Semi-Edited (do I need this at this point?)

Song above is....Nothing Like You by Dan and Shay. (This song fits Riley and Alex so well. Love Dan+Shay so much)

Happy Reading!!

:)

The week flew by without any other hiccups, which surprised us all. There was nothing from Mitch or Rebecca and for the first time since school started it seemed no one was making comments about me. I wasn't sure how long that would last but it was a nice change to say the least.

It was now thankfully Friday which meant sitting around the house in my PJ's eating junk food. Helen told me I had the entire weekend off since she was going to visit her daughter for the next few days. Which I was more than happy to have the days off since I worked everyday this week.

Currently all of us were seated in a booth at Monroe's Place after school. Derek had practically begged for us to go since I hadn't been able to Monday.

"I think we should do something fun this weekend." Olivia announced randomly.

"Why do we always have to be doing something?" Derek groaned.

"Fine, what do you want to do then?" Derek leaned back and rubbed his hands together like he had a huge idea.

"The boys and I want to play some soccer tomorrow." The look Olivia gave him made me quickly swallow my laughter.

"That's your big idea? Soccer?"

"Yeah." He said he in a 'duh' tone.

"That doesn't even sound fun."

"It does to us." Liv looked at Alex who just shrugged next to me, then she looked at Nico and Noah. They both shrugged agreeing with Derek much to Liv's dismay.

"I'm fine with it." Lexi added. She was practically seated in Nico's lap and it made me smile. Things were fine between them. I didn't want to gloat but....it was all because of me.

"Riley back me up here." Liv pleaded. I sent her a sheepish smile.

"It doesn't sound bad. A relaxing weekend sounds nice." I trailed off at the crest fallen look she got.

"Fine." She pouted.

"Don't worry Liv we'll play with our shirts off for you." Derek threw his arm over the backseat of the booth. Derek didn't see it but I definitely saw pink form on Liv's cheeks at his words. That was definitely something she wouldn't mind seeing. I've seen them all without shirts so I know it would be a good sight to see for sure.

"So that's tomorrow planned. What about tonight? Sunday?"

"We could go to the arcade tonight and go bowling." Noah suggested. Almost instantly everyone perked up and the mood shifted.

"Have I told you how much I like you Noah?" Liv beamed.

"You can tell me more often." He grinned.

While Noah and Alex started talking I took a moment to look at Noah. I couldn't deny how attractive he was. With slightly curly blond hair and blue eyes, Noah had that all american type of look. From first glance you'd probably assume he he's the popular jock, has it all, football player. In a way he had the same looks as Mitch but he couldn't be further from him.

Unfortunately Noah and I haven't talked much one on one but from the moment we met there was something about him that I liked. Maybe it was the easy going smile he had, or the vibe that came off of him that just screamed 'friendly'.

There was still so much I wanted to learn about Noah. It was clear him and Alex were the closest of the group. From what Alex has told me they've been best friends since they were little. Both of them losing people they loved definitely brought them closer than anyone else in the group.

I was hoping to be able to talk to him alone at one point, maybe even later. He knows I know about his sister and I felt like I had to say something. What, I don't know.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Once we decided on going out tonight us girls went to Liv's house, while the boys went to Noah's. Something about them having stuff to do but I was pretty sure it was so they could play video games for a few hours while we got ready.

As soon as the three of us were seated in Liv's room she immediately launched into questioning me.

"So what's going on with you and Alex?" She asked, even Lexi leaning forward to know the answer.

I wish I could say I knew but I wasn't even that certain. A week ago he asked me if I wanted to go on a date with him but nothing has come of it. We've kissed a few times since then and during school he's been keeping close by holding my hand, but that's about it. Nothing else about going on a date or anything else.

"I don't know." I answered truthfully.

"I thought you said he asked you out." Lexi asked.

"He did...kinda of. He hasn't said anything else about it though. It's been a week." I shrugged. "Maybe he isn't interested anymore."

"Trust me he is still interested. The guy has been pining after you for ages." The way Lexi said it made me sit up straighter.

"He has?"

"He's probably planning something big." Liv added. I couldn't help the flutter in my chest at their words. Was Alex really planning something big for our first date? Is that why he hasn't brought it back up?

"I know Alex and when he likes someone he isn't subtle about it."

I couldn't help but wonder just how many girls Alex has been with. I mean look at him, he isn't a virgin by any means. I briefly remember him being with a few girls in school but I can't remember if they were serious relationships or not.

I hesitated wondering if I should even ask but my curiosity got the best of me.

"Has...has Alex been with a lot of girls?" I asked, looking down at my hands as I picked at my nail polish. When neither of them spoke after a moment I grew nervous. That many?

I finally glanced up at them and found both Liv and Lexi looking hesitant. Maybe he's been with more than I realized.

"I wouldn't necessarily say a lot...." Liv trailed off. Maybe I shouldn't have asked.

Liv must have seen the crestfallen look on my face for she quickly spoke.

"After his parents passed away Alex...well he went through a bad phase. He wasn't really here. He was but he wasn't, you know. He was moody, never talked, always out and entering those stupid fights."

"He kind of went off the deep end for a while. Whenever he was with Harper he seemed okay but so withdrawn. I don't know all the details but from what I've heard from Nico he...he got around a bit." Lexi added in.

"Oh."

"I think he did it to get away from everything."

Despite hearing about it I wasn't mad. I mean yeah I wasn't thrilled hearing all about Alex's sexual capades. No one wants to hear about the person they like sleeping with someone, but I understood.

What Alex went through was traumatic. I wouldn't have been able to survive that. No way. With how Alex talks about it he blames himself, so it is makes sense that he would try and drown that pain with girls, fighting, alcohol. He did it to escape.

How could I be angry or upset that he's slept with other people. We didn't know each other until a month ago. We weren't dating, we weren't even friends. It was all before he met me so it shouldn't bother me. And surprisingly it didn't.

"He doesn't do that anymore." Liv reassured me. "He stopped all of it, besides fighting, a few months ago. Actually wasn't soon after he brought you to the bonfire."

"Having you around has made him more tolerable." Lexi huffed leaning back in her chair. Nothing could stop the grin from forming on my face. I was happy to hear that they've seen change in him. It was hard to think of Alex as someone who was like that. All I've known is a different side to him.

"I think you guys make a super cute couple." Liv beamed. I blushed at her words as images of Alex and I being a couple. I quickly push the thoughts back before I could imagine it more. We haven't even gone on a date yet. Better not get ahead of myself.

"Don't worry Riley, you and Alex are meant for each other."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"You girls ready?" Noah called up the stairs at us a few hours later.

"One second!" Olivia yelled back as she applied the last swipe of lipstick on my lips.

Even though we were going to an arcade and bowling, Liv demanded on doing my makeup. I tried, I really did, to say no and just go with a swipe of mascara and lip gloss but she wouldn't take no for an answer. So instead I had to sit there in the chair for a good thirty minutes as she did her thing. I sometimes cursed myself for never being able to say no.

Thankfully Liv didn't force me to wear something other than my jeans and sweater. I didn't really see the point of dressing up since we'll be in a dark bowling alley/arcade but I didn't want to rain on Liv's parade. I think she had it in her head that if I looked super hot Alex would ask me on a date right then and there.

"Ready?" I asked once she stepped back to admire her handy work.

"Yep. We are good to go." Through the mirror I watched Lexi mouth 'thank god' as she pushed off the bed and headed for the door. I grinned as I trailed after her.

For some odd reason as I reached the stairs I felt a bit nervous. I've seen Alex everyday for the last two months, this wasn't anything new. Yet my stomach erupted into butterflies as I descended the stairs.

As I came down the stairs my eyes immediately sought out Alex. He was standing a bit away talking to Nico but just the sight of him made me bite my bottom lip. Once again he was dressed like he walked out of a magazine. The boy was too hot for his own good.

"Great I'm going to be seventh-wheeling." Noah spoke beside me, drawing my gaze away from Alex.

"Seventh-wheeling?"

"Nico and Lexi, Derek and Olivia, and now You and Alex. Seventh-wheel." Noah pointed to himself. He didn't sound upset about it just matter of fact. I went to argue but he was right. We all had someone, even Derek and Olivia who wouldn't admit their feelings yet.

"You don't..." I wasn't quite sure how to bring it up. It wasn't really my place but I was curious. "You don't have a girlfriend?"

It was surprising that Noah didn't have a girlfriend. He had the looks, the personality, etc. Hell when I first met him at Sofia's Bookstore I was thrown by how hot he is. Now I know his personality he was even more attractive.

"No not anymore." His voice dropped just a bit but I noticed.

"What happened?" I found myself whispering and moving a bit closer to him. The others were occupied with something else to notice us.

Noah was quiet for a moment making me think he wasn't going to reply.

"I drove her away." Something in his tone made my chest ache.

"Noah I'm sorry I didn't....I shouldn't have asked." I knew better than to ask anything more. Just from his tone I knew things didn't end well between him and her.

"Don't be." He waved me off. "It happened a while ago. No one's fault but mine." I knew that tone, knew those words. Said them to myself hundred times a day since Mitch. I knew better than anyone else that I wouldn't be able to convince him it wasn't his fault.

Instead I reached out and grabbed his arm. I wrapped my own through his and sent him a small smile. Just that simple move seemed to contact us together. Noah sent me a small smile back and squeezed my arm with his knowingly. We've both been there and didn't need words to know what the other meant.

"So you ready for me to kick your ass bowling?" I said, breaking the tension.

"Oh you think you can take me?" Noah raised an eyebrow at me. I noticed a slight spark to his eyes that wasn't there a moment ago.

"Just you wait." I smirked. Little did everyone here know that I was a pro at bowling. Secret hidden talent of mine.

"You sound so confident...want to place a bet on who will win?"

"Sure. What will I get when I win?"

"You mean when I win." Noah made a show of rubbing his chin like he was deep in thought. "Loser becomes the winners slave all weekend."

I raised an eyebrow at the word 'slave'.

"Not like that. If the winner wants food the loser brings it. They want back massages, which I will, then the loser has to do it."

"Back massages."

"Better get those hands ready." Noah smirked. He was definitely too cocky but I let it slide for now.

"Okay deal."

"No backing out." Noah extended his hand for me to shake. With a shake of my head I shook his hand.

"Don't go crying to your best friend when I kick your ass."

"Why is Noah going to come crying to me?" A voice pipped in. Walking up to us Alex looked between his best friend and I.

"I won't."

"When I beat him at bowling." Noah and I said at the same time. Alex stared at us amused.

"I'm just gonna let whatever this is," He gestured towards us. "happen. Ready to go?" This time he turned his attention to me, a soft smile on his face.

"Yeah." I smiled. He offered his hand which I gladly took in my own. Any chance I got at holding Alex's hand I was gonna take it. Just the simple act of holding hands made my heart flutter. His hand fit perfectly with mine.

"How was your afternoon?" Alex as we all trailed out of Liv's house.

"It was good. Just sat around talking. How about yours?" I always wondered what he did the afternoons after school. I now knew he worked at the auto shop and he had to pick up his sister from school.

"Took Harper to a friends for a sleepover, then the boys and I played xbox for a bit." For some odd reason that took me by surprise. I wasn't even sure why. Alex just didn't scream video game player but then again he is a teenage boy.

"Why the surprised look?" Alex laughed.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Your the school bad boy, I guess I thought you'd be out doing 'bad boy' stuff after school." I made my voice lower when I said bad boy. The title was so far from the truth. After getting to know Alex he wasn't a 'bad boy' at all. Sure he drove a motorcycle and fought in underground rings but that was about it. All the rumors were in fact rumors.

"Even bad boys play videos." Alex smirked, bumping his shoulder into mine. With my free hand I tapped my chin.

"I think I'm evoking your bad boy title."

"You can't evoke the title when you didn't give it." He pointed out.

"Nope, still evoking it. You didn't live up to the title." I struggled to keep the teasing grin off my face.

"In my opinion I agree with Riley." Derek pipped up behind us. "Out of the four of us he's the weakest."

I bit down on my bottom lip as Alex pulled us to a stop on the front lawn. From the corner of my eye I could see everyone stopped to see what was gonna happen. I didn't fail to notice the little smirk that both Noah and Nico had on their faces. They were going to be no help.

"The weakest huh?" Alex asked.

"Yep. If I had to rate us it would go Me, obviously, Nico, Noah and then you." I let out a giggle at the fact that Derek put himself before everyone else. Derek could be scary when he wanted to be but that didn't mean he was more 'scary/badass' than everyone else.

Alex gave my hand a quick squeeze to let me know what was about happen. Derek was too busy talking about himself to notice Alex dropping my hand and turning around. In literally seconds Alex lunged for Derek. At the last second Derek noticed and let out the most girlish squeal I've ever heard.

Alex easily got him on the ground and put Derek in a head lock. Almost surprisingly Derek was able to get out of his. I shook my head as I watched the two of them wrestle in Liv's front yard.

"My bet is on Alex." Noah said while watching the pair.

"What about Derek?" I asked.

"He may train with Alex but doesn't mean he's better."

"I heard that!" Derek wheezed out. Alex was currently on top of Derek putting him in some hold.

"I said it loudly."

"Come on you two." Liv whined. "The bowling lanes are going to be packed by time we get there. You two can continue this later." Alex and Derek didn't seem to hear or care what Liv said as they continued on wrestling.

"If you two do not stop this instant I will come over there and pull you apart myself." Olivia said loudly, her voice instantly changing to authoritative. Her inner mom voice coming out strong.

At her tone the two quickly let go of one another. Nico, Noah, Lexi and I snickered at how the two of them got scared of Olivia's tone. Not gonna lie though she could be very scary when she wants to be. She may only be 5'2 but boy could she be intimidating.

"Now that's settled, lets go." Lexi and I shared an amused look at how each of the boys obediently followed after Liv.

Instead of all 7 of us trying to fit into one car Me and Noah got in Alex's car. While Nico, Lexi, Derek and Liv took Nico's truck. In no time we were all headed to the bowling alley across town.

With it just being me, Alex and Noah in the car I took the opportunity to ask a question I've been holding in for a while now.

"So..." I started, leaning forward a bit to see the two of them. "How long as Derek had a crush on Olivia?" I thought it was better to just flat out ask.

They were both quiet for a moment as my words sunk in.

"How do you know if he has feelings for her?" Noah vaguely asked, turning around in his seat. 

"I'm not blind." I sent him a flat look. "Anyone could tell he likes her expect for Liv."

"Pretty certain he's like her since the moment they met." Alex responded.

"He's never once acted on it has he?"

"And ruin his friendship with Liv? No." Noah shook his head.

"Derek may seem like a goofball and never takes anything serious but when it comes to Olivia he does. He's not going to ruin their friendship by telling her how he feels." Alex looked at me through the review mirror as he spoke.

"But Olivia feels the same."

"So? Derek doesn't see it like that. Trust me we have tried to convince him to tell her for years." By the tone in Noah's voice they've had this conversation quite a few times.

I leaned back in my seat as a plan started to form in my head. The two of them deserved to be happy and happy together. If they weren't going to do it for themselves than maybe they needed an extra...shove. I had thought my conversation with Derek would spur him into action with Olivia but it appears not. So now it is up to me.

"Well you didn't have me before."

"Freckles what are you thinking?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing....just a plan to get our two friends together." I grinned.

"First off, that grin is creepy as hell." Noah said. "And two, how do you plan on doing that?"

"I've read plenty of teen/romance books on Wattpad, and I've seen enough Rom-Com's to know how this is gonna go." I waved him off. All my time of reading and watching romance prepared me for this moment. "We all just need to work together."

"Are you asking us to go behind our friends back to get him to ask out the girl he's been pining over for years?" Alex asked.

"Yep. Are you in?" The two of them looked at each other, silently having a conversation that I couldn't hear. After a moment they both shrugged.

"Sure." Alex shrugged.

"Anything to get him to stop whining about Olivia."

My grin widened now that I had them on board. Operation get Olivia and Derek together was a go!

* * * * * * * * * * *

"You know this may not work." Alex whispered in my ear as he placed his hands on the back of my chair. My breathing hitched in my throat at the feel of his breath on my neck, his lips softly grazing my ear.

"I-I..." I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. Whenever he was this close to me it was like my brain shut off.

The others were too busy putting their shoes on and getting their bowling balls to notice us. When Alex didn't make a motion to move I forced the words through my lips.

"Have some faith in me." I mentally patted myself on the back for speaking without stuttering.

"They are both the most stubborn people."

"Which is why everyone else is going to help. And if not you can put him in a headlock and make him listen."

"Wow just using me for my body." My cheeks flamed at his words. I didn't need to see his face to know he was smirking. I felt him shift behind me and from the corner of my eye I watched his face get closer to mine.

"But I don't mind." His voice got husky as he spoke. Without saying another word Alex kissed my cheek and moved away. I watched his form walk towards the rake of bowling balls, seemingly unaffected by what just happened. I swallowed through the dryness of my throat.

That boy had no clue what he did to me.

"You okay over there?" Noah's voice teased as he came up to the table. By the growing smirk on his face he had witnessed what just happened between Alex and I. Clearing my throat I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Good cause I'm ready to kick your ass."

His words helped me clear the thoughts running through my head of Alex. Thank god no one could hear what I was just thinking about.

"It's the other way around." I grinned as I stood up, heading to find my own ball.

As Liv said before the bowling alley was pretty packed. It was only 7 o'clock yet the place was busy. Almost every lane was in use and we managed to snag one of the last ones.

It's been years since I've been here. Trent and I use to come here back when we were younger. We stopped coming after awhile since he got busy with soccer and then when he left it didn't feel right to come. Then of course the whole Mitch thing happened and I wasn't welcome anywhere.

Even now being here I could feel eyes on me. The lights were pretty much turned off and the neon lights were on, but everyone knew Alex and his friends anywhere. They were pretty hard to miss and then add me into the group. I was pretty certain I would be the hot topic of conversation on Monday.

But the more I was around Alex and the group the less I cared. I was here to have fun with my friends and with Alex, whatever we were. I needed this. So everyone else could stare all they wanted.

After placing my ball on the rack I made my way over to the screen where Liv and Lexi were currently at. Looking at the screen I raised my eyebrows.

"Freckles? Really that's my name?"

"I didn't pick it." Liv held her hands up. I clearly knew who did. I looked over my shoulder and found Alex already looking at me. He sent me a smirk and a wink. I shook my head but quickly turned back around before could see the goofy grin taking over my face.

"Everyone ready?" Liv asked over the music that was now starting to play. We all nodded and moved towards the table ready to play.

With that Olivia kicked off the start of the game. It would go Liv, Derek, Lexi, Nico, Alex, Me and finally Noah. I knew Noah purposely put himself after me for our little bet. I was more than happy to kick his ass.

With each person going up to bowl I felt myself relax more and more. Everyone else around us were slowly disappearing. When it came to Alex's turn I kept my eyes glued to his back.

Even with the dark lighting I swore I could see each muscle of his back move and ripple through his shirt as he lifted his bowling ball. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me because I found myself extremely jealous of that bowling ball.

I almost didn't see him bowl too focused on other things. Snapping myself out of it I watched as he rolled the ball perfectly down the middle, hitting all but one pin. He walked back towards us like it wasn't a big deal.

"You're up next freckles." The little grin he had on his face made my heart speed up. God, what is wrong with me today. I stood up and headed for the ball rack. "I promise not to tease if you don't hit all of them." He teased.

I didn't respond and instead reached for my ball. Feeling everyones gaze on my back I took a deep breath. Here we go. In one smooth motion I launched the ball down the lane. Despite knowing I was pretty good at bowling I nervously waited for the ball to hit the pins. When it did it knocked down every single pin. Strike.

With a proud smile I pivoted on my heel and returned to the group. My smile turned into a smirk at the surprised faces. Alex looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"What? I'm good at bowling." I shrugged. My smirk deepened as I passed by Noah.

"You never said you were good at bowling." Alex said, coming to my side.

"Still so much you don't know about me." I found myself winking at him.

"It seems so." He spoke so softly I almost didn't hear him over the music. His eyes were glued to my face with an expression I couldn't read. My attention turned away from Alex to Noah who was getting ready to bowl.

I watched silently as Noah threw the ball down the lane and hit the pins with a crack. I clenched my jaw at the strike. When he turned around his eyes met mine with a smug look on his face.

"I'm good at bowling too."

Okay this may be harder than I thought.

"Don't miss!" Noah yelled from behind me. I gritted my teeth and held the ball between my hands.

I was on the last bracket of our final game. Over the last three games Noah and I have gone back and forth between leading and currently he was winning by two points. He managed to get two strikes in a row when I got spares. I only had this last one to beat him. I needed at least two strikes to stay ahead since he goes after me.

I did not need Noah to win and then rub in my face until the dawn of time. Everyone has pretty much let the two of us do our thing. They bowled but didn't take it too seriously when they missed. They were all actually really good. I was impressed with Alex and the fact that he came in second twice.

Blocking the little comments from Noah I took a deep breath before letting the ball go. As the ball rolled everyone behind me quieted to watch. I knew what was gonna happen seconds before it did. A grin appeared on my face as the ball hit all the pins.

I couldn't help myself and did a little happy dance. Now I needed to do that two more times if I could. Not wanting to see everyone's faces in case it got me out of the zone I grabbed my ball once more.

Before I could second guess myself at all I threw the ball once again. With baited breath I waited for it to hit the pins and this time a squeal left my lips when it hit all ten pins.

This time I did turn around. My eyes immediately landed on Alex out of everyone. He stood there with a grin on his face and just that simple grin made my heart grow even more.

With one last turn I just threw the ball, not really caring anymore. Hopefully the two strikes will be enough to win. Knocking down all but two I finally made my way back to the group.

"That was so impressive." Olivia gushed as she rushed to my side. "You definitely bet Noah."

"We'll see." Noah chirped as he breezed past us. I grinned. It was all good and fun and honestly either one of us deserved to win. We played really well.

Alex slid up to my side as his best friend went up to bowl.

"I was thoroughly impressed." He leaned down closer to my face.

"Good." I smirked. Inside I felt a bit giddy at the fact that I impressed Alex. I feel like it takes a bit to impress him.

I turned my attention back to Noah and watched as he bowled his final round. When he made a strike on the first one my hand grabbed Alex's. I squeezed tightly as Noah got ready once more. I really wanted to win. I never win and saying that I beat Noah would be everything.

Poor Alex's hand was probably hurting by how hard I was squeezing it when Noah bowled another strike. If he hit all the pins I was out. Our entire group of silent and watched with anticipation as Noah walked up. I clung to Alex's hand, barely breathing.

The bowling ball rolled down the lane perfectly but at the last second veered to the side, knocking only 7 of the pins. It took a second for it to clue into my head and for the score to pop up on the screen. When it did my eyes widened and I let out a loud squeal.

I WON! I won by ONE POINT.

With the biggest smile I turned and pretty much launched myself into Alex's arms. Thankfully he had fast reflexes and managed to catch me before the two of us fell to the ground. His arms wrapped around my waist and held me against his hard chest.

As soon as he placed my feet back on the ground I was yanked from his hold and pulled into another tight hug.

"Riley!" Derek yelled into my ear as he squeezed the life out of me. "That was amazing."

"Cant. Breathe." I patted his back.

"You totally whipped Noah's ass. It was so refreshing. Usually Noah and Alex win." He groaned and even though I couldn't see his face I knew he was making some annoyed expression.

"Derek she can't breathe." I was thankfully pulled out of Derek's tight hold and able to breathe again.

"That was a good game." Noah said standing in front of me. For a split second I thought he was angry but then he broke out into a wide grin.

"You know what that means." I grinned and attempted to wriggle my eyebrows.

"First off, don't ever do that again." Noah wagged his fingers at my eyebrows. "And second, you won fair and square which means you can use me anyway you want."

My jaw dropped at the innuendo. Noah had a little smirk on his face like he knew exactly what he said. I lifted my hand to smack his arm but someone beat me to it.

"That won't be happening." A hand made contact with the back of Noah's head.

"Ow." He hissed, rubbing his head. "I was kidding."

I bit the inside of my cheek as Alex sent his best friend an 'yeah right' look.

"I mean it was part of our deal."

"I figured you made a bet. What was the prize?" Alex looked between the two of us.

"The loser has to do whatever the winner wants all weekend long." I smirked. I had big plans for Noah this weekend and all of it included him buying me food and maybe cleaning my house for me.

"Does it start right now?" Alex asked. Noah and I looked at each other and shrugged. I guess now worked.

"Sure."

"Good. Then go put our bowling balls away."

"The bet was with Riley not you." Noah scowled. Alex turned to me and pouted his lips. I had a feeling Alex was going to use my deal with Noah to get him to do stuff as well. Normally I wouldn't be for it but right now I was still high off of winning.

"Please can you put our balls away?" I batted my lashes at Noah.

"This is gonna suck." He muttered before going over to grab the bowling balls. I grinned at his back. This was gonna be fun.

Heading over to the table I took a seat to take off my bowling shoes. Everyone else was chatting animatedly about what games they wanted to play at the arcade. The entire time I took off my shoes I could feel a set of eyes on me. Knowing it was most likely Alex I peeked up and met his gaze.

"What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head but kept his eyes on me. When he shook his head a piece of his dark hair fell onto his forehead. My fingers itched to move it but I held myself back.

"You're staring at me like a creeper."

"You just keep on surprising me Riley Carson." Maybe I was still a bit excited about winning at bowling, but a rush of confidence washed over me.

"Good. Got to keep you on your toes." I sent him a wink before standing up and grabbing my shoes. With one last look at Alex I walked over to Liv and laced my arm through hers.

As a group we all took our shoes to the counter then headed down the hallway towards the arcade. The entire time I made sure to keep my gaze ahead and not turn around every few seconds to look back at Alex.

"You're playing a dangerous game teasing Alex." Lexi spoke softly next to me so the boys behind us didn't hear.

"I'm not teasing him." I whispered back.

"You kind are." Liv added.

"We all can see it, trust me." My cheeks reddened slightly as I realized they were right.

"I just wanted him to finally ask me out."

"He will. But trust me, guys can only take so much teasing before they turn the tables." Lexi said just as we walked into the arcade.

As soon as we walked in the two of them branched off and went in different directions, leaving me standing there wondering what they meant by 'turn the tables'.

"Come on Riley lets go play some air hockey!" Derek interrupted my thoughts by grabbing my arm and tugging me after him. I stumbled behind him as he literally dragged me towards an empty air hockey table. The giddiness coming off of him made you wonder if he was a 6 year old trapped in an 18 year old body.

"This is one of the best games here." Derek stated as he put coins in the machine. I had no clue when he even got those. Everyone else was probably getting their coins as we speak. I made a mental note to go and get some after playing a round.

"I haven't played this in so long." I moved around to my side and grabbed my handle thingy.

"Then get ready to get your ass whooped." I laughed at the confident look on his face. Seconds later the table started up and the picked started floating. With a wide grin Derek grabbed the puck and started the game.

Twenty minutes later I was on my fourth round with Derek, laughing my ass off at how into the game he got. He was even making noises like a tennis player does every time they hit the ball. With each swipe of the puck in my direction he grunt. He even started doing higher grunts causing a lot of attention on us but instead of being embarrassed I found myself laughing. I was lucky I managed to hit the puck with how hard I was laughing at him.

That was one thing I really liked about Derek. Somehow he always manages to make anyone feel better. He was life of the party with stupid jokes and was clearly not afraid to embarrass himself in public. He had that 'I don't care' attitude that I really admired. He's that friend that you know without a doubt would do anything for you. I was pretty sure Derek was one of the best people I know.

Hitting the puck one last time Derek managed to score on me, making him win yet again. I won one of the four games but I shouldn't have been surprised at how good Derek was. With the game now over I took a step back.

"Wait where are you going?"

"To go play some other games." I pointed over my shoulder with my thumb.

"We were just getting warmed up." Derek whined. I grinned and started walking backwards.

"I'll be back soon to play again. Make a little kid play with you." I gestured towards the young boy standing off to the side staring at the air hockey game. "Just don't make them cry."

With that I left Derek to play and went off to find a coin machine. There were so many games in here that I haven't played in ages and I fully intended to win a lot of tickets.

I had yet to see the others in a bit but I knew we'd all meet back up eventually. The arcade may be kind of big but we were bound to run across each other. After putting in a twenty dollar bill and getting an entire bucket full of coins I set out to win some tickets.

When my brother and I would come here we would start on one end and go all the way to the other. Playing almost every game. By the end we would be here for a good 3 hours and have an entire armful of tickets to go up to the counter with.

Wishing my brother was here with me I took out my phone and took a picture of the arcade and sent it to him. Maybe when he gets back we can come back here like old times. Until then I was on my own in trying to win the huge stuff unicorn hanging on the wall.

I went from machine to machine playing. Sometimes I lost but I was literally having the time of my life. It was os nice to just let go and have some fun. It felt like old times being in here. Anytime you went to an arcade your inner child would come out and it was the greatest thing. For just a moment nothing else mattered but winning tickets on a game.

As I moved around the room I saw Nico and Lexi playing side by side on machines. I found Liv playing Just Dance with a random girl and she looked to be kicking ass. I passed by Derek who was yes, still playing air hockey. He had a bunch of young kids standing around the table cheering. Noah was off playing some machine with so much focus I bet he didn't notice anyone around him. I had yet to see Alex and wondered where he went off too.

It wasn't until I got to the Skee-Ball machine that I finally found Alex. There was only one other person playing as I glided up beside him.

  (in case you don't know what a skee-ball machine is. Its one of my favorite.)

"There you are. Wondered where you went off to." I said.

"Finally got away from Derek I see." Alex looked over at me with a smile. God I could look at that smile every day.

"I managed to get away after four games." Alex laughed.

"That is why we don't play with him. Once you start he won't let you go."

"He managed to get some kids to play with me." I said with a grin.

"Poor kids." I laughed along with him. They had no clue what they were in for with Derek. "So I see you've done well." Alex gestured to my bucket filled with folded up tickets. I still had quite a bit of coins left but most of it was filled with tickets I carefully folded to make room. From here you couldn't see exactly how much there was.

"I have. And it seems you have to." I looked at the growing pile that was coming out of the Skee-Ball machine. "Have you been playing this the whole time?"

"I've played a few others but I like this one the most." Alex admitted. Putting in a view coins I watched as the balls came down the shoot.

"This one has always been one of my favorites too." The two of us were quiet for a moment as we each rolled the balls up into the holes. From the corner of my eye I watched as Alex played. The simple action of his moving his arm made my stomach flutter.

How could someone make playing Skee-Ball look so...hot. I found myself stopping just to watch as his hands grabbed the skee-balls. The veins in his hands and arms somehow sticking out even more.

Was it getting hot in here?

God what was wrong with me. Get a grip on yourself Riley.

Looking away from the hot guy beside me I forced myself to pay attention to the game until my time ran out. Even with the distraction beside me I managed to win a lot of tickets before my time ran out.

"How about we play a little game." Alex suddenly said as I was bent over grabbing my tickets. Curious by what he meant I stood up and turned around.

"What kind of game?"

"Whoever has the highest score at the end gets the losers tickets that they earned." At his words my eyes widened.

"That's not fair! That's a lot of tickets." He shrugged. "Can't we pick something else?"

"If you aren't confident that you can't beat me than fine." Alex knew exactly what he was doing. He knew those words would get under my skin. He was basically saying I wouldn't win against him even if I tried. Well we'll see about that.

"I already beat your best friend today I guess I can add you to the list."

"Then it's settled....loser has to hand over their tickets that they earn." Even though I found his smirk sexy right now I wanted to wipe it off. I nodded and grabbed three coins to put into the machine.

Keeping our eyes on each other we each put them in at the same time. Slowly the balls rolled down for us to grab.

"1....2...." Alex rattled off, his piercing grey eyes on me. "3."

As soon as the number was past his lips I wrenched my gaze away from his and got to work on rolling the balls. I knew if I worked too fast I would miss so instead I took a bit more time aiming for the higher numbers. Better to throw less balls and hit the high numbers and a lot and the low or none.

I made sure to keep my eyes away from Alex's machine. The last thing I needed was to get distracted by him. The minute and a half were flying by so fast. Before I knew it the time was almost up.

"By the way..." Alex suddenly spoke. "your ass looks amazing in those jeans." His comment threw me off. I was mid motion when he said it making me freeze for just a split second. The ball left my hand before I wanted it to and it ended up rolling right into the gutter for no points.

The timer beeped that the game was over. It took a moment for everything to register in my brain. I looked at Alex's score and then mine, then back again. His comment about my ass still rattling in my brain.

Finally it clicked what he just did. He won by 20 points and he only won because at the last second he distracted me enough that I didn't score but he did. He knew his little comment would throw me off so he could win.

That little shit!

"What...you...you cheated!" I turned on him.

"I did not."

"Yes you did! You made me miss." I pointed my finger at him.

"No I didn't. That was on you, I was just giving you a compliment." Alex shrugged but I could see the twinkle in his eyes. He knew what he did and he did it on purpose. "I won fair and square."

"No you didn't!" The little cheater. With my head titled back I stared up at him with narrowed eyes. "Cheater."

I watched as Alex continued on staring down at me, his face unreadable. When he took a step towards me I swallowed. I did nothing but stand there as he took two steps towards me until he was flushed against me. Bending down slightly he kept his eyes locked to mine.

"You're sexy when your upset." My eyes widened and I gulped at his words. Alex was literally hovering his face inches from mine, his minty breath fanning my face. All I wanted to do was grab his face and kiss him.

"You can keep your tickets." His voice was so low and husky I almost didn't catch his words too caught up in him. "We both know who won." His lips softly grazed mine as he spoke. But before I could move my head closer Alex stepped back.

I stood there breathing heavy as he casually leaned over and collected his tickets. He then had the nerve to wink at me before pivoting on his heel and walking away. I stared after him dazed. What the hell just happened.

Wasn't until he was long gone and my mind cleared a bit to realize this was what Lexi meant earlier. Alex turned the tables.

* * * * * * * * *

2 and a half hours later I ran out of coins and played almost game in the arcade. The place was slowly getting empty as all the tickets turned in their tickets and left. It was nearing 11 and the arcade was set to close in just a little bit.

Putting the last of my tickets into the machine to count the total, I grabbed my receipt with the amount and headed for the counter. Standing there waiting their turn was everyone else.

I avoided Alex's gaze as I came up to the group. I went to Liv's side first.

"How did you do?" I asked.

"I got 600!" She grinned waving her ticket.

"That's great!" I grinned right back.

"I got 300." Derek butted in. I knew his would be low as he spent basically the entire time on the air hockey game.

"What are you going to get with your 300 then?" I questioned.

"Hm not sure yet." He tapped his chin. Noah had just finished cashing in his tickets and now Lexi and Nico were ahead of us browsing the glass case and the items they can get.

While Liv and Derek talked about what they wanted I looked up at the big prizes hanging above the counter.

"And how many did you win?" A voice questioned next to me. I had planned on ignoring Alex after what he did but with him standing next to me, his arm grazing mine, and his cologne invading my senses I knew it was fruitless.

"A lot." Was my answer. "You?" I raised an eyebrow as I finally looked at him.

"A lot." He replied back. My lips twitched.

"Smart ass." Alex just grinned at my words.

Liv and Derek were up next and I had a feeling we would be a bit.

"Is there something you have your eye on?" Alex asked. With a wide grin I nodded.

"I'm getting the unicorn." I said proudly, pointing to the huge purple unicorn hanging above. I had my eye on it the moment I walked in. I didn't know how many tickets I needed to get it yet but I was fairly certain I had the amount.

"Wow that's a big one." It was a huge stuffed animal and would probably be hard to carry back to the car.

"Yep." I didn't need to say how many tickets I had because everyone knew that was the biggest prize you can get. "How about you?"

"Not sure yet." The corner of his mouth quirked up.

"Derek just pick something!" Lexi suddenly snapped turning my attention away from Alex. I giggled under my breath at the annoyed expression Lexi had as well at the poor girl at the counter.

"Fine." Derek whined. Once he picked what he wanted him and Liv moved out of the way.

With a bounce in my step I stepped up to the counter and handed over my receipt.

"How much for the unicorn?" I asked.

"7,000 tickets." At the number my face fell and my excitement disappeared. I only had 5,500.

"Oh." Man that was the only one I wanted.

"But the blue teddy bear below it is 5,000." It wasn't as impressive and the unicorn but it was still a big teddy bear. Sighing I nodded.

"I'll take the bear then." While the girl grabbed the bear I picked out a few other little things under the counter. Holding the bear and the little bag filled with other stuff I stepped to the side for Alex to go.

Slightly dejected I walked over to the others.

"Woah that's a big bear." Liv commented.

"I wanted the unicorn." I sighed but honestly this was better than nothing. It was still the second biggest prize. "But he's cute." I smiled at the bear, holding him tightly. No one is too old for a stuffed bear.

I was too busy showing Lic what else I got that I didn't notice Alex behind me. I didn't notice him looking at me before leaning over and whispering to the girl.

"You should name him Damon!" Liv gushed.

"Oh yes. Damon the teddy bear, I love it." I grinned.

"Damon is a teddy bear he just doesn't..." Liv trailed off, her eyes looking at something behind me. Confused I glanced over my shoulder to see what she was staring at.

All thoughts stopped in my head at the sight before me. Standing directly in front of me was Alex and he was holding the unicorn in his arms.

"I heard you wanted the unicorn." He took a step towards me.

"Alex..." My eyes went from the unicorn up to his. The soft smile on his lips was smile I've never had directed at me before. "Did you use all your tickets on this?"

I moved towards him my voice almost a whisper.

"I saw how much you wanted it." He shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. It was a huge deal. He earned 7,000 tickets and instead of getting something for himself he spent it on the unicorn for me. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.

I could feel my eyes starting to tear up at the gesture. What was this man doing to me.

"Plus I feel bad for cheating."

"Cause you did." I laughed. He finally came to a stop in front of me, The unicorn looking even bigger in person.

Alex...thank you."

"Of course." The soft expression on his face melted my heart. I was falling for him so fast it was scary.

"Before I puke can we leave." Noah suddenly spoke, ruining the moment. "Plus I think that girl is going to murder us if he don't leave."

We all turned to find the girl from the counter glaring daggers at us. We were the last ones here and I bet she was ready to close up and go home. Before we could get yelled at the 7 of us hurried out of the arcade.

Everyone holding onto their prizes we all made our way to the parking lot. I stayed back with Alex as he carried the unicorn.

"Alex you didn't have to waste your tickets on me."

"I know but I wanted to." Biting my bottom lip I looked down as my cheeks flamed. Keeping my gaze on the floor I reached out and grabbed his free hand. I laced our fingers together and gave his a little squeeze. When Alex squeezed back I felt my entire body light up.

With it getting late we all decided to call it a night since we were going to meet up earlier tomorrow. After saying bye to everyone Alex, Noah and I got into Alex's car. Because the unicorn was so big it had to go in the back with Noah. At first he complained but as soon as we started heading to my house he was perfectly content in the back snuggling up with the stuff animal.

See, never too old for a stuffed animal.

I kept my bear in my lap as Alex drove me home. It took everything in me not squeal when Alex placed his hand on my knee as he drove. Even through the fabric of my jeans I could feel the zing from his hand.

Music played softly in the background as we all stayed silent. Noah was busy snuggling with the unicorn and playing on the phone, and I was inwardly freaking out about Alex. As usual.

It only felt like minutes passed before Alex was pulling into my driveway. A part of me didn't want to get out of the car. I wanted to spent every second with Alex but I knew I couldn't. I didn't want this night to end. But knowing him and Noah needed to get home I reluctantly unbuckled my seatbelt.

While I got out of the car Alex opened the back seat and grabbed the unicorn from Noah. Poking my head back in I extended my teddy bear towards Noah in the back.

"Give this to Harper for me." Alex was watching me as I handed it over to Noah.

"She'll love it." A loving smile formed on Noah's face.

"Goodnight Noah." I smiled at him.

"Night Riley." Before getting out of the car I quickly added.

"Don't forget I want a coffee and a donut tomorrow morning." With a smirk I got back out of the car. Remembering the bet Noah muttered under his breath. Laughing I closed the door, meeting Alex around the front of the car.

When we reached the door I unlocked it before grabbing the unicorn from his arms. The surprising weight of it made my grunt and tight my hold on it. Alex watched me with an amused expression. Sorry some of us aren't severely muscular and have the arms of a Greek God.

"Thank you for tonight." I said, peeking over the unicorn's head. "And thank you for winning this for me. I love it."

"I hope you name it something good."

"I was thinking Ally." I grinned using the nickname Harper calls Alex. Alex understood it and chuckled shaking his head.

"It's the perfect name."

"Thought so." I grinned on back.

"I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning." I nodded remembering the soccer game the boys wanted to play.

I gazed up at him wondering if he was going to kiss me. Everything in me was screaming at him to do so. Like my wish was coming true Alex lowered his head down as if he was going to kiss me. But like every single time something interrupted it.

"Lets go jackass!" Noah yelled out from the car. Alex stopped inches from my face. I wanted to groan at the timing. Thanks a lot Noah.

"Goodnight Freckles." Instead of kissing me on the lips he pressed his lips to my forehead. I briefly closed my eyes at the contact. He pulled away a second later making my eyes flutter open.

"I meant what I said earlier....your ass looks great in those jeans." With a wide smirk he took a step back.

"Pervert." I shot back, but my lips twitched.

"Bye." With one last breath taking smile at me Alex trotted down the steps back to his car. I gave him a small wave as he got in his car. I opened the door behind me as he backed out. I kept my eyes on his car until he drove out of sight.

Closing my front door behind me I stood in the foyer with the worlds biggest grin on my face. Best night ever.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello my Lovely Limiters! I know it's been a bit since I last updated. I was going to update last week but with everything going on in the world I thought it was the right time, then I ended up adding way more to this chapter. So I hope the 10k word chapter makes up for the lateness!

This chapter was just so....ugh so cute. I was thinking of splitting it but I have some big plans for the next chapter so that will be on its own. This is just a bit of fluff and you got to learn a little something about Noah as well. I'm trying to get bits and pieces of other characters into this book as well. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter though! I love this book so much and seeing all of your comments really make my day. So thank you. Thank you for all the love and support. AND THANK YOU for getting me almost to 80k followers! How insane is that?!?

Anyways, love you guys so much. Stay safe and healthy.

VOTE, COMMENT.

<3 <3 

-Ken

(P.S

As you all know these last few weeks have been intense. Like I said on my wall THERE IS NO ROOM FOR RACISM HERE. This is 2020. Everyone is equal, whether if you are black, asian, hispanic, trans, gay, bi, etc. No one should ever judge another person for what they look like. There will be no hate allowed IN MY BOOKS or on MY WALL. If you do not agree that Black Lives Matter than you are on the wrong book/wrong account. I draw the line at racism as well as homophobia. So if you do not agree with that and stand for BLM or LGBT then find another book. 

I don't want to ruin this chapter but it had to be said. I don't think I've ever said my stance on any of this and for that I am sorry. I should have spoken out sooner but I am now. Because I won't stand for it. And for your sake I hope you don't either because we need to be the change and it starts right now. 

)