Now I Panic

The cool, polished wood floor is underneath my bare feet as I sit in the library, staring out of the wall-length window beside me.

This is my favorite spot in the entire world; peaceful, quiet, and overall... relaxing. I lean back in my chair, staring at the piles of books in front of me with a smile.

I can't believe it's Saturday already. School is finally out, for the weekend, and I have a day and a half left to do whatever I want. What do I want? To study, seamlessly, and read to my hearts content. That's all. And maybe kick Mark's butt on our PS3 later.

While my classmates are out partying, lounging around their thousand-dollar-inheritance-bought in-ground pools, I prefer to come here to the library and stay here all day, reading anything and everything that I can fit on my table.

The librarians smile every time they pass by, knowing that I've enjoyed every moment of my stay here for the day. I probably know each of them better than I know myself.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I dig it out, looking at the screen, already knowing who it is and what they want. Sure enough, it's the same text I get every Saturday from my older brother Mark:

Time for nerdiness is over; come help us get ready

I pout slightly, but slide my feet back into my shoes, standing up and stretching, almost feline in my movements. I go up to the counter. "I have to go now. Sorry I couldn't put my books back; I lost track of the time." I giggle. "Again."

Liddy waves me off, also smiling. She, like the other women, are used to me getting so sucked into whatever i'm doing that IK forget the time. It's rare that I remember in time to put my books back.

"Oh you. It's fine; I wish all kids had the same desire to read as you do, and you know that we don't mind. Now go help your brother. Tell him that he'd better come with you next time. It'd do him some good"

I nod and smile, then am off, waving to the other librarians as I pass by them. If I'm late, Mark will kill me. But more than that, he might restrict my access to the library. This is a life or death situation for me.

My silver mountain bike rests, chained to the fence that borders the building. My parents got if for me last year, and I've kept it in great shape since then. I unchain it as quickly as I can before pushing off hard, pedaling as fast as I can without tipping myself over.

I have to stop and wait, while a long line of rush hour traffic rushes by, and resist the urge to scream in frustration. I cannot be late. I just can't. It ends, and I speed across the street and into my neighborhood, smiling as I see the brightly painted welcome sign.

Mark's van comes into view and I leap off of my bike, leaving it on the grass, and run up to the porch. I stop myself just in time, when the door swings open and Bryan steps out, carrying a speaker.

"Hey! You're here!" He sets the speaker down and points at himself. "Did I-"

I groan and practically stomp over to him. I unbutton his top two buttons, untuck the shirt from his jeans, and wrinkle it up slightly, before rolling his sleeve up and messing his hair up.

"There. If I have to tell you to untuck your shirt one more time, I will personally dye every article of clothing that you own pink!"

He grins, hitting my head affectionately. "Yeah whatever. You know i'll forget."

"That I do," I mumble, pushing past him into the house.

I start up the stairs, expertly dodging a near collision with Liam, who's holding three guitars, and a speaker.

"Whoa dude! Mark's looking for you. He's freaking out about his hair."

I roll my eyes. "Thanks. Why do you guys have to panic like this all the time instead of getting ready early?"

He grins, and his blue eyes seem to shine, bringing out his dirty blonde hair. "You know that's not how we do things. This is way more fun."

Reaching out, I adjust his collar, and reposition his hat, before shaking my head. "You're all children, you know that? You're supposed to be taking care of me, not the other way around."

He shrugs, amused. "We can't help that you insist on taking over everything. We would if you'd let us."

"If I let you guys take care of me, i'd be dead in a week. And so would you."

I leave him there, laughing, and run down the hall into Mark's room, where I find him with hair gel, a comb, and... a flat iron? Oh no.

"How many time do I have to tell you? Let me do your hair, unless you want to end up bald." I mess with his thick mass of tangled curls, gelling them straight up into a Mohawk. "I can't believe you're twenty three years old, and still don't know how to do your own hair. Do you know how sad that is?"

He shrugs, giving me a bear hug. "Yeah whatever. Don't know what we'd do without you sis. Are you coming tonight?"

I have to think for a minute. "Is it at a club?"

He winces, before nodding. He knows how I feel about clubs. Ever since...

"Come on. Please? We'll be out of there in two hour, tops. I promise. You're my good luck charm."

I roll my eyes. "You don't believe in luck, and neither do I."

He grins mischievously. "We can go to Dairy Queen after."

I cave. "Fine. But you're paying this time." Last time he made me pay. Jerk. But I love him.

He pumps a fist high. "Yes!!" He runs out, leaving me to snicker at his childish excitement.

Back in my room, I change into my 'punk rock' outfit. It consists of black platform boots, black skinny leg jeans, a black tank, and a black headband to hold back my long,black hair. Then I put on my eyeliner, and earrings; there's eleven in all, most are clip-ons though.

Observing myself, I note my big brown eyes, my plump lips, and my dark brown skin. Hard to turn into a 'punk' look, but it works.

There's a crash from the living room. Oh no, what now?

I run out to see what happened. Peter has the remains of his glasses in his hands, looking panicked. His gaze flies over to me, and I run back into his room to grab his contacts.

He sighs in relief and confusion. "I thought I lost my contacts."

I nod. "You did; but I ordered three more pairs, because I knew you'd lose these too."

He blushes, making his red hair stand out even more. I bite my lip in concentration, then grab the hair gall from the shelf, running some through his hair quickly, so that it stands up in spikes around his head. He looks in the mirror I give him, and nods in approval.

"You should get black tips." He nods.

"When will you do them?" he asks, looking at me.

I think. Peter won't let anyone else touch his hair; he thinks they'll mess it up. "Wednesday?"

He nods, accepting this date.

"Come on guys! We're gonna be late!" Mark honks the horn obnoxiously. Peter runs out and jumps into the van, and I grab my purse and lock the door, before following. I squeeze between Liam and Bryan. Mark speeds away from the curb.

Liam ruffles my hair, like I hate, and Bryan pokes my side.

"Quit it guys." I try to keep a straight face, but a grin slips out, followed by a laugh.

They both smile.

"Glad you're coming, Kort. We always seem to do better when you're there."

I smirk. "I know. You guys couldn't survive without me." They roll their eyes and playfully shove me back and forth between them.

Yep, it's true: They couldn't survive without me. Not happily anyway. I'm like their mom(basically) and they need me. We're family, and I'll never forget that.