Conflicting Emotions

The room is unusually quiet as we wait for Rosie and Andi to return, eventually the two make their way back down the stairs, but my sister brings the sombre news to the living room.

"Andi's not feeling too well, she's gonna head home." She explains, as I hear the sound of our friend putting her shoes on near the door.

I feel guilty and confused at the same time, I can't end this evening like this, I'd never get any sleep. "I'll walk her home." I announce, forcing myself to my feet. The others don't respond, clearly as unsure as me about what's happening. I exit the room just in time to catch Andi opening the door. "Hang on, I'll escort you." I smile, trying to be a gentle as possible.

"How chivalrous of you." Andi grins as we exit. "I'm sorry for being a downer, today's just been... A lot." She sighs, her tone betraying how heavily the events of today have weighed on her.

"You and Echo were really close, huh?" I intuit. "For the record, what I said was just hypothetical, there's no way it'd ever happen." I add, attempting to reassure Andi, who oddly giggles at my efforts.

"I know, I'm not angry, it just brought a lot of old emotions up. It's something I'm realising I have to deal with properly." She clarifies as we near her door. "Thanks for checking on me." She continues, before surprising me by moving closer and placing a kiss on my cheek before retreating.

I'm stunned for a second, which seems to amuse her. "If that's the reward then I should walk you to more places, you need to go and check the post box or anything?" I ask eagerly, giving her a chuckle.

"Wow, you're easy, next thing you know you'll be giving me piggyback rides to school." She mocks me.

"Let me assure you, you're welcome to ride me any time." I respond instantly. I couldn't resist. I probably should've resisted as Andi sighs.

"You were doing so well there." She groans. "Guess you'll have to try again tomorrow." She decides, entering her home.

"You know I will!" I answer enthusiastically as the door closes.

I'm nothing if not determined.

*

The following morning is so serene, I end up laying in for way longer than I usually would, until I'm rudely interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Are you wanking?" Marie's voice asks. Of course, couldn't just ask if I'm awake, had to make it weird. "Actually, I don't care, I'm coming in." She decides, as my door swings open, allowing her and a sheepish looking Poppy to appear.

I grunt as I sit myself up. "I was enjoying my lazy morning." I complain. "What do you want?" I demand, as the girls sit at the end of my bed.

"Quit your bitching." Marie counters, slapping my leg through the covers to signal me to move it out of the way. "Your sister needs some advice."

I look towards Poppy who seems less sure... If it's something awkward, then I'd rather she ask than suffer in silence. "What is it Pops?" I encourage her, but she still doesn't budge. "I'm gonna guess... Boy trouble?"

Poppy's face flicks up in surprise. Bingo. "It's... Well, I... I was thinking." She stutters, trying to find the words. I stay silent and attentive, it wouldn't help if I interrupted right now. "It's just... I wanted to know. From a guy's point of view, do you prefer it when girls dress... More revealingly? Like, would you pay them more attention?" She enquires. Aah, she's concerned that a certain waiter didn't pay a lot of attention to her yesterday.

"That's not how it works Pops. If I'm attracted to a girl, yeah, I like seeing skin, but not just for the sake of it." I try to explain, but Poppy's blank expression tells me it doesn't make sense. "Let me put it this way, if there were two girls in front of me, one dressed to the nines, and one naked, I'm probably want to sleep with the latter, but I'd want to date the former. The context of the relationship informs the preference."

Poppy still looks confused until Marie translates. "Dress slutty if you want to fuck someone, dress fancy if you want romance." This appears to click with Poppy, who finally nods with understanding.

"More importantly though, you should dress how you feel comfortable, any decent guy would be just as happy to see their girl in pyjamas as they would in lingerie... Even if they're happy in different ways." I add.

"So, be myself... Great... That's been going brilliantly so far." Poppy whimpers, clearly frustrated. She goes so long without even trying dating and now she's so hung up on a guy... I think I missed a step.

"Have you considered... You know, talking to the guy? Like literally having a conversation? I've never even seen you two interact really." I point out.

Poppy's reaction turns to offense. "We talked when Echo was picking you up from here! And we chatted a couple of times at school! He's actually really sweet!" She barks. Wow, this is the most intense I've seen Poppy in... Ever, actually. This is a serious crush right here.

Annoyingly this is the crux of the problem, based on how Ty was talking, it seems like he likes her too... But they're both so shy, they'll dance around the issue for decades before either makes a move. I don't have that much patience.

"I'm gonna go make some brunch..." Poppy decides, her mind still clearly on our conversation as she exits the room.

Marie shakes her head at the situation. "Those two are hopeless, I just want to bang their heads together." She growls. "Please tell me you've got some sort of idea."

I reach for my watch. "Only bad ones." I admit, as I begin typing a message. "I figure the worst one will probably work out best." I laugh as I send it to Echo.

'Let's meet up at school tomorrow, we've gotta do something about our siblings.'