Before I knew it, it was Thursday already and the first week in December was almost over. The rest of my evening after shopping was relatively uneventful, I was mostly just admiring the necklace that Aiden had gotten me, it meant a lot to me that he went out of his way to get me it.

I also spent it just catching up on homework or projects, not that I had much this year. Our fourth year of secondary school is really more like a gap year. It gives students a chance to mature, get involved in after school activities and do some work experience. It's a pretty relaxed year and teachers don't pile on the homework which will probably make my next two exam years difficult.

I'm trying not to stress about it though, I tend to overthink things to a point where I end up having a nervous breakdown. I'm taking this year to enjoy myself and maybe even better myself. I've decided to do my work experience in a local book shop. I enjoy reading so what better place to spend my Mondays than a place full of books. The staff members are all way older than me and they don't normally take students for work experience but since getting a new manager, he decided to give me a shot.

I really enjoy it and it's an easy job too. I go through all of the books, scan them, make sure they have the correct price stickers and if not then I change them. Since it's the Christmas season, the shop is getting busier so my day is never dull. I'm organising orders, stacking shelves, labelling new stock, and helping customers where I can.

I'm working from nine until four which is pretty much what my school day is anyway and I get an hour on lunch which I spend with Aiden. He doesn't work with me but he is working at a car repair shop witch his dad just up the road. This also means that we walk to work together and home from work together. I guess we're basically joint at the hip but his company is always appreciated and he's the one who suggested it. It just means that sometimes I do have to barge into his room and wake him up on the mornings he sleeps in.

We're actually supposed to get a new worker on Monday which is exciting considering even with the five staff members we have; we are still drowning in work. I'm taken away from my thoughts when I hear a knock at the door. I wasn't exactly expecting anyone and even though Aiden and I are close, he always texts me before showing up.

I rush downstairs and to my surprise, it's Erin, Katie, Aiden, and Connor at the other side of the door. Noticing the surprised expression on my face, Katie, and Erin step inside and that's when Erin speaks up. 

"Sorry for showing up uninvited but the thing is, Katie and I were having a sleepover to work on a project together but Katie and her mam got into an argument and got kicked out. On our way here we ran into Connor and Aiden and asked if they wanted to join us." Erin states.

"Aiden said you would be busy doing homework but we assured him you wouldn't mind taking a break and having some surprise visitors." Katie finishes, making her way into the sitting room and tossing down two bags.

My mind is still trying to process the surprise. I always like to know exactly what's happening, especially when it means I need to rearrange my other plans. That's when I realise the project, they were talking about was the one that all three of us were assigned today in English and they were working on it tonight...without me. I mean it doesn't bother me too much, they know I prefer to do work on my part alone with some music so they knew I would probably deny the offer anyway.

The two bags that were tossed onto my sofa are what have me confused. I shoot Aiden a look, seeking some further explanation but he just shrugs his shoulders and gives me an apologetic look, knowing this is not how I planned my night going.

"What are the bags for?" I ask

I hear a frustrated sigh from Erin as Katie turns to face me. "Were you not listening to Erin? I got into an argument with my mam and she kicked me out so we need a place to sleep." The confused expression on my face is still clear even though I'm fully aware of what's going on, it just seems very sudden. "You mean you're both just going to show up unannounced and spend the night?"

"Is it really that big of an issue Julia? If you don't want us here then just say so but we could really use the help of a friend right now." Katie continues as she starts to pick up the bags that were carelessly tossed. "No, no it's not an issue it was just unexpected. Just let me tell my mam and I guess we can just sleep downstairs and work on the project. Make yourselves at home, I guess." Although it's clear they already have.

Connor hasn't known me long enough to sense how annoyed I am at the current situation so he happily seats himself beside Erin, putting his arm around her. Aiden however, is shifting uncomfortably in his seat because he can clearly see how unhappy I am right now. It's not that I don't enjoy their company, they're my friends. I don't like the unexpected arrival and host position I must take for the night since the girls will be spending the night. As close as I am with Aiden, that's always been where my mam draws the line. He has never and will never spend the night.

The boys can stay late but never overnight. It's an understandable rule, we're teenagers and I can see where she would be concerned even though Aiden and I wouldn't even think about doing anything like that. When I reach the top of the stairs my mam is already waiting, she must've woken up due to the noise that was created.

"I know it's late, I'm sorry if we woke you up but I was just wondering if Katie and Erin could spend the night. Connor and Aiden are here too but they'll leave in a while." I say.

My mam sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose with her fingers then looks down at me. "Julia if they were having a sleepover already, why could they not go to Erin's house?" 

"I... I don't know. They just showed up so I'm just as surprised as you are and it's a bit late for them to catch the bus to Erin's house." I'm not being very convincing and to be honest, there's a small part of me that hopes she says no just so I can go back to my peaceful night. My mam has never really been Erin and Katie's number one fan. She's happy that I have found girls to be friends with because I have only really gotten along well with boys simply because there's less drama but she has never completely welcomed them with open arms the same way she welcomes Aiden.

"They can stay Julia just please be quiet, it's a school night so I still want you well rested for tomorrow." She gives a soft smile and then turns and walks back into her room. 

I know that deep down she isn't too pleased by the intrusive actions of my friends and I don't blame her because I'm not either. I just accept the fact that they're here now and that we can hopefully get some of our project completed. As I step back into the sitting room the view in front of me shows that I'm probably doing this project alone. Erin is on her phone, resting her head on Connor's shoulder while Katie is on a phone call with who I'm assuming is her boyfriend.

My natural reaction is to just roll my eyes and get started one the project anyway. I'll do my part as I had planned to do tonight anyway and just hope that they don't expect too much from me tonight.

Seating myself on the floor so that I can spread out my papers and notes, Aiden soon sits down beside me and remains silent. He knows I don't like to be bothered when it comes to school work but I appreciate his company. Now and then he will hand me something that he knows I'm about to use which just leaves me wondering how he knew but he's always been like that. He's able to read and understand me so well that sometimes it's genuinely scary and I think he might be a mind reader but he won't tell me.

~ ~ ~

As the night progressed, it became evident that I would be the only one doing work. It was about ten at night and Erin and Connor were still in their own little world and Katie was watching Netflix on her phone. Aiden had tried to lighten the mood and get everyone involved in the conversation but he was also slightly distracted by Sarah texting him.

I remained silent, there were many moments when Katie and Erin had tried to give an opinion on how I should be doing their work and to avoid any hassle I just found a way to incorporate them.

"Julia do you have any snacks?" Katie asks, already getting off the sofa and walking into the kitchen. Before I have a chance to answer, Erin hops off the sofa and quickly follows her. Not taking notice that she stood on the poster and smudged the marker ink across the page. I think I might cry. I just stare at the paper blankly; I was so close to being finished and now there's a big black marker smudge going across the paper. 

Aiden and Connor are very quick to notice what could turn into me strongly expressing how I feel right now by yelling. They each take the scissors and pens from hands and clear up the poster and supplies. "Julia it's fine, mistakes happen and if you want, I can come by tomorrow and help you start over." Aiden offers a smile after he says this. I smile back.

"Thanks, Aiden but it's fine, I'll just work on it another time when there are fewer people around. I'm not being a particularly good host anyway." I say, picking up my things and putting them back into my bag.

"Julia where the hell is the dip for the Doritos?" I hear Erin call from the kitchen.

I walk into the kitchen to see what looks like almost all the food we have just sprawled out on the kitchen counter. Just another mess I get to clean up but it's nothing new. When I first told Katie and Erin to make themselves at home, they took it very literally. I don't think they would even act like this alone in their own home or each other's homes for that matter. We don't always hang out at their houses and are mostly here which does get frustrating, having to host guests almost every other night but it's become my new normal.

"We didn't buy any this week," I respond.

"What? Your mam couldn't afford to just toss some dip into the basket." Katie comments with a mouth full of popcorn. These types of comments have also been something I've begun to get used to. I spoke up about it once and they just claimed they were joking and that I was overreacting.

Through a very clenched jaw, I managed to say "I would've gotten some if I was told that you guys were coming." Erin sighs and Katie rolls her eyes. "Are you really still angry about our surprise arrival, god Julia you should be grateful we came around because we had other things to do."

"Like what Erin? I thought you and Katie got kicked out. Don't act as you did me a favour because you know I like being alone on school nights to do work." The words fall out of my mouth before I can even understand what I said.

"Julia we just wanted to do something nice, you're alone most nights so god forbid you had some company once in a while. We won't bother you for the rest of the night if this is how you're going to be." She finishes.

I remain silent and stubborn like I always do when it comes to these two. It's always been their word against mine and I've just gotten used to knowing when to stay quiet and now is one of those moments. They know I'm not going to say anything else so they grab their snacks and leave. Once they're gone, I start to put away all of the remaining food that was left on the counter. The two of them will be over it by tomorrow but I'll just let them be dramatic now. 

Just as I finish up, Aiden and Connor appear behind me. "We better get going now Julia, it's getting late," Connor says which reminds me to check the time. I pull out my phone and see that it's almost eleven which surprises me how quickly the time has gone. "Yeah, that's no problem guys, thanks for coming around I guess." 

Connor pulls me into a quick hug and then heads to the front door to probably say goodbye to Erin. "I'm sorry that we showed up unannounced Jules," Aiden says.

"It's ok Aiden, I'm sorry that I was such a bad host. I just didn't really plan for my night to go like this. You know they can be a real pain in the ass sometimes."

He lets out a small laugh and places his hands on my shoulders. "Cut them some slack Jules, they were excited to see you tonight because you rarely sleepover with them anymore. Just enjoy the rest of your night without me and Connor getting in the way and I'll see you tomorrow."

So that's what they've been saying to him. Like I said, their word against mine. Aiden has always been pretty oblivious to Erin and Katie's comments and I don't know if that's because he chooses to ignore them or he genuinely doesn't see any harm in what they say. Either way, he's the only reason I manage to put up with them for so long. He somehow reminds me of their good side and eventually, I get over whatever they've caused me to fuss about.

"Text me when you're home safe," I say pulling him into a tight hug.

"You know I will." He responds and leaves me standing alone in my quiet kitchen. I hear the front door close and take that as my cue to face Erin and Katie who have both gotten themselves comfortable under a duvet on one sofa, leaving me to get comfortable on the other sofa.

"Thanks for coming tonight guys," I say loud enough for them to hear but quiet enough that if they don't hear it, I won't repeat myself. When I don't hear a response, I just assume they didn't hear me and I crawl under my duvet and turn off the lamp.

They were up giggling for a while and with how late I assumed they stayed awake, I can only imagine how hard it will be to wake them up for school in the morning. I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get to it but all I want to do right now is sleep. This is not how I planned my night going and it's not how I would've chosen it to go either but it's a bit late for that now.

Complaining won't change that fact that they're annoyed with me for being "ungrateful" and I still need to do my part of our project because Erin accidentally ruined it. My hundreds of thoughts eventually become silent and allow me to drift to sleep.

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Thank you for reading the third chapter of "All I Knew was you" I hope you enjoyed and continue to read. Please feel free to vote, comment and share if you did enjoy as it would be a major help and mean a lot to me.
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