“I was just introducing her to Ezra,” Mae told him, but there was a protective edge to her voice.

“I’m sorry about Peter,” Ezra turned back to me, smiling apologetically. “He seems to have completely lost his mind.”

Peter rolled his eyes at that, and I wondered what it was about me that bothered him so much. I’d barely said anything around him. In fact, I’d mostly just stood there and stared dumbly. How could that be so offensive to anyone?

“You know what would be fun?” Jack asked. He’d been standing off to the side of me, crouched down on the floor so he could pet Matilda, who had rolled over on her back so he could rub her belly.

“Nobody wants to play Guitar Hero.” Mae sounded exasperated when she turned to give him a look.

“But you can play the Beatles! You loved the Beatles!”

“He’s back on that again?” Ezra asked, looking a little disappointed.

“He bought a new system or something,” Mae said wearily. “I don’t know. It’s just been the past couple days.”

“Well, maybe we should let the kids play, and you can fill me in on what else I’ve missed while I was gone,” Ezra suggested.

Mae took a step away from me, and he slid his arm around her slender waist. They really looked perfect together, and something about them made me incredibly jealous. Not because I really wanted to be with Ezra (although, there were much worse things I could do) but because of how obviously they were made for each other. I wanted to be made for somebody like that.

“Have you played Guitar Hero?” Jack asked suddenly. I’m assuming he was asking me, but he was already hurrying over to the giant plasma television hanging on the wall and hooking up the gaming system.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Mae gently touched my arm. “And don’t be afraid to tell him when you’ve had enough. He can play that game for hours, so you’re gonna have to be the one to stop him.”

When they walked out of the room, Mae rested her head on Ezra’s shoulder, and I couldn’t help but feel sad to see them go. Peter, strangely enough, didn’t take this as his cue to exit, and stood where he was, glowering at everyone and everything.

“So have you?” Jack looked back over his shoulder at me.

Matilda had followed him over to where he sat crouched on the floor, putting the game in the player and hooking up the wireless guitar controllers. She shoved her nose right in his hair, drooling over it, but he didn’t seem to really mind or notice.

“Like once, at a friend’s house,” I said. Jane had been making out with a guy the entire time, while I sat downstairs in the living room and played Guitar Hero with his nine-year-old brother. It had been a hoot.

“It’s really awesome,” Jack said.

“I don’t know why you’re making the poor girl play with you,” Peter said. For once, he didn’t sound angry or irritated, and I think he was almost coming to my defense. “You’re going to completely slaughter her.”

“I am the greatest Guitar Hero player of all time.” Jack was insanely proud of this accomplishment, and why wouldn’t he be? He had amazing talents that he downplayed constantly, but he was really, really good at a video game. He had his priorities in order.

“Of course you are.” I took the plastic guitar from him and dropped the strap over my shoulders.

“What song do you want?” He started scrolling through the song list so fast I could hardly even read it, but I caught a few that I liked.

“Um… how about Interpol?”

“Good choice,” Jack commended me.

I was acutely aware of the fact that Peter was staring at me, and it made me extremely self-conscious. His gaze didn’t feel quite as hateful as it had before, but that didn’t change the effect he had on me. Ezra had been able to calm him down somewhat, and for that, I would be forever grateful. I couldn’t bare him hating me.

A few strums on the guitar switch later, and the game started rolling. The object was to hit the colored buttons on the arm of the guitar in time with the same colored buttons flashing on the screen, but it was much harder than it sounded.

Jack had put me on the easy skill level, but he was on expert and flying through it. Peter had been right. There was no contest between the two of us. I could barely even finish the song.

“Oh, that was brutal,” Peter said when we had finished playing.

He left his place on the wall and walked over to me, making my heart pound so loudly I could barely hear myself think. He was careful not to look me in the eyes, and I could tell that was a very deliberate decision. Then he held his hand out towards me, and at first, I didn’t understand.

“Give me the guitar. Jack needs a good ass kicking.”

“You need it more than I do,” Jack scoffed.

I started to pull the strap off over my head, but it tangled in the length of my hair. Peter reached out to help me, and for a second, his hand was over mine.

His skin felt much different from everyone else’s. It was just as baby soft, but it was burning hot. It reminded me of when I accidentally touched an electric fence when I was a kid, except this was pleasurable. It actually sent a jolt through me, and I saw his eyes flash up, meeting mine for just a second, so I knew he felt it too.

Then he quickly untangled the guitar and took it from me, without saying a word or looking at me again.

“What song?” Jack asked Peter, with a strange edge to his voice.

“Your choice,” Peter said. He sounded perfectly even, but when he looked at me out of the corner of his eye, I could tell that he was a little startled by our moment.

Feeling weak and shaky, I walked back and collapsed on the overstuffed plush couch. Matilda decided that I needed company and climbed next to me, resting her enormous head on my lap.

I stroked her ears and watched Peter and Jack play the game. They were playing so fast it didn’t seem humanly possible, but then I remembered that they probably weren’t humanly possible.

My whole body still felt electrified from the touch, and I tried to decide whether or not I should ask Jack about it. It still felt weird to me to talk to him about his brother, even though it wasn’t as if Jack and I were dating or anything.

Peter beat Jack the first round, so Jack demanded a rematch. They played on for awhile, and Jack kept looking back at me, to make sure I was still there.