To Hate My Stepbrother

Ava’s POV

“Ava!” Nicole’s voice echoed faintly behind me, but I ignored it at first, choosing to keep walking forward. She easily caught up with me.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you leave like that?” She demanded while sucking in deep breaths.

Why did I have to see him?

Why did he have to show up here, out of nowhere?

Is he friends with Ryan?

I had succeeded in keeping him far away from my thoughts, but then he just had to be the guy I had been dared to go kiss.

As if I’d ever kiss him. I’d rather die than to do something like that.

I huffed out an irritated breath and delivered a kick to the innocent trash can positioned a few inches from where Nicole and I were currently standing.

“Why didn’t you do the dare?” She asked and I felt myself getting worked up all over again. Of all the questions she could’ve asked me, she really chose to go with why I didn’t do the dare?

“Look Ava, this is what a party is all about, you should learn to live a little and the only opportunity for you to do that at parties like this is to kiss random strangers and drink. It’s a party for fucks sake and not a chapel!” She added in a yell. She was obviously angry, perhaps because I might’ve embarrassed her in there by refusing to do the dare.

I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes in irritation.

“I wasn’t in the mood to kiss strangers and that was why I took the shot, I did my bit, why are you mad?” I demanded, and then I folded my hands over my chest before continuing.

“And stop fucking yelling at me, Nicole. I can opt out of a damn dare whenever I want to. It’s a game after all, not a matter of life and death.”

Without waiting for a response, I glanced around for a spot to sit, sinking down as soon ss I found one..

“Well, you stood. You obviously wanted to do it at first and I don’t know what the hell happened back there with that guy but you spent minuets with him, without fucking doing the dare.”

I rolled my eyes but remained silent.

So everyone in the group hadn’t even realized that Mason and I were involved in an argument back then, when I had been thinking it had been obvious enough.

“You both stood for minutes, do you know him? What were you both talking about? Did he say something to you?” She continued after a few moments, making me let out a small scoff.

I took a long glance at my best friend and I knew she wouldn’t drop this topic until I told her everything she clearly wants to know.

“Fine,” I breathed out, “You remember my mum recently got married, right?” I asked and she nodded affirmatively. I had texted her about it even though she wasn’t available to attend.

“Okay so, her husband has a grown up son that lives with us in the same house now so we basically stay together like families.” I added, trying my best to explain the situation in the best possible way I could, but it seemed like Nicole wasn’t really getting it with the way she was blinking at me in confusion.

“So now, I live with my mum, her husband and his son.” I added after a few moments, hoping to lift her confusion, but It seems like I might’ve confused her even more because she raised an eyebrow.

“Okay?” She later began to speak, “I don’t know where all this is heading to, or how your mum’s marriage is related to the party we’re currently talking about right now.” She breathed out, looking confused as ever.

“Okay,” I started. Taking a strand of my hair and tucking it behind my ear, I shifted a little before beginning to speak. “I’ll make you understand.”

“Right, you do remember the incident I texted you about, the one that happened that made me miss my test. That was before the whole wedding thing, remember? I asked.

Nicole looked lost for a moment but she soon remembered what I was talking about.

“Ohh, I do. I got the text. You couldn’t turn in your presentation and automatically did horribly in your test. I can never forget about the asshole that made you go through all that.” She finally breathed out and I snickered.

“Right, the guy I got dared to kiss. The one back in there, was the same asshole that made all that happen to me.” I answered and Nicole gasped.

Not hearing what I wanted to say next, she stood up and was almost running back to the party. I knew what she was about to go do next and it would only end in disaster if I didn’t stop her.

I pulled her back and she almost tripped the both of us. She looked really furious and I wouldn’t put it past her to go cause commotion in the party should I let go of her right now.

One thing about Nicole was that she’d always stand up for me anywhere and anytime.

“Why the fuck are you stopping me?” She asked, yanking her arms away from my grasp, “I’m gonna go in there right now to go talk some sense into his dry and empty brain of his. You just watch.” She added as she turned again but I pulled her back.

“Calm down, that’s not even the problem, there’s still a more shocking part to the story and you haven’t even heard it.” I said, fueling her curiosity and making her calm enough to listen to me.

“What else is the problem? You got zero recorded into your records because of that asshole and you’re telling me there’s an even bigger problem than this?” She asked, her anger evident in her voice as she spoke.

“I’m gonna go back in there and you won’t stop me. He made your grade drop because of his silly act and he couldn’t apologise, and he had the audacity he got you all worked up because you were dared to kiss him? Oh, hell no….” She added.

I closed my eyes in frustration as I listened to her speak. She wasn’t giving me the chance to talk as she kept on ranting about how rude Mason was to me, she hadn’t listened to the shocking part and I knew it would blow her mind.

“HE’S MY STEP BROTHER!” I yelled and she stopped talking at once.

“What?” She asked in disbelief.

“That same asshole back there is my mum’s new husband’s son and in other words, my step brother.”