“She’s home,” Erin yelled as she ran into Aaron’s bedroom. Becca was home from softball practice, and she would most likely kill me if she knew I was dating, or even hanging out with her brother. I jumped up from the bean bag chair I was sitting in and looked from Aaron to Erin.


Erin looked just like Becca; they both had the same big blue eyes that Aaron had. Erin’s were softer, though, more kind and welcoming. Becca was hard to get close to, but once she let you in, you learned everything there was to know about her. Erin and Becca both have and wavy, dirty blonde hair, but Becca’s was longer than Erin’s. They both have the same sense of style, too, so Erin gets all of Becca’s old clothes.


Before I could even blink, Aaron was already out the bedroom door and down the hall. Shutting the light off on my way out, I ran after him and up the stairs, right on his heels.
We were on the second floor, now, which is technically the attic. They used it mostly for storage, but we hung out up there sometimes. I sat down on the old couch that we brought up there after we found it on the curb about two years ago.
“We’re out of our minds, Amy,” Aaron said as he sat down next to me. “All this sneaking around is pointless. We should just tell her.” I shushed him and he let out a little laugh. I loved his laugh. I loved his smile, too. In fact, I loved everything about him. I loved his pale blue eyes, his short, light brown hair, his light skin that turns tan in the summer, the way he’s so optimistic about everything, and the way he talks to me and says my name.
I’d always thought we made a cute couple, I just never thought I’d get to see it. I’ve been hurt more than enough to realize that things don’t always happen the way you want them to. I have big green eyes, straight, dark brown hair, and a slightly darker skin tone than Aaron. And it’s cute that he’s a few inches taller than me. I didn’t think he had any interest in me, until one night when I had a sleep over with Becca. We were up late watching a movie, and she fell asleep on the couch. She always falls asleep when we watch movies. I don’t know what it is-we don’t watch boring movies. Anyway, I was sitting on the floor when Aaron came into the room. He sat next to me and we watched the rest of the movie together. By the time it was done I was beginning to doze off a bit, because it was about 1 or 2 A.M. But that’s when Aaron asked if we could talk.


“About what,” I asked, a million things going through my head, whether they were realistic or not.


“Well, I really like you,” he said looking down. “But I don’t know if Becca will agree with us dating.”


“Wait, who said I liked you?” I asked, concerned
“Well, no one, I just thought that because, well-”
“I’m kidding,” I cut him off. He smiled at me, then leaned in and kissed me. It wasn’t just a peck, though; it was long, and filled with passion. How could I turn that away? We decided that we would date, but we wouldn’t tell anyone. If our parents knew, they most likely wouldn’t let me and Becca have sleepovers at her house, and if Becca knew, she would probably assume that I had been using her to get to her brother, and she wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore. The only reason Erin knew was because she walked in when we were talking about it, and she promised to keep quiet.I snapped back to reality when I heard the front door open and Becca greeting anyone that heard her. Erin yelled back to Becca, and I heard Becca walk down the hall. I leaned into Aaron and put my head on his chest. He put his arm around me and his other hand played with my fingers.


“Where’s Aaron?” I heard Becca ask. Thankfully, Erin covered for us.


“I think he went running.”


“He’s such a loser,” Becca said with that sibling-hate voice.


“Amy doesn’t think so,” Erin said. Becca was quick on that one.


“What do you mean?” She asked. It was silent for a second, and then Erin saved us all.


“Well Amy runs too, right?”


“Oh, yeah,” Becca laughed, a little uneasy.


I heard footsteps and the door to the bathroom close, so I thought that it would be a good time to leave the house. I got up and grabbed Aaron’s hand.


“Let’s go, Becca’s in the bathroom,” I said, tugging on his arm. Aaron got up and we walked down the stairs, still holding hands. Becca walked out of the kitchen and stared at us. Her eyes moved from Aaron, to me, and then to our interlocked hands. She stood there in silence, and I pulled my hand away from Aaron. Erin walked out of the bathroom, saw what was happening, and turned around.


“What’s going on?” Becca asked cautiously. She turned to Erin, “Did you know about this?” Erin looked at me over her shoulder, and I gave her a look that said, “It’s over.”
“Yes,” Erin said matter-of-factly. Becca turned back to me and Aaron with anger in her eyes. She turned away and walked down the hall into her room and slammed the door.


“She’s so annoying,” Aaron said, starting after her.


“Stop,” I grabbed his arm, “Let me go.” He let me pass him, and I felt his eyes on me as I knocked on Becca’s door.


“Go away,” She whined, it sounded like she was crying. Erin came up behind me and pushed me aside.“Becca, let me in! It’s my room too,” Erin yelled over Becca’s sobs. Becca unlocked the door and Erin opened it and walked in, and stood at the foot of Becca’s bed. I walked in behind Erin and she smirked at Becca, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed with her head down. She turned and walked out, leaving me and Becca alone.


“How long?” Becca looked up at me with red eyes.


“What?”


“How long have you been dating?” she watched as I broke her eye contact and looked down in shame. “How long?!”


“Almost two months,” I said quietly. She looked shocked, confused and sad all at the same time.


“I’m sorry,” I sat down in front of her. “I should have told you, I shouldn’t have been sneaking around with him like that. I should have told you, I should have told you.” My eyes started to fill with tears. Was I losing my best friend this easily? I looked up at her and she started to smile.


“What?” I asked with a shaky, on-the-verge-of-tears voice. She started laughing.


“I’m crying because you’re dating my brother,” she sniffed her nose, “My brother,” she said, still laughing. “That’s a little pathetic if you ask me. It’s not like it was my ex boyfriend or something.” I started laughing too, just as a tear fell. I handed Becca a tissue, and she blew her nose.


“Well, I wouldn’t blame you if you were mad at me for keeping it a secret from you,” I said, apologetically. “Then again, I’m always hanging out with him at your house. I’m surprised you didn’t find out earlier.”


“Yeah, well you know how oblivious I am,” she grabbed another tissue. “I guess I was crying because you lied.”


“I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell you, and neither did Aaron,” I said in defense.
“Erin didn’t tell me either,” Becca stated.
“I know, we told her to keep it a secret,” I defended, “I thought that you would be mad, and feel used, and you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore,” I continued. “I was scared that it might ruin our friendship. I’ve seen it happen when best friends date their siblings.”


“Yeah,” she said, accepting the fact that her best friend was dating her brother. “Well, do our parents know?” she asked suddenly.


“No, as far as my parents are concerned I’m still lonely and single,” I said, cracking a smile. Becca laughed a little. With that, we heard the front door open, and her dad walked in from work. He started talking to Erin and Aaron in the kitchen.


“Come on,” I held my hand out to Becca. She took it and got up off the bed. I hugged her and apologized, and promised her I wouldn’t keep any more secrets.


“Wait,” Becca pulled out of our hug. “You can keep some secrets,” she smiled, “I don’t want any details about your relationship.” We both started laughing, and Aaron appeared in the doorway. He saw us laughing and hugged Becca.
“Ew, get off me, you freak,” Becca said trying to escape Aaron’s hug. He let go and I stepped in front of him. He pulled me into him from my waist.


“Wait,” I said, and he loosened his grip a little.“What?” Aaron and Becca both asked in unison.


“You two can’t tell your parents, and that goes for Erin, too,” I said. Erin was known for telling her parents about any drama that they missed while they were out. Becca ran to the kitchen and me and Aaron followed her.


“Where’s Erin?” Becca asked her dad when she realized Erin wasn’t in the kitchen.


“Right here,” Erin said from behind us. We turned around and Aaron scooped her up and carried her into the living room. He plopped her down on the couch, and the three of us stood around her.


“Did you tell dad about Aaron and Amy?” Becca interrogated. Erin looked a little confused, and then a little insulted.


“No,” she replied. “I was told to keep it a secret, so I thought that meant from everyone,” she asked, rather than said. The three of us let out a sigh of relief.


“Can you keep your big mouth shut for a while?” I asked a little jokingly.


“Of course,” Erin smiled. Their dad walked into the living room from the kitchen.


“Hi, Amy,” he smiled at me. “I’m making dinner soon. You’re welcome to stay if you’d like.” I turned to Becca seeking permission.


“Yeah, she’ll stay,” Becca smiled at me, and that’s when I knew nothing could come between our friendship.