As he went to buy us some coffee, Sasha texted me about the party.

Sasha: yesss, having fun! You should've come. It's good.
ps: I'm looking hot in this blue dress ;)

Oh, I'm sure she is.

And by the time he was back with two lattes as he said, Sasha had made me believe that and I quote "missing the coolest party ever!"

But when Zack asked me if we should take a walk, the party was long forgotten. There's something special and relaxing about walking just because you want to. Especially at this time.

There's something ethereal about walking while watching the twilight sky.

"What's Brandon's dad doing?" Zack asked as a cool breeze swept over us. Through my dancing hair, I saw wind toss his hair around and smiled when he tamed it with a sigh.

"Well?" He asked again and I realised I didn't answer his question.

"He's a teacher."

"And mom?"

"Same. They're teaching at the same school." I replied and he gave me a knowing smile.

"I see, that's how it all happened." 

Maybe. I never asked so, we'll never know.

But before I could say anything, a little boy bumped into Zack's leg and the hot liquid was dripping down his shirt.

When his jaws tightened, for a second there, I thought he was going to yell at that boy.

"Shit! It's damn hot." He cursed under his breath and pulled the stuck piece of fabric away from his body.

The boy, who was about Theo's age, opened his mouth with widened eyes and said something.

I was expecting a sorry but what I heard him mutter was something about a bad word.

That happened to attract Zack's attention.

"Shit. That's not what I meant buddy," he knelt down, smiling goofily at him.

He gasped again and stepped back. "You said it again!" He mumbled and ran away calling his mom. And Zack stood up with a sigh.

"It's time kids know these words, you know." He turned to me, scratching his head

"Yeah, you should totally tell that when he brings his mother." I chuckled and he waved it off.

"He won't." And after a second he frowned, "Would he?"

The way his face showed horror, I'm pretty sure his parents had made him believe that word was the ultimate sin. The poor guy was traumatized.

"I don't want a mother reminding me not to work my shitty mouth in front of their kids. Let's move." He mumbled, looking around and walked away.

With a laugh, I followed and in less than a minute, I heard Theo's squeal from somewhere.

"Slow down." I said as he ran towards me.

"See, uncle Will bought you an ice cream. Zack too." He passed it to me, clearly evident that he'd tried to eat some.

While Noel and Theo were busy talking to Zack and introducing him to Brandon, I mumbled a bye to Will and Rachel.

"So, what now?" Zack asked when they left and Theo grinned.

"Play!"

Of course. What else?

And that's exactly what they did. Play some kind of weird game that I had never heard of. it was fun watching a twenty-one-year-old adult playing silly games with a couple of kids.

He doesn't care about what others think, does he? Maybe that's the nicest thing about him. Tyler wouldn't do it for anything.

Tyler?

Even though it ended up with a thought of Tyler, the night was fun. By the time I was home, Theo was beaming with satisfaction.

                              ▪️▪️▪️

The next day was a self-declared lucky day. After tutoring, I got a ride from Will and also two free hours which I decided to spend by making notes for Kate.

"And?" I asked Sasha, who was helping me with it.

"And then, I got myself a couple of drinks."

"Who drove?" I stopped writing and looked at her.

"You're such a mom." She rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Zack did. That idiot ditched me within an hour but did find me when it was time to leave.

Oh. Didn't he tell her about the little park thing? Then I remembered I didn't either. I did ask her if she was free but it slipped my mind to tell her for what.

"Know what? His friends are coming today." She mumbled a minute later with an excited smile. "You're coming right? You gotta see them, Eve. When together, they're a bunch of babies in adult bodies. Oh, and mom asked you guys to stay over."

"That's sweet of her, but..." I shook my head. Alex and Scarlett were good people, in fact, more than good but that doesn't mean we should overstay their welcome. They might've been asking for the sake of formality.

"I knew it. I told her you won't say yes and guess what she said? She said she'll persuade you. So, I'm not worried."

I sighed, closing my books and looked at her.

"It'd be fun, I bet. You deserve a break, hun."

"I'll think about it." I smiled at her even though the answer wasn't going to change.

And when the classes were over and Sasha had to visit one of her friends, I told her not to worry about my ride.

And I was walking peacefully when the devil himself appeared. The devil in my life, precisely.

"In a hurry?"

I groaned as usual and gave him a tired look.

"I'm going to the café. You coming with me?" He asked and I already knew my answer.

"No, but thank you."

"Of course. You'll never say yes."  He muttered and leaned on his car with crossed arms."So..."

"So what?"

"It's been a while since we had a conversation."

"Tyler, we never had conversations. You usually insult me and dump something on me."

His smirk flickered a bit and he shook his head. " I always tried but you wouldn't open your mouth."

Right.

"Okay. My mistake, happy now?"

He let out a chuckle and leaned back further. "I remember giving you a ride, last time. And look at you, you're perfectly fine, aren't you?"

I bit my lip, listening to him. He was right. I had this whole image of me getting in his car and finding myself inside a tiny trap house. Something I imagined the kid in 'Home alone' would do.

Well, it was nothing like that. On the other hand, what happened was completely opposite to what I thought would. He was almost a good guy then. Almost being the keyword.

"Get in. We're going to the same place, anyway." He shrugged again and I sighed.

He's right. We're going to the same place.

Will it be a mistake?

I nodded slowly and his face lightened up.

"Yeah? Come in, then." He opened the door yet again and I slid into his car with crossed fingers.

And once again, against my expectations, he was nice.

"Thanks," I said to him as I got in.

"You're welcome."

And when he didn't do anything to step out of the car, I frowned.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Nope, gotta go."

"I thought you said you were coming here." I mumbled, confused but he was already gone.

And when I turned to see Jake behind the glass door with an opened mouth.

"Holy freaking mother- what did I see just now? You and him? Together? Peacefully? Without any problem? This is the most shocking thing I've ever seen in. My. Entire. Life!"

"Quit the drama, Jake." Marissa mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Okay," he said, instantly removing the fake awestruck expression from his face and turned to me, "But that was quite surprising."

"Yeah." Marissa too gave a nod and I let out a snort.

"I don't know why, I just said okay to him and got in. It was stupid of me."

Jake let out a chuckle, "You were, you are and you will be stupid."

"Look who's saying, the king of stupidity himself." Marissa smiled and Jake's wink turned to a squint.

"You always take her side."

"I'd like to see his arrogant little ass turn into a good one. I hope he changes." She ignored him and said to me.

"I hope so, too." I really do.

But Jake said nothing, he was busy glaring at Marissa like a five-year-old. And all she had to do was bless his cheek with a kiss and his glare just vanished.

I was about to take someone's order when my phone rang. When Jake assured me he'll take it, I had no idea that it was Sophie. And when I was back, that idiot was telling her about Tyler dropping me off.

I struggled for a full five minutes to snatch my phone back.

"-lucky or he has changed." Sophie continued saying.

"Lucky." I was panting. Trying to fight Jake was so exhausting. "No way he has changed. I'll stick with your theory of bipolar disorder. He'll shout at me soon, I'm sure."

"Yeah. And if he shows his angry version, give him a kick from me, will you? You probably won't. Give the phone back to him. I'll ask him to do it."  She muttered.

"Oh? So you're calling me to talk to him?"

"Don't blame her. I have that charm in me." Jake nodded at me, smiling and I had to roll my eyes.

I could hear her laugh from the other side but had to hang up when Mr Jones came in.

"Am I paying you people to work or what?" He asked coldly and I nodded quickly while Marissa turned aside, picking up the notepad. Jake just vanished.

He then muttered something angrily, like his son, and approached the table.

"Why did you just stand there and nod like a little kid?" Jake nudged me and asked with a frown.

"He's the one who pays us. Plus, he's a bit scary."

"So? Flip him off." He scoffed and Marissa raised one perfect eyebrow at him.

"Didn't see you do that. You hid somewhere like a kid, that was a very brave thing to do." She said and he flipped us off.

"By the way, who was the girl I was talking to?"

I dropped my bag and slowly turned back."Sophie, my friend. Bitching about me with anyone, huh?"

He pulled my cheek with a smirk and I couldn't help but smile at his stupid face.

.
.
.

'Boys @ home. See you soon'

I stared at the note, hanging Infront of my door for a minute before sighing and getting in. I took a long, soothing shower and let myself grab something to eat.

Sasha: you ready?

Text from Sasha flashed on my phone screen and I grabbed a grey shirt, and jeans and quickly changed into them while replying.

"Hello, my dear Eve. Come," excitement was clear in her eyes.

"Oh wait. You're not taking anything with you?" She asked and I froze.

Oh, crap. Was I supposed to bring something? Should've baked some cookies. Or bought a wine.

"Eve, you're sleeping over. Take some clothes with you."

A sigh of relief escaped me. For a second, I thought I'll die of embarrassment and anxiety.

"I'm not. Now come on," I got in and gestured for her to move.

"Fine." She huffed, starting the engine and kept on staying how her mother was a master manipulator 'in a good way' until we reached her home.

Scarlett was the one who opened the door.

"Evelyn, come in sweetheart." She said and she welcomed us with a warm hug.

"Thank you for inviting us."

"Others are upstairs." She told Sasha and asked me if I ate anything after work.

To be honest, I had to control tears from slipping down. She was so kind and considerate that it made me emotional.

Or maybe I'm just an emotional human.

"Come on," Sasha mumbled, climbing up the stairs.

When Sasha opened the door, music and noise filled the house. And I saw five guys along with Zack.

And then, one pair of eyes found us, followed by the rest.

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

Thank you for reading this.💕
Hope each one of you're safe and happy.

I guess It's becoming more boring, so I'll wind it up faster.

❤️👫👬👭❤️

Lots of love💞