Head Games
A short story from Legacy (read here on FPC)

I never really considered Rika my sister. I mean, we had the same mother and all, but our relationship never really spoke of 'siblings'. I could walk around her apartment in my boxers, she could steal the controller from me, and we'd argue our differences to the sun and back like every other brother and sister - but I could never see myself introducing her as such. She was always my friend, first and foremost in my mind. Somewhere friend and family had gotten blurred into one big ball, and we just...were there. I love her to death but I would never confess to it in a million years, but I would admit that I've entertained the thought of killing her several times.

One of those moments came while we were having lunch together. Luke was off writing his next piece, an excuse that came up a lot. I think he knew and respected the interesting relationship Rika and I had and encouraged these outings frequently, yet skipped them himself with various excuses about work. I could thank him and curse him seven ways to Sunday about it in the same breath, the latter of which I was engaging in while I stabbed at the slab of ham on my plate.

"I'm serious, Devon," Rika insisted, pointing her forkful of salad at me to add emphasis. "She likes you. I can feel it."

I snorted and fought against the blush that threatened to claim my face. I swear I had never told Rika about the attraction I had to Nen, but the little sucker must have figured it out. "Lose it, Rika," I ordered. "We're friends. Just friends."

A grin stole across Rika's face as she chewed her leafy greens and I realized how - bitter - my reply sounded. Okay, so I've never told her that I liked Nen, but I supposed it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

"Dev, who else does she let touch her car?"

"That doesn't mean a thing," I retorted firmly. "I'm a mechanic. Who else would she let touch her precious baby?" Actually, I had helped her find the sixty-six Corvette. Some woman had been selling it, not even knowing that 'hunk of junk sitting for thirty years' was a classic collector's item. It was a far sight nicer than any of the cars the rest of us owned, but needed to be completely rebuilt. We all knew Luke would foot the bill for his last living relative in a heartbeat - well, he would for any of us - but she insisted on doing it herself.

"You're in denial," Rika stated plainly.

"I am not," I defended hotly. "What would Luke think if he knew you were talking about his baby cousin like this?"

Rika wasn't helping me change the switch track for the conversation's train. "She. Likes. You."

"Leave me out of your sick fantasies," I snapped, shoving a piece of ham a bit larger than I could properly chew into my mouth.

"You mean, yours."

I was to that point in the conversation where I would tell her to change the topic or get a new lunch partner, something threatened at every meal by one of us, when her eyes looked over my shoulder. I turned slightly to see Nen standing in the doorway, her blue eyes scanning the diners.

"Tongue back in mouth, Devon," Rika said in a honey-sweetened voice as Nen's eyes landed on us and with a smile and wave, started over.

"Shut up, Rika," I managed just as sweet and sing-song as she, although through gritted teeth imitating a smile. She snickered, and I wondered for a moment if she was some sort of closet sadist.

"Hey Nen," Rika greeted as she arrived at our table. I pulled out a chair for her to sit down, which she took. "You don't often make it to lunch." That statement let me know the little snipe had planned it.

"I knew you two would be here, and I was hoping to see you."

Rika shot me a look that was supposed to be meaningful as the waitress came and took Nen's order. I pretended to be absorbed in the scrambled eggs and bacon still on my plate.

"Why's that?" Rika asked graciously, and I wanted to call her a faker to her face.

"It's already dead Devon. There's no point in playing with it," Nen teased, and stole a piece of bacon from my plate.

I ignored Rika's patented 'meaningful' look while defending the remains of my lunch. "Back off or be skewered," I threatened, brandishing my fork. She laughed, not a really girlish giggle but not a chuckle either, just a short sweet laugh that matched her personality and happy-go-lucky demeanor perfectly.

"So Nen," Rika interjected. "You didn't say what you were looking for us for."

Nen was still chewing my piece of bacon as she shrugged and said, "Actually, I was looking for Devon."

"Oh?" Rika asked. I didn't want to sound like a parrot, and Rika had already stolen the only thing I could thing of, so I just sat there looking expectant.

Keeping in mind that Rika's suggestions had posioned my way of thinking, Nen asked, "Are you free Friday night?"

I was pretty sure my heart stopped dead in my chest, cause my mouth did too and I started to choke on some eggs. I discreetly hid it by drinking soda.

"Devon was just telling me he didn't have any plans," Rika supplied, quite helpfully, the little snitch.

"That's great!" Nen's smile almost fell off her face, and the waitress came at that moment. While she was distracted accepting her food, I kicked Rika under the table. She didn't even wince, just kept grinning a mile wide.

"Okay?" Nen looked at me, and I realized I had missed something.

"Er, what?" I asked, somewhat lamely.

"I said," she spoke deliberately, like speaking to someone slow, "Is seven all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine," I made out, suddenly not sure what was going on. I always thought Nen to be the kind to bend gender roles a bit as she was a pretty stubborn female, but wasn't quite sure she was so bold as to ask for...heck, I don't know. I was so lost I couldn't have found my way out of a paper bag.

"Great!" Nen beamed, and started to eat her lunch. Rika was trying so hard not to laugh that she about choked to death on her soda. I almost wished she would and save me the trouble.

I blame the entire mess on her. If she hadn't been sitting right there, I probably would have pressed Nen for more details and not totally misinterpreted the whole conversation. But as Rika was already laughing her head off at me, I didn't want to entertain her further by asking for clarification, and let the conversation drift to Luke's tour coming up.

Which is why on Friday at seven, I stood in Nen's doorway in my best semi-casual button up and slacks while she was in grungy jeans and shirt, covered in motor oil and holding a partially disassembled carburetor.

"Devon?" she asked curiously. "That's not something I would wear while repairing an engine."

Well, it was a miracle I didn't explode in the best scenario of human combustion ever witnessed. But it's a bigger miracle I got my brain and mouth functioning enough to haul myself out of the fire as fast as I did.

"I just stopped to tell you I'm running a bit late. Just got out of a meeting," I lied. My mouth works on autopilot sometimes, and I hoped Nen wouldn't realize the gaping flaw in logic that mechanics don't really having meetings.

"Oh," she said, looking a bit puzzled still. I kept backpeddling, hoping she wouldn't have time to think it out.

"I just need to run home to change," I added quickly.

"But you must be tired if you just got out of work. If you want to wait for another day-" she started, wiping one hand off on her jeans. It's amazing she looks good in grease and paint stained rags. Girls don't seem to get that some 'dirty' looks are attractive.

"No, no. I'm fine. I'll be right back." I fished my car keys from my pocket and headed down the apartment steps.

"Do you want me to order a pizza?" she asked. "It should be here by the time you get back."

"Yeah, sounds great!" I called back, and got in the car before she could even ask what toppings I wanted. I was rather proud I pulled away from her curb without burning rubber. As soon as I was out of sight of her apartment, I dug out my cell phone and dialed Rika. As luck would have it, the answering machine picked up.

"You're a sick, sad little sadist," I snapped. "If you don't stop these head games of yours and get some serious therapy, I'm never having lunch with you - much less speak to you - ever again." That didn't seem strong enough for my feelings, so I suggested she eat something explicit and die before hanging up and throwing the phone onto the floor mat.

I couldn't believe what a fool I had just made of myself. Nen probably didn't realize it at all, but I did. I had let Rika's teasings get into my head and mess with the longing. The next time we saw one another, I planned to set her straight or never see her again. Forget family ties. Sure, she could laugh herself silly about it, but to me it was just...painful.

I got home and slammed both the front door and my bedroom door, before sitting on the bed and burying my steaming face into my hands.

"Nen is just my friend," I instructed myself. "Just a friend. She's not interested in me. Rika is a jerk." How did that get in there? "Just a friend."

I finally managed to stand up with dry eyes and dignity salvaged, and quickly redressed in my usual worn and torn jeans, battered sneakers, and T-shirt that said 'Keep watching. It gets worse.' I looked at myself in the mirror, and mussed up my hair a bit. I looked like myself again.

I splashed some water on my face in the bathroom, and dried off with the hem of my shirt. I headed back out to the car and to Nen's place, thinking about how to erase the whole event. No one else knew, and Nen wouldn't suspect anything if I was collected by the time I got back. Given enough time, I could probably explain away the message I left on Rika's voice mail. She was always doing weird things to me, and something like that was a bit harsh but not completely straying from the norm.

By the time I knocked on Nen's door a second time, I felt back to normal too. She called for me to come in, and I opened the door to find her setting out napkins and favorite sodas.

"Get lost?" she teased mildly.

"Nah," I grinned, shutting the door behind me.

"I got a bacon, sausage, and pepperoni," she stated, motioning to the pizza box on the table. I grinned, glad she and I shared the same cravings for meat. We sat down and had a decent meal, as she told me the progress she had made on the engine. We had already rewired and replaced most of the electric systems and fixed the body. I had tried to explain to Rika about gears, and she just covered her ears and told me to save my babblings for Nen.

So for the next few hours, I worked side by side with Nen trying to rebuild an engine decades old. It's like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle...with half the pieces missing and the rest rotting. We had finally ordered all the parts - or at least most of them. Nen surprised me at several turns with her knowledge of engines, having steadily grown over the past few weeks. We talked about anything that came up - the engine, work, music, Luke, books.

Several hours later after the sun had sunk, Nen's arms limp with fatigue, she announced, "I think we need to quit for tonight."

"Now?" I asked, glancing at the engine. We were so far, and stopping now seemed like an injustice. We would just have to get out all the tools and start again, and it took so much time to get the ball rolling again. "But we're so close-"

"Devon," she chuckled, looking at me with a grease smear across her cheek and nose. "It's past midnight."

I jerked up, and almost hit my head of the inside of the hood of the car. "Really?" I looked at her, apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you up so late."

She raised an eyebrow. "You seem more obsessed with my car than I am."

"Well, I mean...it's a classic." I looked at the engine, built enough to actually look something like an engine.

"Come on." She smacked my shoulder, and I couldn't help but rub it. Cute, small...lethal. "Let's clean up."

I gathered the left over parts, tucked them back into boxes, and piled them into the backseat while she gathered up the tools and hosed down the driveway to get rid of the gunk we knocked loose. She finished before me, but waited until I finished and we headed inside to share her sink and soap.

"Another good afternoon and we'll have the main engine done," I stated. "Couple of checks and hosing replacements and we should be ready to get a paint job."

"I'm not sure what color I want," she replied, and then squeezed her hands and bubbles burst out. She grinned wide.

"How about red?" I suggested.

"Red?" she wrinkled her nose, and then handed me a towel. "Don't you think that's kinda...flashy?"

"Well, we'll see." I wiped my hands and arms off, and made a half-hearted attempt at cleaning my face up.

"You really think one more afternoon?" she asked suddenly.

"For the engine."

"I'd like to get it done." She tossed the towel onto the counter and stretched out her shoulders. I found my keys on her table and started for the door.

"What do you say about tomorrow?" I asked, intent on getting that engine finished as soon as possible to make her smile.

"Sounds great," she grinned at me, dimpling at the corners of her mouth. I started to open the door, but she put her hand on it to hold it close. I looked at her, about to ask what she wanted, when she hesitantly asked, "Don't...don't I get a kiss?"

I almost asked her to repeat that, I couldn't believe what she said. Instead came out some weird sound neither of us could identify. She was steadily getting redder across her cheeks.

"Isn't that what people do after a date?"

Still in shock and half-denial that this moment was happening, I looked at the two of us covered in oil and grease. "You call this a date?"

"Yeah. Two people doing what they like together." I had to admit, it matched the description. We both stood stock-still for a moment, and I'm sure my blush was only rivaled by Nen's which was now creeping outward from her cheeks. One of the more awkward moments in my life.

Finally I gathered what amount of wits I had left about me, and responded to her original question, "I don't kiss on the first date, Nen."

Her face brightened a bit, and she asked, "Do you kiss on the second?"

"I...don't know." Well, if this conversation got any more awkward, I'd have to call somebody about my face being permanently red.

"Were you serious about tomorrow?"

I nodded, suddenly glad I had made the offer before realizing what she was thinking. I probably would have stuttered or something equally mortifying.

"Then it's a date," she smiled up at me, and finally released the door. She hesitated, and finally said, "Goodnight."

"Night," I echoed vaguely as I let myself out and shut the door. I was lost in a stupor about what had just happened, running it through my mind over and over again. When I got to the car I was surprised I had even found it. I glanced up at Nen's apartment as I unlocked the door, and saw her in the window holding something in her hand. She waved, and I waved back - feeling a bit like an idiot but happy all the same.

I fairly sank into my seat, and my euphoria only grew as I pulled away. Still in disbelief and joy, I spotted my cell phone on the floor and remembered that call I had made to Rika. I fetched the phone and hit autodial.

After the third ring, it picked up. "Should I be afraid to talk to you?" Luke's voice asked in an amused tone. He must have heard my message eariler and checked the caller ID before picking up.

"Why are you on Rika's phone?" I demanded.

"She's in the shower. Can I take a message?" I could literally hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yeah. Tell her...tell her being right doesn't make her any less of a jerk."

"Alright, Devon."

"Say it just like that," I added, realizing that it might come off a bit...ugly if said wrong.

"Devon," Luke sighed. "I won't even pretend to understand the strange communications you and Rika have. After all, only you can leave a message suggesting that she eat feces and die, and make her grin like a loon."

"Well be sure to tell her in my exact tone," I stated.

"Right. I'll tell her Devon says 'being right doesn't make you any less of a jerk'." he did a fair imitation of my voice. "And Nen says 'if you gloat about being right I'll break you nose'." I froze as he imitated Nen's voice. "Goodnight Devon."

He hung up before I could respond. I sat in stunned silence for a moment, before smiling and shutting the phone. I made up my mind about kissing on a second date.