I flicked my keys in my hands and waited for Clarissa to come down the steps so that we could go to school while Drew waited in the car. "Hurry up, Clarissa," I yelled, annoyed. "We're only waiting on you."

"Coming," Clarissa said but didn't come down the steps like I hoped she would. "Give me about four minutes, and I will be done."

"No," I said and held back an eye roll. "You have two minutes. If you aren't down here, then you can have Wally take you to school. I don't know why you are taking so long anyway. It's just school."

Clarissa muttered something under her breath before she walked down the steps in clothes that were in dress code but slightly, and I knew that there was a chance she would be dress-coded. She scowled and moved a hand through her freshly curled hair and looked at me annoyed. "Couldn't you have waited until I was finished?" she asked, and I shook my head no while I scowled.

"I don't know why you are dressing like this when it's still public school, but I hope you are prepared if you get dress-coded," I said and started to walk to my Jeep with her following me. "Do you at least have an extra pair of clothes just in case?"

"Yes," she confirmed and nodded, "and no, they aren't like these and would be "more appropriate" for school or at least according to your standards."

"Watch it," I warned with a sharp edge in my voice, and she flinched while her eyes grew wide. "I do not know what has gotten up your ass, but that attitude needs to stop. Is that understood?"

"Sorry," Clarissa said and grimaced. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I just haven't had the freedom to dress the way that I want like I do here, and I want to look good."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to find a new girlfriend?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "All I know is that I am a little happier that there isn't a strict dress code nor do we have to wear uniforms or have our hair in some other way."

"Or makeup usage," I said, noticing that she did have makeup on. "Don't let Mom see you with makeup on, though. I don't think she will like it."

Clarissa shrugged and shifted her bag on her shoulder, and I could tell that she was a little uncomfortable in her clothes.

"Also, go change. You aren't going to go to school like that."

"Bu-"

"Clarissa, I will not drive you to school if you are dressed like that. Get changed and hurry up. You can tell your friends or whatever that you have a mean sister which is why you are wearing anything "fashionable" like they are." I winked and smirked, and Clarissa breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"I'll do it right now," she promised before she ran back up to her bedroom to change into clothing more suitable for school.

I shook my head and didn't say a word while I walked to the Jeep where I knew Cupcake was waiting. I had no idea why she wanted to dress that way when she felt uncomfortable, but I did understand that sometimes it was best to "follow the crowd" and "fit in" even though it didn't have to be a choice.

Just be you, Kid, I thought and pressed my lips into a thin line. Don't change because someone else thinks that you are better different than who you are.

Trust me...

It's not worth it...

***

Drew raised an eyebrow when I entered the Jeep without Clarissa behind me. He looked at the door leading to the house before he looked at me. "Where is she?" he asked when I closed the door behind me.

"Changing," I replied and started the Jeep before I put my hands on the steering wheel. "She was dressed in a way that she was uncomfortable with because she wanted to "fit in" with everyone at school."

"Hmph." Drew smirked and looked me up and down to see that I was in a pair of jeans and a regular t-shirt. "And then there is you," he said, and I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"And is that a bad thing?" I asked and raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled and shook his head. "That's why I fell for you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper and his gaze grew harder and hotter while he stared at me. "I could kiss you right now."

I gripped my steering wheel tighter and made sure that I was looking forward and not at him. "When we aren't parked in the garage where someone could walk in and see us," I said, my voice firm but also barely above a whisper.

My heart pounded hard in my chest, and all I wanted to do was kiss him too. I wanted to turn towards him and lean in to feel his lips against mine and taste the minty breath that he had.

"Come on," Drew said, his voice growing huskier. "Please?" He placed his hand on mine, and his gaze seemed to be hotter than it had been on the side of my face. "I want to kiss you, and I know that you want to kiss me too."

I set my jaw before I closed my eyes while I took a deep breath before I let it out with a soft whoosh. "Ok," I said and slowly nodded. "One kiss and no making out. I don't want Clarissa to see this nor do I want anyone else to know."

Drew chuckled and nodded. "Of course," he said. He took my hand off the steering wheel and gently pulled it, and I twisted my body until I was facing him while I opened my eyes.

His eyes were a darker color and filled with lust while he gently placed his hand on my cheek and moved a random strand of hair from my face. "We're not being recorded, are we?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

I shook my head no. "There are no cameras in this part of the garage," I whispered too, not wanting to break the silence. "They can't see anything, not they would check anyway."

Drew nodded and leaned forward until I was closer to him, and his breath fanned across my face. He kissed me on the lips, and I kissed him back with the same amount of passion that he gave me.

He pulled away slightly after he kissed me and rubbed my cheek. "One more?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper while he brushed his lips across my mine but not touching them.

I didn't respond and pressed my lips against his again, and he kissed me again. "Just shut up," I said after I pulled away, and he chuckled. I closed my eyes and kissed him again before I placed my hand on his.

Cupcake sighed before he pulled away and kissed my forehead. "We have to stop before we do something that you won't like," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Again, he placed another kiss on my forehead, and I closed my eyes.

"Or get caught," I said before I opened them and pulled away while I grew serious. "We don't want anyone to know about this, whatever this is between us."

Drew rolled his eyes and bit back a scowl. "Call it a fling or whatever," he said, "but you are someone that I can see myself with in the future."

I shook my head and tried to stop my cheeks from heating up but couldn't, and they became inflamed while I blushed. "That's too far into the future for me," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat "Let's not talk about that, especially when we aren't even done with school, and things can change."

Drew sighed and moved a hand through his hair. He didn't say a word and shook his head while he set his jaw. Annoyance filled his eyes, and I had a feeling that he didn't like it. "Are you saying that you do not want to be with me?" he asked and looked at me with dark eyes.

"I don't know what I want," I replied coldly and held back an eye roll. I licked my lips and looked forward, praying that my sister would come out soon so that I wouldn't have to deal with these questions. "I don't know anything about what I want to do. All I know is I do not want to act like my parents."

I grimaced and shook my head while I closed my eyes. "I won't forgive myself if I end up like my parents and end up making one of my children feel like the black sheep of the family."

Drew grabbed my hand when my voice cracked and squeezed it reassuringly. He kissed it gently, his lips barely grazing the back of it but somehow making me want his touch even more.

I didn't respond and stayed silent while I looked towards the door, praying that my sister would come out sooner rather than later.

It was getting later and later, and I knew that we needed to get to school before we were late.

Drew sighed and shook his head while he let go of my hand. He cleared his throat and looked at the front door. "Is s-"

The door to the house opened, and Clarissa bounded out looking happy to be in her clothes and not the clothes she had on before I made her change. She closed the door and locked it before she rushed to the Jeep where both Drew and I were waiting for her.

I made sure that my clothes and hair weren't messed up from him while she opened the back door to my Jeep and hopped in.

"Sorry," she said and moved a hand through her hair. "One of my friends decided to be a brat and complain that I was not wearing what she picked out." She closed the door to my car and buckled into the car.

"Did you call her out on her attitude?" I asked while I started my car and opened the garage door.

"Yes," Clarissa said and nodded. "I told her that I could wear what I want, and I didn't want to dress in those clothes. If she doesn't like it, then she can fucking deal with it."

I nodded. "Good," I said and started to drive to school while I closed the garage door. "That is what you do to anyone that brings you down. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Just leave the physical ass-whooping to your sister," Drew said while he winked at her. "I think she would be able to do it better than you."

"Shut up, Cupcake," I warned and narrowed my eyes. "Or else the next person that I kick their ass is yours."

"If you kiss me afterward, then it is all right, Sweetcheeks," he said with a wink and an air kiss.

I shuddered and wrinkled my nose while I pursed my lips, but my heart skipped a beat while my mouth went dry.

"Gross, Cupcake," I said and shuddered again. "Just... gross."

And with that, we went to school with both Drew and Clarissa laughing at my utter disgust.

Oh, Clarissa... if only you knew...