Diana gossiping about anything under the sun above.

ALIA

This man was clearly not equipped to handle the aftermath of any emotional intimacy. That was all Alia could think as she watched Trevor shift around awkwardly beside her. The two were sat shoulder-to-shoulder on his bed the following morning as they waited for someone to make the first move. After giving her the best orgasm of her life, she had somehow drifted asleep and the damned idiot dozed off right beside her. Though it had thankfully saved her from a walk of shame, it changed nothing regarding his reaction the next morning. Fine, it would seem that she had to be the mature adult.

Clearing her throat, she hesitated, "Regretting it already?"

Just fucking great. Way to make the entire situation more uncomfortable. In future, Alia needed to practice thinking before she spoke. Trevor focused those obsidian eyes on her and for a moment, she let all those insecurities seep back into her mind. After a few beats of staring intently, he seemed to find something of value.

Huffing out a snort, he muttered, "I could never regret anything with you."

She shook her head, "Then what's eating at you?"

"Something's always eating at me, that's just who I am."

"Is that who you want to be? Who your loved ones want you to be?"

That was the wrong thing to say. Alia watched helplessly as Trevor closed off, eyes shuttering with the effort to pull back all those emotions leaking out. Jesus, if that wasn't screaming for therapy.

He smiled, but there was nothing warm about it as those cold expressionless eyes rested on her again, "Probably not but then again, when have I ever cared what someone else thought of me?"

She sighed, "Okay, I get it. I'm leaving and we can forget this happened."

Standing to leave, Alia heard the quiet protests but didn't deign to acknowledge them. Not to be cruel or spiteful but because the very nature of those silent objections meant the end result would only be a repeat of what just happened. Trevor needed time to mull over what he wanted before fully committing. She was aware of her feelings for him but that didn't mean she would force him to reckon with his own. He should come to that conclusion by himself. Gently brushing her hand over his, she exhaled heavily before leaving his room.

The girls spent the entire morning lazing around, flicking through the TV channels as they looked for something to pass the time before their flights home.

Twirling a strand of Alia's hair around her finger, Diana leaned over to whisper, "So did you enjoy your night with Al Capone?"

Freezing up, Alia stammered out a panicked response, "Uh, I wasn't–"

"Don't bother lying to me, you're shit at it anyway. I'm not judging... just worried."

Sensing Diana's sincerity, she checked that the others weren't listening before answering, "It was amazing but then he had to go and ruin it."

"What did the asshole do?"

"Nothing horrible, he just doesn't know how to deal with emotions."

"Oh, so the usual."

Relieved at how casual Diana was acting about the entire situation, Alia snuggled into her side as she tuned into the movie playing on-screen again. Now immersed with a Korean variety show, the girls watched with rapt attention as one of the male K-pop idols ran across screen, his eerily perfect features contorting into a frown while athletically leaping through obstacles.

Sighing wistfully, Diana dreamily murmured, "Goddamn, that is one beautiful man."

Humming in agreement, Kiara chuckled, "Vernon? I met him a few weeks ago, I think. Great guy."

"You lucky bitch!"

Miya snorted, "Didn't realise statuesque pretty boys were your type."

"Hey! Big, small, pretty, ugly– they're all my type. I don't discriminate."

"Oh, trust me, I know. The image of you sandwiched between the two Ashleys is still burned into my mind."

That caught Alia's interest as she whipped her head around and raised a brow, "Wait, what?"

"Yeah... as in Ashley Tze, the student council president, and Ashley Nolan, the basketball captain."

Diana leaned over and winked, "Sue me, I like the soft curves of a woman's body and the hard ridges of a man's."

As always, Diana was unapologetically herself. In her final year of high school, she came out as bisexual and spent the next few years experimenting. Thankfully, Kiara and Alia had never walked in on any of said 'experiments' but it appeared Miya wasn't as fortunate.

Huffing in frustration, Diana whined to Kiara, "Speaking of getting a good show, any chance you could score me tickets for the Seventeen concert? It's already sold out."

She flipped her hair and proudly retorted, "Already told Vernon that my best friend adores him so he offered to save you a seat for the London show."

Placing a palm over her heart, Diana sank into the couch, "There goes the last little piece of my heart."

In response, Kiara gave Diana an air-smooch before standing to grab the cheese toasties from the oven. She, of course, refused to let any of the girls cook so it took all of Alia's effort to remain in seated without helping. Turning her attention back to the screen, she could've sworn she heard a sigh as Diana rested her chin on her hand and practically mooned over the musician– Vernon.

Following quietly behind, Alia leaned her hip against the kitchen counter as she watched Kiara flit around. She took a moment to really look at her best friend, noting the joyous glow she sported before her eyes dropped to the faint outline of a tiny bump over her lower stomach. Connecting the dots fairly quickly, she realised that there was another surprise Kiara had been hiding from them.

Reaching out to stop her, Alia spoke in hushed tones, "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Kiara froze, turning slowly as those astute eyes quietly analysed, "Not that I can think of but considering the tone of your voice, I suspect you're about to tell me what it is."

"Girl, how long have you known that you're pregnant?"

Choking on her water, she spluttered, "I don't– what? Just... how?"

"You get tired really easily–"

"We did a twenty-kilometre hike the other day!"

"I see you getting nauseous at the smell of certain foods."

She jabbed a finger in Alia's face, "That kebab smelled funky and you know it!"

Raising a brow at her friend's desperate antics, she concluded, "And you haven't drank a drop of alcohol this entire trip."

Realising there was no way around this, Alia and Kiara stood in weighted silence as they sized each other up. Squaring her shoulders, she straightened herself, determined not to fold under pressure.

Finally, Kiara sighed and softly admitted, "Two weeks."

Gasping and pressing her hands to her mouth as she tried to control her excitement, Alia's eyes welled up with happy tears, "Does Chris know yet?"

"No, he's already so stressed with the new house. I wanted to wait until it was a sure thing before telling him."

Gripping Kiara's hand in hers, she squeezed reassuringly, "Tell him whenever you feel ready. Just remember that this is his baby too and he deserves to be every part as involved as you are so don't wait too long."

Snorting sarcastically, she wiped furiously at the few tears escaping, "Married and immediately knocked up? The tabloids are going to have a field day with this."

"Well, you got pregnant after the wedding. That's basically the entire purpose of a honeymoon so they can go fuck themselves."

Laughing hysterically, they embraced as Alia whispered congratulations and words of reassurance to Kiara. Smelling the delicious aroma of melted cheese, Chris and Trevor ambled downstairs to hover around the kitchen. Chatting away with Kiara, he wore that stupidly playful expression, mouth quirked as his face held none of the intimidating coldness from this morning. It would seem that he was pretending to be a semi-normal human being now, but only partially succeeding. Alia knew what was under the surface– a hard man who manipulated, lied and hurt to get his way. Unfortunately, her ovaries had stopped listening to her brain because they were less focused on his less-than-sparkling personality and more focused on remembering how his fingers and mouth had felt.

Hearing the oven ding, signalling that their food was ready, the girls made their way over as Kiara plated each toastie. Giving in to the puppy-dog eyes, she halved her toastie and slid the cheesy goodness over to Chris as he practically beamed with joy. As if sensing Trevor's plan to steal the last toastie, Diana lunged to grab the plate.

Alia tried to warn her but it was too late as she burned her fingers and immediately withdrew, "Gah, that's fucking hot!"

Spinning around, she placed her hands on Trevor's chest, right above his heart, and jokingly sighed in relief, "Ah, much colder."

Everyone went silent for a few seconds, registering the insult, before he slapped her hands away, "Listen here, you little shit–" 

Poor Trevor never finished his sentence before Chris, Alia and Kiara failed to choke back their laughter. Even Miya smiled a little as the notorious businessman's face reddened by the second. By the time they finished eating, it was nearly time for their flights as Diana and Kiara scrambled up to their rooms to finish packing. Ever the anxious overthinkers, Chris and Alia had already packed while Trevor and Miya, being the planners they were, had also finished packing earlier today. No one knew whether Tara and Jason were done as they hadn't deigned to come downstairs, opting to lock themselves in their room all day doing God knows what.

With barely seconds to spare, the group shoved into the jeep as they made their way to the airport and rushed to check in. The airport buzzed with the usual chaos of travellers rushing to their gates, announcements echoing overhead and the distant hum of conveyor belts shuttling luggage. The men stood to the side, letting the girls say their goodbyes. Standing at the departure gate, their laughter and chatter gradually dimmed as the reality of their impending farewells set in.

Eyes sparkling with mischief, Diana grinned at Kiara, "I don't think we've ever danced harder than we did when 'Dancing Queen' came on in the club."

They all burst into giggles, the memory of their spastic movements in the crowded, neon-lit club filling Alia's heart with warmth. She glanced at Kiara, who was fighting back tears, her face a blend of happiness and sorrow.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Alia teased gently, "Hey, it's not like this is goodbye forever."

Kiara sniffled and nodded, leaning into her arms, "Doesn't make it any less sad. No more spontaneous late-night talks or family breakfasts. I'm going to miss this so much."

Eyes starting to sting, Alia blinked back the tears, "Me too," she admitted, her voice soft; "But we're only one call away."

Miya, the most stoic of the group, cleared her throat as she tried to mask her own emotions, "We can always plan another trip soon. Maybe Paris next time?"

They exchanged promises and plans, the conversation lightening as they focused on the future. But as the boarding call for the flight to London echoed through the terminal, the weight of the moment pressed down on them again. One by one, Alia and Diana hugged each of them, holding on a little longer than usual. Kiara's tearful squeeze and Miya's firm embrace– they were all imprinted on her heart.

"I love you guys," Alia said, her voice trembling.

Kiara gripped their hands, "Thank you for making this trip so amazing. I couldn't have asked for better sisters."

"We're family," Miya added, her voice surprisingly soft; "Always with you, no matter what."

Alia nodded, unable to trust her voice any longer. With one last wave, she and Diana turned to walk towards their gate, hearts heavy but full of love. As she glanced back, she saw Trevor squeeze Kiara tightly in a hug as she smiled through her tears. And as Alia boarded the plane, she knew that no matter the distance or time, the girls' bond would remain unbreakable.