"What does Lena want me to wear to this thing?" Jace asked, his voice crackling through the car speaker phone.

Against my better judgement, I'd allowed Knight to drive—after he'd revealed to me, today, that he actually had a driver's license, since his family had arranged, through rich people methods, for him to get his license in Queensland so that he'd have it early. If I wasn't one of them, I'd hate rich people.

Besides, judging by his questionable driving skills, Victoria's stricter policies were potentially a good idea.

I was going to head to Casserine with my parents; it was a long drive, and we didn't really want to spend half our savings on fuel. But when I'd realised Jace was my date, I figured that Knight would serve as a far superior awkwardness buffer. Plus, he could wait in the car throughout the wedding—which he'd volunteered for, claiming that being cooped up in a car was hardly worse than being cooped up in my wardrobe—which meant we didn't have to stay while my parents chatted up a storm with all the randoms until 3AM while Elena stressed about just wanting to get home.

It seemed Knight was only offering to keep me company, since he was still harboring secret guilt over abandoning me to Hartley, despite his general excitement over what Knight had called 'our date'. It was not a date. He was just my... companion... to a wedding.

And a bad one, at that, because it seemed likely he would have an aneurism over his wardrobe selection before he even got into the car.

"Like, does she want me to wear a suit? I don't have a suit. It's only rich people that just have suits on hand for a day of wedding invite. You know she would kill me if I messed this up, right? I don't want to die. What does she want me to wear?"

"Lena?" said Knight. "Probably a hat. Just a hat. Preferably a blue one; she digs blue."

"Knight!" I yelled at him. This proved to be a flawed idea, given he swerved slightly. Like, holy shit, I'd just badly broken my leg in a car accident, and I was starting to think that barely clocked on the radar of what Knight's driving could do to me. Man, I missed being Daria's passenger.

"Okay, okay," said Knight. "I was underdoing it with the hat thing. Jace, try a hat and socks."

"Jace!" I called out. "If you show up to this thing wearing only a hat and socks, I will cut off your balls. At least then your outfit is convenient. Easier access and whatnot."

Jace was quiet for a moment. "Definitely did not realize you were also in the car."

"Hi to you, too, sweetie," I quipped.

Jace was quiet for a moment as he came to terms with his embarrassment. Then he said, "Well, what should I wear to this thing?"

"We'll be there in a minute," said Knight, leaning slightly towards the speaker. "So I, the resident fashionista for this group, can find you a stunning outfit for the ball. I'll Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo you into the pants of every woman at this party."

"Please do not," said Jace. "That is not my fantasy super power."

"Speak for yourself," I said.

We pulled up outside Jace's house a minute later. He lived in a cute double-story townhouse in a nice area. The houses were all old in a way that was far more beautiful than the modern units being built around the state. The front yard was all carefully tended roses and neat bushes, and despite being in the suburbs, exuded a country cottage kind of energy.

It was very consistent with what I knew of Jace's parents, Rachel and Eliza. Yes, our mothers had the same name. Rachel was slightly eccentric, and a quirky cottage entirely fit her vibe. And I got the feeling that Eliza just did what Rachel wanted.

"Jace, we're at your place, so you can stop freaking out," I said, as Knight pulled the car into the 2 hour parking space opposite Jace's and shifted it into park.

Jace murmured his goodbyes and hung up, leaving me to tuck my phone into the side of the car.

When we knocked on the door to the house, Rachel pulled it open with an exuberant smile. "Lena, honey!" she said, immediately wrapping me in a hug. "How are you? Jace! Your wedding date is here. Please, Lena, introduce me to your friend."

I grinned. Rachel was quirky and friendly and slightly over-the-top, ever so unlike her son, and far more Daria. It was evident that the pair of them had practically been raised together, because Daria had picked up so many of Rachel's mannerisms.

Jace's other mother, Eliza, looked up from her newspaper. "Good morning, Lena and friend, it's lovely to see you," she said. "Rachel, you know the poor girl can't take Jace to a wedding if you literally suffocate her."

Jace was definitely far more Eliza, despite any lack of biological tie. And he was definitely not Corine, who was sitting opposite Eliza and was cutting up a fruit roll-up and laying it over her toast, with a Bloody Mary that seemed alcoholic next to her. She waved at me.

Rachel let me go, still beaming. "Oh, Lena is a tough girl. A little hug won't break her. Now, who is the friend! He's so handsome."

Knight preened. "Good morning, Rachel, your home is lovely. I'm Cole. I'm a friend of Lena's and, today, I'm Jace's fairy godmother."

"Nice to meet you," said Rachel.

Jace appeared from the hallway, wearing a strange assortment of a hundred outfits, including a magicians top hat, a Superman tie and cowboy boots. He was also wearing three scarfs. Somehow, it was cute and endearing. And it definitely helped to undercut the feeling in my gut at the sight of him.

"Oh, honey," said Knight. Rachel was giggling, Eliza looked mortified, and Corine looked guilty and ashamed.

Jace shrugged. "Your dressing instructions were very vague!"

"I guarantee the instructions were not magician-redneck-Western-crazy person hybrid," I said. I felt Jace's eyes as they fell on me, taking in the designer midi dress that was flowy and breezy and simple—encapsulating Elena's instructions—while still being stylish and flattering. My hair fell in a waterfall of curls over my left shoulder. Jace tore his gaze away from me, but I didn't miss the way his eyes heated. Oh, God. It was going to be awkward. The last time I'd seen him, we were kissing. And now he was looking at me like he was about to do it again.

Goddamit, Knight. You suck.

"Baby boy, you look like you were dressed by a blind dog," Corine said. "I'm so sorry a sense of fashion isn't biological."

Jace rolled his eyes. "Yes, well this is not what I planned on going with. I was just... trying things." He nodded at us. "Hey, Lena. Knight."

"It's okay," I said. "I brought you your very own stylist. Knight, please fix this."

"Aye, aye, Captain," said Knight, moving down Jace's hallway with purpose. "C'mon, Cinderella, let's get you ready for the ball."

"I better be getting a pumpkin carriage," Jace muttered, following him to the back of the house. I was intensely grateful for Knight; it would've been madly awkward to be alone with Jace, in his bedroom, watching him change his clothes and judging his outfits, forced to examine his appearance critically and try to avoid the horrific truth about our last encounter.

"Would you like some food?" Rachel offered. "I made brownies."

"I could never say no to that," I said.

"Eliza? Would you like one?"

Eliza rolled her eyes. Very Jace. "Rachel, it's 9AM."

"Yeah," said Corine, holding up her fruit roll up. "You and I, Lizzie. Health fanatics. Body, meet temple."

I grinned. Corine was awesome. I knew that Jace and Daria had gone out with her to clubs and bars on multiple occasions. I could recall Jace's birthday parties in primary school; at Jace's sixth birthday, Corine had only been twenty, and she'd grabbed a super soaker and started a water fight with us. Even now, Corine was evidently so young; still a little bit wild, crazy. But she was only 32, which was insane to me. I couldn't imagine having a four year old son now, but that's what Jace had been to Corine.

"It's so lovely that you and Jace are friends now, Lena," said Rachel, passing me a plate with a large brownie on it. "I never thought it would happen."

"Me neither," I said. It did kind of suck that Rachel and Elizabeth knew about my feud with Jace. I wanted them to like me, because despite my long-held misgivings about their son, I did love his family. "But I guess your excellent personalities started to rub off on him."

Corine held up the fruit roll up toast as a tribute. "It was definitely my awesome personality that did it."

"My ass," said Rachel. "You got him drunk in the woods behind the house and taught him how to play poker."

"Yeah, exactly," said Corine. "I taught him to be super fun. And that's why Lena now wants to be his friend. Sorry that I don't want my spawn, and your son, to be uncool."

"Eat your toast, Corine," Eliza said.

Corine obliged. Jace's family dynamic was so cool.

"No, but I guess I had just been so caught up in the fight I never really noticed he wasn't the spawn of Satan."

"He was the spawn of a beautiful goddess of rhythm and fun vibes," Corine said.

I laughed. "Oh, naturally."

Knight materialised from the hallway, laughing and looking proud. Clear the boys had had a good time together. He shut the door behind him. "I would like to introduce to you, the no longer confused-movie-star wardrobe, but instead a smouldering sex god of weddings."

"I though we agreed you wouldn't say that!" came Jace's voice from behind the door. "And that a dramatic reveal was unnecessary."

"You decided that," said Knight. "Because you lack pizzazz."

"Oh, God," said Corine. "I never even covered pizzazz. I am a terrible cool aunt."

"Smouldering sex god of weddings?" Eliza muttered, looking to Rachel for confirmation. Rachel looked like she was having the time of her life.

Knight opened to door to reveal Jace, who looked supremely uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny of five sets of eyes. He shouldn't have, because he looked... well, he looked good.

Knight had dressed him in a white button down shirt that made me think of sinful things, and simple black pants that looked casual and elegant. He looked put together, thoughtful, deliberate. I was used to seeing him in either a school uniform or a basic shorts and t-shirt combination, but none of them did any justice to the complete and utter handsomeness of Jace Hartley.

I mean, I had to acknowledge he was unfairly attractive as he strode towards me. I held my breath, as he came to stand at my side.

"Well, you look marvellous Jace," said Rachel.

"I made that," said Corine, patting herself on the back. "Like, that's all my genes. Damn, I'm good."

"Thank you, Corine," said Eliza.

She shrugged and went back to her toast.

Jace looked down at me. The last time I'd seen him, his lips had been on mine and I'd been sitting on the bathroom sink, completely caught up in him, in the feeling, in us. Now he looked at me with admiration, with camaraderie, with something I couldn't name. And I looked back up at him, and the feeling in my chest was strange, indescribable.

I no longer knew how I felt about Jace Hartley, except that I was confused.

"You ready to go to a wedding?" said Jace.