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“I’m bored and I figured you could use a break from killing zombies. I thought we could go toss the football in the backyard.”

“Really?” Elliot suddenly perked up. He was addicted to gaming, but his second love was football. Unlike me though, he was absolutely terrible at it.

“Yes, really, but only if we go now. It’s supposed to rain this afternoon, so we should get out there before the clouds roll in.”

Elliot launched himself from his beanbag, happily forgetting about his game as he followed me from his room. There were only two things he’d consider leaving his game for: football and food.

The sun was still shining as we ventured outside, but some dark clouds were visible on the horizon. Our backyard was a wide-open space with a large stretch of lawn that was bordered by perfectly pruned hedges. There wasn’t much need for plants as our house backed onto the forest, and large trees shaded most of the lawn.

I jogged out of the house, football in hand, before turning to my brother. I didn’t put too much distance between us because Elliot’s throws tended to skew off to the side when he tried to put too much heat into them.

“We haven’t done this in ages,” Elliot said, as I threw the ball to him. He fumbled it slightly but eventually gathered it and managed to stop the ball from falling to the ground.

“Yeah, because you’ve been too distracted by that new game of yours,” I replied. It was also because Elliot had been getting on my nerves since we’d been cooped up together. I figured it was better to spend time together in small doses, or we’d be at each other’s throats by the end of lockdown.

“I can’t help that my game is awesome.” He tossed the ball back. His throw wasn’t too bad, and I easily plucked the pass out of the air.

“Nice one,” I said, making Elliot smile.

We threw the ball as the clouds continued to loom overhead, and eventually the sun disappeared. Every so often, I’d give my brother advice, trying to help him with his technique. He always nodded and accepted my tips, but it often felt like he forgot them again almost immediately. I didn’t mind though. I was just happy to see my brother enjoying himself without being hooked up to a TV.

There was something calming about just throwing the ball, and it felt like the fresh air was doing us both good. Perhaps I was wrong to think spending too much time with Elliot would only annoy me more.

“So, it’s April Fools’ Day in a couple of days.” Elliot dropped the ball and went to pick it up again.

“Okay…”

“I think we should prank Clary.”

“You do, do you?”

His eyes twinkled with mischief as he nodded. “Yep.”

He sent a clean throw toward me, and for once, it went straight to my waiting hands. When he didn’t think about what he was doing too much, his passes weren’t too bad. I grinned at my brother. “With throws like that, you’ll be taking my spot on the team in no time.”

Elliot beamed in response, his chest puffing out slightly at the compliment. “So, what do you think about pranking Clary?”

I turned the ball over in my hands as I looked at him. “Is it because you’re afraid I’m going to out-prank you again?”

“No.” Elliot responded far too quickly, and I laughed. He was probably terrified. We always tried to outdo each other on April Fools’ Day, and Elliot usually got the raw end of the deal. Admittedly, the kid was an evil mastermind, so it was only a matter of time before he got his revenge.

“Just think, we could combine our prank powers and come up with the best prank ever.”

“Maybe,” I replied.

“And I’m sure she’d like to be included in our annual tradition.”

“Perhaps,” I said. “I’ll have to think about it.”

Elliot grinned as though he knew I was going to agree. I honestly wanted to think about it though. I was trying to get Clary to like me, and I didn’t want to upset her. Perhaps she’d be offended if she wasn’t included though. Why did girls have to be so complicated? If it were the other way around, and she was trying to get me to fall in love with her, a good prank would be a great way to impress me.

“Have you seen her today?”

“Not since breakfast.”

I nodded. “Yeah, me neither.” I didn’t like that Clary seemed to feel uncomfortable leaving her room during the day. She was welcome to make herself at home wherever she wanted in the house.

Elliot’s lips lifted in a knowing smirk. “Why? Do you miss her?”