"Hi Dad!" I give him an awkward wave and his eyes roam around between everyone gathered in the living room.

I am not sure why it's awkward or why I am nervous but I have always had limited friends, and that includes Breanna and Evan. So seeing as to have a whole group of people in my house, I am not sure how my father is going to react.

"Well, I see you are making wise use of the key I gave you, Cyp." My father narrows his eyes at Evan and I hold in my laughter because his sentence is followed by a groan from Evan.

"Hi, Scott!" He greets my dad, a little annoyed which causes Dad to wear a smug look.

"He has a key to your house?" Chris whispers in my ear and I frown at him but nod nonetheless.

I stand up and make my way to my father, giving him a quick hug and he smiles at me. "I didn't know we were going to have company, sweetheart." He says, but I know he's not mad, just surprised.

"I didn't know either. Blame it on them." I gesture towards everyone and receive deathly glares from each one of them.

"Cyp, are you the reason my daughter is turning into a social butterfly?" My dad asks Evan who groans loudly.

"We promised not to call me that. You and your daughter are both ugh.." Evan trails off, making me and my father laugh.

"Well, I see he's still living upto my expectations." Dad says and I shrug, which makes Evan narrows his eyes at me.

"What is Cyp?" Rose asks and Evan visibly pales, his eyes looking at me, pleading for help.

"And who is this young lady?" My father asks, changing the topic and Evan visibly relaxes.

"That would be my girlfriend, Rose." Evan introduces.

Dad narrows his eyes, looking at me from the corner of his eyes as he speaks, "Is she now?" But then he snaps his attention back to Rose and his an acknowledging nod.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Brooks." She says in her sweet voice and Dad smiles at her.

"Same here, Rose." He tells her and then looks at Evan, "If he misbehaves, let me know, yeah?" He says and I bite my lower lip to stop myself from smiling.

"Stop mentally harassing me, would ya?" Evan says and I grin.

Well, it might look rude to an outsider, but Dad and Evan have been like this since as long as I can remember. They share this friendship where Dad loves to annoy Evan and he loves to get annoyed.

"Introduce me to the rest of them, An." Dad says and I nod.

I motion towards where Breanna is sitting and she waves at Dad, "Hey Scott."

"Aah, Bri! My second daughter. How have you been?" He asks and she smiles at me.

"Great!"

And then I point towards Luke, "That would be Luke, we go to same school and he's a junior, like Rose." I say and they nod at each other in acknowledgment.

Next I motion towards Jordan, "That would be Jordan Woods, I just started talking to him half an hour ago, so I don't have much to say about him." I tell Dad and he smiles at Jordan, who just glares at me.

Then I finally point towards Chris, "That would be Jay!" I finish and he rolls his eyes, striding towards where my father and I are standing.

"I'm Chris, Sir. Nice to meet you." He offers Dad his hand and they both do a hand shake.

"If I am not wrong, you live across the street?" My father asks and Chris offers him a small smile.

"Yes, Sir." He says, nodding.

"Well, your father has earned some name in corporate sector, son!" Dad smiles at him and Chris' smile immediately widens, he almost looks proud.

"Thanks, I guess?" He says, rubbing the back of his neck and that's the first time I witness him lose his confident composure.

"You planning to follow his footsteps?" Dad questions and I frown at him. What is this, an interview?

"Not really, I actually have massive interest in law, but I am still exploring my options." He shrugs and I know that is all it takes to impress my father.

But his response also surprises me because I didn't expect him to have any kind of interest in law. My father is a corporate sector lawyer, and is an associate with Paul, Evan's father. But, he also wants his daughter to follow his footsteps somewhere and pursue law but I know he would never pressure me into it.

"If you ever need guidance regarding that field, the door to this house is always open to you." Dad tells him and I gape at him.

Seriously? Wow.

"You're a lawyer?" He asks Dad and he nods, proudly. "Wow, didn't see that coming. It means a lot, thanks Sir." He smiles, a genuine smile on Chris' face is like witnessing Santa on Christmas.

"Call me Scott, son." My father nods at him before looking at everyone, "Enjoy while you're here, it was nice to meet you all." He tells my friends and they all give him smiles and nods. He then turns to me, and presses a kiss on my forehead, "I'll be in my room, An." He informs before walking out of the living room.

"Your father is nice." Jordan says and I already what he's about to say next so I am not surprised when he continues, "Where do you get your rudeness from?"

I am glad he didn't mention my mother, well, I'll give him cookie points for that.

"It comes naturally when I meet people like you." I snap at him.

I feel someone staring at me so when I look at Chris, he's smirking. "What?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"It took me five minutes to get in your father's good books." He points out and I shake my head, my eyes meeting Evans who's literally glaring at Chris.

"So? He's a good man, and bought your nice act." I say and he grins, a teasing grin.

"It bothers you, doesn't it?" He asks and I huff.

"No, Jay, it doesn't bother me." I tell him and he chuckles.

"Sure, Claire." He shrugs and when we turn towards the rest of five, they are watching the movie, except for Evan, who's staring at us.

The door bell rings so I avoid everyone and move to take my food. When I enter the kitchen to take out food, and serve everyone, I sigh. I know they want to watch the movie so no one would move from the living room. A box almost slips out of my hand but Chris puts his hand underneath mine, supporting it.

"Here, let me help." He says and I look at him, my stomach clenching into knots as I feel the warmth of his skin on mine.

Why do I always feel this way when we touch? God, I need serious help. I let out a breath and notice how close he's standing to me. Way too close and I gulp, nervousness taking over.

"Do I make you nervous, Claire?" He asks, and when I look at him, I expect to find a smirk but he has a serious expression on his face.

I shake my head, "Why the hell would I be nervous because of you?" I ask and he steps even closer.

"So, if I do this, it doesn't matter right?" He asks his free hand coming to rest of my cheek and my breathing turns deeper. I want to tell him to back off but it's like I have lost my voice.

"Right." I say, blinking.

He leans down, his head coming to rest on my forehead and I close my eyes as I try to make sense of my thoughts and actions. When I open my eyes, his lips are lingering above mine but I take a step back.

"Food must be getting cold." I say and he stares at me for a whole minute, as if letting it sink in that I stepped back.

Why the hell was he about to kiss me? And why the hell did I want to kiss him back? This is wrong on so many levels. Sure, he's looking awfully attractive right now and I liked that he put a good impression on my father despite his bad boy ways but that's just it. I still dislike him as a person. It's only been two weeks and he's slowly getting under my skin, and I don't like it, I don't like it at all.

"Right." He snaps, his cold demeanour taking over.

He helps me take the food to living room and I am aware that my cheeks are flaming due to the proximity I just shared with Chris. I hate the fact that I blush easily! Gaah!

"You staying?" I ask Jordan and Chris but the latter doesn't say anything and the former just shrugs so I take that as a yes.

How is it that two weeks ago Chris and I had been living across each other's street for such a long time and had not talked for about fourteen years but now he's having dinner in my house? Ignoring my thoughts, I make a plate for my dad and make my way to his bedroom. I knock on the door and hear his approval before I turn the knob.

He's sitting by his desk, using laptop as he looks at me. He gives me a smile when I put his dinner by his side and gestures for me to take a chair.

"So, Evan has a girlfriend, huh?" He asks and I avoid his gaze.

Let's just say, my father is the only person to whom I have confessed to that I have feelings for Evan. It wasn't easy, but he was so understanding about everything that each time something happened, I talked to him about it.

"It's not new, Dad. It's been a while since they have been dating actually, an year, I guess? But it stays on and off." I shrug and he searches to hold my eyes.

So I comply, "Why didn't you talk about it?" He asks and I look up,staring at the ceiling.

"Does talking ever helps?" I ask and he lets out a small laugh.

"An, if you want it to work then it will." He says and I sigh, looking into his eyes again.

"Okay Dad, well, the guy I am supposedly in love with is happily dating someone else." I say, my voice a little cold and I continue to stare at him, "It feels worse to admit that aloud. At least when it's in my mind, it's trapped within me, now that I have said it out aloud, it just sucks so much more." I say, resting my head in my palms, forcing back the tears.

I know people say that crying doesn't make you weak, and it doesn't, I totally agree. But each time I cry because something in my life isn't going right, a piece of my heart breaks, and despite what I tell myself — it makes me feel weak. And I hate that feeling.

"Oh, sweetheart." My dad pulls me closer in his embrace and I let a few tears spill as I sigh, holding onto him, "One day a man will love you, and even if it's not Evan, you will be very happy." He says and I shake my head.

"That's the thing Dad, I don't see it happening. My feelings for him overwhelm me so much. Sometimes even the friendship takes a toll on me." I tell him truthfully because he's my person, my Dad is my home, someone I confide in so much when I cannot talk to anyone else.

"It will work out in the end, An. You're a smart girl." He says and I nod, hugging him tightly before letting go. He wipes the tears from my faces and I smile. "Rose isn't a bad girl, is she?" He asks and I shake my head.

"She's great with him. Kinda makes it hard to hate her." I laugh and he grins at me.

"Hate is a strong word, and I haven't taught you to hate anyone." He says and I nod.

"I know, I don't hate her. She's pretty cool." I shrug.

"Now, go have dinner with your friends. And I like this new friend of yours. Chris, was it?" He asks and I nod.

"Good night, Dad." I say and he nods as I step outside his room.

As soon as I do, my eyes snap towards my left where I recognise the shadow of the person and immediately feel like banging my head against the wall.

"Didn't peg you for someone who eavesdrops." I say and he grimaces.

"I only came to tell you that food was getting cold." He says but I don't buy his bullshit.

"How much did you hear, Jones?" I ask and he knows I am serious because I didn't use his middle name this time.

"Pretty sure I heard the part you didn't want me to hear." He says and this time, I grimace.

See, this is why I hate talking about things. Because there's always a chance of someone finding out when words are out in the open. I give him a cold look before stepping forward and making my way to the living room but he catches my arm.

"I am sorry, Claire. I really didn't mean to eavesdrop. Curiosity got the best of me." He says and I shake my head. I didn't expect him to apologise, so I know he's being sincere when he says that. One thing I know about Chris is, he doesn't say the word 'sorry' unless he means it.

"Curiosity killed the cat, are you ready to die?" I ask and he gives me a small smile.

"You threatening me, now?" He asks and I roll my eyes.

Something tells me that my secret is safe with him. Because if he really was about to tell someone, he would have at least mentioned it, but he didn't. He just brushed off the topic, understanding that it is not something I am keen to talk to about, which I believe he understood because of all the things I said about not talking about my feelings to my dad.

"You said it." I shrug and he laughs, it's a small laugh but a laugh nonetheless.

"Come, let's eat." He says, his hand coming to rest on my shoulder as he pulls me to the living room.

Evan is busy talking to Rose as they share food and I gulp, tearing my eyes away from them and Chris gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and for the first time, I pass him a thankful smile, which he returns with a wink.

"Hey, you're back." Evan says and I nod at him. He frowns, "Were you crying?" He asks and everyone's attention snaps to me.

Thanks, Ev!

Remember the part where I blush easily? Yeah, so when I spill tears, my nose turns red and Evan is the only person who knows this.

I shake my head, "Nope."

He arches an eyebrow, "Really, then why is your nose red?" He asks.

Dammit!

"Jay accidentally slapped me on the nose?" I say and Chris shoots me daggers, to which I give him a sheepish smile.

"What the hell, man? You raised your hand on a woman?" Evan asks and Chris frowns.

"Keyword being accidentally, people!" He clears out.

"Did you at least apologise?" Jordan asks and I smirk.

"Yeah, went down on his knee and all. I forgave him." I shrug and Chris tightens his grip on my shoulder and before he can do any damage, I slip out of his embrace.

"Cool, very cool, Claire." He glares at me and I stick my tongue at him.

"Her name is Adrianna, you know?" Evan points out and Breanna wiggles her eyebrows at me and I shoot her a look.

"Yup. Her middle name is Claire, you know? I call her what I want to call her. Be glad I ain't calling her An." Chris snaps and I know that struck a nerve because Evan tightens his fist and Rose shifts uncomfortably.

"Alright then. Where is my food?" I ask and Luke offers me a plate.

"Hey, you wanna share?" Chris asks with a playful grin, completely forgetting about Evan and I frown at him.

"Sure, honey. You also wanna move in my house and put a ring on this finger?" I ask, holding my ring finger up for him and Jordan laughs loudly.

Chris' glare shifts from me to his best friend who high fives me, "She puts you in your place, man!" He says and I wink at him.

•••

DOUBLE UPDATE!

Team Chris or Team Evan?

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