{{Dedicated to @beautifultragedies for being kind enough to offer her support when I was having trouble writing}}

On Wednesday afternoon, Floyd asked Rhea out for coffee. They ended up going to the same coffee shop she'd went with Caleb. Their town had a Starbucks of course; -just like every other area with a population over a hundred- but Rhea much preferred the intimate atmosphere of the local coffee shop called The Chipped Cup. To be completely honest, she'd at first found the name kind of corny, but it grew on her in time.

The place itself was quite cozy with almost a dozen plush armchairs placed around several coffee tables. The counter was across from the door, and on the wall behind it there was a chalkboard, which the owner updated with a quote every few days. Today it read, "We accept the love we think we deserve."

Floyd and Rhea sat across from each other, each nursing a cup of coffee and occasionally nibbling on the lemon cheesecake they'd decided to share. Even though they spent a lot of time at school over the past couple of weeks, this was the second date they were going on together so the whole thing was still new and exciting enough to cause Rhea to squirm in her seat just that little bit.

"So," Floyd said casually, "When do you think is an appropriate time for me to ask you to be my girlfriend?"

Just liked that, Rhea started choking on the little sip she'd just taken out of her coffee.

When she managed to compose herself once again, she answered, "Not before the third date. You don't want to seem too eager."

"I am eager," he answered honestly, looking right at her with an intense gaze that did funny things to her insides.

***

The next day, Willa found Rhea by their lockers during the break before second period. She was too busy trying to stuff her Algebra textbook inside her already crowded backpack to notice her best friend coming to a stop right behind her. So Willa did what she always did: She stood on one side of her and tapped on her other shoulder, making Rhea turn her head just to realize it was just Willa being an annoying goofball. She turned her head to the other side to face her smirking best friend.

"Will you ever not fall for it?" Willa asked.

"Probably not," she answered, making her friend snicker.

"We're going out tomorrow night," Willa declared a moment later.

"Willa, no." Rhea dramatically shook her head. "I am with Floyd now, you have to accept that."

"Ha-ha. Real funny, smartass. We're going out on a double date."

"I don't think Floyd is interested in Wade in that way," Rhea said, all the while managing to keep a straight face. This, right here, was what made their friendship so good. Most people Rhea had known wouldn't put up with her silly banter; "Just grow up, will you?" was a phrase she'd heard all too often.

"Seriously though, talk to Floyd."

"We can all talk about it during lunch." Rhea finally took pity on her friend, who was trying to hold a serious conversation with her for once in their lives.

As Willa gave her a satisfied smile, Rhea noticed a familiar figure approaching them. Her eyesight wasn't the most spectacular out there, but as the person got closer, she managed to place him for who he was.

It was Caleb.

"Hey," he said to Rhea when he came to a stop in front of both girls. Then, he turned to Willa, who was looking at him with curiosity, and gave her a polite smile.

"Caleb, this is my best friend Willa." She gestured towards her. "Willa, this is Caleb. My lab partner from Chemistry." Upon her introduction, Caleb held out his hand for Willa to shake.

"Good to meet you," he said giving her a nod of his head.

"You too."

Once the introduction was over and done with, Rhea turned to Caleb with expectant eyes. The bell was about to ring any minute, and she assumed he had something he wanted to say to her before they had to dash to make it to class on time.

"I was thinking about getting coffee from the coffee place around the corner since the one in the cafeteria sucks. Do you want one?"

"Uh, that's okay," Rhea said, awkwardly shuffling on her feet. "You don't have to-"

"For the second time," he laughingly cut her uncomfortable rambling off, "I am not trying to buy you coffee. Just tell me if you want one and you can pay me back in class or whenever."

She visibly relaxed upon his words. Being Caleb's friend was as easy as it came, since the line was drawn clearly. Hell, it was graffiti-ed, since they were both involved with other people. With that in mind, she answered his inquiry with a smile, "I'll have a latte then if you don't mind."

"Sure. I'll see you in class." With that, he gave them both a polite nod in farewell, turned on his heels and left.

"When did you guys become best buds?" Willa asked as soon as she was sure Caleb was out of earshot. The question didn't startle Rhea in the slightest, she'd read it in her best friend's eyes eons ago.

"We haven't. We literally just met. We've been in touch a lot because we're lab partners."

"If you say so." Willa let it go surprisingly easily. "He's hot though."

Or not.

Rhea rolled her eyes at her friend. Though she had to give credit where it was due, and in Caleb's case a lot of credit went out to his parents for managing to combine their genes as efficiently as they did.

Besides, who said you couldn't appreciate someone's looks without it being made into something more than it was? It was purely aesthetics and anyone who told you otherwise was just serving to objectify people.

A moment later the bell rang, marking the end of their peace and quiet. Now, it was off to double Algebra for Rhea, which was pretty depressing in itself.

***

At lunch, the four of them sat at their usual table, conversing over crappy school lunch that was supposed to be meatball and spaghetti but looked like anything but.

Floyd had arrived a couple minutes late with his tray in his hands. He'd leaned towards Rhea as he'd set his tray down and gave her a peck on the lips, making Willa coo at the pair them. Around them, Rhea could feel a couple of eyes not so subtly stare in their direction. That was high school for you, whenever a new couple was introduced to the social circle of high school, curious stares and gossip was sure to ensue.

Much to Rhea's surprise Floyd agreed to the double date pretty easily, and she could tell Willa had done her convincing of Wade prior to their conversation.

"I know just the place," Wade said with a glint in his eyes, and she had a pretty good idea where it was he was talking about.

***

After lunch she made her way to Chemistry class. As much as she'd been dreading taking a class from Mr. Martin, the most feared teacher at their school, she was enjoying herself so far.

She sat down a couple minutes before the bell was due to ring and gazed out the window where she could see the trees in the school's backyard. The brownish hue that greeted her eyes made her insides fill with equal parts joy and melancholia. Autumn was her favorite time of the year, though the weather always brought out the mopey side of her.

A minute later she felt movement to her side. Turning her head, she saw Caleb wordlessly slide a cup of coffee from his side of the desk towards hers with the corners of his lips slightly turned upwards as his gaze remained on the blackboard. In turn, she retrieved a five dollar bill from the pocket of her jeans and slid it towards Caleb without a word.

He turned to look at her as he pocketed the money and she gave him a small smile, raising the cup of coffee in salute. He raised his too, clinking their paper cups, causing the liquid inside them to make sloshing sounds.

Towards the end of the lesson, Mr. Martin handed back the assignments they'd turned in on Wednesday. Most teachers took weeks to check their assignments. Seriously, didn't Mr. Martin ever take a break from being a teacher?

They'd gotten an A- on the assignment. The moment Caleb took it from Mr. Martin's hands and Rhea took a peek at it over his shoulder, he held up his palm and she gave him her best high five.

***

Friday after school, the girls went to Willa's place to get ready for the night. Rhea had her eyes set on a black dress she knew Willa had in the back of her closet. Since Willa was a couple inches taller than she was, the dress had become unwearable to her a couple years ago unless they were taking a trip to Vegas. It was such a shame though, the dress was quite pretty. It had quite a modest neckline, though the back had a dip, so it more than made up for it. It ended mid-thigh, clinging to her body like a second skin.

She let Willa work her magic on her hair and makeup, since she knew what her friend was capable of. Soon enough, her hair was styled in a strategically messy looking updo and her eyes were defined with a winged liner and a coat of mascara. She refused to wear red lipstick, so they both compromised and settled for nude lip gloss. When all preparations were finished and she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't help but smile to herself.

It wasn't that she was hoping for a cheesy chick flick moment where she'd descend the stairs and leave Floyd speechless with how absolutely smoking she looked. She just liked playing dress up every once in a while and if she managed to rock Floyd's world in the process, well then that would just be an added bonus.

She sat on the edge of Willa's bed and watched as she worked her magic on herself as well; finishing her look by applying the dark red lipstick Rhea had refused to wear.

The doorbell rang just as Rhea was getting herself into high heels she'd also be borrowing from Willa. Despite the fact that Willa was taller than her, their feet were the same size, probably because Rhea was somewhat of a bigfoot.

Willa made her way out the room and Rhea heard her expertly make her way down the stairs with quick steps. If she ever tried to descend the stairs with such speed, she'd surely take a shortcut downstairs, namely flying down and plummeting face first onto the floor.

With these thoughts in mind, she grabbed her purse and started to go downstairs with much slower steps. On the bright side, this provided her with the theatrics for a grand entrance as Floyd's eyes found her and gave her an appreciative once over.

She'd always believed that women should only dress to please themselves, and please herself as she did, she couldn't deny the surge of satisfaction she felt at the sight of Floyd's awestruck smile.

***

Fifteen minutes later, they were standing on the sidewalk outside Last Call, the only bar in town that would serve them drinks, with what them being underage and all.

The bartender that worked there had gone to high school with Wade's brother and Rhea had heard the story of how he'd given Wade his first beer when he was thirteen. Not the greatest role model out there, but he was their safe passage to drunkenland.

"We shot do shots!" Willa declared excitedly as soon as they'd managed to snag a corner booth in the back of the bar, away from the eyes of potential responsible adults.

"I'm good with beer," Floyd said, surprising Rhea.

"You, my friend," Willa said, jabbing at his shoulder for emphasis, "are a buzzkill."

"Come on man," Wade said, "it's Friday night."

"Trust me," he said, chuckling, "I shouldn't get drunk. I tend to do stupid shit when I am drunk. Not unlike someone I know." He shot Rhea a meaningful look, making her duck her head in embarrassment.

"Beer for me too," she said.

"Fine, be a couple of naysayers." Willa fake-pouted at the two of them from her spot next to Wade. Then she turned to her boyfriend and said, "I'll take a beer."

Two beers in, The Killers' Somebody Told Me started playing and Willa dragged Wade towards the other corner of the bar where a makeshift dancefloor was set. Even though she wasn't the biggest fan of dancing, she was feeling buzzed and she was out with a cute guy, so she took Floyd's hand and followed her friends to the dancefloor.

She threw her arms around Floyd's neck as he placed his hands at both sides of her waist and they started moving their bodies to the addicting rhythm of the song. As they kept dancing, Floyd pulled her impossibly closer, though his hands stayed where they were, never straying from their place on her waist. She closed her eyes and gave herself over to the music, enjoying the way it thumped through her body.

A moment later, she felt Floyd's lips on her jaw and she let out an involuntary sigh without opening her eyes. When they traveled from her jaw to her neck, she briefly regretted not wearing a dress with more cleavage. However, all coherent thought left her brained when she felt Floyd's teeth graze her neck and a moment later he soothed the skin with his tongue.

With the combined effect of alcohol and Floyd's lips on her skin, she felt every nerve on her body stand on end. So she cupped his face with both her hands and kissed him for all she was worth. She didn't care at that moment that they were giving the entire bar quite the show, not when this felt so good.

She was breathless when they broke apart, and she realized the song had changed into a mellower tune. This was the best time for a bathroom break, or else she felt she might just explode in the middle of the dancefloor.

There was no queue in front of the toilet, which was surprising since it was Friday night and Friday night in a bar usually equaled to mile long queues. She went inside and decided to use the toilet while she was here; she'd had two beers and she didn't have the biggest bladder.

When she returned to the table after her bathroom break, she saw that Wade and Willa were back at the table, whereas Floyd was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Floyd?" she asked, and she instantly knew she'd regret asking at the sight of Willa's wolfish grin.

"He stepped outside for air," she answered. "I wouldn't be surprised if here were taking a run around the block after what you guys did on the dancefloor."

Rhea felt herself begin to blush.

Even though she knew Willa would tease her about it for quite some time, it felt really good to have this sort of dynamic within the group. Even though Wade and Willa never treated her in a way that would make things awkward, it was nice to not be the third wheel for a change. What was even nicer was that Floyd seemed to fit right into the group -throwing snippy comebacks at Willa and talking sports with Wade.

***

They decided to call it a night after the fourth beer. Rhea was the first to gather her things as the boys and Willa stayed back to work out the tab. She felt like she could use some fresh air so that she wouldn't go back home drunk.

As she made her way out of the door, she pulled her phone out of her purse to see what time it was. It was nearing eleven. She wondered briefly whether Caleb had picked up a night shift today. If he had, this would be around the time when he would head to work. She couldn't even begin to imagine the life he was living; when her night was ending, his was merely beginning.

As she was returning her phone into her purse, she collided into a hard mass, making her stagger in her slightly-too-high heeled shoes. Two strong hands shot out right on time to clutch at her arms and steady her.

When she looked up to see who it was that she'd rammed right into, she found herself staring into the eyes of the person she'd just been thinking about.

Caleb was looking at her with a startled expression on his face. As his eyes roamed all over her face, most likely taking in her change in appearance, she simply stared into his eyes that appeared darker than they were under the dim streetlight. Her mind was slightly clouded with the haze of alcohol, so it took her a little bit of time to realize he was still holding onto her arms.

When he realized her eyes were trained where his hands met her arms, he cleared his throat and took a step back, letting go of her in the process.

"Hey." He sounded slightly breathy. Though with the way she'd rammed into him with full force, it was expected he would have the wind knocked out of him a little bit.

"Hey."

"You look... nice." He scratched the back of neck.

"Thanks," she said, flashing him smile.

A moment later, Floyd came out of the bar, standing next to Rhea. She turned to give him her brightest smile, which he returned. However, there was also question in his eyes, which is when she realized she'd let her manners fly out the window by not introducing the two boys.

"Floyd, this is Caleb, my lab partner." She gestured towards Caleb. "And Caleb, this Floyd, my- he's my, uh... I've told you about him, remember?"

"Yes," Caleb responded, taking pity on her. He held out his hand for Floyd to shake. "Hey man, heard a lot about you."

Floyd took the hand Caleb had extended and shook it. "Really? I can't say the same about you. Nice meeting you anyway."

Rhea was having difficulty understanding why Floyd was being so passive aggressive towards Caleb. Then, he draped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side, making it clear within seconds. Oh right, boys and their need to stake their claim. Most girls would swoon over the fact that a guy that looked as good as Floyd did, got so possessive over them. But Rhea wasn't most girls and well, Floyd was gravely mistaken if he thought she'd be up for his manhandling and stake-claiming. However, that discussion was to be had later when they weren't surrounded by an audience that expanded even more with Wade and Willa stepping outside.

"You too," Caleb said calmly, as though he hadn't taken notice of the underlying hostility of Floyd's words. "I gotta go know, I'll see you around."

With that, hegave the entire group a nod in farewell and continued in the direction that she knew was where the supermarket was.

She was feeling disappointed in Floyd all of a sudden, and as much as she tried not to let such a small thing ruin a night that was going so great so far, she simply couldn't. Her good mood was ruined for the night.

"So, what do you guys want to do now?" Wade said with still as much excitement in his eyes as he had in the beginning of the night. Seriously, didn't this guy ever get tired?

"I'm really tired," Rhea said, only half lying. He turned to Floyd and asked, "Can you take me home?"

A disappointed look crossed Floyd's face for the briefest moment, but then he covered it up with an understanding smile as he said, "Of course."

The car ride to Rhea's home was spent in silence with her resting her cheek against the headrest of her seat to gaze out the window and him focusing solely on the road. She tried to count the traffic signs she saw. It was something she liked to do during car rides ever since she was little; she'd count traffic signs, fire hydrants, mailboxes... It helped calm her mind, which she needed right now maybe more than ever.