I frowned but still replied.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair before glancing at Kenji. He and Honoka were laughing about something, and my shoulders slacked slightly. We finally cleared the air between us, and I didn't want to leave him.

        It was going to take a while for things to feel normal, but we took the first step, which was all I cared about.

        I dreaded coming here, and now I didn't want to leave early. I sighed heavily, catching Gavin's attention.

        "Everything okay, Darian?" All eyes moved to me, but mine focused on Kenji.

        "Yeah. I'm fine." I waved it off. "I just have to head somewhere for a second." I stood up and smiled at them, even though I actually felt like punching a wall right now.

        "Hate to break it to you, Darian," Aaron started as he leaned back in the couch, "but I'm not keeping your company this time. I'm staying." He smirked at me, and I stared at him blankly.

        "Like I give a fuck," I said.

        "Jackass," Aaron hissed with a hint of humor in his eyes. The others burst into laughter, including Kenji and that made me grin as well.

        "But seriously, I have to go," I reminded them. "I'll see you guys later."

        "See you later, man." Gavin waved a farewell.

        Aaron flashed a huge grin. "Bye. Don't miss me too much."

        I loved my boy's confidence.

        Honoka and Kenji stood up while I headed for the door. Once we reached it, I turned to face them. Honoka pulled me into a hug, and I awkwardly wrapped my arms around her. I hadn't hugged Honoka in years, but I kind of missed it.

        When she pulled back, she squeezed my hand. "It was great seeing you, Darian. Don't be a stranger." She wagged her finger at me with a scolding frown, making Kenji and I chuckle.

        My attention shifted to him as our laughter died down, and a small smile tugged at his lips. "Yeah," he muttered, digging his hands into his pockets. "It was fun." We stared at each other, not saying anything.

        Then my phone beeped.

I groaned before glancing up at the others. "Gotta go. I'll see you guys later." I opened the door and walked out, making sure to wave one last time.

        "Bye, Darian," Honoka hollered. She and Kenji stood by the door, her holding onto it while he stood back with his hands in his pockets, watching me. I stared right back until I had to descend the stairs, making me look away.

        Before I entered my car, I made sure to text Arya.

After she told me to pick her up from a specific salon, I was on my way. The whole trip there, only one person consumed my thoughts and placed a permanent grin on my face.

        Kenji.

        I hated the affect he had on me so much, but at the same time it made me all happy and mushy on the inside.

        It was disgusting.

        I was Darian Ansel for fuck's sakes. I didn't do happy and mushy.

        There was a power Kenji held over me that no one else did, and it was dangerous.

        But I was done distancing myself from Kenji, and I wanted to be in his life again. Even if it meant sacrificing my balls.

        When I pulled up to the salon, Arya was already outside with her arms crossed. I unlocked the car, and she hopped in, slamming the door behind her.

        I raised a brow. "You okay?"

        "Peachy," she replied with her eyebrows knitted together and her lips pursed.

        "Okay..." I reversed out and quickly got on the road.

        Her response was total bullshit, but I didn't want to pry, especially when it came to Arya. Among the others, she was the most private—just like me.

        At the same time, there was something I had to ask. "Do you have a car?"

        "I do," she confirmed. "A green Jeep Wrangler actually."

        I glanced her way, impressed. "You finally got one?"

        Ever since middle school, a green Jeep Wrangler was Arya's number one choice for a car. It was the only thing she didn't have in the world at the moment.

        Arya nodded with a proud smile. "Sure did." Her smile vanished. "But my stupid stepbrother just had to borrow it tonight. I even told him I was going to the salon today, but no. He didn't listen."

        I scrunched my face as I returned my attention to the road. "It's your car. Why didn't you tell him to fuck off?"

        "He's the one who convinced my dad to get the car for me."

        "Still." I didn't care if he bought her the damn car. It was still hers.

        "Don't worry about it."

        I peeked back at her and tilted my head slightly before returning my eyes to the road. Since when did Arya just give in like that? Especially to Aarav? Something was up, but I chose to ignore it. Again, I didn't want to pry.

        "So... How's Aarav?" I actually didn't give a fuck, but I was trying to make conversation.

        "Still a pompous asshole who always gets everything he wants," Arya said.

        Sounded about right. That was Aarav Gaurav for you, Arya's infamous stepbrother. The dude was an ass, and he always got himself in some kind of trouble but still managed to maintain a good reputation. Maybe it was due to the fact that Mr. Gupta could get him out of any trouble he found himself in. The perks of having a stepfather who had a big business and a ton of power.

        Lucky bastard.

        Some said I had the same privilege, but that was a bloody lie. If my father had the same skill in keeping my record clean like Mr. Gupta did in keeping Aarav's clean, I wouldn't have the reputation I had now.

        "Honestly, I don't want to talk about him," Arya said. "I already have to deal with him at home. I don't want to deal with him in my conversations, too."

        I guess that was the end of that conversation. We fell silent.

        Arya never liked her stepbrother. I could understand why, but I always found it a little strange.

        Before the silence lasted too long, Arya's phone rang, and she groaned when she saw the caller I.D.

        "My dad," she murmured before answering. "Hello, Papa?" Her tone was anything but enthusiastic.

        I blanked out when Arya jumped into a conversation with her dad in Hindi. I had no idea what she was saying. She could be calling me an asswipe, and I wouldn't know.

        What I did know was that as time passed, her voice escalated, and she made more motions with her hands. I snuck glimpses her way as Arya listened to her father with a crease forming in her forehead. When he seemed to be done speaking, she continued talking, or should I say yelling, with her expression not softening.

        I didn't speak the language, but even a fool would know Arya and her dad were not having a good conversation.

        When she finally hung up, she released a deep exhale and rested her elbow on the car door, staring out the window.

        I tried ignoring what I had witnessed, but when I couldn't take it anymore, I asked, "Everything okay?"

         "No," she replied in a barely audible voice. "My dad is being an ass again. He's mad at me for spending money to get my hair done, and he's angry that I was gone for so long. I know better though. He just wants a reason to be angry." Arya crossed her arms with a smirk on her lips. "That's why we usually don't talk, Darian. At least then, we won't argue. But no, he had to break the routine and talk to me tonight. Or should I say 'yell'."

        Arya never got along with her dad, and it was no secret among our group back then. "So you and the old man still don't talk?" I asked, and Arya's gaze turned to me.

        She scoffed. "When will we ever talk is the real question? You shouldn't be surprised."

        I shrugged. "I don't know. Ever since middle school, you guys had this problem. You're now in college, and it's still going on. Just shocking."

        Her eyes were on me the whole time. "It shouldn't be shocking. I bet you and your old man still aren't on the best of terms either." My grip tightened on the steering wheel. "I'm right, aren't I?" I didn't have to respond for her to know she was. "See? Some things never change."

        Dad venting was something Arya and I bonded over back in middle school.

        "You're right," I agreed. "My dad and I aren't on the best of terms. At this rate, we'll never even be on okay terms. I'm not the son he imagined I'll be, and I'm not the son he wants." In more ways than he expected. "For that, we'll always be on opposing sides. I've accepted it that there's no hope for me and my dad."

        "There's no hope for me and mine either." Arya's expression hardened. "That hope died eight years ago."

        "Arya..." My face softened at her reference to her mother's death.

        Before I could say anything else, Arya burst into laughter. "Look at us, Darian. We're fucked up, with our daddy issues and whatnot."

        I laughed, too. "I wear the title with pride."

        Arya's expression became serious. "That's why I only want to hang out with you. You're just as fucked up as I am, if not more." Thanks, Arya. "You make me feel better about myself because you're worse than me, and we can relate to each other." She smiled, and I stared at her, shocked but amused. "The others..." Her smile disappeared. "They're too perfect for my liking."

        Okay, I couldn't keep my mouth shut anymore. "Perfect?" I interrupted her. "Arya, last I checked they weren't perfect at all. I know I haven't been friends with you guys for four years, but I still remember things about all of you." She crossed her arms with her lips pursed, challenging me to continue. "You think they're more perfect than you, but I remember a lot of things that make them somewhat fucked up, too. Alissa had, and probably still has, a terrible relationship with her parents, and they even sent her to live in Shirley Heights with her sister just so she wouldn't be their problem anymore. Clay was always treated like the incompetent, youngest son by his parents, who thought he wouldn't go far in his life. And don't forget Kenji and Honoka, whose mother left their father for a woman. You remember that in fifth grade, right?"

        "Of course, I do. It was the scandal of the year."

        "Exactly." I didn't know why, but I felt an urge to defend the others. "Honoka tried being strong about it, but we all remember how much that fucked with Kenji. I doubt he's even over it now. If you think about it, we're all fucked up, especially when it comes to our parents."

        "I know. I know!" She motioned for me to stop. "No one is perfect, but I've always felt like the messed up one among them. The black sheep." She glanced my way. "You and Camila were the only ones I never felt that way with." I almost smiled. "Then that accident happened, and Camila died. And before that you abandoned us." Both our moods deflated. "Both the people I felt most comfortable with were gone—just like that." I never knew she felt that way. "Why do you think I was so angry when you left us for Gavin and Aaron? Why do you think I was so angry after Camila's death?" I remained silent, and Arya shook her head with a forced smile. "Exactly. You didn't know."

        "Arya, I..."

        "Don't," she interrupted. "It's okay. That was high school. High school is over now. Thank God." She rubbed her forehead.

        "I'm not going to abandon you again," I reassured her, sneaking peeks at her when I had the chance. "I promise. From now on, I'm here for you."

        "You mean it, asshole?" Her eyes locked on me.

        I chuckled, knowing I deserved that. "I mean it."

        I was done ignoring her, and I was even done ignoring the others, too. I wasn't going to actively reach out to them, but if we crossed paths, I wouldn't resist being "friendly".

        Arya flashed the most genuine smile she'd ever shown me. "That means a lot, Darian."

        "I gotch your back, Arya." I returned her smile, and we fell into another silence, but it wasn't awkward. When I neared the Guptas' home, it finally hit me. "Shit! I'm driving to your house. Sorry about that. I keep forgetting you're in college, now." We laughed. "I'll take a turn for the dorms."

        "No need." I sent her a sideways glance. "I actually live at home."

        "Really?" Arya missing out on another opportunity to be away from her dad? Now, that was beyond weird.

        "Yeah," she sighed. "My father refused to pay for my housing at the university, and he's forcing me to stay at home. According to him, I spent enough time away when I lived with my auntie. Bullshit, right?" I didn't know how to respond to that. "It's just another one of his tactics to control me."

        "I'm sorry, Arya." I pulled into her driveway.

        "It's not your fault." She shrugged while I parked in front of her house. She removed her seatbelt and opened the door. "I'll see you later." Before she got out, she paused and glanced back at me with a small smile. "I was partially wrong, Darian." I cocked my head to the side. "Some things do change. You certainly have changed." Her smile morphed into a grin. "I like it, a lot," she said before slamming the car door and heading for her front door.

        The whole time I watched her, I couldn't stop smiling. Tonight was a good night, even though it didn't turn out the way I thought it would. It turned out better, and I didn't even drink or get high or do anything else that I usually did.

        I watched to make sure Arya entered her house safely and when she did, I drove off, making my way back to my apartment.

        I was grateful for tonight. Kenji and I made a break-through in our relationship, and Arya and I were mending things. I still hadn't interacted with the others, but I would deal with them when the time came. Arya was wrong about one thing though.

        I didn't change.

        How could you change someone you didn't know?

        I was just as confused as ever, if not more, on finding the real Darian, whoever he was.

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