"We could let our friends crash in the living room

This is our place, we make the call

And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you

I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all..."

I sunk into the passenger seat and Ben groaned as he drove towards the diner. Madeleine and Chloe played songs and all they've been doing was playing the romantic ones.

"Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close forever and ever?

And ah, take me out, and take me home (forever and ever)

You're my, my, my, my

Lover!"

They screamed together from the back seat. Ben scrunched his face, and the poor boy looked confused. I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned my head on the car window.

I knew what Chloe was up to, but I couldn't believe that Madeleine was also interested in romantic songs. When I asked Chloe to come with us, she was ecstatic and it was written all over her face. First, I thought she would sit with Louis, but she surprised me when she agreed with Ben and so did Madeleine when she announced to come with us.

I distracted myself by observing Ben's car interior. It was a black Range Rover and was beautifully designed.

I was gawking at the car when I first saw it and didn't realize Madeleine and Chloe sat in the back, leaving the passenger seat for me. And now I know why they did it.

"Hey, Ben! Look there's a gas station!" Madeleine abruptly leaned forward and pointed in front.

"So?" Ben's brows furrowed.

"You need to refill your gas." I peeked towards the meter and saw it half-filled.

"I don't need a refill, Maddie." Ben rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you do." She flopped back and crossed her arms. "What if we get stuck on the way to your after-party?"

"We won't-"

"Just get the f**king gas!" Madeleine cut him, shouting, making us flinch.

"Fine, you damn crazy woman!" Ben looked at her bewildered and parked near the gas station.

"Fill it completely and take as much time as you want." Madeleine sweetly smiled at him and shooed him by waving her hand.

Ben gave her a deadpan look and grabbed his wallet. Cursing her under his breath, he got out of the car, and as soon as the door closed, Madeleine sighed.

"Thank God he's gone."

"Yeah..." Chloe nodded and fanned her face. "I could feel the tension in the air."

"I know, right!" Madeleine jerked towards her. "I seriously feel like a third wheeler."

"Me too." Chloe sighed. I rotated in my seat and gave them a blank stare. But they were already busy staring at each other with bugged eyes.

"Wait... Does that mean you too?" Madeleine pointed towards me and Ben's empty seat.

"Oh my God!" Chloe gasped, covering her mouth. "You're shipping them too!"

"Shipping?" Madeleine snorted. "My boat is already sailing." I blinked my eyes at Madeleine and processed what she said.

Now I understand why she always talked about Ben to me like that. The memory of Ben's birthday party clicked in my mind when Madeleine found us in his room and assumed we were doing hanky-panky. It made little sense of her thinking that way but now it did, she's also shipping us like Chloe.

"Same!" Chloe squealed. "How did you guess? Does Ben talk about Lilly to the Clichés?"

"When does he not talk about her?" Madeleine gave her a sly smirk. I was sure she was exaggerating. "And it's written all over his face and actions."

"I know! In the beginning, he was stalking her-"

"-and then at the party when she arrived and the way his face lit up-"

I opened my mouth to stop them but they ignored me and continued with... Whatever they were trying to come up with. I searched for Ben outside and saw him speaking on the phone around the corner.

"-the way he saved her from Gabrielle-"

"Like a knight in shining armor!" They said simultaneously and squealed as their favorite celebrity couple got together.

Chloe did not surprise me, but Madeleine shocked me. I never took her to be the love kind of girl. I observed them as they gushed over the ship that doesn't even have a hull to begin with.

Madeleine was the total opposite of Chloe. While Chloe was all jolly rainbow with blonde hair and hazel eyes. Madeleine gave dark vibes, as I've always seen her wearing full black clothes, and she also had dark hair and eyes.

My thoughts were cut off when they started naming the ship.

"I named them Len," Madeleine said. "Because it sounds cool."

"But I was thinking of Billy." Chloe pouted. "They can even name their kid."

"Billy Smith Forbes." Madeleine nodded in approval and grinned. "I like that." I rolled my eyes at them.

They shut their mouths when the car door opened and Ben got inside. He put his phone on the deck and side glanced at me.

He must be talking to Toby.

Toby's sick and Ben was worried about him getting home. Now the relieved look on Ben's face was clear that he reached safely.

"I've filled it." Ben glanced at Madeleine through the rare mirror. "Can we go now?"

She gave him a smug smile. "Yes, please."

Ben frowned at her expressions and darted his eyes to me. I gave him a half-shrug. He shouldn't know about the two sailors behind or else it would be awkward. Ben nodded and start the car getting out of the gas station.

"They are already talking in their eyes." Chloe and Madeleine giggled and I plopped my head on the seat and closed my eyes.

This is going to be a long journey.

~•~ • ~•~ • ~•~

Finally, after torturing twenty minutes of listening to the cheesiest love songs I've ever heard, we reached 40th Street and saw Andrew and Brittany standing outside.

"Thank God you're alive!" Brittany exclaimed as soon as we got out and side glanced at us. "I was seriously worried about you."

"I needed a gas refill," Ben said, eyeing Madeleine. "Because she was worried about us getting stuck."

"Let's eat." Madeleine ignored them and linked Chloe and my arms with hers. "I'm famished." She gave us a toothy grin and yanked us inside. We followed her, with others trailing behind us.

The door chimed when we opened it and entered the diner. It was a small and simple shop, not much of a luxury one you except rich kids to go to. The interior of the diner was of wooden texture and there was a large rectangle table in the corner at which the rest of the group was sitting.

"What took you guys so long?! The aroma is making me starve to death!" Louis whined, who was sitting on Tiana's right.

David and Tiana sat together in the middle. David smirked at me and put his hand around Tiana. I narrowed my eyes at him. I knew he was doing this in front of me on purpose. Because even though I know about him, I couldn't say it to anyone.

Next to David were Jordan, then Nate and Abigail. Madeleine went and sat between Jordan and Nate.

"You could have ordered," Brittany said in monotone sitting with Abigail and Andrew beside her.

"Nate wouldn't let us. He said to wait for you guys." Tiana rolled her eyes.

"Because it was against his moral to order before everyone arrives." Louis huffed. The space on his right was empty.

I nudged Chloe beside Louis and sat with her on my left and Ben on my right. I was glad that this time Andrew wasn't in front of me, but Brittany was.

"What are we eating?" Madeleine rubbed her hands together as she looked at the menu.

"I want a double-decker cheeseburger!" Louis patted his stomach. "This boy could eat anything on his way." Chloe covered her mouth and giggled beside him.

"I want a giant burger too," Abigail announced.

"You won't be able to finish it Abigail." Andrew sternly said as he looked at the menu.

"But I can eat it now! I'm a grown-up woman." She pouted.

"Let her have it, Drew," Brittany said, patting her head. "We can parcel the remaining if she couldn't finish it."

Abigail grinned and kissed her cheek. "Thank you B!" Brittany giggled and I watched them quietly.

Of course, the Pierce siblings love Brittany. I, on the other hand, without doing anything, got their hatred.

"Fine, she can have it," Andrew sighed, closing the menu.

It was cute of seeing him caring for his sister and his mother earlier at school.

My thoughts were cut off when Jordan mentioned getting bacon burgers.

"Everyone wants the same?" Nate asked, and everyone nodded.

"I uh... I don't eat bacon, can I have chicken?" I said and nervously shifted in my seat when they gaped at me.

"Holy cow... They truly are soulmates." Madeleine said, making me frown. Everyone groaned while Nate answered my confusion.

"Ben doesn't eat bacon."

"Oh..." I turned to my right to see Ben blinking at me.

"We are going to be best of friends," Ben whispered in my ear, making me chuckle.

I hope so.

~•~ • ~•~ • ~•~

After deciding what to eat, everyone agreed on burgers and chicken burgers for the soulmates. We ordered them and while waiting, everyone talked about the match.

My phone boomed and I picked it out of my pocket to see my brother's name on the screen.

"Who is it?" Brittany asked.

"Austin," I mumbled, and got up from my seat. "I'll be back."

I opened the door of the diner and stepped outside as I received his call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Austin. What's up?"

"Sky." He answered lamely and chuckled at his joke.

"Haha... hilarious," I said in a bored tone.

"It was a good joke! You used to laugh at it when you were a kid." He grumbled.

"Well, you haven't seen me for a year so let me remind you... I'm not a kid anymore."

Austin is in the final year of Harvard. The last time he came was during summer break and after that, he got busy with his internship and projects that he couldn't come and visit us, not even for this Christmas.

"Yeah yeah, Drew the daring has grown up." He teased.

"Don't call me that! It was an embarrassing phase of my life so don't repeat it." I shrieked.

I used to wear red caps like superman and named myself Drew the daring and acted like I was a hero saving the world. Still, my family teased me about it.

"Okay..." He chuckled. "How's everything going there?"

"As normal as they can be."

"Abigail told me you fought with Dad."

"Of course she did." I rolled my eyes. "And we weren't fighting, it was the normal 'I want you to be a lawyer' argument and you're late. It happened yesterday."

"I know. I didn't call you last night because I didn't want to distract you from your game."

"You will not ask me if I won?"

"I know you won because if you didn't coach would have buried you six feet underground with your team."

"Yeah..." I chuckled.

Our coach pressured the players to win. It wasn't his fault to do that; the school authority forced him. The school board wants West high to remain on the top and for that, they do everything they can.

"Dad is worried about you Drew."

"Not this again," I grunted.

"I'm serious you should listen to him-"

"I'm not interested in what he's asking me to do. I'm not like you Austin. I won't come under pressure-"

"He never forced me to do anything, Andrew. I wanted to become one, and it was my dream."

"Then why is he forcing me?"

"He isn't forcing he's looking out for you because you have planned nothing for your future."

"I'll think of something!" I screamed in frustration.

"You have little time-"

"I can take a break year, many people do that to clear their heads." The line went silent for a minute.

"Okay... do as you want it's your life, but don't fight with Dad like that. He takes tension because of you, it isn't good for his health and you know it."

"I know..." A girl's voice came from behind him. "Looks like your girlfriend needs you." I teased him. "You should give her time, dude. She sounds needy."

"Shut up Andrew." He said, making me burst into laughter. "Give me a minute."

I waited for him to finish and glance through the window toward my friends. My eyes landed on Lillian and saw her side glancing at David, and my brows snapped in confusion.

Why the hell is she staring at David?

"I'm here-"

"Hey, Austin." I cut him off.

"Yeah?"

"You're a lawyer-"

"Are you asking me or telling me?" He scoffed.

"I mean, you're a lawyer, so you know when someone is lying or not, right?"

"I'm not getting what you're trying to ask here." I saw Lillian getting up from her seat, and my eyes followed her as she went to the bathroom around the corner.

"I'm asking that how you know when someone is lying?"

"Um... There's no pattern to it. Some people bite their nails and lips, some avoid eye contact or play with their fingers or other things while they're lying, some start sweating under pressure... If you know them then you see a difference in their behavior and- Why are you asking this?" He questioned.

"General knowledge..." I shrugged.

"Seriously Drew? I just told you the way of catching people's lies and now you're lying to me."

"I need to go my friends are calling."

"Andrew-"

"Bye!" I said and hung up. I blew a breath and glanced up at the sky. Dark clouds were covering the sky, and it looked like it was about to rain.

I put my phone in my back pocket and turned toward the diner. I opened the door and was sauntering towards the table when someone bumped into my side.

"Oh, I'm so sorry-" Lillian rushed, then paused when she saw me. This is the first time I was standing this close to her and She's really tiny. Her head reached my shoulder. She angled her neck up and took a step back, creating a space between us. "I'm sorry."

I thought of my brother's advice. I stalked her but found nothing, so maybe I had to be close to her to get to know her, and for that; I have to be nice to her. I watched as she nervously settled the muffler over her neck.

"It's alright," I said and gave her my best smile.

Her jaw dropped and her eyes visibly grew big. She darted her gaze to her left and right, then back at me, and blinked. I noticed how green her eyes were.

I cleared my throat and she flinched out of her thoughts. She shook her head and stood straight. "Excuse me..." she murmured and walked past me, making me frown.

Did I say something wrong?

I followed her and sat in my seat. The waitress brought our order and everyone immediately dug in like hungry cavemen.

"What did Austin say?" Brittany asked, and I darted my eyes to Abigail. She ducked her head to avoid eye contact.

"Nothing." I shrugged and ate my burger. The entire time I gazed at Lillian in confusion.

I just smiled at her. Why did she react like that?

I observed how she occasionally glanced at David and whenever she caught me watching her; she hung her head.

This girl confuses me every day.

After eating we got out of the car and Nate offered to drive Abigail home since we were all going to the after-party at Ben's.

"We need to get going, too," Lillian said, grabbing Chloe's hand.

"You're not coming with us?" Maddie frowned, looking between them.

"No. I'm tried." Chloe yawned. "Cheerleading seriously is exhausting."

"I'll drop you guys," Nate said, and they nodded. They waved at everyone and left with Nate. The remaining of us went to the after-party.

~•~ • ~•~ • ~•~

"I'm not playing beer pong with you guys!" Louis said for the nth time.

"Someone's afraid of losing." David mocked.

"Come on, dude don't be a pussy." Jordan laughed.

"Let him go if he doesn't want to play." Maddie took his side, then gave him a mischievous smirk. "Poor baby's heart will get wounded after losing from a girl."

"Whatever." Louis huffed and walked out.

We were currently sitting in the living room, and the music blared in the background. I took a sip of my drink and watched David with Tiana on one side, and Jordan with Maddie on the opposite as they played.

I was playing with them before and kept winning, so they changed the teams.

"I'm going to get a refill," I said to Brittany, who was busy taking videos for her Snapchat. She nodded, and I got up from my seat.

I strolled towards the kitchen and when I saw Fiona coming towards the kitchen; I quickened my strides and opened the sliding door on the opposite side and stepped outside on the back porch.

I watched as the rain poured on the back lawn and glanced at the sitting figure on the steps of the porch. I walked to Ben and saw him texting someone.

"Hey, dude," I said and sat beside him. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing." He mumbled and switched off his phone. "What are you doing here?" He asked, drinking from his beer bottle.

"Hiding." I shrugged. He raised his brows at me to continue. "Fiona," I grunted.

"Already done with her?" He gave me a lopsided smirk.

"She's just..." I searched my brain for words.

"Clingy?" Ben said.

"Exactly."

"That's nothing new. They're all clingy."

"And that's the attribute I hate the most in them." I dropped my head back and looked up at the dark sky. I angled my head towards Ben and saw him staring at the ground. "You're distant these days."

"I'm the same as I was before Drew." He said, turning his head towards me. "You're just noticing that right now."

"If something was going on you would have told me... Right?" I scrutinized his face as he blinked at me.

"Of course." He said after a few seconds.

"Your 'friend' didn't come to your after-party," I said, referring to Lillian.

"She had something to do." He gave me a half-shrug.

"She's weird." I finally uttered the words.

"In what way?" Ben asked in confusion.

"In... Every way. She doesn't talk much with anyone and all I've seen her is staring at people." I peeked at Ben. "I've also seen her flirting with Nate."

Ben blinked at me, then burst out laughing. "Lilly and flirting with Nate?" He grabbed his stomach as he laughed.

"I'm serious."

"I think you are mistaken." Ben finally stopped and wiped the tear from the corner of his eyes. "She's not like that."

"You don't know her that well." I pointed out.