Alyssa's PoV:

Amy's little Fiat 500 screeched to a halt in front of Emily's sprawling house. The headlights illuminated the marble columns and intricate carvings of gods and goddesses that adorned the entrance. The place was a mansion, almost more museum than home, with statues of Athena and Apollo standing guard by the grand front doors.

"Every time I see this place, I feel like I'm stepping into a Percy Jackson movie," Nate said, craning his neck to look at the frescoed ceiling above the porch.

"Your parents really went all-in on the Greek mythology thing, huh?" Selena added, her voice tinged with awe.

Emily rolled her eyes, tossing her bag over her shoulder. "Trust me, living in a temple gets old fast. Let's go inside before Amy starts another rant about Zeus being a terrible father figure."

Amy smirked. "I stand by every word. But fine, let's get moving. My Fiat has had enough drama for one day."

"You didn't even drive" Nate said getting out of the driver seat

"Dont be a meanie" Amy exclaimed

The five of us spilled out of the car, laughter echoing as we made our way inside. The marble floors gleamed under the soft glow of the chandeliers, and a faint smell of lavender incense hung in the air. Emily led the way to the living room, where plush couches and a massive flat-screen TV contrasted sharply with the ancient Grecian decor.

An hour later, we were sprawled across Emily's living room, surrounded by empty pizza boxes and bottles of soda. Selena was on the floor, flipping through a skincare guide, while Nate and Amy argued over which movie we should watch.

"Nothing scary," Nate declared. "I don't want to wake up thinking Hades is lurking in this house."

"Fine," Amy relented, holding up her hands. "But no rom-coms either. I can't handle another cheesy love montage."

"Yeah your live display with your boyfriend is enough" Nate joked

Emily, who was perched on the couch beside me, raised an eyebrow. "You're literally obsessed with Mason and Alyssa's love life. How is that any different?" she said looking at Amy

Amy grinned, grabbing a face mask from the pile Selena had brought. "Because their story is real, and it's juicy. Speaking of..." She turned to me with a sly smile. "You've been holding out on us, Alyssa. Time to spill the tea."

Selena nodded eagerly. "Yes! We demand details. How did it start? Who made the first move? Give us everything."

I groaned, hiding my face behind a pillow. "Do we have to do this now?"

"Yes," Nate said, his voice muffled by the cucumber slices he'd placed over his eyes. "The people need to know."

Emily smirked. "Consider it your duty as our friend. Besides, we're all curious."

I sighed, knowing there was no escape. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

Amy clapped her hands. "Let's start simple. When did you realize you liked him?"

I hesitated, a small smile creeping onto my face. "It was actually awhile ago"

"Like a month?" Nate asked

"A bit more"

"Two?" Amy questioned

"Hmm" I hummed thinking "Six maybe? No...seven?"

"WHAT?" they asked loudly and in unison

"Whay the hell do you mean by that?" Nate asked surprised

"Yiu have been hiding it for seven months?" Selena questioned

"What a soldier!" Amy said sarcastically " I have been for 7 years"

"Are you going to be mad or hear the story?" I asked as I got comfortable I the couch and placed the pillow on top of my crossed legs

"Fine shoot it" Nate said sitting down next to me.

Amy and Emily were on the carpet sat down and Selena was on my other side on the couch.

"Ok it was all because of a secret"

"A secret? Sounds spicy!" Amy replied

"Yeah you better tell all the spicy" Mate demanded

"Fine" I rolled my eyes "It was 7/8 months ago when we started our vacations" I said as I watched their attentive faces waiting for me to continue

"I am so ready for this" Selena said grabbing a slice of pizza

"Oh I have popcorn" Emily remembered

"Oh yes go go!" Nate said as they both stood up and ran to the kitchen preparing some pocorns

"Do you really want to know or not?" I asked as I saw them over the kitchen aisle

"Just wait 3 minutes" Nate said as they took some bowls and popcorn

"Just put it on the microwave" Selena muttered

"No way genius" Nate teased

"Urghh I want to know HURRY UP!" Amy shouted impatiently

"OKAY!" Nate shouted back

"By the way what is that of the secret?" Amy questioned curios

"Well I believe it's the start of the story if they hurry up!" I explained as quickly I heard their steps running to us again with 2 bowls of popcorn one with each of them.

"Here!" Emily said sitting down on the floor and sharing popcorn with Amy

"Start" Nate demanded as he gave popcorn to Selena and me

"Ok" I ate one popcorn and then I started "So it was around the end of June... my brother had decided to spend Summer with the boys and while my mom and dad did their summer trip the two of them, they didn't let me stay at home alone so... I had to spend it with the boys..."