Nate can't do anything about the guys, so he has no choice but to cook more food for them. He's grumbling under his breath about their lack of consideration, and here I am, hiding my own grin.

I'm so happy to see him, and it's a big surprise to see him in the kitchen, cooking. 

"I can't believe you learned in a single day," Lance says amusedly.

Nate scowls at him. "If you really want to do something, you'll make time for it."

"I won't waste my time," Zeke says, "when I know Brielle will prepare feast for us."

"Lazy as*," Nate mutters.

I smile as I watch the guys bicker with each other. I miss this normalcy with them. I don't dare turn around because I'm afraid to see KY. I still have a sore spot, as if reminding me it's hard to move on when we live in the same house. As if I can just ignore him the way he ignores me.

But maybe I can learn something from him.

"Bri, how's your—“

"The bacons are burning!" I say quickly before he can finish his question. I don't want to explain in front of the guys, especially with KY here. He might pick up my words and actions, and think that there's something going on.

Nate didn't seem to notice my change of subject. He smoothly turns off the stove and puts the bacons on the plate.

I take it from him and put it on the table.

"Finally," Lance says, sitting on his usual chair.

Zeke and KY follow.

"Who wants a cup of coffee?" I ask. It's already brewing.

KY raises his hand.

"Make it two," Nate says.

I grab two mugs, fill them with coffee, and then give them to KY and Nate.

The guys start eating. Zeke praises Nate's cooking skills. For his first time, I'm surprised he didn't burn anything.

"You owe me," Nate says, scolding at them. I can see that he's pleased though.

I take a bite of bacon. In the corner of my eye, I catch Nate staring at me, waiting for my reaction.

I give him a thumb up, and he grins at me.

I have to admit; though the food doesn’t look presentable, it tastes good.

“How’s your thanksgiving?” I ask. It’s better if I ask questions so that he’ll just answer them, and not ask me anything.

Nate shrugs. “Normal,” he says. “Well, except for one thing.”

I raise my eyebrow as I wait for him to continue.

“Mom asked me when will I get married.”

Lance chokes the juice he’s drinking. “Dude, you’re just twenty three! You’re too young!”

Nate rolls his eyes. “I know, but when my parents marry each other, they were only eighteen.”

“But that’s when it was appropriate to marry at a young age,” Zeke chimes in. “Besides, you’ll lose your charisma when you have a wedding ring on your finger.”

Nate turns to me. “What do you think?”

I frown. “What do I think about what?”

“About marriage, obviously,” KY says.

Why doesn’t he just remain silent like he usually does?

“I guess it’s alright,” I say hesitantly, not liking the guy’s attention on me. “When you both love each other enough to agree to settle down and get married, why would you care about other people’s opinions?”

“Too sentimental,” KY comments.

“What?” I ask, forcing myself not to scowl at him.

“Just like my Mom,” he continues, his mouth twitching upwards.

Yes, keep talking in parables, as if I can understand you.

“What age do you plan on getting married?” Zeke asks.

“Dunno,” I answer, looking down at my plate. “Never thought about it.”

I’m about to ask them when Lance raises both of his hands and says, “Let’s stop this talk about marriage. It’s making me cringe.”

I blink. Is the subject too sensitive for him?

“Did someone leave you on the altar?”

Lance guffaws in laughter, while the other guys look at me like I said something funny.

After he’s done, Lance says, “I haven’t even met a girl I can call as a girlfriend; much less a wife!”

I forgot. Guys are not much excited about weddings. It’s the girls who’ve been dreaming about their wedding day since they were kids.

“Because I cooked, you will clean the dishes,” Nate says, pointing at Zeke and Lance.

“Why?” Zeke asks incredulously.

“So you can help in this house,” he states, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Lance smirks. “Fine. Brielle will end up cleaning them again anyway.”

Nate leans over and hits his head.

“Dude!” Lance scolds at Nate, “what was that for?”

“For being a brat.”

Really, I don’t mind washing the dishes. It’s my job. They don’t have to argue about it. I’m about to say so, when KY beats me to it.

“I’ll wash the dishes.”

All of us stare at him. When he sees us, his forehead creases and he asks, “What?”

I shake my head. “Nothing. I’ll just start the laundry then.”

Why am I getting nervous? It’s not like he offered to marry me or anything. For Pete’s sake, he just volunteered to wash the dishes.

Don’t make a big deal out of it.

“Nate,” I say, turning to him. “Thank you for cooking today.”

“No problem,” he says, smiling. “It’s my pleasure.”

I stand up from my chair and leave the guys talking about their line up for their next concert.

*

I gather the pile of clothes in front of me and segregate them. I separate the colored clothes from the white clothes.

Doing something repetitive like this gives me a calm mind. Because of it, I can—

"What are you doing?"

I jump in surprise. Turning around, I find Nate leaning on the door of the laundry room. "You scared me!" I say, scowling at him.

He grins. "What are you doing?" He repeats.

I gesture around me. I'm surrounded with clothes. Lots of them.

His eyes zoned in on something lying on the floor. "You wash my boxers?" He asks incredulously.

I nod. As if there’s anyone else in here.

Nate jumps to the pile and picks his boxers from the floor. "Don't! I'll wash them now!"

I raise my eyebrows. "Why?" I ask. "You didn't mind before."

To my surprise, his cheeks turn to rosy color. "Are you blushing?" I ask, grinning.

He scoffs. "Of course not!"

"Yes, you are!" I say, pointing to his face.

Nate quickly raises the boxers and hides behind his hands.

He is so funny, I can't help but laugh. Nate slowly lowers his hands. There's glint in his eyes. He starts walking towards me, so I push him away.

I didn't realize I push him too hard— he topples on the washing machine.

A gasp escapes from my lips when it fell sideways. As if in a slow motion, the bubbles from the soap go up. In a matter of seconds, the room changed into a bubble bath. The clothes are soaking, and the water reaches my ankle.

That's when I shriek and tell Nate to rectify the washing machine.

Of course it's too late. We're already surrounded with soapy water.

Oh God, what am I going to do now?

“Are you okay?” I ask him.

“Yeah,” he says, wiping the soapy water on his arm.

I’m about to start cleaning the mess when my phone rings. I answer it without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello.”

Stella?

Why is she calling?

“Brielle?” she says, “Are you there?”

Can I pretend I didn’t get her call? Or maybe, I have a bad signal?

“Hello?”

I heave a sigh. I better answer it to get it over with. Nate is already watching me as it is.

“Hey,” I say.

“Finally,” she mutters. And then she clears her throat and asks, “Is Nate there?”

“Yes,” I say reluctantly. As a matter of fact, he’s standing beside me.

“How is he?”

Cryptic much? “Good,” I answer.

This is weird. I feel like I’m invading Nate’s privacy when I’m just answering Stella’s question. Why did she have to be a b*tch? I can’t believe she’s Mrs. Swift’s daughter when she’s nothing like her.

“Are you there?” she asks, annoyance creeping in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m just busy.”

Nate cocks his head to the side, and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Okay, I just called to remind you about our deal. I hope you didn’t forget it.”

“I didn’t,” I say.

“Stella!” I hear someone from the background. It’s Mr. Swift’s voice.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” Stella yells back.

I wonder if her parents know what she’s doing. She’s being a spoiled brat. Unfortunately, I’m not a tattletale.

“I’ll call you again to catch up on Nate,” she tells me. “Ciao!”

And then she ends the call. A sigh escapes from my mouth when I put down my phone.

“Bri,” Nate says, “I thought we already established we won’t lie to each other?”

I nod slowly.

Why is he suddenly looking at me like this? He’s serious all of a sudden.

“Why didn’t you tell me you stayed with Kyle?”

My mouth hangs open. This is the moment I’ve been dreading for. But how did he know? I should be the one to tell him.

Did KY tell him? Did the guys mention it to him?

“Nate. . .” I don’t even know what to say. “It’s not as if I lied,” I begin, biting my lip.

Yeah, right. As if defending myself will help.

Nate takes a step closer to me. He doesn’t look angry though. Besides, it’s Nate. I can never be afraid of him. His eyes are downcast; I can’t read his expression. “But I invited you,” he says softly. “And you went with him.”

“Nate—“

He puts his forefinger on my lips and takes a few more steps towards me. I don’t know why, but my heart beats loudly; it’s trying to rip its way out of my chest. Why am I feeling this way?

I want to step back, but the floor is wet. I don’t want to slip.

“I don’t like sharing,” Nate says.

"What are you talking about?"

I swallow the lump in my throat. I need to focus, but I can’t keep calm when his face is just a few inches from me. I can’t even think straight. I don’t want to break their rule. I can’t afford to lose my job.

And most importantly, my friendship with Nate.

“You left me with no choice,” he says, and before I can ask him what he’s talking about, he plants a kiss on my neck.

On my freaking neck.

*****

IS IT OKAY? IS IT FAST, OR SOMETHING? PLEASE, TELL ME. I WANT AN HONEST FEED BACK. WHEN I WROTE IT, I HAD ALL THE FEELS LOL BUT WHEN I TYPE IT, MEH -___- SO, PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS CHAPTER.

The song is Settle Down by The 1975 <3

Thank you so much for keeping up with me, I appreciate it. REALLY :’)