The Invasion of Refuge

Chapter One:

She was in the middle of putting a cake into the oven when the doorbell rang. Sighing, she pushed it in and set the timer before rushing towards the front door, yanking it open. "Hello?" She vaguely recognized the tanned face as belonging to a friend of her brother's, so she opened the screen door and stepped aside to let him in.

"Is Danny home?" he asked, voice deep and gravelly, a teasing roll to his words indicative of a second language.

"No, he actually just left," Allie replied, scooping her messy blonde hair into an impromptu ponytail. "Alexa got the day off work and they're going to the movies. He left about fifteen minutes ago."

"Damnit," the boy- Steven, Allie remembered suddenly- swore. "We were supposed to go see the new Scary Movie. And he was my ride to practice, too." He checked his watch and swore again. "And now I can't get home."

"You're welcome to stay here," Allie offered. "I'm just baking and doing a couple loads of laundry. You can watch TV, use the computers, or play Danny's Xbox, whatever you want."

"Thank you," Steven said, "Are you sure you don't mind?"

She laughed. "So long as I get to watch Oprah at four, stay as long as you want."

"I might just have to take you up on that."

She began walking back to the kitchen, gesturing for him to follow her. "I take it you’re hungry? Danny's always hungry. I can make you some eggs, or French toast, or waffles, or even cereal if you want. Or I can heat up some leftovers from last night's dinner or something, if you want anything we have."

"I'm fine," he said, sitting at the bar of the kitchen peninsula. "So, I take it you like to bake?"

She glanced at the timer on the oven. "Yeah, I work in the kitchens at my school," she answered, pulling a plate from the microwave. "Do you want oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip cookies?"

"I'm fine, really," he said, smiling. She glared. "Oatmeal?"

"Good." She set the plate down in front of him, pouring a tall glass of milk. "I'll be right back." She ran out of the room and up the stairs to her room, where she glanced at herself in the mirror and stared in shock. Her hair was limp, bangs falling into her bright green eyes, but sugar highlighted the blonde curls. A wide streak of flour ran across the bridge of her nose and on her left cheek, caked along her black school sweatshirt and sweatpants. Wrinkling her nose, she grabbed a pair of long jeans and a nice brown shirt from a pile on the bed, quickly changing and then brushing out her hair to look semi-decent.

Back downstairs, Steven had figured out how to turn on the TV, and was watching the local news when the timer for the oven went off. He started for the stairs, and was about to yell for Danny's sister- what was her name again? - when she came hurrying down the stairs, carrying two large duffel bags.

"The timer…" he said weakly.

She went to check it, poking the contents- he couldn't see them- with a toothpick before resetting the timer. "A few more minutes," she murmured, as if to herself.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Just a few more minutes," she replied, picking up the duffel bags and carrying them out of the room. Within a few minutes, he heard her turn on what sounded like the washing machine, just as the timer rang again.

"Um," he started, unsure of what to say. "Excuse me? The timer went off again?"

"Thanks," she called back, emerging from the garage and hurrying to the oven, from which she withdrew a small bunt cake in a silver tin. "Cinnamon coffee cake," she declared, putting it on the stove and pouring him another glass of milk. "Eat more cookies, Steven, or I'll be forced to do something terribly mean."

"What?" he asked, slightly afraid of the strange glint in her eye.

"Not let you have any cake, duh," she said, smiling. She could see him try to say something. "What?"

"Well, uh… I mean, well… See, uh…" He gulped, nervous. "You know my name, but I don't remember yours," he said in a rush.

She smiled. "Don't worry, most people remember me only as Danny's sister. Allie," she said, "Allie Maryanne Benson."

"Antony Steven Arroyo," he said, holding out a hand. She shook it, laughing.

…

It wasn't until nearly one o'clock, when Steven had been there for four hours, that Danny had the nerve to call.

"Keiser residence," Allie said distractedly as the phone rang.

"Al, it's Danny," her twin said. "I'm with Alexa at the mall. Did my friend ever come over?"

"Yeah, he's here now," she replied. "D'you wanna talk?"

"Nah, just tell him I'll be home at three to take him to practice."

"Whatever," Allie said with a sigh. "Just make sure you're on time, Aunt Celia doesn't like when you come home late."

"I know, I know, but Alexa had a rare day off, and I never get to see her during the actual year," he protested. "If you had a boyfriend, you'd do the same thing."

"Thanks, thanks a lot," Allie said into the phone shortly. "Goodbye." She slammed it into its cradle, making Steven look up from the cooking show he watched, raising an eyebrow. "It's just Danny. He'll be home at three to take you to practice."

"Okay…" he said, but she had already left the room for the garage. He went back to his cooking show, but she reentered, carrying a large basket full of folded clean clothes.

"You hungry?" she asked by way of greeting.

"No, not really, but thank you," he said with a small smile as she brought him a plate of cookies. "Really, I'm not hungry. I just had lunch."

"It's a psychological thing, I always have to be feeding someone," Allie explained, "Just get used to it."

"I don't think I ever could," he admitted, and she laughed.

…

Allie was more than surprised to see Steven at the front door the next morning. "What are you doing here?" she asked, sharper than she meant to.

"My mom dropped me off again," he said, "She wants me to hang around with Danny for a few hours."

She opened the door with a sigh. "He's gone, about five minutes ago. He and Carson Vargas are out buying their coach from school a birthday present."

"Can I still stay here, then?" Steven asked, moving into the threshold of the door.

"Sure, come on in," Allie answered. "What do you want to eat?"

…

Allie hurried to the door as the bell rang incessantly Monday morning, laughing as she saw Steven in the doorway, holding a daisy and looking sheepish. "I missed your cookies," he professed, offering the flower to her.

"Come on in," she said, rolling her eyes. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes," he answered with a smirk. As she opened her mouth, he added, "Waffles, please."

"Good boy." She took the daisy, leading him to the kitchen, where he took his normal spot at the bar with the glass of milk already waiting. After two whole weeks of his being left at the house- either because of Danny or because he wanted to visit her- they had a routine already set.

Every morning, she would feed him and bake a cake or bread; they would watch Whose Line Is It Anyways? until one o'clock, when they would have lunch. If he had football practice, Steven would leave at three; if he didn't, Danny would drive him home between four and six, when Aunt Celia and Uncle Austin demanded their friends leave. And then the next morning, Allie would, once again, find Steven on the doorstep.

"How was your weekend?" he asked, turning on a tape of Whose Line.

"It was okay," she answered, pouring batter into a waffle press. "I started my homework, talked to my friend Lana… not too much. Mainly did homework; senior year at my school gives a ton of work."

"What school do you go to, anyways?" Steven asked. "I know you only live with your aunt and uncle during summers, but where do you live otherwise?"

"Danny and I go to a school out in Culver County, outside of Monterrey," she answered, "You probably haven't heard of it, Hamilton Institute?" His blank look answered her question. "I thought so."

"Monterrey, en México?" he asked.

"Monterrey, about seven hours from her," she replied, "Not too far from San Francisco."

"Fun," he said with a smirk.

"Loads." She served him his waffles, sitting on the barstool next to him to watch Whose Line.

…

After lunch, Steven and Allie sat on the sofa watching Monty Python, the latter working on a project for her yearbook class.

"Damn photog," she muttered in disgust, shiny silver iBook on her lap. "Can't even take a stupid picture."

"What?" Steven asked, turning away from the song at Camelot.

"Stupid photog can't even take a decent picture," she said, turning the laptop to him. "Look, she's not even in the center, and she's looking away. It's total crap."

"What's it for?"

"I'm the Photo Editor for the yearbook, and Jessie Martin emailed me the crappiest pictures ever of the new cheer captain," she explained. "Now I have to go and Photoshop everything out of it, and she'll still be looking away." She sighed, typing frantically into an email.

The phone rang, and Allie got up to answer it.

"Keiser residence, Allie speaking," she said.

"Hello, is Steven there?" an older woman asked.

"May I ask who is calling?"

"His mother."

"Of course, Mrs. Arroyo, he's right here."

Steven took the phone reluctantly, but Mrs. Arroyo was speaking so loudly, she could hear her halfway across the room.

"Hello, mother."

"Why are you at a girl's house? I thought I left you at a boy's."

"It's just Danny's sister," he explained. "He went outside to get the mail, and we're watching a show on the Discovery Channel about the life cycles of penguins. The baby penguins are just about to be born."

"Very well. I'll pick you up at three."

"Football practice lasts until five-thirty today; I'll just catch a ride with Danny or Andrew."

"If you're not home by six, I'll know you're with that girl again," Mrs. Arroyo spat before hanging up.

Steven returned to the phone to the cradle with a sigh. "Crazy mother?" Allie asked. He nodded. "I have one too."

"I doubt it," he said. "She thinks my hanging out with Danny is just a ploy to hang out with a girl."

"And isn't it?" Allie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Steven flushed, but continued, "She signs me up for football and basketball and baseball to keep me from turning gay, like my older brother Jake is. He's twenty-two, so he's out of the house, but when he was in high school, it was horrible. She refused to speak to him for nearly seven months straight. When my mom found out that I had a girlfriend for the first time, she upped and moved the whole family out of state to keep us apart. And now she's continuously suspicious that I'm lying to her about everything."

"Well, aren't you?" He looked at her in surprise, and Allie added, "You're telling her that you're hanging around with Danny, but really you're here with me."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Listen, I don't care. My family is even crazier," she said, closing her computer top. "My mom and dad were high school sweethearts, and Danny and I were born prom night of her junior year, his senior. Ashleigh dropped out of school, raising us, and David went to UCLA. She taught ballet at the local recreation center and worked nights as a waitress, and we lived with her parents until she married this guy Jimmy when we were three. Danny and I moved back with Nan and Pap on our sixth birthday, when they got divorced, and she married Robert when we were eight- divorced him at ten.

"That summer, we went to visit our Aunt Celia, and she decided we should go to Hammy's for fifth grade. Danny loved it, and I met my best friend Lana. We spent the summer here and Lana stayed for a week or so, and eventually convinced me to go back. I haven't seen Ashleigh since I was eleven, when she got married to Greg; she's currently engaged to her fifth husband. Because my aunt has full custody of us, I see David twice or three times a year for a weekend. He pays for my tuition, monthly allowance, and most of my air fares. Danny sees him for one weekend a year, and that's basically it."

"He really hates him, doesn't he?" asked Steven.

"Danny can't stand him," Allie said with a sigh, pushing away her computer. "He thinks he abandoned us, and he did, but his parents said they'd pay to put him through college. David says he wanted to go to school and get a good enough job so that he could marry Ashleigh and then support us, and the only way he could do that was to go to school first. He married Patty about a week after Ashleigh married Greg- on accident- and now they have two adorable kids, Sophia, four, and Grace, seven months."

Steven whistled lowly. "I give; your family is more messed up than mine."

She smirked, satisfied. "Told you."

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And thus ends the first chapter. To find out more, review!