The next day, on Saturday, I helped my parents pack their bags to go on a vacation for their anniversary. Luke and I booked them for the weekend to enjoy in L’Ermitage Beverly Hills. It’s a five-star luxury hotel in Beverly Hills around half an hour’s drive from West Hills.

Mom always talked about that place and showed us articles about it. Luke and I have been saving for it for a very long time and we finally got them this year.

“My kids are so precious!” Mom pulled me into a tight hug and sobbed.

“Stop crying Mom.” I giggled and patted her back. “Just have fun.”

“Of course, I will!” We burst out laughing and let go of each other.

“Close the doors and check them before leaving the house,” Dad instructed, and I bobbed my head.

“And don’t stay late at home. Leave for Chloe early.” Mom clasped my face. “And take care of yourself.”

Mom didn’t want to leave me alone at home, but I assured her it won’t be a problem. I’ll be spending the night at Chloe’s house, so I won’t be alone.

“I’ll be fine Mom. Now go.”

I stood at the door and watched my parents leave. Mom furiously waved as the car drove away. Chuckling, I waved back till the car disappeared and locked the door.

I worked on my homework and some assignments that were given last week and I couldn’t do them before because of my makeup exams. I finished them in the evening and got ready to leave for Chloe’s house.

I was packing stuff for the night in my school bag because I didn’t have any other when I heard thunder and abruptly the rain began pouring. I glanced through my window and groaned when I saw it was storming outside.

It was predictable for the rain to happen, but I wasn’t expecting a downpour this soon. I placed my bags inside my wardrobe again and picked up my phone to call Chloe.

“Hey, Lilly! Have you seen the crazy storm outside?”

“Yeah,” I whispered and sat on my bed with crossed legs.

“Wait... Where are you? Have you left your house?”

“I was about to, but it began raining.” I sighed. “I don’t think I can come for a sleepover now.”

“Don’t say that.“ She whined. “I prepared everything for us and you were supposed to tell me about the dinner last night and I wanted to tell you about Louis, but this stupid weather.”

“We can talk about it on Monday.” I chuckled.

“Or... Since you can’t cycle. I can drive to your house!” she exclaimed.

“It’s dangerous to drive outside-“ I almost jumped when I heard a loud boom. “Yeah, no driving.”

“Fine.” She sighed in disappointment. “Will you be alright alone?”

“I’m a big girl Chloe.” I teased her.

“Right.” She giggled. “But you know I can’t wait till Monday! Tell me now, please.”

“Alright. I’ll check the house and then call you back.”

“Perfect!” she squealed and hung up.

Laughing at my friend, I went to the bathroom and changed into my grey shirt and trouser then went downstairs to check the windows and doors. After locking them, I ascend the stairs to my room and the lights went out.

Great!

I switched the touch on my phone and lumbered to the kitchen to get the candles and my phone buzzed in my hand. My heart began thumping when I saw the caller ID.

“Where are you?” He asked as soon as I picked up the phone.

“Home,” I answered, opening the cabinets.

“You didn’t go to Chloe’s?”

“It began raining before I could leave.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Nothing.”

“That means you are alone at home in this storm.”

“I’m fine Andrew.” I giggled and lit up the candles.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“I don’t have Astraphobia,” I replied, and placed one candle in the kitchen and took the other to my room.

“Yeah... But still.” He grumbled, and I heard him shuffling.

“Don’t worry, Andrew. I’ll be fine.” I smiled.

“It’s hard not to.” He said, making my heart skip a beat.

I gulped, placed the candle on the side table, and sat on my bed. My stomach clenched at the thought of us last night and I felt guilty because I wasn’t completely being honest with him. I’ve never lied to him but keeping his friend’s secrets from him felt like a lie and I hated myself for it, but I couldn’t do anything either.

Day by day, it felt worse.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“For what?”

“Everything.” I took a deep breath.

“I should be the one thanking you.” He murmured. “For last night.”

“It was nothing.” I blushed.

“I never thought about my career in the way you describe it and I wondered about it. The whole day today I researched it and I think I know what I want.”

“You do?” My voice sounded hopeful.

“I think I’ll go for Automotive Engineering.”

“Wow...” I giggled. “That’s fancy.”

“It’s better than being a lawyer.” He scoffed.

“Why did you choose this?”

“It looks intriguing, and I went deep into it. I still haven’t thought about what I’ll major in, but this degree has a lot of scopes, so I can think of it while pursuing it.”

“Seems like you’ve thought this through.”

“I have... And I heard Stanford also offers this degree.” He said in a low husky voice, and my heartbeat sped up.

“They do?” I asked in excitement.

“Yeah... Guess I’ll be your senior there too.” He teased.

“I like the sound of that.” I bit my lip and my phone began vibrating. It was Chloe calling me.

“Chloe’s calling. I’ll talk to you later.” He groaned, making me giggle.

“Tell Chloe to focus on Louis and leave you alone for a minute. I’d like to talk to my girl too.”

“She just wants to discuss a few things.” I murmured and my heart fluttered at the words ‘My girl’.

“Alright. I...” He paused, then sighed. “Take care.”

“You too.” I beamed and we hang up.

“I’ve been waiting.” She huffed when she picked up the call.

“Of course you were.” I giggled.

“Now go on. I’ve waited enough for the spice.”

I shook my head at my friend and told her everything that happened minus the fight Andrew had with his father. That was something personal and not my story to tell.

“After watching Stranger Things, he dropped me home, and that’s it.”

“That’s it?” She repeated in amusement. “You forgot the kiss.”

“W-well yeah, we but enough. Now tell me how Louis asked you out?” She laughed, then began her story.

“Ok... You know I had cheer practice after school on Friday. So I told Louis he didn’t have to wait for me and he left. But after practice, when I went home, you won’t believe what I saw!”

“What?”

“My entire house roof was covered with the words ‘Will you be my prom?’ And Louis stood on the food saying he won’t come down until I say yes. Which was stupid, since I was obviously going to say yes.”

“You dreamed of this moment.” I smiled, thinking about the times Chloe used to fantasize about this moment.

“I know! I screamed yes! And then he got down. We kissed until my father came out of my house, making Louis run away.” She grumbled. “But anyway, it was amazing!”

“That’s great Chloe. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you.” She giggled. “Did Andrew ask you?”

“No...”

“I’m sure he’s thinking of a way to ask you. We still have almost a month.”

“Yeah-“ The doorbell cut me off, and I frowned. “Uh... I’ll call you later, Chloe.”

“Oh alright. See ya on Monday!”

“Bye...”

I hung up and switched on the flashlight on my phone and carefully walked out of my room. I looked at the time and it was nine o’clock. The storm outside hasn’t stopped, and I wondered who could be there.

Maybe I imagine it-

The bell rang again, and I tightened my grip on my phone as I ascend the stairs and stood in form of the door. I peeked through the peephole and saw a silhouette, but it was dark outside and I couldn’t figure out who it was.

I should call the cops-

“Lilly!” I halted at the familiar voice. “Lilly, I know you’re home! I saw your flashlight.”

How can he be here?

I yanked the door open and was greeted by a drenched Ben, but he wasn’t alone.

“H-hi Lilly. C-can we come inside?” Toby stuttered. “It’s freezing.”

“Oh, sorry.” I got out of shock and let them inside.

“You don’t mind if we use the bathroom?” Ben asked, taking his soaked jacket off.

“No, it’s that way.” I pointed to the bathroom next to my parent’s room. “I’ll get you some of my dad’s clothes.”

“No need.” Toby opened his bag and got some clothes out. “We got it covered.”

Nodding my head, I watched them talking the clothes out. Ben went to the bathroom downstairs, and I showed Toby my bathroom upstairs. I went to the kitchen and made them hot chocolate as I waited for them to change.

Ben came out first wearing a white shirt and grey shorts, his blond hair still damp. He placed their wet bags next to the door and came into the kitchen.

“Sorry about the mess.” He gave a sheepish smile and pointed at the wet floors.

“I’ll clean it, no worries.” I smiled at him and placed the warm cup in front of him. “Here.”

“Hot Chocolate?” He watched it in awe. “You are amazing.” He mumbled, sitting on the stool.

Toby came after a minute in a black shirt and trousers, and I gave him the other cup.

“This is heaven.” Toby sighed with pleasure after taking a sip.

“Not to sound rude or anything, but...” I adjusted my glasses. “What are you doing here in this storm?” They side glanced at each other and smirked. “Am I missing something?”

“A lot.” Ben chuckled.

“Since we came back from Spring break, you were busy with your makeup exams so we didn’t want to disturb you.” Toby began. “The last weekend Ben and I planned a night out at his house, but his father was there, same as this weekend.”

“Suddenly he loves home so much that he doesn’t want to leave!” Ben grumbled.

“He’s home this weekend too,” Toby added.

“We got frustrated in the end. We went camping.” Ben finished.

“Which turned out to be a failure.” Toby took another sip. “We sat the camps and everything there and were getting the fire ready when it suddenly began raining.”

“We thought it’ll stop after a while, but the wind was blowing so hard that our tent almost flew.”

“You didn’t pick the right weather to camp,” I said, and they nodded.

“We packed everything up and were driving, but it was getting difficult and I couldn’t see a thing.” Ben gulped his drink down.

“Your house was the nearest, so we came here.” Toby gave a shy smile. “Hope we didn’t intrude.”

“No, it’s alright.” I smiled at him. “I’m glad you came here. It’s dangerous to drive in a storm like this.”

“Are you alone?” Ben asked, looking around. “I was sure your mom will come scolding us.”

“My parents are out of town. They’ll be back tomorrow evening.”

“That means... You are alone? In this dark.” Ben raised his brows. “Aren’t you afraid?”

I chuckled, shaking my head at the same question as Andrew.

“I was supposed to go to Chloe’s, but it began raining before I could leave. So I stayed.”

“Glad you did.” Toby grinned. “Otherwise we would’ve been wondering like drenched cats.”

“You guys can stay the night here.” I offered and watched them looking at each other. “We can camp in my living room,” I added.

“That’s an excellent idea.” Ben grinned. “I’ll go get things up.”

“I’ll see if I have something to eat.” I opened my refrigerator and found leftover pasta.

“Oh, I’ve got you covered.” Toby beamed, and they walked out of the kitchen.

I microwaved the leftover pasta from the lunch and Toby came inside with a bag full of snacks and drinks. We took them out in bowls and walked to the living room, where Ben was pushing the middle table aside.

We set the blankets they brought on the floor and I sat in the middle with Toby on my right and Ben on my left. All night we ate and watched movies on his laptop. After hours, when the battery of his laptop drained, we set it aside and began talking.

They asked how things were working out with me and Andrew, and I told them about the dinner I had with his family. Ben already knew Andrew had trouble with his father but he still love him. After another hour or so, we called it a night.

“Did you guys...” Ben gave me a smug smile. “Do it?”

“Do what?” I frowned as I helped them place the sleeping bags.

“You know.” He wiggled his brows and my eyes widened when I got his point.

“W-what?! No! I... We... No!” My whole body heated and Ben burst out laughing.

“It’s a miracle he has tried nothing on you,” Toby mumbled and glanced at me seriously. “If he does anything funny, you don’t want, just call us.”

“He’s not a bad guy, Toby.” I huffed. “Give a chance to know him.”

“I think I’ll wait for it,” Toby grumbled, and we watched Ben still rolling on the floor laughing his eyes out.

“Will you stop it!” I whined.

“Y-your face! God, you’re so cute!” He snickered.

“Whatever. I’m going to sleep now.” I yawned and looked at the time. It was three in the morning.

Wow, I didn’t realize it was this late.

“See you in the morning, Miss Virgin.” Ben teased, sitting on the floor.

“The walls here are thin, so no funny business.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll behave like good boys we are.” Ben winked while Toby chuckled.

“Thanks for the warning before we would’ve ruined your innocence.”

“God, you guys are ugh!” I clasped my hands over my ears and ran upstairs as I heard them laugh behind me.

With a huge grin on my face, I shook my head and lay on my bed. I may have not admitted it before, but I was a little scared to spend the night alone in my house, but now that Toby and Ben were here I can sleep peacefully.

My eyes snapped open when my whole bed shook. I sat straight on my bed with wide eyes and looked, but it stopped.

Was there an earthquake?

Glancing at the time, I saw it was one in the afternoon and my eyes bugged out. I couldn’t believe I slept the whole morning. The storm continued most of the night and I peeked through the window to see the sky clear now. The house shook again, and I sprinted out of my bed when I heard some glass shatter.

First storm now earthquake!

“Ben! Toby!” I screamed, running downstairs, and the movement stopped. “I think there’s an earthquake-“

I halted in my steps when I reached the living room and swallowed my words. Toby was on the floor with a shirtless Ben on top of him, and I let out a shrill scream as I whirled on my heels.

“F**k!” I heard Ben curse and moved.

“I told you the walls are thin!” I shouted, covering my eyes. It was a good thing I wasn’t wearing glasses, and it was a blur for me.

“Sorry.” I heard Toby mumble. “You can turn.”

“Are you decent?” I asked.

“No, we aren’t.” Ben cackled. “But if you’re asking as in we are clothed, then yes.”

“What were you guys even doing?!” I turned to face them. “The entire house shook. I thought it was an earthquake.”

“We woke up a few minutes ago, and we were sitting on the couch and talking, and then... Do you want me to continue?” Ben mocked.

“No!” I shrieked as my face heated. “I can’t see clearly without my glasses, but I know you are smirking, Ben.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Get it off before I do it for you.”

“Sure Miss Virgin.” He chuckled, and I huffed, crossing my arms.

“Why don’t you get your glasses,” Toby said. “We’ll wrap this up.”

I nodded and dashed upstairs. Getting into the bathroom, I did my daily routine and walked to my room to pick up my glasses. I picked up my phone and saw a miscall from Andrew and a text from Chloe.

I’ll call them later.

I went downstairs, and the boys had cleaned up the living room, and the furniture was back in its place like it was before.

“What do you guys want for breakfast?” I asked them.

“Don’t worry, we ordered a few things,” Ben answered, sitting on the couch. Still shirtless but at least he was wearing his shorts. “It’ll be here any minute now.”

“Sorry about your vase.” Toby pointed at the blue broken vase my dad brought. “We accidentally knocked it.” He let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s alright.” I waved my hand in dismissal. “Hope there isn’t any more damage.”

“You came before we could go further.” Ben gave me a smug smile.

“Idiot.” I rolled my eyes at him.

The doorbell rang and Ben got up from the couch before I could move.

“I’ll get it.”

“I’m going to use the bathroom,” Toby said, walking towards it.

I nodded and sat on the couch, but my mind went to what they were doing before. I jolted up from the and my nose scrunched. Ben came into the living room with two cups of coffee and bags.

“You guys did nothing on the couch, right?”

“I don’t know,” Ben smirked, and I squinted my eyes at him, making him laugh.

“We were exhausted last night to do anything and, as I said before, you came before we could go any further.”

“How future are we talking here?” I raised my brows and watched Ben tap his chin.

“Just make-out.” I sighed in relief and sat on the couch.

“We have croissants, Cupcakes, waffles, and egg sandwiches since we don’t eat bacon.” He winked and took a seat on the couch next to me. “One espresso for me and one latte for you.” He finished placing everything on the center table.

“What about Toby?”

“He said he wants tea, which he’ll make himself.” He shrugged. “Let’s dig in.”

“At least wait for him.” I eyed Ben, but he shrugged and opened the bags.

Chuckling, I placed my phone on the table and remembered Andrew’s miscall.

“Can I ask you something?” I questioned, taking a cupcake.

“Shoot.” He grumbled with his mouth full.

“When are you planning to tell Andrew?” Now that made him tense.

“What?” He froze and stared at me with wide eyes.

“You said you’ll tell him but you need time.”

“I... I still need it.” He gulped and stared at his coffee.

“Ben the longer you take the more it’ll hurt him-“

“Tell me what?” Another familiar voice cut me off.

My eyes widened as Ben and I looked at each other in shock. We deliberately turned our heads towards the voice and there he was, standing in the middle of the living room.

This is not good.

And here's the storm 😬

And as for the number of chapters turns out my estimation went wrong again 😂 there will be more than 55 chapters.

I don't want to rush the ending and want to keep the pace the same so... Now I don't know the exact number. 😅

You'll find it soon yourself 🤫

Part 2 will be up soon!

Don't forget to vote and give feedback ❤️