I hopped out of the car and hurriedly made my way up to the front door. I was so anxious to get inside, thank goodness dad's car wasn't parked out here or I'd be dead for sure.

Just as I was about to head on inside, Jesse greets me.

"Hey" He says, appearing behind me. I turn around and nod my head before turning back to open the door.

"Wait, I wanted to ask you something" Jesse continues, walking towards me.

I roll my eyes and turn to face him once again, folding my arms across my chest in annoyance.

"What?" I ask lazily, hoping this wouldn't take long. My brain hurts.

Jesse leans against our railings and gives me a small smirk, clearly taking his time with whatever he has to say.

"Well?" I grunt in annoyance. I'm beginning to lose my patience and I'll soon lose my head if I don't get inside right now.

"Well, I was hoping we could hang out tomorrow. I mean, if you want to...I'm just...y'know, asking. It's totally up to y--"

"Yep. Okay, I'd love to. There's one little problem though" I cut him off, giving him a smug look.

"Oh, and what's that?" He asks, shoving his hands in his pockets.
He moves closer towards me and I take a huge step back, hitting my back against the door. Why am I behaving like he's a serial killer? Jeez Rose, get a grip.

"Um, I'm kind of grounded" I reply shyly, scratching my head.

There was something about Jesse Matthers that made me get that feeling, you know, the one where you're in an elevator and it suddenly drops, making your heart feel like it's going to jump out of your mouth? Yeah, I've always felt that everytime he'd talk to me.

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow then, around midday" He says cheerfully, interrupting my thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" I ask, confused. It's either he heard me wrong or didn't hear me at all.

Jesse chuckles to himself and walks down the stairs, heading back to his place. He let's out a light laugh and I scowl when he gives me a wave.

"See you tomorrow Daniels" He says smartly.

As he disappears out of my driveway, I stand there looking like an idiot. How on earth is he going to convince my dad to let me go anywhere?

I look down the street and see dad's car heading towards the house.

"Oh shit!" I exclaim, pushing the door open and running for my life.

《×》

"Rose, dinner's ready!" Mom shouts out from the bottom of the stairs. Not sure what we're having tonight but something sure does smell divine. I quickly hop out of bed and make my way downstairs, ready to satisfy my growling tummy.

"What's for dinner?" I ask while making my way to the dining table.

"You'll see" she replies, giving me a smile as she brings out the plates.

"Rose, what time did you get home from school today?" My father's loud voice calls out from the living room. I glance in his direction and see that he has his feet up and a beer in his hand. There seems to be a game on TV.

"Um...well, I got home by four" I answer, taking a seat at the dining table. Thank goodness there's no eye contact or he would surely know I'm lying.

Dad doesn't reply and I exhale slowly, relieved he didn't question me further.

"Dinner time!" Mom announces, appearing from the kitchen with a huge dish in hand.

Ugh, that's what I was smelling. A roast. And it looks so succulent, I can't wait to grab a piece of tha-

"Jesse! You made it! Come in" dad exclaims and I jump out of my seat.

What the hell?

I walk into the living room,shook to the core. Why on earth is Jesse here? No, the real question here should be why did Dad invite him over?

"Hey Rosalie" Jesse greets me as he joins dad on the couch.

"Hi" I reply, eyeing dad, who just sits there smirking, avoiding any eye contact with me. He's up to something, I just know it.

"Wow, something sure smells great in here Mrs. Daniels" Jesse says, obviously complimenting mom's cooking.

Mom chuckles lightly with a huge smile, making her way to the dining table with more food.

"Oh stop it! It's just a roast, nothing fancy. Come on, let's eat" she replies, and we all grab a seat at the neatly set table.

Wow. The table looks so fancy. I've never seen mom go all out like this. I wonder why this dinner is so special. I hope it's not all for Jesse because even I wouldn't go through all this trouble for him.

The food looked amazing. The roast was sitting pretty in the middle of the table, grabbing all my attention. Beside it was a bowl of salad. Mom also made mashed potatoes. My favorite. And a plate of baby corn. Yum.

Although I didn't drink wine, dad poured me a glass, still avoiding eye contact with me. He was enjoying this alot and I'm still yet to find out what his motive is behind all this fanciness.

Mom stood up once again and padded into the kitchen. Few seconds later she appeared with a basket of garlic bread and some delicious gravy. Ahhh, the aroma is making my tummy grumble even more.

"Wow, everything looks amazing Mrs. Daniels" Jesse says, staring at the food infront of him.

"Thank you, Jesse" Mom replies, pouring herself some wine.

As we all dug into the food, I kept my gaze between dad and Jesse who seemed like they had alot to talk about. Mom asked me a few questions about school then did the same with Jesse.

Dad looked over at me once and gave me a smile. It looked kinda cunning, but I may just be acting paranoid. I'm not sure yet.

Halfway through dinner, he clears his throat and looks between Jesse and I, clearly going to say something.

"Y'know Jesse, we should do this more often. You're more than welcome to have dinner here anytime" dad says, giving Jesse an approving nod.

"Yeah, it shouldn't take your parents being away for you to pop by. We enjoy your company" Mom seconds dad, giving Jesse a smile.

"Wow. This is unbelievable" I mutter under my breath, angrily forking a huge lot of potatoes into my mouth.

"Thanks...I really enjoy coming over aswell" Jesse replies to mom and dad, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Well yeah, since you're crushing on my daughter" dad says with a smug grin.

"Dad!" I exclaim in disbelief. "I can't believe you said that. Jesse I'm so sorry."

All of a sudden Jesse looked extra nervous. He gulped down half a glass of water and began clearing his throat. I could tell he was becoming uncomfortable. I gave dad the death stare as he kept that smug look on his face. Mom on the other hand just minded her own business, enjoying her dinner and sipping her wine.

"It's alright. Rose and I are just friends, nothing more" Jesse finally replies, his voice a pitch higher than usual as he passes a glance at me.
I smile in return and give a small nod. I wish I hadn't, though.

A part of me felt sad although I'm not sure why. It's true that we were just friends. Maybe a part of me wishes that by now we would've become more.
But that's not going to happen because he just announced that we're friends. Besides, he's still in love with Lyla.