*Edited*

CHAPTER 2
Friendly Hangouts and Perfect Couples.

I entered the cold, empty house where I lived alone with a few unfriendly maids.

My parents abandoned me the day I was born. Since then, I only saw them once in year during fancy events that I was forced to attend. All they needed from me was a heir to their company, and for that, they showered me with luxuries to stay on my good side. 

But I despised them for leaving me all alone in this world. They never wanted me, and they never loved me. I always felt like a burden, and I hated them for making me feel like that.  

My grandmother brought me up until I lost her to cancer at the age of four. After that, my parents left me with rude nannies who barely cared about me. Everyday, I would hear the maids gossip about how they no one wanted me. They said that it was no surprise—I was too much of a brat to have anyone love me. 

Being homeschooled till ten, I had no friends other than Asher—my father's best friend's son. When I joined school, Asher introduced me to Blake, and that's when I everything turned around for me. He gave me something to look forward to in life, and I didn't feel lonely anymore. I guess I was in love, but I never knew. 

The doorbell rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. I watched as a maid rushed to answer the door.

I invited my friends over for a hangout today, but they weren't  supposed to be here yet. 

"Lynne!" a deep voice called, and I grinned. 

Dropping my schoolbag to the floor, I hopped towards Blake.

"You're early." I grinned, grabbing his hand and leading him to the living room. 

"I thought that I should come early to help you... relax," he said, taking a seat on the couch. 

I smirked, strutting towards him, adding an extra sway to my hips. "Oh yeah?" What do you have in mind? A message? Pedicure?" I joked, pushing myself between his legs. 

"Other things," he replied huskily, pulling me to his lap. 

Adjusting myself on him, I bit my lips, captivated by his grayish-blue eyes. 

Blake and I had an instant connection the moment we met. That connection grew, and on my 15th birthday, he kissed me for the first time. We sneaked around for a couple months, making out in closed spaces until we were caught by our friends. After that, we never hid our relationship which made half of the school think that we were dating. 

On Blake's sixteenth birthday—a few months before I turned sixteen myself—Blake and I lost out virginities to each other. Since that night, Blake stayed over at my place almost all the time, and we grew closer than ever. 

Since our first kiss, we had an agreement that we weren't monogamous. Through the no-strings-attached relationship and the countless number of one-night stands with other people, our friendship survived. 

Somewhere along the way, I fell in love. But I didn't know until a few months ago. 

I guess I was a little scared of the new feelings, because the moment I found out, I flew out to Paris to get away from him. I tried hooking up with a few men during my trip, but they never made it to my bedroom as my mind always soared to Blake. Being with another guy didn't seem right anymore, so I gave up and decided to be all his. 

Blake still slept around. Why wouldn't he? He wasn't the one in love.

"You seem distracted," Blake whispered, tracing my lips with his thumb. "Did you miss me on your trip?" 

"Maybe," I replied, trailing my finger tip down the side of his face. 

"I know I missed you," he whispered. "God! You're so beautiful."

"I know." I smirked. "I always am."

I leaned in closer, delivering a kiss to his lips. He grabbed my waist, pulling my chest flush against his as my hand tangled in his hair. He nibbled on my lower lips, asking me for permission, and I smiled, teasing him for a second before giving in. 

As the kiss grew heated, he laid me on the couch, and his lips left mind to move down my jaws. He sucked on every inch of my skin, all the way to the nape of my neck, almost leaving a mark. Moving lower, his lips attacked the skin above my cleavage as his lower half ground against mine, making him groan into my mouth. I shivered, feeling his warm hands slip under my top, but before he could pull it off, I stopped him.

"Blake, not in the living room."

"Let's go upstairs," he whispered against my skin.

"We can't. The rest of them are going to be here any moment," I reasoned, and he groaned.

"Why did you have to invite other? We could've had a great party for two," he said, making me chuckle.

"Why are you always so horny?"

"Why do you always have to look so hot?" he asked, and I laughed, pushing him off me and setting up straight.

"Let's watch TV," I suggested, taking the remote to switch it on.

He laid his head on my shoulder and hugged me close to him as I browsed through the channels.

He played with the hem of my shirt, his hands brushing my stomach every second, and that drove me wild. I settled on a random channel, focusing my attention on his warm body against mine rather than the movie on screen. 

I didn't know how long I endured my torturing urges to hump Blake before the door bell rang. I rushed to the door, and as soon as I opened it, I was a struck with a bone crushing hug. 

"Addy, I missed you!" Asher exclaimed.

"Can't breathe," I choked out, and he let go of me with a huge grin. "I've lost count of the number of times you've said that." I chuckled, stepping aside to let him enter the house, and followed him to the living room. 

"The only place Blake would ever arrive early," Asher commented, seeing Blake on the couch before plopping down next to him. "So, what did you guys do?"

"Just watched TV," I replied casually.

"She's lying," Blake whispered to Asher who snickered from the side.

"Oh my god, you have no shame!" I exclaimed, punching his arm and sitting down next to him.

"And why would I be ashamed?" he asked, leaning closer to my lips. I laughed and playfully shoved him away.

"Stop flirting in front of me or I would have to go over-protective brother mode on your ass now." Asher gave Blake a warning glare, making him laugh.

"I would've hoped that my best friend would rather be protective over me." Blake pouted, folding his arms.

"I'm sorry, but Asher loves me more." I grinned. Blake pouted some more, and I couldn't help but kiss him.

He grinned and kissed me back until Asher yelled "STOP" and shouted something about hurting his eyes.

"Is it safe to come in or are they still making out?" I frowned, hearing a voice from the kitchen.

"You can come in!" Asher shouted to the voice which I identified as Hazel's.

She walked in holding a half-eaten cupcake in her hand.

"When did you get here?" Blake asked, voicing my thoughts.

"I came here with Asher. I slipped into the kitchen when he was murdering Addelyn with one of his hugs," Hazel replied and sat down next to Asher.

"Okay, now that the four of us are here, let's quickly talk about our brand-new couple before the rest of them gets here," I said, jumping up from my seat.

"We're not dating yet," Hazel reminded. 

"Well, I'm just glad that my ship is sailing. I can't wait to plan your wedding. Obviously, I'm going to be the Maid of Honor and Blake's the Best Man. And we should have a huge cake. Chocolate mayb—"

"Oh my god!" Asher interrupted. "Blake, I give you permission to go back to sucking her face."

"Nah, I'll do that later. Right now, I'm enjoying your misery," Blake replied smugly.

The doorbell rang again saving them from further embarrassment. I mumbled a quick "I'll get it" before leaving to answer it. 

"Hey guys!" I grinned, seeing Kate and Jack standing on the other side of the door.

"Mi'Lady," Jack said, grabbing my hand and placed a kiss to the back of my palm.

I laughed and shook my head. "Old habits die hard, I see."

"Don't tell me that I'm not allowed to kiss my friend's hands," he said, looking at Kate with a bewildered expression. Jack was a classic player who slept with every girl he laid eyes on. Well, that was until Kate roped him into her clutches.

"You can. But make sure the girl knows that you're not interested in her," Kate responded.

"Addy knows, right?"

"Nope, I didn't. I thought you loved me," I said, feigning hurt as I placed a hand on my heart.

"Oh baby, I do. Just not in front of my girlfriend," he whispered playing along, and I laughed.

"Ha, ha! Very funny guys," Kate replied sarcastically.

The sound of a car driving in interrupted our conversation, and we waited until for Luke as he got out of the car. 

"Addy, it's been long," Luke said, walking up to the door.

"Why weren't you at school today?" I asked.

"Hangover," he replied.

"So, are you just going to ignore us?" Jack asked Luke.

Luke pretended to think for a while. "You, yes," he told Jack and turned his attention to Kate, "Kate, I missed you!" he exclaimed. 

"You live together," Jack pointed out. 

"So? Aren't I allowed to miss my little cousin?" he asked, wrapping an arm around Kate. 

"You're mean." Jack scoffed.

"That was the intention," Luke replied, smirking.

"So, are we just going to hang out here or are you going to invite us in?" Kate asked.

"Oops, sorry. Get in," I said, stepping aside for them. They walked into the house, joining the rest of them.

"Is everyone here?" Blake asked.

"Nope, Cole hasn't arrived yet," I informed.

"Ah, yes. Cole. Late as always," Jack commented.

After they settled down, we waited for a few minutes until I heard the bell again. I opened the door, wearing a broad smile on my face. 

My smile immediately fell when I saw an uninvited guest standing behind Cole.

WHAT. THE. FUCK?

Author's Note

The main purpose of this chapter is for you to get familiar with all the side characters. The real drama starts in the next chapter.

So, which one of them is your favorite?

I noticed in the last chapter, many of you were concerned about the character's behaviors.

I don't believe in perfect characters. Every character in my book has flaws, but they're nice too. No one's a villain and no one's a hero. As the story progresses, they will change. What's the point if they start out good and end the same too? 

Addeyln is a mean girl. I'll warn you again—if you don't think you could handle it, drop the book.

Addy has a lot of internal issues which will be unveiled part by part. Her problems and personality will be fixed as the story progresses—my storyline does not support mean behavior. Only shows the struggles of someone like that. 

So far, you've only seen one bad encounter. You'll have to wait until the mean girl strikes.

Terra—majority of the world stereotypes rich people. Good girl Wattpad characters start stereotyping (and slut-shamming) as the mean girl simply walks down the hallway in a short outfit. But hey, at least Terra waited till Addy was mean to her. Just because Terra is the antagonist, it doesn't mean she's worse than those protagonists.

And yes, she's a good girl. Good girl does not mean standing spineless when someone's mean to you. It means that trying their best to be of good morals, but no one can be of 100% good morals. Being a good girl means that they're nice, sweet, shy, respectful, but they're humans with feeling and not a doll that could smile at everyone. 

When Addy was mean to her, she defended herself in her own way [which was stereotyping and that was bad—as I said, she isn't perfect], but that doesn't change who she is.

Blake's flirtatious nature—that's okay in a friend's with benefits relationship. They're not monogamous and Addy consented to that years ago. She used to be flirty with other guys too. Falling in love changed things for her, but Blake does not know about her feelings yet. 

So, if you liked what you read, vote.

If you want to keep reading, add this to your library so you'll know when I update.

And if you made it till the end, thank you for reading and I love you so much!

Okay, have fun, enjoy life.

Signed,
Me