I know, I know. It's been a while. It's been so long that I doubt any of my readers are even interested in this anymore. Feel free to prove me wrong though...

This chapter has more "Theresa" in it than most of the other chapters up to now. Hopefully this will show you that Theresa is more than just a bratty little sister.

Chapter 14 – Theresa's Tale

I quickly regain my senses. I have to divert her! Theresa is such a tattle tale. There's no way she'd keep this a secret.

"Nicholas is what?" I confidently reply, acting as if I don't expect anything serious to come out of her mouth.

"I heard you! You said Nicholas is g…" Theresa starts.

"AHHHHH!" I quickly yelp to cover over the last word of her sentence. She was talking way too loud and I don't want to risk anyone hearing her.

I tumble to the ground and clench my left knee, as it is the most accessible body part. "It hurts!" I pretend to be in pain. How stupid am I right now? She is so not gonna buy this.

"What happened?" She looks at me in confusion.

I stumble back to my feet. "Uhhh, knee cramp." I retort.

"Oh… okay. You should go lay down." She wraps her arm around me and guides me to my bed. I still sense that she's suspicious as anyone would be in this scenario, but at least she isn't verbalizing it.

After placing me on my bed, Theresa heads for the door. "Do you need anything?" She says with a very rough monotone.

"Nope. I'm fine…" I sigh as she shuts the door. Barely got out of that one.

I remain in my bed, simply thinking about what would've happened if Theresa hadn't bought my excuse and knew her brother was gay. Would she even be able to keep it a secret? Would she still accept her brother? So many factors to put into account…

After an hour of thinking, Nicholas flings open the door with Theresa standing behind him. "You told her that I'm… you know!" Nicholas whispers loudly at me, loud enough that Theresa definitely heard him.

I stare back in confusion. "No…" I reply. I never told her… wait a second. Did she use my own playing dumb to get what she wanted? Wow, she's smarter than I thought…

"Then how did she…" He turns back to his sister.

"She overheard my conversation with my brother on the phone and heard me say it, but I covered it up. She probably acted like I did to see how you'd react and got the information out of you." I sigh.

Both Nicholas and I stare at Theresa, waiting for her to say something. "I'm sorry… I ... Why didn't you want to tell me before?" Theresa pouts.

"I don't know. I thought you wouldn't like me if I told you. Or even worse, that you'd tell mom or dad…" Nicholas twitches at the simple thought of that happening.

"Why would I be mad at you? You're my brother and even though I can be your annoying little sister sometimes I still care about you." Theresa smiles. "And why can't mom and dad know? It'll make you happier to not have to hide it and…"

"NO! They can't know! Not while I'm still living under their roof!" Nicholas panics. Tears begin to form in his eye.

"Nicholas…" I stand up and look at him sympathetically.

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry. I won't tell them. I promise…" Theresa hugs her brother. "Now go wash your face up and let's go play some video games."

I watch in complete shock. Since when was Theresa this mature? From what I've seen in the past, Theresa has been nothing but a helpless, sheltered little girl. Now, she's actually looking out for her brother's best interest and comforting him? I haven't seen this side of Theresa before.

"Wow… I didn't know you had it in you to be so mature…"

"Well, it's not fun to be serious all the time, but I can be when it's necessary." Theresa looks at me with pride.

"Yeah, because you were nothing but mature that time we were trapped in that cave." I sarcastically reply.

Theresa rolls her eyes. "I was scared... That doesn't count." She looks away from me as I chuckle.

After Nicholas washes up, we enjoy the rest of the night playing video games and board games; just the three of us. We hadn't really let Theresa hang out with us that much before, but letting her know Nicholas was gay really brought out a new, better side of her. It's as if her knowing that gives her a sense of understanding.

For the next week or so, Theresa spends a lot more time hanging out with us. Her friends question why she hangs out with us "boring boys" over them. Theresa simply says that she has fun with us. I'm not surprised though. We are way more entertaining than a bunch of annoying little girls.

"Happy Birthday to meeeee!" I hear Theresa shouting as she runs down the hallway. I look up from my bed to see that it's only eight in the morning. I guess turning twelve years old hasn't brought tiredness to her quite yet.

I force myself to get up and get ready for the day after noticing Nicholas is already gone. I guess birthdays somehow mean getting up early in this family.

I go downstairs to find the entire house filled with birthday decorations. All around me are balloons saying "Happy Birthday," colorful strings dangling from the ceiling, and a birthday cake with thirteen candles on it. I guess they follow the whole "one candle for good luck" tradition.

"Why'd you guys set up so early?" I walk into the kitchen rubbing my eyes.

"Because we're going to Manhattan today to celebrate my birthday!" Theresa smiles as she cracks open four eggs simultaneously. I'm used to seeing her happy, but today she just seems exponentially more giddy than usual.

"Then why did you decorate the house so much if we won't even be here?" I look around the room confused. "And why is there a cake here instead of us just getting one at a restaurant in the city?"

"Because, first my friends are coming over. We're going to the city later."

"Oh, okay." I walk toward the stairs.

"Aren't you gonna wish me a happy birthday?" Theresa asks.

I look back, embarrassed that Theresa had to remind me. Lately I feel like she acts older than I do. "Oh, right. Happy Birthday Theresa!" I try to smile through my tiredness.

"Now go splash some water on your face. I don't want you to look half dead when my friends get here." Theresa instructs me. Now she's bossing me around? I'm not even gonna acknowledge that…

After throwing myself together, I return to the kitchen to find a big breakfast buffet. Before I know it, Theresa's friends arrive, and everyone begins to chow down. However, I shut everyone out as I stuff my face with food. Who wouldn't with such a lavish array of deliciousness?

After taking out about half my plate, I feel a tap on my left shoulder. A wonderful aroma begins to fill my nose as well. Not that the food hadn't already given my nose such a treat, but this smell was more like a perfume. I lean my head back to find Nicholas looking over me. He is wearing a blue collared shirt with the two top buttons undone, exposing the white t-shirt he is wearing underneath. His hair also looks particularly better than usual.

"Looking sharp dude. No wonder I haven't seen you all morning." I state. It actually hadn't occurred to me that I hadn't seen him until now, but I didn't want to make him feel unimportant.

"Thanks. I thought I'd better give a good impression to those city folk." He exclaims.

"Just one little thing." I say as I get out of my chair. I pop Nicholas' collar and take a few steps back to observe. "There, now you look top notch." I wink.

Nicholas blushes. "You think so?"

"Woah there. Keep it in your pants." I laugh as I sit back down and continue eating. "I'd better do a little fixing up of my own or else all the ladies are gonna be too distracted by your good looks."

Nicholas gasps at my statement. "You really think that?"

"Of course I do. Wait did I say something wrong? Was it the whole 'ladies' thing?" I look up worried.

"No… quite the opposite. That was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Coming from you makes it even more special to me." Nicholas hugs me.

As Nicholas hugs me, I begin to get intoxicated by his cologne. "Dude, hook me up with that cologne you're wearing. It smells amazing."

"S-sure." Nicholas stutters as he runs toward the stairs, waving at me to follow.

I look down at my food, then back at Nicholas. "Guess I've eaten enough." I whisper to myself as I run after him. It seems like these past few days I haven't really spent as much alone time with Nicholas, so I owe him that. Then again, is this girly? I mean, my "guy time" with Nicholas is us giving me a "makeover"… Ehhh, when I put it that way it sounds bad, but in reality I'm doing this for the ladies, so my motive is far from girly.

Nicholas helps me decide what to wear. We opt for a basic v-neck white t-shirt with jeans. Nicholas thinks that a simple look suits me better than a flashy one. He also redoes my hair, giving it more of a "messy" effect. I actually like it a lot. I guess the stereotype that gay guys have a good sense of style is spot on.

By the time I'm ready to go, the crowd of girl lurking downstairs has already left.

"Look at you boys. You're adorable!" Katherine smiles at us as we reach the bottom of the stairs. "This calls for a picture."

"Mommmmm." Nicholas groans.

"Zack!" Theresa calls from behind me. I turn around, and Theresa's face immediately changes. "Wow… you look… wow." She looks me up and down.

"I know." I grin as Christopher walks in, giving me a quick glance.

"Haha, do you boys have hot dates tonight?" He smiles.

"We plan to before the day ends." I inform him jokingly.

"Alrighty, then we best get to the city as soon as possible. Everyone in the car." Christopher jiggles his keys between his fingers as he walks back outside.

After a lot of driving, we finally make it to Manhattan. The ride to the city was longer than I expected it to be. You'd think traveling within a state wouldn't require a lot of driving, but we clocked in at two and a half hours.

"Okay, so here's the plan." Christopher looks at his wife as we walk out of the parking lot. "Theresa is going shopping you for a bit. In the meantime, us guys will head to the restaurant to claim our reservations. When you two are done shopping, give us a call and I'll send the boys to come get you. Wouldn't want my ladies to roam the city alone." Christopher smiles down at his daughter. If there's one good thing about Christopher, it's that he loves Theresa unconditionally. Of course he loves his son too, but he has a more outward affection toward the baby of the family.

As I exit the parking lot and the New York sky surrounds me, my face begins to light up. I've always been a city boy, not just because the city is filled with hot chicks, but that is a pretty important reason. Upon simply entering the sidewalk from the parking lot, a total of four hotties are within sight. One of them looks about my age, while the other three appear to be in their twenties.

"Come to papa!" I whisper loud enough so that only Nicholas and I can hear. Nicholas giggles at my statement as I gawk at the lovely ladies around me, hardly paying anyone else much mind.

"Let's go you two." Christopher walks to the right. I regain my senses, and notice that Theresa and Katherine have already left. I then bolt to Christopher and continue to glance at the ladies passing us by. I guess being isolated for so long has made my yearning for women all the more powerful.

About five minutes into the walk, the three of us notice a rather loud group of people inside a park, holding up signs and cheering. I can't exactly make out what the signs say from such a distance, but the colors and appearance of the people make it rather obvious that this is a gay rights advocate group. I look at Nicholas, who has a confused expression on his face. I guess never being in the city before leads to such confusion.

"What's happening over there?" Nicholas asks his dad.

Christopher observes the situation and stops walking for a moment. The expression on his face makes it very obvious that he knows what is going on. "Let's go see for ourselves." He says as he walks toward the park. Oh boy, this does not look good… pro-gay marriage people and Christopher are certainly not a friendly mix.

"Brace yourself." I whisper to Nicholas.

"Why?"

"You'll see…"

How will Christopher's conversation with the pro-gay marriage group in the park turn out? Will Zack pick up a girl in the city? Find out in the next chapter!

Well, I know this chapter doesn't give much progression to the story, but showing Theresa's more mature side was important for what is to come. It is almost time to transition from character development to the meat of the story. So brace yourself for a wild ride!

Finally, please review if you've read this. I would like a headcount of who still reads this...