"How I about this," I spin round in my seat, "because you all look like you just ate a bag full of lemons we go somewhere to cleanse your palette. Somewhere with no tiny calorie free appetisers but something that packs a punch?"

"That's perfect because it can be goodbye celebration too as we're all leaving tomorrow," Mitchell agreed eagerly.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows, I was annoyed at my heart for panicking at the sound of this.

"It's October half term," Mitch explained.

"That means no school," Nico rolled his eyes at me so I swatted him playfully with the back of my hand.

"No fighting children," Grey reprimanded teasingly as he steered us back towards Kings Bridge.

I'd forgotten that Kings Bridge wasn't their full time home like it was mine and that half term meant more than a week off school, it signified a return to their real homes. They would all be leaving me. The entire inside of my body sank down to the floor.

"So you're all going to be gone for the week?" I clarify trying to keep my disappointment out of my voice. I'd had such high hopes for half term and the five of us being able to spend so much time together.

"Yep," Grey sounded even less pleased than I was, "I'm being forced to join the family on one of Jordan's signing tours where he goes around and basks in the love of his fans and let's his ego triple in size. While maybe signing the occasional football shirt."

"Sounds fun," I try to make my voice cheerful but Grey only gives me a gaze of burning coals.

"Sawyer is going to be having way more fun, he's going to Mexico," Grey switched the topic too noticeably.

"You're going to Mexico?" I cried, how could I not know this.

"Yeah," Sawyer shrugged casually like this was no big deal, "my parents love travelling, they want to visit every country in the world before they die."

"Wow," I shook my head trying to imagine what the world was like outside of the states I'd been trapped in my whole life, "anyone else going anywhere?"

"Argentina," Nico grins, "visiting family there."

"New York," Mitch adds nonchalantly, "my dad has business to do there and he's taking me with him," he makes air quotations "'to experience the working world' how fun!" He rolls his eyes dramatically to go with his sarcastic tone.

"I would love to go to New York," longing drops off my every word.

Though I know they don't mean to their complaining is really getting to me. I know their lives aren't perfect but they get to travel to amazing places and see wonderful things and experience so many new places yet they seem to take that all for granted. To them being able to jet off in a plane to wherever you point your finger on the map is a normal thing, not something people spend their lives saving up for or, like me, will probably never be able to do. It seems sometimes that they complain when they forget all they have to be excited about.

"California Pizza Kitchen?" Grey suggests and my attention goes back to the road to notice we're on longer heading back in the direction of Kings Bridge.

"Sounds good," Mitch agrees.

"I'm so hungry," Nico complains and his stomach growls right on cue. The five of us burst out laughing.

I glance over my shoulder at the three of them wedged into the back seat. Nico has his head thrown back in laughter and the early evening sun catches on his glowing olive skin. Mitch is squished right at the side of the car his bulky frame barely able to fit but he's grinning so widely I thought his face might split. Sawyer has laughter glittering away in his thoughtful eyes as his chuckle synchronises with Nico's whoops of laughter.

Though they may frustrate me sometimes I know how lucky I am to have them. And I'm not going to take that for granted.

***

Unfortunately it seemed we weren't the only ones who thought it was a good idea to grab a pizza early on a Saturday night. Both the parking lot and inside of the restaurant were packed full of families with young kids and rowdy teenagers eating to line their stomachs before a night out.

I noticed a few Ainsley High students tucked into one booth who glared daggers at us from the moment we walked in.

"Hi, how can I help you?" A handsome boy who couldn't have been more than a year or two older than us appeared in front of us with a gold name tag reading 'Aidan' on the front of his muscular chest. He was attractive and he knew it.

"Table for five please," it was effortless to allow Mitch to speak for the group, he was such an automatic leader that no words needed to be exchanged to know that he was in control. But I never felt like he was trying to speak for me or overlook anyone's opinion, I felt safe knowing that he was always watching out for us.

"Of course," our waiter, Aidan, was smiling straight at me.

He led the way to a booth tucked away at the back slightly apart from the noise and hum of the rest of the restaurant. I slid into the seat between Sawyer and Nico with Grey and Mitch opposite us. I could feel the two of them pressed against either side of me.

"My names Aidan and I'll be your waiter for the evening," he announced and stuck a menu straight out towards me with another winning smile. Across the table I saw Mitch visibly tense and Grey's eyes spit flames more harshly. I took the menu with a slight smile and opened it awkwardly as Aidan handed the boys their menus keeping his eyes on me the whole time. I could feel a laugh bubbling up in my throat, I mean could he be less obvious? "Can I get you any drinks?" He directed the question straight at me.

"Water please," I answered trying to clamp my lips shut so I wouldn't laugh in his handsome face.

"Soda," Mitch glowered at the waiter murderously.

"Two sodas," Grey added.

"Make that three,"

"No four."

"Four sodas, one water coming right up," did he just wink at me? I almost burst out in laughter purely from shock, "I'll be back in a minute to take your orders."

He leaves with a final flirtatious smile in my direction but as soon as his back is turned I can't help but snigger.

"What?" Grey is scowling but I can't stop myself and a snort of laughter escapes.

"That was the worst waiter I've ever seen," Mitch complained crossing his arms.

"It was so funny," I giggle, "I mean do you think he's ever heard of being subtle?"

"You think it's funny?" Grey looked more confused than anything.

"Yeah," I smile then seeing all their confused expressions expand, "I mean does he actual think he has a chance? I'm here with four guys and he decides that I'm the perfect girl to hit on. I'm just laughing at his lack of tact."

"Yeah tactless," Mitch grumbles annoyance still in his tone as he hides his face behind his menu.

"You're acting like this has happened before," Sawyer observes, why does he always notice everything?

"Umm, yeah," I shift awkwardly in my seat between Sawyer and Nico, "it's happened before but not with four boys, obviously."

"With who?" Nico is teasing.

"Jackson," my voice is deadly serious as I say his name, "though I gotta say you reacted a lot better than him."

Sawyer opened his mouth to say something but before he could the problematic waiter had already returned our drinks in hand. He set down each of the boys sodas before placing my water slowly in front of me making sure to look directly into my eyes as he did so. I could see a couple of the other boys smirking now that they knew I didn't take him seriously.

"Can I get you anything to eat?" He pulled out a notepad and again only had eyes for me.

I realised I hadn't even glanced my menu I'd been so preoccupied with our conversation but I didn't need to to know what I was having.

"Margarita please," I stated simply.

The four boys all have their orders with little acknowledgement of them by Aidan. I wondered if he was just overconfident or actually oblivious to the death glares he was getting from all of them.

"Seriously, that doesn't piss you off?" Mitch was incredulous.

"It pisses me off that he's ignoring the rest of you which is rude but it's also kind of flattering and funny more than anything," I shrug non plussed by the whole situation. Though I'm used to my mom usually being the one who gets hit on in bars and restaurants. She took the attention straight off me to bathe in it herself. She used to love it when waiters would flirt with her and compliment her, I think it made her feel better about herself. But as an onlooker I'd just had a view of how ridiculous the whole thing was. They would flirt for no more than ten minutes over the course of the night and then mom would leave and probably never see this person again. It was laughable.

"I could eat a cow right now," Nico breaks the awkwardness as he stares longingly at the plates of aromatic pizzas passing by.

"I could eat two," Grey counters.

I know what's going to happen next before it does.

"You could not," Nico grins, he's been needing some kind of conflict to allow him to let all his energy out and him and Grey can go at each other for hours on end. They're as bad as siblings.

They squabble until the food comes and then stop because their mouths are too full of pizza to speak though they make several attempts to try.

It seems like seconds before their entire plates are empty and they already have their sights on mine knowing that try as I might I will never finish the whole thing. With a huge roll of my eyes I hand them each a piece to keep them satisfied. Then the feeling of fullness washed over all of us as we lay back in our seats stomachs bloated and minds content.

"I don't think there is a better invention in the world than pizza," Nico states wisely.

"Not even pasta," Mitch agrees in a similarly sincere tone.

"Nothing can compete with its brilliance," Grey continued in a factual voice that made me snigger.

"Are you laughing at the beautifulness that is pizza?" Nico demanded in faux anger.

I was properly laughing now in my food haze that always made everything seem so much more hilarious.

"I don't know what I would do without you guys," I admit cheerfully.

"How does anyone live without us?" Nico questioned dramatically, "what boring wasteful lives they must live, eh?"

"I'm serious," I prodded him, "I'm going to miss you all when you go away."

"We'll miss you too," Mitch comforted reaching over and squeezing my hand on the table.

"Now you better stop getting soppy before you make Mitch cry," Nico teased his affection obvious.

I just couldn't stop smiling though and I felt my heart swell inside me letting me know that I was truly happy.