In The Friendzone

Natalie Kabra eyed the board, a small smirk threatening to show itself on her face. Easy, to easy, she thought. Even he couldn't be stupid enough to miss that- or rather, it was so obvious that his overthinking brain would miss it. Now, the tricky part was not gloating at her potential victory and looking placid instead. But she wasn't a Kabra for nothing, and it was simple enough to smother it over with an impassive glare.

She couldn't help but insert a little of her superiority though. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

Dan Cahill stared back at her, equally as scornful. "I swear that was a line said by Atticus Finch."

She arched a perfect eyebrow in retaliation. "And who, pray tell, is he?"

He stared. "Atticus Finch? From To Kill a Mockingbird?"

She only looked back down at the board. "If this is what living with your sister turns you into, I pity you."

He nodded gravely. "I know. It has its down sides."

She murmured something noncommittal and said, "get on with it, will you?"

"It's your turn," he said pointedly.

"You didn't answer my question."

Dan sighed and looked to the ceiling as if asking it for patience. "Yes, okay? I'm sure."

Her viper-like eyes scanned the opponents remaining soldiers, and she considered her next move carefully. It was a matter of life and death- precision was of the utmost importance. One wrong move could mean the extermination of her people-

Then, bishop to E4.

"Checkmate." Her face broke out in a wide grin as she smugly made her proclamation. "And there's no getting out of it this time."

Dan was incapable of answering; his mouth hung open.

"Watch out," she commented in an off-hand manner. "Flies may possibly attracted to your stench and wander in."

"That was not fair!" he complained when he had sufficiently recovered. "That was the third time in a row! You must have rigged it or something."

She laughed. "Rigged a game of chess? Really, Daniel, I do believe you're over-reacting."

"Then how is it-?"

"I'm just smarter than you, accept it," she cut in smoothly.

He scowled in her direction. "Whatever," he sulked.

A slight grin overtook her as she observed his childish antics. "Oh, don't be such a poor sport."

He stared sullenly at her with his arms crossed.

"After all, you can't help it if I'm naturally brilliant."

This did not seem to make his feel better in the least.

"Bollocks," he said, still glaring at her.

"Bollocks? How... British of you."

"Whatever makes you feel at home," he said crisply.

Just when Natalie opened her mouth to make a witty retort about how this was actually her home, the door banged open. Ian Kabra stormed in, looking as if he had eaten something low-class like fried chicken or something. He pushed the door behind him, slamming it shut. He gave the two fifteen-year-olds a curt nod and headed to the bathroom, which was also slammed shut.

Door abuser.

Natalie's eyebrows went up again. "What's got his knickers in a twist?"

Dan, completely forgetting his previous failure, shrugged. "Dunno. You tell me. He's related to you."

"It's rather difficult," Natalie commented, "to have adolescent siblings. They are so moody."

"I thought that was only for girls?"

"You don't live with Ian."

Dan had to concede that point. "Thank gosh for that too," he muttered under his breath.

Natalie stood up and daintily walked to the bathroom door. "Ian, my dear, sweet brother," she chirped as she knocked. Dan snorted and she gave him a withering glare before continuing. "Whatever is the matter with you? Did Amy and you get into a fight?"

The sound of water running was heard before he answered. "Don't be absurd, Natalia!" She frowned. If he was using the name given to her solely reserved for business relations with the ridiculous extra syllable, he must have been very upset. "We get along perfectly fine and that's the problem!"

Natalie rolled her eyes and gave a long suffering sigh as stepped back to the chess table. "You're not making any sense, Ian," she called as she moved the chess pieces back to their original positions. Fancy another round? She mouthed at Dan. He was quick to nod and shoot her a dirty look. I'm going to beat you this time. "Why don't you come out here and share the woes of being a teenager with us?" she continued after a moment of silence.

Dan stopped frowning momentarily to smirk at that and in a rare moment of total agreement over their barmy siblings, she winked back before opening the chess game.

A full fifteen minutes later, halfway into the game, Ian emerged looking haggard and slumped down next to Natalie in apparent defeat.

"Looks like I'm actually going to beat princess Natalia this time," Dan said smugly.

She only scowled in response. It did look that way. She had already lost both her bishops and a knight.

"So tell us what happened," she commanded Ian without taking her eyes off of the chessboard. He reached for a couch pillow, clearly in need of its comfort.

"We went for a walk in the garden," he said depressingly.

"Come now, it can't have been that bad to stand in the presence of a peasant for only half the hour," Natalie said mildly as she made her pawn move one step.

Dan glared at the implicated insult aimed at his sister and ate her final knight in retaliation. She made rude gesture with her finger.

"We began talking about school and it somehow led to the favor which she had asked me to do."

"Ah." Natalie could guess where this conversation was leading up to and she could not help but feel slightly sorry for her brother.

"Then?" Dan asked, carefully watching Natalie's moves all the while.

She rolled her eyes. Were all boys born without the ability to infer or what?

"And then, do you know what she said? 'Thanks, Ian! You're awesome. You're the greatest friend I've ever had.'" He finished his narrative with a groan and stuffed his face into a pillow.

Natalie clucked her tongue sympathetically. "Oh, Ian. I'm so sorry. It must have been terrible." Queen to A5.

Dan, meanwhile, was trying to put two and two together. "Wait... so this is bad in what way? Amy clearly doesn't hate you."

Ian said something but it was muffled by the pillow.

"What was that?"

He didn't reply. "He said something along the lines of 'you stupid American git.' And no offense, but you are rather idiotic." Natalie answered for him. "It's your turn, by the way."

He began to protest but was cut off. "Don't you see? 'You're the greatest friend I've ever had.' The key word is friend. Ian was just friend-zoned."

Dan momentarily looked up from the game and let out a bark of laughter. "You were friend-zoned by Amy?"

Ian didn't answer.

"Why do you even care?"

"..."

"Okay, I guess I'll just go ahead and tell Natalie what I saw you doing to her closet-"

Ian cast a panicked glance at Natalie before putting as much space between them as the couch would allow. "Because I like her you bloody prat!" he spat.

"What did you do to my closet?!" Natalie screeched at the same time, standing up with enough force to push the chess table forwards a little. Her eyes were wild and she fumbled in her pocket for some sedatives that would surely teach Ian to mess with her.

"You like Amy?" Dan laughed, nearly hysterically. "And Natalie, calm down, you spoiled little princess."

"Where did I put my needles?" she demanded while giving Dan's leg a hard kick.

He would have grimaced if he wasn't laughing so hard.

"I don't find this even remotely funny, Daniel," Ian snapped, using the pillow as a barrier between him and his sister.

He grinned. "I just can't believe you guys haven't made out yet."

"What makes you say that?" Natalie snipped, stonily sitting back down after being unable to find her weapons.

Ian sniffed haughtily. "The British do not make out."

"You should have heard Amy freak out on the plane. Dan, how am I supposed to meet Ian dressed like this?" He exaggerated a girl's high pitch voice. "In sweats and a t-shirt! He'll see me as some undatable rat-"

A loud squawk erupted from the doorway and three turned heads in time to see Amy barreling her way in and shouting, "if you don't shut up, Dan, I'll tell Natalie what you said about her!"

Nobody spoke. Dan went red and quickly turned his attention back to the chess game.

"What have you been saying about me, peasant?" Natalie said, a sly grin slowly appearing as she slid her queen forward.

"Nothing," Dan bit out.

"How much of that did you hear?" Ian asked Amy.

Amy's face was pink. "Nearly everything."

"Oh," Ian said.

There was a long and awkward silence.

"So you want to date my sister, Ian?" Dan helpfully said.

Neither eighteen-year-olds could look at the other.

"A tad bit. If she wants to that is," he said embarrassedly.

"I guess I do," replied Amy faintly.

"Congratulations. You are now husband and wife." He stood up and inched his way to the door. "Now, after that embarrassing notice by Ames, I'll be leaving-"

"Ian Kabra!" Natalie also stood up. She tried to stand on the tip of her toes in order to tower over her brother's sitting form even more. "Have you no class? Were you not brought up a Lucian in Britain?" she fumed. "Ask her on a date properly!" Then she rounded on Dan. "And you, sit back down so we can finish our game!"

Dan sat back down.

Ian cast Amy an apologetic look as he got down on one knee. She nervously smiled and even giggled. "Will you, Amy Cahill, go on a date with me?"

"I suppose so," Amy replied in a British accent.

Ian speedily stood up, grinning wildly, pulled her close and kissed her right in front of their siblings.

Three seconds passed.

"Gross!" Dan gagged.

"Take this outside, please!" Natalie said as she pushed the two of them out of the room and locked the door. She turned back to Dan who had remembered that Natalie knew he was talking about her and was attempting to finish the game rapidly.

"Now, what have you been saying to your sister about me?" Natalie asked as she moved her queen again.

He didn't answer and only moved his chess piece up.

"Dan, if you don't tell me, I will inform Amy about that time in Mexico with the bird-"

"Fine!" he snapped.

Silence.

"Well, get on with it," Natalie sighed impatiently as she closed in on his king.

Nothing.

"Oh, Amy darling!" Natalie called. "You will never believe what Dan has been doing behind your back-"

"I just told her that I thought you looked nice at the Christmas ball, ok!"

Natalie hooted. Yes, she, a Kabra, hooted. It was just too funny. "How nice of you, Daniel!" She snorted in the most unlady like fashion.

He glared at her, his cheeks pink. When she calmed down, she leaned over and fondly patted his cheek, even giving it a quick peck. His mouth dropped open for the second time in that hour. "You were lovely yourself." She winked. "Your turn."

His fingers shook, she observed, as he moved his bishop.

When he was done, Natalie nimbly moved her queen once more. "Checkmate, my dear Daniel."

He stared at her. "What- you- you distracted me!"

She smirked and shrugged. "I still won." And with a wide grin, another peck on his cheek, she stood up and walked out of the room armed with the knowledge that Dan Cahill liked her.

And that she may possibly like him back.

A/N: So after like a year of hiatus I decided to publish something. Now I don't even know half the people here.

I've forgotten how to write 39 Clues fanfiction- it's been so long. I kind of gave up reading the series after The Medusa plot too.

WELL. HOPE YOU GUYS HAD A NICE NANOWRIMO. SEE YOU AMIGOS. :D