Later that night, during the car ride home, I carefully went through my thoughts. I mulled over Aimee's words, comparing them with my feelings about the situation.

In the end, although I hadn't fully sorted out my feelings, I knew I had to talk to Annie.

So as soon as I got home, I headed straight for the kitchen as I called, "Pierre!"

Shortly after, the kitchen door opened and he popped his head through it. "Oh, good evening, Angelo. Are you hungry?"

"Not really, I'll just have fruits or something." Noting the white substance dusting his nose, I asked, "What's that on your nose?"

"What?" Raising up his hand, he brushed it over his nose then inspected the residue. "Oh, it's flour. Annie and I are baking in here."

"Funny you should mention her- wait, she's baking?"

"Under strict supervision, of course. She finally admitted to being a failure as a cook-"

From the kitchen, Annie yelled, "Hey, that's a lie! I said I want to brush up on my cooking skills."

I chuckled. "How do you brush up on something that never existed in the first place?"

Annie yelled, "I heard that!"

Something dropped in the kitchen, then water started rushing. A few moments after the tap switched off, the door flew open. Annie stood at the entrance, repeatedly hitting a rolling pin she held against her palm. "You were saying?"

I rose an eyebrow at her. "You know there's still flour on that, right?"

She replied, "The apron I'm wearing is covered in flour, so who cares? Oh wait, a certain someone will if he doesn't stop running his-"

Pierre snatched the pin from her. "Okay, I'll take this!"

Annie shrieked, "Pierre!"

He wagged a finger at her, smirking. "Don't 'Pierre' me! My kitchen, my rules!"

Annie opened her mouth, then closed it, sulking. "Fine. I'll go back to-"

I cut her off. "Actually, can I talk to you? Alone."

Looking at me, Annie nodded. "Sure, of course. What's up?"

Taking the hint, Pierre walked into the kitchen and closed the door, leaving Annie and I alone in the dining.

Aimee yanked the hairnet she wore off her head as she sank down on a chair. "Finally, my scalp can breathe! I don't know why Pierre insists on me wearing this."

Sitting down as well, I scoffed, "Right? Who wouldn't have to have your hair for breakfast?"

"I obviously didn't mean it that way! Of course I know what a hairnet is for. Anyways, what do you want to talk about?"

All too soon, the serious atmosphere was back again.

Clearing my throat, I looked at my hands. "So, I've been thinking, and I've decided that...that even though I don't like Aiden, I'll respect your engagement."

Annie's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Y-yes," I choked out. "Not that you have to marry him of course, but if you do, I think I can deal with him being a constant presence in this house. Somehow. Eventually."

For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence.

A while later, Annie said, "Angelo... you don't really think Aiden and I are going to live here-"

My eyes snapped to her. "Of course you would! There's plenty of room here."

"Yeah, I know that, but-"

"Look, if it's about the sex, I promise that as long as you aren't screaming your head off-"

"Oh my god, stop! It's not about sex, jeez!"

I studied her face for a while, then slumped in my seat. "There's no changing your mind, is there?"

She replied, "Well... Aiden and I would get a place close by, so we won't be too far away. Of course ,I won't pack up and move to the other end of the earth. How would you survive without me?"

I huffed. The thought of Annie leaving was too weird. She a constant presence in the house, and whether she lived close by or not, I knew things wouldn't be the same.

Damn you, Aiden!

Sighing, I looked away from her. "Well... I'd miss you. When you leave, that is."

"Aww!" Annie walked to me, then hugged me. "I'll miss you too, of course. But I won't be far, I promise."

I relaxed into her embrace, until I caught a whiff off the scent of cocoa coming off her clothes. Quickly, I jerked back. "Leggo, you still got baking stuff on your clothes!"

Grinning, she stepped away. "Is that any reason to avoid a good hug?"

I brushed a finger against my face, then looked at the white dust it had collected. Groaning, I stood. "I'm going to take a shower now. At least, it'll give me time to digest your revelation. Honestly, what's up with this week and surprises? First, I find out Aimee is Machivelli's daughter, now-"

Annie frowned. "Wait, what? Aimee is Machivelli's daughter?"

Heading to the room's exit, I replied, "Yeah, apparently. Can you believe it?"

After a brief moment, she said, "There's something weird about that, but I can't remember what..."

"The idea that they're related is weird." I paused, then added, "Oh yeah, could you keep that to yourself? I don't think Aimee wants that to get out."

Annie continued staring forward, frowning.

"Ann?"

Blinking rapidly, she looked at me. "What? Oh yeah, of course, I won't tell anyone. Well, maybe except Max. Anyways, I better get back to baking."

Nodding, I turned away and continued towards the door.

As I reached the door, Annie called after me, "I just remembered, Aiden is coming to dinner this Friday."

I fought back a groan. "Got it, I'll make myself scarce!"

"Ha, that better be a joke!"

So that's not an option. Fuck!

. . .

The next school day, during lunch, ."

The sound of footsteps stopped. Shortly after, I heard Andy say, "Welcome, ladies. For you, there's a free seat near to...the person you're probably here for. As for you, I've got a free seat right here."

I had to resist looking up from my burgers as I heard him tapping what suspiciously sounded like his lap.

In a syrupy voice, Aimee replied, "How sweet of you to offer up your seat! Unfortunately, we aren't here to stay. I just want a word with a certain someone, who better stop ignoring me this instant!"

Taking that as my cue, I looked up towards her. "Hello. Can I help you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you can. You can help me tell Dylan that we'd be meeting at the movies around 5pm on Saturday-"

"Say what?"

Aimee didn't bother replying Hans. "-so he better be there. Well, see you later."

She turned to walk away, Nabila doing the same. However, before Nabila could take a step forward, Andy grabbed her hand. "Remember, if you ever want to sit at this table, your seat is always available."

He winked at her. "Or, if you prefer a more private setting..."

Nabila furrowed her brow as she smiled, skillfully extracting her hand from his. "Okayyy..."

She and Aimee shared a glance with each other, then they both burst out laughing as they walked away.

Oblivious to the fact they were probably making fun of him, Andy sighed, running his hands through his tousled brown hair. "Damn, that girl is too freaking hot!"

That was a no-brainer. She had a great body, plus a great face to match. Full lips, chocolate brown eyes, and a dark complexion. She wore makeup, but not so much that she seemed caked in it.

However, I said truthfully, "She doesn't really strike me as the sort of girl who wants to settle down."

Andy snorted. "When did I say anything about settling down? I just want to smash!"

Ah, honestly, that made a lot of sense.

"I mean, damn, her ass-"

"Thank you, Andy, but no need to share your sexual fantasies with us. Especially when we have something more interesting to talk about, like-" Mitch turned his gaze to me, "-Dylan and Aimee's date this-"

"It's not a date," I snapped.

Mitch's eyes widened, along with everyone else's on the table (except mine, of course.)

"Woah, calm down," he said.

I looked down at my burgers. While to everyone else it might have been seen as a gesture of anger, it was far from it.

Even I was shocked at my sudden outburst.

After a few moments, I replied, "Yeah, sorry. Guess I'm just hangry."

I took a bite of one of my burgers then to reinforce my statement, ignoring the excess amount of grease that rolled out of it. Not that what I said needed reinforcing, anyways. That was the only viable reason to explain why I had snapped like that.

An awkward atmosphere still hung on the table, despite my statement. Thankfully, Seth broke it by saying, "I think it's safe to say that we all can relate!"

Murmurs of agreement met his statement, then everyone else began eating. Safe from scrutiny in the depths of my mind, I couldn't help imagining exactly what was going to happen on that Saturday. I also began appreciating Aimee's demand, the one which forced me to come along. If something big was going to happen, at least I'd be there to witness it.

Without revealing too much, I can say that something big did happen.

Just...not in the way I expected.