My work life has been nothing short of amazing.

I've been working here for, almost, a week now. I guess the best part about work is Brandon who can make even the most boring days seem interesting.

"Hey, Shae. What plans do you have after work?" Urion asks me during a slow shift. I have become quite good friends with Urion- or Uri, as I like to call him- and Brandon, Uri and I spend a lot of time together after work. We normally hang out in Scuttle Ship but sometimes venture away from the mothership. 

Urion is not the kind of guy you'll find good looking at first. He's tall, thin and a little pale. The features of his face are all out of whack- his nose is too long, his chin too pointy and his eyes too wide- but it all works out together. The more you look at him, the more attractive he'll become. And the more you talk to him, the more you'll appreciate him. It's not his looks that draw you in; it's his personality.

Urion is like my brother from another mother.

"Nothing. Why? What plans do we have?" I ask Uri as I turn to look at him.

"Nothing! I was hoping you'd have some plan." He flops down next to me in a booth.

"Don't worry. Brandon will come up with something. He always does." As if on cue, Brandon slides into our booth.

"Whoa! Who's doing the work there, mister?" I question him as he takes the seat opposite to Uri and I. We had worked out a deal with Mr. Rubio that at least one waiter would be on the floor at all times but Brandon was flaking out on his part.

"Geez, woman, calm down. Do you see anyone here?" Brandon gestures at the empty tables wildly with his hands. It had been an unusually slow day. We had only five costumers since our shift started but now, there were none.

"So, what plans do we have for today?" Brandon asks as he fiddles with a tissue.

I hear Uri groan beside me before he bangs his head on the table.

"So, I'm guessing that there are no plans." Brandon smirks and I laugh at him. 

"We were hoping that you could come up with something." I smile at Brandon and he gives me a deadpan look.

"My idea bank is depleted. The ball's in your court."

We sit there in silence for a few minutes waiting for me to come up with something.

"Oh my God! I got it!" I exclaim in delight.

"Got what?" Uri jerks his head up from the table and looks at me hopefully. Brandon smiles amusedly and gestures for me to continue.

"Why don't you guys come to Jason's house after our shift is over? Jason has this basement arcade and also a pool. It'll be so much fun!" I mentally pat myself on the back. This was a truly brilliant idea. I was finding it more and more difficult juggling my two friend-groups but I could easily solve my problem by merging them into one.

I'm definitely a genius. Look out, Einstien.

"Sure, that sounds like fun." Brandon grins at me and we turn to look at Uri, expectantly.

To my shock, Uri looks uncomfortable.

"I don't know. I'm really not that great with new people." Uri rubs the back of his neck and looks at us sheepishly.

"Oh come on! We were new once-" I gesture at Brandon and me "-And look at us now." I try to encourage Uri.

"Her friends are really cool, Uri. They won't let you feel left out." Brandon chimes in and I smile gratefully at him.

After a lot of cajoling, Uri agrees on meeting my friends but on one condition. If he uses the words 'sweet potato' anytime in the conversation, I will come up with some fake excuse to whisk Uri away from whatever uncomfortable situation he'll be in.

I hope that it doesn't come to that.

------

"You ready?" I squeeze Uri's hand reassuringly. He nods and offers me a small smile. I ring the doorbell and wait patiently as the sound reverberates throughout the entire house.

I could almost imagine the look of surprise on my friends' faces. No one ever rings the bell except if it's takeout. Most of us just dropped in through the back door but I had purposefully avoided that.

Let's just say my friends are in more decent demeanour when they are prepared for guests.

Jason pulls open the door and looks surprised to see me.

"Shae! Why didn't you just enter through the back door?" He questions me as he steps aside and lets us pass through. He smiles warmly at Brandon and Uri as they pass through the door.

"Oh, I just felt this would be more appropriate." I glance at Jason who gives me an understanding nod.

"Everyone's in the living room." Jason leads us to his living room and I can see the look of awe on Brandon's and Uri's faces. I imagine that's exactly what I looked like when I first saw Jason's house.

"This place is amazing." The words escape Uri's lips and Brandon mutters his agreement.

Jason laughs and thanks them.

"Guys! We have company." Jason alerts the other just as we are about to turn into the living room.

As we enter the room, we're greeted by the sight of Creed clipping his toenails while Filip tries to catch them with a bucket and Belle is shouting at the guys for being disgusting.

I glare at Jason and he shrugs as if telling me, "Eh, what'cha gonna do?"

Uri looks shocked as he takes in the scene while Brandon looks like he's on the verge of laughter.

"Hey!" I shout to catch their attention and they all turn to look at me.

Creed and Filip look completely unaffected but Belle's face is red with rage.

"They...These guys...They're animals!" Belle sputters and we all voice our agreement.

"This is actually really fun. The trick is to clip the nails so hard that they go flying." Creed grins at us, his foot still at the table.

"Get your foot off of my table and you-"Jason points at Filip, "-Burn that bucket."

Creed complies with Jason's demand whereas Filip sets the bucket aside and holds his arms in the surrender position.

"Uh, so as you all know, this is Brandon and this is Uri or Urion. Just call him Uri, it's easier." I introduce Urion to everybody and vice versa once everyone settles down. Belle, Jason, and Filip are on the main sofa while Creed and Brandon are on the single seaters, leaving Uri and me on the carpet.

"So, Uri, I haven't seen you a lot before. Are you from around here?" Belle asks Urion and I feel him tense against me. He seems really uncomfortable and I mentally kick myself for forcing him to come with me. Just as I was about to answer Belle's question, Uri beats me to it.

"Actually, I'm Martha's nephew. I'm just here for a couple of weeks now." Uri replies in a firm voice. If I didn't know better, I would assume that he was really confident.

"How old are you anyway? Aren't you supposed to be in college now?" Creed leans towards Uri.

"Creed! That is a rude question to ask." Belle reprimands him while Uri shakes it off.

"No, it's fine." He smiles at Belle and then, turns to Creed, "To answer your questions, I'm nineteen years old and I am supposed to be in college but I took a gap year. I'm spending a little time trying to figure out what I really want to do."

"What are you inching towards?" Jason asks him because let's face it; Jason is the only one among us who actually plans for his future.

"Right now, I'm confused between going into the field of aeronautics or robotics but I'm still kind of hung up on nanotechnology. I think our technology is developing at such a fast rate that we can be visionaries in the field of nanotechnology but then again, I would love to develop exactly that kind of groundbreaking technology. So yeah, there are a lot of things I'm inching towards at the moment. I'm being pulled in all different directions." Uri waves his hands over his head and then smiles at everyone.

I can clearly see the look of shock on everyone's faces except Brandon's. I guess that's the same expression I had when I found out that Uri was an intelligent little bugger.

"Bro, you're crazy smart." Filip looks at him in awe.

"Or just crazy." Brandon teases and Uri smacks him on his leg.

As the minutes pass on by, I can see Uri getting more relaxed. He isn't sitting rigidly anymore and is actively taking part in the conversation. We spend around an hour talking, laughing and getting to know one another.

"Wait! Do you guys hear that?" Belle shushes us and cups a hand over her ear. All of us fall silent and listen intently. Sure enough, we can hear banging and shuffling from inside the house.

"What the hell?" Jason whispers as he gets off the couch and tip toes towards the kitchen. He returns back with five knives and gives it to Creed, Belle, Filip, Brandon and me. As we start creeping towards the hall and the source of the sound, I dial 911 on my phone, ready to press the call button at the slightest provocation.

We approach the hall gingerly, with Jason leading the pack followed by Creed, me, Uri, Belle, Brandon, and Filip.

As we get closer and closer, we can hear moaning and heavy breathing. Uri clutches my hand tightly and shoots me a confused look. Actually, everyone looks a little bit confused right now.

We tiptoe into the hall and find ourselves staring creepily at Cayden.

Who has Suzan's lips stuck to his.

We stand there, stunned, for a long time before Suzan notices us and screams in surprise. Cayden whips to look at what startled her and groans in frustration. Suzan hurriedly pulls down her shirt which had ridden up and Cayden buttons up his shirt. Both of them are flushed and their lips puffy.

I slowly turn to Uri, whose expression is a mask of surprise.

"I like sweet potatoes. Do you?"

A/N: Soooooo things are getting a little steamy. What are your thoughts on Uri? Yay or nay?

Also, this chapter is mostly Cayden free. Please don't hate me for it. xD