Sibling Rivalry

I Propose a Bet

She was nice. Ashley Kelly was smart, pretty, amazing, she seemed to be loyal, quirky and downright adorable. Sitting at the small bar in the restaurant, Ryder and Ashley shared secrets of which they had never even told their closest friends. They had a good date and talked for hours about their family and why Ryder had recently moved to the town.

"Yeah, I moved here because my Dad's in the Air-force and he was relocated. I was obviously pretty reluctant to move here because I didn't want to leave my old friends behind, but...we still talk sometimes." Ryder picked up his orange soda and lifted the straw to his mouth. The drink fizzed at the movement and he made a sour face at the bitter tang of the beverage.

"I would honestly be scared to move." She announced after staring at the guy for what society would probably deem to long. She smiled and tried to over her toothy grin with her own drink as Ryder sighed.

"Yeah. I really do miss them." He spoke, defeatedly sighing at the repeated movement of drinks reaching lips and straws reaching cupids bows.

"I would never leave my best friends. I think you're brave. Even if you were forced to go. I still respect that." He smiled. he missed his boyfriend of whom he had broken up with because of the move, but that was eight months ago and he needed to move on. But he wasn't really sure why his ex, Nathaniel had supposedly gotten together with Thalia Brooke right after he left. Maybe he didn't love him like he claimed to have after a year of dating.

Ryder sighed, looking at the beautiful image of Ashley Kelly. She wasn't show-y or slutty. She was modest, and didn't even suggest sex before the date ended. Ryder was impressed. She was popular and rich, but she wasn't the rich, snotty brat you may expect. This wasn't TV. This was real.

"Shall we bring this date to an end?" she asked, yawning and looking up at the tired boy next to her.

He blinked and smiled. "Sure." He clutched her hand into his elbow, linking it as they walked down the block. After a short walk, they reached her house and they shared the classic 'end-of-date kiss'. It was soft, slow and calm, everything both teenagers wanted in a kiss. The gesture was brought to a close by Ashley's twin brother, Conan, beeping the horn of his second-hand jeep, and pulling into the driveway.

What Ryder didn't realize was that Conan was equally as attractive as his sister and he was immediately torn between the two and how they could both be so hot. He sighed and breathed heavily in the cold night, shuffling around on his spot next to his date on the grass of her yard.

"Do you wanna come in, or....?" Ashley trailed off, offering generously.

He shook his head, earnestly wanting to get home and sleep, as he was tired and they had school the next day. "Gotta get home or Dad will have a hissy-fit." He smiled down at her, then gazed at the slightly taller male still sitting in his car, playing his phone.

They smiled and Ryder departed, leaving the two siblings together on the pavement. he walked down two blocks before he reached his house. Well, he didn't stuff up.

***ASHLEY'S POV***

Conan and Ashley wandered into the house and hummed appreciatively at the sight of leftover lasagna. "Where were you?" Ashley inquired, looking up at her twin as he played his phone and she sat at the table.

"Billy's. Had a bit of a cry over his ex and I comforted him a bit." he summarized, leaving Ashley with no back up questions. "Who was the hottie out front?" He asked after a snippet of silence.

"His name is Ryder and he's only been at our school for a few months. He's nice and funny, and," she pointed a finger at him as he waggled his eyebrows comically, getting out the peanut butter and a spoon. "You so can't have him." she smiled as he made a face through a mouthful of nutty spread.

He eventually managed to swallow and instead choked. "Why not? He's cute." He smiled as she rolled his eyes. Her twin was known quite well for liking guys and he sometimes stole her dates, just t o make fun of her. It annoyed her to no end that she couldn't do the same to him, as she was straight and he only likes guys.

"No." She finalized, but Conan never let a cute guy go to waste when he knew he had a chance.

"How about we make a bet?" He proposed, smirking.

"What bet would that be?" Ashley asked, picking at her lasagna. She never tired of hearing her brother's silly ideas to date someone. Or in general.

"Whoever gets the most dates with...What's-his-face before this term ends, gets to keep him. And, before you say 'Blah-blah, people aren't prizes,' the added prize will be one hundred dollars." He smiled down at her and stole the cheesy part of the pasta.

She pouted, but looked up at her twin, staring straight into his eye. "You don't even know his name." She smiled and he shrugged.

"It's Brody, right?"

She sighed, smiling devilishly, she spat on her hand and held it out to shake his in agreement. Conan let out an exaggerated 'Eugh!' and jumped away at the sight of the saliva on his twin's hand.

She rolled her eyes and patted him on the head with the same hand. He groaned and rolled his eyes at his sister's actions, but smiled at the thought that he would so win this game.

"Let the game begin." She smirked and Conan rolled his eyes, taking another spoonful of peanut butter.

"Indeed." He smiled as she picked up her plate and placed it in the sink.

This was war.