Chapter 3 The Prom Night

Russell's POV

"You're beautiful, Rus..."

Ryan's words made my face redden. He's my suitor, but he's also my crush. We've known each other for many years, but we're not friends-at least not yet. My years in junior high school were some of the most memorable times of my life.

"It is crowded here. You want to go outside?" Ryan whispers in my ear.

I looked at Daniel in the distance and saw him talking to some of my other schoolmates. Several girls were around him, so he wouldn't notice if I left.

"Okay," I said to Ryan as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the hall.

When Ryan and I got out, we couldn't stop laughing because we had gotten away from Daniel and my brother. There was a dark corner in the hallway where we hid. I leaned into the wall.

"He'll freak out if he doesn't see me," I joked.

Ryan didn't speak. I didn't know he was looking at me. I stopped laughing when I looked at him. He put his hand on my cheeks and moved his lips toward mine. This was my first kiss, and I didn't expect to have it tonight. When his lips touched mine, I felt a sense of soothing peace. He's moving slowly, like he's enjoying the taste of my lips. My arms rose on their own, and I wrapped them around his neck. When he took his hand off my cheek, it moved down my hip and pulled me closer to him.

The kiss. I don't understand why my brother won't let a guy kiss me. Why do they forbid such good feelings? It felt like I was floating in the air. I eventually responded to the calm kiss. The kiss seemed to deepen as I followed every movement of his lips. There was already a desire for those kisses.

But it surprised me when Ryan pulled away from me and fell to the ground. When I looked to my side, I saw Daniel throwing another punch at Ryan, looking angry.

"Daniel!"

--

Daniel's POV

"Damn it!"

When I saw another man kissing the girl I liked, it felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on me. I just found out that this is probably how guys feel when they see me kissing their girlfriends. Is it karma? Is she my karma? I know it's wrong because Russell is only fifteen, but God knows what I feel about my best friend's sister. Even though she's twelve years younger than me, I really like and respect her. And now that a man is kissing her right before me, I want to kill someone.

I immediately ran up to Russell, pushed the guy away from her, and hit him until he fell to the ground. They were both surprised at what I did.

"Daniel!" Russell yelled in surprise when she looked at me.

Instantly, I reached out and pulled her away from him. "Get off of me!" Russell complained as she tried to get out of my grip.

I dragged her to the parking lot, where I called Ryker. After a few rings, Ryker answered my phone call.

"I'm headed home with your sister," I told Ryker.

"What?" Ryker said, shocked, on the other line. "What happens? Wait for me at the parking lot. I will look for Claire, and we'll go home together." Ryker said, then he hung up the phone.

I immediately put my phone in my pocket, and Russell pushed me and punched me until I leaned into the car. I looked at her and saw her response. She was so angry about what I did that I didn't understand why she had to be so mad. Am I wrong? Is it wrong for me to keep her away from a man who could ruin her life? Is it bad that I'm hurt and can't take another guy kissing her? Is what I did a sin?

"What's wrong with you?" she yelled as I let go of her wrist.

"Wrong?" I snarled, "You're the problem."

"Me? Why me? What's wrong with you?" she asks.

"You? What are you doing?" I yelled in frustration. "You're only fifteen and already making out in the dark, for Pete's sake!"

"It wasn't anything but a kiss. What exactly is your problem?" Russell asked. "Could you stop acting like you're my brother? I'm neither your sister nor your girlfriend..."

"Oh, so he's your boyfriend, huh?" I asked.

"Yes, my boyfriend. Is there a problem?"

"The problem is that you're making out in the dark. It's not normal for a girl your age to do that."

"What? Russell, you're making out in the dark?"

We turned towards the newcomer. Ryker and Claire were already there, and it seemed like they heard us. Ryker ran up to her sister and grabbed her arm.

"Are you making out in the dark? Who is that man?" Ryker asked, annoyed.

"Yes, that's true." Russell admitted, "I kiss my boyfriend in the dark. What's the problem with that? It's just a kiss..."

"What, you already have a boyfriend? You're just fifteen?" Ryker exclaimed in disbelief.

"So what? You had many girlfriends when you were my age."

"Oh, come on, Russell, I am a man."

"What was the difference?"

"Different?" Ryker said to her sister, "You have something to lose, but I don't." Ryker looked at me, said, "Let's go home," and handed me the car keys. I grabbed the key. Ryker turned towards Claire. "You too, Claire. I'll take you back to your house."

When Claire nodded, I immediately opened the car door.

--

We drove in silence until we reached Claire's house. When Claire got off, Ryker followed her to tell her parents that he had taken her home. Russell and I were left in the car.

Russell said, "I hate you."

When I looked in the rearview mirror, I could see her angry reaction.

"We're just keeping you safe," I said calmly.

"I'm not so stupid that you should be so overprotective of me. "I'm not your sister, so stay out of this," she growled. I could feel her irritation as if I had done something terrible that night.

"I'm not interfering. I just..." I tried to explain my side, but she started talking again before I could finish.

"I hate you, Daniel. I can never get myself to like you. Stop worrying about me; I don't want or need your attention. The reason why we're connected is that my brother considers you his best friend. It would be much better if you were only worried about him. Since I'm neither your friend nor your sibling, I would appreciate it if you didn't treat me like one. Because no matter what you do, I will always remember what you did tonight. You screwed up my prom. And I hate it!"

Tonight was my last conversation with Russell.