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Ashlyn slips off her ballet slippers and replaces them with her normal combat boots. She stretches out her toes inside of her boots. She lets out a quiet yawn and stands up with a crackle and pop coming from her joints. Her phone pings with a new text, her mood immediately sours at the thought of it being Aiden. She pulls her phone up eagerly, oddly enough her shoulders sag at the lack of texts from Aiden, odd. 7:34 <Dad< Do you wanna bring one of your friends? Ashlyn furrows her eyebrow in confusion. What does he mean by ‘bring one of your friends’ to what? She rolls her eyes assuming it's just her dad being her dad. Her eye catches on a new flyer being put up on the whiteboard. Bring a sister or brother week! It's more fun with a sibling! April 8th – April 12th. Held at ________ dance studio! Oh. Thats what he was talking about. She had honestly never minded being an only sibling, in fact, she enjoyed it. She would hear stories about annoying sibling and just be glad that wasn't her. Why would she bring one of her friends though, none of them are her siblings? She walks through the door snagging a flyer along the way. She hops up through her dad's jeep door and thumps down onto the seat. “Hey kiddo! did you see my text” He exclaims while pulling out of the parking spot. She lets out a hum in acknowledgment while taking down her braided bun. “Yep,” she says after taking out her bun and letting her two long braids fall behind her. “Who do you want to take?” Ashlyn gives him a look as if he's gone crazy. “No one? I don't have any siblings so why would I take anyone?” Mike lets out a sigh at her words. “Oh, well, sometimes when people don't have sibling they take someone who's close to them in a sibling like manner, yknow?” “That makes no sense. I'm not related to any of them though?” Ashlyn says while cocking her head. “Family isn't just about blood,” They proceeded to bicker about it for the rest of the drive home. She sits on her bed in a position that only a dancer could sit in. Her laptop is open to a page about sibling and sibling bonds with another tab open with a timer counting down till 12:00. She scrolls through her contact list using the website to determine who to invite. Taylor. She thinks they're more like best friends, she loves her sure but, not like a sibling, she thinks at least Tyler. The less time she spends with that brat-ass the better Ben. He braids her hair sometimes; she’ll keep thinking about it Aiden. No comment Logan. ... Wait that could work Ashlyn reaches over for her phone, grabbing the dark block. Her fingers hover over his contact as her brain considers how to broach the subject. In the end, she decides that less is more and sends him a simple text. 11:54 <Logan< thats not it 11:54 <Logan< something with this <... 11:54 <Logan< <3 11:55 <Logan< oh im a dumbass 11:55 <Logan< <33 11:55 < stop spamming me dipshit ill see you in literally 5 minutes 11:56 < <3 11:57 <Logan< SORRY <33 Ashlyn chuckles and waits for that familiar stomach flipping sensation to arrive. She politely rings the doorbell before clasping her hands tightly behind her back. She hears yelling inside and a neighbour's dog barking at the sound. The cute pastel violet door gets violently swung open to reveal Logan standing there in pyjamas and bare squinting eyes. Ashlyn looks him up and down, her comment gets bit back down her throat as he speaks “Uno Minuto!” He says while putting up a singular finger in a motion to wait. He slams the door once more. She winces slightly at the loud sound. He reopens the door quietly “Sorry,” he mumbles before passive aggressively closing the door quietly. Ashlyn looks back at her dad's car with her eyebrows knitted in confusion, he laughs from the driver's seat, not even looking at her. She shifts her bag around on her shoulder in an uncomfortable gesture. He opens the door not less than a minute later being fully dressed and now able to see past his hand. “Hi!” he closes the door behind him. “Hi” she replies back while leading him to her father's car. He hesitates slightly at the back door, hand already half on the handle. Ashlyn glances up at him through her bangs “Are you okay?” He startles back from the door handle and fidgets with his hands. “Yeah... just being in a car with your dad without the others kinda..” He trails off “It's stupid, but it just kinda, I don't know scares me?” He frames it almost like a question. She replies as blunt as ever “you've shot a phantom through the head, and he doesn't bite, unlike Tyler who does, and you're not scared of him,” His bright blue eyes get concerningly wide on his pinker than usual face. “Fair enough,” he says fast before jumping into the car. Ashlyn smiles fondly and walks over to the other back door to jump in. The ride wasn't as awkward as she expected it to be. Her father and Logan got along well, despite Logans clear fear of him and any other authority figure basically. “Have fun kids!” He yells before starting the car up. “Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god. What if it isn't actually friend's week and I'm just there for no reason and everyone will notice. Or what if I'm the only dude there I don't wanna seem weird or creepy. Ashlyn, how do I convince them that I don't like women and am not being weird without talking to them and-” “Logan, it's gonna be fine. I'll be with you anyways, and I double checked that it was friend's week. Also, I'm just not going to comment on the gay thing you were talking about.” “Thats not what I-” He cuts himself off “Yeah maybe,” “What are you talking about?” Logan just shrugs at her with a defeated look from whatever just happened. “Okay” she says curtly “Just warning you, it's pretty loud in here,” she says with one hand putting on her headphones and the other on the door handle. He nods as she opens the door. “Holy shit” she hears him mutter as they step inside. There are kids spanning from 3 to 18 running amuck. The younger kids are screaming as they chase around their friends as their parents attempt to wrangle them up. Some older kids are reading books or chatting with friends. There are a few kids standing awkwardly by the wall watching everyone talk, the siblings most likely. She sees a girl and her friends get up from a chair to leave and quickly snags the seat. Shes only starting to put on her ballet shoes when she notices Logans not following her. She looks back to see him standing by the siblings night poster, staring up at it. Oh right, she had never told him it was for siblings. She shoves her bag into the seat to claim it while she gets back up. Ashlyn stands next to him staring up at the poster. “I don't have any siblings, so, I thought I could invite the closest thing then.” She says watching him out of the corner of her eye. She fully turns towards him in fear at his watery eyes. “Logan are yo-” “I've never had anybody who would invite me to something like this or even consider me for it. I mean I've had friends before, but I was never their first pick, unless it was for schoolwork. This might sound mean but the fact you thought of me to invite first and not one of our other friends feels nice. Just thank you for considering me.” he turns his head to face her as tears fully fall down his face now “You're the closest thing I've ever had to a sibling, so there for you were the perfect choice,” He barely lets her finish her sentence before wrapping his arms tightly around her. She happily returns it, feeling comfortable and warm in the hug despite her usual touch aversion. “Thank you,” he speaks from her now wet shoulder. “You don't need to say sorry for anything,” She replies with her eyes glued open to dry up her unusually wet eyes. They pull back as she comments “You ready for dance class that will mostly be stretching anyway,” She smiles and looks back at him “Umm Ashlyn, isn't that our stuff?” She follows his gaze in confusion to see their stuff strewn carelessly on the floor while some new girls chat from what once was their seats. Ashlyn sighs. “I got a better idea anyway” They never ended up going to the dance class that night instead opting to sit outside. Despite the sun being far from setting anytime soon, Logan still explains the star patterns while gesturing to where the constellations would be normally. That night really helped them grow closer. They were already practically siblings by the time his grandparents could no longer care for him and the flower shop anymore, and the Banners had willingly stepped in. <3