Thanks to @charmingpixie for the covers at the top and below💕💕

ngl, I rushed this entire chapter and am going to edit it when I have the chance. Exams are coming up and this is my only explanation for the lack of updates on all my stories.

Chapter Forty-Two: "Are You This Fried."

"WHERE ARE THEY?" Maddy asked, looking around. There was a sound of chatter and a group of people moving past us blocked our (mostly Maddy) views. I could smell food but at the same time the scent of alcohol around the bar. There was some people cheering at some basketball game on the screen and many sitting down talking and laughing in their chairs with groups of people.

After they cleared out of the way and I spotted who we were looking for. "Oh, over there." We moved through the pub and I watched Derek line up a shot when I stood beside Sam, leaning against the billiard table. "Hello people."

"I have brought the bubble tea!" Matteo announced, setting it on the table beside where Maddy and Anmol had dropped their stuff. I looked at it as everyone grabbed one and Matteo handed me something else. "Here's water for you because your taste buds are weird as hell."

"So no one is drinking tonight?" Maddy asked, staring at all of us like we were crazy.

"We are all drinking," Matteo put his bubble tea in front of her face. "Bubble tea for all of us and water for Macy. Do you need new glasses or something?"

"Here's the thing," Maddy said, pushing him out of the way. "We come to a bar-"

"A pub actually." Anmol corrected, taking a seat. Sam put an arm around my shoulder pressing a kiss to my cheek. 

"How was your day?" He whispered. 

"Tiring like always." I answered him. "You?" 

He shrugged nonchalantly . "Same. But don't stress, okay?"

"Whatever you say." I mumbled, my hands reaching to the inside of his leather jacket. I felt the warmth radiating from his body as he hugged me back, pressing a kiss to my head. And just like that my day got slightly better. 

"A pub," Maddy said, continuing her conversation with all of us. "To play pool and not buy their food or even their drinks, the alcohol they graciously provide and we take advantage of this place as a rec room?"

"I was going to buy food," Derek said. Agreements went out through the group before Maddy rolled her eyes, taking the cue stick herself.

"Sam, let's play. Derek, what were you?"

"Stripes." He answered, putting his own cue stick away before heading over to get food.

"Cool." I let go of Sam as Maddy nudged him to take his turn and I sat down next to Anmol.

 Matteo took the seat in front of us. He nodded discretely to Maddy. "Is she okay? She seems a little off."

"She didn't do so well on one of her papers," I told him, glancing at our friend. "It's taking a toll on her."

"Mads." Matteo got up, giving her the most random hug that she clearly didn't expect because her eyes went wide behind her glasses. This Matteo and Maddy thing was confusing the heck out of me but I pretended to ignore it. 

I exchanged a glance at Sam who looked at them a little confused before mouthing to me, 'Are they?' 

I shrugged, mouthing back, 'I have no idea'

"They'd be such a cute couple," Anmol mentioned, taking my attention off Sam.

I shrugged. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. Just the same old stress."

"Relateable," I said, taking a sip of my water.

Anmol and I talked for more minutes before Sam suddenly spoke up. "You guys want to go play darts?"

"What happened to your game with Maddy?" I asked, confused. 

"I'm not up for it." There was a significant way he had shrugged and avoided all of our eyes, finding an interest in the lights above. 

"He's losing. He has like four balls left and I only have the black one to get in." Maddy laughed, putting the cue away. "So I guess he forfeited."

"I wasn't losing," Sam muttered, meaning to be discreet at the volume of his words but even over the chatter of the busy pub we all heard him. 

I got up, cupping his face with one hand. "You poor baby." I mocked him, kissing him on the lips before grabbing my water. 

He held onto me, my back to his chest when he whispered in my ear. "I did not lose." 

"No. You just forfeited because you were about to lose. It's okay same. The first step is accepting." 

"Shut it." He narrowed his eyes at me and I laughed. 

"Wait, before we head to the other side, I have an important question," Derek said. Anmol instantly rolled her eyes but he grabbed her so she was leaning against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Matteo, mate, I wanna know something," Derek asked.

Matteo turned in his seat, looking curious. "What's up?"

"Who do you think is the most attractive person in this room?"

Matteo took a sip of his drink, standing up. "Seriously? You really want me to answer that question?"

"Oh God." I said, having a feeling that I already knew who the answer was.

"Yes."

"Okay, me." He grinned and Derek rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding but really?" Matteo narrowed his eyes at Derek, "Are you sure? You sure you want me to tell you my opinion?"

"Yes."

"Just saying but me saying that someone is attractive or is the most physically attractive does not mean I like you or have any interest in you."

"So, it is me." Derek said, looking happy. Anmol stared at him but we all laughed at his giddiness anyway.

"I never said that."

I was getting annoyed and Derek, judging by the curiosity on his face, really wanted to know the answer. "Then who do you think is the most attractive or physically attractive person is in the room?" I asked, wanting to get this question over and done with.

"Easy answer: Sam."

"Easy answer? That sounds so offensive to everyone else in this room. Including me." Maddy said, pushing a finger against Matteo's chest but he laughed, swatting her finger away.

Sam nodded once, shoving his phone he had previously checked into his pocket. "Huh. I'm not surprised."

"Sam." Derek and I both said at the same time at his cocky tone. 

He barked out a laugh before shaking his head, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks for the compliment mate." 

Matteo turned the hat on his head around and laughed. "No problem."

"Thank you for the compliment?" I repeated his statement into a question. "I know on the inside right now you're doing the biggest dance ever and your ego just skyrocketed."

"Once again, thank you, Matteo, for the compliment." Sam held out his fist and Matteo bumped it. This friendship was still weird to see but I wasn't complaining. 

He stood up, walking over to Derek and patting him on the shoulder as he started walking where the dartboards were. "It's okay Derek. Just because I don't find you as attractive as Sam doesn't mean that you're not attractive in general."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Because your girlfriend finds you attractive and that's all that really matters now. Doesn't it?"

Derek glanced down at Anmol who was already looking up at him and wondering what he was going to say to that. Derek's eyes shifted around the room before giving her a wide smile. "Hi, you want something to eat? I'll buy you anything you want."

"Buy me makeup." She demanded.

Derek didn't even hesitate. "I'll do it. I'll take you shopping tomorrow. You can get whatever you want. I promise."

Anmol patted his chest, tugging him along. "All is forgiven."

I glanced at Maddy. "They're an even weirder couple than you guys sometimes. I don't know why I still hang out with you people."

"Because you got stuck with me as a roommate and didn't bother changing rooms."

"Maybe because I almost spiked the ball in your face that day we met and I only stayed to forgive you."

I started walking in the direction everyone else was going in when Sam said what I was thinking. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I know," Maddy found her way ahead of me and started pulling me along. "I tried. Now let me beat you in darts now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Macy, Macy, Macy." I heard my name being repeated several times.

Why the hell is someone trying to wake me up now? It felt like I've only slept for five minutes. I need at least six hours of sleep or I get cranky and I had a feeling this person was going to experience it all.

I tried pulling the covers over my head but this person yanked them down and off my body, making me shiver from the lack of warmness. "What the heck?"

I didn't even look at the person but at the digital clock on the nightstand. "It's 2 AM. I'm trying to sleep!"

"I need to talk to you."

My eyes adjusted to the darkness and my voice finally realized Maddy was speaking to me. "You have to talk to me this early in the morning? Not when the sun is out?"

"This is important." She urged, reaching out to shake me.

I was way more awake now. I stopped her hands, getting slightly annoyed. But not at her. From my lack of sleep. "It better be really important for you to-"

"Matteo and I kissed."

That shut me up real quick.

There was a pause before I spoke up. "You kissed? Like actually kissed?"

"Yes, Macy. Kissed." She said to me like I was five. I wasn't that stupid to realize what she meant. 

But I was still absorbing the information. That sounded so hard to believe. Holy- "Like a peck? Or-"

"We aren't eleven! We kissed."

"What?" I sat up on my bed, crossing my legs and letting her sit on it in front of me. "What happened at that concert?"

"Oh, it was so good. We were getting into the music and everything and then we make friends with the people we were sitting around. Then, like, they were playing one of my favorite songs and I've been waiting to hear them sing this live so I got really happy then I got off of Matteo's shoulders because the doofus had decided to put me on his shoulders for the first part of the night so I could get a really good view. But then, I think he realized that because I was happy I wouldn't care-"

"And then he kissed you?"

"Yeah," Maddy's eyes were wide behind her glasses. "It came out of nowhere. Like, what? What makes you think that this would be the best moment to swoop in, you know?"

Maddy changed positions and we were lying side by side, looking up at the ceiling of our dorm room. There was a moment of silence between us before I spoke. "Did you kiss him back?"

There was a pause. "Yes."

Out of nowhere, I started laughing and Maddy pushed me. "What? What's so funny?"

"Sorry, this is so funny. Look, do you like Matteo?" I asked, turning on my side to face her.

She sighed, keeping her eyes on the ceiling. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" I asked, bewildered. The way she was avoiding my eyes told me everything she couldn't say with her mouth.

"Yes, okay?" She turned to face me. "Yes, I like Matteo."

"Then what is the problem here? It's Matteo. He's our friend. You know him pretty well."

Maddy tucked her hands under his head. "But wouldn't it be weird? After all that time of arguing and just being friends we're suddenly...like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like Anmol and Derek. Like you and Sam."

"What?" I asked confused.

"If Matteo was another guy that I definitely wasn't as close to then I would give him a shot but this is Matteo. Matteo is Matteo." She rolled back, grabbing my pillow and letting out a long groan. "I'm not supposed to be falling for a guy like Matteo. I mean, the guy needs a haircut."

"You're not going to date Matteo because he needs a haircut?" That was the dumbest thing I have ever heard in my entire life.

"He needs more than just a haircut," She removed the pillow from her face so I could hear her clearer. "His taste in Youtubers is horrible too."

"So, if he got a haircut and changed what he watched, then you would consider going out with him?"

"Macy," She sat up. "It's more than that. He's my friend. I don't want to take any chances."

I perched my head on my hand, looking up at my conflicted friend. I moved the topic along, asking a question I never really thought I would ask anybody, "Well, was the kiss good?"

Maddy grinned, looking down at me. "Did you of all people seriously ask me that?"

"You woke me up and I don't exactly feel like falling asleep anymore so you might as well tell me all the details. And why you're suddenly back here at two o'clock in the morning."

"That's because the friends we made took us to this other party."

"What happened at that party?"

"Matteo and I kissed again."

I ran a hand over my face. "How many times did you two kiss?"

Maddy thought about it. "I don't remember."

Great, so now I had to envision that I already knew they probably did more than kiss. That wasn't a problem or anything, they were adults. Let them do whatever they wanted. But they were my friends and imagining them kissing made me mentally cringe. 

I put my hand up to her forehead. "Did you drink? Did someone spike your drink? Did you take a drug? A pill? Are you this fried that you can't even remember? How many fingers am I holding up?"

Maddy whacked my hands away. "Three and no I didn't drink or take anything. It was just a really good and conflicting night."

"Matteo must be a really good kisser if you look this conflicted."

Maddy got off my bed, walking over to the bathroom as I laughed. "No comment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Uni is going to end so soon. I actually can't wait. I am so tired of this." l muttered as we walked out of the building. It wasn't as cold as it was when I first got here. Sure, the weather was evidently weather but I was beginning to think that the weather in Manchester was ultimately and only meant for sweaters. I definitely wasn't complaining about that. 

"Same but last game is in three weeks. I'm not ready for football season to be over or for you and Maddy to go back to Canada and leave me here."

"Anmol, Sam told you that you can come with us for a few weeks. Remember?"

"Yeah, I'll visit eventually before the second year starts again but it'll just be weird not seeing you guys four days a week."

"I know. But second year might be even better."

"Second year, Sam might not even be here. Derek too."

"Derek has trials?"

"Derek has a lot of different opportunities. He's 22. He's graduating in a couple of weeks and he's moving on."

"Is he staying in Manchester?"

"We don't know." Anmol mumbled. I didn't want to ask more about that. She seemed upset about it already. 

"So next year is going to be different."

"Yup."

I heard laughter and a group of people, some girls from our soccer team and some from the men's team walking by to the parking lot. I spotted Tanya already watching me and I sighed. "Let's hope Tanya transfers universities."

Anmol bit back a smile. "Yeah, the most we can hope is that she gets onto an actual team before second year."

"Are you trying to tell me that there is a huge chance that I may spend the next three years with Tanya. Tanya Nesmith?"

"Yes." Anmol said.

"Holy-" My phone started ringing in my pocket and I took it out, answering it. "Hello?"

"Did you just finish practice?" I recognized the voice as Peter. 

"Yes..." I trailed off suspicious as to why he was calling me. Oh God, did he do something? 

He didn't sound very content. In fact, he sounded grave. "Come over. Please. Now."

He hung up the phone and I stared at it confused. Anmol looked at me. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Any chance you can drop me off at Sam's flat?"

"Yeah, sure Derek lent me his car. When I arrived at the condo and was heading towards the penthouse, there was someone completely unexpected leaning on the door as if they were waiting for my arrival.

"Liz?"

She gave me a smile that clearly didn't reach her blue-grey eyes. The woman I considered to be a mother figure looked so unlike herself which instantly got me worried. Sure, her clothing was the same- perfect as always – but her appearance, just the way she was holding herself demonstrated that something was wrong.

"I thought you and Phillip were coming over next week. At the end of the month."

"You haven't seen Sam all day, have you?"

"No, not since the morning," She stepped aside to allow me in the house and it was quiet. Way too quiet. "Is everything alright?"

She opened her mouth to speak as if the first words she was about to say was 'everything is fine' but she held back. Because nothing was fine. Because something happened.

And I could hear my heart pounding in my chest as she struggled to say the words. I took a deep breath, wondering what the hell was happening. "Liz, what's going on?"

She didn't answer the question. I don;'t think she could have because her eyes were the Peter appeared behind her, gently moving her inside. "Aunt Liz, come on."

"Peter, what's going on?" I asked, dropping my duffel bag on the ground and I spotted Phillip with Soccer in his lap.

Peter sighed. "It's Grandfather."

"Gran-Charles? What about Charlie? What's wrong?"

He took a shaky breath before saying the next words. "This afternoon he had gone for a walk with a couple of friends and-and he had a heart attack and died a couple hours ago."