It All Started with a Beanie

(34)

The rest of winter break flew by. I went to Parsons' house and hung out with the group. We fell asleep watching The Princess Diaries. I'm not entirely sure how Ollie convinced us to watch it but I didn't complain about seeing Anne Hathaway on screen at all.

Ever since the kiss, things between me and Parsons have been weird. Not a bad kind of weird, just...weird. We haven't kissed again but sometimes he'll hold my hand or look at me a certain way that causes butterflies in my stomach. But he stopped being his flirtacious self and I'm just confused.

"Erin? Did you hear me?" I snap back into the real world to see Liv looking at me. One of her eyebrows is raised up, a questioning look on her face. 

"No, sorry." I give her an apologetic smile and she rolls her eyes at me.

"I asked if you could come over tonight." 

"For what?" 

"To help me babysit." She pauses for a moment, since it got too quiet in class, before continuing. "My parents are going to be away for the night and Ollie and Cam have a date so I'm on babysitting duty but I don't like being the only person in the house other than Jordan. If not it's fine I just-"

I wave my hand to cut her off. "It's no problem. My mom's working a late shift tonight and I don't like being in my house alone either. Just text me the address and I'll be there." She sends a grateful smile towards me before facing towards the board at the front where the teacher is talking about something.

Later that day, about two hours after school, Liv texts me the address to her home. Upon entering the neighborhood,  I better understand why she didn't want to be left alone. This was the part of town I was told not to venture through. The street the twins lived on didn't seem so bad but that doesn't mean it was safe. 

About halfway down the road, I found the house I was searching for. I pulled into the driveway and gathered my things before locking my car and heading towards the door. I raised my hand to knock on the door but just as my knuckles were about to reach the door, it opened. Liv gave me a greeting nod before opening the door wider. 

"Thanks for doing this." I know that Liv hated asking for help. She felt as though she was a burden every time she asked for something. 

"It's no problem. I don't mind." I gave her a reassuring smile and placed myself down on the couch.

"Hey, Liv. Have you seen the-" Jordan emerged from a room down the hall and stopped speaking when she took notice of me. She cocked her head slightly to the side and squinted her eyes, trying to determine something. "Do I know you?" 

"We briefly met a while back. When you were on your first date."

"Oh, yeah. You were talking to Ollie." I nod. "Cool." She turns towards her sister. "Have you seen the scissors?"

"What for?" Liv asks, not glancing up from her phone.

"I need to cut something." Jordan says.

"You're not gonna cut your hair again, are you?" Liv asks, a smirk on her face. Jordan's face turns slightly red and I can see that her sister is getting her riled up.

"It was one time and I was five!" 

"That wasn't that long ago, Jor." Liv keeps that smirk on her face, knowing her words are getting to her younger sister.

"That was seven years ago, Liv." 

"And? You still sleep with stuffed animals. Same difference."

"Ugh. You're so difficult." Jordan throws her hands up in the air and storms off back into her room. I chuckle at Jordan's actions and find Liv smiling.

"Are you guys always like this?" I ask, Liv looking up from her phone.

"Pretty much. She's in that weird 'turning into a teen' stage and I just love pushing her buttons. Ollie comforts her and I get on her nerves. It's a very healthy balance." I playfully hit Liv on the arm and she laughs.

We sit in silence for a moment before Liv puts her phone down, turning to me.

"So anything new happen between you and Neil?" She raises her eyebrows in a suggesting way and I roll my eyes at her.

"Well, we kissed not too long ago and-"

"You kissed?! When? Where? Give me all the details." Liv is not the most girly person but she gets so excited when I tell her about my love life.

"A few days before New Years. He took me to this secluded place that he uses to graffiti and it just happened. He started getting closer to me and I didn't stop him." I found myself smiling as I recalled the kiss; it was like I could feel it all over again.

"Was it a good kiss?" I nodded and she smiled. "What happened after?"

"We went back to his house. He held my hand the entire ride back."

"Have you guys kissed since?"

"No. We haven't even talked about it. He's been holding my hand more and making more physical contact but I can't tell if he wants to kiss again."

"Do you want to kiss him again?" I sat there and actually thought about her question. I had come to terms that I liked Parsons but I don't want to jeopardize our friendship.

"I do, but-"

"No buts. Tell him straight up what you want. I can promise you that Neil does not go around just kissing anyone. After Lexie, he hasn't even looked twice at anyone of the female species. For him to kiss you is a big deal. Just talk to him. He probably wants to kiss you too." 

"Do you think he likes me?"

"Yes, I do. But it doesn't matter what I think. You need to find out the real answer and the only way to do that is through him."

I open my mouth to rebuttal but I had nothing to say.

From down the hallway, Jordan shouts. "Liv, come here!" I watch the older sibling roll her eyes before reluctantly getting up. I chuckle at Liv before looking down at my phone. The moment I turn on my phone I see the first picture of me and Parsons. A small smile floats onto my face and I find myself staring at the picture.

I need to talk to Parsons.