Vince is standing at the door, looking back at me, smiling. He's wearing a white button-up shirt with grayish blue khaki pants. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up a quarter way up his arms.

"Wow...Charmaine, you look great! Ready to go?"

I can sense as JP walks up behind me. "Where is Annalisa?" JP asks, before I can answer Vince; His voice is low, sounding more like a growl.

But I wonder the same thing as Vince looks behind me at JP. "John Paul, hey man! It's been a long time. How've you been?" He reaches out his hand to shake JP's hand.

"I'm fine. Where is Annalisa?" JP answers him while also repeating his question in a clipped voice. I watch as he grips Vince's hand a little too tight. I place my hand on JP's arm, and he lets Vince's hand go without looking at me.

"She's uh... she's home. She was taking too long and realized we were going to be late, so she asked if I could come get Charmaine before going back for her." Vince tells us while looking down at and rubbing his hand after being in JP's death grip.

I turn to glare at JP. "Well, see you later." I push Vince back out and shut the door behind us.

"He's so friendly, " Vince says sarcastically. 

I shake my head, laughing lightly. I explain everyone's on edge with what happened to me the other day, not to mention finals are next week for us, and JP's always been overprotective over me, if not more now.

"I guess I don't remember him being so...serious. How long have you two been dating? I thought you guys were more like siblings."

I choke on my own spit as he pulls the car away from the house, down the long driveway. "What? We're not dating," I cough to clear my throat.

Vince laughs, "Does he know that?"

"We aren't—it's not like that with us," I try to explain, wondering why this has come up so much in the last couple of days.

"He's my best friend," I tell him, but I can't help feel like I'm not honest, considering the feelings and thoughts I've been having recently.

"He's just always looked out for me while growing up together, that's all."

"If you say so," Vince smiles at me. "You really do like nice." Heat rises to my face as I thank him for his compliment. "So, i.f you and JP aren't together..are you seeing anyone?" He asks while looking at the road.

"Um, no. No, I'm not. I haven't had time for anything outside of school and work." I'm suddenly nervous about where this is going. I had a massive crush on him when I was in high school, and now we're both adults and at different points in our lives. "How about you? Anyone special back home in...California, right?"

"No, no one in particular." Vince smiles, looking over at me. I don't know why he makes me feel so nervous, so I look out the window. "And yes, I'm living in California."

I don't like awkward silences, so I ask the first thing that comes to mind." Do you like living in California?" Hoping to lead the conversation in a different direction.

"Yes, I do. The weather is nice most of the time. I like not dealing with the snow. There are parts of California where it does snow, but not in San Diego, where I live. The traffic can get just as congested as it does here, if not worse. You should come to visit with Annalisa after graduation."

"I've never been anywhere outside of New York or New Jersey." Again, feeling embarrassed about how sheltered of a life I live.

"Well, that's even more reason to come. You'll love it. The views are amazing. And even though we have beaches in New York, they are so different in California." So he tells me, and I can't help notice and watch as his eyes light up while talking.

"What type of work do you do that involves traveling?" I ask, not remembering what Annalisa said.

"I'm a software engineer. It's not as bad or boring as Annalisa makes it out to be. She just doesn't understand it." He laughs, shaking his head, his eyes crinkle at the edges when he laughs.

"What about you? What degree are you graduating with?" He turns to me.

"I majored in business. It has been a goal of mine to open up a pastry shop. But I want to travel first, and there are some courses I want to take in Paris."

"I didn't know you like to bake. I burn everything I try to cook, let alone bake. That sounds great, though, about traveling. I'd like to try something that you make before I leave." He grins over at me.

"Okay, sounds good." I smile at him as he pulls into the wide entrance to Annalisa's parent's house.

"Hang tight. I'm just going to run in and let Annalisa know we are here." I watch as he gets out of the car and jogs up the front steps.

Annalisa walks out with him a few minutes later. "Hey, girl! Sorry, you know me and being on time," She laughs as she gets in the backseat. "You look great, by the way."

"Thanks, so do you." We talk about finals and what we plan on wearing to the graduation ceremony coming up while Vince drives us to the Sports bar. As we pull into the parking lot, I see the line of people waiting by the front door. 

"Should we go somewhere else? It looks packed."

"It'll be fine. I'll drop you girls off to get in line, and I'll find a parking spot," Vince tells us.

Annalisa and I get out and stand in line near the front of the door, but then she goes in to check if we need to put our names down on a list. I take in my surroundings, and it's getting darker now that the sun has almost completely set.

I spot one of my Uncle's men, standing a few yards away, on the phone. I look over on the other side of the restaurant's exterior and find a few more men talking in a group, a couple of them glance over at me.

"Where did Annalisa go?" Vince asks as he walks up next to me.

"She wanted to make sure we get our names on a list if there is one," I tell him as Annalisa walks back to us.

"There's about a twenty-minute wait. That's not bad considering how busy it looks." She tells us, but I notice her gaze has moved behind us. "Elena?"

I turn around to see where she's looking and see our friend walking towards us with someone.

As they get closer I see that it's Leo.

"Hey, guys! I didn't know you were going out tonight?" Elena says as she walks up to us, smiling, and gives us each a hug. Annalisa introduces Vince to Elena and informs her we decided to go out last minute. I give Annalisa a side glance, not understanding why she just lied to our friend.

"Who's this?" Annalisa asks, looking at Leo, and Elena introduces him.

Leo looks at Annalisa and Vince and shakes their hand with a friendly smile. Then, he looks over to me, "It's nice to see you again, Charmaine, right? Elena told me about what happened after the study group. I'm surprised you're out and about," He says.

"Yeah, it was pretty crazy. I never thought something like that would happen, but I'm lucky I was able to get away."

I notice his eyes travel down to my chest. My camisole dips a little low but not too much. I shift, uncomfortable under his blatant stare.

His eyes narrow. "You're necklace..." My hand moves to touch the infinity symbol.

I mentally berate myself for automatically assuming he was staring at my chest. I'm glad he wasn't actually being a perv.

"I...I like it...um...does it have an engraving on it?" Leo asks me, entirely focused on my necklace, and takes a step forward.

I unconsciously take one back. I look down, confused, and then back at Leo. "Yes, how did you know?"

"...Just a guess," Leo answers after a moment. He blinks and suddenly grabs Elena's arm and turns to leave. "We gotta go. Now."

Elena looks at us and then at Leo with confusion, but he pulls her away before she says anything. We watch as they walk away quickly, back the way they came. I didn't notice it before, but he has a slight limp when he walks.

"What the hell was that?" Annalisa asks aloud.

"I have no idea," I say, still watching as they walk further away.

<><><><>

Annalisa drops me off at home around midnight.

After dinner, we drove back to their house, played board games, and watched some cooking competition shows on Netflix.

Vince had fallen asleep while Annalisa and I talked about our summer plans.

Like most siblings, they argue about everything. For example, what to watch, who should have won and why, and even what game to play and how to play the game.

I haven't laughed so hard in a while; my stomach muscles are even sorer than when I got kicked and are starting to hurt. I walk to the kitchen and pull a water bottle out of the fridge to take with me to my room, where I left the medicine JP brought me earlier in the day.

"Have fun tonight?"

I jump and give a small shriek. "Gees! JP! Again?" I turn to see him at the kitchen table just like he was a couple of days ago. "Did you seriously wait up for me?" I ask, annoyed.

"Nope." He makes a popping sound with the "p." I watch as he picks up a glass with pale brown liquid in it and empties it into his mouth.

He looks down at the empty glass and stares at the empty glass for a moment before he shrugs, then pours himself another drink.

I see there's already an empty bottle next to the one he's picking up, which is well on its way to being finished, too; I walk over to him and sit across from him.

"Do you like him?"

"Who?"

"Vince. Do you like him?" JP's looking at his glass as he brings it up to his lips and drinks it in one swig.

I shrug and look up at him. "I already told you it wasn't a date. Annalisa was there the whole time."

"You didn't answer me."

"He's nice, JP. You know I had a crush on him when I was younger, but that was a long time ago."

"Well, isn't that sweet?" He slurs before he drinks from his glass again. "Your prince is finally here to rescue you, princess, from this terrible life you hate so much." 

"Don't be an ass, JP. Why are you drinking?"

"Want some?" He asks, holding the glass up to me. His hand sways back and forth a little. I scrunch my nose as I push his hand away from my face.

"You know I don't drink, JP."

"Don't knock it, 'til you try it," He says and empties the glass again, reminding me of when Joey said the same thing when he dunked his Oreos in whiskey.

"What happened? Where's Joey? You are practically joined at the hip on the weekends with Joey." I walk over to the light switch and flip it on. He hisses when I turn the light on and holds his hands up over his eyes dramatically.

"JP, look at me. What happened?" I walk back towards him and move his hands from his eyes and see that they are bloodshot. He groans and rests his head on the table.

I walk to the fridge and grab a water bottle, and set it in front of him. "Drink it," I tell him, but he doesn't make any attempt to move.

I don't understand what's going on. Usually, Joey is the one who is drunk on the weekends. JP drinks but not to the point where he gets wasted. Well, unless it's around the anniversary of his mom's passing. That's still weeks away, though.

The memory of when we were younger and sat under the huge tree my Uncle has in the back yard, with a swing on it, comes to my mind. JP shared with me that his mom had died of cancer the previous year.

That same day, JP had done an incredible magic trick, and I remember noticing his dimples for the first time that day when he smiled at me. I smile at the sweet memory and look over at him.

We were sitting at the same table then, too. I open the water bottle and lift JP's head, but he just groans. "John Paul Toretto, you drink this water, or I'm dumping it all over you."

He lifts his head slowly and stares at the bottle in front of him. I watch as he brings the bottle up to his mouth and chugs it down before he slams his head back on the table; that looked and sounded like it hurt.

"Alright, Captain Morgan, let's go." I try to lift his head, and he swats my hand away.

"I'm sleeping; go away." He mumbles.

I try again, this time getting a better grip, and lift his head from under his chin; the stubble on his chin tickles my fingers. "Come on, get up."

JP groans again and tries to stand but staggers forward and almost hits his face on the wall, but with his swaying, he ends up slamming into his shoulder instead.

"Why is the floor moving?"

"It's not, you're drunk, and you need to help me get you to bed." I take off my shoes; I don't want to be unbalanced, with him already swaying.

I grab ahold of him from the side and put one of his arms around my shoulders. I struggle to walk straight myself, from all of his weight leaning into me.

"Oooh, we are going to bed; I like the sound of that," He says, smiling with his eyes barely open.

He leans forward too much and I struggle to hold on to him and then trip over my own feet. We end up falling on the floor and I land on top of JP; he groans loudly.

"Ow." He says after a moment.

I lean back and look down at him, his eyes are closed, but he's smiling.

I groan in frustration," You need to help JP, or I'm leaving your ass on the floor." I say, irritated, grunting as I try to pull him back up.

I seriously contemplate leaving him on the floor, would serve him right, for getting so hammered.

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