Joel parked the car next to the steps. The light in the appartment was on. "Joel, did you leave the light on?" Benji asked, helping Alora out of the car.
"No....." He replied, finding his house key.
Joel opened the door. Billy and Paul were sitting on the couch. Benji carried Alora into the appartment; she complained the entire way. "I can walk."
Billy stood and looked at Alora. "What happened, Lor?"
"Oh, the usual." She smiled, hugging him. She hugged Paul when he stood. "I've missed you guys."
"Yeah. We've missed you too."
After a long talk Benji ordered pizza while the others played video games. Benji walked through the appartment while ordering. "Sit down." Joel said, throwing a couch pillow at his brother.
"Stop ya biotch." Benji said, throwing the pillow back at him. "No, miss, not you. It was my brother." After making the longest appology to the girl on the other end of the phone, Benji turned off the phone and set it on the counter. "Said it'd be here in about forty-five minutes."
"What kind of pizza?" Billy asked, not looking up from his game.
"One veggitarian and two pepperoni."
"Yuck." Alora said, under her breath with a discusted look on her face.
"What?" Billy asked.
"Veggitarian? How can you not eat meat? I mean pepperoni isn't like eating your dog or cat. It's eating an animal that is ment to be eaten." She looked at Billy. "Yet you do eat fish."
"Yeah, but that isn't meat."
Alora chuckled. "Yeah it is."
Everyone else nodded when Billy looked at them. Billy hung his head and continued to play Resident Evil.
The pizza arrived about an hour and a half later. Benji gave no tip. "Took him long enough." He said, setting the pizza's on the coffee table. He sat on the couch and opened the boxes. "At least we got what we ordered."
Alora looked at the time. "Hey, turn it to channel 36."
Paul turned the channel; the theme to 'Spongebob Squarepants' was playing. "You and your cartoons." He commented.
"Oh come on. I know for a fact that you all watch cartoons because of me." She smiled.
~
An hour later Billy and Paul went home. Joel was in the bathroom washing pizza sauce out of his hair, because of Paul. Benji was cleaning up pizza boxes and Alora was feeding Cash.
Joel came out of the bath room and shook his head, getting Alora all wet.
"Joel!"
Joel snickered and ran a hand through his wet hair, flicking more water at Alora. "You're a lot cuter when wet."
"I don't care." Alora said, smacking Joel's arm.
Joel grabbed his arm. "Ouch. That hurts. That cuts us deep."
Alora turned to him, a bit confused. "'us'? What? Are you Gollum now?" Joel just nodded, smiling.
Benji came in the front door, he was dripping. "It's still raining."
Alora bit her lip, but couldn't help herself. She had to say it. "Thank you captain obvious."
Benji looked at her. Water dripped from his chin. "No, that's Joel."
Joel looked up from rubbing his arm to make it red. "What?"
Alora sighed and hobbled over to the couch. She layed on the couch. Joel grinned, walked over to the couch and sat on Alora. Her eyes were closed. Joel smiled at her. "Comfy?"
She let out a sigh. "Remarkably so. I always wanted to say that." She pushed Joel off her and sat up.
"You are so weird." Joel said, pulling the hood over her head.
"Hey. Do I mess with your hood?"
Benji laughed. "You two are hopeless."
"Thank you." Alora smiled, her hood still over her eyes.
"You act like a twelve year old." Joel comented.
Alora pulled her hood off and looked at Joel. "I know. I never want to grow up." She told him, sounding serious.
"Why?" Benji asked, sitting next to her.
Alora looked at Benji. "Because I don't? I don't have a reason, I just don't wanna grow up. What fun is it?"
"None." Joel said. "Cause then you wouldn't hang with us."
"Exactly. You are all the reason I need not to grow up." Alora ran the fingers of her left hand along Joel's jaw line and leaned her head on Benji's shoulder. "But right now, get off the couch so I can sleep. It's after midnight."
Joel and Benji just sat there on the couch. Joel looked Alora in the eye. "You aren't sleeping on the couch. It's not even comfortable."
Benji sighed and padded off to his room. "G'night love birds."
Love birds was a joke since high school that had started with Alora smacking the foot ball players for attacking Joel with Ben Gay.
Alora crossed her arms. "Why can't I sleep on the couch?"
"I said so. Plus, I'm older."
"By thirteen days."
"Older is older. So go get in bed. I'll crash with Benj."
Alora sat back on the couch and just stared at Joel. Joel stood, picked up Alora and carried her to his room. He dropped her on the bed and went to his closet.
"You are so childish."
Joel threw a shirt at her. "You can wear this."
"I--" She tried to protest, but Joel was out the door. Alora shook her head slightly; She began playing with the dolphin ring Joel had given her in high school for her birthday. "I wish I could tell him." She said to herself, pulling off her shirt and putting on the one Joel threw at her.
Alora sighed sadly, looking at her ring one last time before turning out the lights.