Other than myself and two other people, I don't know anyone with a second name.

Me, of course, Stephen. After my grandpa. It would've been my first name had it not been too heavy on my mom.

Vi is the only person in the Lee house with a second name. It's Sage, obviously. To be honest, I don't really know why Finn and Minho don't have second names, or Dahlia or Oliver. Guess something is special about Vi, or Dahlia took inspiration from my name.

And lastly, Newt. His second name is Isaac. Probably a grandpa, too.

Maybe Sonya has one, but I don't have any memories of it. It's definitely possible, as their parents are just the kind of people to give their kids a thousand names, you know?

Yeah, I don't really like their parents, no offense. They're strict as hell. It's always so freaking hard to meet up with Newt. There has to be a whole cycle in which both of us have to talk to our moms and where we're going and blah blah blah. I haven't seen Newt at many parties either, and that's not because he doesn't like them. Sonya also isn't allowed to go, but she just sneaks away.

As far as I know, they're not like physically abusive or something, and I don't know if being this strict can be called mental abuse— it's just not pleasant.

They cannot wear shorts or short-sleeved shirts outside unless their parents have approved. Their screen times are like... not more than forty five minutes, bedtimes crazily early. Phones aren't allowed to go upstairs with them. Door stays open. Newt once told me they're required to eat meals at exact times, with no flexibility. Sometimes, the meals come in fixed portion sizes, regardless of their appetite.

I'm genuinely close to telling Mom or Dad about this so they'll have a try at fixing it. It's a little too crazy.

Newt doesn't really mention it, but once you know what happens at his home, you can't... unsee it in his expressions.

My parents are pretty chill. Besides being quiet, but that's just for Mom's work, there is nothing that bothers me that's not supposed to bother me. Like, it's normal to be bothered when they ask you to clean your room, isn't it? It's not normal to be bothered when they hit you, because you shouldn't have to be worried about that.

So they're normal, whatever that means. I think Dahlia, Vi's mom, is a stricter than mine, but that's also her origin. Asian parents usually aren't as close to their kids, I've once read, and they don't hug, and they put high pressure on good grades.

Dahlia and Oliver aren't like that, though I doubt the kids ever have deep talks with them.

Well, Minho will never have a deep talk with an adult, so that's expected.

Finn says he doesn't have any issues he'd talk about, and that Dahlia is taking his philosophical questions too seriously and they sometimes end up in slight arguments.

I'm not so sure about the first thing, but alright. I'm closer with Minho than with Finn.

Viviette talks, but also not. I have a feeling she tells me about her problems, but not all of them. Certain kinds just need to be told to other girls and not me.

Tes has the same situation. I mean, she talks to me about things going on but surely not everything, though I wouldn't mind if she did. I'll gladly listen to which hair ties broke and what brush is the nicest.

"I just... I thought I did so well," Teresa sighs out, forcing me out of my thoughts.

"You did," I assure. "Sixty eight percent is not that bad, Tes. You passed."

She presses her head in my pillow. "A narrow escape."

Humming, I scoot closer to her. One of my arms slides around her waist. "It's fine. You're already doing well. You can make it up with a higher grade next time. But sixty eight isn't that bad."

"It is to me," she groans.

I remove her hair out of her face with a laugh. Kiss her temple. "Look it this way," I whisper against it, her skin warm under my lips. "You now know what you need to work on. You'll bounce back easily. You're super smart."

Her eyes light up and soften at once. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." I smile. "A single test score doesn't define everything."

"Okay, got a point there." Teresa moves even closer to me, a smile also tugging at her lips now. She rests her head on my shoulder. I physically feel her body relaxing against mine.

Quickly, her lips meet mine, then she looks at me, the worry replaced with hope. "Wanna get some ice cream? It's the last week that store's open."

"Sounds awesome." I immediately untangle myself, taking her with me by the hand.

We're soon walking through the darkness. It's a Tuesday night, not very busy on the streets, especially not on the hill. Just one person.

"Oh, hi, Evie," Teresa and I greet in unison. The girl had been walking quickly until she heard our approach.

She smiles as she turns around. "Hi, guys."

"You're walking through the streets all alone?" Teresa asks worriedly.

"Looks like it, doesn't it?" The girl chuckles below her breath. The wind makes it fade away, taking it behind the hill. "My house is just past the hill, close to the beach. I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

She nods. "Mhm. Where are you guys going?"

"Getting some ice cream. You wanna come with?" Teresa suggests.

"No. I've heard that store has been getting assaulted by a lot of rats and strays lately." She palms her face in disappointment.

"Rats and strays?"

Her head tilts to the side. "AKA Minho. Him and his sister walked past me like... one minute ago."

I look to my left, down the hill, and indeed, two silhouettes appear in front of my eyes. They're far away, though.

"Aren't you cold?" Teresa takes off her jacket. "Here. Give it back at school tomorrow. I have long sleeves anyway."

"Oh, thank you." Surprised, she gifts Teresa the biggest smile I've ever seen her wear. "I needed that."

Didn't Vi... I frown a bit. Surely she saw Evie's cold, too. Maybe she isn't wearing a jacket, or she wasn't able to interrupt the argument Evie and Minho probably had.

I don't know what makes her hate him that much. I just know they're in the same classes and that I know her from parties, etc. And she has kind of befriended Tes.

"So they're also getting ice cream?" I ask.

"Minho and..." she trails off at Vi's name, shooting a questioning look at us.

"Viviette."

"Minho and Viviette," she repeats. "Yes, I'm pretty sure they're getting ice cream."

That both warns and excites something inside of me. I don't pay enough attention to it to fully understand.

"Anyway, I'm going to go. See you."

"Bye."

Once Evie has disappeared out of her sight, the long hair swinging behind her, I turn to Tes. "Still going for the ice cream?"

"Obviously." She elbows me in the side softly.

We continue walking. Our conversation isn't very interesting. Random things, until we arrive at the ice cream bar.

Through the glass, I see Vi and Minho at a table. It's the one in the closest corner, right next to a little fireplace. That's where they usually sit.

Viviette is either eating strawberry ice cream, or rocky road. She says strawberry is for the summer and rocky road for winter, but now it's an in between. It's possible she got both.

Teresa will go for chocolate today, I already know.

And I choose mango, as basically always.

We order our ice cream. I eye the siblings a few times, but they're talking too closely to notice. Makes it even harder for us to decide where we'll sit. It will be weird to pretend they're not there, but on the other side, we might need to leave them alone.

But Teresa insists we greet them. I should've known she was about to suggest that. Her and Viviette are genuinely the kindest souls I know.

We walk up to them. We can only see their sides at this angle, and they still don't notice us when we get closer.

"No," Minho says sharply. I start hearing them clearer. "For the millionth time, just because you have a crush on him, you can't ignore him. It'll ruin the whole friendship. He won't have to notice. Or, probably a bad idea, but you can just tell him."

"Tell him?" She whisper-tells, voice high-pitched. "Are you insane? What exactly have I been telling you the past hour? I can't—"

The conversation was too intriguing for me to notice I've been eavesdropping, until Teresa calls their names. I unfreeze.

Minho looks up. And just like that, as if we're in a slowmotion movie, his mouth drops open. Viviette spins around faster, her eyes even wider than when I honked.

"Thomas," Minho peeps, "lovely seeing you here."

Teresa is too excited and just slides across from them. "Crush?" She peeps. "On who?"

I don't know if it's always a benefit to be social.

Slowly, I sit down next to her, eyebrows scrunched. We feel kind of uninvited here.

"Uhm," Viviette stammers, face bright red.

"On Gally," Minho says, so fast that I had trouble catching the name at first.

"Gally?" I then repeat. Out of all guys out there?

Viviette's mouth opens even further; Minho was clearly not meant to say that.

"Uh, yes," she then says. "Crazy, huh?"

"Definitely," I mutter below my breath.

I mean, seriously? There's better guys out there. He literally broke my nose in whatever grade, because I complimented her hair clips. Possessive little shit.

Or was that... I frown to myself. Touch my nose. I don't remember ever breaking it. Gally's nose is kind of deformed, though.

Oh, well.

"Are we, um, welcome here?" I wonder.

"Of course," Minho says.

I look at Vi as she shifts in her seat, avoiding my gaze. The long, dark hair, shiny and smooth as always, falls around her shoulders and covers half of her face. Not the pink shade on her cheeks, though.

Her eyes dart nervously around, focusing on our ice cream. Of course, she's always sort of... taken aback, but not like this.

"Hey." I lean closer, words just for her to hear. "I don't really care if you have a crush on Gally. I can get myself to like him."

"I— uh, yes." She nods so heavily that her hair now does cover her cheeks. "Thanks."

Nodding, I lean back in my seat. "No problem."