The Distance Between Us

Chapter 5

About ten minutes later, we arrived at Colton's house. Dylan honked the horn and a little boy dressed in only a diaper came to the door, opening it before grinning. I heard a faint 'Col-Col' from out of my opened window. Colton peeked outside before lifting the little boy and handing him to his mother, who appeared and offered us a wave, which we returned. Once he arrived at the car, Dylan snorted. "Col-Col."

"Just drive," Colton replied, tossing his bag on the floor beneath him. Colton is nice. He's quiet and a little blunt, but nice for the most part. He doesn't really have common sense and is always the one to give someone away when they're doing something they probably shouldn't be.

"Whatever you say," Dylan stated simply before pulling off again. We drove a bit more, pulling up to the familiar duplex. The twins walked out of the home, Isaiah being forced to carry their sleepover bag.

Oh, the twins. Don't get me started on the twins. Isaiah is cool and calm, a bit loud when he wants to be, but an overall nice fellow. Isaac is the complete opposite. Some call him the devil but I think he's a bit more flirtatious than that. He's rambunctious and always has something to say. I'll admit, he's intelligent and can hold a conversation about something he enjoys but he's so hyper that those types of conversations rarely happen. Don't get me wrong, Isaiah is smart too, but it's not really shocking because he's not loud and annoying.

Isaac yanked open the door and allowed his brother to get in first. He hunched over, practically smacking me in the face with his butt, as he sat in the back seat. Our car is set up like a minivan, even though it's not. There are the driver and the passenger's seats, then the two seats behind us. The seats behind us have a gap in the middle where you can walk, or crawl - your choice - and sit in one of the three seats in the back. Isaac, on the other hand, threw himself beside Isaiah after shoving his brother's butt. "Hurry up loser."

"How is everyone going to fit in here?" Isaiah questioned, shoving his head in the space between Demetri and Colton. "We have three more people and one more seat."

"They must fight to the death for it," Isaac announced.

I rested my head against the window, my eyes widening. Gosh, they're so loud. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there," my brother announced.

"Who's next, Demetri?" my brother questioned, looking in the mirror at his friend who had his phone in his hands.

"Holden and Miles," he responded. Those two are...actually not that bad. Holden is a sweetheart. He encapsulates everything a girl could possibly want in a guy. He's smart, funny, and just an overall kindhearted boy. Not to mention his appearance... Miles is also a sweetheart. He's the youngest of the group but he still manages to fit right in. He's quiet and honest and is willing to try anything. It's refreshing to have such a optimistic person around, so he's highly appreciated.

Isaac decided to share his foolproof plan. "How about we let those two losers drive together and we pick up Axel?"

"That's a good idea," my brother shrugged. Kill me, kill me now, "but Axel is thirty minutes from here, and the two guys are only ten minutes away."

Not listening to Isaac and Isaiah's protests, my brother drove off. I saw Holden and Miles on Holden's porch. They jogged over, shaking the rain from their hair as Miles grasped the door handle, yanking it open to reveal the grinning guys and me.

"What's up, bit-boys?" Holden's gaze fell on me and he gave me a sheepish grin. He looked at the one seat in the back before he practically shoved Miles towards the floor, forcing his way to the last seat. "Ah, comfortable."

"Dude!" Miles exclaimed as he regained his balance. "Where am I going to sit?"

"Lex's lap is always available," Isaac suggested.

"No, you weigh like three hundred pounds," I excused. He doesn't weigh that much; in fact he probably weighs less than me; I just don't fancy the idea of having someone on my lap.

"Wow, now I don't have a seat and I'm insecure. You guys sure know how to make a guy feel welcome," Miles sighed.

"You can always sit on my lap, Lex," Isaac winked.

"You can always get out of my car," Dylan retorted. I sighed, pressing my fingers to my temples.

"I was just offering a solution to the problem at hand, jeez, Dylan. I apologize for trying to help fix a problem that you didn't bother to solve!" Isaac exclaimed overdramatically, sitting back in his seat after rolling his eyes.

"Keep rolling your eyes, maybe you'll find a brain back there," Colton murmured under his breath.

"What was that, Col-Col?" Isaac questioned, sitting up and placing his chin on the back of Colton's chair. Colton shoved his face away. "I know what it feels like to be unloved. You still love me, right, Lex?"

"I've never loved you, Isaac," I told him.

He whimpered, placing a hand over his heart. Miles switched from one foot to another. "We get it, no one loves you Isaac, now can we please do something? I'm freezing."

"Way to be blunt," Isaac muttered.

"Are we forgetting that I can't drive?" the fifteen year old asked.

"Well, Holden, why don't you take your car? And pick up Axel?" Dylan asked and Holden groaned, sitting up.

"Holden, do this; Holden do that; does Holden ever get a break? Because he needs one," Holden muttered as he jumped towards the floor, splashing a puddle of mud upwards. Miles quickly lifted his feet, avoiding the puddles wrath. He laughed evilly at Holden as he slammed the door shut. Holden offered him the middle finger before getting into his car.

Isaac and Isaiah began to sing in unison, earning a chorus of groans from everyone else. "If you don't like our singing, then turn on the music!" Isaac snapped, "Lex, can you put on Justin Bieber? Is he on the radio right now? That was stupid question, he always is."

"Aw snap, I left my 'I Heart Biebs' shirt at home!" Isaiah groaned while I tampered with the radio.

I let some crappy pop song play through, mainly because it shut Isaac and Isaiah up and that was a hard thing to do.

+++

"Can you put the food away while we go set up the basement?" Dylan asked me, puckering his lower lip.

I agreed, mainly because I'll pick and choose whichever food I want and they won't have a clue. "Sure, just because I'm a great sister."

"Does anyone want to help?" Dylan asked the group of guys.

Isaac wriggled his eyebrows as he nodded, stepping out from the group of boys waiting behind my brother. "I sure do."

My brother grabbed Isaac's collar as he tried to saunter over to me. "Except for this idiot."

"I don't need help," I insisted. They'd probably snitch me out.

My brother nodded, opening the basement door and allowing his clan of idiots to bounce downstairs. "The doors open if you need anything."

"I'm always here, babe!" Isaac exclaimed. I heard a loud thump and Isaac groaned. I snorted and began shoving the soda cans inside of the fridge. How sexist of them to assign me this job. I shrugged to myself. Oh well, their loss. I'm taking all of the good snacks.

About twenty minutes later, I heard a loud knock on the front door. I sighed, getting up off of the floor, where I was crouched. I had to reach the fridge's corners in order to fit all of the soda. I wiped my hands off on my pants as I walked towards the door. I opened it, not bothering to look through the peephole. "Finally, it took you long enough."

"Why hello to you, too, Axel," I muttered as he practically shoved his way through the door.

"What are you doing?" Holden asked as he noticed a dried chocolate stain on my shirt. Okay, so I was snacking on the job.

"Putting away the food," I shrugged. Holden grinned, rolling his eyes.

My attention was turned back to Axel, who was staring at me. "Where are they?"

"Up your butt," I absentmindedly replied. Holden snorted as he sidestepped Axel and flung open the door to the basement, practically skipping down the steps. Axel followed behind him after he stuck his tongue out at me.