My slumber was disturbed by the infuriating beeps of my phone near my ears and I cursed the person who texted me at 4 a.m. under my breath.

I groaned under my pillow for a full minute before finally pushing myself up to reach my hand near my smooth pillow and pluck the earphones that I used to listen to before falling asleep.

I did that very often. I would plug in my earphones when I wasn't sleepy and play soft and soothing songs until I fell asleep.

I squinted my eyes, despising the bright light that poked my eyes as I struggled to narrow my eyes to focus distinctly on the screen to scrutinize from who it came from. My eyes wide opened when I saw my chat box filled with 273 messages! I quickly opened my messenger and saw a group named 'Weirdo Group' had added me and that contained 168 messages. I heaved a sigh of relief as I figured more than half of the messages were from that silly group.

I scrolled down to the next group which was named 'Bitches' which had Lexi, Maddie, and I as the members and that contained 73 messages. I shook my head in incredulity as I scrolled down to the next chat. I had 10 messages from Lexi, 5 messages from Maddie, 4 from David, 8 from Andy, and lastly 5 messages from Shawn.

I barely used to get one or two texts in a week; that solely came from my folks and now-

I sighed and opened Lexi's messages first.

'Bitch you better not be asleep now.'
'Cause I have something awesome to tell
you.'
'Girls day tomorrow!'
'We are going shopping bitch.'
'And we have to buy outfits for the New Year.'
'You can't bail.'
'Or I'm gonna come to your house and drag you out on your PJs'.
'Be ready by 11 ;)'
*devil smirk emoji*
*devil smirk emoji*

I shook my head and replied,
'Okay.'

I opened Maddie's chat and that had the same text as Lexi but a little less dramatic so I replied with an 'Okay.'

I now proceeded towards Andy's messages and opened them.

'Sup buddy?'
'Are you free tomorrow?'
'I bought a new video game.'
'Let's check that out together.'
'I've convinced David too.'
'It'll be so cool.'
'Just the three of us.'
*laughing emoji*

I typed down the reply quickly and sent it.

All I wanted is to finish this up fast and go back to sleep!

'Hey, buddy! I'm sorry but I couldn't as we have a girls' day tomorrow.'
'You know how persuasive they could be.'

I had the same text from David asking if I was going to come and I replied that I couldn't.

I didn't understand how people in the same group managed to say the same things.

At last, I opened Shawn's messages and started to read them.

'Hey, I just texted to tell you that don't feel overwhelmed.'
'These guys can be a little too much sometimes'.
'But they are the best people I know.'
'And they love you. We all do.'
'Sweet dreams Tinkerbell.'

My lips formed a coyish smile as I continued to stare at the screen and finally replied with a smiling emoji and dozed off, the smile still etched across my face.

~

After taking a long relaxing shower, I walked out of the cold marbled floor of the bathroom and made my way to the standing mirror.

Lexi had clearly instructed me to wear something pink and sexy, dare I say threatened. I didn't want to argue with her and so I obliged. I wore a blush pink off-shoulder skater dress and a royal blue headband and paired it with matching royal blue pointed heels.

I climbed down my stairs and the sight in front of me was quite startling. Lexi was leaned down on the couch faced towards the kitchen, chit-chatting with my Mom, and Maddie was helping her in the kitchen. It wasn't a sight that I was used to looking at but oddly, it felt quite pleasant.

I made the clicking of my heels harder and more audible on the floor so they could acknowledge my presence. They shifted their attention in my direction and suddenly I felt strange under their gaze.

My mom stared at me blankly for an awkward three minutes with her mouth gaped apart. Yes, I was counting.

Is the dress too much? Why is she looking at me like that?

Her frozen body snapped out of her whatever world she was in as Lexi cleared her throat to smack the silence.

She looked at me with a stern face.

Perhaps she didn't like my clothing.

"Maya! What is this? Do you know how stunning you look?" She remarked, her voice switching from roughness to being her usual sweet tone and they all started laughing their heads off.

"I see you are now acquainted with these two girls and they already have started rubbing on you." I taunted, twitching my lips as I strode towards them.

"Finally! What took you so long bi- Maya?" Lexi asked, biting her tongue.

"I couldn't find the 'pink' dress you asked me for," I replied bluntly.

She pushed her eyebrows up, her lips twitching into a shady grin but decided not to say anything about it and pulled herself up from the couch.

"Let's get going, girls. Let's hit the road."

And with that, we were off to the mall.

~

I had never walked in my entire life as much as I had walked in one single day, circling and wandering around every single store in the freaking mall.

I dropped all the bags from my hands on the floor in abortion as they walked towards the next store. I glared at them, raising one eyebrow, and crossed my arms across my chest. They both turned around their heads by the soft thumping sound on the ground and glanced at the bags and then at me.

"I can't walk! My feet bloody hurt. And these heels aren't really helping you know." I witted.

They both laughed as they looked into the eyes of each other and nodded in agreement.

"Fine, let's take a break. Food court. Right now." Maddie said, pointing in the direction.

We took the last corner seat as Lexi insisted so she could bitch about the other girls around the court. I shook my head in disbelief while letting out a small giggle but the truth be told, I was lowkey enjoying their company but I wouldn't dare to say it out loud.

"Look at her shoes!" Lexi whispered as she leaned forward to be more audible for the both of us and I sat between the two of them. "Eww! I bet that won't be more than...umm... two dollars." Maddie commented and we started laughing under our breaths.

If this would have been any other day with any other people, I certainly would have got furious as I never liked people who bitch about others behind their back but when it came to them, I didn't find it that offensive as I would have. Well, I guess this is what happens when you have friends like them.

"What would you like to order?" I asked as I scrutinized the menu placed in front of me. I flipped the second page and decided on chicken burgers and Belgian chocolate ice cream and they nodded their heads in agreement.

I stood up and began moving towards the counter to place our orders but was halted as I collided with a huge figure's chest.

Seriously! What is it with me every time bumping into people?

I reflexively took a step back and lifted up my chin to check if it isn't some unwanted people that fate never failed to pop up in my life. If you know about what I mean.

Shit. I guess fate did love to bring them.

The man that stood in front of me glared at me through his nose. As I took a step back, he held his hands behind his back as I studied him to ensure if he was the same man. He was. The strange man from the streets.

He maliciously took a step forward, his lips twitching a mischievous smirk, and I reflexively took a step back.

"Look who we got here?" The man softly growled in a shady voice as he took another dangerously step closer. He continued walking towards me and I continued to walk away but halted when my knee pit slammed into a table, signifying that I don't have a way out.

"I warned you you're gonna regret messing with me." He muttered as he raised his hand above his shoulder and launched it back and before I could process it, a fist collided with his jaw followed by a hard knee kick in his balls.

I shifted my eyes in the same direction and saw Lexi and Maddie shooting him unnerving death glares.

"As I said, nobody messes with our bitch!" Maddie declared as she grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up. I stared at her in astonishment as I refused to believe that those tiny skinny hands could lift up a huge man like him.

The security guards soon butted in and Maddie handed him over to them while Lexi narrated the whole incident and they just nodded and mumbled a small 'sorry', dragging him out.

Maddie held my hand and took me to our table while Lexi went forward to give our orders that I was supposed to place. Lexi joined us soon after and skated swiftly next to me.

"Did you know that bastard?" Lexi scoffed as she gulped the water from the bottle. I softly nodded and told, "He and Shawn had got into... a bit of an argument and I stepped in, threatening him to call the cops. I guess he still has that grudge against us." I shrugged as I guessed about the possibilities.

"Thank you, though. For saving me back there and having my back." I mumbled softly enough to reach their ears.

It felt weird to actually confess appreciation in front of someone rather than just doing it in my head.

They dramatically tilted their heads as they shot me nasty death glares.

"Bitch did you just say 'Thanks' to us?" Lexi questioned in an alarming tone, enunciating her words.

"Uh..I-"

"Don't! That word shouldn't leave your mouth!" She warned, pointing her index finger at me.

"You're one of our bitches. Bitches and dickheads come after family for us. You... are a family now, Maya and we will always have your back." Maddie said and gave me a side hug.

"Yes. And nobody messes with my bitch." Lexi warned as she too gave me a side hug on the other shoulder. I lifted both hands and rested upon their triceps as we stayed that way for a while, ignoring the bizarre glances people were throwing at us, passing by.

~

I slammed my bedroom door shut as I landed immediately on my fluffy bed, not bothering to change just yet. I dropped my palm on my forehead and closed my eyes and recalled my eventful day.

I had a lot in mind that I didn't even know where to start thinking from. Without giving much thought, I dialed the first number that came to my mind.

The call went to voicemail and I tossed my phone aside. Just as I was about to walk towards my closet to change into my pajamas, the call was returned. I immediately picked it on the second ring and squealed a 'Hello'.

"Hello to you too, Tinkerbell. You seem to be in a good mood." He said from the other side of the call.

"Not exactly that but yeah I am," I answered.

"Wha- You know you're really weird."

"You won't believe what happened today!" I squealed.

"Mmhmm... I'm listening."

"Remember the guy from the street whom you tried to warn to not smoke?"

"Uh... yeah, why?"

"Ironically, I bumped into him today in the mall and it seemed like he had not forgotten about that incident any time sooner. Heck, he was still furious and was almost about to hit me."

"What?" He shrieked in anger, "Did that rascal hit you? Tell me he didn't or he is dead meat."

I let out a sheepish chuckle as I continued, "Haha no, he didn't. Although it is cute to see you getting all protective." I teased. "He didn't get the chance to as Lexi and Maddie took the matter in their hands."

"And what exactly did they do?"

"Nothing much. Just a solid punch from Lexi and a really hard knee kick from Maddie in his balls."

He laughed a bit and stopped abruptly.

"Hmm... That's good. I'm happy they were there with you." He said softly.

"Me too," I said as I formed a small tight smile.

"Shawn?"

"Mhmm?"

"I'm scared," I admitted, very softly, in my most vulnerable voice.

"And why is that?"

"I... I don't know. I'm just scared. I'm afraid that I'll end up getting hurt. Again. I'm afraid that my history will repeat itself. I'm afraid to let my guards down even a little bit, thinking that if I did, they'll get dangerously close to me and one day, they suddenly will just leave. Just like that. Or worse, do the exact same thing Olivia and Mason did. I know it is very wrong of me to compare all of them with those two but I couldn't help it. I'm too paranoid. You know when Lexi and Maddie stood up for me today, I never felt so blissful in one simple gesture. I felt my heart at contentment. And I'm afraid I'll get used to it because it's really very difficult not to when you guys are just too good to me." I paused, instantly regretting saying that out loud.

"Sorry, I talk too much. It's just bullshit. Don't mind me. You know how paranoid I can get sometimes, unnecessarily." I joked, trying to diverge the topic.

What was I doing? I never pull out something like this. I usually keep my paranoid thoughts to myself as they always sound ridiculous to people when they hear them and it is not entirely untrue. I sometimes think too much. Too much for my own good. I get paranoid about a lot of things that shouldn't even be worried about in the first place, and but I had never let that happen know to anyone, and to my utter surprise, I actually laid it all out on the table, and honestly, I instantly regretted it.

There was a suffocating long silence from the other side of the call and nonsensical thoughts crept over my head.

"You know it's not wrong to let someone know about your feelings and thoughts instead of covering it up and pretending to be cool about stuff." He said as he broke the silence that I was dreading.

"Did you have the same thought when it came to me?" He asked in a sincere yet curious tone.

"No," I replied, almost immediately.

I could feel his smile spreading across his face as he continued, "And why is that?"

"Umm... Because I trust you. And you promised to be there with me and never replace me and strangely, I believe it."

"And do you feel that they will abandon you?"

"No," I answered immediately and then paused to think about it.

"See. Your instant reply was a no that you don't believe that they would abandon you and which is actually true, if I may add. You believe that too but somehow your paranoid mind has taken over your thought process that it fogged it way too much to actually think it through. Your mind is like a seed. It will grow just the way you feed it. Do not let your paranoid mind overpower your ability to think rationally."

"Hmm... You can be my therapist, you know?" I expressed it playfully.

"Is that so? And what would be my fees then?" He asked, playing along.

"Umm... I can babysit Chloe for you." I offered.

"Yeah. And speaking of Chloe, you remember you have to stay here tomorrow right?" He asked, checking in to confirm if I still remembered, which of course, I didn't.

"Uh... Yes, Absolutely. How can I forget it?" I bragged.

"Cool. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Maya." He wished.

"Goodnight Pretty boy."

"Don't call me that!" He complained.

"Keep trying to convince a wall," I said as I cut off the line.

I tossed my phone over my bed as I resumed to move towards the closet, with a bright joyous smile plastered on my face.

Hey guys, thank you for reading.
And sorry for updating late. I am so caught up with these online classes and this annoys me so much.
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.
What do you think about Maya's new family?
Because I'm too happy for her to finally get some good friends.
Drop down your views.

Sneak peek: It's time for the first P.O.V of Shawn!
I am sure we all want it and understand our bad boy better ;)

Feel free to vote and comment.

I'll see you guys soon.
Stay tuned♡.

~Loveya~( ˘ ³˘)♥