::MAY::

"Do you think this is too formal for a dinner party?" Dawn asked nervously as she inspected the dress in a mirror. It was a tight, cotton candy pink sheath with a halter neck made of shimmering sequins.

"Not at all," Misty said as she chewed on a granola bar.

Dawn held it up in front of her body. "The color goes well with those new clips you got yesterday," I piped up. I reached for a handful of popcorn but then my phone went off. Misty dived in for it and tossed it to me.

"Hello?" I asked.

"May darling!" Chloe's voice squealed. "Listen sweetie, pack your overnight stuff as well... because it's a sleepover!"

"What? I'm not spending the night in a stranger's house!" I protested.

Chloe laughed. "I'd be surprised if you didn't know who he was. Charmingly brilliant."

"Like Harley?" I deadpanned.

"No, no, no," Chloe replied. "He's much classier than Harley, and a lot richer as well. Your friends should know him. He comes from a brilliant, and very famous family. Well I got to go darling. Toodles!"

"Who was that?" Misty asked.

"Chloe. She said to pack your overnight stuff because now it's also a sleepover."

"A sleepover..." Dawn mused. "Who's coming?"

"Besides us, I know Drew, Ash, and Paul are coming. Probably Harley and Solidad as well. Then add in Chloe and her mystery friend," Misty replied.

"Wigglytuff dude's going to be there?" Dawn asked with disgust.

Misty giggled. "Yes Wigglytuff dude is going to be there."

Dawn pretended to gag and Misty rolled over with laughter. I couldn't help but laugh too. Soon we were all on the floor rolling with laughter, unable to control ourselves.

After about a minute or two of uncontrollable laughter, we heard a knock on the door. Almost simultaneously, we got up and brushed ourselves off before Misty and Dawn pushed me to get the door.

When I opened the door, the first thing I saw was a bouquet of flowers. There were lilies, tulips, daisies, carnations, and other flowers I couldn't possibly name, but there wasn't a single rose in sight. I felt my heart drop a little, knowing that it couldn't be Drew.

"Hey babe." Brendan's white hat popped out from behind the bouquet of flowers, followed by his eyes and a warm, grin.

"Hey," I said though a slightly strained smile. "What are you doing here?"

He leaned in over the flowers and pressed his lips against mine. I waited patiently for the spark, that pulse of warmth, but it never came. When he finally pulled back, he half-grinned/half-smirked before saying, "I came to see you. Who else? Beautifly?"

Normally, those words would've melted my heart, but I felt nothing. I looked dead-on straight into his eyes and peered into his heart. I could see the twitchy confidence in his eyes, almost as if the confidence was fake. I took a deep breath before honing in on what he was trying to do. For a moment, that hat disappeared and was replaced by Drew's familiar green locks. His attempt at a confident smile-smirk morphed into Drew's teasing smirk. Green eyes flashed at my blue ones followed by a flick of hair. I blinked and suddenly I was looking at Brendan again.

"May, are you okay?" he asked.

"Uhh... yeah. Sure," I replied, still a little dazed.

He smiled before leaning in again to give me a quick peck before saying his goodbyes and walking away. It was only then I realized Dawn and Misty were standing right behind the corner, watching and listening to the entire thing. When I turned around, Dawn gave me a disapproving "tsk."

"If you don't like the dude, dump him!" she said with an exasperated sigh.

"What do you mean?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what she meant. "I love Brendan!" I exclaimed in the most passionate voice I could possibly muster, even though it wasn't enough to convince myself.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Pfff," she blew, flicking her jewelry-adorned hand. "You know what I'm talking about. You don't like Brendan anymore. You're into that sexy hunk of Drew and I don't blame you. You want to feel those sparks that you get with Drew, not just that monotonous buzzing between you and Brendan. Just dump the guy already and put all three of you out of your misery!"

I stood there, jaw dropping. Dawn knew exactly what my heart was saying, and what I was too afraid to confirm myself. I looked to Misty for confirmation and she nodded in agreement.

"I still like Brendan... I think," I said hesitantly. "No, Dawn. You have it all wrong. I still like Brendan. My relationship with Drew is strictly friendly/professional." I paused for dramatic effect. "And furthermore, maybe you should try taking some of your own advice and apply it with Paul."

Now it was Dawn's turn to gasp with an open mouth. "I do not like Paul!" she screeched. "And furthermore," she said, imitating my voice, "maybe you should stop being such a coward and admit you like Drew already."

I opened my mouth to retort but Misty butted in just in time.

"Chill!" she said cautiously. "Just get ready for tonight and chill!" She separated us the way a kindergarten teacher would separate the five-year-olds before starting to get herself ready.

The rest of the preparation for the party was dull and low key. The tension in the room was tighter than I've ever felt before. Dawn tersely curled her hair in one corner while Misty straightened hers in another and I picked out a necklace. The silence was astoundingly awkward. Thankfully, it was broken by a phone call from Chloe.

"Hey darling," she said as I picked up. "Listen, I need you to do me a huge favor. Could you make sure Drew knows that he's going to be getting a ride here in my private limo? Thanks sweetie. Love ya." And just like that, she hung up.

"What did Chloe want?" Misty asked.

"Just wanted to remind me to go remind the boys that we're getting a ride there in her limo. I'll go do it now."

I opened the door and walked out swiftly before anyone could say anything. Then I ran up to Drew's room and banged on the door. Drew opened it and just as he was going to yell at me, he saw me standing there and his face morphed into a smirk. Meanwhile, I was blushing like crazy, standing there in his shirtless-presence.

He wasn't completely shirtless; he was wearing a button down that wasn't buttoned at all. On top of that, the shirt looked crinkled in the hottest way ever. He wore a pair of low-riding jeans and his hair was slightly damp.

"Drew," I said, slightly breathless.

He smirked. "You've seen me shirtless before. What's the big problem now?" he said in a teasing tone, obviously aimed to get under my skin.

"Well..." I started. I seriously wanted to say he looked so much sexier now than four years ago but I couldn't say that to his face.

His smirk grew even wider. "I guess you can't take all of this," he boasted, gesturing towards his abs.

"Pffff," I said with a friendly, teasing eye-roll. "Of course I can take it!" I pushed him with my finger, in the chest, catching him off guard and pushing him into the bed. I overestimated my momentum and I ended up crashing on top of him.

Did I mention he was pretty much shirtless?

::DREW::

I was so glad Brianna was out running errands.

There I was, basically shirtless, with May on top of me, her face mere millimeters away. She was dressed in a gray cami and black yoga pants. Her hair hung loosely around her gentle face, falling in mine.

"Drew," she whispered softly.

I responded with a quick peck on the lips and immediately after, a red blush rose up onto her soft cheeks.

"This is so wrong," she whispered guiltily, "but why does it feel right?"

I smirked. There were no words that needed to be said. May was mine and we both knew it, somewhere. But would we be willing to admit it?

We have been rivals since we met. Then rivalry morphed into friend/rival, then slowly we faded from each other during those four long years. I saw her in the news all the time but I never could get the courage to call her.

I saw the familiar brown locks in the newspaper, accompanied by a smiling face. Her blue eyes were shining like gems. It's been three years since I last saw those eyes in person. Three long years of loneliness. Of course, I had Solidad to keep me company, and Harley I guess, if you count that as a good thing, but no matter what happened, we never would cross paths.

I felt a weird twitching sensation in my hand, almost like it was being drawn towards my phone. I itched to call her and talk to her for the first time in three years.

What if she didn't remember me? the little nagging voice whispered, preying on my worst fears. She's a world-class coordinator, at least a thousand times better than the little May you knew. She probably knows so many amazing coordinators by now that you've probably been pushed out of her head. You'll never get her.

I came to the horrifying conclusion that I have no courage when it comes to May. I was a coward. Did I really deserve her? She doesn't deserve a coward.

My train of thoughts was interrupted by May's worried voice. "Drew," she squeaked, "are you okay?"

I shook myself out of my daze to gaze up at her worried face. "I'm fine," I replied, stroking her face to reassure her. "You better go before Brianna gets back." I gave her one last quick peck on the lips before pushing her off and closing the door.

Once the door was shut, I took a look at myself in the mirror. My face was flushed and my hair was tousled. Then I saw May's face next to mine, hair and face in a similar style, but only a lot more gorgeous. I saw her laughing, smiling, and finally, squealing with a ring on her left ring finger. I took a deep breath and I confronted myself again.

"You let her go again," I said to my reflection. "How many times are you going to let her go before you finally get the courage to ask her out?"

::May::

"What took you so long?" Misty demanded as soon as I got back.

"Nothing big," I lied. I only cheated on my boyfriend AGAIN with the same guy AGAIN. On top of that, I don't think he's even that into me. He couldn't focus, like he was somewhere far off. Then he was so eager to get me out, it's like he doesn't want me there.

Misty cocked an eyebrow but didn't push the topic any further.

When we arrived at the host's mansion — yes, a full blown mansion with iron cast gates and everything — we were greeted by an army of butlers, bellhops, and waiters with platters of food ready to go.

"Where are we?" Ash asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Where do you think you are? You're in my mansion... Ashy-boy."

We all spun around to see a familiar head of spiky brown hair. Chloe smiled.

"What's up Gary?"

A/N Before anyone says anything, sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I hope everyone is having an amazing summer vacation. Love y'all 🖤
~ Hayy