"Are you a fucking idiot?!" He asked me, quite loudly, too, considering my current state. "How much of a thick-headed moron do you have to be to do something so insanely stupid?!"

"You're going to have to be more specific," I responded. I do a lot of insanely stupid things. 

"Do you have any idea how worried everyone was trying to find you last night? We couldn't find you anywhere! I came to see if you somehow ended up here, only to have Grey knock on the door ten minutes later with you passed out in his arms!"

I rolled my eyes, "Okay, I'm sorry. It's not like I planned to-"

"To what?" He interrupted. "Get plastered and then not tell your friends where you were? You could've been dead and none of would have known!"

"Oh, like you would care if I was dead."

This seemed to enrage him even further. Honestly, I didn't see why he, out of all people, was so upset. Usually, it's Dylan giving me these scolding sessions. It was weird coming from Carson, mostly since he literally hates me.

He took a sharp inhale. "Here," Carson said through gritted teeth. He held out a glass of water and a bottle of Advil.

I snatched it from his hands with a menacing glare. If he wanted to play this game, fine then, I'd play along.

"You have five minutes, by the way," he said as he headed for the door.

"Five minutes until what?"

"Until we leave for the hospital. We're meeting your parents for lunch."

***

I had dressed in the first thing I could pull out of my closet. I had completely forgotten that we were supposed to meet my parents for lunch today.

I hopped into Carson's car, precisely at the five minute mark, and buckled myself in. He rolled his eyes at me before starting to drive.

He didn't say anything for a long time. He just stared ahead at the road, his eyebrows furrowed down, jaw clenched, and hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Look, I'm sorry for worrying you all," I said. "I didn't mean to. I couldn't find any of you, and Grey was the first person I saw who I knew."

"It's fine," he said. 

I rolled my eyes, "And I'm sorry for being rude this morning. You had every reason to be upset and I wasn't very considerate to your feelings." Not that I was sure he even had feelings. 

He sighed, "Madeline, I know we aren't the best of friends." He got that right. "But I've known you since we were 11, and have spent a large portion of the past six years with you. It may not be the most obvious thing, but I do care about your safety, and I most certainly would care if you were dead."

Huh. Unexpectedly almost sweet.

"I mean, who else would I make fun of if you were dead?" Like I said, almost sweet.

I rolled my eyes playfully as his smirk crept back onto his face. "Thank you, Carson."

"Of course, Princess."

***

"So, how's school?" My mother asked. 

I groaned, "Do we have to talk about school?"

She huffed, "Fine. Carson, sweetie, how is school going for you?"

He laughed, "It's going well, Mrs. Spencer."

"See, Madeline? If he can answer my questions, so can you," she said. 

"You ask boring questions," I replied. 

"If it makes a difference, I love your questions," Carson smiled.

I rolled my eyes and kicked his foot under the table. He just looked at me and winked. 

"Perfect, then I'll direct them all towards you since Madeline isn't feeling sociable today."

"Oh, well she had a rough night," Carson smirked. 

"Why? What happened last night?" My father asked. 

Carson stared directly at me, daring him to continue. "She watched a sad movie." I let out a breath.

"Yeah, The Notebook got right to her," he continued on. I'm grateful he didn't say anything about the party, but this was the most ridiculous excuse I have ever heard. 

Lunch continued on, and in all honesty, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was weird to see Carson in such a different element. He was good with my parents, and got along with them well. He made jokes, and laughed at theirs. And he was nice to me, which was an even bigger shock. 

My parents said their goodbyes quickly after lunch ended; they both had to get back to the hospital. I was happy that we were now going back home and I could return to sleep. 

"So, have you talked to Luna at all today?" Carson asked. 

"No, why?" 

"Oh," he responded. "Never mind."

"Carson?"

"Yes?"

"You're hiding something," I stated. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," he responded dismissively. This guy was seriously not a good liar. 

As soon as we pulled into the driveway, he got out of the car and made a dash for the door. Now I knew that there was something going on. 

"Carson!" I cried, as I slammed the front door shut. I followed him up the stairs to his room. 

"You know something I don't, Carson, and I won't leave you alone until you tell me what it is!"

He continued to ignore me as he walked into his room, which of course, I entered uninvited. 

"Tell you what? There's nothing to tell."

"You are such a bad liar."

He sighed, "Princess, just chill out. I'm sure whatever I know that you don't is nothing major. Otherwise Luna would have told you."

"So you do know something!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. 

I stopped in my pursuit for a moment, trying to think of something that would grave Carson's attention and persuade him to tell me what he knew. Finally, I thought of something that Carson could never resist. 

I smirked, "You tell me what you know, and I'll give you head."

He choked on air, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"You're not being serious?" He scoffed. "Are you?"

I nodded. He stopped for a second, and I think he was dead ass considering my proposal.

Then he laughed and waved me off, "How do I know you're even good?"

I rolled my eyes; he shouldn't have asked. "Well, how am I in those dreams of yours?"

He looked at me, dead in the eyes, "The best on earth."

"Well, then, you've got your answer," I stated. "So what's it going to be? Do we have a deal?"

"Hell yes."

* *

"You're kidding!" I said, moving up to sit next to him, using my sleeve to wipe the corners of my mouth and chin.

"Holy fuck," Carson said, laying down flat on the bed.

"I can't believe Luna and Zach had a fight and she didn't tell me about it!"

"Holy fuck," Carson repeated.

"Will you shut up and be responsive?!" I said, slapping Carson's stomach lightly.

"Hang on," He said, unmoving. "I just... I need a minute."

I rolled my eyes, "Carson, this is serious."

A few moments later, he groaned but sat up. "I really don't think it's that big of deal. It was a party. They were both drunk and completely delusional. I'm sure neither of them even remember what their fight was about."

"Yeah, but-"

"I'm sure everything is fine" Carson assured. "Just relax."

* * *

We sat in silence, watching whatever was on TV. I could tell by her energy that something was wrong. 

"So," I started. "Why didn't you tell me you and Zach had a fight?"

Luna shrugged, taking another spoonful of ice cream. "You were drunk, you didn't see it happen. And then we couldn't find you anywhere. It kind of slipped my mind after that."

"Is that so?" I asked.

"It wasn't just a fight."

"No?"

"I mean it wasn't our only fight," She mumbled. "We've been having problems lately."

"What? Why?"

She ran a hand through her hair, "I don't know. It just seems like every little thing lately turns into a huge fight for no reason!"

Luna looked down at the tub of ice cream we were sharing, putting her spoon down.

"Luna.."

"Can we not talk about it?" She asked quietly

Luna and Zach were the golden couple. If they couldn't survive, it really didn't seem like there was any chance for love in this world.

***