I shut the door and lean against it. I am completely at a loss of words after that date. Once we had reached my house Blaze and I had a very heated makeout session, leaving us both completely breathless. I had finally managed to get out of the car and giggle my way towards the door. Now, here I am. Leaning against my door and smiling like a fool.

"So I take that entrance as a sign that the date went well?" Natalie says, coming up the stairs.

Her voice startles me and I whip my head up, only to bash it against the solid wood door.

"Ahh, shit that hurt." I complain, rubbing the back of my skull.

"Sorry," Nat says, "you okay?"

"Yeah. That just hurt. A lot."

"Here, I'll get you some ice." she tells me and heads into the kitchen.

Emerging seconds later with an ice pack, Natalie asks again, "so the date went well?"

I smile, accepting the cold gift, "it went better than well. It was absolutely incredible Nat. Blaze took me to the amusement park. He had remembered when I told him about how I used to go with my dad and ride the ferris wheel. We rode all of the rides and he won me a giant stuffed panda. Then at the end of the night, right before it closed we went on the ferris wheel and it was just magical. I've never felt this way about anyone before. He just brings out so much in me."

Natalie smiles, "I am so happy for you Jade."

"Thank you. I'm happy too."

"Have you seriously been here the whole time?" I ask suddenly.

"Yeah. I couldn't miss hearing about your date!" she tries to justify.

"You know that there is this new invention that you can talk to people without actually having to be with them ... it's called a phone." I tell her sarcastically.

Natalie shoots me a glare, "yes I know what a phone is Jade. I just wanted to hear it in person. I wasn't planning on staying the whole time but then your mom came home and we put on the TV while we baked brownies and ended up binge watching 'modern family'."

"So nice to hear that you bake and hang with my mother." I reply, a bit weirded out over how close Natalie is with my mom. They have always been really close. My mom thinks of Natalie as her own daughter and vice versa. It's really cool that my mom and best friend are so close but I think it's weird that they hang out without me. I don't know, maybe it's normal and I'm being paranoid.

Probably.

"Hey, your mom is super cool! Plus I couldn't resist brownies and modern family! Those are my two weaknesses Jade!"

"You have a lot of weaknesses Nat." I tease.

"I know." she whines.

"So where is my mom?"

"She got called in, had to do a night shift."

"She has had to do a lot of night shifts lately." I inquire.

"Maybe she got promoted?"

"Maybe."

"I hope so. Your mom works so hard."

"She does. She really deserves a promotion."

"I agree. I'll have to text her later and see."

I laugh, "now you're texting my mother?"

"Yes..?" Natalie replies as if she doesn't understand why I am asking.

"I'm starting to think the only reason you come over is to see my mom."

"I'm here now aren't I?"

"You only stayed because you and my mom were 'catching up and binge watching shows together'." I laugh, making air quotes to indicate that I am imitating her.

"Your mom is awesome!" she defends.

"Oh jeez. Anyways are you staying the night?"

"No, your mom is on night shift tonight. So I better go home."

My jaw drops as I watch her get up off the couch and exit through the front door.

She comes giggling back in merely seconds later.

"I'm totally kidding. Just wanted to see your reaction, which by the way, was perfect! Of course I am staying the night!"

I laugh, "remind me again why I am best friends with you?"

"Uh because I am amazing." she replies in a duh tone.

"That you are. I'm going to get the brownies."

"Okay, I'll make the popcorn!"

We both get up off the couch and do what we had said. After the brownies are retrieved and the popcorn is made, we settle down on the couch with multiple blankets and pillows to watch reality TV shows.

I smile to myself, loving how much of an amazing best friend I have. I love how close we are and I love our relationship in general. We are a very cliché pair of bestfriends. We do everything together. I love that I have someone like Natalie in my life. I am forever grateful for her.

***

I wake up the next morning on the floor, popcorn scattered all over the place. I look above me and see Natalie sprawled out on the couch, of course she kicked me off last night. Natalie is the worse person to sleep with. We always end up falling asleep on the couch and each time, I end up on the ground. Natalie has a tendency to kick and take up all the room when she is asleep. I truly feel sorry already for her future husband, or anyone who has to sleep with her in that case.

I groan as I look at the clock. It is already 12:00. I still have to clean up this whole mess and do my history project. I can't put it off any longer. It is due tomorrow and I have barely started.

I decide to let Natalie wake up when she wakes up. I'm not going to disturb her any more than I have to. That, and she is really grumpy when people wake her up. She is excited and joyful when she wakes me up, but when Natalie gets woken up, oh boy, all hell breaks loose.

I tiptoe down the stairs and have a quick shower before proceeding to start on my project.

***

"...and done!" I conclude as I type the last word on my slideshow.

I had been working on my history project for four hours, and the time has certainly taken it's toll on me. I am utterly exhausted and my fingers have cramped up from the constant motion of typing on my laptop. Even though it is only four o'clock I want nothing more than to curl up in my bed and sleep. However, the universe has other plans for me. I groan as my phone vibrates. Without checking caller ID I press the green talk button, but as soon as I hear the voice, I instantly wish I had checked the ID.

***

Huge shoutout to smartdog142 for her incredibly sweet comments! Seriously everyone go follow her! She has a book called 'falling for the bad girl' which is amazing and everyone should really go and check it out!

And congrats to katherinepowell for officially finishing the amazing 'Dear Sydney' and starting the spin-off 'Love Aria' ... you guys should all go check out those books! You honestly don't want to miss out on them! They are sincerely fantastic!

Sorry for the short chapter...this one was mainly a filler.

I need some opinions here... vote for either team Blaze or team Jason!

There is lots of drama to come I can assure you, so stick around to see who Jade will end up with!

Also, who likes the new cover??

Love you all!

-Maxine<3