The S.H.A.N.E. Game (editing)

Chapter 24: Jessie (and a lot of Therin)

Chapter dedication to @kitkatt for voting on every single chapter of this story!! Thank you so much, and one could say that I made this chapter extra-long for you! :D

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|| Erin ||

I creep down the hallway, careful not to make any loud noises in case I should wake anyone up. Wait; they're all probably awake by now--the bedhead Alicia's out. I peek into her room and find her blanket semi-sprawled off her bed. I chuckle. She must've set her alarms.

I nervously check my outfit one last time as I near the top of the staircase. Black skinny jeans, maroon t-shirt that has white e's on it, and my favorite pair of red sandals. I'm not missing anything, am I...?

"Wait up, Erin!" I turn around to find Sara running to catch up with me, a familiar black device in her hands. She holds my tracker out. "You forgot this. You know... in case you get lost."

"Oh yeah, thanks! Thought I was missing something..." I admit sheepishly, taking it from her. She taps her right ear. "How about your ear and mouth pieces?"

"Aww... can I skip today?" I plead with my eyes. She hesitates a moment before sighing in defeat. "Yeah, I guess. Gotta let a girl have her fun!"

"Thank you, Sara!" I breath, giving her a quick hug before skipping down the stairs. 10:45 am. Good; Theo should be here any minute now. As if on cue, someone rings the doorbell twice and I hustle to open it to see Theo standing there, dark brown hair partly shadowing his eyes. He looks darkly mysterious in his trademark black leather jacket and dark gray t-shirt. I decide not to point out that it's really sunny out.

"Hey," he says shyly, managing a small smile. I grin in return and close the door behind me. "Hi! Shall we go?"

"Yeah," he agrees, walking down the porch steps with me and pointing down the road to where the houses are slowly becoming smaller and less showy. "Let's."

The walk to the Greeves' home is quiet an uneventful, but not the awkward type. We're just too busy looking anywhere but each other--the birds, the trees, the short uneven grass, even the sparkly stuff on the road.

So yeah... 'awkward' is an understatement.

"So..." I begin, finally glancing at him. "Do you have any siblings?"

"One," he answers, looking up from his shoes. "She's turning six in a month."

"Aww, you're lucky," I sigh thoughtfully. "I always wished I had a sister. Older, though."

"Really?" he asks curiously. "I wished I had an older brother."

I start to notice how from two-story houses, the homes are slowly becoming single-story and less bright. Weird... I always pictured Theo as loaded. Sorry, so sue me. "Here we are."

"Here?" I clarify, looking at the single-story house made out of simple white concrete and a peaked shingled roof. There's a single window just below the top of the roof, where I'm guessing one of their rooms are.

I must've sounded surprised and disappointed, because Theo looks back down at his shoes and replies, "Yeah. I know you were probably expecting--"

"No, no, it's really fine. I'm sorry if I must've sounded otherwise," I apologize immediately. Theo manages a small smile before turning the doorknob--

"Big brother!" a high voice squeals from inside. A small girl, probably about half my size, runs out and literally throws herself at Theo, clinging to his neck so tightly that I bet she's choking him.

"H-hi, J-Jessie," Theo sputters and manages to pry the girl's hands from his neck and beaming. I can't help but grin at this adorable brother-sister relationship. I wish I had a sister. Theo gestures to me. "Introduce yourself, kiddo."