"I think we should facetime Sophie." Sasha said the moment I stepped into her room.

"That's a good idea."

"I know, come on."

"Yeah, one minute." I mumbled and stepped outside to call Maria and save her from the panic attacks she's going to get tomorrow when she sees our empty house.

But it went straight to voicemail and I ended up leaving her a message.

"Hey, what're you doing out here?"

I was a bit startled by the sound and turned to see Zack, looking at me with a frown.

"Nothing, I was just trying to call Maria."

"To say that you're spending the night here?" He completed and I gave a nod.

"Well, is she okay with that? Not that you really have a choice." He shrugged with a smile, making me chuckle.

"She isn't taking the call, so I left her a message."

"Oh," he nodded. "Hey, you know Seth's rambling shit, right?"

"Of course, I do." I laughed seeing his shoulders slump in relief.

And this guy called me an overthinker.

"Great. So..." He trailed off, staring into the yard, "How annoying are my friends?"

"Not even a bit. Not when compared to you." I surprised myself by saying that.

I knew Zack wouldn't take offence, I knew him enough to know that.

"You did not say that." He looked at me with an amused expression which slowly turned into a smirk. "I knew they'll rub off on you."

Well...when everyone around you is smiling and having fun, you do too. And with Zack, there was this level of comfort.

Now that I think about it, I've had more real conversations about my life with Zack than Sasha.

"What's on your mind?" He smiled, raising an eyebrow and I shrugged.

"Nothing."

"Why were you smiling at the floor then?"

Oh. That's another thing I've been doing lately. Just smiling at the thoughts inside my head and making myself look crazy.

"Well..."

"Well...?" He mumbled in a high-pitched voice that surprisingly resembled mine and I rolled my eyes.

"Stop mocking me."

"I'm not!" He chuckled, pushing me inside and slid the door close.

"You totally were," I said, still smiling, without turning back and heard a snort.

"Someone's in a good mood today."

"That particular someone is in a good mood every day," I replied, heading to Sasha's room.

"I bet that someone has no idea that other people do notice it." I heard him say and I had a smile etched across my face as I entered Sasha's room.

"Oh, there you are! Come on," She beckoned me with a wink, pointing at her laptop.

I saw a depressed Sophie on the screen and laughed which resulted in a lot of swearing. It only stopped when Scarlett called us down to have some ice cream.

Down the hall, Noel was awake, ready to attack the ice cream bowl as usual and Theo was rubbing his eyes.

"I thought you were asleep." I patted his head and he smiled.

"He was. Um actually, it was me who woke him up." Liam grinned sheepishly.

"Actually, Liam's ringtone kinda scared him. So our boy here started crying." Dean said and now, it was Theo's turn to grin sheepishly.

"Gee, so lame Theo." I teased him.

"And what was the ringtone?" Sasha asked curiously and Liam grinned again.

"A scream." 

"Liam's still seven in mind." Seth ruffled his hair and he smacked him in return.

"That was to scare Margaret. This was more than enough for her." He said and Noel laughed again.

"Ivy, Theo heard it and just cried like a baby. It was just a scream."

"You just ruined your image." I couldn't help but laugh as he hid his face in my arms.

"Cal, you got a text from Rose." Liam threw Caleb's phone at him and he sighed.

"Oh yeah. Zack, I almost forgot. Rosaline asked me to convey her message that classes are a bit boring without you and that you're being missed." Caleb mumbled with a gag  Zack sat straight.

"I knew someone would miss me." He grinned triumphantly and Justin snorted.

After the little dessert session, Seth grabbed a bunch of Zack's t-shirts and threw one to each of the guys. He also gave one to Noel and Theo.

For Noel, it ended right after his knees and for Theo, it looked like he was wearing a dress.

I had a good laugh at that sight.

"Now, everyone. Bed!" Scarlett stood up aiming at Zack and his friends.
"Whatever plans you have, not today. You've got tomorrow. It's almost midnight and I just remembered we have a five-year-old and ten-year-old here. Should've made them sleep sooner."

I grimaced at that. How could I forget about their bedtime?

"I'll take Noel," Caleb shouted and scooped him up.

"Theo is mine." Aaron hollered right after Caleb and all of them made their way to their rooms.

"Evelyn, if Sasha's snore doesn't let you sleep, my bed will be waiting for you." Justin winked and before Sasha could grab anything to throw at him, he sprinted with a mock salute.

When Alex said goodnight and called us his girls, it had me teared up.

                              ▪️▪️▪️

Sunlight streamed in through the opened window and I snuggled into the pillow to hear a groan.

"I really don't wanna go to college today." I heard Sasha croak as I yawned.

"What's the time?"

"It's-  What the hell? It's only five!" She groaned again. "These are the times that I hate the Sun."

I still have time.

Then, I heard the door open.

"Ivy?" A whisper came.

Not anymore.

With one opened eye, I saw Theo peeking in and I sat straight, gesturing for him to come.

"I'm surprised you got up early," I smiled at him, getting out of bed.

"I'll kick those boys' ass if they're the reason. Again." Sasha spoke and I covered Theo's innocent ears.

"We exercised!" He beamed and I chuckled.

"Oh yeah?"

"Here look." He was beaming with pride as he showed me his scrawny arms. "Zack told me that if I exercise with him daily, I'll be strong like them."

"Sounds good to me." Sasha rolled over and I stood up, ruffling his hair.

"Hey, peop-" I turned to the source of the voice and saw Justin.

"Wow," he mumbled and the next moment, Seth smacked his head.

"Ow," he mumbled again, patting his head and jumped onto the bed.

"Wakey wakey Sash!" Seth tickled her and Theo's giggles filled the room.

"You look hot in those shorts." Justin smirked, giving me a thumbs up and I tried hard to stop my cheeks from turning red.

"Don't say stuff like that in front of him, you as- idiot." Zack grumbled, pointing at Theo and threw his phone right at Justin's head.

He then apologised to me for what Justin said and I smiled, waving it off.

I had no idea what Sophie would say once she sees Zack. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be way more than just the word hot.

"But it's true. She does look-" before Justin could finish, Zack dragged him out of the room and Seth followed with Theo in his arms.

"What would you like to wear?" Sasha asked, opening her wardrobe to me and I shook my head with a smile.

"Anything. I don't care." And I should've listened to her and taken some of my clothes with me.

"Choose one of them and..." She threw a pair of jeans at me and pulled out a white crop top with a smile. "...here you go."

That wasn't the only thing she did. She worked with my hair when I was making notes for Kate and made me sit still to put some makeup on.

It was like the transformation scenes in teen movies. Except there was no real transformation.

But I did notice I looked a lot more pretty than usual, thanks to her makeup skills.

"You hypocrite." I shook my head when she tied her hair into a ponytail.    My requests to tame my hair were denied and she pulled off a perfect ponytail.

"Open hair suits your outfit and ponytail suits mine. Now breakfast." She dragged me down the stairs and the moment we stepped in, somebody whistled.

To my surprise, it was Alex.

"Scar, look at these beautiful young ladies." He said and Scarlett smiled brightly.

"Oh, come on." Justin growled. "Six. There are six guys here and it's you who complimented first. You had your chance." He pointed at Scarlett and shrugged. "Now give us a chance."

"I take it that we look stunning?" Sasha smirked with confidence and I waved at Theo and Noel with a smile.

"Ivy, you look amazing." Noel whispered in my ear and I melted.

"Thank you, Sasha did it." I winked and Theo just gave me a flying kiss.

I hope it's not something that Mira taught him.

When I offered to help Scarlett clear out the dishes after our breakfast, Caleb shooed me away.

"You have classes, we don't. We'll do it." And when he turned to see no one with him he grinned. "I'll do it."

I said a thank you, resisting the urge to hug him and went back to grab my bag.

Liam and Seth were taking Theo and Noel home and then to school, Dean was giving Sasha a ride and since Alex has to leave early, he said he'd drop me off at Kate's.

Theo kissed me goodbye and I gave Noel a side hug.

So manly.

          
                                 ▪️▪️▪️

"Did someone tell you anything about my skills?" Sasha joined me in the hallways.

"Will said that I looked prettier." And relaxed.

"Magic hands." She wiggled her eyebrows with a smirk and I nodded with a smile.

Cassy was another person who noticed a little extra makeup on my face. And the next thing she asked was if Sasha was with me this morning.

"I really wanted him to see you today." Sasha mumbled, making me frown.

"Who?"

"Tyler."

"Why would you want that?"

"So that next time, he'll think twice before dumping something on your pretty face."

"Right. More like it'll encourage him."

And anyway, by god's grace it's been a while since he has dumped something on me.

"So, are you still going to work today?" Sasha asked me for the hundredth time.

"Yes, I am."

"You're so-"

"Boring. Yeah, I know." I chuckled and she glared.

"Goal oriented, but I'll take boring."

Right.

"At least come home fast." She murmured and I smiled.

"I've to go home and..."

"Grab your stuff, yeah, I know. I'll pick your stuff, you just come fast." She nodded with a knowing smile.

Of course, she would. She and her brother were keen to make my life easier.

"Now, let's take you to the cafe."

And that she did while assuring me that she will take all the necessary stuff from my house.

"How come you're here so early?" I asked Jake who threw my apron at me.

Since the new guy-a high school student-was appointed, Jake's schedule had changed.

"Well, yesterday I may have mocked our jerky little boss in front of some girl customers." He shrugged and I laughed.

"That explains a lot."

"It does. I'm guessing Draco Malfoy complained to his father." He mumbled, finally looking at me. Are you...? Yeah, you are."

He smirked, raising his eyebrows.

"I am what?"

"Makeup. You've taken it up a notch." He said with a smug expression. "Finally, I have some competition in the looks department."

"Oh, please."

"Who's the artist behind this, by the way? I know it's not you. You don't have time to perfect that winged eyeliner."

Wow. "What do you know about eyeliners and makeup?"

"Oh, please. I have a girlfriend who cancels our date because she didn't get the smoky eyes right."

Sounds fun.

"It was Sasha, by the way."

"Of course. Should've assumed that." He muttered and I smiled. "Now work."

Until the last hour, I genuinely thought we will not be blessed by his visit. But he strolled in like usual, only to squint his eyes at me.

"You look a little...different today." He muttered quietly. "Looking good, though."

It's only after he left the counter did I let myself be surprised.

"That guy seriously needs some lessons on how to flirt." Jake snorted, looking at Tyler, who was at his usual table with his friends.

"Flirt?" I slowly turned to give Jake a look.

I knew Jake was stupid but didn't know he was this stupid.

"Of course, no one can fool me in the flirting department."

"Yeah, alright, father of flirting."

"I call myself FoF." He grinned sheepishly, dragging me along.

Tyler? Flirting with me?

Yeah, FoF's got it wrong.

By the time my shift was over, I was covered in flour, thanks to Jake's slippery feet.
   
I went back to grab a napkin and came face to face with Tyler.

Oh, great.

"What the hell?" He narrowed his eyes and I sighed.

Here comes the list of expenses and costs.

"Here, It's all over your face." He gave me a handkerchief, still frowning at me as if I did it to myself.

The same guy who used to throw drinks and soups on me is trying to help me clean my face?

"What happened?" I heard a deep voice rumble beside me and turned to see Caleb.

When I turned, his lips tipped up but then it vanished. "Did you do that to yourself or did someone do that to you?"

"It was an accident." This time.

And just like that, his smile was back. "Well, you look fabulous this way."

Don't blush.

"Who the hell is he?" Tyler hissed, glaring at Caleb and I snapped my attention to him.

For a moment, I forgot Tyler was here.

"He's my friend." I mumbled, looking at Caleb to see if he minds me saying that.

But he just greeted Tyler with a charming smile and got nothing but a glare in return.

"Nice manners." He muttered under his breath and turned to me. "You ready to leave?"

"Yeah, let me just-"

"Here." Jake cut me off, giving me a napkin, and helping me clean my face.

"Who's this?" Tyler asked again and Jake turned to him, annoyed.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Jake asked and Tyler shot daggers at him.

"I am. And it'd be great if you could actually work instead of roaming here and there." He snapped, walking away and Caleb whistled.

"Why's he cheesed off?"

"He was born like that." Jake replied and he nodded.

Then Caleb introduced himself to Jake and Jake to him before we stepped out.

"That's quite a nice guy you got there. Is he that rude always?" Caleb frowned, starting the engine and I chuckled.

"He is. Tyler's always rude and grumpy."

"Tyler? That's the name?" Caleb glanced at me, amused and I nodded.

"The one who's Zack's favourite?"

That might be him.

"Yeah."

"Damn, you should've told me it's him. Would have been more fun." He smiled, shaking his head.

Oh, believe me, it already is.

***************************

Everybody who's still reading this, thank you so much ❤️🥰

And I noticed again, that the chapter is too long! Sorry, will take care next time 😌

Who's your favourite MCU character?

I love many, but Loki is my fav🔥
And I love cap too.

Bye, Stay healthy 💜
            Stay happy 💙
                Stay safe💛