I stood frozen on my heels. I must be dreaming. I must be. The people standing in front of me felt unreal yet so real.

“Sup bitch?” Lexi shot her signature crooked smile at me, Maddie mirroring her action. I’m definitely dreaming.

“Aren’t you going to invite us in? It’s rude to keep the guest waiting when the food is all set for us to devour!” Andy exclaimed in his high-pitched voice, looking behind my shoulder, scanning the dining table.

A very nice dream. I smiled at all of them.

“Uh yeah. Sure, come in!” I moved aside, clearing the way for them to come in.

They all walked in one by one. Maddie and Lexi were taking in the view of the house while Andy grabbed David by his hand towards the dining table. An uncontrollable chuckle escaped my mouth, the most blissful one I had in a while.

“My surprise surely seemed to have surprised you,” Shawn whispered into my ear. I turned my sight towards him, he had his head lowered to reach my sight level, staring directly into mine.

“How-... I mean… How did you manage to get them here?” 

“Took some convincing and bribing, but here they are.” He smirked.

“Bribing?” I failed to hide the sadness in my voice. Are things really that bad?

“I’m kidding, Maya. I just convinced them and with a little explanation, they were all on board.” 

“There is no food?” Andy shrieked from behind the dining table and we all looked at him at the same time, unable to hold back our laughter.

“So you're telling me that we traveled 200 miles here, exhausted our invaluable body and energy, and for what? We don't even get food! How can you be so cruel, Maya?” He feigned great betrayal, his expressions were hilarious.

“I didn't know you guys were coming over! Do you think I wouldn't prepare more food if I had any idea? I could never do such cruelty!” I defended myself, feigning the tier of drama with the same zeal.

“Good point.” He turned towards Shawn, “How can you be so cruel, Shawn? You literally dragged our asses here and you do not even provide us food! You owe me a lifetime of free pizzas. You would pay, of course.” Andy crossed his arms, marking that the deal was non-negotiable.

“Hell no. I am not doing shit.” Shawn huffed.

“Fine. But your car keys are mine now. For a month. And I'm not compromising anymore.” Andy raised his arms in the air.

Shawn huffed louder than before but eventually agreed. It felt nice to see them bantering again. I suddenly felt like I was under someone's continuous stares. I turned my head to the side to find David awkwardly gawking at me.

It felt strange. Although it was nice to see everyone again, to see him again, the tension between the air felt weird. I tried to push my overthinking aside and focus on the people that meant the world to me.

Amidst all the noises and chaos and laughter among the six of us, I completely forgot about Niall. He walked in only to find a more crowded living room and he looked at me in puzzlement.

“Who is he?” Maddie asked, her eyes not leaving Niall's sight as she blatantly checked him out.

“Guys, he is Niall. He is a really good friend of mine and also, my roommate.” 

The four of them stared at me in awe as if I just announced marriage between an ant and an elephant.

“You live with him? The girls questioned at the same time, one out of curiosity and the other out of incredulity.

I swear they are telepathic.

“Y-Yes. Why do you guys sound so surprised?” I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ears.

“Nothing.” They both exclaimed at the same time.

They sure are.

“And who are they?” Niall asked after the room was left silent for over a minute.

“They are my friends back home. The weirdos I told you about.”

“Ah, I see. Well, it's nice to meet you all.” Niall beamed a friendly smile.

“It's nice to meet you too.”

“Pleasure is all ours.”

“Anything to see a handsome face.” were some of the replies. The last one, obviously, came from Maddie.

“Where are you guys staying?” Niall asked as he took a seat on the couch, where Maddie and Lexi were seated at the opposite edge.

I looked over at the guys. I didn't know about it either.

“We're staying at the same hotel as Shawn is. We took the adjacent rooms from him.” Lexi scanned the wall clock and exclaimed, “I think we should get going guys. It's late.”

“Since when do you care about being up late?”Shawn smirked, earning a mocking glare from her.

“I don't, you asshole. I have shit loads of unpacking to do and then tomorrow I'll be hearing from the University about my portfolio. You know, the call that would decide my future and shit, yeah that's it.” Lexi explained in her neutral tone.

“What are you pursuing?” I asked.

“Fashion Designing. It's the only thing I'm good at. I sucked at school anyway. Might as well get into this line and try to follow in the footsteps of Aunt Arlene. I don't know.”

“That's incredible. You would thrive, I just know it. So chill girl, you will get in.” I assured her with a cheery smile. I knew she would.

“I know.” She got up, “We should leave now, guys.” 

“You all are already leaving?” My voice grew sadder with every syllable. I wasn’t ready to leave them just yet.

“Yes we are, and so are you. Pack your things for tonight, bitch.” Maddie blurted out. I shot them a confusing stare.

“What? You thought we were going to leave you alone? No way bitch. You’re gonna come with us. We are in for a nice long chat.” Lexi smirked mischievously. I sensed trouble.

“Umm…-”

“We don’t have all night. So chop-chop.” She motioned with her hand dramatically, leaving me no option but to oblige. She could be scary sometimes.

I looked over to Niall, asking if it was alright with him. He blinked and nodded, saying that it was. I nodded and marched towards my room, followed by Lexi and Maddie.

I rummaged through my closet and grabbed the first thing I could. I was never the deciding and planning kind of packer, and if I am left with time as little as this, God forbid I might pack something that I would definitely regret later.

“Your roommate is hot,” Lexi commented as she launched herself on my bed.

“So hot. Is he single?” Maddie asked with a coyish smile.

“Chill you guys. You met him like, ten minutes ago.” I shook my head, chuckling.

“Oh come on, wouldn’t you tell me? Don’t you want to see me happy?” Maddie turned me around grabbing both my arms and yanking my body. She batted her long eyelashes on me, giving me her puppy looks.

“Fine, girl. He is single. Happy? But mind you, he isn’t the relationship kind of guy.” It felt weird discussing Niall this way.

“Leave that to me.” She shot me a mischievous smirked and walked away to join Lexi. I shook the thought off and zipped my bag.

“I’m done. Let’s go.” We walked out of the bedroom to find the boys awkwardly standing in the living room, except for Andy, of course. That guy is a carefree soul.

“You guys are ready?” David spoke for the first time since his arrival. He was the one driving, I presumed.

“Yep. All set.” Lexi informed and everyone began walking towards the door. Niall stepped in and pulled me into a quick hug. I noticed Shawn’s body tensing for a moment but quickly composed himself. I hugged him back for a quick second before pulling out.

“Be safe. Text me when you get there.” He said in a soft voice, but clear enough for the rest of them to hear.

I smiled and nodded in response. I joined the guys and exited the door.

“Text me when you get there.” Shawn comically mimicked him and let out a loud huff after it. I bit my lips to stop myself from chuckling.

~

The six of us launched ourselves on Shawn's hotel bed despite the other vacant room we had to ourselves. Maddie ran her fingers through my hair. It felt nice to just lay there with them, peacefully.

“Can we now know why you left like you were going to die if you stayed another day?” Andy asked, popping out of nowhere and sitting backk on the bed.

I jumped up and sat back, left unguarded by the situation. I didn’t expect this conversation to come across this soon.

“Well, I-” I mentally debated if telling them the entire truth was a good idea. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face that vulnerability in front of people once again.

“Nothing major here bro. She just got scared and took off. That’s it.” Shawn butted in, withdrawing the attention from me towards him.

“Scared of what?” David shot him a confusing stare, raising an eyebrow.

“We all have our insecurities. It was one of the times when it got the best of her. We can’t blame her. And anyway, what’s up with your hair? It seems like you were electrocuted.” Shawn mocked him, cleverly changing the subject.

“It's a trendy haircut!” David defended.

I mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him but he didn't notice it. He kept pestering the guys while Maddie and Lexi took me to their own room. Our room. The boys decided to share Shawn's room as each room had two double beddings. The other room was quite self-explanatory.

“How are things between you and Shawn?” Lexi asked the second we sat down on the bed.

“About what, exactly?”

“I mean, did he forgive you? You know, for running?” She raised an eyebrow as if she was stating the obvious.

“I guess. I mean, things are good right now, so I guess he did.”

“So what are you going to do next?” Maddie questioned next.

“About what?” I shot her a confused stare.

“You are seriously dumb and delusional, bitch.” She facepalmed in disappointment.

I shot a glare in response.

“Ask him out. Win him or whatever. You cannot seriously sit and pretend to be friends anymore. You guys are way past that.” Lexi crossed her arms.

I began to open my mouth to argue but she raised her finger, signaling me to shut up and that she wasn't done. I obliged.

“We have seen the ‘We're just friends’ crap just enough. It's not even funny anymore to watch you both deny your feelings. Well, actually he did confess it, but you still choose to be delusional. And we've been bearing Quinn's snobby ass for almost two years now. I hate that chatterbox so much. She has been clinging onto Shawn for months now. If you don't do something, she will!” Her voice was almost threatening.

The mention of Quinn triggered an instant annoyance and I huffed. The last thing I wanted now was to discuss her.

“I don't like her either.” My words fell out before I could catch them. 

Some people have a gifted ability to simply annoy anyone by just being in a room. They just do.

“Gosh, I hate her too.” Maddie joined and we all laughed.

“But seriously girl, if you don't take any action, she might take him away from you. Then I would be the one commenting on your crying ass ‘I told you so.’ Good guys don't remain single for long.” She shrugged.

“She couldn't. She doesn't stand a chance. Shawn would never go for her. He doesn't even like her.” I was optimistic.

“Maybe you are right. Quinn wouldn't stand a chance. But somebody else could.” That was all it took to grind my optimism into dust.

“I-”

“Look, we wouldn't force you to ask him out for real. We just want to know if you even like him more than a friendly way?” It was rare for Lexi's voice to soften.

There began an internal debate competition inside my head, for the motion, and against the motion if I really liked Shawn. The ‘against the motion’ team seemed to be overweighing the debate. The opponent team too presented important points. It was a tough call, honestly.

“Maya!” Maddie jerked my shoulder, snapping me out of my head. I looked at her, bewildered.

“Where did you zone out?” 

“Umm sorry, I was just… thinking.”

“So?” They both raised an eyebrow at me.

I raised an eyebrow in response. I actually could be very dumb sometimes. 

“Do you?”

I let out a deep breath before answering, “I do.” I finally admitted.

This was the first time I actually admitted my feelings to myself aloud.

“OH MY GOD!” They both squealed at a pitch loud enough to leave a person deaf.

“Calm down you guys. It isn't a big deal. It is pretty obvious.” I tried to diffuse the over-excitement built up in the room.

“It is a big deal so you better keep that pretty mouth of yours shut. This is huge! We gotta tell Shawn!” Lexi stated, still squealing.

“What? No! This is huge, bitch. Shawn shouldn't know this way. It has to be huge and special.” Maddie argued, but the excitement in her voice remained unhidden, nonetheless.

“You are right. It should be something epic. Very romantic. And epic. We should arrange a great proposal setting. It would be the perfect moment and place!” Both of them began blabbering about arranging whatsoever the perfect setting and never stopped.

Shouldn't I be the one they must be discussing it with? 

“Umm guys, pretty sure I am still here and you are talking about my confession. I am pretty sure I am supposed to be involved in it.” I interjected sheepishly, unhiding my sarcasm.

“It doesn't. Leave that to us. You just have to take care of the talking. We'll manage the rest.” Maddie said and they both picked up the conversation they were having before I intruded.

“Guys! Why are you all so hyped up like I am going to tell him tomorrow? I am not even sure when I would actually do it. You guys are seriously too over excited by this.” 

This surely drew their attention towards me, and oh boy, it wasn't the good one.

“You must be joking right?” Maddie asked incredulously.

“I am not. I am not going to walk up to him and tell him that I have feelings for him when things just started to get back to normal. I am not even sure if he still likes me the way he used to before. I am not going to make a complete fool of myself and make things awkward between us.” I explained.

There was a momentary silence but they spoke up soon after.

“That does make sense. But you do know that he wouldn't be here forever. He will leave after a week for Manhattan. You have only a week left. Do what you think is right, bitch. We'll help you in any way we can.” Lexi flashed a small smile.

 She did that when she was too proud to admit she was wrong but she agreed to it regardless.

“You guys are the best.” I walked towards them and embraced them in a hug. They instantly hugged me back. It felt so good to have the girls back with me again. This place finally started to feel like home.

“I need to take my scrunchie from Shawn's room. I left it on his bed. I will be right back.” I said as I pulled out and they nodded.

~

“Hey, did you see my scrunchie here? I am pretty sure I left it on the bed.” I asked when I heard Shawn's footsteps coming out of the bathroom as I searched the bed. The room was empty when I entered so I took the initiative to find it myself.

“Here.” He said. I looked up and saw him stretching his hand towards me, his wrist wearing my scrunchie.

I couldn't stop the coyish grin marking on my lips due to the sight. It was so normal yet it felt so cute and intimate.

I pulled it out of his wrist and began tugging my hair up in a ponytail.

“Here let me help you.” He took the scrunchie and the hair out of my hand. He affectionately grabbed the strands of my hair, leaving a few, and tied a loose ponytail. It wasn't the way I used to tie my hair normally, but I didn't want to undo anything so I let him.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling ear to ear.

“No problem.” He shot an equally bright smile.

“And thank you again,” I said.

“How many times would you thank me for tying your hair?” He chuckled.

“Not for that. For saving me from that awkward conversation earlier. I wasn't sure if I was ready to tell them the truth.” I informed him, sighing in relief.

“They don't need to. All that matters is that you are here, with us. That's all I ever wanted. They don't need to know if you are not ready yet. This is your story, Maya Matthews. You hit them with the plot twists whenever you want.” He rubbed his thumb on my cheeks lightly and it was enough to ignite the heat against my skin.

What he said just now sounded just normal but it evoked swirls of emotions inside me that were quite difficult to explain why.

How can someone be this open and supportive? How did I not see this before? He always had been.

I decided something there. I hugged him goodnight and rushed towards my room.

“Girls,” I yelled, trying to catch my breath.

They both looked at me and raised an eyebrow when they saw me panting.

“We need to come up with the perfect setting. It has to be.” The brightest smile I could ever muster crawled up to my lips, their action mirroring mine.

Hey guys! How have you been?
It's been a refreshing week. I tried something that I never thought I would. Gaming! And tbh, I am liking it more than I thought I could. Who knew? XD

What's your favorite hobby that you picked recently and grew fond of?

I hope you liked this chapter.

Feel free to vote and comment.

I'll see you guys soon.
Stay tuned♡.

~Loveya~( ˘ ³˘)