One Chance (Part 1)

Chapter One (9th Grade)

“Where do you think you’re going?” my twin sister, Kenzie, asks in a snarky tone.

“Heading across the street to hang out with Brody,” I tell her, as I finish tying my shoes in the living room.

“Is that just an excuse to try to see Liam?” she asks with a straight face.

Liam is Brody’s older brother by two years; he’s hot and he knows it. He’s on the football team at school and he’s tall, with blonde hair, and the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.

“No, I’m not going to see Liam, though I wouldn’t mind,” I say admitting the truth. The boy is hot.

Kenzie laughs, “You do realize if he dates either of us, it would be me, right?”

“What’s wrong with me?” I ask as I stand up and head toward the front door.

“You’re…well, you. You just aren’t me, Hails,” she says before walking away.

“One day I will have him,” I shout, before slamming the door and heading across the street.

I’ve been over to Brody’s house more times than I can count. Knocking on the door is out of the question. I open the door and head to Brody’s room.

“Don’t you ever knock?” Liam asks when I run into him in the hall.

“No,” I argue back.

“Maybe you need to learn to start,” he says rudely. He’s been mean to me and Kenzie since were little.

“No, I’m good,” I say with a smile before walking past him to Brody’s bedroom door. “Hey,” I say a little too excitedly when I see Brody.

“Hi Hails.”

“Whatcha doing?”

“Thinking of heading to the game room. Want to come?”

“Yes,” I say, following him down to the basement. It’s a kid’s dream world. It has a big screen television, couches, video consoles, a pool table, ping-pong table, and darts. The place has everything, but with three boys, Liam, Brody, and their little brother, Isaac, I guess it makes sense. Everyone who comes over to the Masters’ house, comes to the game room.

“Do you mind if I play Isaac in a game real quick? Brody asks me. “He’s been bugging me all morning.”

“That’s fine, I’ll watch,” I say happily. I’d do just about anything for this boy. Though I may be obsessed with Liam because he’s hot, he’s not Brody. Brody, with his brown hair and green eyes, is amazing, caring, and sweet, Liam’s not.

“Okay cool, I want to talk to you about something later,” he says with a smile.

“Okay,” I say as I sit down on the oversized couch.

I have decided that I want to date my best friend; I’m just not sure how to approach him with it. I think he feels the same way, but it’s hard to tell at times. Guys can be so confusing. As the game continues into the third quarter, and I’m trying to work up the courage to tell Brody how I feel, Kenzie walks down the stairs.

“Hey guys, what’s up?”

“Hey,” the boys say in unison without looking away from the TV.

“I didn’t think you were coming over today,” I say, surprised to see her.

“Yeah, I changed my mind. I need to talk to Brody about something.”

“Oh yeah, what’s up?” I ask being nosey.

“Nothing, I just need to talk to him.”

“Umm okay,” I say confused.

The guys finish up their game and Isaac runs upstairs to get drinks.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Brody?” Kenzie says, suddenly appearing a little shy.

“What’s up?” he asks, looking between us. I shrug my shoulders, because I have no idea what she wants to talk to him about.

“I want to know if you’ll go out with me?” she asks out of nowhere. I can feel my jaw hit the floor, but hold back on saying anything.

“What?” he asks, confused.

“Well, we are both hot and single, and I like you Brody, a lot. I want us to go out. What do you say?”

“I…I don’t know,” he says sounding more confused.

“Hails, you won’t care will you?” she says bringing me into this conversation.

“No, I don’t care,” I lie.

“Are you sure?” Brody asks looking intently at me.

“Its fine. If you two want to date, then date,” I state trying to keep a straight face. How could Kenzie do this to me?

“So, what do you say?” Kenzie asks again.

“Okay,” he says softly.

“Yay,” she says before throwing her arms around his neck.

I am too stunned to speak. She has never shown any interest in dating him. What just happened?

“Oh Brody, what did you want to talk to me about?” I ask, remembering his comment from earlier.