Tic Tac Toe With Love

 Chapter 1

- Bailey

There are many reasons to hate my name. For one, it's a girls name, and I'm a boy. Number two in my tirade, It's simple and boring. Bailey. Not spelled weird or uniquely, nothing. Just, Bailey. Number three, I'M A FREAKING BOY! It's important that everyone know this because you might get me mixed up with Bayliey. My sister. The most annoying thing on this planet. But she is also the reason I'm in the predicament I'm in right now.

You see, it all started with Jasmine Beckham.

Jasmine is my neighbor, she's been my neighbor for years. And when I say years, I mean YEARS! She and I are not really friends. That's only because she's weird and quiet at school. And I'm not. I'm actually pretty popular. But Jasmine... I only know her because our Dads fish and, our Moms bake together. We've had scheduled "playdates" every weekend since we were like, 3.

After fifth grade I began ditching the playdates and going to my friend, and neighbor's house.

He is a boy (with a perfectly normal boy's name by the way), his name is Derek. Derek! can you believe it? This guy gets a normal name and I'm stuck with Bailey. Ridiculous.

It was absolutely the best arrangement ever! Jasmine wouldn't really ever do anything but draw while we were on our "dates" and I figured she could draw when I'm not there too. All until 5 year old Bayliey decided she wanted to join me on my "playdate".

Of course I respectfully declined, claiming that Jasmine and I were too old to have a 5 year old on our "playdates". My mom insisted until my dad saved me and said that I was right. Jasmine and I were way to old to be playing with babies.

I remember smirking and feeling great until my dad inclined to something even crazier than inviting my sister to play with 16 year olds.

He sat down next to Jasmine's dad and elbowed him in the ribs saying coyly, "I think my boy just might want little Jasmine to himself. Ey Bob?" That's when Jasmine's dad said back "Looks like we might be brothers soon huh Fredrick?" I turned red and I remember hearing my mom ask me if i was ok, when i fainted.

I know, what a wuss. Fainting at the thought of getting married to the weirdest girl in school. But seriously. If you had heard the way our dads were talking, you would have fainted too. It was like they were planning the wedding already. Or like they already had the wedding planned.

I know what your thinking, what's so wrong with her? Well, she's.. She's... Jasmine. Just little Jasmine. My neighbor, the girl I grew up with but never really talked to. All of my friends at school think she's really weird, and I must agree.

All she does is draw. She never talks to anyone but her friend Allyson. And she never goes to school functions, she never does anything fun. I think she's spoken to me like twice in our whole lives. She's just weird. So to get our dad's off of the marriage topic I suggested that taking Bayliey to Jasmine's was a great idea.

That's how I ended up with Bayliey, and standing at the front door of Jasmine's house.

Holding a squirming toddler, I knocked on the door to her house. There was a brief wait when I heard the lock turn slowly, then the door knob turned and the door opened. I looked down at 5 foot 3 Jasmine. I'm pretty tall for my age. About 6" 1'. My dad says I'm done growing, but I don't believe it. Jasmine's dad is constantly talking about how short his daughter is, even though both of her parents are tall.

"Uh, hi Jasmine." I could only see the top of her head, she didn't even look up at me. She didn't say anything, nor did I expect her to. She stepped aside and I walked into her house. Bayliey squirmed and kicked her legs to get down. I slid her down and as soon as her little feet touched the floor she bolted over to Jasmine.