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The exams are over and high school students can now rest and frolic in the sunshine since their classes are almost finished. The only event left for them to celebrate is the awarding ceremony to be held next week at their school, which all of Dustin's friends will attend because they all earned an academic excellence award.
Of course, seeing as his friendship circle consists mostly of nerds it's only natural to have this award. It even seems that the influence of the boys is rubbing off on Max too since she ended up being an honor student along with them. However, that was not surprising at all.
The thing that everyone was surprised at the most was the fact that Erica got the highest rank in the whole middle school. Now Erica was always a consistent honor student, always excelling in subjects like history and math. This time, it isn't any different except for the fact that she also showed great excellence in science subjects.
Everyone around her thought that it was because of Dustin's influence and their odd friendship.
It wasn't.
While it's true that her friendship with the boy enabled her to fully embrace her nerd side, Dustin barely played a part in her achievements and he didn't need to. Erica Sinclair was capable of getting this deserved recognition right from the start, she's something of a little nerd herself.
Today, the party members are in the living room of the Sinclairs, preparing to start a DND campaign with Will as the dungeon master. While the boys were assembling the table for the game, the girls were talking about gossip that Dustin knew thanks to Erica. The atmosphere of the room was comfortable and natural even after Lucas initiated a conversation that piqued everyone's interest.
"My sister got an award again." Lucas shared with the group as he sits down next to Max.
It was Max who replied to Lucas. "your sister gets awards consistently right?"
"Your sister has always been smart." Will complimented while going over a piece of paper that listed the parts of today's campaign.
Mike scrunched up his face about to disagree. "How is your sister smart?"
"She's smart...and kind," El added which caused Mike and Lucas to turn their heads in confusion.
"My sister? kind?" Lucas asked while disbelief shows on his face.
"Yeah, she's kind to those who deserve it," Max confirmed while pointing at Will and El.
Mike retorted. "Well, she's not showing any signs of kindness to me."
"It's because you don't deserve it." Max blurted out and then exchanged looks at El with a grin.
"She's kind to Max, Will, and me." Eleven looked at them with a smile but paused at Dustin.
"We're not sure if she's kind to Dustin." Max finished for her and then asked him. "Is she kind to you?"
Dustin shrugged. "I'm nice to her but is she kind to me? To answer that question, she's a decent human being at least."
He looked at his friends, wanting to know their reactions but all he got was a terrified look from Lucas and a bored look from Max as they set their gaze on someone behind Dustin. There was no one behind Dustin earlier, that's why he could easily say what he said. However, now there's definitely a presence behind him and he gulped as he turned around to inevitably meet his fate.
"Hi. Yeah, we were just-" Dustin started but was interrupted by a glare from the person who is now in front of him.
"I could hear you as I was walking down the stairs. Don't even think of making excuses." Erica said in a threatening tone which seemed to be effective on Mike and Lucas, albeit they are obviously displeased with her presence.
"I wasn't making excuses, I was saying the truth. You are a decent human being but not kind at all. Maybe to Max, Eleven and Will you can be nice, but certainly not to me. Just the facts, you know. " Dustin admitted while quoting Erica's usual line with a smug look.
He is aware that Erica could be sassy and always has a retort prepared for every scenario. Although, one thing Dustin has observed is that she is surprisingly honest and she could not argue with facts that she acknowledges as the truth. Of course, her stubbornness won't allow her to accept such facts easily and she will always try to come up with a counterclaim. Just as Dustin expected, Erica has a witty response and she said it as soon as she sat down near Max and Eleven.
"And why should I be kind to someone who took part in child endangerment?" She asked him with a glare. As soon as she said that, Max turned to Erica with her mouth shaped into an o, clearly waiting for more. On the other hand, Lucas squinted his eyes at Dustin as he waited for an explanation.
"Ok, Now that's just playing dirty. It wasn't child endangerment, it was a deal" Dustin crossed his arms and then continued. "You agreed to it too because of free ice cream."
"Are you forgetting the fact that the three of you did not keep your side of the deal?" Erica reminded while narrowing her eyes at Dustin.
"You have free movies for life, same thing." He argued.
Erica sighed and gave him a look. "Do you actually believe the sailor duo could sustain their jobs?"
For a few seconds, there was only silence as he thinks of a comeback to Erica's statement. In the end, he could only agree. "Oddly, you have a point. It's not that they have horrible job performance or anything...Steve and Robin just have a knack for attracting trouble. Add Eddie, and then you'll have the perfect recipe for chaos"
"On the bright side..." Dustin trailed his words as a mischievous smile appears on his face.
"If they ever do change jobs, it's still possible to bring up the deal which honestly provides you a lot of benefits." He informed and caught Erica's interest based on the nod he received as a reply.
It was not the case for the rest of the party. Max, Lucas, Will, and Mike were all staring at Dustin with the same expression that says "What the hell are you guys talking about?". The only different reaction was from El who was smiling as a method to cover up her confusion.
Those expressions were what Dustin needed for him to notice that he has mentioned quite the wrong things. He was providing Erica with ideas to abuse the company policies of whatever jobs Steve and Robin would have next time. Then again, even without Dustin saying anything - it's still likely that Erica would do that.
"Oh shit. I'm being a bad influence." Dustin blurted out in realization.
Erica just rolled her eyes as she judged him "You realized that just now?
Before Dustin could reply to Erica's question, Lucas interrupted them and caused Dustin to have a slight frown on his face because he finally managed to think of the perfect comeback, which he couldn't use now because it became a conversation between the Sinclair siblings. Not that he minds, those two interacting always stirs up some excitement in the party. Either that or conflict.
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Lucas paused for a second then looked at his sister with squinted eyes as he resumed. "and why are you here?"
Lucas attempted to be threatening as he asks the question but even though he looked scary and mad, it didn't work for Erica at all.
"You nerds were being noisy, I couldn't focus on doing my speech." She complained with a sour look. "Would it kill you and your friends to quiet down"
"We will, so please, just go away," Lucas ordered then pointed upstairs to where Erica's room is located.
It seemed to have caused the opposite effect because Erica did not budge from her seat at all and even declared. "I was planning to leave, but now I don't want to."
Lucas was about to open his mouth and scold Erica but before he could do that, Max spoke first. It really looks like every party member has a special skill in butting in each other's conversations since this is the second time that this happened today.
"Your sister is technically an honorary party member now, there's no harm in letting her stay." She stated while she ruffles Erica's hair.
If this was any other person, Erica would have ended anyone who dare touch her. However, this is Max Mayfield and she's a cool person so Erica doesn't mind it at all. Max is definitely cooler than her brother at least.
"I heard you got the highest rank in your whole grade, that's impressive." Max complimented, then held out a hand to give Erica a high-five.
El imitated Max and also high-fived Erica with a smile as she congratulated her. This action of the older girls toward Erica made her genuinely smile and laugh, which actually surprised the boys of the party since they haven't witnessed Erica's friendship with the older female party members.
Lucas couldn't help but smile at their interactions. Even though Erica can get on his nerves all the time, he is still his little sister and he would be lying if he said he wasn't relieved that she could smile and laugh with his friends. Especially after being involved with the stranger things that she has seen and experienced at such a young age. Of course, he does care for his sister and her sister cares for him as well - they just don't say it out loud since there's really no need to.
Will was the next one to congratulate Erica, followed by Mike who was reluctant at first but ended up doing it anyway.
When it was Dustin's turn to say his congratulations, he had a wide grin and clapped so loudly that it made Erica roll her eyes in annoyance. Despite that, everyone was aware that Erica wasn't annoyed at all since there was a slight smile visible on her face. Finally, it was Lucas next who congratulated her, probably forced by the peer pressure around him.
"Congratulations...." he paused and then smiled at her as he continued.
"Congratulations, nerd. " Lucas repeated, emphasizing the last word to tease his little sister. Before Erica still hasn't accepted her nerd side, she used that word a lot to make fun of him and now he's very proud to be giving her a dose of her own medicine.
Erica's facial expression remained neutral as she reached for a nearby lamp and looked at him while saying. "Keep talking and see what happens."
Lucas just glared at his sister but kept silent. In turn, Erica glared back and the Sinclair siblings were suddenly caught up in a staring contest, both too stubborn to accept defeat. The other people present in the room didn't even bat an eye at how things turned out due to the fact that this happens pretty often. It's just their usual sibling rivalry.
Will sighed, he supposes he'll be the one to interrupt this time.
"Uhhh guys, can we play D&D now? Will asked while he points at the table to show that they could start now. Unfortunately, his voice was too soft and no one was able to notice his question. It doesn't help that all their focus was on the sibling rivalry between Erica and Lucas.
He was about to decide that he should just wait it out and then bring it up again if someone finally notices him when suddenly, Erica looked away from her brother's gaze and then turned to Will. Erica saw that the preparations for the campaign are done already and that it was possible to start now, so she informed her brother's friends about it.
"Hey nerds! Listen to your friend when he's saying something. " She shouted, which got everyone's attention successfully and effortlessly. She turned to Will and then did a gesture that he took as a sign to continue. Now that everyone's looking at him, it has become the perfect opportunity to ask.
"Can we play D&D now?" Will repeated the same question he asked earlier. Except, this time there was a response from his friends and it made him smile.
"Oh. yeah, we can start now." Mike answered.
Dustin and Lucas nodded and went closer to the table to start with their campaign. At any time, Will could have started already but instead, he turned to Erica and made everyone confused.
"Do you want to join, Lady Applejack?" Will offered even though there's a high chance it would get rejected instantly.
"Hmmm" She pondered and then looked at Mike with a snicker. "I'll join if he doesn't."
Mike was about to complain and argue with Erica...if Max didn't open her mouth first.
"Count me in too if Mike doesn't join." Max chimed in, her face wearing a smug expression.
Mike can only furrow his brows at Max and Erica's effort to gang up on him. Luckily, El told them off.
"Max, that's not very nice." El frowned at Max which prompted the ginger to mutter an apology that she really doesn't mean. On the other hand, Mike just smiled at El, grateful for her interruption. It's a good thing that an argument between Max and Mike was stopped thanks to Eleven. It made things much easier for Will to speak to Erica.
"Sorry Lady Applejack, we can't continue without our paladin." Will just gave Erica a weak smile as he said that. As much as he wanted Erica to join the campaign, he really couldn't just abandon him like that.
"I'm only joking." She assured Will and then resumed. "I have to do my speech anyway, there's no time for me to join in your silly campaign even if I want to. "
"Oh, so you do want to join?" Lucas raised his brow at his sister and teased her.
Erica sighed. "Only to foil yours and Mike's plans"
"You aren't even going to include Dustin in that?" Mike asked. He understands Erica's hostility towards her own brother but Mike didn't do anything wrong to deserve this kind of treatment from the little girl.
Erica shook her head. "Out of all you nerds, Dustin is the smartest one and he can easily figure out what I'm up to. It would be a horrible choice to go for Dustin first because my plan to foil your plans might backfire. Also, he's an expert at initiating strategies but not so much with rolling the dice."
"I'll ignore that last part and take the rest as a compliment," Dustin commented and fixed the cap on his head, a sign that he's preparing to get serious for today's campaign. Mike and Lucas also did similar actions with Mike cracking his knuckles and Lucas putting on a bandana on his head. The boys are treating this campaign so seriously that they look like freaks even though they are really just a bunch of overdramatic nerds.
When the campaign started, the boys were so caught up in the game that they have been playing it with so much enthusiasm and seriousness. Meanwhile, the girls are busy with their own agenda which includes Max judging the hell out of the boys or talking about everything and nothing at the same time while El listens. However, Erica isn't really included in the gossip of Max and Eleven because her focus is set on the paper and pen in front of her while she writes out her speech for the awarding ceremony. It's tough being an honor student with the highest rank since they're usually the ones who are tasked with more work, but it's nothing Erica can't handle.
While playing, Dustin kept noticing that for someone who's supposed to be focusing on writing her speech. Erica sure does glance a lot whenever it was Lucas' turn to attack and roll the dice. Not only that, she always mutters a string of numbers whenever she does glance at him. At first, Dustin thought that those numbers are related to the speech she was making and didn't pay that much attention to them.
Eventually, Dustin realized that even if Erica was utilizing some kind of statistic in her speech, the amount of numbers that she mutters every now and then are increasing and she couldn't possibly apply that many statistics and digits to her middle school speech that's meant for recognition and awarding. So, Dustin paid closer attention until he finally determined the pattern that Erica followed.
The pattern is that...there's no pattern. It's not exactly considered a pattern but the numbers Erica muttered are connected with the DND game, specifically her brother's attack in the game. There's still not enough evidence to prove this claim so Dustin waited for the next attack of Lucas and then observed how Erica acted around that time.
Just as he anticipated, as soon as it was announced that it was Lucas' turn to roll the dice, Erica removed her attention from the piece of paper in front of her and then looked at Lucas as he rolls the dice. When the numbers on the dice are revealed after rolling, Dustin noticed that Erica slightly extended her neck to check what was on the dice. Then after that, her mouth started moving as she mouthed to herself what Dustin recognized as the exact numbers on the dice.
At that moment, it clicked. Erica was solving math and it was not even school math or statistic for her speech. All along, she was helping her brother by muttering the amount of damage that he deals in the campaign. Erica is always skilled with numbers and she is undoubtedly the best at mathematics out of everyone in the party, she's especially talented with mental math and she has shown that in the vents of the Starcourt mall one time.
Given her arithmetic skills, it's only normal for her to arrive at the exact number way before Lucas does. And as soon as she finishes solving for that number in her head, she mutters it out loud - almost whispering to Lucas as a way to help him with the game in her own way. Dustin isn't quite certain if Lucas is aware of his little sister's attempts in assisting him with the game but one thing is for sure, whatever number Erica mutters also becomes the number that Lucas announces as his damage when he finally finishes applying basic arithmetic to figure out the damage he dealt. Of course, Erica beats him to it without Lucas knowing.
Dustin felt like he just witnessed something that he really shouldn't bring up in normal circumstances especially if he wants his life to be spared from the Erica Sinclair. That's why he just hid his smile as he sneakily watched Erica help Lucas out with the game even though there's a high chance that Lucas isn't even mindful of her aid.
The earlier conversation about Erica only being capable of being nice to Max, Will and El was false because what Dustin saw is proof that one other person is missing from that list and that's no other than her own brother, Lucas Sinclair. Indeed, she's far from polite when talking to her brother or everyone in general but despite her rash personality, she is actually very compassionate to people she really cares about. There is absolutely no way that Erica would admit it though - she's too prideful for that.
A few more minutes passed and the party was still in the middle of their campaign when suddenly, Erica stood up from her seat.
"Finally, you're leaving." Lucas taunted his sister with a grin.
"Incorrect. I'm just getting a new pen, this one ran out of ink because you keep writing your endless letters for a certain someone like the lovesick puppy that you are." Erica revealed and then felt proud at the expressions on the lovebird's faces as she said that. Even now, she still can't process that the two of them haven't gotten back together yet. Seriously, what was taking those two so long?
Lucas was left speechless at the information his sister just shared. He felt his cheeks get hot and was about to deny it to the whole room if only their faces weren't grinning at him knowingly. It didn't help that Dustin was technically about to laugh along with Erica. The only one who doesn't have a wide grin was Max and as soon as Lucas saw Max's expression he hoped that she had the same expression as the rest of his friends instead of whatever it is on her face right now.
"So stalking a certain someone and then writing letters to that certain someone?" Max expressed in a teasing manner which cause Lucas to blush harder and for Max to smile wider as she follows with a request. "Erica, do you mind telling me the identity of that certain someone."
Lucas widened his eyes at Max's move. Please ask anyone but his little sister.
Thankfully, Erica denied Max's request with a groan. "It's better if you ask him yourself. There's still a speech for me to finish so please hire another cupid if you two want to get back together so badly."
Dustin couldn't hold back his laughter when Erica exposed the two lovebirds. Meanwhile, Max surely did a mistake because right now she could feel herself blushing as much as Lucas was. Even El looked at Max so smugly that it made Max want to hide her burning face from the rest of the world but she persevered and even managed to smile smugly at Lucas. What she didn't expect...is for Lucas to return the same smug expression she wears. Without any other words, the two lovebirds were stuck in their own world, no longer paying attention to their surroundings.
No wonder the two of them weren't conscious of the one-sided conversation between Dustin and Erica just literally behind them.
"Oh sure, act like we're not in the room," Dustin smirked at his two friends, proudly watching how lost they were in each other's eyes. "Are you really not up for playing cupid to these two people?" He asked and turned to Erica.
Erica didn't even bother answering that question and continued walking to the kitchen where the pens could be found on top of the refrigerator. The fridge was a bit taller than her so she had to tiptoe just to reach it and she could hear Dustin snicker from behind her which she just ignored because entertaining him would give him the victory. When Erica managed to get the pens she needed, she opened the fridge and got something for her to drink. She's in the kitchen anyway so she might as well get something for herself.
"Get me a soda will you?" Dustin mouthed to her. He would have said more if it wasn't for the party discussion he was summoned to. The boys are now huddled in a circle brainstorming about strategies and actions that could possibly lead them to victory. Even though Dustin was occupied with the party discussion, he was still able to hear Erica's response to his request of getting a soda.
"Get one yourself," Erica stated with an eye roll. Although she did open the fridge again and got another can of soda, her words contradicted her actions.
When Erica returned to the living room, she observed that Max is now sitting at Erica's earlier spot - the one just behind her brother. There was another spare seat just beside El and if Erica sat there, it would be like Max and Erica just switched seats so the ginger can be at a closer distance with Lucas. Erica hid a smile at that fact and sat on the couch behind Dustin. She would have sat beside El but Mike sat down there first so Erica sat down near Dustin and gave one can of soda to him without a word.
Dustin took it with gratitude and as he was pulling the lid open, he asked. "So, whatever happened to getting my soda myself."
"Shut your mouth or I'll take that away from you." She pointed a pen at Dustin as she intimidated him. It really didn't appear menacing because the pen has its cap on that covers the pointy side.
Nevertheless, the always overdramatic nerd just had to exaggerate and raise both of his hands in the air. "Hey, don't point that sharp thing at me."
"What exactly about this is sharp?" Erica deadpanned and returned to the piece of paper.
For a few seconds, it was peaceful and the party continued with the campaign as usual. That was until Lucas became aware of the two soda cans on the table and exclaimed as he looked at his sister and Dustin. "Why do you have soda? Why did my sister give you a soda? Why didn't you get me a soda?"
"To be fair, you didn't tell her to get one," Dustin answered and Erica just agreed with a nod. He recognized that she was too occupied with writing her speech to respond so he answered Lucas for her.
Lucas sighed, Dustin does have a point so he let it go this time. Besides, Lucas didn't want to interrupt his sister in writing her speech because it appears that she was almost finished with writing it as shown by the pen rapidly moving on the surface of the paper and the black ink decreasing the blank white spaces. Any minute now, Erica would be finished with her speech and Lucas can order her to go get something to drink. He just needed to wait a bit more so while waiting, Lucas went back to the game since his turn to attack is getting near.
There are a few sentences left for Erica to write on the paper and then she can go and edit the parts that seem unneeded. She thought that the next part where she rereads the entire speech would come soon but it turns out that something is holding her back. The new pen she just got earlier from the kitchen was slowly getting ineffective in writing down the words in ink that Erica had to shake it furiously to determine if a small amount of ink is still available. There was still ink left but even if Erica did use it to write out the rest of the sentences that were in her head, it would barely be readable.
While still shaking the pen, Erica groaned. "How many times, Lucas???"
"What, I didn't do anything." Lucas defended himself. He doesn't know what Erica is talking about but he is pretty certain that he is not at fault for whatever she accuses him of.
"Don't return the pens when they barely have no ink," Erica complained and glared at her brother.
"It wasn't empty when I returned it and why do you instantly assume it was me?" Lucas retorted.
Erica sighed and then started listing the reasons why it could only be her brother's doing. "First, you borrowed my colored pens and returned some of them when there's barely any ink left for me to use. Second, I found the rest of my colored pens that you haven't returned, under your bed along with other objects worth mentioning."
At the mention of the bed, Lucas widened his eyes and silently pleaded for his sister to stop.
"And third, you do not have any intentions to get them out of your bed anytime soon." She finished with a bored expression. Actually, Erica wanted to say more about what she truly witnessed under the bed. However, she did make a deal with her brother that includes keeping her mouth shut in exchange for information regarding the upside-down shenanigans.
Erica is known as the bratty little sister of a party member, she won't deny that. And while she can break the deal as easily as she talks back to other people, there's no way she'd do that. As bratty as she is, she knows how to respect people that deserve it, and her brother does deserve a little bit of her respect. Just the facts.
Lucas let out a sigh of relief at what Erica decided to say since it didn't reveal anything about something not worth knowing about. He returned his focus to the campaign and then mumbled. "Just get a new pen from the kitchen. Seriously, Erica, it's not that hard."
Erica frowned at her brother's response but didn't bother talking back to him as she left her seat, stomped her way to the kitchen to repeat the same procedures she did earlier, and got a new pen, hopefully, this one has enough ink unlike the last two she used. Again, since she was in close proximity to the fridge, she opened it and got another can of soda for herself, with the purpose of taunting her dear older brother. While walking back to the living room, she could hear Lucas shout about some unlucky dice rolls.
"Oh shit. Oh come on!!" Lucas cursed loudly. There were also groans from the other party members, clearly disappointed with the result. A passionate narration from the dungeon master was told to the members who are still stunned by the events of the campaign. Lucas, especially was upset with the result to the point that Max was patting his shoulders in an assuring manner.
Erica stared at her brother and then at the soda can in her hand. Even though it's just a made-up fantasy world, she could understand how upset Lucas was over a failed attack so with a sigh, Erica opened the lid of the soda and placed it near Lucas without a word. From the corner of her eyes, she was able to see Dustin smile for some reason.
"What the hell is he smiling about?" Erica thought to herself and sat down on the couch.
Surprisingly, despite the question staying solely in her mind without any traces of it being asked out loud, Dustin had a response.
He looked at Erica with a smile and opened his mouth to speak. "About what I said earlier....." He paused then put his hands on top of Erica's head, patting it as he added. "I take it back."
Erica furrowed her brows, visibly confused at whatever this nerd is talking about. Confused as she is, annoyance was more visible on her face as she tried to take off the hand that continues patting her head. As it turns out there was no need to try because Dustin already removed it voluntarily to focus on the campaign he's part of.
"You're sharp so go figure it out," Dustin concluded and received the dice from Lucas since it was his turn already. Just as he was about to roll the dice, he was interrupted by Mike suddenly telling something to Lucas who had just drank the soda near him.
"You know, that soda is for your sister," Mike informed which made Lucas widen his eyes.
Without even glancing at them, Erica replied. "I don't want it anymore. He can have it."
Lucas just muttered thanks and then the game continued. Erica went back to writing her speech with the new pen she got, but she does occasionally glance at the party every now and then. Except, since she was too far for her to observe the dice rolls of Lucas, she could only slightly extend her neck to check on the digits of Dustin's dice rolls.
Once again, it was Dustin's turn so he rolled the dice. As he was solving the math in his head, he could hear a voice mutter numbers from behind him. Due to earlier events, he easily recognized the voice and decided to trust it. If his predictions are correct, any second now there would be an exact number of the damage that Dustin dealt so he spared himself from doing the math in his head and waited. He didn't need to wait long since a few seconds later, his predictions were confirmed correct.
"twenty-nine..." Erica whispered to no one in particular.
Dustin waited for a few more seconds before copying the same number that Erica whispered to definitely no one in particular.
"Ok, the total is 29 for me." He announced to the party which earned a nod from the members. The routine carried on until they finally reached the end of the campaign and ended up victorious. There were cheers from everyone - even those like Max, El, and Erica who ended up watching them as soon as they were done with their respective tasks. After that, it was time to eat the snacks prepared for this campaign. They were occupied with the game earlier so they couldn't really take the time to eat or drink anything - except for Dustin and Lucas who managed to drink a can of soda while playing.
Each of them got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the kitchen and sat down on their respective seats. As always, Max and Mike were arguing over something while El and Will tried to maintain the peace. Erica is still at the same seat with Dustin beside her as they discuss the my little pony episode that they recently watched. The two nerds were about to go into a heated debate about what they think is the best episode of the series so far but they were interrupted by the presence of Lucas looming over them.
Lucas and Dustin shared a look that they understood even without any words. Dustin slightly moved, creating some space for Lucas to sit on. It seems that he would talk to his little sister about something.
"Hey, about the colored pens...I'm sorry." Lucas apologized and then turned to his sister while offering her another sandwich.
"Your sorry wouldn't magically return the ink." Erica asserted and took the sandwich that her brother was offering her.
Lucas sighed, of course, it would turn out this way. "I know. I'll replace them with new ones."
"Buy me the limited scented markers and we'll have a deal." She specified as she took a bite from her sandwich. To be honest, the pens not being returned weren't such a big deal for Erica - they were just pens and she could even buy them herself with her own spare money. However, seeing as her brother felt a little bit guilty, Erica decided to take advantage of the situation.
Her brother was about to agree to the deal. but for some reason, Erica decided to stop him, and because she kept noticing Max glancing at her brother a lot so Erica suggested. "Actually, if you manage to pack up the courage and send those love letters to that certain someone, I'll forget about the colored pens."
"Shut up." Lucas scolded and tried to be intimidating yet the expression on his face exposes the flustered emotions he was feeling. Not wanting to take any more teasing from his sister, he stood up from the seat and walked to the kitchen. Now, only Dustin and Erica were remaining seated on the couch - both of them had wine grins on their faces.
Dustin held out a hand, signaling Erica for a high-five. Although Erica rolled her eyes, she did respond to Dustin with a high-five.
"The 7th member doing the job of getting those two back together." Dustin applauded loudly.
Erica narrowed her eyes. "Who the hell are you calling the 7th member."
"It's inevitable, whether you like it or not, you are the 7th member of the party." He confirmed, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
It's true. Now, she's more than the little sister of Lucas, especially after everything she's been through and the intellect she provided during those times. Even though Erica herself would never admit it out loud, she does think of the gang as her own friends and would offer help and protection in her own way. Her help does end up being a bit rash sometimes and usually involves brutal honesty from the little girl, but in the long run, it does contribute to something.
"Now I'm stuck with this nerdy party." She attempted to protest and if it wasn't for the small grin on her face, Dustin would have been convinced that she despised being part of the party - but they both knew what the truth is. Despite everything, Erica appreciates the party just as much as the party appreciates her.
Erica Sinclair is far from polite and not a tad respectful, even to people older than her....but, it doesn't change the fact that she's kind and helpful.
Well, she's not the kindest but she's kind enough anyway.
And it's not just Dustin and Max who treasures her involvement with the party. All of them do.
Yes, even her dear older brother.