Notes:

Additional Cast:

Emily Bett Rickards as Emma Taylor

Rebecca Romijn as Rebecca Marie Ford

Timothy Olyphant as Nicholas Ford

Nolan Gross as Benjamin Gerrard Ford

Sophie's POV

When my class ended, I was feeling so tired and sleep-deprived I could barely stand. I was up studying all night super stressed for today's test, which I nailed, thank you very much! But I am soooo tired. All I want right now is to sleep and cuddle with Ro, so I pick up my phone and call her.

"Hey pretty girl". Ro always speaks first even when I'm the one calling her, which I will admit, find so cute!

"Hi babe! Where are you?" I can hear voices along with hers.

"With Sam, we have a documentary to film about the homeless, so we are hitting the streets to find locations! Oh, how was the test? Did you nail it?" She sounds out of breath.

"Yeah I pretty much did." I say proud of myself.

"Oh, my girlfriend is so smart! I feel so lucky, babe! I can be the trophy wife for you when you become rich and famous." She is being a dork, a supportive dork, but still a dork.

"Shut up, you dork! Is it gonna take long? I wanted to cuddle today. I missed you". I kinda hate it when she makes me sound needy.

"Hold on a sec, babe!" There is a pause but I can hear her talking to Sam and some other faint noise... where are they exactly?

"Sorry pretty girl, but we have found an old yard with a lot of street people, so now we are intervening them... It's gonna take a while..."

"It's ok, babe, I'll probably go home and take a nap." I lie because I really wanted her with me, but I know she is busy and I don't want to make her feel bad.

"Ok pretty girl, I'm sorry we can't cuddle. I will call you tonight."

"Yeah, sure. Have fun! Tell Sam I say hi!" She ends the call and I hate it. I wanted my Ro cuddles, damn it. I don't want to feel jealous or anything, but I wish she could ditch Sam and come home to me. Soph, stop being clingy!

When I get home I make some lunch for Joss and I and after a 30' hot bath I am all warm and cozy in my bed. It doesn't take long for me to doze off after that. Next thing I feel her arms hugging me from behind, spooning me. I don't have to turn to know that it's Ro. Her mango shampoo fills my nostrils and my skin feels warm along with my heart. She doesn't say anything and I close my eyes to fall back to sleep, feeling her breathing heavily as well.

I wake up again when I hear TV sounds from the living room, which means Joss is home and in my sleepy state I smile. It's nice to know that you are surrounded by people you love and love you back, and at this moment I feel content.

I wake up for good when I feel Ro peppering kisses and squeezing me with all her might.

"Ro, you are suffocating me!" I mumble and she responds with more kisses.

"Wakie wakie, sugar mamma! How was your beauty sleep?" She giggles next to my ear and my heart races. I love her laugh and her giggles.

"Mmmmm good, got better when you got here. Thought you had work to do". For some reason I keep mumbling.

"We do, but I could feel you pouting through the phone, so we called it a day. Sam was not happy, and called me whipped, but you totes deserve the humiliation."

She giggles and bites my earlobe, knowing it's my soft spot.

"You are whipped, you know that right?"

"And you are clingy but I don't rub it in your face, meanie." Her sass mood is on and I like challenging her to defeat. I always win!

"Hey, I am not! I just miss you when you are not around. A lot." I pout and turn around to face her, kissing her nose first and then her cheek... her jaw... her lips.

"If you guys are done being gross and cute, the game is on and I got popcorn ready! Get your asses and join me, the others will be here soon so NO SEX." Joss is yelling from the living room ruining our moment. Well at least he didn't barged in like h...

I don't get to finish my sentence when the door opens startling both Ro and me. God, I hate him!

"Joss, what the heck! Knock first!" I yell totally awake now.

"Just wanted to make sure you would get up, see ya in the living room ladies... oh and Robin, please don't call her sugar mamma... it's creepy! " and he is off to the living room. Ro is laughing hard next to me and I facepalm. She gets up first and faces me.

"Get up sugar ma... no sister? No... sugar girlfriend? sugar gal-pal?...sugar-"

"If you finish that sentence, I will smash you PVRIS cds." I glare and she stops mid-sentence trying hard not to laugh again.

Vanessa's POV

It is such a relief coming home and slump on your bed. I was out all day attending my classes, studying at the library, passing by the paper. Mondays are busy enough this semester. All I want right now is get a warm shower and watch the Vampire Diaries new episode with Alice. It is the last season and I am getting too emotional.

But first things first. Alice is at the gym and will most likely be for about one more hour. I grab my things and enter our luxurious bathroom. I have no idea how Nathan and I fitted in here, considering he is quite tall and muscular and... well, what most of basketball players are. Wait, that wasn't fair. He is not like the others. He definitely stands out. With his bright smile that can so easily sweep you off of your feet. And his playful seducing big eyes that are full of mystery. And his perfect hair that falls so wonderfully on his forehead. Or not. It is perfect even when it doesn't fall on his forehead.

I put some music on from my phone. Ed Sheeran is the perfect combination for a warm shower. Or seriously any occasion. I take off my clothes and let the warm water relax my muscles. What was I thinking? Oh yeah, Nathan. When am I not thinking about him really? I am doing a terrible job at keeping him out of my thoughts. But since last week, he has been consuming them in a whole brand new way. He has opened up to me and I can somehow read him better now. Still not entirely though. The more things I learn about him, the more time I want to spend with him. The more time I spend with him, the more I crave him. It is like an endless circle and there is no way out for me. To be 100% honest to myself, I don't know if I want to get out of it. God, this is so difficult to explain, that whenever I attempt to it gives me a headache. But when I am with him, there's no explanation needed. It feels like the easiest thing in the world. I spent one night with him and I can't fight the silly smile that appears on my face every morning since. Or the fact that it widens everytime I get a text from him. We have changed a couple messages since Valentine's day. I check up on him, he thanks me for my interest, he makes a different joke about my onesie, I giggle like a fool. Even under the shower for a God knows how long. The water is cold by now so that's my queue to get out. I put on my onesie thinking of him once again and I wrap my hair with a towel. I check my phone and I am surprised to see it's been only half an hour. I should get the episode ready for me and Alice to watch it right away. She has an early class tomorrow so she has to sleep early as well. I open my laptop and search for the episode while checking my emails at the same time. Skype pops up as I am getting a call from Emma. Woah, I haven't talked to her since Alice's birthday when she called briefly to wish her happy birthday.

"Heeey, Em!" I shout in excitement even before her image is clear enough on the video call.

"Okay, I am officially deaf." She dramatically covers her ears."Nessa, don't you see I am wearing headphones?"

"I know, I miss you too!" I blow a kiss at the camera. "Where have you been?"

"Well, you have the honour to talk to your bff while she is in...", she pauses and pretends to play drums in the air, "London! You can tell by my outfit though. South Europe is still warm while here, well, I had to wear this hideous sweater to keep me warm." She points at the black sweater with the white starts she has on. Her pink hair is in a loose bun. I think she is pretty.

"I find nothing wrong with your sweater! It suits you." I grin at her. "When did you get to London? I thought you were in Spain."

"Just yesterday! Paloma's brother is studying here so we came to visit. It is awesome!" She exclaims. "Even if it is raining and bloody cold but nothing is perfect in life." She says and supports her head on her hand. "What about you, Missy? Fill me in with the latest. "

"Well, you know... the usual..." I shrug.

"Oh, oh!" She lifts her eyebrows up and down. "Something is up! Spill it all!" She commands in a demanding tone.

"Nothing is up." I giggle. "I just had a full boring day and I am kind of tired. That's why I said the usual." I make quotes in the air.

"Yeah right, the usual." Emma mimics my exact move and face expression. How does she do it? "Nessa, I know you since you were still wearing diapers, you can't fool me, little Miss!" She points a finger at me. "You are going to tell me everything when I get my ass back to the other side of the Atlantic ocean in about a month."

"What?! You are coming back?" I sit up on the bed excited. "When?"

"I just told you, little chipmunk. In about a month! I am searching for tickets online right now." She gives me a thumbs up.

"You are coming for real! Wow! That's so so so so great! I've missed you, Em!" I say. "Sometimes it bugs me so much that you are not around and there is an ocean separating us, like literally. Oh and a couple of countries. I wish you were here."

"Oh, are we getting a little sentimental?" She pretends to pitch my cheeks at the camera. "I miss you too, considering you were my first partner in crime. I will be there in no time and we are going to have a blast! What are the plans for spring break?"

"I thought I was your first and one and only partner in crime!" I pout.

"Of course, you still are, Nessa. Now are you going to tell me where are we going to party or should I cancel the tickets?" She raises her eyebrow at me.

"You're threatening me? That's not polite at all!" I chortle.

"It always works though." She winks at me. "Now, do tell!"

"Well, I have no plans yet." Emma facepalms. "But I am going to take care of it! I am sure Alice will have the best idea ever!"

"I am counting on that. Because let's be honest, party planning is not your strong point." She whispers.

"What? I always organized the best surprise parties for you!" I cross my arms offended.

"Yeah, in elementary school maybe. But I still love you for it." She gives me a warm smile.

"I love you too." I beam at her and exhale loudly. "I got panicked now, we have to find something really cool to do for spring break! How long are you staying?"

"Nessa, I want you to be alive and breathing so R-E-L-A-X." She spells the last word and I burst into laughter. "I am planning on staying a couple weeks. My mom sort of remembered she happens to have another daughter and she said she has missed me so I will go home as well. But only with you!" She emphasizes and moves the camera close to her mouth. "I can't stand my family and I know already that I am making a huge mistake coming back home for more than a week."

"Em, they do love you and they do miss you. I told you that when I passed by your house on Christmas, your mom was really sad that you weren't there." I remind her.

"Yeah right." She eyerolls. "It was Christmas, of course she was supposed to miss me. But what about the other days, Nessa? They have barely talked to me three times and I am away for like half a year now." She remarks with anger. "But anyway, I should have known better by now. It isn't a one time thing, it's been happening my whole life aka 18 freaking years." She tries to laugh it off but she can't hide from me.

Emma's wish was always for her family to take notice of her. Her achievements, her failures but that never happened really. Or at least not as much as she wanted to. She is the middle child in a large family with five children. Her oldest sister, Dinah, was the first one, she got spoiled as Emma says. Her second sister, Jane, had the brains so she was the center of attention as well. Emma was born seven years later so she isn't that close with neither of them. Three years after Emma, her mom got pregnant with Marc, their only son, and two years after with Lindsay. According to Emma, Marc is another spoil brat and her parents do acknowledge Lindsay's presence because she is the youngest.

"Em." I give her a concerning look.

"Nessa, I am fine." She reassures me. "Who cares if the Taylors have totally forgotten about my existence when I have all three members of the Adams family on my side?" She moves her shoulders like she is dancing, recreating one of her childhood's signature dance moves.

"You still got it, girl!" I clap my hands laughing.

"I know! Just tell your mom to make this amazing potato salad of hers!" She licks her lips.

"Don't you worry, I'll let her know." I tell her nodding my head.

At that moment, the door opens and Alice steps into the room.

"Hey Vanessa!" Alice says, getting her headphones out of her ears. "Hello Emma!!!!" Alice rushes to me, the moment she sees Emma on the screen.

"Hey girl! I see you keep working out even if you clearly don't need to. Tell us your secret! I try to exercise from time to time but when junk food appears in front of me, I can't say no. I am a sinner, I confess without shame." Emma places her hand on her heart while maintaining a serious tone. "How are you?"

"All good at the gym?" I ask Alice and give her a quick hug as we both try to find some room in the camera for Emma to see us both.

"All great! It really helps me calm my nerves and don't forget my karate moves! It was what I truly needed these days!" Alice answers my question, getting comfortable next to me.

"Maybe you can teach me some basic moves for self defence when I pay you a visit next month!" Emma informs Alice about her plans with excitement.

"Are you really coming? That's awesome! I have discovered so many cool places to hang out!" Alice exclaims enthusiastically.

"Great! I so am! I wonder how you've living without me for this couple months." Emma says cockily and flips her hair. "I can't wait to get rid of this grey sky above me. And the rain. Ew! London sucks!"

"It can't be that bad! Alice had told me so many wonderful stories about it. She has spent almost half of her life over there, right?" I turn at Alice frowning.

"London may look chaotic, but it's magnificent! I have so many memories from there!"Alice says enthusiastically at first and then frowns for an instant. "I can tell you everything you need to see and also I can contact my friends there to help you if you need anything." she adds, but I can understand a bit of enthusiasm abandoned her.

"No, no and no." Emma smiles widely at us. "I really hate it. The only thing that might make me change my mind would be a hot british boy with accent. If that happened, maybe I could stay for another day or two."

"Ok write down the number +44 20 7946 0205. It's my friend's Liam! It's exactly what you wish and guess what! He broke up recently. Tell him Alice says hi" Alice chimes in , finding her cheerful nature again.

"Hmm, I might give him a call if you send me his fb profile and I spent at least 2 hours stalking him to decide if he is worth the call." Emma winks at her playfully. "Enough about me, what about you, Alice? Things have been crazy, I haven't talked to you since your birthday actually. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, it was great! Well Ren, my best friend, decided to pull one of his pranks on our sweet and innocent Vanessa, but I guess everything worked out fine in the end. Also Ren being japanese apologised to her, bowing many times in front of the camera, but we couldn't erase the smirk from his face." Alice narrates the unfortunate incident.

"God, I am still so embarrassed." I puff facepalming.

"Yeah, Nessa told me about it! Ren is so hilarious, that was such a cool surprise!" Emma begins chortling.

"Not so cool but yeah. I am almost over it." I sigh in relief hoping it will be forgotten soon enough.

"So besides your birthday? Anything interesting?" Emma asks with curiosity and winks at Alice.

"Boring classes and projects, but that doesn't stop me from going out. I've met a girl from a selective class last month and-" That moment Alice's mobile rang and a wide smile spread all over her face, when she read the text.

"You met a girl or a boy?" Emma gives Alice a mischievous look. Oh no, I know that look. Alice will soon find out how it is to be interrogated by the one and only Emma Taylor. "I mean it could be a girl, why not? I just had no idea it could be a girl. She must be extremely hot like you to say the least."

"What?" Alice raises her head from her cell's screen. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Of course you didn't hear me, darling. You were too focused on the text you just received." Emma says with a british accent.

"Em, that was terrible. And dangerous for our ears. You should never attempt something like this, ever again." I joke covering my ears.

"As I see it didn't bother Alice a bit. Did it, Alice?" Emma brings the camera close to her eyes and lifts her eyebrows up playfully.

"Did someone say my name?" Alice raised her head abruptly and Emma bursts into laughter.

"Girl, you are so gonna spill everything when I come back!" She points a finger at Alice. "I hope you'll still be able to have fun with your girlfriends on spring break 'cause I am coming with only one goal; having a blast and party hard! Woohoo!" Emma raises her hands up clapping.

"Em, calm down." I give her a scolding glare. She is always so enthusiastic about almost everything. "Come over here first and by then I am sure me and Alice will have organized a very pleasant experience for your spring break plans. We will not disappoint you. Right, Alice?"

"Yeah! Em, you're going to have a blast! Maybe I am not the best at organising stuff, since most of the time I end up on different places, but the entertainment is guaranteed." Alice answers cheerfully.

"Exactly!" I nod my head and raise my hand up for a high five at Alice.

"Okay okay! My expectations are now way high, my dear ladies. Do your best to impress me!" Emma smiles widely at us both. "Now I have to leave your both beautiful faces since Paloma is already ready and so is her brother and they both are waiting for me to get ready which will take quite a time. I might hate this place but I will make an effort to like it more. Or at least, for its citizens to like me."

"Em, you are one of a kind." I remark eye rolling.

"That is a well know fact, darling." She raises her chin up and uses again a british accent in the most ridiculous way possible.

"Emma, it's always a pleasure my dear." Alice joins Emma in her british accent show.

"Goodbye, miss Taylor. Make sure to take a coat with you. I heard the weather is terrible in London these days." I take part in it as well make both of my friends chuckle.

"That was impressive, miss Adams. I didn't know you had it in you!" Emma remarks astonished. "Now I really have to go before they murder me. Bye guys!"

We greet her goodbye just moments before she ends the skype call and continue to talk in a british accent for the rest of the night. Emma Taylor and her ridiculously adorable quips! I hope spring break comes soon, I terribly miss her.

Sophie's POV

I enter the library building holding my hot cup of apple flavoured tea. It's one of my favourite flavors! Anyway, I have a paper to write on a memorable leader, which is Cleopatra of course!

Apart from my assignment though, I've been feeling very anxious this past week, cause in two days, Ro and I will be at my home, babysitting my brother. I try to be calm about it, since this is very important for us, but Ro is being extra calm and cool. She is not meeting my parent's per say, since we will have a limited amount of time with them, but she will spent a weekend with my baby brother. I really hope this weekend goes well, it's an important step in our relationship, you know, meeting the family... but Ro is right, I have met Alex and Kira, practically Ro's family, so I shouldn't freak out. Besides, it's all an idea. We don't need to put extra importance in this.

I go to the third floor, since it's the quietest of the floors, and my floor to go on a busy day, and walk among the studies, heading towards my usual spot near the window. I see a few of my fellow colleagues from my Poli-sci class, as I walk by. The blonde guy that wrote an essay on Kennedy and the brunette girl that sits a few rows next to me and always raises her hand on history related answers and wrote an essay on Alexander the Great. I don't know their names though.

I pass by them when I spot a familiar figure. Nathaniel, wait, Nathan. That's how he wants me to call him even though Nathaniel is more regal. He happens to look up at the same time I look at him and raises his eyebrow. Not knowing what to do, I simply wave my hand and smile politely, as I make my way to my usual desk and sit down. I put my glasses on, take my book and ipad out and make myself comfortable and ready to start working.

"My favourite personal tutor." Nathan grins and sits across me startling me.

"Oh, hey Nathan, good to see you, how are you?" I greet him politely.

"I am good too. Just found myself to this miserable place to grab this enormous wikipedia-like book for a class." He tosses a really heavy book on the desk. The influence of gymnastics on pre teens. Hmm, interesting.

"That's interesting." I point at the book he has.

"Maybe." He shrugs. "I'll let you know when I finish it. If I ever finish it."

"Well, hang in there!" I chuckle as I open my own book. "How is the team going?" Is this the right question to make? What do you ask an athlete?

"The team is kind of screwed up at the moment which gave me the idea to get a look into some things that got my attention in class, like this actually..." He points at his book but then pauses. "Not that I am some kind of nerd who reads books out of the ones that are mandatory for his classes! It has only happened once. Okay, maybe twice. But still, I am no nerd." He brings his hand behind his neck and gazes into my eyes to make sure I bought his little act.

"Give me a second." I say and get my phone out. I type 'Athletes that are nerds' and open the first article that pops up. I skim it and then give the phone to him. "Here.These are high profile athletes that have the 'Nerd' label." He takes the phone and looks at it with widen eyes.

"Shut up, Michael Jordan has a bachelor degree in geography? I had no idea." He nods his head impressed and hands me back my phone. "Okay, so I guess I got busted. I do that occasionally, you know, just dig in the things I find interesting. But if you tell my secret, I will have to kill you Sophie Lillian Ford." He whispers and gives me a smirk.

"You secret is safe with me. Really, I swear." I say truthfully and bring my hand on my chest above my heart.

"Thank you, Sophie." He chortles. "It was kind of a metaphor. Sort of." He raises his eyebrows at me. "So, yeah the team is doing like crap and our disqualification is most likely going to happen this Friday. Are you coming to boo us properly?"

"I would never boo you, you are my friend, yes? Friends are supportive, right?" A weird smile appears on Nathan's face as I go on. "But, no, unfortunately Ro and I won't be able to be there this week." I say apologetically.

"You won't, huh?" He lifts his eyebrows up playfully. "What's the special occasion? It's your four-month anniversary or something?"

"Um... no, we are not the kind of couple that celebrates every month." I giggle. "But, to answer your question, we are going to my hometown. I have babysitting duties." I would hardly call it 'baby'sitting but I can't find another word.

"Yeah, that kind of celebration sounds way too cheesy to me too. But Robin does cheesy so it crossed my mind." He remarks successfully. "You have a baby sibling?"

"I have a 6 year old brother, yes. Benjamin Gerrard Ford." I smile as a proud sister. "Do you have any siblings?" I have no idea about his family status.

"Benjamin Gerrard Ford? Is it a family tradition for all of you to have a rail of a name?" He comments smirking. "And yes, I am unfortunate enough to have a 8 year-old little monster as a sister. Katherine no middle name Parker. She goes by Kate."

"Um, yes, it is a family thing. My mom's family has a love for middle names, they all have one. Oh that's great! I wish I had a sister. Boys are cool though." I go to my gallery and find a picture of Benjie. "Here." I give Nathan the phone.

"That's a damn proof. Boys are way cooler. And that's why I'd wish I had a brother. Or at least be an only child. Is he into sports? He is climbing like a real monkey as I can see. He almost reminds me of Kate. Wait." He takes out his phone as well and after a little research he shows me a picture of a little curly girl hanging upside down from a tree-house.

"Oh my God, she is so cute!" I look at the girl and then at Nathan. "You don't look alike. Do you look like your mom or your dad?" I ask looking at the photo again.

"Thank God as people say, I look like my dad." He eyerolls. "Kate looks more like mom. I hope it's just the looks though." He forces a fake smile. "You and Benjamin on the other hand are 100% siblings. He's like you but with short hair."

"Thank you, people say that a lot. He is way cooler than me though." I shrug, because it is true. My brother has more friends at the age of 6 than I have now. "Can I ask you a question?" I look down at my book.

"What was that? You, not cool? You are one of the coolest people I know, Sophie." He winks at me. "Go ahead with your question, I hope I won't regret it." He thinks I am cool? For real? I think he is cool too.

"Joss is the baby brother of the family, Ro, Vanessa and Alice have no siblings, so you are the only one, who is the oldest sibling." I say as I drink some of my tea. "Did you love the idea of having a baby sister? I mean, were you happy to learn that you will be a big brother?" There is a reason I am asking that.

"Well..." He looks at me puzzled and narrows his eyebrows. "If I had to make a trip down memory lane, um, I would say I was pretty excited when my parents broke the news to me. I was ten and even if I had a really good friend that was like a brother and actually he still is, I just kind of wanted a brother of my own, you know? The sex of the child was held a secret and when Kate was born I was kind of disappointed at first but I got used to her driving me nuts. She is a sassy little princess but my secret weakness as well I guess, even with the age gap and all. Why are you asking?"

Ok, this is a dark moment from my pre teen years. Given that Joss was the youngest, he couldn't really understand my situation and it is something that's been making me feel guilty for a while.

"I was jealous when he was born." I say guilty. "I just wanted to know if this is something all siblings feel, towards their siblings."

"Oh, little Sophie." Nathan stands up and sits right next to me. "Siblings exist to make our life miserable and make us occasionally hate and envy them, but you know at the end of the day they are those spoiled baby brats we would do anything for." He says with a soft smile and rubs my shoulders.

That makes me laugh, but I stop immediately, since this is the library. Pfff, I feel so much better now! I always felt guilty feeling this way the first two years Ben was born, but one day my mom made me babysit him and he got hurt while I wasn't paying attention being angry at them for making me look after him. He ended up with 2 small stitches on his chin. That was the moment that made me realise how much I love him, and promise myself and him that I would be the best sister ever.

"Oh, yes you are right, I would do anything for him. You are a good brother, Nathan. Thank you for this." I smile back at him.

"I hope I am a decent one." He shrugs awkwardly and goes back to his previous seat across me. "So everything alright between you and Ro? I hope she treats you good, she is pretty whipped after all." He is not the first to have called Ro 'whipped'. Is she really?

"Things are going great, so far. She treats me more than good, to be honest. She is perfect." I feel my cheeks reden.

"Oh man, she got you whipped as well." Nathan raises an eyebrow at me. "I'm glad to hear that. Let me know in case that changes. I doubt it really but I got your back, Sophie Lillian Ford." He states and gives me another smirk.

"I doubt it too. She is really sweet, and thoughtful. She gave me the most romantic presents for Valentine's day. But thank you Nathan, I am at your disposal as well." I give him my hand for a handshake. I opt not to tell him the whole Valentine's day distraction but only the good part.

"I do appreciate it, Sophie." He shakes my hand back while maintaining a serious look. Or trying really. He ends up struggling to hold his laughter. "Of course Ro would be a sucker for Valentine's."

"Yes." I giggle. "Did you do something on Valentine's Day? I mean on February 14th."

"I've heard the term before." He teases me. "I..." He pauses and thinks about it for a second. "I think I went out on some kind of a date." He says frowning just like he just realized it.

"Did you have fun?" I ask, hoping this isn't too gossipy.

"Yeah, I did." He nods his head and smiles at the floor. "I don't know. It's weird." He makes a grimace.

"It's a simple yes or no question, though. Did you or not?" How can someone not know?

"Well, if you put it that way, it's a big fat yes. But I don't do dates so... it's weird." He repeats and narrows his eyebrows.

"Dates are weird, or the feeling when you are on them?" he is confusing me.

"I don't know. I don't go on dates. I mean I go on dates but they are not dates-dates." He air quotes. "I don't have a problem with that or the feeling that goes along."

"If I were Robin I would probably say you have a fear of commitment, but I am Sophie so I say that maybe you haven't found your person yet."

"But what if..." He doesn't complete his sentence and shakes his head instead. "You know what, this is getting really weird." He raises his hand up like he wants to keep away the thoughts from his head. "Plus, I wasted enough of your time and as I see you have a ton of big dusty law books to get your hands into. So, I should probably go." He stands up. "It was nice seeing you, Sophie." he gets up taking his book with him.

"Nice seeing you too, Nathan, you are a very interesting person. We should hang out again." I smile at him.

"You are way more interesting than me, so count me in." He tells me before heading to the elevator.

Ok, I seriously take back every diminishing thoughts I had about Nathan. He is not what he appears to be, just like me. Hmmm, life works in mysterious ways.

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

Friday came sooner than I hoped. As my last class ends, I get out of the classroom and text Robin to see if she is already here and ready to go. When I get her reply, I march to the parking lot. She is waiting for me leaning on the driver's door of my car with her arms crossed. She is wearing her favourite Ray Bans, a red flannel and her black skinny jeans. Her hair in loose curls and a snapback.

I approach her and immediately take the hat off her head.

"Hey I like my hat!" she complains trying to take it back.

"I will not let you wear a snapback when you meet my mother for the first time. I love it on you, babe, but the dress code demands its removal."

"Fine, but I get to wear it whenever I want after today and you will not complain. Capice?" she takes the snapback with a huff and goes to the passenger's seat.

I giggle at her threat and blow her a kiss as she gets in. Once I get behind the wheel, I start the car. When we reach the city limit, she asks me to pull over, and I can guess the reason why.

"Did I kiss you today?" she unbuckles and leans towards me.

"I think you forgot. I feel neglected." I say unbuckling as well. She lays her hand on my stomach rubbing my skin through the fabric.

"I can change that, pretty girl." Her hand goes under my top burning me,distracting me momentarily. We spend a song making out, things get heated as her hand goes wild on me, groping me, moving inside my jeans.

"Ummmm... babe, we can't get into that now. Please don't tease, ok? We need to be there in time." I say removing her hand from my jeans.

"Ok ok, couldn't stop, babe, sorry." Ee sit properly again and I start the engine.

3 hours passed by quickly. Robin snapped a ton of pictures with her camera, because of course Robin would take it with her to caption sceneries and her muse a.k.a me. Yep, I am someone's muse. She makes me feel like a star.

She takes a picture of the sky with the phone and uploads it on instagram tagging me as well, and a snapchat with me driving and her singing along with The Black Keys.

We arrived at 15:38 and as I turn off the engine, I see my dad getting out off the house carrying two suitcases to his car. I get out excited and run to his arms, startling him.

"Dad! I missed you!" I say wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Oh hon, you caught me off guard! Welcome home." He kisses both cheeks. "I see we have company. Who's your friend?"

I, God, I forgot about that! Oh lord, please don't let anything bad happen. I turn to face Ro who is right next to the the passenger's door, signaling to her to come closer, feeling nervous as ever. My dad is meeting my girlfriend for the very first time. But he doesn't know she is the love of my life and that breaks me at this moment. I feel like I live a double life, with my friends knowing and my parents being completely in the dark. I am lying to them and disappointing Ro at the same time...

Ro comes to the rescue as she stands next to me putting her hand discreetly on the small of my back and the contact calms me a bit. With her other hand, she goes for a handshake.

"Hello Mr. Ford. My name is Robin Summers and I am a friend of Sophie's. Thank you for letting me stay in your house." She gives him her charming smile.

"So you are the infamous Robin, Soph and Joss were talking about! Nice to meet you, Ms. Summers, you can call me Nick. We are happy to have you." He looks at me and nods towards the house. "Let's get inside ladies. Your mom is waiting for you, she is making tea for you."

Ok, one parent down, one more to go.

We get inside and the first thing I hear is plates clacking in the kitchen. Seconds after, my mother is standing in front of us.

"Honey, it's so good to see you!" She is hugging with fervor and I hug her back sighing.

"Oh dear, Sophie, you look like you have lost weight. Are you not eating well?" My mom is cupping my cheeks, inspecting me.

"Mom, I am fine, relax, I eat pretty well actually. Homemade food." I tone the homemade because she hates junk food.

"Great sweety, don't forget about this year's check up, ok? We have to keep track of these things."

"Yes mom I know. Don't worry, I will schedule an appointment". I eye Robin standing awkwardly next to my dad and I realise I haven't made introductions. "Umm, mom this is my friend Robin. Robin this is my mom, Rebecca." Her head turns to her and she smiles brightly, and I look at Robin to give her a little smile, as she looks at my mother looking kinda sad I think.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." My mom flushes her infamous smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Ford, you have a lovely house." Ro smiles back politely.

"Thank you. Come on let's go to the kitchen, I made tea for you girls. Sophie, please sit with our guest while your dad and I get ready for our departure." She leaves the hall heading to their bedroom upstairs and my dad goes back outside to the car.

We have our tea and cookies on the table when both my parents come to the kitchen.

"Sweety, we are ready to go. The guest room is cleaned up for your friend and I left money for you in your room. You will have to go get Ben from school, make sure to be there at 17:00. I have food for you in the oven and a phone list on the fridge." Mom instructs me as a make a mental 'to do' list.

"Mom, I am 18, we will manage." I say as we hug each other goodbye. They exchange handshakes again with Robin and leave us. When the car is gone, I finally relax. This went well. Nothing bad happen. They seemed to like her... What if they could tell she is my girlfriend? What if my mom figured it all out? She would have said something, right? They would be so calm and friendly... no, they can't tell. You are being a paranoid again, Soph...

I turn to face Ro and the image cracks me up. She is drinking her cup of tea completely unfazed about the situation, dipping cookies in it. How can she be so freaking calm about it? And who dips the cookies on their tea?

"Nice to know you are not freaking out here." I puff annoyed.

"This tea is amazeballs. And the homemade cookies? Babe, you got to take the recipe from your mom." She chews like Brad Pitt in ocean's Eleven.

I give her a- are you freaking kidding me- look and she winks.

"I'm going to unpack. Drink your tea and then we can go pick up Ben from school." I point upstairs.

"Mmmm yes babeee, oh look cinnamon cookies!" She grabs greedily the cookie and I shake my head. It seems I will be babysitting two kids this weekend.

At 16:55 we are parked outside Ben's kindergarten. Kids get out running towards their parents and from the distance, I see Ben putting his backpack on his shoulder. We get out of the car and he spots me right away. With a wild grin, he runs towards me with open arms.

"Munchkin!" I kneel down waiting for him. His arms hug my neck and his head falls on my shoulder.

"Soso, I was so excited to see you, I couldn't sleep last night!" Oh God, he is so perfect. We break our hug and stand next to each other. " Benjie, this is my friend, Robin. She will stay with us for the weekend. Is that ok?" I turn to Robin and the same sad expression from earlier appears again, but I chose not to dwell on that for now.

"Hello, I am Benjamin Ford." He stretches his right hand for a handshake. Robin looks amused as she does the same as well.

"Hello Benjamin. I am Robin. Cool T-shirt." She mentions his star wars t-shirt, Joss's present of course.

"Thank you. Your name is the same as Batman's friend. That's cool." He looks at me sceptical. "I am hungry, can we go home now?" I take his hand and we make our way to the car.

After Ro and I have set the table, we all ate in complete silence. When Ben was done, he started his interrogation. He couldn't stop asking Robin questions about her life, her favourite action movie, If she liked ice cream, football, star wars... it was a long convo, but Robin didn't seem to mind, on the contrary. She enjoyed it.

When Ben was ready for bed with his jams jams, we sat on the couch watching SpongeBob for a while, when Robin got up out of the blue. I looked at her puzzled.

"I have a great idea! We can make a tent and sleep here in the living room! Would you like that,.Ben?" She claps her hands enthusiastically.

Ben gets up as well, jumping like a maniac. "Can we do that Soso? Pleaseeeeeeee!" he gets on his knees begging me and he knows I can't say no. I get up giving my consent as I go upstairs to grab a bedsheet to use as a tent.

It takes us 10 minutes to set the "tent" in the middle of the living room, using 2 floor lamps. We laid down pillows and blankets to make it cozy and we used the cushions to make a "wall" around it for protection. I haven't seen Ben so happy and excited and it's all because of Ro. There is a feeling of domesticity that makes my heart swell. He gets in first and I follow.

"I will sleep on the left side!" Ben says laying down. Up until this moment I hadn't realized that Ro and I would be sleeping together in front of my little brother. I panicked again because it would super uncomfortable and I know it sounds stupid but I don't want to sleep next to Ro in front of Benjie, because we tend to cuddle and reach for each other during sleep time. I look at Ro and she gets what's happening.

"You know what. Since I am the oldest here I will keep watch so you guys can be safe and sound." She says patting Ben's shoulder. I nod in agreement and pat him too. His is looking at her and then he leans forward hugging her and kissing her cheek.

"Goodnight Robin." He lays down waiting for me. Ro leaves the "tent" and I lay down as well cuddling with him while I hear Robin settling on the couch next to us. He is asleep when my phone vibrates and I reach for it, seeing a message from her.

From babe: goodnight pretty girl. I love you.

I smile and text back:

To babe: I love you too. Sweet dreams..

Saturday morning we woke up to Robin making breakfast. I looked at her, all domestic like and it makes me look forward to the future. A future with her by my side, and Ben, Joss and everyone else. We ate quickly because Ben wanted to go to the park so I packed a few sandwiches and fruits so that we can have lunch there. We sat there enjoying our day, Ben and Ro playing with a rugby ball and me taking videos to show Joss and the others.

Our night was equally peaceful. We made popcorn and watched Zootopia which was like the best thing ever. When Ben got to his bed, pouting because we wouldn't be sleeping in the tent again, Ro and I watched an old movie I didn't even know it existed. We knew it wouldn't be wise to get cuddly and coupley, but she held my hand caressing my fingers and whispering sweet nothings to me. She did sleep on the guestroom, despite my change of hearts, and I missed her warmth and her cuddles.

Sunday morning, I decided to wake up first and try to make breakfast for once, but of course I failed, big time. Ben sided with Ro and made fun of me while eating cornflakes as I tried my best to wash the ruined pan. Now I owe my mother a new one.

As my parents were due to arrive at 4, with 2 hours to spare, Ben convinced Robin to watch an animation movie while I went packing. Thirty minutes later, I made my way downstairs carrying my bags, to watch the rest of the movie with them. I stopped on the last step putting my bags down when I heard the conversation they were having...

"I think the princess loves the warrior." Ben said.

"What makes you say that? They are arguing all the time." Robin asks smirking.

"Because they argue. I used to argue with my girlfriend but it was because I liked her."..... Wait what? Girlfriend? My brother has a girlfriend? He is 6!!!!!

"Oh you have a girlfriend?" Robin asks stunned just like me.

"Yes, we sit together and share my sandwich. She is my girlfriend." He says innocently and I feel relieved. As long as it it just sandwiches, we are good. Ben continues talking. "Do you share your sandwiches with a boy?" He asks Robin and I giggle. He is way too cute. I wonder what will Robin say.

"Well... I do share sandwiches with someone but it's not a boy. It's a girl." I freeze. What the heck is she doing?

Ben is staring at her perplexed as she continues. "You see, you like this girl and want to share your sandwich with, well, I like girls as well and I want to share my sandwiches with them. Is this ok?" She asks and I hear uncertainty in her voice.

"That's ok. Girls are pretty, I like them! Some boys can be silly sometimes." He states turning his attention back to the movie.

I walk slowly towards the couch. I feel kinda numb right now. She told him she is gay. She told my 6 year old brother that she likes girls. I feel my blood boil and my fists are clenched. After everything, we talked about me not being ready to tell people, she goes and tells my brother this? Confuse him like that? I mean, will Ben understand what it means? Why did she tell him?!

I find myself next to them. Ben looks at me with a smile. "Soso, come sit, the movie is good so far." and then.."did you know Robin likes girls like I do? Do you like girls as well?" I see Robin stiffen next to him not daring looking at me. I look at Ben and with a cold voice I tell him. "No, I do not like girls Ben." And Robin's head fell. I should have felt awful about this but my anger consumed me.

"Soph..we..-" she tries to speak.

"Not here." I interrupt her coldly, hoping I didn't alert Ben in any way. She got up saying she had to put my bags in the car and left. I sat next to Ben and he hugged me tightly. I need to do damage control, but what can I say?

"So Robin likes girls. Do you know what that means?" I ask carefully.

"I think it means that she will marry a girl one day, like mommy is married to daddy. Like I will marry Jessica Collins one day." He says and I kiss his cheek. He understood pretty well what that meant then... I don't wish to carry on with this conversation so I spent the rest of the movie not talking.

After a while, the door opened and Robin and my parents all stood in the living room. Confused I looked at my watch and it read 16:13. She has been in the car for over an hour.

The minutes that passed were a blur. I avoided Robin at all costs, speaking entirely with my mother as she stood there stiffly. We say our goodbyes, I hugged my brother and minutes later I find myself in the passenger's seat. I turn my head to the right looking outside as she starts the engine. The moment her hand touches mine, I take it away abruptly. She doesn't say anything, she just turns on the radio to my favourite station and we drive away. These were the longest 3 hours of my life.

Robin's POV

Her cold stare broke my heart. I never thought that what I said would cause this reaction. Ben didn't seem to notice the difference in her behavior and kept a sweet smile on his face. As soon as I realized I fucked up, my mind went to autopilot, I got up abruptly making an excuse, and left the house. The moment I sat behind the wheel, I turned on the radio to the maximum and I let myself free. Tears ran down my cheek, staining my t-shirt, creating a mess, but it wasn't bigger than the mess I made. I shouldn't have opened my mouth, stupid... stupid... how could I have been so stupid? I kept crying and crying, my vision blurred and my breath rigid, and a terrible headache that split my head in two. I never thought that she would get angry like that... I didn't want to lie to Ben about who I am... I have never lied about myself to anyone, but now I regret it deeply... I should have asked her first, we should have discussed it together...

I stayed there with the loud music paining my ears, song after song until I calmed down a bit. I wiped away the tears and got presentable again counting my breathing, when I noticed Sophie's parents' car parking in front of the house. I looked myself on the rearview mirror, slapped my cheeks a bit to give them a rosy colour and got out to greet them as smiley as I could, hoping they couldn't see the pained expression in my eyes and the faint evidence of my tears. Inside the house she was avoiding me, as I stood there numb, immersed in sadness. We said our goodbyes and got in the car in total silence and hoping to ease the tense I reached for her hand, but she took it away like it had burned her, but the thing is, I felt nothing but coldness inside me as we drove away. I spent 3 hours experiencing a variety of emotions, from hurt to sadness, to fear, to anger... everything... I swallowed everything because I knew if I opened my mouth this would get worse...

We arrive at her apartment and she gets out the moment the engine is dead, slamming the door, and I sigh, breathing hard, because a fight was coming my way. I get out as well getting our bags quickly getting in the elevator with her... her stance stiff and her arms crossed. Once the doors opened, she walked fast to the apartment and I followed her. She opens the door and walks past by the living room to her room as I get inside the house leaving our bags down, acknowledging a confused and worried Joss on the couch. I give him a hurried nod and march towards her room, shutting the door behind me, facing her back as she stares at the wall.

"I am sorry" I say quietly... I don't want to make it worse by raising my voice. She turns her body around and the anger in her eyes kills me.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Who gave you the right to go and say things like that to my brother?" she asks raising her voice, and I freeze because Sophie never swears.

"I didn't think it was a bad thing to say! I didn't want to lie to him, Sophie, and he asked me a question. Why are you so pissed about that?" I was truly curious as to why she was fuming. I know I should have approached the matter differently, asking her first, but she can't be angry just for that.

"You didn't think telling a 6 year old that you are gay is a bad thing? You didn't think it wasn't your place to tell him about that issue, that maybe it was my parent's job to explain things to him? You've known him for a weekend and you think it gives you the right to shape his opinion and change the things he knows?" She snaps at me.

"What? No, no Sophie it's not like that.! I wasn't trying to do anything... He asked me a question and I answered him honestly! He seemed to understand what I was saying!" I try to explain myself, but she is shaking her head.

"He is 6 for fuck's sake, Ro. He is a kid. He thinks Santa Claus is real!" She brings her hand on her forehead in an exasperated manner.

"He was way more understanding than some adults I've met in my life so far. Don't underestimate him." My voices gets smaller.

"Don't tell me what to think about my brother." She deadpans and I feel my anger coming back. This is not cool anymore. "Didn't you think it would put me on an awkward position? You said you would respect my wish to not tell my parents!" She continues.

"I never said anything about you, Sophie. I talked about myself. You know I would never ask you to come out, but I would never hide who I am, Sophie! I promised myself years ago I would never hide. So I am sorry I didn't hide from your brother!" I am seething. No Ro, calm down... don't make it worse damn it!

"You would never hide like me you mean! If it bothers you so much to be with a closet case then why don't you end it, huh?" She spats and the veins on her neck become visible. End it? What the fuck is she talking about?

"I never said that, Sophie, don't put words in my mouth!" Why is she acting like that? I am confused as hell! "What's got into you? Why the sudden outburst?" It just doesn't make sense. I get closer to her but she backs away. "Sophie, what is this really about?"

"You don't get it do you?" She is shaking her head, breathing hard.

"Get what?" What is it?

"He is a kid, Robin, he doesn't have a filter! He is gonna tell my parents that the girl I brought home is gay." She stopped speaking, looking shocked like me. I don't think she really knew the reason she was angry until now. So that's what's bothering her, huh? Disappointed and hurt, I look her in the eyes and with a calming voice I speak..

"Guess what, Sophie... so is their daughter." I don't mind the tears that fall nor the clench in my stomach. I am done with this, I just wanna go home. She looks guilty and remorseful but I feel broken and worthless. I get out of the room without bothering looking back this time. With my face stained with tears, I walk through the living room, where a concerned Joss is standing metres away from me. I guess he must have heard everythin... I can't speak to him right now, I desperately need to leave this place and I make my way to the door when he stops me.

"Hey, you can't go home like this on your own. Let me drive you there. This bag looks really heavy and you'll need a masculine help like mine." He says with a light smirk trying to make me feel better. He senses I'm not in the mood though quickly and the smirk leaves his face. I don't think I can walk to my house... I feel drained so I nod my head and he takes my bag pretending it weighs a ton, in an effort to light the mood again. He opens the door and after one awkward minute in the elevator we make it to his car. He opens the door for me and I sat, while he puts my bag on the back seats. Once he got inside, he started the engine and with a last glimpse at me, we left.

I could hold myself for 5 minutes. Then I broke in front of him and he pulled over.

Joss takes me in a deep hug and whispers into my ear "Calm down. Everything will be fine. Sophie will come around at the end. She always acts like this. Then she sleeps on it and she knows that she acted awfully. She does that to me all the time." I giggle a bit at that and I feel him smile as well. He might be Sophie's best friend but he has become a good friend for me as well.

"The things she said to me... they hurt." I murmur remembering her words.

"I know. It wasn't very pleasant to hear. But she didn't mean them. She is scared and because of that she builds a huge wall around herself and doesn't let anyone in. All these are new to her." He mutters still hugging me tight.

"Do you know how many times she called me her "friend" this weekend? The term has never hurt me like that before... I know she is not ready but snapping at me was wrong... I have been nothing but patient and supportive but she still won't take that step... Am I not enough for her to do that?" My hands tremble and my eyes water again as I let my fears come alive.

"I am Sophie's best friend, but I have to take your side on that. I know Sophie isn't familiar with any of this, but she has an effort to make too. Being in a relationship has to work both ways and I am saying that knowing that I suck at them. I've seen how you are around her. I see that you care for her and don't ask anything in return. Sophie has to come to her senses and realize that. I would try talking to her, but she's so damn stubborn." He says while his eyes are looking sympathetically into mine.

"You suck at girl talk you know" I say because sorry, but it's true, but I thank him from the bottom of my heart...I wipe my tears and break apart the hug, sitting normally in my seat... "Don't tell her about this please." I look at him and he nods.

"I have to ask for ransom in order to keep my mouth shut." His usual smirk returns.

"Ok... I have like 5 dollars on me. That's all you get." I smirk at him.

"5 dollars can't get me through the day. Also I played Dr. Froyd so I deserve a bonus." He puts his playful face on. "If you can't give me money, food counts as well".I chuckle because he is impossible, but I know he is doing it for me... I turn to look at him again and with a sad smile I thank him. He starts the engine again and 10 minutes later I find myself in front of my house. He helps me with my bag and kisses the crown of my head goodnight and I watch him drive away to go home to her... Is she as sad as I am right now? I open the door and head straight to my room.

I didn't want to think nor feel anything at this point... I was so drained from all this. What started as a great day ended in a nightmare! I don't know if this is on me, on her... should I apologize... do I get to be angry? I have no fucking idea... All I know now is that I am in pieces... She is ashamed of me, of us... Her fear is bigger than her love and I don't know where this is going to go... My phone vibrates and I read a text from Sam.

From Sam: yo are you back? Did you meet your in-laws?

I don't feel like answering because she will know something is up I will ruin her night with Nicky, so I ignore it and switch off my phone as I hug my pillow wishing I could turn back time...

A/N: We hope everyone is enjoying the summer to the fullest! Also, we hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading, commenting, voting and all your support. xx