He's A Keeper

1

"Brynn! All I'm saying is that you need a good boyfriend! Someone with manners and will treat you like a girl should be treated." Piper says as we shoved our way down the hallway.

I kept my head down. Piper always did this to me, telling me to find a nice boyfriend so I can spice up my small life.

Piper sighed, knowing I wasn't paying attention to what she was saying.

It's not like I didn't already know, she told me this nearly everyday.

"Piper- I know, I know. I just don't want a boyfriend right now. Besides, Aunt Emma and Daniel would never allow it anyway." I said quietly.

"Oh please, Daniel has more important things to worry about, like his own boyfriend." Piper shoos off the topic.

Daniel was my cousin, staying with us for a few years until he finished college. He was dating Joey, who also lived with us since his parents weren't very accepting over the fact that he was gay.

I had moved with my two younger siblings, Aiden and Julia to my Aunt's house last summer, after my parents died.

We finally make it to our destination, the cafeteria. Sure, the food was gross and it was smelly in there, but Piper and I had our eyes on the brand new icecream machine the school had installed.

I know what you're thinking, we're weird because we have an icecream machine in our school.

It's not weird really, the icecream company is new and sponsored us for new laptops, so in return, we all got laptops and an icecream machine.

Most people didn't really care, but I loved icecream so I wasn't going to miss the chance to get some on the first day it was here.

A small line was already forming, so Piper grabbed my hand and yanked me towards the machine.

"Oooh! Brynn, what flavor are you gonna get? Chocolate, mint? Swirled?" Piper said excitedly as she eyed the other students filling up cones and cups of icecream.

I nearly puked at her suggestion. "I'm gonna get chocolate chip cookie dough, obviously."

She should've known, I get it everytime we get icecream from anywhere.

We finally make it to the front of the line and Piper fills her cone with Chocolate. I grab a cup rather than a cone, then fill it with the delicious icecream.

I grab a spoon as we make our way to the lunch table.

Setting my cup down, I sit on the chair and then unzip my lunchbox to find Daniel's homemade ziti waiting for me. I had been looking forward to it all day.

"What do you have for lunch?" I asked Piper as I took a sip of my lemonade.

"A sandwich, chips, a granola bar, a brownie and water, how about you?"

"Homemade ziti, rice cakes with peanut butter and nutella, cheesepuffs, pretzels, and my lemonade." I replied.

"You bring the best lunches." Piper sighed as she bit into her ham sandwich.

"Hey do you wanna come over today? We really need to work on that presentation for Biology." I asked.

"Yeah, let me just ask my mom." She said and pulled out her phone as I continued eating.

"She said it's okay." Piper said a few moments later, putting her phone back in her pocket.

"Okay," I said.

I didn't really have to ask Aunt Emma or Daniel, since Aunt Emma was working late and Daniel didn't mind.

□■□■□■□■□■

"Brynn! Focus!" Piper nearly yelled as I kept looking out the bay window of my room.

"Sorry- sorry. The FedEx truck just stopped at my house."

"Did you order something?" She asked.

"I did a few weeks ago."

"Then let's go look." She says as if it isn't obvious.

We both got up and she followed me down the stairs of my house.

"Thank you!" Daniel said, closing the front door, a box in his hand.

"Oh here, this is for you." He says as he sees me walking toward him.

I nod and take the package and walk to the living room

I rip off the tape and open the box to find the black Nike hat and a black and white tribal hoodie I ordered a few weeks ago.

"Oh, Okay. I forgot what I ordered but okay." I say as I throw the box away and hold the hoodie and hat.

"What's for dinner?" I asked Daniel, leaning on the island counter.

"Vegan chicken salad with vegan breadsticks." He said as if it was no big deal.

Let me tell you something, Daniel could cook. I mean really cook, he was the best one I knew. His food was amazing.

"Okay. Piper, want to stay for dinner?" I asked.

"I can't, my mom has a business meeting and I have to babysit my sister." Piper explains.

"Oh okay, maybe next time." I shrug as we walk back up to my room.

□■□■□■□■□■

"So, Brynn, I heard you and Piper discussing dating earlier, are you seeing someone?" Joey asked in a gushy voice.

I rolled my eyes and took a bite of chicken salad.

"No, Joey, I'm not. You know Piper, she's always telling me about that stuff." I said.

"Maybe she's right," Daniel suggests, "It wouldn't hurt giving it a try."

"Yeah, have you ever even had a boyfriend before?" Julia, my ten year old sister asks.

"Why are you asking?" I narrowed my eyes at her.

Aiden just giggled and continued rolling his hotwheels across the table and eating. I wondered what was going through his six year old mind.

We all finally finished eating and Daniel brings out brownies for dessert.

"Save one for my mom." He reminds as he cuts it and puts it on our plates.

I quickly finish eating it and go back up to my room, texting Piper.

Me: piper, ill give the dating thing a try. daniel suggested it.

Piper: thank god you have daniel, at least he pushes you to do things

Me: yeah and so do you

Piper: mhm, well im excited, wanna go to the arcade tmrw night? we can spot some guys there

Me: okay, meet you there tmrw at 6

Piper: im excited!!

She was excited, I really wasn't.

I didn't think I was that pretty, and I was really shy and quiet until you really know me.

But who knows, it's worth a shot, right?