Diego's POV

I gazed at Nina lounging on the sofa and a smile crept up onto my face. I had always felt a pull towards her and it felt like heaven to finally be able to call her mine and hold her in my arms. I glanced over at April scribbling on a piece of paper and smiled at the look of concentration plastered on her face.

Maybe Aiden and April hadn't been as ready to accept their bond like me and Nina because they both had so many defenses up against people. Aiden because of his past and April because of her persona. But I could now see them drifting towards one another. Aiden looked less moody, April less worried, Aiden less pained, April less unhappy. They had changed each other in so many ways over a short period of time that it made me frown at how difficult it was for me – someone who had known Aiden his whole life - to make him smile since we were 12.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by two arms wrapping around my waist. I smirked at the Nina's body close behind me and turned abruptly, placing my hands on her waist, knowing she hated not having the upper hand. Her pout turned into a smile and her eyes twinkled as she jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen.

Nina nuzzled her head into my shoulder. "You smell good."

I pushed her away slightly so I could see her face and frowned at her tone – "Hey, what's up?" I asked in concern, lifting her chin so I was looking her directly in the eye. She looked away from me nervously. A sudden surge of protectiveness overwhelmed me and I brushed my lips onto hers teasingly.

Her body relaxed and she slid her hands firmly behind my neck, pulling me closer. "Nina," I said wanly, my eyes travelling down to her lips that she was now biting uncertainly. Nina, oh Nina.

She sighed, resting her forehead against my own. "It's Kayla. I know I said I wasn't fussed about her leaving us, but it's different now. I know why she's acting like this and that it's because of that prick Noah. But I want her back Diego; me and April need her. I can't risk giving up on her." Nina moaned, shaking her curls out.

I was stuck for words – I knew that getting Kayla back on Nina and April's side was near to impossible. A mate's bond couldn't be changed and Kayla wasn't about to start becoming friendly again with her former friends. If Noah didn't like her, then Kayla would be influenced by his demeanor too.

"I knew I shouldn't have bought this up – now you think I'm a whiny bitch, right?" Nina muttered under her breath, straightening up.

I shook my head at her and drew her in for a hug – if I told her that Kayla wouldn't be coming back I would simply her mood. She didn't deserve this – I'll tell her when the time is right and she sees for herself that Kayla has changed for good. I made my mind up and felt Nina tiptoeing upwards for another make out session – I pretended to groan and she frowned, smacking me on the arm. I smirked in response and she jumped onto the counter, grinning.

"No! Don't you even think about taking another step towards her Diego!" A voice yelled from the doorway. I turned in surprise to find April's accusing finger pointed at me. I slowly raised my hands in surrender and grinned backing away, slightly puzzled.

"And you," she pointed at Nina now, "Get off the kitchen counter. I chop vegetables on there and I do not want a full on make out session occurring in this kitchen, understand?" April. I glanced over at the now standing Nina and we both exchanged a sly smile – an angry April was a pretty damn funny April.

Perfect for messing around with.

"Please do not use this kitchen as your bedroom – it is not cool and, if I see you two messing about in here again, I will kick you out." She warned.

"Don't worry Ap, we didn't damage your equipment," Nina whispered, winking at her.

"Yeah, we've only ever made out on the counter top once," I remarked thoughtfully, looking over at Nina who nodded in agreement.

"Or was it twice?"

"No, I think it was actually three times," I replied, pretending to draw my eyebrows together. April's mouth dropped open, wincing at each of our words.

"You're an idiot, Diego." April glowered at me.

I was taken aback. "Me? What about Nina!" April glanced at her and smiled mischievously. Suddenly, Nina was no longer by my side. They stood together, glaring at me halfheartedly.

"Hey, that's not fair." I pouted, genuinely hurt.

"We were only joking – you know I love you really." Nina laughed, suddenly back at my side again and looking up at me through her lashes. I rolled my eyes – this was the first time she had said that word 'love' and if this was any other girl, I would have walked away or at least, panicked. But this wasn't any other girl.

"I know." I replied. She scowled, clearly unhappy with my response. I cleared my mind, remembering my purpose for coming to April's apartment until Nina distracted me.

"April?" I said hesitantly, unsure how to word the phrase struggling to form in my mind.

"Hmm," she replied, not looking up.

Nina gave me an nod and cleared her throat. "Ap?" Nina begun but I quickly intervened; this was my right to say – I had dragged April onto this journey and I wasn't about to back out now.

"Look, you know meeting Aiden's dad properly was inevitable – he's only spoken to you once at the ball. You need to meet Antonio and Aiden's brothers properly this time now that you and Aiden are real mates. There's an official gathering at the Knight household and Antonio, Kaden and Cole would really like to meet you." I finished.

April turned away from me half-way during the speech and I was unable to see her expression. A few moments of silence passed between us, the sound of the clock ticking making the atmosphere tense. I hesitated. Should I say something else?

"Okay," a small voice said. My eyes peeled back to April and she turned half-way, a small smile on her face. She shrugged a shoulder. "I mean, I knew it was coming sooner or later – I guess I was just trying to hold it off for as long as possible."

She looked up and raised her eyebrows pointedly in the direction of Nina. "Does - does she know everything?"

I smiled, nodding and rubbed my neck awkwardly. "I kind of told her everything – sorry."

April raised her eyebrows at us. "It's fine, she deserves to know. Sorry I didn't tell you myself Nina, I was kind of being held against my will at the time." She directed this at me, glaring. "But seriously, you two are so whipped with one another it's actually crazy. The player changes the player," April commented thoughtfully.

"April, it's freaky how much you read into people – seriously, it's unhealthy." Nina groaned.

"But you guys make it so obvious how in love you are. Just keep the PDA's to a minimum – there are juniors present." April laughed, pointing to herself.

I jumped over to April and ruffled her hair, knowing full well that it annoyed her. "Don't worry little A, once you and Aiden finally accept each other, you'll be worse than us." I grinned.

She scowled. "I would never act like that – ever." She finalized, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Oh how naive you are April. After giving us one last warning not to mess around in the kitchen, April left, leaving me and Nina alone. With one look, we already knew that we couldn't hang out here anymore, so we left, yelling our goodbyes as we went.

A few moments of welcome silence passed between me and Nina, the only sound being her breathing and our loud footsteps in the silence of the hallway. "Do you think April will be okay?"

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes, leaning forward to press the button for the elevator. "Boys can be so dumb sometimes," she muttered under her breath.

My frown deepened. "What?" I repeated, still confused.

She glared up at me, a natural pout forming on her lips. Focus on her eyes Diego. I quickly averted my gaze back up to her eyes – chicks hate it when they think we don't listen and trust me, Nina's anger was scary.

"I mean she gets pretty nervous around new people – I just don't want her getting into something so deep and then wanting to back out again. I just want to make sure she'll be okay," she said.

"Well, I think April will be fine – I mean she's survived a lot of things so I wouldn't worry about her freaking out. She knows what to do - helping her overcome her fears is our job as her friends and I know for a fact that you're the only one who can do that." I finished, leaning back against the elevator wall.

She looked up at me with wide eyes. "You sir, are adorable." She stated, tiptoeing upwards again, pressing closer to me, the intent clear in her eyes. We didn't end up getting out of the elevator for some time until an elderly woman entered the elevator and yelled at us with her walking stick telling us to 'learn how to act in public' and so we left the building red-faced.

But, admittedly, walking out of that building with her by my side had officially made my life awesome.

A/N: Diego's POV! Aargh, this was honestly, one of the most difficult chapters to write - I feel like I'm living in a boy's mind after writing this o.O

Questions:

1. Team Kaden or Cole?

2. What do you think of Diego and Nina's relationship?

3. Any guesses on what's to come at the Knight household?

Thank you for your support, reads and hopefully happiness at reading KBAAJ!

Hugs and Recces' peanut butter cups! - IICupcakesII