"You're having fun though, right? I mean, if you traveled that far, I at least want you to have some fun."

Everett listened to Jesse, a small smile tugging onto his face as he listened to his brother mentioning all the different things to do in Flagstaff, Arizona. When he called Jesse thirty minutes ago, he didn't expect the onslaught of panic, happiness and curiosity that his younger brother answered the phone with.

Over the past minutes, Jesse made sure he told Everett of several places that he found on the internet with different things to do in the surrounding area. No one was entirely sure how long Lizzie and Everett would be there, though they couldn't imagine it being too very long. Either way, Jesse wanted them to be prepared, clearly.

For Everett, it was nice to see a bit of a different role in Jesse. It seemed like he always needed to step up as caretaker; now, he just stepped up as a brother. That was something Everett sorely missed.

Everett rolled back into the conversation from his train of thought he followed and playfully rolled his eyes, shaking his head. The mouth on the other end of the line still spoke and it didn't seem like a stop would be in the future. At least not anytime soon.

"Well, I don't know about all that stuff," Everett interjected, swiftly cutting his brother off and hopefully shifting gears in the conversation, "but I did have the pleasure of meeting someone really special the other day."

Several days already passed since Everett met Mandy. Lizzie and he went back a few times to visit and hang out. Everett absolutely adored the little girl, which surprised him considering how much he hated Lizzie when they first met. It seemed completely natured that Mandy and Everett forged a tight bond in those few days, much to Lizzie's surprise. But not to her disappointment.

Silence consumed the other end of the line. "Does this mean you don't like Lizzie anymore?" Jesse whined, making Everett burst out laughing from how distressed he really sounded. His brother was the biggest fan girl.

"I didn't mean special like that, you dork," Everett retorted, his head shaking back and forth. "I just meant she was a special person." He paused to think if Lizzie ever told him not to share the secret. But, then again, it wasn't really a secret. Everyone seemed to know, even the one person the secret should have been kept from.

"I met Lizzie's sister."

"Whoa, whoa, wait . . . what?" Jesse sputtered. It sounded like something had been in his mouth when Everett dropped the news, if the hacking and wheezing on the other end was anything to go by. Once Jesse had his breath back, he continued to sputter and groan and tried to find words to express his thoughts, most of which accumulated to 'I can't believe she didn't tell me' and 'The nerve of some people'. Or Everett's favorite, 'Dangit, Lizzie - I shared my Cheetos with you! You couldn't share the fact you had a sister?!'

Jesse muttered on and on for a few minutes, or at least Everett assumed. He sort of put the phone down after the first few lines, grabbing his drink and popping his back before picking the phone back up.

To his surprise, Jesse still let loose a stream of complaints about Lizzie not telling him and in return, Everett wanted to reach through the phone and smack him.

"Okay, okay, seriously?" Everett deadpanned. Jesse stopped and Everett continued, "We're still learning about Lizzie. I've come to accept that it's a normal concept of being friends. Besides, you knew tons of stuff about her before I did," he pointed out. "This little gem is all mine."

An indignant huff came from the other end and Everett grinned triumphantly. Jesse gave up and Everett would never forget it. "Do you wanna see a picture of her? Lizzie said she took one of us, so I can have her send it to you."

Before the sentence even reached completion, Jesse shouted his consent to the idea.

"Okay, I'll have her send it. But hey, I gotta go. Talk later?" Everett wanted to wrap the conversation up, considering he could smell popcorn in the other room.

"Yeah, no problem. Have fun, Ev."

They disconnected and Everett stood, leaving the comfort of the guest room for the living room. He dragged his hand down the wall as he walked, his steps still a bit unsure in this new environment. Sometimes he got a bit turned around. Thankfully, though, the switch from wallpaper to textured sheet rock told him he was in the living room. Small victories, he supposed.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked, sitting down on the couch with Lizzie.

"Nope. She is still the same crazy person she was at the beginning of this episode," Kate answered from the love seat. She sounded equal parts exasperated and entertained. Everett smiled to himself; Lizzie and Kate were nearly carbon copies of each other.

"Remind me why we're on a Bridezillas marathon?" he asked, amused. His hand delved into the bowl of popcorn sitting between Lizzie and him, their lunch for the day consisting of only junk food. The gummy worms were already demolished and so was the bag of chips. The poor bag of plastic had been reduced to nothing but a crumpled lump on the coffee table.

"I don't really know," Lizzie replied, chuckling a bit. "I guess soap operas just aren't our thing." she crunched on the food in her mouth and swallowed before replying, "Oh, by the way, I have a surprise for you later."

Everett frowned. "Me?"

Lizzie laughed, replying, "Well, duh. I think you'll like it." Lowering her voice, she continued under her breath, "At least I hope you will . . ."

Trying to focus back on the show, Everett nodded a bit stiffly and nibbled on his handful of popcorn. Lizzie already threw so many curve balls his way in the short time that they knew each other and even in just the past few days.

Just thinking about what else she had tucked up her sleeve made the gears in his brain go into overdrive.

What in the world could they be doing later?

* * * * * * * *

Needless to say, Everett's confusion went up ten notches when Lizzie told him to grab some shoes and get ready to leave.

She kept her lips completed sealed though and just gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Just trust me, Ev," she told him. He could practically hear the smile in her voice and that alone made him push off the couch in a search for his shoes.

Was he a sucker for hearing her smile? Maybe.

After slipping them on, Everett called out for Lizzie, letting her know they could leave at any time.

"Alright, lemme check and make sure I have everything I need," Lizzie said in reply; there was a bit of rustling, groaning and frustrated sighing happening down the hall and it made Everett grin. So he thought it was adorable how frustrated she got - it didn't happen a lot and when it did, she sounded a bit like an upset bunny.

Sue him.

"And we are ready for lift off," Lizzie announced, bounding back into the room. The girl positively buzzed with excitement; Everett could practically feel it. He may not have known what she planned, but he knew he would have plenty of fun.

The warm air slapped Everett in the face, making him sigh in slight contentment. Lizzie's arm linked to his own and his hands were shoved in his pockets. If he closed his eyes, he could pretend that they were two normal people. Or rather, he was normal.

That he would open his eyes and he would be able to see everything and point out things to the girl next to him. He would cuddle her a bit closer and she would laugh, maybe even blush.

Did Lizzie even blush? He wished he knew for sure, but he imagined that she indeed blushed. And the idea of making her blush and smile made Everett's mouth turn up in an involuntary grin.

"What are you grinning about?" Lizzie asked in a teasing voice.

Before he could filter his thoughts and come up with something funny, Everett's mouth did all the work and blurted out, "You."

He felt his neck heat up and coughed awkwardly turning his head in the other direction. Lizzie didn't say anything, but she gripped his arm tighter and he could feel her head on his arm as they walked.

And maybe for the moment, that was answer enough.

* * * * * * * * * * *

A door opened in front of Everett and his footsteps echoed as he stepped inside wherever Lizzie led him. He scrunched up his nose and huffed. "Lizzie, you don't need to drag me to a warehouse if you intended to kill me. I'm sure there is a much more efficient way to do this."

His words were met with a bark of laughter and the sound of light switches. "Yes, Everett, because I dragged you across the country to murder you in some warehouse." She snorted again before grabbing his hand.

Everett chose not to respond to the sentiment, choosing instead to listen to each step he took. Each footfall made an echo, both his and Lizzie's. It was hard to tell how big the room was, but as long as Lizzie didn't dump him and run, everything would be just fine.

"So . . . where are we exactly?" Everett ventured to ask, stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. He bit his lip and turned his head side to side, beside not being able to see.

Lizzie's steps came much closer, walking until right in front of Everett. "This is actually Aunt Kate's art studio," she explained. Her hand grabbed Everett's and she pulled him along as she moved. "I asked if I could borrow it for the afternoon."

Everett stumbled a bit before regaining his balance, saying, "Art studio? Liz, c'mon, you've got to be kidding."

"I most certainly am not," she declared loudly, her voice echoing in the room.

Everett rolled his eyes. "Lizzie, I don't even like art."

"And that, sir, is the grandest lie you've told yet."

"How exactly do you --"

"Did you know your mom still has your finger paintings on the fridge?" Everett halted completely at Lizzie's words, jaw going slack. "Because I do," she continued, voice growing a bit softer with each word. "Come on, this is me you're talking to, Ev. What's wrong with admitting that yes, you do like painting and drawing and all those things?"

Everett could tell Lizzie stood close, her body heat radiating over to him. He crossed his arms and faced down. "Because there doesn't seem much point in liking something you just can't do. You know?"

It went quiet. A low buzz could be heard somewhere in the building, but Everett didn't care about a faulty light bulb. He just cared that, once again, he felt far to vulnerable.

"Everett."

Everett shook his head. "Never mind - it's stupid."

"It's not stupid, Everett. Never think that," Lizzie urged him, literally pushing him along towards well . . .wherever they were going. "I just thought that, you know . . . you enjoyed it when you were a kid. So maybe, even though there might be, like, small issues . . . I don't know, I just thought you would like it."

Lizzie started the tirade strong, but Everett noticed how towards the end she sounded unsure of herself or her decisions. And, he thought, yeah -  maybe it could be fun. So with that in mind, he rolled up his sleeves and took a step forward. "Okay, then -  so . . . how does this work then?"

The girl standing next to him gave a whoop of excitement and grabbed his hand. "You're going to have so much fun!"

And despite his reservations, Everett really did have a great time. Lizzie had created an environment that he could use to his advantage, one that would give him guidance even though he lacked one sense in particular. The paint cans had braille on them, letting Everett track which colors were there. The brushes were close at hand and she even gave him a smock and a huge paint pallete, something that he never thought he'd hold again.

Lizzie even gave him some small round thumb tacks so he could pin point the outline of whatever he wanted to draw. While Everett knew that whatever he could paint or draw would be sorely lacking, he still felt pleased that Lizzie went through so much effort to make it an enjoyable experience.

At the end of their art session, Everett felt dizzy with happiness. Something he loved so much growing up had been ripped away from him. When he was a child, Everett loved painting, loved drawing; he loved it all.

But after his accident, those things weren't an option.

But Lizzie -  this amazing, sweet, and caring girl - waltzed into his life and gave Everett everything he thought he'd never gain.

Sucking in a huge breath of air, Everett felt a bit of a lump in his throat. He didn't like it, but it happened. He set down his brush and extended his arm in the direction he knew Lizzie currently sat, deep in concentrationon her project as well.

His fingers grazed her painters smock and her reaction was instant. "What's up?"

"I . . .Just, I, uh," Everett struggled to find the words and in his mind, he just couldn't come up with the exact phrases that would make Lizzie understand. "Thank you, Lizzie. And I don't just mean for this. I mean . . . I just . . . I'm really lucky that you found me."

And just like that, the words Everett had been dying to speak for so long were onec again on the tip of his tongue. He knew how much he liked Lizzie. He had for a long time.

But he just didn't think the feelings were reciprocated. He didn't think Lizzie could see him as anything other than a friend. He basically friend zoned himself. But for some reason, here, today -  it felt like the right time to say something.

"Lizzie . . . uhm . . .just . . . never mind."

And there went his moment.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The walk home was cooler than Everett expected. Lizzie's arm was linked through his again as their footsteps sounded along the sidewalk. Everett leaned his head down on Lizzie's as they moved, wishing he had the guts to just say what he wanted to say and get it over with.

"You're my best friend, you know that?" Lizzie said suddenly, shattering the silence encompassing them. She came to a halt and Everett followed suit, turning his body so he faced her now. The question was rhetorical, that much he knew.

"It's just, no matter what I do, I tell myself, 'Hey, Everett would like that.' or 'Maybe I should ask Everett if he wants to come.' It feels ongoing, like no matter what I just want to share whatever it is with you." Lizzie sounded a bit more shy now and maybe a touch nervous.

And it sort of clicked in Everett's head what could possibly be happening at the moment. And so, even though he hated to steal her momentum, Everett decided to interject.

"If it makes you feel any better, I sort of do the same thing," he blurted before he lost his nerve. With one hand, he reached out and felt around for Lizzie's arm, finding it and sliding his hand down to reach hers. He gulped and hoped that he hadn't misread anything. He was a bit new to this after all.

"I think about you a lot," he continued quietly, playing with the edge of her sleeve. "I think about how lost I'd be without you now. I think of how thankful I am that you're around. I think about what we're going to do next week even though we haven't planned anything yet."

Lizzie's forehead thumped against his chest and they stood there for a moment, trying to take in the confessions from each of them, think about what they meant and if the words in their minds should be words out in the open instead.

"Look, I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say . . . I mean, I have an inkling of what you could mean. But . . . then again, maybe you don't entirely get what I'm saying either," Lizzie mumbled, letting out a deep breath of air as she did so. She continued after a brief pause, "So, maybe on the count of three, we should just . . . do it? Get it out in the open?"

Everett gulped. He got this far - he should be able to actually say it.

Lizzie, I like you.

That couldn't be too hard. Could it? So he nodded his consent to the idea. Lizzie lifted her head from where it previously rested and stepped back just slightly, just enough so they could breath before doing this.

"One," she whispered.

"Two," he replied just as quiet.

And, "Three."

Before Everett could actually get the words out, he got the shock of his entire life.

All he could register were really, really soft lips pressed up against his and to be honest, in that moment, that was all that mattered.

He could only hold onto the edge of Lizzie's jacket sleeve, mind going a billion miles per hour.

The kiss only lasted a couple of seconds, but for Everett - it felt like forever.

When Lizzie pulled back so they could both grab another breath of air, she said nervously, "I really hope we were on the same page there or else this could get really awkward, really fast."

And he just couldn't help it; Everett grinned bigger than he ever had and he laughed. He shook his head and grabbed Lizzie's arms, pulling her into a tight hug. The hug was immediately reciprocated and the giant grin faded into a content smile as he pressed a kiss onto the crown of her head.

"Trust me, Lizzie. We were definitely on the same page."

* * * * * * * * * * *
AND SHE IS BACK!!!

Yes, it has finally happened - everything has happened and now we are going to see what happens next!

I just want to say that I'm very sorry this took so insanely long to get out. But I feel like I've gotten my mojo back, I feel like this story has direction now and - guys ... I've got a good feeling about this! By my projection, there should be around 8 - 10 chapters left before this story reaches its end.

Thank you to everyone who stuck in there with me and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! More to come soon!!

Also, if you were interested, I recently updated The Guy In Disguise as well! Hope you'll check it out!!

Much ❤️

- Kim