A drained Summer paused at the very beginning of the hallway that led to her apartment, she squinted her eyes at the strange sight in front of her. A man who wore a hat and a hoodie had his back pressed against Summer's door casually.
At first, she thought that her front door neighbor had a death wish today of all days, she'd be willing to fulfill that for him without a second thought. But it wasn't him. She finally recognized her brother when her eyes reached his shoes that she got him for his birthday.
Summer sighed as she walked with a little more energy now. She had been ignoring his calls ever since he blew her off and left the restaurant without his jacket.
"Why are you here?" She said coldly when she reached him, she took her keys out of her bag and started unlocking the door.
"Er…I'm here for my jacket?"
"The one you left behind to trick me into thinking you're coming back?"
Gabe had a proud smile on his face, there was no fooling Summer, "Sis, don't be like this, it isn't what you're trying to make of it… I really did forget to grab my jacket," he lied smoothly.
Summer gave him a flat look, "Well, you should try asking for it in the restaurant, I received this urgent call and I had to run somewhere, it happened so fast that I forgot your jacket," She lied terribly.
"Yeah right," Gabe rolled his eyes, "Patrick told me that you freaked out and ran for the hills without giving him an answer,"
She pushed the door open and turned the lights on.
"Speaking of Patrick, funny how he seemed awfully relaxed as he threw away years of friendship between us," she said as she took off her shoes angrily but then placed them neatly in the shoe closet by the door.
It really wasn't as bad as Summer was saying, she hadn't made up her mind yet on how to respond to Patrick's offer, but their friendship was in no way jeopardized. 'Not to me at least,' she added in her head as an afterthought.
Gabe made a low guilty groan, "Don't get mad. I just gave him the opportunity he was dying to get; You know that Patrick is a decent guy…" he trailed off.
Gabe was secretly one of Summer's biggest fans. She had always been his role model in life, and he honestly thought that none of the guys out there were good enough for his sister, that said, a guy he knew was a thousand times better than some stranger who barges into her life only to be categorized under something as dangerous as 'true love,'.
Gabe clicked his tongue, 'Over my dead body,'
Summer who had completely ignored the last thing Gabe said went into her room to change leaving her brother without a comment, he had been wondering how things were on her side since Patrick seemed to be on cloud nine when he saw him. Gabe was relieved that the anxious guy had finally asked his sister out, but he wasn't quite sure whether or not she would accept his invitation.
"You should've texted or called, I really have nothing to feed you," Summer complained when she went out of her room with her brother's jacket folded neatly inside a paper bag, she gave it to him and went straight to the kitchen.
"No worries, I've already ordered pizza," he gave her a wide smile, hoping she'd forgive him.
Summer raised one eyebrow at him, "Is that all that you're surviving on in that apartment?"
Gabe's eyes twinkled, "You have no idea how good my roommate cooks, Summer, you HAVE TO try that guy's food, he should seriously consider opening his own restaurant,"
Just like that, Summer's heart was filled with fuzzy big sister feelings, she hated how easy it was for her younger brother to manipulate her like that. 'It's like a fricking get out of jail free card!' Gabe was just way too charming and charismatic.
"You should've become a politician," She accused.
"Huh?"
"…Never mind,"
"What? What are you looking at with such an expression?"
"What expression…" Summer tried to put a straight face on, not wanting to let him know that he was off the hook just yet.
"Like you smelled something bad kind of expression,"
"Hmm, is that what it looked like? Guess familial love is funny like that…" Summer mused.
Gabe's eyebrows were furrowed but the sound of footsteps approaching from the outside had both their necks tilting towards the door.
"That was some fast service," Gabe's thoughts were leaning toward the pizza he ordered.
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
Summer jumped up while Gabe pushed himself planning on inflicting pain on whomever it was that continuously slammed on his sister's door like that. He opened the door with a furious expression that changed into confusion a second later.
"You?" Gabe asked.
"Gabe? It was you?" Zack copied Gabe's surprised tone.
Gabe's confused expression became an angry one again, "What do you mean was it me? Is this how you knock on somebody's door?"
Zack scratched his neck uncomfortably as his eyes found Summer who had an annoyed expression on her face and didn't look like she was about to jump to his rescue.
"Hi Summer," he said dejectedly.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Gabe raised his voice menacingly.
Zack raised both of his hands with his palms forward in an attempt to calm his colleague down, "I didn't know that it was you, your face was all covered and then you went in and didn't go out again,"
Both brother and sister got goosebumps on their arms at the same time. But Gabe surprised Summer when he grabbed Zack by the shirt and pulled him inside then closed the door behind them.
*THUD!*
Gabe pushed Zack against the door again.
"The hell are you saying? Why are you peeping at my sister's apartment?"
Zack was deeply insulted, when he pushed Gabe's hands away, Gabe's arm pushed him back against the door and pressed hard on his chest putting pressure on his airways.
*Cough!*
Summer panicked, "Gabe! Let him go!"
Gabe didn't break eye contact with the guy he hardly knew and didn't trust one bit, "Stay out of it,"
Her hand was placed on Gabe's tensed shoulder, "Hey, call the police if you must. Just don't hurt him,"
Zack was even more insulted. He pushed Gabe back with all his power and sent him tumbling back. When Summer tried to support his weight, he was too heavy for her, and so they both ended up falling on their behinds.
Zack was horrified and hurt at the same time, "THIS IS ALL A HUGE MISUNDERSTANDING!"
Gabe got up and helped Summer up too.
"Get out…" Gabe pointed with his index finger towards the door and kept Summer's hand in his, too afraid of what he'd do to the other guy if his sister let go now, "Get out, and don't you dare come near Summer again,"
Zack looked at Summer with desperate eyes, "I like you… so please… go out with me,"
"…Huh?" Gabe said a moment later when Summer didn't seem surprised at all. She rolled her eyes; it was as if someone was playing a cruel prank on her. 'How many of those were around the corner anyway?'
She had to put some serious thinking behind each answer she gave out to them since she couldn't afford to dismiss any of those guys before making sure that they were not her 'true love'.
'Great~'