Stolen

I woke up to the dreadful feeling of ice-cold water being drenched my back.

“Ugggh!!!” I screamed, shivering uncontrollably and rubbing my eyes. “What the hell is going on here - ” My eyes widen when I see the smirking boy standing in front of me.

Oh no he didn’t.

“Adam, what the heck is your problem?!” I yelled at my messed up twin brother, immediately jumping out of my soggy bed. “Do you have any clue how annoying you are? Why on Earth would you wake your sister up at...” I glanced at the big, blue alarm clock sitting on my bedside table. ”5:30 in the morning." I glare at him. “What were you thinking???”

“Oh my god Mia!” Adam burst out laughing so loud, they could’ve heard him in China. “You...you...″ he let out a big snort. “Should see th-the look on your face,” another snort. He was now laughing so hard that he fell to the floor.

I glared at him, my eyes fuming. “Stop rolling around on the floor like a constipated penguin and answer the question!”

“Umm...have you ever actually seen a constipated penguin before?”

“That’s not the point!”

“Okay, okay, fine!” he yelled, raising his arms in surrender. “You see, the thing is...you are such a deep sleeper, and sneaking in on you was a piece of cake. I just couldn’t resist it. Did you know that you snore? So loudly. Ugh...I feel bad for the loser that ends up with you-”

I tackled him to the floor, pinning his body below mine.

“Arrgh!” he shrieked, trying to push me off of him. “Mia! Do you have any idea how wet you are? Get off me!” he screamed, fighting to get out of my grasp.

“You poured the water yourself!” I retort back, trying to block his movement.

“Oh, and you’re incredibly heavy too. Add that to the list of things-”

I punched him in the gut. “Owww!!!” he screeched. “Get off me! Now! Mia-”

The door opens and a highly irritated and sleep deprived mom walks through the door.

“What’s all the ruckus in here?” she asks, yawning.

Then she takes a look at our situation.

“Oh my god, Mia!” she screamed, running towards me and taking a look at my soaked driven pajamas. “Why are you all wet? You’re gonna catch a cold! And why are you kids on the floor?”

I point at Adam. “He threw water on me. Ice cold water!” I said, glaring at Adam.

“No, she’s the one who tackled me - ”

“Kids, enough!” my mom shrieked, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “There’s something your father and I have to talk to you about. We were gonna tell it to you later, but since you guys have already woken me up, I guess now is as good a time as any.”

“Mom, what are you talking about?” asked Adam, raising his eyebrows.

“You’ll see. Adam, come downstairs. Mia, dry yourself off, change your clothes, then come downstairs too. I’ll wake your father up while you’re at it.” And then she leaves.

“See you in a few minutes loser,” said Adam, slamming the door in my face.

I rolled my eyes, drying myself off with a towel. Adam was the most annoying sibling a person could ever have - no, I know what you’re thinking - that your sibling is the most annoying sibling a person could ever have. Now, I want you to think of how annoying your sibling is, whoever you are, and multiply that by four. That’s how annoying my brother is.

We’ve always bickered with each other, ever since we were little. We never got along - we absolutely hated each other. I despised sharing my birthday with that moron every year, and the fact that he was two minutes older than me, which was something he’ll never let me forget.

He plays pranks on me all the time. This one time in 7th grade, he threw red paint all over my brown, wavy hair, and it took me like a week to rinse it out. I’m pretty sure our parents had given up on us a long time ago.

Adam was the worst.

Well, at least he wasn’t Dakota Williams.

Dakota Williams - the most popular guy in our school, captain of the football team, and the school’s most beloved student - there was no one in our school who wouldn’t give up everything just for a chance to associate themselves with him, to be with him, or to hang out with him.

Well, maybe one person - me.

No, once again, I know what you’re thinking - you think I hate him, despise him, will do anything for him not to be in my life. Well, you’re wrong, and here’s why:

You know those clichéd wattpad stories where the girl hates the boy at the beginning, but then somehow always, always, ends up falling in love with him by the end of the book?

I’ve realized why at a very young age. You know that hate she feels for him at the beginning of the book? That’s what drives her love for him. There’s a very thin line between hate and love, and if you hate a person, it means you care about them enough to actually hate them. It means they’ve gotten under your skin.

Think about it this way: Imagine someone in your school, someone you’ve heard about but never really talked to, has died. It’s sad, very sad. Now imagine someone in your school whom you absolutely despise, someone you truly hate, has died. Whose death will you feel worse about?

The second one, of course.

That’s why I made it my goal to feel indifferent towards him. I don’t like him, nor do I hate him, ’cause that’s just as bad as liking him. I avoid him at all costs, I make sure he doesn’t know who I am, and most important of all, I don’t let him get under my skin.

Because otherwise, I might end up falling for him, just like the girls in those books.

“Okay, now that both of you are here, there’s something your mom and I need to talk to you about,” said dad, folding his arms in his lap.

My family was currently in the living room, and my parents were about to give Adam and I some kind of big talk. I was sort of nervous, because they never seemed this serious about anything before.

Mom shifted in her seat. “Remember that couple we always tell you about, the one that we meet everyday at work and whom are our best friends?”

I nodded. Mom and dad were both accountants and worked at the same place. They would often tell us stories about their best friends, also a married couple, who worked with them.

“Well, they have a son about your age. They are about to leave to Ohio for a family emergency, and since they have no idea how long they’re actually going to stay there, they don’t want to bring their son along because they’re afraid he might miss too much school.

“And since both of our families are really close,” dad continued, “we offered to let their son live here, in our house, until they come back.”

There was a moment of silence.

“So what you’re saying,” started Adam, “Is there’s gonna be another guy living with us, for who knows how long, until his parents come back from Ohio?”

Mom and dad nodded. “You might know him,” said mom. “He goes to your school, and he’s a junior too.

“What’s his name?” I asked, wondering if it was someone I knew.

“Dakota Williams.”

My eyes widen.