Ethan pulled away from me, muttering about how real men didn't cry. He wiped away his tears and sighed. "I'm glad that you are the only one that sees me this weak," he muttered, causing me to scoff and roll my eyes. "What?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

"You men need to stop being such babies," I replied. I moved out of his way when he tried to shove me. "No, I am serious. Crying is a natural way of showing pain and anger. It's a release for your body."

"You don't cry in front of me," Ethan retorted. He had a stupid smirk on his face as if to say that he had caught me off guard.

"Oh, I have too cried in front of you. Remember when my "parents" disowned me?" I asked. "I cried in front of you, a hell of a lot worse than you did now." I moved a hand through my hair and sighed. "Yes, I don't cry in front of people when I am in pain, but that is because I fight guys who could have me for breakfast."

Ethan sighed and nodded his head. "And you cuss when you get hurt on the soccer field," Ethan said, chuckling. He wiped his eyes and sighed again. "Can I stay here for the evening?" he asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I grabbed my phone when it vibrated and groaned. "My parents are here. Shannon is telling me to go and say hi." I placed my phone down and went to get a t-shirt. "Come with?"

"Your parents hate me," Ethan groaned, laying on my bed. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," I replied. "I don't want to go do this alone." I looked at him and gave him my best puppy dog look. This look could melt the toughest men's heart, and I have used it on what I think was one of the toughest men at the gym.

Ethan tried to stay firm, but his face softened when I tilted my head and made my eyes tear up. "I hate you," he groaned, moving a hand over his face. "I fucking hate you."

I smiled innocently and moved a finger through my straight hair. "You don't," I teased. "You love me. You love making me happy."

"Because you are my sister," Ethan grumbled. "I don't like you like that." He walked past me and punched me in the shoulder, not hard.

"That is because you are like my cousin," I said, scowling and followed him out of my room. I knew that my cousin liked him, and I knew that she thought that I liked him back. I jumped onto his back, causing him to groan in mock pain. "I don't know what you see in that She-Devil."

"I do not know what you don't see in her," Ethan shot back. "I mean, she is sweet and funny. She is just so loveable." He sighed an "I'm in love" sigh, causing me to flick him in the back of the head.

"She was the one that placed gum in both mine and Eevie's hair," I said. "She made us both shave our heads in ninth grade because of how much gum she placed there." I scoffed and rolled my eyes, remembering hating how much I hated having all of my hair shaved off.

Ethan snickered. "That was fun," he said, causing me to hit him across the back of the head. He busted out laughing, even though he knew that I would've hit him again. "You were fine with it and rocked with beanies, earrings, scarves, and huge sunglasses. Eevie on the other hand..."

I busted out laughing and shook my head, picturing my spitfire friend. "Yes, she did not like it one bit. I almost had to strop her down to a chair."

Ethan nodded his head, and I could tell that he was smiling at the memory. "Ya, I knew that she wouldn't like it when they told her that most of it would be out."

"And that was the first and last time, Eevie had a haircut."

Ethan snickered and nodded his head. He let go of my legs, and I knew that it was time for me to get off of his back. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it, and I could tell that he was nervous.

I squeezed his hand back reassuring before making my way to the first living room. I heard my mother say something annoying to one of the maids. I wrinkled my nose in distaste and opened the door to the living and cleared my throat.

Ethan took his hand out of mine when both my parents turned to look our way. He shifted his weight on his feet, nervous when they scowled at him.

"I see that you still hang out with the help," my mother said, turning her face away in an 'I-don't-care-about-him' fashion.

"Yes, because he is my friend," I replied. I forced a smile on my face, even though all I really wanted to do was scowl at them. "Now, is there a reason as to why you are home? I thought you wouldn't be home until Christmas."

"We were," my mother replied. "But, the Barren family have moved back to Springport, and we thought it would be fun to have a family dinner with them." She forced a smile on her face. "Your sister, Clarissa, will be coming into town as well."

I kept the smile on my face, but I really wanted to scowl. "Would it be alright if I skipped tonight?" I asked, not liking my lil' sister. I hated how they compared me to her when they didn't even know what I did. They didn't know that I was a soccer champ and also owned a business that was competing against my mother's even at a young age.

"Yes," she replied, taking a sip of her tea. She looked me up and down before scowling. "If you don't have a dress, go by one. I think they will have something... cheap enough for you." She looked at Ethan. "And make sure he has a suit, even though he isn't welcomed here."

I nodded my head and turned Ethan around. "Of course," I said, before following him out of the room. I let my face turn into a scowl and clutched my hands into fists. "Even though, he is the only thing that will keep me from punching everyone in the face," I muttered.