Firefly *Chapter 3*

"Are you okay, Angie? Something wrong?" Michael's blue-black eyes cast a worried gaze in my direction.1

I forced my face into a smile. "No, nothing."2

Michael continued to sneak little glances at me, until I shot him an irritated glare. "Michael, focus on the road," I snapped. "If you get us into an accident, I'm not talking to you for a week." I pressed my forehead against the window, my expression slipping into a little frown. The scenery, already bleary because of the falling sheets of rain, blurred even more as our little old truck rumbled down the highway.3

"Yes, ma'am..." Michael said sarcastically. "I thought I was supposed to be the parent here." He pouted childishly. With the sort of skill that took years of experience, he guided the truck off the highway and onto the little road that lead to our house, keeping his eyes on me the entire time.4

I couldn't help cracking a little smile. "Well, you thought wrong. If you want to be the parent, you have to act like the adult, and that means- Michael! Don't hit the deer!" I screeched suddenly.5

Michael slammed his foot down, hard. The brakes let out a squeal, complaining as they forced the truck to a halt. Said deer glanced at us almost lazily before scampering off to the side of the street.6

I blinked a few times. "How did you ever pass your driving test?"7

Michael let out a sigh of relief. He smiled tiredly, reaching over to tousle my hair.8

"Next time I'll have Jake come pick me up," I said, blowing a few strands of bronze hair out of my eyes.9

We pulled up in front of the house and I sprang out of the truck, running for the shelter of the porch. The rain was still pelting down, soaking me to the skin before I could make it to the house.10

I opened the door, breathing in deeply. The foyer in our house always smelled like some kind of fruit. Today it smelled faintly of lemons. I ran to the kitchen immediately. "I knew you'd be in here, Jake."11

"Hm?" Jake was trying to stuff half of a sandwich in his mouth when I walked in.12

I poked him in the stomach. "Fatty," I said, grinning. Jake wasn't actually fat, but Michael secretly feared that Jake would one day eat him out of house and home, literally. Jake's stomach was like a bottomless pit.13

Jake gulped down the remainder of his snack then said, "Whatever, brat. How was school?" The smile vanished from my face. "Hey... Angie? You in there?"14

"Jake," I started hesitantly. "Do you... know of a boy named Devlin Calloway?"15

"Mm... Oh. Yeah, yeah... I know him. He joined Dad's karate dojo around the time I got my green belt. I think he was ten at the time... Hang on a second..." Jake went to the living room, grabbing a picture frame. "See? There he is, the little one right there." Michael had his arm around a small black-haired boy. Devlin was staring at him in wide-eyed admiration. I got the feeling that he wasn't as cold back then.16

"Really? So is he still with the dojo?"17

"He still stops by sometimes to work out. Why do you..." A grin spread over his face. "Oh, I get it." Jake stood up, then sprinted upstairs to Michael's room. "Dad, Angie's got a boyfriend!"18

I slapped my forehead. "Jake, you idiot! He's not my boyfriend!"19

Why did everyone get the idea that I liked Devlin?