SAM's POV

It's a Friday night and we 'boutta get the party started!! With my man Jake as the designated driver for tonight's festivities, I was feeling super giddy and excited for once. He so kindly offered to give me, Becca, and Khalil a ride to and from the new pizza place in downtown Manhattan. As soon as we stepped through the door, we heard some music bumping, heard groups of families and friends chatting, and smelled the delicious aroma of freshly baked pizza. And not just any pizza... NEW YORK STYLE!! Super thin, crispy, and hella foldable. 

After we paid for an all-you-can-eat meal ticket and some arcade tokens, we walked into the eating area, which kinda resembled a cafeteria, and glanced at the different kinds of pizzas at people's tables. We peeped at the buffet of chicken wings, french fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, cheesesteak sandwiches, and a lot more as we found a free table just two hops from the buffet spread.

I rubbed my hands together with a huge smile. "This is what I'm talking about! Yo, do you see the size of those pizza slices?"

Jake smiles along with me. "I know, right? They look massive."

"Bro, I'm about to smash!" I excitedly reply.

"It's hella cool in here," Khalil says while looking around the restaurant's colorful but swaggy design. "There's a couple of people from school I see, too. Guess everyone had the same idea."

Becca, who's also smiling really big, takes off her coat and neatly sets it on her chair. I do the same, sitting directly across from her at our table meant for four. I double-take at my bestie who was wearing the flyest light pink tank top and white sweater, and some hip-hugging jeans. Her light brown hair was pulled up into a cute ponytail too.

"Becca, you look so cute today. Oh my gosh," I tell her.

"Thank you, chica! I felt like dressing cute," she sticks out her tongue and glances at Khalil who licks his lips.

"Do you girls wanna get your plates first? We'll watch the table," Jake offers as he takes a sit beside me at the table.

"Yes!" I jump up from my seat and charge the buffet as Jake chuckles.

There were so many options that I felt like going crazy, but I tried to tame myself. I got two slices of pizza and a couple of chicken wings as a starter. I met Becca near the french fries, watching her pile them onto her plate. She also had one slice of cheese pizza. It's the most carbs I've seen her eat in a while.

***

We were finishing up our meals in the dining area. I'd just gulped down a fudge sundae with extra chocolate chips when Khalil asked if we were ready to check out the arcade area. I was super excited, but my body was feeling sleepy and sluggish. Stupid ITIS. I thought food was supposed to give you energy, not turn you into a zombie.

As Khalil and Becca walk hand in hand towards the arcade entrance, I slowly stand to my feet and grab my coat, rubbing my bloated stomach.

"You good?" Jake asks with a knowing smirk.

I pout. "I ate too much..."

He laughs and glances at my stomach. "You need a minute?"

"Nah, let's go."

We walk into the arcade area and my eyes light up at all the games available, not to mention a snack food court and a roller skating rink. We spot Khalil and Becca walking toward air hockey as Khalil throws up a deuces sign. We'll catch 'em later I guess.

"This is nice... almost like a mini-date," Jake says while looking at me. His cute dimples pop out, making me feel fuzzy inside.

"Yeah..." That is all I can reply before breaking eye contact.

"So what should we do first? Basketball?"

"You read my mind..." I chuckle and we walk towards the game.

***

~An hour later~

The arcade was so much fun! We did a little bit of everything from mini-golf to air hockey to bumper cars -- they even had a rock climbing wall! You wouldn't believe this little spot in downtown Manhattan would hold so much space for all these games. It was honestly the most fun I've had in a while. And the cherry on top was having Jake right beside me.

We just finished playing an arcade game, where I won another handful of yellow tokens, and we decided to walk to the prize area to cash in our tokens for some goodies. My wad of tokens was about the size of a soccer ball in my arms; Jake's on the other hand was only the size of a grapefruit.

"You know, your gaming skills are not what I expected them to be..." I tell him as we wait in line at the prize station.

"What?" Jake looks down at his small wad of tokens. "Oh, you mean because I didn't get as many tickets as Miss Cheater?"

"I am not a cheater. I am an improviser..." I chuckle.

"Ha! Okay. So when you slid the hockey puck into my goal with your hand, you were improvising?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, that was only one time. I only did it because my legs were getting numb from standing in place so long hitting the puck into your goal 20+ times," I shrug.

"Oh, that's what it was?"

"Mhm," I grin.

"Well, jokes on you because I actually let you win... so HA..." Jake replies as we get closer to the prize station counter.

"Oh, really?"

"Yup. I'm actually really good at arcade games, but I know how fragile your ego can be sometimes and I didn't wanna break it on our first visit here," Jake says while patting my head with a pitiful expression on his face.

I swat his hand away. "Let me get this straight. So you let me win... let's see," I pretend to count all the tokens in my hand one by one. "One... two... three... four... five... six... seven-- oh, this gon' take a long time. Eight... nine... twenty... forty... hm, sixty times?! I don't know, boo-boo. It looks to me like you wasn't holding back. You just suck!"

"Ha... I wouldn't say all that. That's crossing the line," he replies.

We step up to the prize station where an employee greets us. She takes our tokens and puts them into the token counter. After a few seconds, she announces our totals. My total is 250 while Jake's total was 90.

"Wow. I got more than I expected..." I say with a huge smile on my face.

"All thanks to me. You're welcome," Jake replies.

"Whatever..."

We both chuckle as we glance up at the prize wall. As many tokens as I won, it still wasn't enough to get any of the really big prizes. Among the 100s and 200s scores were silly bracelets, glow-in-the-dark pens, candy, key chains, and other random items. Jake didn't hesitate to grab handfuls of candy which he threw into his reusable prize bag.

"Aye, they have Twizzlers..." Jake says with a smirk.

I jerk my head towards him and spot the pack of strawberry jelly candy in his hand. "Oh my gosh..."

"I'll get you some. Don't worry," he grins before grabbing more packs of candy. "I may have lost a couple of games, but it doesn't mean we gotta go home hungry. I got snacks for days."

"What would I do without you?" I swoon while holding onto his arm. He chuckles.

"You'd be hungry... or at least hungrier than usual."

I grin and focus my attention back on picking some prizes. I decided to get some silicone bracelets and gave Jake a yellow one that says "FRIENDS".

"Friends? Is that all we are?" He lifts an eyebrow and looks at me.

I chew on my bottom lip and grab a pink bracelet that says 'BEST', handing it to him. "Is that better? They don't have anything else."

He slides the bracelets over his right wrist. Then, he takes another set of "BEST FRIENDS" bracelets from the prizes, grabs my left wrist, and slides the bracelets over my knuckles.

"There. That's better," Jake smiles while staring dreamily into my eyes.

I blush a little bit, looking down at the bracelets on my wrist, then grab my prize bag and leave. He follows behind as we walk toward the snack food court.

***

~Later~

The crew and I were sitting at a table eating churros, chicken tenders, and french fries. Me and Jake decided to share a soda while Khalil and Becca sipped on some water. We were laughing and chatting about random things; Becca was resting her head against Khalil as he wrapped his arm around her. Aww, they looked so cute together. Becca was even feeding him a bite of her churro. How did they become so squishy like this?!

"This is so relaxing, isn't it?" Becca sighs.

"This is the most relaxed I've seen you, actually..." I comment, stuffing a fry into my mouth.

"I'm just soaking it all in... you know, it's like I'm having an epiphany," she says in a soft voice. "Life moves so quickly so you have to cherish every moment with the people you love." She smiles up at Khalil with the sweetest eyes.

"Do y'all need a moment?" I joke.

Becca glances at me. "Don't be afraid of affection, Sam. It's human nature. Besides, I know that you and Jake probably be doing the same things behind closed doors..."

"Ew, what?!" I immediately deny, feeling my cheeks get hot.

Jake chuckles. "You're right, Becca. Sam's just too scared to admit what we do... it's kind of cute though."

"Oh, I'm sure," Becca replies. "She tries to play this tough girl act, but she's a total softy on the inside. She might be able to hide from others, but she can't hide from me."

"Anyway..." I respond with a dramatic eye roll. "All mushy stuff aside, this was really fun. I'm glad we could all hang out like this again."

"I'm really glad, too. There's been so much going on lately, it's just nice to have our little clique together," Becca adds. "I'm also glad Jake could join us. You have this secret chaotic energy that we don't see too much in school. It's nice."

"Word?" Jake chuckles at Becca's comment.

"Yeah. It's a good thing! You know how to let loose when you want to, but can also keep it classy," Becca admires him from across the table. "I can see how Sam and you get along so well."

Jake glances at me and flashes a smile. "Well, it's not too hard to get along with you guys. You're cool people, honestly. This reminds me of when we hung out on New Year's Eve."

"That was super fun!" Becca replies while glancing again at Khalil with a smirk. "We gotta do that again in the future with the whole crew! Diggy included."

"For sure. I'd be down," Jake nods his head and grins.

"Speak of the devil..." Khalil sits up taller in his seat, making Becca, who was leaning against him, adjust to his sudden movement. "What up, bro?"

Khalil was talking to someone behind me and Jake, so we had to glance behind us to see who the mysterious stranger was. And what do ya know? Diggy comes strolling up to our table with Dana on his arm looking happy as ever carrying a blue stuffed bunny. Looks like it came from the prize station. When they approach our table, Diggy throws a nod to Khalil who happily greets him, then stiffly glances my way. His eyes look a bit regretful.

"Hey..." is all Diggy replies.

"Watchu doin' here? I thought you were busy," Khalil asks with a smirk.

Diggy shrugs with an uneasy smile, resting his hands in his varsity jacket pockets. "Dana wanted to come here so..."

"Did y'all just get here?" Khalil asks.

"We been here for a good 30 minutes," Diggy glances at Dana. "Played a few games."

"I see we didn't get invited to the party... heyyy, everybody," Dana remarks while looking around at us with a fake smile. I let out a deep sigh and faced Jake, stuffing a french fry in my mouth. He notices my annoyance and squeezes my arm.

"Hi, Dana. We're just hanging out. Thought we'd check out the new arcade," Becca says with a grin, but her mood isn't as upbeat as it was seconds ago.

"It's super nice, right? I told Diggy that we should check it out this weekend. What are the odds of us bumping into each other though?" Dana chuckles.

"Yeah... so weird..." I mumble under my breath, looking down at my nails.

Dana slowly turns her body toward my way as I feel her glancing toward Jake. "Hey, Jake. You're here too. And Sam... of course," Dana greets us in a surprised voice.

"Yep. We're just... chillin'," is all Jake replies. Why does it feel so awkward all of a sudden? Everything was chill, and now Diggy and his new side chick gotta show up and mess up the energy.

"You wanna sit with us? Grab a chair. We're just eating..." Khalil offers, mainly talking to Diggy.

"Uh, sure--" Diggy starts.

"Actually, we were gonna check out some more games. Maybe roller skating before it gets too packed..." Dana replies while nodding and pulling Diggy closer. "It was good to see you though."

"Alright," Khalil replies to her abrupt rejection. "Take it easy." Khalil shoots a piece sign to Diggy, who nods back while Becca waves them off.

"See you later..." Becca says before the infamous couple takes their leave. Once they disappeared, I let out a relieved sigh.

"Dang. You see how she cut my mans off like that? She trippin'..." Khalil says.

"She clearly didn't want to sit with us. But I didn't really want her to either, so..." Becca shrugs as she picks up another snack to eat.

"What's with them anyway? It's like they're always together lately," I speak up, looking toward Khalil for answers. He shrugs.

"I don't know. Boy's just having a good time, I guess," he says.

"So he ain't tell you anything?" I dig deeper, looking for the tea. Diggy knows I never liked Dana; we've had some dramatic moments this school year. I just don't know what he sees in her, and I really hope they're not dating because he could do so much better. But I don't know where his head's at lately since we haven't talked much.

"I mean he told me things, but I don't think they're serious," Khalil spills.

I sigh in defeat.

"But anyway, I don't care if they're together. But it seems Dig's letting her pull him by a string," Khalil says.

There's a small silence as everyone's in thought.

"Enough about them," Jake speaks up. "You guys ready for some more games? We still got a few hours left and I'm trying to make every minute count," he smiles at me.

I grin at my boyfriend and begin to stand to my feet. "Sounds good to me."

Becca grins and sits up straight, glancing at Khalil. "Let's go."

***

DIGGY's POV

"You good?" I ask as Dana walks determinedly toward the roller skating rink, head held high.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You didn't even give me a chance to reply when Khalil asked if we wanted to sit. And you're practically dragging me all over the place..."

"I'm sorry. I just didn't feel like talking... or sharing you. I just wanted you all to myself tonight. I mean, it's like every time we get a night out, we always run into your friends..." Dana says in a whiny voice with her lips in a pout.

"I mean, I understand you wanting some alone time, but are my friends that bad?" I asked in an offended tone.

Dana stops walking as we approach the roller skating rink. We stand near the sidelines as people skate by to the latest pop tune. She faces me, rubbing a hand down my chest.

"Nah, I don't mean it like that. I just wanna focus my attention on you... because I like you," she says with a cute grin.

I glance down at her and shove my hand into my pocket. "I like you too. But I'd also like if you didn't make every decision for me, like who I want to talk to or where I might want to go. I should be able to have some input too."

"Okay, I hear you. I guess I'm just so used to being dominant..." Dana replies, letting her words crawl off her tongue in a flirtatious way as she runs her hands over my biceps.

I chuckle. "I can see and feel that..."

She smiles at my reply. "Alright. So what do YOU want to do? We don't have to roller skate; I was just saying that..."

"You any good at bowling?"

"Hm. I guess you'll just have to see... let's go."

She takes my hand as we walk toward the other end of the arcade.

***

Dana and I played one round of bowling. She was worse than I expected. She couldn't even hit one pin without my help. She kept asking me to show her how to handle the ball and roll it down the lane in a straight line, so I helped her as much as I could. After our first game was finished, we were going to try another round just for fun - and that's when Khalil, Becca, Jake, and Sam made their way over to our area to talk with us.

"Hey!" Becca calls out with a smiling face.

I turn around surprised to see them again and nod a 'wassup'. "Hey!"

"Y'all mind if we join you?" Khalil asks while stepping down onto the tiled floor, casually walking to the seated area that surrounded our bowling station. The others followed behind.

I glance at Dana, who frowns while chewing on her bottom lip, before speaking up. "Nah, that's cool. We were just about to start another game."

"Word?" Khalil nods while looking up at the scoreboard above our station, which has been cleared for the second game.

"Yeah..." My voice trails off as I make eye contact with Sam, who doesn't look as pleased as the others about being here. "The more the merrier. How should we split into teams?"

"I think it'll be fun if we do girls versus boys. What do you think?" Becca asks the group, turning toward Sam who shrugs her shoulders.

"I'm down for smashing the boys," Dana replies with a confident grin, "In this game, of course..."

She sizes up the guys while putting her hands on her hips. I rub my hands together and nod at Khalil.

"Alright. Guys versus girls. Let's go!" I repeat as I walk to the right side of our station with Khalil and Jake, standing in front of the blue and lime green seats. The girls walk to the other seats on the left side of the station, with Dana taking lead of the tablet to enter people's names. As she does that, I attempt to make small talk with the guys. A few minutes later, everyone's names are on the board and we are ready to go.

"Ladies first..." Dana says as she sashays up to grab one of the lighter balls from the bunch and walks onto the slick, wooden floor. She stands in front of our lane, looking back and winking at me, before flinging the ball onto the lane. It wasn't a graceful roll at all and it instantly went into the gutter.

"Wow... I kind of expected better from the cheer captain..." Becca teases.

"I'm just getting warmed up," Dana rolls her eyes and grabs another ball, and tries again. This time, only one pin was hit.

"This'll be easy..." Khalil snickers while looking at me and Jake.

"Yeah... I gotta agree on that," I reply. Dana's not a good player at all, but it's cute.

"It's just the first round. Y'all gonna eat your words later," Dana says while walking back to her seat.

"My turn!" Becca jumps up from her spot and grabs one of the smaller balls. She skillfully holds the ball in her hand and approaches the lane. After a few seconds of deep breaths, she runs forward and rolls the ball down the center of the lane, knocking down 9 pins.

"Aye!! That's what's up," Khalil cheers on Becca while looking slightly surprised at her skill. She smiles big toward us guys.

"Watch and learn, chicos," she says before grabbing another ball and knocking down the remaining pin. She dusts off her hands and walks confidently to her seat, exchanging a high-five with Sam who stands to her feet.

"Impressive," Jake comments while looking up at the scoreboard.

"Thank you," Becca replies. "Sam, let's go! Show 'em who the real ace is."

Sam casually steps up to the plate, grabbing a heavier ball than the other girls and comfortably finding the right placement in her hands.

"Let's go, Sam!" Jake cheers with a grin.

I glance at his bright expression then turn my attention back to Sam. With no time to waste, she walks up to the lane and rolls the ball. It easily travels down the center and knocks all the pins down.

"Nice!" Becca claps.

On her second turn, she grabs another ball and tosses it in her hands a couple of times before bowling a 9. Her laid-back attitude was dripping with confidence as Becca, Jake, and Khalil cheer her on. As she walked to her seat with a smug look and a shrug, Becca gave her a high-five.

"Alright, boys. Let's see what you got..." Dana says while gesturing towards us.

I stand to my feet, ready to show my skills. "Alright."

***

The game of bowling quickly flew by, with me and Sam in the lead. We were no doubt the best bowlers out of everyone else -- probably because this was one of our go-to games when the squad all hung out every weekend. We both easily scored 9s and 10s throughout every frame, you would've thought we played professionally. 

It was the last frame. Sam had just bowled another 10, leading the girls' team score with 220. Becca had the second-best score of the girls and Dana had the lowest score out of everybody. During my last turn, I easily scored two strikes, and the guys cheered me on as we realized that this game was already won. After Khalil and Jake finished their last turn, we beat the girls' team with a whopping 160-point lead! Not too surprised though. I mean, I am the bowling god.

The guys all cheered and we gave each other some skin while the girls watched on in disappointment. Dana was crossing her arms while cutting her eyes at me.

"That was a good game, girls, but... looks like me and my guys one-up'd you today," Khalil smugly says with a huge grin on his face.

"Mhm. Only for today. You got lucky," Becca replies in a competitive tone.

"But you guys still did good..." I begin. "You should be proud of yourselves. You know... just not as proud as us," I tease while shrugging my shoulders confidently.

"We would've done better if someone knew how to roll the ball..." Sam mumbles, clearly referring to Dana.

"Excuse me?" Dana replies with a slight neck roll.

"No offense, but you should definitely stick to cheerleading..." I joke while looking at Dana. Khalil chuckles beside me, but Dana doesn't find anything funny.

"Well, some people should stick to minding their business," Dana grumbles. "So what I'm bad at bowling? Guess I'm not the expert ball handler... like Sam. She loves juggling multiple balls... first Chris, now Jake."

"Dana!" I frown up my face at her disgusting comment.

"What did you say?!" Jake raises an eyebrow and grinds his teeth. His eyes shoot daggers at Dana who appears unbothered.

"Oh, you wanna talk about balls?" Sam speaks up, looking about ready to fight. "Of course you do. You love flirting with anyone who has them. That's why I'm surprised you did so badly in this game... but I guess these ones were a bit too big for your comfort."

Khalil fails at hiding his chuckles.

"Sam! Stop," I demand. These two were getting out of pocket.

"You like 'em small, don't you? More easier to control..." Sam nods with a smirk, slipping her hands comfortably into her jacket while stepping toward Dana. "Guess that's how you got Dig running around you like some puppy dog."

"Hey! Are you serious right now?!" I shout, but the girls ignore me.

Becca notices the tension in my face and grabs Sam's arm, trying to move her away from Dana. "Hey. Just forget it, okay? Let's just go."

Dana smirks and walks her shorter frame in front of Sam, the two girls just inches away. "Oh, sweetie. You can try and paint me like a tramp, but don't act so innocent. Like you weren't trying to get in Chris' pants during Homecoming. And when he wanted something--" she glances down at Sam's sneakers then up at her face, "More classy... you ditched him and quickly seduced Jake."

Sam scrunches up her face. "What are you talking about?"

Dana scoffs. "I see why Diggy doesn't hang out with you anymore. You're sooooo tired and too much drama. And you keep seducing his friends. He deserves better than that--"

"No, he deserves better than some stank trick on his arm acting like she cares about him," Sam bites back. "You're not fooling anybody."

Since almost a minute ago, a couple of arcade-goers had stopped in their tracks watching the situation unfold in our area. I felt the eyes of strangers judging our situation as Dana and Sam went back and forth like ping pong. Why does something always gotta pop off when we're just trying to have fun?

"Diggy deserves a friend who respects and supports his decisions, who doesn't think she's the queen of the world--" Dana gets cut off.

"Oh, like you? Please..." Sam rolls her eyes.

"Don't hate me 'cuz you ain't me. Should've put your listening ears on and your pride in your pocket, Samantha. You pushed him away, now he's mine..."

"What do you mean 'yours'? You don't own him," Sam retorts.

"Nobody owns me!" I shout while standing between Dana and Sam, hoping to prevent any more quarrels. "Can we stop this? We're in public."

"She's the one who started talking--" Sam begins.

"I don't care who started it. I'm finishing it. Let's go..." I command, signaling to Dana to grab her things so we can leave the arcade. Everyone watches in silence as Dana grabs her purse and nods, plastering a grin onto her face.

"Of course, Diggy. Let's get outta here..." Dana replies as she walks past the crew and out of the bowling area. I follow behind her slowly, feeling my face grow hotter with each step.

"I'm sorry, man..." I say to Khalil and Jake, who looks as caught off guard as I feel.

"Aye, don't worry about it. Text me later," Khalil says while dapping me up.

"Jake," I nod toward Jake, and we share a quick, uncomfortable goodbye.

"So you gonna just let her disrespect me like that? And talk about Jake?" Sam exclaims before I get a chance to completely leave.

I sigh and turn around. "I'll talk to her, alright? But both of y'all were outta line..." I reply before leaving the arcade.

***

SAM's POV

I scoff and watch Diggy walk away without another word. No apology, no nothing. "Some friend."

"Girl... that was a bit loco... like what the heck?" Becca says wide-eyed. She shares a glance at Khalil and Jake. "I can't believe some of the things she said."

"Dana was outta pocket, no lie..." Khalil agrees, then hits Jake's arm. "You good? I'm surprised you didn't step up in there."

"Bro, I was about to..." Jake replies with wide eyes, causing Khalil to laugh. Jake's fists were balled up, and his usually cream-colored skin was pinkish-red. Oh, he was angry. "If that's really how she feels about everyone, I don't even wanna talk to her anymore. I didn't expect that at all."

"You and me both," Becca replies. "Honestly, I've seen a lot of new sides to Dana this year and they're not very pretty. It's like, is this the same girl I've known since Freshman year? It's really eye-opening..."

"Can we stop talking about Dana? She makes my butt itch," I groan.

"Sorry. Let's just go, okay?" Becca says. 

"Please!"

After grabbing our stuff, she guides all of us out of the arcade.

***

DIGGY's POV

Me and Dana were arguing in my car as I drove her home.

"You were out of pocket. Just because you were mad about being a bad bowler, you had to go and say all of that? That was super shady," I explain to her with a serious tone.

"I wasn't being shady, I was being real. I spoke how I felt," Dana replies from the passenger seat.

"I know you and Sam never cared for each other, but that's still a friend. If you disrespect her, it's like you're disrespecting me..."

"I was just letting her know that a real friend doesn't do the things she did. She might completely lose you if she don't clean up her act..."

"What act is that?"

"You know how she is. Always gotta say something. You told me yourself how judgmental she is; how she didn't support you when you were with Julie," Dana replies. "And that's why she don't deserve to hang out with you..."

"That reminds me... I wanted to ask you something about what you said at lunch earlier this week. Remember when you saw me and Julie in the lunch line--"

She groans. "Ugh. What about her?"

"What did you mean when you said I only hang out with her because I feel bad? That's not true at all," I reply, taking quick glances at her while driving. "I mean, first of all, we don't even hang out that much. We just have a couple of classes together and sit at the same lunch table -- which wasn't my idea in the first place. But I don't feel bad for her about anything..."

"For real?" Dana asks with a judgmental glance. "If you don't feel bad for her, then why do u still talk to her?"

"Because I can talk to whoever I want to."

"Okay... but you and Julie broke up, right?"

"Okay? And?" I ask, not sure where the issue is.

"So usually people don't talk to their exes. Especially after she lied, slept with other dudes, and is knocked up by who knows who..."

I shake my head. "See, you gotta stop spreading rumors. None of that is true."

"Oh, so she didn't lie to you?" Dana asks with sarcasm.

"Yes, she did. But she didn't sleep with anyone and she's not pregnant."

"Tuh... okay," she scoffs while looking out the window. I turn the corner down her street, the streetlights reflecting off the dark road.

"Anyway, I thought you two were friends. What happened?" I ask.

"We had our moments. She was a great cheerleader, but her personal issues got in the way of the team. Simple as that," Dana shrugs. I guess that's all the answer I'm gonna get from her.

"Okay. Well, I just don't know why you care so much about who I hang out with."

"Because I don't wanna see you hurt, okay? There. I said it. You're a good guy. Gosh!" Dana whines while half-covering her face.

There's a pause. A small grin forms on my lips before I bite my bottom lip and quickly change to a serious expression.

"You think I'm a good guy? Mkay... I appreciate you saying that. But there's one last thing I'm curious about. You keep saying 'he's mine' when referring to me. You said that to Julie at lunch and again tonight. You know we're not dating, right?"

Dana sighs dramatically. "Just break my heart, will you?"

I stop the car once we reach her house, parking along the sidewalk. I casually and calmly take my hands off the steering wheel and look at her. I try to let go of the negative energy I had before and have a calm head before I say my next piece.

"I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. We have been hanging out a lot lately and I like it. It's cool. I like learning more about you," I say while caressing her chin.

Dana looks at me with a sly grin. "Then what's the problem?"

"What I don't like is drama. I didn't sign up for Friday night cat fights--"

Dana giggles. "I bet you secretly enjoy it."

I chuckle. "Nah, I really don't..."

"You sure?" Dana asks while sneaking a hand into my lap and squeezing my thigh. Her flirty gaze makes me feel things inside. I clear my throat, trying to remain calm. "I know I can be a little catty... but that's because I'm passionate about the things I love. And like."

"Clearly..." I gulp while glancing down at her lips. "Just stop the rumors, aight? The name-calling. Everything. If you say you're a friend and you care about me, then show me," I say with confidence and seriousness.

Dana smirks. "Yes, sir..."

I grin and then look outside the car. "Anyway, I had fun tonight. It's getting late. You should go inside."

"You could come in with me..." She flirts.

"Ay, don't start..."

"I'm sorry... just friends. My bad," she backs away and keeps her hands to herself. "For now..."

"I'll see you at school," I reply with a grin as she grabs her purse along with the blue stuffed bunny that I won her at the arcade.

"Bye, Diggy..."

***

SAM's POV

"...I don't know what he sees in her, but I don't like it. It feels like deja vu again when he was with Julie. He completely disregards his actual friends' feelings and does whatever some basic girl says!" I spit out while crossing my arms. I look out the window, eyeing the glowing lights of the businesses we pass by on our way to my house. Jake already dropped Becca and Khalil off at their house, so now he's dropping me off.

"Don't let her get to you, Sam. Just breathe, okay?" Jake says in an attempt to calm me down.

I grind my teeth and sigh. "I just wanna punch her in the face, ya know?"

"Yeah, don't do that."

I groan while looking out the window.

"You're too pretty to be frowning like this..." Jake says as his car comes to a rest at a stoplight. He glances my way and I catch his eye, blushing slightly.

"Stop..." I lean away from him in embarrassment, but he continues grinning at me.

"Why? You should know what you are. No matter what Dana or anyone else says, you're beautiful and you deserve all the good this world has to offer," Jake replies in the sweetest, softest voice.

I don't really know how to reply, so I remain quiet, feeling my cheeks burn up. The stoplight turns green and I point ahead. "Go..."

Jake chuckles slightly and the car begins moving again. "I hope tonight's drama doesn't overshadow the fun we had together, because I like hanging out with you. I wish we could hang out more often..."

I grin. "We literally see each other every day."

"I mean outside of school."

"I came over your house two days ago..." I laugh while glancing at him.

"That's not enough..." Jake whines, which causes me to laugh again.

"I'm sorry, would you like me to move in with you?" I ask, jokingly.

"Would you?!" He asks, getting all excited.

"No!"

"I'm just kidding..." He chuckles. "You know what sounds fun though?"

"What?" I ask with a smile.

"Spending the night at each other's house," he smirks.

"Like our parents would allow that. My mom won't even let us in the living room unsupervised."

"Your mom may not..."

"Ain't no way your mom would let you either. Unless... wait, have you ever brought a girl over to stay the night?" I ask with a shocked expression.

He scratches the side of his neck, his confident expression disappearing. "Nah... my mom wouldn't allow that either. But she has let me bring over girlfriends in the past. Even let us have the house to ourselves..."

"No way. Your mom sounds super cool."

"The coolest," Jake smiles.

"That sounds like a dream. My mom treats me like a prisoner sometimes..." I reply while rolling my eyes. "I can't wait to get to college and finally live on my own, away from adults trying to tell me what to do, what to wear, what time to get up..."

Jake chuckles. "Yeah. It sounds nice not having a mom for an alarm clock."

Jake pulls up to my house where a couple of cars are still parked in the driveway. I sigh.

"Antonio must still be having his party..." I say, gripping my seatbelt but not wanting to leave.

Jake glances at me. "He's having a party?"

"Bachelor party with some of his friends. My mom's having her bachelorette party at some restaurant across town. They agreed to have it on the same night... but of course, I couldn't have the house to myself while they both are out..."

Jake nods his head. "Did they give you a curfew?"

"Tonight? Just to be home before midnight since it's the weekend..."

"Well..." He glances at the time on his car's dashboard. "We have about two hours left until they'll look for you. You don't have to go home right now. We could do something else instead..." Jake's eyes light up as he licks his lips and stares at me.

His invitation sounds exciting. My mom's out doing her thing, having fun with her friends, so why should I have to end my night early? I don't wanna go inside just yet and awkwardly greet Antonio's friends then stay locked up in my room until they leave. I nod my head and smile really big at Jake.

"I like that option better."

"Yeah?" Jake raises an eyebrow and smiles back.

"What should we do?"

***

Jake found an empty lot in an undeveloped cul de sac a few minutes across the neighborhood. With his car lights turned off, we made out in the front seat for a couple of minutes. With the car turned off, the chill from outdoors was making our windows steam up. Or maybe it was our body heat. We had both slipped our coats off as we started to feel our temps rising. Or maybe that was our hormones...

Finally, I decided to stop our kissing session, gently tapping on his shoulder and signaling to him that I needed a break. He leaned back in his seat with no hesitation, and I noticed his plump lips had become a deeper shade of pink. I chuckled at his appearance.

"Wow, what have I done to you?" I asked. "Look at your lips."

He checks his reflection in the car's mirror and rubs a finger over his lips. "Dang... did I taste that good?"

I giggle and hit his arm. "Shut up."

"I look like I just had some spicy ramen or something..."

We both laugh as he relaxes back into his seat, running a hand over his short trimmed hair and staring towards me. I glance at the car windows with another chuckle.

"Look at the windows!"

"Hey, at least no one can see us..." he replies with a distant gaze. "Imagine if we had our own place. We wouldn't have to sneak in the car or wait for our parents to leave the house. We could cuddle or make out whenever we felt like," Jake says.

"That sounds hella good..." I reply, fantasizing what it would be like living in my own place.

"If we lived together, we could make our own schedules. We could sleep in when we want to, chill and watch movies in bed, eat takeout, cook together..."

"I'm down with that," I grin to myself.

"Imagine this... after a long shift at work, you'll be coming home to me cooking you a nice meal, then giving you a foot massage if you'd like. Our place would have a workout room so we can get our muscles on, and a gaming room so I can beat you in COD, and--"

"Wow. You've been thinking about this a lot, huh?"

"I have. We're 18 and graduating in a few months. I'm just ready to start my own life and be an adult, you feel me?" He replies with a sparkle in his eyes.

"I guess I feel that..." I nod my head. "But living together... you're just daydreaming, right?" I ask with a grin, but Jake's serious expression never changes.

"Why can't it be real? I have enough in savings for something small. Maybe take out a loan, work some extra hours, and apply for a paid internship. It's doable," he shrugs.

My relaxed expression changes to a skeptical one. "That sounds great for you... but we can't live together," I reply while letting out a small chuckle. "I'll be in LA after graduation, remember?"

"I know. But you'll still be in town for, what, two months before your basketball camp? We could get a place for two months before you leave--"

"You're kidding, right?" I ask in complete disbelief. There's no way he's actually considering me living with him after graduation - especially for that little bit of time. It doesn't make sense. And honestly, it's too soon!

"I know we haven't talked about the long-distance thing too much, and I know we just started dating, but I feel like going all the way with you," Jake says in the gentlest tone. "I feel like you're the one for me, so I'm willing to make our relationship work no matter what. Even if you're three time zones away..."

I sit in stunned silence for a bit, not looking toward him. My head is spinning right now. Live together? I still don't know if he's serious or not. I know we're almost adults but I don't know if I want to live with him... or anyone... especially if we're not gonna be in the same city! How is it gonna work? Maybe it'd be different if he was going to UCLA as well - maybe then we could think about getting an apartment together but... I feel like we need to figure out this long-distance thing before we even think that far ahead. I mean, this is my first REAL relationship ever. I'm still getting to know him as my boyfriend, and I'm getting to know myself as his girlfriend. I like him a lot but so much has to be considered before we take the next step.

"Sam? Are you okay?" He asks me. I look at him.

"...I'm just surprised..."

"I know it's a lot to think about, but it was just thoughts. I'm not gonna force you into anything you're not comfortable with," he assures me, which takes a bit of a load off my tense shoulders. I sigh and nod my head.

"Okay..."

"I guess it's just easy for me to picture a life with you... that's how much you mean to me. Know that I care a lot about you, and I'll always have your back whether you're in New York or LA. Okay?" Jake says with a soft expression.

I nod my head. "Okay..."

"Let's get you home before it gets too late," Jake says as he starts up his car engine and turns his lights on before pulling out of the empty lot.