"Do you think I should grab the gummies or the hard ones?"

"I don't know. Aubrey likes the sour gummies, so get those for sure," Clara responded over the phone speaker. "Oh, and get the weird off-brand iced tea. I don't know why she likes that, but she does."

Taylor had the phone sandwiched between her ear and her shoulder and was standing in the snack aisle at the only grocery store in town. She had already tossed two bags of chips in-original and bar-ba-que, respectively. She narrowed her eyes, staring at the absurd amount of junk food that there was.

Taylor sighed. "I'll just get some stuff and if you guys don't like it, we can go to the gas station and get different things."

Clara hummed over the phone. "Okay, I'll see you in a half-hour."

Taylor hung up and shoved her phone back in her pocket. She had her bag already packed and in the backseat of her truck. As usual, she had been placed on snack detail, while Clara was on movies, and Aubrey was on games and meals.

Taylor stared for a second longer, before sighing in defeat and just grabbing a random handful. "I can never keep track of what those two like," She mumbled to herself, making her way out of the snack aisle and rejoining her mom, who was perusing the meat with an interested look.

"Chicken or pork?"

"Chicken," Taylor responded automatically. Her mom picked up a set of chicken breasts and placed them into the cart, pushing the cart down the long stretch of aisles to an exit lane with several people lined up at it. Everyone had that early Saturday morning grocery shopping haze around them. Nobody wanted to be out, but everyone had to be.

"You guys really do party," Her mom teased, glancing in her basket. "Blanket forts and snacks."

Taylor mock glared at her, placing her hands on her hips. "Of course we do. Don't we seem like the most likely kids to have a sleepover like that?"

Taylor's mom shook her head and stepped into the insanely long line. "Somehow, you always look hungover when you come home though."

"Katie?"

Taylor and her mom both turned at the sound of Taylor's mom's name. Her mom smiled. "Damsa! How are you?"

The two women hugged, and Taylor tilted her head, her eyes ignoring the small woman that her mom had just embraced, and instead focusing on Nasir, who had been standing next to his mother. He was wearing his glasses and had his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants. He made a dumb face and she smiled.

"Nasir, how are you dear? You keep getting taller."

Taylor squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment as her mom talked to Nasir. She opened them just in time to watch Nasir rub the back of his neck. "I'm fine Mrs. West."

"Damsa, have you met my eldest?" The woman shook her head. "This is Taylor."

"I know you from afar. You are the first aider right?"

Taylor nodded. "That's me."

She smiled, and Taylor blinked in surprise at the similarity between Nasir and his mom. They both had the same silky hair and smile. They even had the same cheeky way of tilting their head when they were excited. Taylor ran a hand down her face. Why did she know these things?

Their moms continuing to speak, Nasir leaned forward slightly and looked into her basket, before looking up at her with a bemused look. "That is a lot of sugar." He commented, pushing his glasses up.

Taylor could feel her ears heating up in mild embarrassment. She clutched the basket with two hands rocking it back and forth in front of her. "It's not all for me. My friends and I are having a sleepover tonight, and this is typical."

"How do you stay in shape?" He marvelled, and only a split second later, his eyes widened in surprise that he had let that slip out of his mouth.

Taylor could feel her face heating up, and suddenly, her thick woollen jacket seemed too hot for the cramped grocery store. Why had he noticed what her body looked like?

She swallowed and didn't respond, instead looking down at her feet until her mom tugged her forward in the line and got her to start placing the groceries on the conveyor belt while she continued chatting with Damsa. Taylor avoided Nasir's gaze all throughout the process of her mom paying and bagging the groceries and didn't look up again until they had exited the store.

"What was that in there?" Her mom asked curiously. "I've never seen you that awkward before, and I thought you and Nasir got along."

"We do. I don't really know what came over me."

Her mom chuckled in amusement but didn't say anything else. They got in the truck, and her mom drove Taylor along, turning the many familiar corners to Aubrey's house, tucked away in a quiet cul-de-sac on the far side of town. It was a quaint house and was painted a pastel blue colour. The tall pine tree in front of it stood proud, refusing to let any of its needles fall into the snow.

Taylor grabbed her bag and the bag of candy out of the backseat and jogged up the pathway and steps to the front door, squirming slightly to keep the chill out of her coat. Mrs. Dawson opened the door and Taylor grinned, waving good-bye to her mom, stepping inside the warm sanctuary of the house.

Taylor smiled at Mrs. Dawson as she slid her shoes off.

"Clara and Aubrey are both downstairs, dear."

"Thank you, Mrs. Dawson." Taylor shrugged off her coat and scooped her bags up, walking down the stairs, avoiding the scrappy little dogs that had appeared at her feet, barking rapidly.

"I am here," Taylor announced, stepping into the large living room in the basement. The fireplace was already roaring, and Clara and Aubrey were both sitting on the couch, a paused game of Mario Kart on the tv screen.

"Did you bring gummies?" Aubrey asked, an eager expression on her face.

Taylor nodded, setting down the treats on the table. "They are in there somewhere." She turned and walked a little way, placing her bag down in Aubrey's room, before making her way back to the living room and plopping in the large armchair, watching the two girls go at it.

Aubrey's phone started to ring, and she jumped, quickly pausing the game.

Taylor tilted her head. "Is that her?"

Aubrey nodded in excitement, taking two quick breaths before pressing the answer button.

Taylor leaned over to see the face on Aubrey's screen. There was a smiling girl, with large green eyes and shoulder-length red hair. From the looks of it, it was dark out in Italy.

"Hello!" The girl cheered. Her accent was heavy, thick and Italian, but she still spoke English.

"Hi!" Aubrey beamed. "I'm Aubrey."

"I am Aria. It is so nice to finally meet you!"

Aubrey nodded quickly. "I know, I'm so excited to finally see you! I can't believe we are literally switching places for five months."

Aria nodded, and Taylor made eye contact with Clara, who tossed her Aubrey's game remote. She unpaused the game and took off, quickly throwing a shell at Clara, who silently cursed her out.

Someone spoke something in the background of Aubrey's video. It was foreign and in a squeaky voice.

"Yes," Aria said. "This is her, do you want to say hi?"

The voice replied, presumably yes, and a second later, a petite Asian girl appeared. She was smiling too, though not as widely as Aria had been.

"This is Evette."

Aubrey waved for Taylor to paused the game, and her and Clara both ducked behind Aubrey, appearing in the camera.

"This is Taylor and Clara. They are my best friends, and I've employed them to make you feel comfortable."

Aria smiled. "That is so sweet." She turned to the girl and said something in Italian. Evette vanished and came back a moment later, tugging along a blonde-haired girl. "This is Dior, and yes, it is a pretentious name. Her family owns the company."

Clara looked at Taylor with a dumbfounded look and mouthed. 'Her family owns Dior?'

Taylor nodded back with an equally surprised face.

"This is Sandro," A handsome boy, with dark hair and dark eyes, but pale skin, appeared on the screen. He was working on a laptop and sitting at a table. "He's one of six guys who stay in the house. There are six girls," Aria furrowed her brows. "Where are Matteo and Hugo?"

Sandro shrugged and replied in broken English. "Lord only knows what those two are doing. I have retired as their supervisor for the evening, so if they get in shit, it is not my problem."

Aria chuckled. "You'll meet them eventually. I am so excited for you to come here, it is so much fun."

Aubrey beamed. "I'm excited for you to come here. It's cold, but it's worth it."

~~~

It was almost eleven o'clock when Taylor remembered the hassle in the grocery store. She shot up suddenly, looking at the two girls who were lounging, watching an old movie. The candy and chips had been spread across the table, and the only light was extending from the fire. Aubrey was spread across the couch, a raggedy blanket on her legs, and Clara on the floor, having resigned to never moving again.

"Nasir notices my figure." She blurted out, her hands gripping the arms of the chair to keep herself calm and steady.

Clara tilted her head, too tired to fully move anywhere but the floor. "What do you mean?"

"He asked me how I stay so fit. Why does he know that I'm fit? Or what my body looks like?"

Aubrey shrugged, bending her head over the back of the couch arm. "Maybe he just thinks you're cute."

Taylor scoffed in amusement and flopped back in her seat, her hair clinging to the seat with static. "Sure, why would he think I am cute?"

"Cause you are," Clara commented, her eyes closed. "Be proud of your body girl, you are powerful."

Taylor shook her head, ignoring Clara's late-night irrational reasoning, and focusing on the more awake and rational Aubrey.

Aubrey hummed. "Well, you two are in close quarters a lot more now than you used to be, and I guess he just looks at you when he's speaking? Why do you casually check him out in the hallways when you think no one is looking?"

Taylor's mouth dropped open. "You noticed that?"

Aubrey scoffed. "It's hard not to notice it." She made a crude imitation of Taylor's face, all wide eyes, jaw open, and tongue out.

Taylor tugged the blanket she had over her lap up to her chin. "But why do I care what he thinks? I never did before, and now that he said this, I feel funny."

"Maybe you just like him," Clara teased, lifting her head from the floor momentarily.

Taylor shook her head. "I can't. I have a boyfriend."

Aubrey twisted on the couch, tugging the blanket up higher, and shut her eyes. The fire was casting dancing shadows across her face. "You can like someone and still have a boyfriend. You just need to be able to decide who you want more, and who you are willing to lose to keep the other."

~~~

"Wow," Uncle Clark commented. "Katie wasn't kidding. You girls really do look hungover."

Clara rolled her eyes dramatically and hugged him tightly, before getting in the passenger seat of his car. Taylor smiled and waved at her uncle, before getting in the passenger seat of her mom's car.

"What time did you get to sleep?" She asked, a skeptical tone in her voice.

"If I lie and say ten will you believe me?"

Her mom only gave her a raised eyebrow as she pulled out of Aubrey's road and onto the main street.

"About three in the morning."

Her mom started to laugh. "No wonder you look dead, let's get you home and sleeping."

Taylor nodded, letting her head rest on the window as her mom drove off, her eyes drooping. She thumbed her phone in her palm, before it vibrated and she glanced downwards, blinking in surprise at the text from Nasir.

Quickly she opened it.

'Hey, I'm sorry about the comment in the store yesterday. It made you uncomfortable and I didn't intend that at all.'

Taylor paused, reading the message through a few times before responding. 'It's okay, it just kind of took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it. Sorry for making you worry, we're all good.'

The bubble with the three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen and a second later another message appeared. 'Hope the sleepover went well.'

'Thanks, it did,'

Taylor sighed, before slouching down in her seat and letting sleep claim her.