ARI.

Michael was a blessing. While most girls went out and got their hair done with their gal pals, I got my hair retouched with one of my best friends. Because Michael often dyed his hair, he and I would do ours together. My black roots were visible and and my normally deep red hair was fading into a dark, burnt orange hue - it looked disgusting.

The two of us sat on the couch of Michael's basement with clear, plastic shower caps on our heads. He and Calum were playing video games - typical. Ashton was in the corner Facetiming my sister which was still weird to me, and Luke and I were reading issues of Alternative Press.

"You know what would be cool?" Luke asked after about thirty minutes of reading silently.

"What?" I replied, keeping my eyes on the magazine in my lap.

"If you got a fun band like All Time Low or Mayday Parade to perform at your birthday party," Luke suggested. I turned to look at him with a raised brow. He smiled with hopefulness.

"Like that's gonna happen," I scoffed, closing the glossy-paged magazine. "Maybe for like thousands of dollars they'd perform... you should perform."

"What the hell? No way Ari," Luke argued, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Why not? You're pretty good. And you could do it for free," I snarkily grinned, wiggling my eyebrows mischievously

"Free? Oh hell no honey," Luke sassed, rolling his eyes and snapping his lips, "I'm not cheap."

"I'm sorry, I forgot you're a high class whore," I teased, laughing at my own joke. Luke shot me a glare, hitting me on top of the head with the magazine in his hands.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, my jaw dropped as I grabbing the pillow next to me. I catapulted it toward's Luke's head, but he moved away just in time for the pillow to miss his face and plummet right into Ashton. Luke and I bursted in laughter as we watched Ashton's body jump and look at us with an annoyed grimace. He gave my sister an apologetic look before placing his phone down and running towards the two of us.

"Kill Luke, he started it!" I yelled, pushing Luke into Ashton's wrath.

"What?! You're the one who threw the pillow!" Luke accused. I giggled as I hid behind the tall white boy, feeling him get smacked over and over again with a pillow.

"I'm trying to woo Mia! Don't fúck this up for me Hemmings!" Ashton bellowed. Bowls of popcorn and skittles flew into the air, raining down on us like this were Candyland. Calum and Michael who were so engrossed in their video game, were completely unfazed by their surroundings. The two gamers stared at the screen with full concentration.

"Dude! I'm sorry!" Luke chuckled, "you're woo-ing is working anyway. Mia likes you man!"

"Don't try to get out-- hold on," Ashton halted his attack on Luke, standing up straighter to give him a quizzical look. "Wait, Mia likes me?"

"Luke, you weren't supposed to tell him," I carped, throwing my hands to my hips.

"Why not?" Luke exasperated.

"Yea, why not?" Ashton chimed in.

"Because that's not how it works," I explained with a sigh. I stood up from the couch, several pieces of Tropical Skittles falling from my shirt. "You're supposed to keep chasing my sister until she thinks it's time for you to know that she likes you."

"That makes no sense. Now that I know she likes me, we can move things faster," Ashton suggested, a playful grin forming on his face.

"Don't you frigging dare Irwin! You stay slow! She might be older, but she can be fragile. Hurt her and I swear your balls are going in the BBQ pit!" I threatened, meeting him at his feet. I stood at my tip toes to somewhat match his height, but it was no use. Ashton still towered over me like the Empire State Building. Ah, the perks of being Asian.

Ashton shot his hands up in defense, "whoa, calm down Little Tokyo. I won't do anything to hurt your sister. I have one too remember? And I'd kill any guy who hurts my sister, so yea."

"First of all, thank you Ash," I smiled, giving his arm a rub, "and second of all, Little Tokyo? Really? So racist. I'm not even that kind of Asian."

"Oh yea, I forgot," he mused, smacking himself on the forehead before giving our tanned, dark haired friend a mischievous smirk, "Calum is of that kind of Asian persuasion."

"I fúcking hate you Irwin!" Calum sneered, taking his eyes off of the screen to give Ashton a scowl. Suddenly, Michael stood up, screaming in triumph.

"Yes! I won! I won!" Michael yelled happily, tossing the controller to the side.

"Aw fúck!" Calum groaned, hitting his forehead. "Not again!"

I, along with Luke, Ashton and Michael, laughed at Calum's expense. It wasn't even that funny but I found myself in absolute hysterics that my stomach was hurting. It was getting harder to breath as well and I laid on the couch clutching myself. I hadn't laughed that hard in such a long time that I almost forgot what it felt like.

Thats when I realized how blessed I was. I mean I always knew that my life wasn't totally horrible. My dad slowly succumbing to lung cancer sucked and it broke my heart to see him die before my eyes, but besides losing the only man I ever really trusted, I was still throughly blessed in life. Especially with these four derpheads in my life, I had nothing to complain about.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

In the midst of all the laughing and tossing food around, my phone started to buzz in my pocket. Jumping off of the couch to hide at the other end of the basement, I pulled out my cellphone and slid my finger across the screen.

"Hello?" I answered, watching the boys throw pillows at one another.

"Ari? It's Gail Cole,"

"Gail! Hi how are you?" I smiled.

"I'm doing great. Excited actually. My husband wants to take me out on a date tonight. He got us tickets to see Maroon 5 and that's my favorite band," she mentioned. I could hear the joy in her voice.

"Wow, that's really sweet. Did you need me to babysit Brayson?" I assumed.

Gail sighed, "yes, please, if you could. Our normal babysitter is out with the flu and you're the only other person we really trust with Brayson."

"I'd love to take care of my little man," I told her proudly, "what time would you like me over?"

"Come by around 5:30. We'll have dinner already made and all of--" Gail continued to explain, as I leaned against the wall scanning my eyes around the area. My eyes fell on Luke, the tall ass white boy whom I've grown fond of in the last few weeks. He bounced around the couch, throwing M&M's towards Calum who would catch them in his mouth. Luke's laughs slithered into my ears and a smile would form on my face. He seemed so happy and I'm so glad that I forgave him after the iced coffee incident.

Then a brilliant idea hit me.

"Hey Gail? I have something to propose to you,"

//

LUKE.

Ari and I were back at my place to grab my guitar. She insisted I help her babysit this little boy tonight who apparently was "the cutest thing in the world." I agreed of course, because it's Ari. She also insisted I teach the little tyke how to play the guitar because he always wanted to learn.

"Luke you're going to love Brayson!" Ari exclaimed as she climbed out of my car. "He's so adorable and I love him with all my heart."

"You say it like he's your own child," I laughed, leading her to the front door. I stuck my key into the knob and turned it, the other keys on the ring jingling as I did.

"I know," Ari admitted with a defeated sigh, "but I've known him since he was born."

"So what did you say he has?" I asked as we entered my house. The sweet smell of brownies smacked us into the face and my mouth began to salivate as we inched closer to the kitchen.

"Whatever's cooking is smelling so beautiful," Ari stated, closing her eyes to take a deep breath in. I laughed at her affinity to sweets. "And Brayson has Cystic Fibrosis. Basically his lungs suck and he can't breath very well, so he always has a cannula in his nose."

I nodded my head, "that does suck but I can't wait to meet him."

"Thank you," Ari looked up at me, placing a delicate hand on my arm. She was radiating happiness and I couldn't help but to smile at her. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

"Ari Quiroz is that you?"

We turned our attention towards the welcoming voice. My mum stood at the kitchen counter chopping something on the cutting board. The two of us made our way to the kitchen, taking a seat on one of the barstools across from my mum.

"Hi Mrs. Hemmings, how are you?" Ari gave my mum a hug and only then did it resonate with me how close the two ladies were. She did have my mum's cell number and called her up at 3AM when I was drunk as fúck, so obviously they were besties.

"I'm doing well Ari. I baked some brownies, please help yourself," Mum offered, gesturing for a yellow porcelain plate at the center of the counter. "Looks like my son already did."

I grinned widely at her, purposely leaving chocolate chunks in my teeth. Mum did not approve of my fúckery and only rolled her eyes. Though I did catch a small smile coming from her and I knew that she still loved me.

"So what are you two planning for tonight? Would you like to stay for dinner Ari?" Mum asked, her eyes back down on the vegetables being slaughtered beneath the sharp blade in her hands.

"Luke's actually going to help me babysit Brayson Cole tonight," Ari answered, taking a bite of one of mum's brownies. I chuckled to myself, catching glimpse of Ari's eyes rolling back in satisfaction. Mum was the best baker ever.

"Aw, is that the little boy who's always popping up in the papers with the lung problem?"

Ari nodded her head, "yup, that's him."

"He's a strong little kid. I heard that he's living longer than expected," Mum mentioned. "Well grab some brownies to go."

"Sure thing. Thanks Mrs. Hemmings,"

"Come on, let's grab my guitar and get out of here," I tugged onto Ari's arm and she slid out of her seat. She gave my mum a wave goodbye before following me up the stairs. We entered my room, which I was glad wasn't as messy as normal. I was glad I listened to my mum the other day and cleaned my room.

"Hey next time we have a sleepover, let's build a fort?" Ari suggested, taking a seat on the edge of my bed.

"A fort? Really Ari? What are you, 12?" I scoffed, grabbing my guitar off of its stand and a couple of picks from a desk drawer.

"You know you like the idea," Ari teased. I turned around and approached her, shaking my head.

"No I don't,"

"Yes, you do."

"I'm not a child Ariane," I playfully shoved her.

"Oh, I think you are a kid at heart, Lucus," she poked me in the stomach, causing me to teeter backwards and drop my guitar.

"You made me drop Meredith!" I accused, giving Ari another push in the shoulder.

Ari bursted into laughter, "you named your guitar Meredith!"

"It's not funny; it's a very respectable name for an instrument," I defended, however Ari kept on laughing. I grabbed ahold of her, tossing her over my shoulder, causing Ari to gasp and hit my back.

"Luke put me down!"

"Apologize to Meredith,"

"What? No!"

"Then I'm gonna tickle you till you pee your pants," I threatened.

"You wouldn't," Ari gasped. Though she couldn't she it, I smirked mischievously.

"Watch me," I tossed Ari onto my bed and began tickling her sides. She threw her head back in a fit of giggles. She flailed her legs around, but I straddled her and I was able to keep her demonic limbs at bay.

"Stop Luke! I can't breathe," Ari laughed, grabbing my wrists to seize being tickled. Her laughter slowly subsided as she lifted herself upright. Her hands still clutched onto my arms and I still had my bent legs on either sides of her. She suddenly let go of me, and my hands immediately went to her face, cupping her cheeks.

I pulled her closer to me and my eyes drifted down to her pink lips. I rested my forehead against hers, watching as her brown eyes went wide with nervousness and anticipation. Did I want to kiss Ari? I'd be lying if I said I didn't. She grew to become one of my best friends and it didn't hurt either that I thought she was attractive. But I couldn't bring myself to kiss her.

I wouldn't know what it'd mean. I wasn't sure if I had feelings for her in that way and I wasn't sure if she felt the same. I barely had Ari as a friend and I din't want to screw it up. I didn't want to make things between us awkward because I felt like the moment was right to kiss her.

So I didn't.

Instead I looked Ari deep into the eyes, our foreheads still touching and whispered, "race you to the car."

I giggled jubilantly, jumping off of Ari's lap. I grabbed my guitar off of the floor and whizzed out of the room, leaving Ari to trail behind me.

"Not fair you jerk!" Ari called after me. I could hear her light feet thump down the stairs as I grasped onto the door handle and swung it open. I raced to my car, touching the hood just as Ari exited the front door.

"And you said you weren't a child, Lucas,"

//

Yay! Update! Hope you all liked this chapter. Sorry no Ari & Luke kiss. It shall happen... eventually. Regardless, who likes their cute friendship they got going on?

Please don't forget to VOTE, COMMENT, and SHARE with all your friends. This story recently hit 6K and I am really proud of it! It may not seem like much in comparison to a lot of the stories here on Wattpad, but it's a milestone for me. Can't wait till we hit 10K reads & let's make it happen! :)