Things went really well on the date. Well enough that a few days later, when we were all hanging out on the back patio grilling up some dinner, Tony had joined us.

It was a perfect summer's night. The fire was lit; the grill was going, and all the boys were having a beer while playing some corn hole. While the flames warmed our legs, the girls were gossiping on the couch, enjoying each other's company. I couldn't believe it had been a few months now since we ran away from home. It seemed like just yesterday I'd be hiding from my mother's scowl. Things were starting to look up for us though, and even if our trip started out in the wrong place at the wrong time, I felt like we were starting to find our footing. I'm glad Staton and I weren't doing this on our own, though. Even if the rest of the group had caused us nothing but problems, we would have never been able to make it all by ourselves.

"Tony, is that really the best throw you have?" Staton teased, slapping him on the shoulder. They looked like two friends that have known each other for years. Tony seemed to slip right into our group in the most comfortable way. Lucky for us, he wasn't living here though, so we didn't have to feed him.

I looked at the chicken breast that was on the flames of the grill. That was the last of our meat for the week, and we would soon have to fend for ourselves again. One of us would need to go grocery shopping. It'd gotten so expensive in the last month or so, and the budget was getting thinner and thinner with each passing week. Breygan and Aria would need to get jobs to help us supplement our costs, or we would have to move to a cheaper place. Even though we had paid for this upfront, we were coming to an end on what they would allow us to use it for. Soon we would need a new place.

"Sorry, I'm used to being in the kitchen, not so much with being on the field." Tony nods towards Staton, making remarks from our conversation on his and Julia's first date. He had really listened and remembered everything we had told him. Unless Julia was secretly filling him in over the last couple of days. It didn't feel that way, though.

"He is so cute, isn't he?" Julia beams, watching what had quickly become a big thing in her life. She was smitten with Tony.

"Yeah, you did a pretty good job," Aria added.

"He seems so sweet. Has that changed at all since the first date?" I questioned.

"No, if anything, he's only gotten better and better. Last night we went to eat at his family's restaurant and when I tell you it was the best food I've ever had in my entire life, I mean it. We could never afford to go to a place like that, but damn, should we try to?"

"You're telling me your boyfriend couldn't just get us in without having to pay?" Aria suggested.

"Yes, I am telling you that. For starters, I would never ask him to do that, and second, we aren't even boyfriend and girlfriend yet. That seems more like a first-anniversary question, doesn't it?"

"As long as you mean first week's anniversary. We've gotta eat." Aria rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, speaking of our need to eat, we need to get a list together of all the groceries we need. We've gotta hold off on the more expensive items until you and Breygan can get a job and help us out." I couldn't help myself. I didn't want to bring it up so early into the night, but the more I sat here listening to them, the more the stress of not having enough money took over my body.

"I've been looking," Aria mumbled, so low I could barely hear her.

"Where, the inside of Breygan's head? There's nothing there." Julia chuckled, maybe a little harder than she should have with her comment.

"Guys, not everyone can be in perfect relationships." Aria was obviously getting annoyed with us, turning her head to focus on the boys once more. I grabbed Julia's arm, and once I had her attention I shook my head, trying to tell her to back off.

"The food is almost ready!" Tony shouted, taking a moment to look over the chicken. It smelled delicious, and I had a feeling this was going to be the best meal we've had all month. Especially if the food at his family's restaurant was as good as Julia had mentioned it was.

I watched the boys gather around, nodding their heads as if the chicken was a baby doing a cool new trick. They were proud of themselves for making dinner, which seemed silly of them as Tony did all of the work when he first came over. The only thing the rest of the boys did was look at the food and distract Tony while he was taking care of it. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. Staton walked over and plopped down on the couch next to me. His skin glowing from all the running back and forth he'd been doing with the boys.

"Is it good to all be friends again, or what?" I smiled.

"It's been great. I'm glad we aren't fighting anymore. That's been a real buzzkill, but this is what I needed. It feels good to be active again other than my morning runs when I get the chance, and my job damn near kills me every single time I go to work." Staton pulled himself off the couch, heading into the house to grab the plates for Tony. He was right. This was nice compared to the other nights we've had here. Most of the time, someone would eat inside because they were upset with something someone else said. It was so hard to keep up with.

Before we knew it we were all sitting down to an exquisite meal. Tony had outdone himself with the chicken.

"Wow, we need you to come and cook for us every single night." Staton popped off, taking another huge bite of his meal. We all sat around the fire now, taking our usual spots. Aria was practically sitting in Breygan's lap to make room for Tony on the sofa. He fit right in, and the more time he spent with us the more I realized how true that was.

"Yes, it's amazing and I'm so lucky to have found you." Julia smiles, leaning over to give Tony a kiss. He seemed to love every single second of it and they were paired up decently well. I was so happy for her, and once again felt protective of her like a mother would.

"Oh gross, why don't you two get a freaking room already." Breygan's aggravated voice echoes through the air. Leaving an awkward tension rising with the flames. Small embers shoot into the now dark sky. None of us could focus on that though, as all of our eyes were boring holes into Breygan. How could he be so willing to just ruin anything good about this moment?

"Shut up. You and Aria hog the room, yet you can't treat her half as good as she is worth." Julia snapped, leaning further into Tony. All the thoughts of how nice this was earlier without the fighting were a distant memory now. Even with company, we couldn't seem to be mature enough for long enough to not get on each other's nerves.

"We got the room because we are an actual couple." Breygan snarled.

"We are?" Aria nearly spits out her food, coughing at the response from Breygan. He turned to glare at her, telling her to keep her mouth shut. Breygan was obviously worried about sleeping on the couch. Which made no sense considering he usually forced Aria to sleep on the couch most nights. She was only wanted when he wanted her around. I shook my head, anger boiling up inside my throat. Staton's hand was on my thigh as if he knew I was going to lunge across the room before I did.

"That's not very nice Breygan, Julia and I just met, we could very easily be just as real as a couple, we just need to give it more time," Tony interjected, trying his best to defuse the bomb that was Breygan, but this was going to be bad.

"We can be?" It was Julia's turn to be shocked, though her reaction was of a more positive surprise. Tony smiled, reaching over to grab her hand and pull her closer to him.

"I mean I'd like to keep seeing you, I really enjoy our time together, so yeah I think we could be a real couple." He smiled, kissing Julia on the cheek. I was able to relax even if it was just for a moment, but as soon as Breygan opened his mouth all of the calmness went away.

"What the fuck, that's such a hog of shit, I bet you tell that to every single girl you meet. How many girlfriends do you have now?" Breygan was throwing direct attacks now. He must have been jealous of the way Tony was treating Julia, feeling bad about how he treated Aria. We all knew that's the kind of boyfriend she wanted. He's always had a problem with Staton one-upping him. But instead of just trying to be better he gets angry with everyone else.

"Breygan, just the hell up! Until you have a job and can help this group out then you have no say. You don't get to be an asshole and do literally nothing for everyone. No one wants you around when you act like that." Julia was yelling now, she had jumped from the couch and was standing over Breygan. I looked around the neighborhood waiting for someone to complain about the noise.

"She's right Breygan, the money is getting extremely tight and the three of us can't hold the weight anymore. You absolutely must get a job, or else we will have to move out and go somewhere a little cheaper." I couldn't help myself. The words were out of my mouth before I could even realize what I had said.

"What the fuck is this, attack Breygan night." Suddenly my head was spinning. How could he not see how he treats everyone else, and suddenly we are all attacking him.

"This is ridiculous." Staton groaned, taking the last bite of chicken. "Breygan, Aria, you both need to grow up and get a job to help us with all of the bills. If not, then you need to get out of our way. The three of us our trying to better our lives."

"I think there's some things I need to know about with what's going on here, If I'm going to continue to be a part of this fight." Tony whispered to Julia, though not quiet enough I wasn't able to hear him.

"We all ran away from home. We are trying to make a life for ourselves, and while the three of us work basic jobs to put food on the table and such, these two can't seem to find one to help us out. We all know they haven't tried, but money has gotten really tight and we need to get groceries here soon. All we are asking for is some help." I couldn't help but blurt the info out, and the death glare from Julia told me I was stepping way out of line.

"I'm going to go inside to cool off." I snarled, grabbing my plate and heading in.

How could they all continue to act like this? How could tonight have gone from so perfect to one of the worst nights we've ever had? And how could I have embarrassed Julia like that?