It's always the same with that stupid "no one dates my sister" rule! No one touches her, no one looks at her, and apparently, no one even thinks about her. But what about me? Have they even thought for a second how this is completely destroying my c...
Victoria. Well, what can I even say about her? I never had a problem with her—we were inseparable, always side by side, like two peas in a pod. But everything started to change the minute my big brother's second best friend showed up at my house. The very instant Derek walked through that door, my world tilted. I couldn't decide if it was for the best or the worst.
I met Derek when my brother, James, decided he was going to study medicine and become a neurosurgeon. You know, no big deal—just aiming to save brains and make sure people don't forget their own names. Every Thursday, he'd drag Derek to our house, and they'd disappear into the studio, where they'd "study"—or at least that's what they called it. I honestly wasn't sure if they were really learning about brain surgery or just seeing who could memorize the most ridiculously long medical terms. I mean, I'm pretty sure they could've fixed a brain with their eyes closed by the end of it... but I wasn't willing to test it out.
But somehow, I never actually saw Derek—until one fateful Thursday night. They ran out of food (because, apparently, studying is fueled by snacks), and that's when Derek finally made his grand entrance, heading downstairs to restock. I had heard about him for weeks, but until that moment, he was like this mythical creature I only knew through James's ramblings and mysterious mentions. He was the kind of person who sounded almost too perfect to exist—until there he was, just a guy looking for food. But when he walked into the room, it was like something out of a story. He didn't just enter; he appeared, and suddenly, everything felt a little more exciting.
Of course, being my usual clumsy, awkward self (and always hungry), I decided to head to the kitchen for a snack. And that's when I saw him for the first time... My heart practically stopped.
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I was so caught off guard—completely unprepared to meet my brother's best friend—that my body froze. In my attempt to balance the plate of cookies and grab a drink, I accidentally knocked into the counter, sending the cookies flying through the air like some kind of tragic slow-motion scene. As I tried to steady myself, I stepped right into a puddle of spilled juice on the floor (I'm pretty sure it was James' fault—he's always spilling things and never cleaning up after himself). That's when I slipped, crashing down to the ground like a total mess. And yes, it felt like I broke every bone in my body. The sound of my dramatic yelp, followed by the dish shattering and my body hitting the floor, was probably what made Derek finally look up from the fridge and see the disaster that was me.
The boy standing above me, looking down with a mix of amusement and concern, was easily the most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen. His deep olive eyes seemed to see right through me, his freckles dotting his sun-kissed face like he'd just stepped out of a dream. And that dark brown hair? It was messy in the perfect way—like he didn't care, but it still looked effortless. Yeah, I was definitely gone at this point.
I couldn't even hear his voice at first. My brain had totally short-circuited. And then, as if in slow motion, I saw his hand reach down toward me. I just stared at it like it was some kind of alien object, too stunned to move. It wasn't until Derek let out a soft chuckle that I finally came back to Earth.
"Are you okay?" he asked again, his voice deep and smooth, tinged with that unmistakable amusement. I could barely nod, my brain still trying to catch up. But I didn't care. I reached up and grabbed his hand, feeling that electric warmth shoot through me as his fingers closed around mine. (And just for the record, his hand was strong. Very strong. Definitely not a bad thing.
After that super graceful moment (emphasis on not embarrassing at all), Derek helped me clean up the kitchen and tended to my very tragic wounds from the broken dish. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I could've used a full-on bandage, but I wasn't about to let him see me overdramatically nurse my "battle scars."
I grabbed some more cookies from the pantry, a little comfort food for my wounded pride, and dashed out of the kitchen straight to my room. The minute I was alone, I grabbed my phone and called Victoria, practically bursting with excitement to fill her in on every single detail of my newfound crush on Derek. Because, of course, I had to share this with her—it was monumental, right?
