A smile was still present on my face as Nathan led us back to his apartment, one arm around my waist and the other impressively carrying the countless shopping bags of mine, which I was certain weighed at least seventy pounds. I tried not to make it too obvious as I stared at his rippling muscles from under his thin shirt.

Today had been an interesting day, that was for sure.

We finally reached the door to his apartment and I started to open the door when I felt Nathan's hand slip around my wrist and stop me.

Oh great, another chance for him to leave me speechless and confuse my already polarizing emotions.

"I just wanna go in-" I started to say but was cut off when he pressed his hand to my mouth.

I glared at him, contemplating whether to bite his hand or lick it.

Before I could do either, he pointed to the floor in front of his apartment and I followed his finger, spotting a pair of black leather shoes that looked pretty expensive. I noticed they weren't that big, so it didn't take me long enough to guess that they were most likely Alvin's.

Short chipmunk...

He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "He's probably here to take you back down there for more questions. I'll be there right behind you again."

I shivered slightly at his proximity, except I told myself it was due to the cold draft in the hall were in and nodded my head.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever was to come.

As soon as we entered, Alvin began PMSing.

"Where the hell have you been!? Do you know how long I've been sitting here and waiting?" He yelled at us.

"Chill, you're not our mother to be yelling at us like that." I rolled my eyes and walked over to the kitchen.

"You shut up." He seethed, before turning his glare to Nathan. "We need to talk." He said in a low voice.

I grabbed a glass and filled it up with water, wondering if there was any popcorn around. This seemed to be heading towards a juicy argument.

"What's this all ab-" Nathan started, before getting cut off as his little brother ran in.

"Nathan! Luke!" He cried out, running over to us with an excited grin.

"How did he get home?" Nathan snapped at Alvin, his eyes instantly turning vicious towards the short man.

"It seemed like you and Skylar were a bit busy, so Uncle Ryland decided to save the day." He smiled a sinister smile at Nathan which made even my blood boil.

Nathan opened his mouth, looking as if he was about to go off on this man with his fists shaking in pure rage at his sides. Then he stopped as he turned to face Dustin to see his shocked and slightly frightened expression which he was making an adorable attempt at trying to mask.

Not wanting him to get more scared, I called his name and bent down with open arms.

He instantly ran my way and jumped into them as I lifted him up and spun us around in a circle. We both giggled as he momentarily forgot about the intense and unstable emotions in the room. My smile was genuine as I realized I had succeeded.

My eye even caught Nathan's as I saw him looking at the two of us with a small smile. His lips pulled up more as he shot me a grateful smile to which I simply winked at.

"Skylar, leave us and take the kid with you." Alvin sharply interrupted, killing our innocent laughter in an instant.

I glared at the deranged awful man, about to tell him to piss him off except Nathan shot me a look which advised me strongly not to.

I slowly closed my mouth and turned around, walking to Dustin's room. "Let's go build a castle!" I exclaimed as we reached the end of the hall.

Dustin just shook his head in an apparent no.

It was certainly worth a try.

I shut the door behind me and turned to the kid.

"Okay fine, what if we build a Star Wars cas--" I cut myself off as I stared at him in confusion. "Hey, what are you doing?"

I watched as he pulled out two tall empty glasses from under his bed and handed one to me, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Don't you want to hear what they're talking about?" He asked me with a mischievous smirk. So much like his older brother's...

I just stared at him, debating whether to encourage the kid on being a bad-ass spy, or to give him a big lecture on morals.

Why was I even contemplating it? I was kidnapped and had a little kid as the only honest and drama-less friend. "Okay." I grinned. "What if we get caught?" I asked, looking to the small kid expectantly.

"I've never been caught before, I'm really good don't worry." He said in all seriousness.

I held back my laugh and nodded instead, showing just as much seriousness.

"Here." He handed me the glass for the second time and I took it.

I copied him as he held it against the wall, since the living room was just on the other side. He pressed his ear to it and so did I.

At first I heard nothing, thinking I was stupid enough to believe a little kid, but immediately after found myself silently apologizing for underestimating him. I could hear every single movement happening on the other side with such clarity.

"I can't just leave them! What about Dustin?" I heard Nathan say in a panicked but hushed tone.

My spy and I glanced at each other as we heard his name.

"He has the girl." I heard Alvin squeak.

"She'll escape." He argued back.

"I'll have security guarding every door." Alvin retorted.

There was silence. I could picture Nathan silently debating over whatever decision Alvin was coercing him into.

"Plus, she's been asking about you more frequently." I heard Alvin add.

"Fine." He bit out after a long pause.

I heard some shuffling, then the front door opening. "Be down in ten minutes. Make sure to hide any sharp objects before you leave. We don't want her hurting herself and making stupid decisions." Alvin ordered.

I was smart enough to know they were speaking of me and I angrily huffed. Dustin did the same, causing a small smile to take place on my lips.

At least someone was on my side.

I heard the door slam shut, then footsteps.

I stared at Dustin with wide eyes and he quickly took the two glasses and hid them under his bed again.

Bless this kid's stealth skills. He would go a long way with those...

I jumped onto his bed as we heard the footsteps closing in, sprawling myself over it and doing my best to try to look natural.

The door opened and I saw Nathan step in, stopping in his tracks as he looked between Dustin, who was currently sprawled out on the floor trying to copy me, and me, doing the same thing except I made it look ten times more unnatural.

He rolled his eyes at us then entered fully.

"Skylar, I need to talk to you in the other room." He said, gesturing out the door.

I saw Dustin about to argue, but shot him a look to stay silent.

I nodded and got up off of the bed, walking over to Dustin who was now in a sitting position and whispered in his ear. "I'll tell you everything he tells me when we're done, Sargent Delta."

I stood back and he grinned up at me, quickly wiping it off after and nodding, doing his best to hold a stern, tough face. My heart melted even more.

I turned and followed Nathan now, who was currently giving me a questioning look.

"What was that all about?" He asked once we stepped outside the room, showing a small smile. I followed him to his own room now.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you." I said mischievously.

He just studied me, before sighing and choosing to drop it.

Smart boy.

"So what do you need to tell me?" I asked innocently as I sat at the edge of his comfy bed.

He closed the door then turned to me. "I'm going away for two days." He started. "Something came up-"

Or someone I thought, remembering Alvin's words: 'she's been asking about you'.

Was it his secret girlfriend?

"and I need to leave immediately. I need you to look after Dustin. Can you do that?" He asked.

"Sure!" I said in a cheery tone.

He looked relieved and astounded at the same time, certainly not expecting me to easily agree.

Well, at least he was correct on that.

"After you tell me why, what is that something that came up, and if Alvin will be staying back?" I let the questions pour out casually, giving him a sweet smile.

He simply let out an exaggeratedly long sigh. "I need to see someone. I can't tell you who or why. It's very important to me and I'm sorry for leaving so fast, but I promise to be back as soon as I can. And don't worry about Alvin, he'll be going with me." He cryptically answered.

I debated on whether I should shoot my next line of questions, or appreciate the little that he did tell me and drop it.

"And you trust me to not run away?" I asked instead with a raised brow.

"No, I'm not that stupid." He rolled his eyes, causing me to glare at him. "You couldn't, even if you tried." He added with a shrug.

"Whatever. I'm not mean enough to leave a baby behind all on his own." I crossed my arms defensively.

"He's eight." He countered.

"Whatever!" I said loudly.

He just laughed at that. "I need to go and pack my stuff." He said, gesturing me to leave.

"Alright, but you're telling me everything when you come back in a non-cryptic way." I added nonchalantly.

He simply smiled at me, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Yes mother."

"Now go and pack, you'll be late." I ordered, turning back around to walk out.

"You really are starting to act like a mother." He muttered.

I turned back and stuck out my tongue at him, before running out his door and slamming it shut behind me.

"Loser." He yelled out and chuckled.

I ignored him and skipped to Dustin's room.

"So, what did he say?" He asked me with big eyes the second I walked in.

"He's going away for two days, which means we can have an awesome party alone and watch movies and build tents!" I explained excitedly, breaking the sad news to him in the best possible way.

Although I felt slightly chapped to say the least, I was really looking forward to the next two days where I could dump out all my responsibilities and weights and act like Dustin's age without anyone trying to stop me.

I was still undeniably curious about whoever it was that Nathan was leaving to go see, but I had no right to get protective. Over my kidnapper for God's sake... Plus, I trusted him to tell me the entire story upon his return, and I strongly believed that the story would be worth it.

"Just the two of us?" Dustin asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, just the two of us." I said mischievously.

He grinned back and started jumping on his bed.

"We're gonna have so much fun! And play games like hide-n-go-seek and watch movies and make s'mores and build forts and drink lots of apple juice and and-" he started rambling on excitedly.

"I'm leaving now." We both snapped our heads to the doorway, where Nathan was standing with a black duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

Wow, he was a fast packer.

"We're coming." Dustin said. "Just give us a minute."

I held back a laugh.

He stared at me oddly, glancing between the two of us curiously, before sighing and going to the door.

"You didn't tell me everything." He turned to me with his small arms crossed.

"He said he's going because something came up, and he'll tell me when he gets back." I explained to him.

He nodded, looking more than satisfied with the juicy information he had just discovered.

I followed him out the door shaking my head. He was a smart and stealthy boy. I could definitely see him becoming an agent for the CSI.

We met Nathan at the front door who bent down to give Dustin a hug.

"You behave alright? I'll see you soon little man." He said, ruffling his hair up.

Dustin giggled and nodded, doing the same to his older brother.

I watched in admiration at the two brothers grabbing at each others hair, until Nathan finally stood up and took a step towards me.

"Have a good trip." I said, giving him a small smile.

He nodded and we both just awkwardly stood there, before Dustin broke the tension.

"Well? Aren't you gonna give her a hug too?" He scolded his older brother.

We both laughed at that adorable kid.

Nathan turned to me and smiled, taking small steps towards me until we were about two inches apart.

"Take care of him." He said quietly.

I nodded. "You take care of yourself." I said back.

He smiled at me. "See you in two days."

"I'll be counting." I said back, surprising myself.

He then finally put his arms around my waist and pulled me into a hug.

My arms went up to wrap around his shoulders and we held onto each other tightly, our bodies crushing together.

He finally let go before Dustin could say anything and leaned in to place a soft kiss on my cheek, dangerously close to my mouth.

It made my heart do weird things.

"Have fun and don't drink too much apple juice." He said in a playful but slightly strict tone, opening the door now. "That goes for you too Sky." He added, giving me a playful look.

I rolled my eyes, putting a hand on my hip. "Goodbye Nathan." I said for the last time with a small smile.

He gave us one last parting look, before turning around and walking down the hall.

I closed the door and leaned against it, brushing my fingers on the spot where he had kissed me.

"Are you in love with my brother?" Dustin asked me, causing me to snap my head to him and my eyes to widen.

"No!" I said quickly, my cheeks heating up now.

He just smiled evilly, before skipping away.

"Where are you going?" I called out, slightly worried.

It was my first time watching over a little kid and I had to be extra safe. Even if we were to have a fun time, I still needed to take good care of him.

"You don't need to know." He said defensively.

"Yes I do, I'm in charge now." I crossed my arms.

He just sighed at me. "Fine, I have to go pee-pee." He said quietly, a small blush covering his soft cheeks.

I suddenly felt bad for grilling the kid and causing him to become embarrassed.

"Okay, go on and pee." I said, waving my hand.

He rolled his eyes, shocking me that an eight year old could do that. He probably learned from his brother.

As he ran off to the washroom, I collapsed on the couch and didn't plan on getting up at all unless I had to make food for Dustin.

I grabbed the remote and got all excited as I saw they were playing She's The Man. I loved this movie.

Just as the first scene rolled in, there was a loud knock at the door.

Thinking it couldn't possibly be anyone else, I opened the door expecting Nathan. He probably forgot his toothbrush or something.

"What did you for--" I cut myself off as I stared at the tall, blonde-haired and blue-eyed cutie standing at the door with a confused expression.

"Who are you?" I asked slowly. He looked strangely familiar, but I couldn't exactly tell why.

"I live here." He stated in a duh tone. "Who are you?" He asked as he stared me down.

"You live here!?" I exclaimed. "Nathan never mentioned a roommate..." I trailed off. I'd make sure he would pay for this when he came back.

"I'm his older brother, not his roommate." He chuckled slightly, oblivious of his statement having caused my brain to freeze.

How many siblings did he have and why the hell didn't he tell me these things!?

"So who are you?" He repeated his question.

"I'm Skylar, your brother..." I trailed off, thinking maybe it wouldn't be the smartest idea to tell him I had been kidnapped... If Dustin didn't know, then maybe he didn't either. Maybe he could hear me out and agree to let me leave... His brothers were both here and safe, and I had to be stuck here as well babysitting the both of them now, when I could be back home decorating the place for Christmas.

"I was kidnapped by your brother Nathan!" I exclaimed.

"Is that supposed to be sexual?" He replied flatly, looking slightly disgusted.

"What? No! What's wrong with you? I'm serious!" I rushed out.

"Yeah, okay, sure." He sighed and decided to play along.

He didn't believe me! I glared at him in pure anger.

Maybe the reason he didn't believe me was because he'd known his brother longer than he had known me and would obviously take his side.

"Well, if you don't believe me then why don't you give him a quick call. You just missed him on his way out." I countered, thinking strategically now.

If I could get him to confirm whether there was service out here or not, my next step was simple: call my brother and ask for a ride home.

The blonde guy simply scoffed. "I'd love to, if there was any service in this weird old building." He frowned.

No!

"Well I'm sure you could step outside to call him and we can all get this dealt with." I gave him a plastic smile.

He just sighed. "Nathan didn't tell you? The cell towers around here were vandalized and damaged. They've been working on replacing them but who knows how long that will take since this building's the only building around this deserted-ass place and no one really seems to give a fuck about no reception in this building. Plus I'd have to drive twenty minutes back into the city to call him which I refuse to do."

Seems like the chipmunk had scattered up some towers and nibbled away at the wires...

"Well how come he never told me you were coming?" I sighed in defeat, running a hand through my hair in frustration.

"I wasn't supposed to come back until another week or so, but I got let out early, so I thought I'd come give him an early Christmas surprise." He shrugged, looking around the hallway in boredom.

"Got let out earlier from where?" I continued to grill him regardless.

He sighed and looked at the ceiling in exasperation. "University. Now can I please enter my own home without being interrogated by a complete stranger?" He asked, looking at me with exhaustion in his eyes. There were slight bags under his eyes as well and he looked like he was barely holding onto his last strand of patience.

"Your brother kidnapped me." I spoke weakly in one last-ditch attempt.

"My brother's a stock broker." He replied flatly, causing me to burst out laughing in disbelief, irony, and helplessness.

Seriously? A stock broker? Out of all the cover-up stories he could have chosen from, he went for a stock broker?

And his brother believed him.

I was doomed.

I kept laughing as I opened the door fully now and stepped aside, walking back into the house.

I heard his brother mutter something along the lines of 'crazy new girlfriend' under his breath but truly didn't care.

"Where's Nathan?" He asked after walking into the empty living room.

"Oh, about that..." I said, not knowing if I should tell him that he suspiciously left with some mob boss to go see a potential secret lover for two days, or to just play dumb.

"He went to get organic eggs from a farm and hasn't been back for three days, please call help." I said in a monotonous voice.

He simply raised a brow at me, before walking off to Nathan's bedroom.

I started following behind reluctantly. Now I'm kidnapped by my kidnapper's oblivious college-student brother. My situation just couldn't have gotten any more exasperating.

"Where are my brothers?" He repeated, coming out of Nathan's empty room and standing in front of me now.

"Well you see, he had to go and like leave for two days because something came up... He didn't tell me anything else." I confessed, sighing in defeat. What was the point, I wasn't really on anyone's side and shouldn't be defending anyone.

He just stared at me for a few minutes, inspecting my face quietly. "Then where's Dustin?" He asked now.

I immensely did not appreciate the interrogation taking place.

Then again, I was a stranger in his house that he had never seen and I could be a sexy criminal that steals Nutella jars and dogs for all he knew.

"Oh he's just--" I was cut off by a door slamming open and little footsteps rushing towards us.

"Max!" Dustin revealed his name, launching himself onto his older brother.

They both hugged each other tightly, Dustin giggling in excitement.

"How's my favorite power-ranger?" He asked, grinning down at him, all the exhaustion and annoyance vanishing his expression as he instantly loosened up at the sight of his younger brother.

"Good! I made a new friend!" He exclaimed, bouncing in front of him.

"Really?" His older brother asked curiously. "And who's that?"

"Luke Skywalker!" He yelled, pointing at me as I face palmed.

"Your name's Luke?" He asked, his face in disbelief.

I rolled my eyes. "It's Skylar." I corrected.

He just gave me another confused look.

"He nicknamed me because people call me Sky." I explained, answering his unspoken question.

"Right." He said.

"Well... I'll just get back to my movie now." I muttered awkwardly, before turning away and rushing back to the couch, hoping I hadn't missed too much of Amanda Bynes.

I was surprised when the two boys that I'd have to babysit came to join me and watch the movie after a few minutes.

We all watched the movie in silence, except at some points I'd burst out laughing but would quickly stop when Max shot me odd looks...

The credits rolled in and I just sat and stared at the black screen with a small smile. Man I loved that movie.

"LS!" Dustin called, once the credits rolled in. I had to say, that kid was incredible for sitting through a whole movie without action and managing to watch it quietly.

"Yes?" I asked, turning to him.

"I'm hungry." He said, slightly frowning.

"I'll go make some-" I started, moving to get up.

"It's fine I got it." Max cut me off as he got up and walked away to the kitchen.

I suddenly panicked as I thought of all the ways he could kill us by burning down the whole building and stood up to stop him, but Dustin grabbed my arm with his small hand.

"Max is a really good cook." He told me, somehow sensing my worry.

I stared at the kid in amazement. How he had sensed my panic of him burning down the kitchen, I had no idea...

"That's really good." I smiled, my tense shoulders relaxing instantly.

We sat back down on the couch and watched Spongebob until the food was ready.

I thought back to Nathan. He was a pretty complicated and intriguing boy. A bad ass, dark, crazy but passionate and caring guy. And it bothered me deeply as I couldn't get those striking emerald green eyes out of my mind.

________________________________________________________________

A/N

CHECK OUT THE GORG BANNER BY @Daretodreamagain ITS SO CUTE AND SUMMERY AND DAISIES AND SHIP I LOVE IT

Hi... Heh...so... How's it going..?

Why's my story #1 in romance..? Please explain how this happened cuz I am in complete shock and confusion but all I know is it was because of you. Yes you, sitting there reading this A/N and supporting me throughout by reading, commenting and voting.

I love every one of you and I am SO HAPPY that you all like my story, it makes my dayS ! Yes days cuz my inbox is overflowing with comments that I still need to read and I love you so much like please I need to meet you so I can tell you in person and then give you a big hug if that's not too creepy..?

I know I know, I said I'd update Friday and I'm sorry, it's just that HOT DAMN it was so hot outside and a nice day to go out and play and the sprinkler and trampoline were just screaming at me and I kinda spent the whole day acting like a kid with my little cousin outside and so.. I kinda ran out of time but I worked on it as much as I could and so HERE IT IS

I hope you liked the big SHOCKER !

AnyRAYS

I'm gonna go eat everything good and sugary right now so goodbye !

OH I started a new thing, every time I'm gonna give you guys something to do or say, and you have to tell me about it in the comments and I'll shoutout whoever had the most interesting comment o_O so below I wrote your fist dare, hehehe. I put three stars beside in case you don't know what I'm talking about like most of my friends :/

Comment, vote, read on and ***go ask any random person, 'Where them chipmunks at?'

LOVE YOU TO DEATH BYE

~Ghostface