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Georgia was missing for the rest of the day and although it seemed like it was just words thrown around with no care, I wouldn't be surprised if she was already halfway to London by the time Evan offered to drop me home.

After all, they had enough money to play with and it wasn't the first time they did something so out of the ordinary with the help of money of course.

Douglas had offered to drop me off home but given the blush that had spread across my face whenever our eyes had met throughout the day, I was just about to say I'd rather catch the bus home instead when Evan had volunteered his services.

I tried not to let out a sigh of relief when Douglas hadn't put up a fight. He didn't see us out, his phone having intervened and I didn't miss the way his eyes had squinted at the screen, his brows furrowed together and his lips thinned when he recognized the number. He disappeared promptly and with no goodbyes.

"So..." Evan decided to break the silence that had settled in the car once we exited the gates of the Burns mansion. "What's going on with you and Dougie?"

The question caught me off guard that I started coughing involuntarily from the shock.

Evan reached off and gently massaged my back to try to stop me. "So something is going on."

"What? No. Nothing's going on," I struggled to say the words despite the rush of heat that painted my face red. "We're just..." I didn't know what to say. What were we? Friends? Or just your simple case of employee and employer's son? I decided to play it safe. "...two people forced to be nice to each other."

Evan scoffed out a laugh as if he had been ready for any answer other than that. "Two people forced to be nice to each other? Really?"

I nodded with conviction, liking that my reply seemed plausible.

"Oh, come on. I'm not going to run to the media and spill the details. I'm practically family. You can tell me."

"I'm serious. Douglas is just someone I have to look after for the summer and after that we'll practically be strangers once again."

Evan furrowed his brows together, just like he always did when he was overthinking. "So what's the deal with Will?"

"Will's a good friend," I answered without hesitation, my mind again drifting off, wondering where Will was right now. He still hadn't returned from wherever it was he had gone off to.

I was just wondering what brought on his interest in my life when we stopped at an intersection as the lights turned red.

Evan turned to face me, his eyes taking inventory of my entire body, but his eyes were more of an inqusitive, curious nature and not predatory.

"What?" I asked, feeling a little bit self-conscious as any would when an above average, good-looking guy stared at you.

Of course I didn't see Evan than a somewhat friend that liked to flirt with anything with an X and X chromosome in them, but I couldn't help but want to direct his attention to anything other than me right then.

"Don't get me wrong, love," he began as he finally stopped appraising me like he was a curator trying to place a value on an ancient artifact. "You're hot and all but I really don't understand you." Evan offered me an apologetic look as if he was worried he had offended me before he turned back to look at the road.

I would have been offended if I actually understood what he meant. What did he mean exactly?

The lights turned green and again we were driving with Evan still having not explained the meaning behind his words.

"Understand me?"

"Not you, necessarily. But I don't understand what has Will willing to go against Douglas."

Confusion warped my senses. Go against Douglas? What did he mean now? Did someone have a dictionary on 'How to Speak Evan Queens' lying around anywhere?

"What do you mean?" I asked Evan, who already looked like he wasn't planning on answering me now. He did just that and silence again dawned in the car.

I let my thoughts wander, remembering how Douglas had told me to not lead Will on if I considered him as just a friend. Maybe that was what he was referring to. Maybe Douglas had also warned Will that I only thought of him like that and that he should stop.

If he did then why didn't Will stop? Why'd he not listen to Douglas? From our previous conversations, I knew Will thought the world of Douglas for some reason and that he would sooner lose all his fortune than betray Douglas.

As I stared out the window, Evan having long lost interest in talking to me, I couldn't help but think of how uncomplicated my life had been just over a month ago. Had it only been over a month since I met Douglas Burns?

If you had told me then that seven weeks later I'd be hanging out with the elite of America, facing typical teenage girl problems rather than rushing around, trying to remember coffee orders for the senior editors at Gloss magazine, I'd have thought it was high time you checked yourself in at the nearest psychiatric ward.

Because that was definitely not what I had planned for this summer break. Heck, I'd expected to be across the country, in the Big Apple watching Douglas Rush on the evening news having crashed one of his luxury cars into another 7/11. I would never have put me down, working for his father and suffering from the whole butterflies in my stomach syndrome.

Before I knew it, I recognized the familiar scenery of my neighbourhood come into view. I directed Evan towards my house and he stopped outside.

I just mumbled out a goodbye before I reached out to open the door.

"Krystal," Evan said out of nowhere.

"Yeah?" I turned to face him.

"If you don't think of Will as more than a friend," he stared at me meaningfully as if he was trying to read my thoughts, "just tell the guy, please. It's much better than leading a guy on."

A wave of confusion and anger flooded me. "I'm not leading him on," I snapped out of nowhere. I guess just the fact that everyone thought I did and didn't understand the predicament I was faced with didn't help soothe me right now. "I tried to explain to him already but..." I huffed in frustration remembering the episode from last week which had resulted in my date with Will tomorrow.

"You didn't try hard enough," he replied, no hint of anger in his voice from me having snapped at him. "Will is the type of guy that it takes a good dosage of someone snapping at him for him to finally realize what's happenning. You just need to put your foot down and let him know. It's better if you do it now if you still want him as a friend."

I nodded understanding where he was coming from. I hadn't been as determined as I should have been to let him know where he and I stood. I should have been. And I definitely should not have agreed to the date tomorrow for the wish I owed him.

"Of course I still want him as a friend."

Evan nodded, a pitying smile on his handsome face. "Good then. Will might be hurt at first, but he'll soon understand you can't force a person to love you back."

I smiled at Evan, feeling guilty all of a sudden for the way I had snapped at him, especially when all he had wanted to do was help me out. "I'm sorry for snapping at you the way I did."

He nodded. "It's okay. Dougie had warned me before that you might be a little touchy on the subject so I expected as much."

That last part had me arching my brow in confusion.

"So you and Douglas just happen to spend most of your time talking about me behind my back."

Evan chuckled, seeming to only realize then that I hadn't known of that bit of information. "I wouldn't say most of our time but yeah, we do, sometimes. Mostly about how annoying you were in the beginning..." He held up his hands defensively. "From Douglas of course. He was the one who found you annoying, not me."

"I'm glad you guys found out how to gossip like housewives now."

"Hey they're not all bad. Sometimes we talk about other things about you..." his eyes held hesitation.

"Like?" I prodded.

"Like..." He paused suddenly. "I think you need to leave my car now."

"What? Why? You still haven't answered ny question."

"I don't think your caregiver cares about that right now," He nodded towards our house where I surely spotted Nancy looking out from the living room window, down at us.

Only then did I remember that we were supposed to discuss the invitation list when I got home. Mr Burns had wanted to increase the guest list to include some of their old classmates but I didn't want to.

I sighed. "Okay. I'll talk to you later," I told Evan before I pushed open the door of his sports car and got out.

"Ask Douglas if you're curious," he replied after opening the windows. "I'd still like to have a couple of little Evans running around, mind you." He smirked playfully before he waved goodbye and drove off leaving me to wonder what exactly he and Douglas discussed about me that would have threatened to leave him unable to procreate had he divulged the secrets they shared.

Nancy was sitting on the couch, leafing through a slim book when I walked into the house. The smell of freshly roasted chicken was in the air and I could feel my stomach react instantly to the delicacy as if the sub from lunch hadn't been consumed just hours before.

I was planning to head to my room to freshen when Nancy looked at me.

"Come here for a sec," she said, her voice complately normal, too calm for my liking really. She patted the spot next to her and pushed the book over to me when I took the seat she offered. I realized that what I had initially thought to be a book wasn't a book after all. It was a photo album.

"What is this?" I asked when I opened the album, confused as to its contents. The first few pages held old pictures of random people. College students at a keg party. Some kids a couple of years older than me playing around, laughing, gaming. One thing they had in common, they were all dressed up as if it was in the nineties if not the eighties.

Nancy pointed at a picture at the centre of the third page. It was a graduation photo.

Three guys, roughly around the early twenties were dressed in a black and navy blue graduation gown, graduation caps wereheld tightly in their hands. They had on bright smiles, looking as if they were ready to take on whatever the world had to offer.

The guy in the middle caught my eye.

His hair was a darker shade of brown then I was used to, tousled as if someone had just messily run their hands through it. His green eyes were vibrant, lit up as if they were challenging. A pair of huge nerdy glasses that made him look more cuter than nerdy rested on the bridge of his nose. He was skinnier then I was used to, lankier even then the two who stood next to him as if he had been too busy to probably focus on any form of nutrition while he slaved away hours to schoolwork and he had the most youthful appearance, so full of life that I couldn't help but force myself to keep tears at bay.

Even though there were contrasting differences to what I remebered, I would've recognized him anywhere.

It was a younger version of my father at his graudation.

"Mr Burns sent this over," Nancy replied, breaking me away from my reverie. "He thought you might like to see them."

I nodded, only noticing then that a stray tear had fallen. I hastily brushed it away. "Tell him thanks from me," I said before ny fingers traced the picture just below that one. Dad, the younger version of him, hugging an undeniable younger version of mom. I remembered how they had talked about how they had met in college. The memory of the story made me smile as I ran a finger softly over the picture of them looking so in love as if it was more precious than anything I owned.

"He sent it over with a list of who he thought would be appropriate to invite for the memorial," Nancy said slowly.

I nodded softly. "I thought we already discussed this."

Nancy placed a hand on my knee and patted it slowly. "I think you should reconsider your decision. It'll be better if we invite people this year, Krystal. I think your parents will want you to meet some people that they cared about. And I'm sure they'd like to meet you too."

The thought of experiencing the many curious eyes at something I considered private and sacred, many strangers that I knew held stories of mom and dad of their own was something I didn't want to live through.

I shook my head without giving Nancy a chance. "Memorials are meant for close families and that's it. I think the fact that the Burns will be joining us is change enough."

I closed the album abruptly as if it were Mr Burns face against a wall before I got up. "They're my parents and I don't care what anyone else says. I get the last say."

I walked off, knowing that I might have just figuratively spat in Nancy's face yet I didn't have the heart to apologize, just yet.

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