a / n : 

i caved in and posted this. i told myself i won't post until i get stock chapters but this is all i have. i was going through the comments and felt really bad for the lack of updates. sorry guys. i'm currently working on something (that might get published in print, if all works out) so it's been really busy. as much as i want to continue writing this, i have to work on that one first. please bear with me!!

here's a long-ish chapter!! i hope you enjoy it as much i had fun writing it. 

love,

sam xo

S E V E N

"I'M GONNA DROP OUT," Perry announces dramatically as soon as he enters the apartment. Colin, Drew and Sadie all look up at him. "I'm gonna fucking drop out, man. College is the worst. I should have stayed back home and lived off my parents my whole life."

Colin watches as Perry drops his bag on the floor and kicks off his shoes.

"Dude," Drew says, "chill out. Midterms is over anyway."

"Not for me," Colin says, turning back to his laptop screen. "I still have a paper to turn in."

"That sucks. College sucks."

Colin rolls his eyes, used to this by now. It's not like Perry struggles with his grades or anything. He's practically one of the smartest people in his grade. Every now and then, however, he sulks about college and shit, usually during and after stressful periods.

"What happened?" Sadie asks. She's perched on top of the counter, playing some game about collecting cats on her phone (something Colin learned after she and Drew had a particularly lengthy discussion about it).

Perry plops down on one of the bean bag chairs. "I missed a date with this girl I've been asking out for weeks now. She finally agreed but then I stood her up and now she blocked my number."

"Oh, shit, is this the girl from the bookstore?" Drew asks. "Why'd you stand her up?"

"Our topic defense went overtime," Perry replies. "Well, my group did fantastic, obviously, but there was this shit group and Gardner kept grilling them and the whole class had to suffer through it all."

"Oh, Perry," Sadie says sympathetically. "Do you want me to make you some hot chocolate?"

Perry visibly perks up at this. "Will you make it with love?"

One corner of Sadie's lips lift up. "Maybe."

"I want to drop out of college too!" Drew practically spits out.

Sadie rolls her eyes and laughs. "Yes, Drew. I'll make some for you, too."

Colin shakes his head at the whole exchange. Life in their apartment has been livelier with Sadie around. As much as he hates to admit it, Colin has gotten used to Sadie's presence. Or maybe it's because he's been too busy dealing with all those exams.

Days tend to go by when there's so much stuff to do. He's hardly had any time to sleep, much less mope about Sadie staying with them. In the short time she's been here, however, both Perry and Drew seem to be steadily growing closer to her.

She and Drew are always falling into easy conversations. They'd been quizzing each other on some of their lessons and always tried to get Colin to join. Perry has been a little bit scarce, with all his tutoring and schoolwork, but he pretty much sidles next to Sadie whenever he gets a chance.

"You know what," Perry says. "Let's go out. All four of us. Let's have fun. I need happiness to mend my broken heart."

"You're the one who stood the girl up," Colin says. "If anything, you broke her heart."

"My heart weeps," Perry retorts with his usual exaggerated flair. "Let's go out. I love you guys so much that I'm willing to spend the money I saved up for the date, so food's on me."

It's this that catches Drew's attention. He looks up from his laptop screen, away from whichever episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine he's currently watching. "Where to?" he asks with a lottery-winning smile.

"Where do you want to go, Sade?"

Sadie shrugs. "It's your heart that needs mending."

Colin tunes them out and refocuses back on his paper. He's hardly had any sleep last night (or the whole week, for that matter), and as much as he wants to spend his Saturday having fun, he doesn't really have the liberty to do so.

He's just reached the nine-page mark when Sadie sets a steaming mug next to him. "Here's yours."

"I didn't ask for some," he says, but the rich aroma of the chocolate wafts from the mug and Colin's hand itches to grab it.

Sadie just rolls her eyes.

"What about you, Colin?" Perry asks him, holding a mug of his own.

Colin blinks. "What?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Oh. I won't be coming with you," Colin says. "I'll be heading to the public library to return the books I borrowed."

"Hey, isn't the library close to that arcade that just reopened?" Drew looks almost like a child as he says this, especially with the whipped cream mustache on his upper lip. Whether he isn't aware or just doesn't care, however, is a little unclear to Colin. "I want to go."

"That sounds fun," Sadie says, and Perry immediately agrees.

There's an easy smile on her face, Colin notices. While she's still far from how she used to be, Sadie has definitely brightened up a bit. She smiles more often and no longer holes up in their room. Even so, she still seems to be on-guard, like she was keeping some distance between her and them, barely noticeable but nonetheless existent.

Colin watches her in secret, waiting until she gets preoccupied (this time with her laptop) before reaching for the mug she'd given him. When he's sure she isn't looking, he takes a small, tentative sip.

Unlike Drew's, Colin's mug isn't topped with whipped cream. It's something that reminds Colin just how much Sadie knows about him from having grown up in the same town. He has never been a big fan of whipped cream, ever since he was a child, but what surprises him is how Sadie managed to pick up such a small detail.

Just as he's thinking this, Sadie suddenly looks over. She sees the mug in his hands and Colin immediately sets it down.

A small, knowing smile blooms on her face.

◇

It's half past three when Colin finally finishes his paper. Part of him wants to proofread it and make sure his caffeine-induced words actually make some sense, but a more prominent part of him is just exhausted and wishes to be done with it.

He gives it a short, perfunctory speed-read before finally uploading it to the assignment bin. Let Jesus take the fucking wheel.

They leave the apartment soon after, with Perry and Drew both growing antsy in their excitement. Whatever woes Perry has been harboring about that girl he'd stood up have quickly been forgotten.

They take the bus, which isn't as crowded as it usually is on weekdays. The ride was pretty quick. Soon, they were getting off at the public library. The arcade was still a block away but the bus doesn't go through there so they'd have to walk the rest of the way.

Colin nods to the direction of the arcade. "You guys go ahead."

"We don't really mind waiting," Sadie says.

"Um, yes," Perry says, "we do."

"We definitely do."

Sadie's mouth drops open. "You guys have absolutely no loyalty, do you know that?"

"Pshh. Let the boring dude do his boring stuff." Perry gives Colin a mock grimace, before turning to Sadie with a smile. "Cool kids like us don't have to wait."

Sadie looks over at Colin, like she was making sure he's fine with all this. Colin waves them away and starts to climb up the stairs leading to library's doors. When he reaches the landing, he sneaks one last glance to see their retreating figures and sees Sadie laughing at something Perry is saying.

Both Drew and Perry have been very attentive of Sadie. Colin knows that the real reason why Perry wanted to go out today was for Sadie's sake. Whether they were doing it consciously or not, the two of them are always keen on trying to cheer Sadie up.

Colin wonders if they know that Sadie often cries herself to sleep at night. Does she talk about whatever's eating her up with Drew? With Perry? Is she aware that he knows? That he sometimes wakes up to her quiet sobs?

Almost as though the universe is trying to answer his questions, he finds himself running into none other than Daniel.

"Colin?"

Daniel is holding three books in his hands and is quick to offer Colin a warm smile.

Colin nods by way of greeting. "Hey." He quickly scans the call numbers on the shelved books before re-inserting one of the books he borrowed in its proper placement.

Daniel does the same for one of the books in his pile. "So, how's it going?"

"Midterms sucked," Colin replies.

"Yeah." Daniel shakes his head. "That Accounting exam was absolute murder."

"I know." Colin isn't really one for small talk, so he immediately returns the last book he's holding and tries to make his escape. "Hey, it was nice seeing you, man. My friends are waiting for me outside. I'll go ahead."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Daniel gives him another easy smile, but Colin can almost sense his apprehension. Just as he leaves the aisle, Daniel says, "How's Sadie doing?"

Colin stops instinctively, immediately regretting it and wishing he'd just pretended not to hear. He turns back. "She's okay."

Daniel doesn't look too convinced. "It's just that, well—she's been missing some of our classes."

This, Colin is surprised to hear. As far as he knows, she's been leaving the apartment and going to class like everyone else.

"I'm not really sure if she talked to Finney for a different exam schedule," Daniel tells him, "but she didn't show last Wednesday when we had our midterms."

"What?"

"She wasn't there. Finney called her name during attendance thrice and she didn't show."

What the fuck?

"I know I'm not really in any position to worry," Daniel admits with a defeated smile. "I can't help it. Will you talk to her? Please?"

Colin leaves the library feeling thoroughly confused. Why on earth would Sadie miss an exam? She left that day. Colin knows because she got to the bathroom first that morning and Colin was almost late for his class because she took her time showering. She left the apartment first and headed to the campus together with Perry.

He really, really, really has no intention of concerning himself with whatever shit's going down on her life, but what the fuck is she doing?

◇

"Eat shit, motherfucker!" Perry shouts as KO flashes on the screen. It earns him a couple of glares from some nearby adults and a number of kids look over in curiosity.

"I demand a rematch." Drew pushes his jacket's shirt sleeves and picks up another token.

"Okay." Perry gives him a self-satisfied smile. "I mean, are you sure you really want to go through another painful defeat?"

This is the scene Colin walks into when he finally gets to the arcade. Surprisingly, Sadie isn't with them. So much for being attentive to her. Put these two idiots in the arcade and they'd pretty much basically forgotten about everything else but the consoles in front of them.

He looks around and low-key tries to spot her curls in the crowded arcade. It's not that hard to spot her, despite the number of people milling around and the flashing lights all over the place. She's playing that game where you drop coins in the hopes of making others fall out.

The conversation with Daniel is still fresh in his mind. He watches her for a moment as she focuses on the machine in front of her, waiting for the right moment to drop a coin.

"Ha!" Drew yells from beside Colin. "Comeback is fucking real, bitch!"

It seems as though Drew has actually this round. Perry's face has visibly turned sour and Drew has a self-satisfied smile on his face. Colin watches the two of them, amused.

"Another round," Perry says.

Drew shrugs, smiling at Perry to rile him up even more. "I'd rather we stop here so you spend the rest of the day sulking from your defeat."

"You're just scared. You scared, Santiago?"

"Yes," Drew replies. Colin can't actually tell if the dude's being honest or he's just trying to rile Perry up. "Heya, Colin. How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to know I can kick your sorry asses and beat both of you."

"Oh, it's on," Perry huffs. "It's so on."

"Bring it," Colin replies, claiming the seat in front of the console.

Perry and Drew fight over who gets to play, arguing about changing the loser. Colin hides a smile, drumming his fingers on his seat as he waits for them to sort it out.

"I could hear you guys from way over there."

The three of them turn to see Sadie emerge from the crowd to join them.

"I'm also pretty sure I heard a bunch of younger kids saying 'eat shit, motherfucker' over there," she adds, giving Perry a pointed look.

"I take absolutely no responsibility for that."

She shakes her head, laughing, and then spots Colin sitting in front of the game. "You're playing?"

"We're nice enough to let the boring dude play. Hey, do you want to take a turn?"

"Sure," she says, and both Perry and Drew immediately usher her into the seat.

Colin scowls at her, feeling his good mood dropping almost immediately. He doesn't want to play against Sadie. He wants to kick Perry's ass. Then Drew's ass.

They might think of him as the boring dude but truth is, he and Clark grew up playing video games all day, every day, playing rounds and rounds of Tekken and Mortal Combat matches. It's so intense that it always ends up with one chucking the controller to the other, effectively earning them a scolding and a bruise to show for it.

Now, Sadie takes her seat.

"Sadie, you've got to beat Colin," Perry tells her as they both drop tokens to start the game.

"I got this," she says.

Colin scoffs.

The match starts and Colin begins to his flurry of attacks. Perry and Drew are shouting incessantly behind them, coaching Sadie and telling her to shield, shield! or move back! Just as Colin expected, Sadie's no match for him.

Sadie's health bar keeps dropping, with Colin's pretty much untouched. Sadie's shrieking, mashing the buttons in vain, but just when she's about to die, Drew starts tickling his sides.

"What the fuck!" Colin yells, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. "Stop it!"

"Go, Sadie, pound him!" Drew yells.

Colin tries to elbow him, but Perry also joined to tickle him. He's thrashing around, all while trying to get those last few hits against Sadie's character. She's slowly gaining on him, his health bar rapidly dropping as he loses control.

"Babe, you got this! Show him who's boss, Sadie!"

"Sade, one more, one more, one more, one more!"

"Motherfucker!"

KO flashes across the screen. The two traitors immediately release Colin to congratulate Sadie on her "win."

"See, we knew you could beat him!"

"EZ," Sadie says, laughing.

"You cheated!" Colin's furious. He could feel his nostrils flaring, but the three of them just keep celebrating. "That doesn't count!"

"It's okay, Colin." Drew gives him an innocent smile, but Colin knows better than to trust this traitor. Dogs were supposed to be loyal. "You can still be our friend."

"Come on, let's go try other games," Perry says.

"I want a rematch!"

"Nah, this game's too boring, right, Drew?"

"Mm-hmm."

Sadie's laughing, but when she catches Colin's eyes, she gives him a vaguely apologetic look. "Sorry about them."

Colin scowls. "That was clearly not a win!"

"The game doesn't lie, Colin," Drew says, swinging his arm over Colin's shoulders. "It's okay. We've got all day to play."

◇

Apparently, what he really means is that they have all day to cheat. Over and over, they help Sadie stack up wins against Colin on pretty much every game, leaving Colin salty as fuck for the rest of the day.

He is, however, proud to say that he'd managed to snag a few wins, despite his traitorous friends and their efforts to keep him from winning. He had beaten Sadie in a heated air hockey game. Also in a racing game.

He did, however, suffer some embarrassing defeats. He has never been particularly sporty, and she pretty much kicked his ass in shooting some hoops. When he was in high school, he and Dexter basically spent their days playing League of Legends instead of practicing an actual sport. Sadie, being Sadie, learned to play basketball because some kid in the block told her that girls couldn't play.

She's not particularly great or anything, but she was by far in better form than he was, and was able to get more points even without his friends helping her out.

By the time the clock hit seven, Colin was exhausted and hungry. He'd been trying to drag them out for the past fifteen minutes, but Drew insisted on getting that stuffed bunny from the crane game for Sadie.

Unsurprisingly, Perry turned it into another contest. "I bet I can get the blue one from here," he told them.

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, it was clearly becoming clear to Colin that they won't be leaving anytime soon.

"Guys, I don't really need it," Sadie tells them.

"It needs you," Drew replies without missing a beat. "Look at that poor bunny. It's just begging to be saved."

"Besides," Perry interjects, giving her a quick wink, "cute things look good together."

Colin groans, glaring at all three of them.

After around five more attempts each, the two idiots start fighting, trashtalking each other even though neither of them have been successful. They argue over who gets to use the last token and Colin's irritation rises. Without thinking it through, he shoves himself between them and says, "I'm going to get it, and then we're leaving."

"Oh, you think it's easy?" Perry narrows his eyes at him, as if to intimidate him. He angrily hands him the last token. "Fine. Let's see you try."

Colin looks at the positions of the stuffed toys, figuring out which ones to avoid and which one to go for. The peach-colored bunny looked like an easy target, positioned well enough for the crane's claws to gather it up. He inserts the token in the slot.

"I really, really want you to fail but at the same time I'm rooting for you," Perry says.

"Right?" Drew says. "I've never been this confused in my life."

Colin shushes them and begins to move the claw. He positions it well, examining it closely, and waits for it to stop swinging before making his next move. He pushes the button and the claw descends down.

It lands at the perfect spot and the bunny is gathered up. Colin knows that this is the tricky part, since the claw swings wildly once it starts moving again, but all that's left is for him to hope for the best.

"Dude," Drew says. "Dude, dude, dude."

"Holy shit, is this it?"

"Dude."

The four of them watch as the claw moves closer and closer to the slot.

"Oh, my god, you fucking beast." Perry shakes his head, looking happy despite himself.

Colin can hardly believe it either. They hear a muffled thump and Drew ducks to reach for the prize. He fishes it out and holds it up in the air.

"You did it!" he says, giving him an unnecessary hug.

"Get off me." Colin pushes him away, trying to inhale as little as possible because he really can't stand his Axe deodorant.

The bunny looks bigger now that it's out of the machine. Drew tries to hand it to him, but Colin just shakes his head. "You were the ones who wanted it."

"Aw, don't be shy." Perry's smile is nothing but mischievous. "We know you tried hard so you can get it for Sadie."

"No, I didn't."

Colin hands it to Sadie. She catches Colin's eyes, and at that moment, she looks so much like her former self that Colin finds himself staring right back.

"I knew you always had a soft spot for me," Sadie says, her eyes gleaming. "Thank you for this."

Colin's ears heat up. "I wasn't—I didn't—I didn't get it for you. I just want to leave but these idiots won't listen. And I don't have a soft spot for you!"

Sadie, of course, looks the least bit convinced. She hugs the stupid bunny to her chest and gives Colin the subtlest of smiles. "Okay."