just in time to hear Lexi's last words. Her claim that Declan had stopped being her friend was a bit perplexing when she had distanced herself once we entered middle school. It was like she couldn't handle hanging out with a boy still in elementary school. At least, that's how Dex felt at the time, and we all started avoiding her, especially Asher. He wouldn't tolerate anyone hurting his younger brother, though Declan continued to miss spending time with Lexi. He occasionally mentioned wanting to patch things up with her. She's been mostly quiet since moving in, but it would seem Declan wanted to use the current situation to move past the past.

"What lead to that expressive statement?" I asked, taking another bite.

Declan sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I figured since she was going to be staying here for awhile then maybe we could patch things up a bit, make the times we're all together less awkward."

I nodded in approval; it WOULD be easier for all of us if things weren't so awkward, but I also knew Declan better than that.

"And, even after five years of avoiding each other, you still have a crush on her."

The sour look he gave shot my way made me grin. I stepped further into the room, and sat in a chair next to Declan.

"Yeah, a little, but not really." I felt my eyebrows rise in surprise. I didn't realize Declan had gotten over his childhood crush on Lexi.

"I mean, she IS pretty. I used to love looking at her hair, trying to figure out if she was a blonde or brunette. Did you know they call hair like hers dirty blonde?" I chuckled at his rambling about her hair. I've never spent much time pondering any girl's hair, but I'm not surprised Dex had. The kid always did have a thing for hair. I suspected that was why he began regularly dying his own hair various shades. His most recent choice was a dark burgundy, which I believed he chose because he wanted to avoid bleaching it this time, and the shade easily covered his natural chestnut brown color.

I inwardly shook myself and focused back on his revelations about Lexi. "- and her hazel eyes, which always seemed to flutter between a light tan and green. It was always intriguing to watch whenever her mood changed. All that aside, I'm not as experienced as you and Asher, or even Gray, but I'm certainly no monk. My main goal would be to regain somewhat of a friendship with her. I have been missing her, but I would be an idiot to pass up the opportunity to hit that, if it ever came."

I chuckled at his statement, partially because I suspected it wasn't entirely the truth. Declan never referred to sex as "hitting that." I quickly sobered as Asher and Grayson entered the room, though I couldn't get the grin off my face.

"You wouldn't pass up who?" Asher asked as he sat in the chair Lexi had just vacated, Gray sitting on his left.

"Uhh....Lexi," Declan mumbled, causing Asher to frown. He might be willing to take her in and keep her safe while all our folks were out of town, but Asher definitely wasn't ready to accept her as a possible love interest for his brother.

"Yeah, the kid decided he doesn't still have a crush on her, beyond wanting her friendship, but wouldn't be opposed to a romp in the sheets." I couldn't help chuckling again as both brothers frowned in my direction. Gray looked at everyone and smirked. He hadn't been around when we were all younger, and had only moved to town as he entered high school the same year as Declan. Grayson was in a couple advanced classes with Lexi, and hadn't been around all the drama occurred, so they actually got along a little bit. They weren't really that close, since Gray became friends with us right after his family moved here, but I suspected he also had an interest in the girl, so put in a little extra effort. He likely had the best shot of us four. We've seen her greet him on occasion, and she's even exchanged pleasantries with him, albeit never around the rest of us. I've even seen her offer him a small smile a couple of times, and she has seemed almost relaxed in his presence at the house.