"I want all the juicy details," demanded Jamaica.

"I asked him out," I said nonchalantly, as I dipped my last french fry into the ranch sauce. "Nothing juicy about it."

She gasped. "You asked him out?"

Madeline laughed her ass off, with her hands on her stomach and all. Lilian, on the other hand, didn't say thing. She just kept her wide eyes at me in awe, while sipping from her smoothie.

I shrugged. "What?"

"I admire your guts, girl," said Jamaica, making a hands-down gesture. "I'd rather eat my feelings than ever ask a guy out."

"Oh, come on," scoffed Madeline. "It's the dawn of the new age. It's normal now for girls to make the first move."

Jamaica pursed her lips. "While I do believe that women should always have their rights and be given equal opportunities that men receive, I still can't help that desire in me to be wooed and be swept off my feet."

Madeline studied her, before asking, "Are your parents strict?"

"My mom is," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

Madeline ignored her question and asked another one instead. "Is she a conservative?"

I tried to hide my sneer, knowing full well where she was going with this.

"Yes," answered Jamaica slowly. "What's your point?"

"I'm just trying to figure out where your hopeless romantic side came from," said Madeline innocently.

I snorted. Having heard me, Jamaica's eyes took a sharp turn on me. I thought she was going to flip, but then she closed her eyes and started to giggle.

"Okay, fine." She sighed. "But I believe I have the perfect balance at home. My mom may be strict, but my dad's the one who lets me have an actual social life. If not for him, I'd probably attend my first house party when I'm thirty."

I smirked. "If you had your fair share of high school parties, then why are you such a lightweight?"

"Hey, I'm not a lightweight," she argued. "Bitch, we drank freaking tequila and had jaeger bombs. Nonstop!"

"She has a point, Cons," agreed Madeline.

Jamaica pointed to our curly-haired friend excitedly. "Witness!"

"It was worth it, though," added Madeline, eyeing Lilian. "We get to see Lils hugging a lamp post!"

The three of us burst out laughing at the memory, while Lilian blushed and hid behind her messy hair. One day soon, I'd give her a brush as a gift.

"How did you get there, anyway?" I asked her.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I honestly haven't got a clue."

I frowned slightly. "Was it your first time drinking?" If it was, I felt bad. She should've been introduced slowly to that shit.

"No, it wasn't!" she assured me quickly, seeing the concern on my face. "However, I have been told that I tend to run when I have had too much to drink." She bit her lip, before adding, "I truly am sorry for causing you lot trouble."

Madeline waved her off. "Quit it, you've been been apologizing since Monday." She looked away and raised her hand to signal the waitress.

"We got your back," I whispered, grinning at Lilian.

"Yeah, hi," said Madeline to the server that looked about our age. She probably went to school here, too. "Can we order another cheeseburger and some nachos, please?"

The waitress simply nodded and left.

"Thank you!" Madeline managed to call out.

"Are you deprived of normal people food or something?" I teased.

"Yes," she snickered, rolling her eyes at me. "All we rich people are used to eating lobsters and wagyu steaks on a daily basis."

Jamaica's eyes went wide. "Do you?"

Madeline snorted. "No. I just love food."

"Where's your muffin top?" asked Lilian, trying to see Madeline's belly.

"It burns away, thanks to soccer. I used to play back in high school."

"You mean, football?"

"I mean, soccer." Madeline chuckled as she reached over the table to pinch Lilian's cheeks. "You're in the United States of America. Learn the lingo, Lils!"

Lilian giggled and tried to pull away. I grinned while watching them. I caught Jamaica visibly tense, and I focused on her. Her eyes were trained to the entrance of the bar, her eyebrows were pinched as if she couldn't figure something out. I followed the direction of her eyes and saw the preppy prick from last weekend.

Suddenly, I realized that she was trying to recall where she saw him before. I was about to tease her when Preppy Prick turned to talk to a very familiar freckled face.

"Shit."

I immediately looked down, stole Lilian's technique and hid behind my silver hair. Not that it did much, since my hair barely made it past my boobs.

"What are you doing?" asked Madeline, watching me.

"Sniffing my hair."

"Hey, do any of you know that guy with the navy blue bomber jacket?" asked Jamaica, her tone full of innocent wonder. "I swear I've seen him before. I just can't remember where."

"Probably just your imagination, Jams," I said.

I begged that they wouldn't look where Jamaica was pointing at.

Tough luck, they all did.

Madeline grinned, clearly enjoying this. "Remember your cleaning spree at the Aces Estate? Well..." she trailed off, and simply pointed at Preppy Prick.

Jamaica gasped, looking horrified. "Oh, no. That's Preppy Prick? Why did he have to be so gorgeous?"

I inwardly patted myself on the back for inventing that nickname.

"Isn't that Connie's friend with him?" noted Lilian.

Damn it, Lilian.

I raised my head and appeared indifferent even though I was feeling anything but. Madeline flashed me a knowing smile, and I gave her a look to shut it.

"Uh-oh, he spotted us."

"Stop looking!" hissed Jamaica.

"I did!" whispered Lilian, panicking. "But he saw me already!"

Madeline cleared her throat and nodded to the two boys headed straight to our table. "Too late, they're coming right to us."

"Quick!" ordered Jamaica. "Act normal!"

The way she was acting was far from the confident queen bee I've come to known that it made me laugh. She was brushing her hair and fixing her make-up in record time that if I blinked, I would have missed it.

"What's so funny?"

I instantly stopped laughing when I heard his voice. I looked up and he was suddenly right beside me. I was about to tell him off, but then I remembered our deal about being friends. And to these people with us, we were supposed to be dating.

"Hey, honey!"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because they all looked at me like I was shitting myself in the middle of the room. Scout pressed his lips like he was trying not to laugh. Putting an arm around me, he leaned down and whispered something to me.

"Just be you."

I hated how that made me relax. For some reason, his deep voice was very calming. As if sensing my now calm self, he gently squeezed my shoulder.

Madeline cleared her throat and looked pointedly at me. I rolled my eyes, but introduced them all the same. "Scout, this is Madeline, Lilian, and Jamaica."

I didn't fail to notice the recognition in Preppy Prick's eyes when he looked at Jamaica. Or maybe he didn't remember her and was just staring. I mean, she was stunning with that tanned skin and amber eyes. Perfect mix of Asian and European. She was purposely avoiding his eyes, though.

"Girls, this is Scout."

He flashed them a charming grin. "Hi, it's really nice to meet you girls." He offered our his hand to shake theirs one by one like a real gentleman.

Madeline nodded and gave him a close-lipped smile. "Likewise, Red."

He stopped for a beat, before chuckling and rubbing the back of his head. "The brothers came up with the nickname," he explained. "Obviously, because of my hair. Pretty lame, isn't it?"

"Nothing's worse than mine, dude," his friend piped up.

I sneered. "Let me guess, Kylo Ren?"

He cocked his head to the side and looked at me curiously. "No, why do you think it's that?"

I shrugged and picked up my drink. "Dunno, I just don't like you both." That earned gasps from Lilian and Jamaica, a chuckle from Madeline, and a sheepish look from Scout.

"I guess I deserve that, huh?"

"I believe you've met Brody," introduced Scout, patting his friend on the shoulder. "He's not as bad as you think, I promise."

Brody looked at Jamaica, trying to catch her eyes. "I'm really sorry for what I said."

She shrugged and looked away, appearing like she didn't care.

"As long as we forget it happened, I'm good."

"Let me make it up to you."

"No, you don't have to."

"Please, I feel like I do."

Madeline and I exchanged looks.

"You don't owe me anything."

"Don't I?"

The corner of his lips twitched, as if trying not to smile. Jamaica's eyes turned to slits, starting to gain her confidence back at the realization that he was making fun of her.

"No, you don't," said our queen bee in finality. "Now run along and flash those dimples to someone else who'll swoon. Just make sure you don't offer to pay her. We all know how that turned out last time," she added sweetly, winking at him.

My eyes widened, deeply impressed. Madeline nodded, while Lilian tried to hide her giggle. Even a small chuckle escaped from Scout, but he quickly covered it up with a cough.

Brody laughed, completely amused. That was when I realized that he wasn't making fun of her at all. The preppy prick was intrigued.

"I'll make a mental note of that," he told her.

"You never told us your name," Madeline pointed out.

"Ah, it's –"

"Richie Rich!" someone yelled.

We all turned and saw this giant ass dude running toward us.

He was almost as huge as my close friend from high school, Kurt, who was about six feet and seven inches tall. He also reminded me of that actor who played Jimmy Olsen in that Supergirl series, charismatic and easygoing.

He came to a stop by our table and slapped Scout's back.

"This place is packed as hell," he panted. "You mofos found a table yet?"

"Hi, Gaige," mused Scout.

"C'mon, Red," whined Gaige. "Why don't you call me 'Shotgun' like everybody else?"

"I don't call you that," said Brody.

"The brothers do."

Scout shook his head and addressed us girls at the table. "Sorry, this big baby is Gaige." While the rest of them exchanged names, he leaned his head down close to mine and whispered, "You mind if we sit with you?"

I looked around and saw that the girls were enjoying the company.

"Why don't we all just share the table? What do you girls think?" I asked them.

They exchanged looks and shrugged. After a moment, there was a mutter of agreement. When I turned back to Scout, I nodded to the chair. Madeline moved to let him sit beside me.

"Thanks," he said to her, before settling down.

Brody placed himself on the other side of Madeline, right beside Jamaica – who intentionally ignored him and faced Gaige, who was sitting between her and Lilian.

"I'm curious," said Madeline, staring at me and Scout. "You grew up in the same town, yeah?"

We nodded.

"Does that mean you've known each other your whole lives?"

Scout shrugged. "Pretty much."

While I said, "Sort of."

Madeline raised an eyebrow at me. "Sort of?"

Scout raised an eyebrow at me.

"I mean, it's not like we were close." I shook my head. "I've known you since what, third grade? But we didn't really talk until..." I stopped.

We didn't talk until last year when I approached him and told him why my friends were seeking revenge on his. Oz didn't want to tell Scout the reason because he thought the golden boy wouldn't believe him. But I was done with his shit and told Scout that his friends were responsible for the incident that happened two years ago.

We didn't become friends after that but I always thought a part of him changed. The expression on his face told me he remembered, too.

"Wow," breathed out Jamaica. "You've known each other since you were nine?"

I blinked. I just realized I've known Scout longer than Oz and Alfie.

"Holy shit." Gaige whistled. "That's almost like a decade, bro. Why only get together now?"

I tried to think of an excuse, but then Scout answered.

"It wasn't our time then."

I stared at him. He was so good at this. When he caught me looking, he gave me a grin. I shook my head and faced the table.

"We ran in different circles," I explained. "He was the captain of the basketball team and my best friends were on the football team."

Jamaica's eyes twinkled in delight. "Ooh, did you date the quarterback?"

I was so used to acting repulsed whenever someone asked me that question that I almost denied it. But then, I remembered that I did in fact date the quarterback. Funny, because I never saw Alfie as the quarterback.

He was just Alfie.

"Uh, yeah," I said, like it was no big deal. "He's my best friend first, though."

"Do you still talk?" asked Jamaica.

"Sometimes." I hadn't talked to him since the day I moved here.

"Was Scout a player or was he a one-woman type?"

This time, it was Brody who asked.

Scout laughed. "What is this? Are we in a hot seat or something?"

"Fair point," agreed Madeline, nodding. She turned to Brody and gestured a hand to him. "Why don't you answer your own question?"

"Player," coughed Gaige.

Brody snorted. "Yeah, 'cause I'm the one who has 'chick magnet' on my bio."

"It's a fact," defended Gaige. "No point in lying."

Scout discreetly leaned closer to me while the others were talking.

"Fan of Star Wars?"

I threw him a bored look. "What gave me away?"

"Kylo Ren," he simply said.

I sighed and looked away. "You got me," I muttered.

"I like Star Wars. I prefer Star Trek, though."

"Eh, Star Trek is okay. It has too much going on for my taste."

He looked at me incredulously. "As opposed to Star Wars that has the same plot over and over again?"

I gasped, and faced him. "They do not!"

"Ah, right." He nodded, as if remembering something. "My bad. It's so exciting that the destruction of the galaxy is caused by just one big family drama."

"The Skywalkers are so unbelievably powerful that they might have aided both parties at some point in some way," I admitted. "But it's not fair to put all the blame on them."

Scout didn't speak for a while, but still kept his eyes on me. Then, a smile slowly started to form on his lips. He looked down and nodded. "Let's agree to disagree."

"You're giving up because you know I'm right," I told him smugly.

He only grinned.

Hearing Lilian's laughter pulled my attention back to the table. I watched Madeline make fun of Gaige while he made goofy faces and the others kept laughing. A part of me thought how I'd be surrounded by these particular people for the next few months, probably even the next four years.

"Let's talk shows, then."

I glanced at Scout and noticed that he was fully facing me now.

"What are you currently binge-watching?"

"Why are you so interested?" I asked him, tilting my head.

"Gotta know what the girl I'm dating is into," he answered smoothly, not missing a beat. "Say, if you tell me you're into reality shows, then that's it. It's over. You've broken my heart."

"Some reality shows are good, you know."

"Name one," he challenged.

I bit my lip, trying to think. When I didn't say anything for the next minute, he grinned.

"Exactly."

"It's somewhere out there," I insisted.

"You haven't answered my question."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes. "Black Mirror."

His eyes lit up. "I love that show!"

"Really?" I was skeptical. "Isn't that too dark for your pure soul?"

He took it in stride. "Nah, it's the perfect way to corrupt my soul. Unless you're volunteering, then I don't need to watch Black Mirror anymore. I can just watch you."

Flirting. Again.

Where did he learn to be so damn good at this?

"Your turn." I nodded to Brody. "Answer Kylo Ren's question earlier."

A pleased smile stretched across his face. "Curious?"

"Yeah," I answered truthfully. No point in lying.

My honesty must have taken Scout by surprise, because he blinked at me for a second before he regained himself again. When he did, he shook his head with a smile.

"I've had three girlfriends," he confessed.

"Okay." I nodded slowly, noting how his reply was carefully constructed. I would've missed it had I not been around Oz too much. My best friend was a manipulative fucker. I learned to read between the lines because of him. "And how many girls have you slept with?"

Scout spluttered the water he was drinking, causing a bit of a mess. I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I grabbed a tissue, then handed it to him. He mumbled a thanks and wiped himself dry.

"Does it matter?"

"You had sex with them for a reason," I pointed out.

He shook his head. "It only matters if I was in love with them."

"Were you?"

He raised his head and met my eyes.

"Not one."

_____________

Next update: Thursday (March 14th)
Note: Someone from the crew might show up next chapter. ;)

We're getting to know Scout more and more. It goes to show that it really depends on whose perspective we're reading from.

Who's your current favorite girl on the squad? :)