"No." Robin isn't even bothering to look at me as she crushes my hopes and dreams. She is sitting cross-legged on her bed, holding her hand out to inspect the nails she had just finished painting. Satisfied, she hums happily to herself and begins working on the opposite hand.

"Come on!" I groan, getting to my knees and placing my hands on her bed. I rest my chin on the comfy blanket, looking up at my sister with pleading eyes. "Just for a few hours and I'll bring it right back."

"What's he begging for now?" Riley asks, appearing from the hallway. She has her hair hidden beneath a towel in that weird towel wrap thing that girls do and I will never understand how. It’s magic, I swear.

"He wants to borrow our car tomorrow to take a girl on a date," Robin replies, sounding disgusted. I give her a glare that she doesn't notice seeing as she's focused on the work of art on her nails.

Riley looks to me with wide eyes that soon turn to mischievous orbs that I'd love to smack out of their sockets. She doesn't hide the amusement within her words, "You're going on a date? How desperate is this girl?"

"Why do you hate me so?" I ask the two who look to each other with smiles. Seriously, being the youngest sibling is the worst. I’m always ganged up on!

"Why should we let you use our car? We have class tomorrow." Robin shows her nails to her sister, who nods approvingly, commenting on how she has to work on hers next. How come they’re so helpful with each other? I’m the baby brother, shouldn’t I get some love too? Apparently not!

"You get out at 2 tomorrow and will be home before I'm even out of class. You don't need it!" Can't they be kind to me for once? Besides, it isn’t even their car. Mom and dad got it for them so I should just go ask our parents. They’d side with me, I’m sure!

Riley takes a seat on the mattress beside where I'm kneeling. She proceeds to poke me in the side with her foot as she probes with her words. "Who is this girl? What's her name?"

"Katie. I met her this summer during a concert. Now be nice and allow your only beloved baby brother to use your car so he can make his kind and beautiful girlfriend happy."

"Kind and beautiful? Surely she is neither of those if she's paying any mind to you."

I slam my head into the comforter, groaning into it at how painful it is to have siblings. It's a constant fight to survive their taunts. I should be given an award for making it so long without losing my mind. My sisters find amusement in my pain and continue the teasing for another thirty minutes before finally granting me permission to use their vehicle. I sing to the heavens and thank them, although I shouldn't be seeing as I probably could have asked mom and she would have forced them to allow me to use it, but I preferred having my head on my shoulders, thanks.

I inform Katie that I will come after school to her home to pick her up for our date. Now, I find myself standing in my room staring into my closet, half expecting it to grab me, pull me in and toss me into another galaxy. To think the day would come when I ask myself the question what am I going to wear?

Damn you, Gavin. You've ruined me.

I groan and dig through my wardrobe for shirts that are "date appropriate," and realize that, as Gavin said, they are mostly plaid. I like plaid, okay! After digging out what I think to be suitable for tomorrow I stare at it for a good ten minutes...before snapping a picture and sending it to Gavin.

I fall onto my bed, burying my face in the pillow out of humiliation. I can't believe I sent him a picture to ask if it is all right to wear tomorrow. As I lift my head and continuously throw it back into the pillow I think over my pathetic life. After about ten minutes of this my phone goes off. I'm tempted to not answer but seeing as I contacted him first...

"Don't even start," I say into the receiver the moment I answer it. On the end of the line, I hear Gavin snorting as he tries to hold in his laughter. "Stop laughing. This isn't funny. It's your fault!"

He is no longer controlling himself. Instead, he bellows out a laugh so loud that I pull the phone from my ear. "I can't believe you actually text me about this. Holy shit, gimme a minute, gimme a minute."

"You said you'd help out," I mumble, now playing with the string hanging off the hem of my pillowcase. "Don't tease me for asking for help that you offered."

"Yeah, yeah, but man are you going to ask me every time you two go out? You're going to have to learn to be a big boy and dress yourself."

Like before, I hear voices in the background, making me wonder if I called at a bad time. "Is someone there? You want me to call later?" I ask, trying to listen to whatever the person in the background is saying.

"Its fine," Gavin replies. I don't know if he is watching something or moved to another room, but I can no longer hear the second voice. "Anyways, what you picked out is fine. I'm sure she'll be happy as long as you put some sort of effort into your attire."

"We talked about this. Not all of us take an hour to ready ourselves in the mornings."

"Yet I manage to make most men's girlfriends scream louder than they can without touching them. Imagine what I'd make them do if I did," Gavin whispers in his normal playful tone. I shake my head, wondering how such a huge flirt could actually exist. "But hey," Gavin says. "This is like, the most we've ever talked outside of school."

"Yeah," I hum to myself with a nod. "I guess it is."

"I see how it is. You only call me when you want something. Typical man!"

"Whatever, like you're any better. You never want to hang out, always going out to party."

"Why would I choose you over getting laid?" Gavin laughs, the two of us falling into a comfortable silence afterwards.

The silence doesn't last long. Gavin eventually clears his throat, saying that he should go since he has company. I nod, even if he can't see me, and thank him for helping out before hanging up. I feel a little sad having to get off so soon...it would have been nice if we talked longer. Spending more time with Gavin has always been on my to do list but it never seems to go my way. I get the feeling Gavin makes sure it doesn’t happen and that makes my chest ache in ways I can’t describe.

"Noah, girls, dinner is done!" Mom calls up the stairs and I'm down said stairs before any of the girls even get out of their rooms. Somewhere behind me, I hear the three of them grumbling about men and their insatiable hunger. I'm a growing boy, sue me!