The next day, I walked towards Gavin's and Aaron's apartment complex with my pack of beer that I asked Deon to get in hand. My boy Deon, who was of age, always got me alcohol when I needed it, so I could always count on him.

        I didn't tell Gavin I was bringing alcohol because I knew he was going to bitch about it, but what better way to let loose than drinking?

        Kenji needed this. I did, too, to calm my nerves. I didn't want to smoke and turn Kenji off, so drinking was the next best thing.

        I rang the doorbell, and Aaron opened it a second later. "It's Darian!" he announced, pulling me into a side hug.

        I entered, and my eyes were quick to find Kenji, who sat in the middle of the couch, staring at me with a shy smile. My insides warmed up at the sight of him. It was a pussy thing to think, but at that point, I didn't care.

        "And he brought drinks!" Aaron grabbed the beer and ran to place it on the table in front of the couch. "That's my boy." He grabbed a beer for himself and handed one to Kenji as well, who gladly took it. Gavin watched me closely.

        "Darian." Gavin sent me a disapproving look.

        "C'mon, Gavin," I groaned, closing the door behind me before making my way over to the couch. "It's just to loosen us up." I hadn't even realized that Aaron had already ran into the kitchen for a bottle opener, and when he returned, he flopped on the couch.

        Next to Kenji.

        And Gavin was seated on Kenji's other side.

        Disappointment sunk in at the fact that I couldn't sit next to Kenji. I fought back a frown and sat beside Aaron instead, resisting the urge to punch him for getting between me and Kenji.

        "Well, I'm not drinking tonight," Gavin announced, like we gave a damn.

        "Who said it was for you, fool?" I said to Gavin before turning my attention to Kenji. "It's for Kenji." A small smile peeked on the corner of his lips.

        "Aww." Aaron pouted. "It wasn't for me?"

        "No, dumbass." I pushed Aaron's head to the side. "I don't give a fuck 'bout you."

        Aaron glared at me, but he knew I was playing. Gavin laughed at our stupidity and even Kenji chuckled a little. We continued talking back and forth, and Aaron, Kenji and I drank while Gavin got himself some juice.

        Man, he was serious about changing.

        I ignored Gavin and focused on Kenji the whole time. Even when Aaron and Gavin talked to me, my mind was on him. While we talked, he barely contributed. He mostly listened silently. Even when Gavin and Aaron started playing Call of Duty: Black Ops III, he declined. It took an hour of the three of us taking turns to play before he decided to give it a try.

        He seemed to enjoy himself, but he still remained slightly distant. Even when we put the game up and kept talking while watching The Walking Dead, Kenji mostly focused on the show and would only occasionally laugh at something Aaron said. I frowned.

        I didn't know Kenji as a quiet person, and it was weird seeing him this way. The breakup must have really been messing with him. That was the thing with Kenji. He got too attached and was easily hurt. It sucked that people kept hurting him in the process—me included. 

        When I couldn't take it anymore, I finally asked, "You okay, Kenji?"

        He stared at me with his eyes bulged, probably because I hadn't spoken to him directly all night. When he recovered from the shock, he smiled sheepishly. "I'm fine."

        "If you were fine, Kenji, you wouldn't be here right now," Aaron reminded.

        "Aaron," Gavin warned.

        "No, he's right," Kenji sighed. "Sorry I've been kind of a downer tonight. I really appreciate what you guys are trying to do, but it's just difficult right now."

        "It's okay." I sent him an understanding smile that he gladly returned.

        "Sorry about you and Rosalyn," Gavin added. "You guys looked happy together."

        "Yeah." Kenji shrugged. "Then life happened."

        I smiled. Life happened. I hadn't heard him say that in a while.

        "I know what will make you feel better!" Aaron raised his index finger, as if he had the most brilliant idea.

        "Oh, boy." I took a long swig of my beer, mentally preparing myself.

        "Do you masturbate, Kenji?" Aaron asked, making me choke.

        "Aaron! The hell?" Gavin hollered with a mortified expression.

        "Um..." Kenji cleared his throat. "What guy doesn't?"

        "I know right." Aaron sent Kenji a confused look, probably trying to figure out why a guy would not want to masturbate.

        I shook my head at Aaron, but the thought of Kenji beating off suddenly got me hot as fuck.

        "But seriously," Aaron continued. "You should watch some porn or some other good shit and masturbate nonstop."

        Well, then.

        Gavin's jaw dropped, and Kenji's eyes widened for a second before returning to their original size.

        "That'll get your mind off of things real quick," Aaron said. "Just keep going and release all that built up anger and tension out in the form of your semen."

        "Aaron! The fuck?" Gavin stared at Aaron with a look of horror and disgust on his face while I burst into laughter.

        "I'm telling you. You gotta bust that nut." I laughed harder, and Aaron got closer to Kenji, as if he was giving him the best advice ever. "Just keep busting it! You can't go easy on that shit. Your dick should be raw and red by the time you're done." Aaron clasped his hand on Kenji's shoulder with a dead serious expression on his face. "Trust me. It'll definitely work. You won't even remember Rosalyn's name after you're done. Hell, you may even pass the fuck out."

        I couldn't breath because of how hard I was laughing.

        Kenji tried suppressing his smile, but his lips still curled up. "I'll think about it." I didn't miss the laughter in his voice.

        "You see?" Aaron nodded proudly at himself. "I know what I'm talking about. There's nothing like a good wank session."

        "Aaron, please stop talking." Gavin rubbed his forehead in frustration.

        I loved these guys. "Aaron, you're the best," I panted once my laughter calmed down.

        "I know." He leaned back with a proud smile, and his arm rested on the back of the couch, behind both my and Kenji's head.

        Whatever that conversation was seemed to have loosened Kenji up a bit, and he contributed more to our conversations. We played some more Call of Duty, and Kenji played more than before. Of course, we drank some more, too, and after a while, the alcohol started to take effect. I was definitely not drunk, but maybe a little buzzed. Kenji seemed slightly affected, too, but not as much as I was. After a couple more bottles, we all decided it was time to stop. I did have to drive, and I didn't want to be too buzzed while heading home.

        Even I wasn't that rebellious, especially after what happened to Camila.

        Before I knew it, it was a little past twelve, so I stood to my feet. "Well, time to go. Need a ride, Kenji?"

        He nodded, and he rose to his feet as well. "Oh, no you don't," Gavin intervened, pulling Kenji back down on the couch.

        I frowned. "What's the problem?"

        "You can't drive under the influence," Gavin scolded. "Especially not with my girlfriend's younger brother."

        "She's only older than me by three minutes!" Kenji defended with a frown that was soon replaced by a grin, making me smile as well.

        He was so cute.

        I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of such gross thoughts.

        "I don't care." Gavin crossed his arms, not relenting. "You can get yourself killed, Darian, but you're not going to get Kenji killed, too. Honoka will cut my ass."

        This whole holier-than-thou persona was rubbing me the wrong way. No wonder Arya didn't want to be around Kenji and the others due to her feeling more fucked up than them. Lately, every time I was around Gavin, I felt that same way. I already felt enough of that around my family. I didn't need to feel that way around my friends, too.

        I narrowed my eyes at Gavin, but before I could speak, Aaron did. "Why don't they just spend the night?"

        "Or I can drop them off," Gavin retorted.

        "Or they can spend the night," Aaron repeated, holding eye contact with Gavin.

        Gavin stared with his eyebrows knitted together. I lifted a brow in confusion as well. When Aaron's eyes flickered from me to Kenji and then back to me again before returning to Gavin's, Gavin gasped with a knowing look.

        "Ooooohhhh." Gavin nodded in approval. "Aaron's right. You guys should spend the night." Aaron nodded with another smug smile. What the fuck was going on? When Gavin saw the confusion edged on my face, he grabbed my elbow and led me into the kitchen while Kenji watched us, just as confused as I was. "We'll be back! Darian and I have to talk!" he shouted back at Kenji and Aaron.

        When we were safely in the kitchen, Gavin turned to me. "How could I not have thought about it sooner? I can't believe Aaron had to hint the idea to me."

        Yeah. If Aaron had to hint anything to you, you were slipping.

        "What's going on?" I asked a little louder than necessary.

        "You and Kenji need to mend things. Yeah, you two got along a little better after the dinner, but you need more than that to start fixing your relationship." I definitely liked where this was going. "What better way to talk and truly makeup than to spend a whole night together?" Gavin paused to give me a sideways smirk. I loved this plan. "This is the perfect opportunity for you guys to bond."

        I chuckled. "You really want Kenji to like us, don't you?" I did, too, but I wasn't going to admit that.

        "Not even that," Gavin said. "I want to end this feud between our two groups. It got between me and Honoka in high school, so I refuse for it to happen again." I didn't even want to be reminded of the horrors of high school. "And I've realized something."

        "What?"

        "The feud between me and Aaron and your old friends all started because of you."

        "What?!" I jerked my head back.

        "You started it." He didn't back down. "Your drama with them made them hate us for some reason. You're the common denominator in this issue."

        It was true, but Gavin didn't have to call me out like that. 

        "Thanks, man." I made sure to lace my words with as much sarcasm as possible.

        "The truth hurts." He shrugged. "Maybe if you make things right with them, it'll squash the beef between our groups. Maybe later on, there won't have to be 'groups'."

        There was no group on their side to begin with! That "group" died with Camila.

        I remained silent.

        "Improving things with you and Kenji is the first step." Gavin sent me a pleading look. "What do you say, Darian? Ready to sweet-talk Kenji into liking you again?"

        "I've been waiting for this moment for a whole year." My tone came out joking, but I was dead serious.

        Gavin patted my back in approval. "Thanks, man. I can always count on you guys."

        "I know," I agreed as we made our way out of the kitchen.

        When we entered the living room, Kenji and Aaron glanced our way. Aaron leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "So, what's the plan?"

        I looked to Gavin, who nodded at me, before I turned to face Kenji. We held eye contact as I said, "We're spending the night, Kenji."

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