Caleb’s P.O.V.

    “Hi, hello...who is this?” The radio broadcaster’s voice chirped in my ear. A smile started to form on my face. There was no words to describe how ridiculously happy I was at that moment. I have been waiting all day for the call to get through.  I managed to keep my voice under control, even though I was literally dying inside. “Caleb.”

    “Congratulation Caleb, you’ve won a pair of tickets to go see ST3LLAR at the Thanksgiving Bash!” A scream of joy erupted from my mouth. “Thank you so much!” While the radio broadcaster squeaked my ears off through the phone, I rushed to the kitchen and tapped my mom’s shoulder until she turned around. I ended the call and yelled, “I GOT THE TICKETS!” My mom grabbed my shoulders and through my body to the nearest chair. As soons as my back connected with the solid wood, I stopped moving.

    “Caleb, calm down. I know you won the tickets, I could hear you through the door, for heaven’s sake!” I faint blush reached my cheeks. I didn’t mean to be so loud about it. My mom turned back to the stove and stirred the white rice. “Who are you taking with you?” Her brown eyes went from me to the rice.

    “I dunno.” My older brother,Chris, came in through the front door, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He looked like he had just ran a marathon.  My dad stepped in right behind him threw his basket ball at me. I caught it and laughed. Nothing could ruin my good mood.“So, how was your workout?” My mom asked, pecking her husband’s lips.I turned away just in time. I didn’t want to see that. “It was great,” he replied.

    “Get a room.” Chris said, digging his greedy hands in the fridge. He pulled out two bottles of water and tossed one to our dad. They both managed to empty the bottle in three gulps. I thought that was pretty cool, but my mother thought otherwise.

    “Why do you guys always do that? It isn’t like the water is going to disappear. I’m glad you guys don’t care about choking.” She smacked her lips and turned back to her rice.  “Weirdos.” Well somebody was in a bad mood...

    “Chris, are you doing anything on Wednesday night?” He shook his head. “Okay, do you want to go see ST3LLAR with me? I got the tickets.” I started picking at my sleeve. He always seemed to have plans. They just popped out of nowhere. I wasn’t going to be mad at him if he declined, but I wasn’t going to be happy either. I honestly had no one else to go with. I wasn’t exactly the type of person who had a lot of friends. If I was being completely honest, I didn’t have any friends.

    “Ask me again in five minutes.” I pushed myself away from the table.The pain in my back burned. My mom should have been a weightlifter instead of a dentist. Chris walked into the living room and flung himself on the couch, whipping out his phone. While he talked on the phone, I stared at him. I didn’t mean to, but it was hard not too. He was everything that I wasn’t. I almost wanted to cry at the thought. My mood was starting to burn up in flames.

“Let it go…” I said to myself. I plastered a smile on my face, walking over to Chris. He was saying his goodbyes and then he turned to me. “I’m sorry…” he began.

“Oh, no it’s cool. I’ll just-”

“I’ll just go alone then.” He grinned at me. “ST3LLAR’s manager is my best friend’s cousin, remember? Does Alex Nash ring any bells?” I nodded, but I had no idea who that was. He seemed to notice that I was lying. He pulled me down on the couch next to him. “Alex Nash? He’s the one who gave you the ST3LLAR poster, remember?”

“Oh… I remember him. He’s the one with the spiky hair.” I could feel my cheeks getting warmer. I had a crush on Alex for a while, but I got over him. He made it clear that he only liked girls, but I guy could dream, right?  The spiky-haired brat introduced me to ST3LLAR. I got more things than I fan could ask for. I can’t believe I forgot about him.

Chris put his hands behind his head and leaned back. The smell of sweat and damp clothes hit my nose with so much force, that my eyes started to water. “Dude, go take a shower. You smell like dirty socks.” Instead of being a mature older brother, he closed the space between us and rubbed his sweat all over me. It was so disturbing. The tickle war had started and he lifted my shirt. His hands moved freely over my stomach and I tried not gag.

“St-stop it,” I laughed. Chris pinned me to the couch. He shifted his weight on me and started tickling me again. The old couch seemed to scream under us. I couldn’t take the weight of us after all these years. While I squirmed under the giant, I couldn’t help but notice that his hand was moving lower. My body stopped moving immediately. I could feel his fingertips caressing over my waistline.

“Caleb, Chris, what are you guys-” My dad stepped into the living room and smiled. It didn’t falter when his eyes met mine. “Tickle war?” I slightly nodded, but Chris’s fingers made it hard to keep a straight face. I gritted my teeth and stayed completely still. “H-Help,” was all I managed to say before the house boomed with laughter. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Chris took his victory and watched as I curled onto the floor.

“Chris-...Dad...Ow...” I tried to cover my mouth, but that didn’t help. My mouth wouldn’t shut. Laughter kept escaping my lips. By the time I managed to calm down, my sides were hurting. My dad had left the room and came back with a cup of water. He put it down on the table and watched me with a worried expression.

“Are you okay? I thought you guys were over this ‘Tickle War’ about a week ago.” Chris smirked and pushed himself past our dad. “Caleb started it.” My dad shook his head with a grin and turned toward the kitchen. He was admiring his wife.

I put the cup to my lips, but I didn’t drink it. I hated the way he looked at her. No, I was jealous. No one ever looked at me with so much lust. The cup seemed to tip on its own, causing me to choke on the water. I pushed the cup away from me and sighed. “Let. It. Go.” I muttered again.