Callie searched the hospital for Stephanie and finally found her kicking a vending machine.

"Stephanie…. Vending machines are our friends. Stop kicking it." Callie grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her away to a group of chairs.

"It took my quarter." Stephanie said, angrily, in her own defense.

"Oh well that makes it alright then." Callie rolled her eyes. "I'll give you another quarter later. First, we have to talk."

"No. I don't want to talk to you. You took Sportacus away from me. How could you do that?" Stephanie asked. (AN: I said the exact same thing to my brother when I was her age.)

"Stephanie, I didn't take him from you. He'll still be your friend."

"He was more than a friend. Everybody knows that I like him like him."

"Stephanie, who's everybody? I didn't know… does Sportacus know?" Callie asked. Stephanie shifted in her seat and played with the fabric of her pink dress.

"I don't- I never told him… but everybody else knows. And now you stole him."

"You can't steal a person, hon. Everybody makes their own decisions." Callie tried to explain. She looked at her little sister and remembered her first crush. It broke her heart when she found out in kindergarten that Dick Van Dyke was much older than he looked in the replays of The Dick Van Dyke Show, and that he would never be her boyfriend. "Stephanie… if you really don't want Sportacus and I to-"

"I don't." Stephanie said. Callie stiffened at the sureness of her sister. She really cared for Sportacus and thought she'd finally be able to have a relationship with a good man, but her sister was too important to her. She'd have to break it off before it even really started.

"Alright then. Do you… want to come back to the room?"

"No… I'll find Uncle and have him take me back home." Stephanie said. She then stood up and left Callie alone.

Callie sighed. How did things get so complicated? She got up and started back to Sportacus's room so that she could ruin any chances she ever had for happiness.

She entered his room quietly and found him picking through a tray of hospital food.

"I hear the Jell-O is the only good stuff here." She said lightly, making him look up. He smiled at her.

"Would you like to have the Jell-O? It's not sugar-free… and it's blue." He offered.

"Thanks. Listen Sportacus… we have to talk." Callie said. She grabbed a spoon and started playing with the Jell-O.

"About what just happened…. Yes. We need to establish our relationship and figure out-"

"No, there can't be a relationship." Callie interrupted him.

"This is about Stephanie, isn't it?" He asked, smile fading.

"She has such a crush on you, Sportacus. Apparently all of Lazytown knew except us."

"But she's only eight years old."

"Sportacus, I had my first crush in kindergarten. She's old enough to have these feelings. And… I don't want to be the one to ruin my sister's first crush. She… she's really important to me. She's my sister…. My baby sister. I can't break her heart." Callie told him. Sportacus shoved the tray away from himself and stared intently at her.

"What about your heart? I know you feel the same for me as I do for you."

"I'm the oldest sister. I don't have the luxury of only taking care of myself. And you're right… I do feel the same…"

"But you want to cut off this relationship before it even begins and grows."

"I have to. Sportacus, I wish I-" Callie's vision started to blur with tears.

"Callie…. I… I understand. If this is what you want, then it shall be."

"Alright then…. Friends?" Callie tried to smile as she held her hand out.

"Friends." He took her hand and shook it with all the fake happiness and enthusiasm he could muster.

"So now what?" Callie asked, finally taking a mouthful of Jell-O, but now it seemed bitter to her.

"I guess we continue on like before… and ignore our feelings."

"Right…oh this is going to be difficult. I really want to kiss you right now." Callie admitted.

"Me too. I mean… I want to kiss you too."

"But we can't." Callie sighed.

"Right. Because we are just friends." Sportacus added. They both let out a simultaneous sigh and sat in awkward silence.

"I can do this." Callie nodded to herself.

"Yes… this will be easy…" Sportacus said.

"Yeah…"

I know I haven't been updating as often lately as I was in the beginning of this story. I have a job now. It's hard to get the time to write as much as before… and I don't update online unless I'm at least two chapters ahead in my notebook at all times.

Also… I'll be going away this weekend. I'm going to my best friend's homecoming. Basically it's a whole weekend filled with drinking and drinking and football and drinking. My little sister is also going but I probably won't see her because she's going to hang out with her freshman friends. She's also going a day later then me. She won't even be at Kegs-n-Eggs…. oh well.