Not proofread.

The story about Lucas finally getting a steady girlfriend spread around the school like wildfire. Rebecca Williams became more popular than she would have ever imagined in a span of two hours.

Of course, Claire has been also basking in the friendship spotlight.

“Do you really think Lucas likes her?” I asked as I eyed the happy couple that was standing in the lunch line.

“Nope,” Annabelle deadpanned, “It looks a little one-sided to me.”

“I agree with Anna on this one,” Lillian added, “One minute he’s doing everything to impress you then the next thing you know, he has another girl clinging onto his arm.”

I sighed and looked at Blake, if there was anybody who knew Lucas to heart, it would be his own twin brother.

“Blake?” I inquired, waiting for his opinion.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “But it looks to me like this Rebecca chick is just a rebound girl.”

“Don’t trouble yourself with it,” Drew spoke from next to me.

He was right, I shouldn’t be troubling myself with it. It’s just that, Lucas is one of my closest friend and the thought of him using another girl kind of irks me.

I tried to ignore them but when they started to approach us with their trays of food, I was quite doing a horrible job.

“Hey guys,” Lucas greeted and we all gave him a nod of acknowledgement, “Mind if Rebecca sits with us?”

“Of course not,” I tried to act politely, gesturing to the available chairs.

Then we were all greeted by an awkward silence. Rebecca was staring at us, observing our group carefully while we tried to act nonchalant. Cue word was, tried. From the corner our eyes, we were looking at her, watching her every move.

“So Rebecca,” I started out, might as well talk to her, “How did you make the one and only Lucas Smith fall for you.”

Lucas clearly didn’t look pleased when I asked the question. He gave me a look which a returned with one of my own.

“I don’t know, really,” she answered before looking at Lucas lovingly, “But whatever happened, I’m really lucky.”

I actually had some sympathy on the girl. From the look she gave Lucas, it was clear that she really liked him. The way Lucas was avoiding her eyes, it seems that this relationship was a little one-sided.

Sighing, I looked away from the couple. Maybe I should listen to Drew, I should just stop troubling myself with it.

So that’s what I did all day. It was a little difficult because it has been everybody’s favorite topic.

“You’re scrunching your eyebrows again,” Drew pointed out, closing his locker as I leaned to the one next to it.

“I’m thinking,” I muttered, handing him my books when he offered his hands to take them.

“When are you not?” he tried to joke but I just kept my face straight. He blew out through his nose and stopped walking, “How about we go do something since school is already finish?”

I stared at him for the longest time, making sure he’s serious. Drew Everett never suggests going somewhere together; it was always I who initiated these events.

“Are you sure?” I asked in disbelief.

He gave me a flat look before continuing on walking, “Yeah I’m sure.”

All my worries flew out of the window as I broke out into a smile. I fell into step next to him and we made our way to my locker to drop off my books.

“So where are we going?” I questioned as we got out of the school building.

He shrugged, “Where do you want to go.”                                                                        

“One- Eighty Degrees?” I suggested, “It’s nice to go there when you’re not working for once.”

He nodded in agreement and we walked to where his bike was. He took the liberty of clasping the helmet safely on my head and helping me climb up the motorcycle.

“You’re getting better at riding her,” he told me, referring to his bike. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist as he started the ride. We zoomed out of the parking lot and into the streets of the city.

I was still scared but I wasn’t I was before. I’ve learned to trust Drew and even sitting on this death contraption doesn’t faze me as much as it did before.

When the sight of the homey café came into view, I was quite disappointed the ride was already over. Call me crazy but I’ve started to enjoy going on motorcycle rides with him. We parked at a employee’s parking space and I used Drew’s shoulder as leverage to help me get off of his bike. I took of the helmet and shook my hair a little bit to get rid of any helmet hair. I handed him the helmet and he secured it on bike to make sure it’s not going to be stolen and he got off.

“Ready?” he asked and I nodded. When we approached the door, I noticed a vehicle at the end of the parking lot with a man in a uniform leaning against it. I instantly stopped making Drew bump into my back.

“What the…” he hissed before looking down on my face, “What’s wrong.”

I squinted my eyes to make sure I was seeing correctly then I started to panic. They can’t be here, my mood was finally starting to get better.

“Celeste?” Drew asked, shaking me a bit to get my attention.

“We need to go,” I suddenly told him, “Right now.”

“Why?”

I grabbed his hand started to pull him back to where we were parked. The universe was against me today because the glass doors opened to reveal two people I certainly didn’t want to see until I get home tonight.

There stood my parents with the manager speaking animatedly to them.

“Crap,” I cursed under my breath.

Drew was thinking the same thing with a more explicit term, “Shit.”

When my mom tore her eyes away from the fidgeting manager, she instantly spotted us. Both of our grips on each other’s hands tightened. When the adults said their goodbyes, the manager padded back inside the café but my parents started to walk to where we were standing.

“This is just not my day,” I voiced out.

“Celeste,” my mother greeted formally, as always. Even if she was talking to me but her eyes was on Drew while my father’s attention was on our clasped hands. Drew didn’t show sign of being intimidated but I knew him well enough to know that he actually was.

“Mom, dad, what are you guys doing here?” I asked, releasing Drew’s hand, leaving the comfort it provided.

“We just checked out on some business,” my father replied.

Before I could speak again, Drew walked up to my parents and held up a hand, “Mr. and Mrs. Graham, it’s an honor to finally meet you.”

Is he digging his own grave?

My father shook his hand and nodded, “And you are?”

“Drew Everett, Celeste’s…” he trailed off as if he wasn’t sure on what to tell them. I could say the same, I have no idea where we were at right now. We’re more than friends but we’re certainly not together yet.

“I see,” my mother concluded, she was always the one to figure things out quickly.

“So you’re James Everett’s son?” dad asked and Drew nodded, looking calm.

Oh god, this is not good. Why did he have to bring up Drew's father in this?

“I’m sure you two didn’t come here to be with us, we’ll let you two enjoy your time together inside the café,” mom said, “We’ll see you at home, Celeste.”

My mom approached me and bent down to whisper something in my ear, “Invite him to dinner, your father and I would like to get to know him better.”

She stood up straight once again and I looked at Drew from the corner of my eye. I prayed that he would be okay with this and I nodded at my mother. She joined my father’s side again and my dad responded by wrapping an arm around her waist.

Thank god they didn’t question Drew anymore about his father. I said a goodbye to them as both of them headed to their car where their driver already has the door opened for them.

“They seem nice,” Drew said sarcastically, watching the car drive away.

“They’re not bad,” I told him honestly. There weren’t exactly bad parents; if they were, I would be addicted to drugs and pregnant right now. They just lacked on the love department if you ask me.

We ordered ourselves some coffee and you could say that every single employee was staring at our table.

When our waiter came, he did a little high-five with Drew to assume they’re acquaintances. He whispered something in Drew’s ear causing him to earn a punch on the arm.

The waiter didn’t faze at all as he started chuckling and walking back to the kitchen.

“What did he say?”

“He said that I really scored on you,” he replied causing me to bashfully look down on my drink.

“So about your parents…” he trailed off, testing if I was okay with the topic.

“Don’t worry, everybody’s curious about them,” I reassured.

Even after I assured them I didn’t mind the subject, he dropped it on his own accord. He started humming a tune as he sliced his cake with a fork and started to fork pieces into his mouth.

I raised a brow before shaking my head. This guy can act nonchalant but I might as well drop the bomb sooner or later.

“Hey Drew,” I drawled out, “Want to have dinner with me and my parents?”

 The fork he was holding in his hand dropped to the plate causing a loud clatter to sound through the whole café. People went silent for a second before returning to their own personal business.

“I’m sorry,” he started, “But did you just ask me if I want to be sitting in a room with your parents as they bombard me with question I’m not sure I can answer?”

My lips pressed into a thin line as I sank lower in my chair, “Is that a no?”

He ran a hand through his brown hair and sighed, “I’m not saying no.”

At least that gave me a little drop of hope, “Then what?”

“I knew I was going to meet them sooner or later,” he muttered under his breath, “Might as well get it over.”

“So you’re going?”

Reluctantly, he nodded and I broke into a huge smile.

“Thank you!” I squealed, “My parents will kill me if you weren’t there.”

“You deal with my crazy family at a daily basis,” he said, “Might as well deal with your posh parents for a night.”

My cheeks may actually start hurting from grinning too much, “Thank you.”

“You already said that,” he pointed out.

“I know.”

“You’re weird,” he deadpanned.

“And you’re not?” I retorted.

For the first time this day, he smiled. Not a smirk, but a real genuine smile.

“What would I do without you?” he shook his head with the smile still gracing his handsome face.

Well, I could say the same for him. I will be lost without his smart remarks, bored face and those green eyes that could speak a whole different language.

“Dress formal and agree on everything they say,” I instructed.

“Yes ma’am,” he mumbled teasingly, picking up his fork. Before he could eat his cake once again, I grabbed the fork from his hand and took a huge portion of his slice.

“You know you should never get my food,” he wagged his fingers threateningly.

I stuck out my tongue childishly at him and I was quite scared with his devilish smile. He started to stand up and I shot up from my chair.

“Don’t you even think about it,” I warned him, slowly stepping back as he started to approach me.

When he started walking faster, I ran from it. Never mind the fact that every single pair of eyes were on us, I giggled as we chased each other around the café.

“Have you forgotten about Smith and his girlfriend?” Drew asked when his motorcycle came to a stop in front of my apartment complex.

“You did everything on purpose, didn’t you?” I giggled, removing his helmet and handing it to him.

“Even the cake chase.”

“Thanks,” I said sincerely, getting off of his bike.

“You’ve been saying that a lot this day,” he pointed out.

“I’ve got a lot to thank you for,” I shrugged.

“So when’s this dinner?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded and drove off. I took the elevator to the penthouse where I knew my parents were waiting for me to answer their questions.

They sat there in the living room where my father was reading some stocks in his laptop and my mother was on the phone, talking in rapid French at the person in the other line.

When they both saw me, my mother hang up on the phone and my dad placed down his laptop on the coffee table.

“Sit down, Celeste,” my father told me, gesturing to the seat across from him. I obediently went to the white chair and sat down on the cushions.

“Everett’s son looks,” mom paused for a moment to find the right word, “Interesting.”

Well, we both agreed on that part.

“Have you invited him to dinner yet?”

“Yeah,” I answered, nodding at them.

“How did you two meet?” dad asked, “Are you two classmates?”

“No,” I denied, “We both got locked inside the school.”

Their eyes went wide in surprise. It’s not exactly the best way to meet a guy, if you ask me.

“Is he nice to you?”

I smiled softly at the question. Was Drew nice in general? Sometimes, if he was not giving a blunt reply. Was he nice to me? Absolutely.

“Yes, he’s really nice to me.”

They looked at each other and to my surprise, they smiled. They turned their attention to me, watching me carefully with happiness gleaming in their eyes.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

I was taken aback by their question. I seriously thought they were going to judge him or tell me to stop seeing him. But here they are right now, smiling at me, asking if I liked the son of one of the people who owed them money.

“Yeah, I like him a lot.”

 “That’s all we needed,” mom said sincerely, “We just want to find somebody who makes our daughter happy.”

“So you don’t care if he’s not rich?”

“Of course not,” mom answered, “I wasn’t rich when I started dating your father.”

She then looked at my father with all the love in the world. In that exact moment, I knew; I knew that their relationship wasn’t based on money. The way my father treated my mother like a queen and the way my mother looks at my father like he’s the only man in the world makes something in my heart swell. I was born because of love and my parents still cherish the passion that has never faded since they became high school sweethearts.

Maybe something like that may happen to me. In the midst of all money and power, love will come to me.

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Hi guys, I uploaded this chapter so would stop thinking of killing me. Sorry, I was extremely busy this week and you could easily mistaken me for a raccoon because of the dark circles under my eyes due to the lack of sleep. But I know you guys don't care about that so I'll just shut up and head to the question.

Question: Thoughts on Celeste's parents?

I don't want Celeste's parents to become so ignorant of each other. I do admit that I want them to give a little freedom when it comes to relationships.

I love you guys so much and thank you for being patient with me. I'm still going to be busy for the next two weeks so I apologize in advance. Please comment, vote and head to my account and follow moi.