The Klein family wasn't special by any means, but they weren't normal by any means. It started a year ago when a man named Jeffery Klein met Liz Archer. Jeffery was an architect, and a rather good one, whose credentials were nothing short than stellar. He was a Yale graduate and a member of the predominant Skull and Bones Society. Yes, Jeffery was supposed to be a mover and a shaker in the world, and that is exactly what he did. He graduated and quickly became an intern with a well-known architecture company. He worked hard and provided well for him, his wife, and his son Benjamin. However, Benjamin wasn't the son of Liz Archer, rather a stepson. His mother had left 5 years ago, and while she kept in contact with her son periodically, she rarely made the effort to go beyond the bi-monthly phone call.

Liz Archer was another blessed soul in this world, born the daughter of a respected businessman and CEO. She was a Dartmouth alumnus, having a degree in Fine Arts. She spent her days as an appraiser at an art gallery. People came in all day to find out if their works had any value, and she was paid handsomely for it. Ms. Archer was also had a child, and also it was not from her current spouse, but from a combination of alcohol, a party celebrating her promotion to the high-class gallery she works in now, and a very handsome young artist. She had a child, and did not know the father, but raised Elizabeth herself.

The two met one day as Jeffery was giving the details of the new classy penthouses he was designing, and Liz just happened to be the one he hired to find acceptable artwork. They immediately took a liking to each other, and 8 months later they were married, turning their high-school senior children into siblings.

Our story begins 4 months after that, with the divorce.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm clock went off at 6 in the morning like every morning, save for weekends. The youth that was Ben Klein, his parents were the only ones who used his full name and only when he was in trouble, awoke with a start.

Ben thanked God silently that he only had one more year of this torture to go through until college as he slid the dark red comforter off of him and silenced the box window fan that was blowing cool September air into his room. Ben got up and stretched his frame, which was healthy due to his love of running around the hills of his home in the hills of New York. He looked at himself in his boxers, running a hand through his messy brown hair, which was very easy on the eyes when accompanied with his hazel orbs. He walked out of his room and began his morning routine, which included waking his stepsister.

"Ellie! Wake the hell up already," said Ben, as he pounded on her door while walking to the bathroom. He kept on walking to the bathroom and opened the door, slightly eager to get in the warm shower. However today he opened the door to hear water running and the steamed glass door showing the silhouette of Elizabeth.

"What the hell are you doing in here? Damn it, you know I take my shower first," Ben hollered over the sound of the rushing water. Elizabeth, or Ellie has he called her, was a kind girl, but that doesn't mean he didn't get upset with her from time to time.

"Sorry Ben, I decided to be getting up earlier now; I hope it doesn't bother you to much." Ben had always gotten up first when they began living together at the end of junior year, and he figured it to be routine by now. Ben walked out of the bathroom with indifference to the girl in the shower.

Ellie got out 15 minutes later after shaving her legs and washing her hair twice, she always liked to put a little bit more effort into her looks than some girls. As the towel-clad teenager walked out of the bathroom she called to her stepbrother.

"Ben the shower is free! Have all the fun you want in there!" Ellie loved messing with him, giving him the occasional tease like all high-school girls did. Ben, however, was slightly annoyed at having been deprived of 15 precious minutes of sleep thanks to her. So as he walked by his grinning counterpart, he let his left hand hang back and gently grabbed the edge of the towel she was wearing.

Needless to say it was quite the shock when he pulled the towel, which slid off Ellie with ease. Ben didn't look back as he walked into the bathroom, grinning ear to ear.

"Ben you jerk! I'll get you for that!" Ellie was not happy; her momentary peace from a warm shower was broken up by her brother pulling a prank on her. She knew they were in the same family and friends, but that didn't stop each other from pulling small pranks. Putting the thoughts out of mind, she found the right combination of underwear, shirt, and jeans to give her perfect look for the first day of senior year. She applied some makeup to the area around her blue eyes, and combed her slightly curly blonde hair.

As all this happened, Ben was washing his body and hair in the glassed-in shower they had. He finished his shower, dried off, and quickly made it to his room in his own towel, walking briskly in case Ellie had revenge in mind. He got to his room, changed into a pair of khaki cargo shorts, a shirt, and an open short-sleeved dress shirt. He slipped on his flip-flops and walked downstairs, only to be followed by Ellie.

"Ben, why don't you wear boxers?" Ben stiffened at the question, feeling it uncomfortable to talk to a girl about his underwear.

"Mom said she was surprised that you almost never have boxers to be cleaned when she does laundry." He turned and looked at the grinning girl behind him; he knew she was messing with him as part of her revenge.

"Well Ellie, I guess I just don't like them. They don't do much for me." With that short answer he walked into the kitchen with Ellie behind him. Both were slightly surprised to see both their parents sitting at the table waiting for them.

"Benny, Elizabeth, you guys should sit down for a minute," Mr. Klein said. Ben noticed stiffness in his father's voice when he said Ellie's name and wondered if something was wrong. Unknown to him, Ellie noticed and thought the same thing. However, both sat down next to each other and waited to hear what their parents wanted.

"Ben, I know this has been a bit of a change for you guys, and I know that you are just starting your senior years, but we need to have a talk. For about a month, things went really well, but the last few months have been a bit stressful for both of us at work. We're spending more and more time apart, and we just don't think that this is working. Your stepmother and I are getting a divorce."

Ben was in a bit of shock, he was pretty certain that his parents loved each other, but just now that idea was shattered. His dad had always referred to his wife as his mother, and not as his stepmother. Not only that, but he noticed that he directed his talk only to him, not to Ellie.

"You both know I love you very much, but things are not going as smoothly as we each planned," Mrs. Klein started. "We decided that we should end this now rather than continue it any further, as it'd just be more painful in the end. Naturally, I'll take Elizabeth and we'll live in a house I got on the other side of town. Danny, your father will stay here with you, and you'll just continue on living here."

By the end of the speech, Ellie and Ben had unknowingly held hands, not wanting to say goodbye to the bonds they'd created.

"When do we move away from Ben, Mom?" Ellie was fighting back tears while asking, and Ben felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. Ben noticed that his stepmother seemed a lot more caring about the both of them, while his dad seemed only interested in his son's wellbeing.

"Today. By the end of school, your stuff and your mother's stuff will be in your new house. With any luck neither of you will have to come back here," Mr. Klein said gruffly. Ben was now positive that his dad really didn't care about his soon to be ex-wife, or her daughter. Ben had the suspicion that there might be more to this divorce than what was being said, but he was currently too angry at his dad's behavior and sad at his sister's, no Ellie's, departure.

"I hate to cut this short, but you two need to run along to school now, and try not to let this bother you, it's really for the best, you'll see." They both heard the woman's words but neither of them believed it, so they silently walked to the door and grabbed their bags. Ellie slipped her sneakers on and they wordlessly walked out the front door, where Ben's silver Honda Accord waited for them.

They both stepped outside, and as the front door closed they looked at each other. Ben looked down at Ellie, no longer his sibling, and brushed the stray strand of hair away from her face, which showed her teary eyes to him. She looked up at his hazel eyes, which were now devoid of the light they usually had. Ellie was heartbroken, she had a family and a brother, but now that was gone and it was back to living only with her mother. She had friends, in fact they had the same group of friends, but none of them could replace a family.

Ben had similar thoughts; he knew that Andrew, Matt, and Nat would have his backs, just as he knew that Jessie, Erin, and Amanda would have Ellie's. None of that mattered now though, he didn't want his life to change. All he could do was stare sadly into her eyes, which 45 minutes ago were happy and full of life.

"Ben, I don't want this to change! Why does this have to happen?" Ellie was hysterical, letting the threatening tears fall freely, obscuring the faint makeup she applied earlier.

"I don't know Ellie, but listen to what Mom, I mean your mom, said. She said this was for the best, so try to trust her." Ben knew he was lying through his teeth, he didn't want things to change, and he loved having a family, which was so very empty after his mother left.

"Promise me that we won't be like them, that we will always be together," she said softly. The fiery outburst of emotion from a moment ago was replaced with a soft, defeated tone. She hung her head in sadness, feeling truly alone once more.

Ben looked at her with slight confusion at her words, but passed it off as her emotions. He closed the distance between them to about a foot and gently dropped his bag as she had let hers fall out of her hand almost the moment they were outside. Ben placed a hand on her cheek and raised her head so they could stare eye to eye.

"Ellie, look at me. I promise that we will always be there for each other, ok? We will always be friends."

She looked almost sadder as he finished his sentence, but then cheered up slightly. She gave him a whimpering smile and threw herself onto him, burying her head in his neck and wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. Ben stiffened in shock, but let it pass. He held the back of her head to his neck and rubbed her back with the other hand. He felt his dress shirt getting wet as she would not stop crying. Ben released his hand on her head and instead wrapped his arms around her and squeezed Ellie tight.

They stayed like that for minutes, and when Ellie finally looked up into Ben's face, she saw a solitary tear fall from his right eye.