Once we made it outside, I saw Elle and Arron shivering next to Tyler's truck. Elle smiled and we filed into the back seat while the boys crawled into the front.
I wasn't sure where I would be sleeping that night. I started going through my options. I could wake up my dad or Aunt Claire and probably end up grounded. I could go to Tyler's and face the awkwardness of not knowing where to sleep in the house, or I could go to Elle's. That option meant waking up in a house with Ari the next morning. That was a bag of mixed feelings.

Tyler seemed to be reading my mind. "I'm going to crash in Aaron's room so you two can crash in my room. Easier than waking up Miri to get her to let Alex in. Feel free to grab any of my sweats to sleep in Lex."

I was grateful in that moment for the fact that Tyler was my friend. We weren't on some awkward first date just getting to know each other. This still technically wasn't even an official date. I had never let it have that title anyways. For all intents and purposes though I knew it was definitely something, even without the label.

We all quietly walked in the house. Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Mason were used to Tyler getting home late from gigs so we didn't have to face the waiting parents routine. I held Tyler's hand as he led me up the stairs in the dark to his room. He quickly grabbed his toothbrush and some sweats and then headed down the hall to Aaron's. I waited in the hall, not sure of what to do. When he was half way down the hall he turned on his heel and came back to where I was. Elle was still down the hall saying goodnight to Aaron so it was just the two of us for the first time all night.

Tyler leaned into me and pulled me close for a hug. "I hope you had fun tonight Little Harrison."

I smiled, "I did. Thank you for taking me Ty."

If this were a movie it would be the moment where the two leads shared their first kiss. I knew it. The moment had that electric charge of anticipation. I waited a beat to see if Tyler would make his move; a move he had been claiming that he'd wanted to make since I moved here. I looked into his eyes expectantly.

But it didn't happen. He just squeezed me tighter for a moment before letting me go and heading back down the hall. I stood there dumbfounded. Elle came out of Aaron's room and we headed into Tyler's to finally crash. I wanted to talk to her about what had just happened but I knew that could be weird. So I let it go and felt myself slip into a deep sleep.

It felt like seconds later before Elle was waking me up telling me it was time to wake up. I looked around the unfamiliar room. I realized that this was the first time I had been in the Mason's house. I wondered how close it was to my own. The rest of the families lived in the same neighborhood so I assumed that would be the case here.

I was also sure that I looked like a mess in Tyler's oversized T-shirt and sweatpants. We stepped out of the room and ran into the boys in the hall. Gavin and Laura were coming out of his room too. She looked surprised to see me. I just shrugged and we all walked downstairs.

Tyler's parents were already up and doing their Saturday morning chores. Miri was at the breakfast table. Her eyes grew a bit when she saw all of us walk in. Mrs. Mason was plating breakfast and looked to her sons for an explanation. Tyler was ready to give it. "Elle, Lex, and Laura all crashed in my room after the concert ran late last night. I was in Aaron's room. We didn't want to wake Miri up.

She smiled and nodded, accepting the explanation but adding, "Next time text me so I can tell the girl's parents. I'm sure they think you're all at different houses right now."

"Yes, ma'am." Came the chorus from all of us.
Everyone sat down and had breakfast. I sat in between Elle and Laura. Tyler sat at the opposite end of the table next to his mom and dad. I would have to wait to talk to him.
All the girls packed up after breakfast and asked Laura to walk with me home. I wanted to talk to her more about last night. That, and she knew the way home.

We made it about two houses before she started talking first, "OMG! You slept in Tyler's room?"

I rolled my eyes, "With Elle."

"Oh that was true?" She looked disappointed.

"Yes, girl. Lord knows I'm not moving with Tyler like that."

She shrugged, "I mean I guess it's good that you and Ari are both moving on."

I stopped short and waited for her to explain. She looked confused so I added, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Laura's eyes got big then like she realized she spilled a secret she shouldn't have. "So you don't know?"

"Laura. What the fuck am I missing here?"

"Ari was making out with that Grade Nine girl, Darcy. She was like all over him when The Station was playing."

Flashbacks to when Ari and I danced to the same band at the same club flooded my brain. I tried to push them out so I could speak. "I left before they started playing."

Laura looked like she wanted to cry for me. She started to try and hug me but I nodded no.

That fucking skank.

I was seeing red. I didn't know who to be more mad at, Darcy for going after my ex boyfriend less than two months after we broke up? Total girl code violation. Or Ari, who obviously did that to piss me off. He knew it'd get back to me. Either way, I felt like a ticking bomb that was about to go off and Monday couldn't come slow enough.

We had only walked three streets over when we reached my house. I was pretty sure the Stones lived four streets past Tyler's in the other direction. That made them the furthest from the group. Ari's house was two streets over from here in the opposite direction. I really wish I knew my north from my south. I realized then that I didn't know where the Flores' lived. I hadn't had a reason to go there yet. I made a mental note to ask.

I went inside to collapse. I spent the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon asleep, recuperating. Mid afternoon I got a call from James asking if I wanted to go to the park with Cassie and him. I smiled big enough that I was almost sure he could feel it over the receiver. All the Mason and Harrison kids were coming too. That meant I would get to see Tyler. The thought of that was a welcome distraction from my current mood.

I put on a pair of thermal underwear, some tights, and then Tyler's sweats over that. They actually fit that way but I still had to tie them up. I changed into a light pink sweater and a gray puffy jacket. A pink hat, scarf, and gloves completed my look.

It was freezing in Toronto and I still wasn't used to it. James picked me up when it was time to head to the park. Cassie was in the front seat and to my delight, Tyler was in the back. He was wearing a white pullover, a pair of jeans and a matching hat.

I smiled warmly at him and when I got in he pulled me to the middle seat so that he could put an arm around me.

He smirked, "Are those my sweats Little H?"

I blushed, "They're warm and fit over my leggings."

He nuzzled into me, "Come here, I'll help warm you up. You poor little Texan. First winter up north huh?"

"This shit is terrible. It's 60 degrees in Dallas today!"

"Holy shit that sounds amazing right now." Cassie added from the front seat.

"Exactly. I am ready to thaw out. I feel like a constant popsicle."

Tyler pulled me in close to him and opened his jacket so that I could wrap my hands around him for warmth.

James looked back at us then, "You ready to freeze your butt off? We're here."

I felt my nose curl, "Great, I vote we stay in the car where it's warm."

"Get out."

Tyler looked down at me and smiled, "It'll be fun."

"Fine." I stepped out of the car and prepared to have my butt become a popsicle. James owed me for this.

Cassie and I walked a little slower to let the boys get ahead. They took the hint and started heading to where the rest of the group was. Cassie had her short black bob poking out of her blue beanie and I noticed she was essentially a blue version of me. We laughed about the coincidence and she started gushing over James and how happy she was that he invited her to the park.

"Has he said anything about me since last night?

"I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet but I am sure he likes you. He wouldn't have invited you to hang out today if he didn't."

"True. But what if he only likes me as a friend and only invited me because he knew you and me were friends?"

We were friends? That was news to me. I wasn't going to be rude so I ran with it.

I smiled, "If he only liked you as a friend there would be a whole lot more people here. I am sure he asked me to come so he could hang out with you and get to know you without it being weird. James is different when it comes to dating. He's not the type to go on one on one dates without getting to know the girl first."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Yeah. I think you two look cute together though."

"Thanks. You and Tyler look adorable together. It's about time you two started dating."

I was a little surprised by that. "Wait, what?" I wasn't aware people paid attention to who I was or wasn't dating.

She looked back at me like I had missed something. "Oh I've been on team Tyler for weeks. A lot of girls at school were pissed when you and Ari broke up because it meant Tyler would get a chance and they wanted him. Then there were the girls who have been waiting for Ari to be single again. Girl you don't know how many girls have been dying to be in your shoes with this love triangle."

My eyes were wide. "Dude for one, Tyler and I aren't dating. I don't know what we are but it's not that yet. Secondly, my life isn't a soap opera for people to tune into to see what happens next."

She leaned in, "Hate to tell you but at a school as small as ours, there's not much else for people to talk about. I mean there are tons of guys in my classes who I've heard talking about you too. They're wondering if you date outside of this friend group or not."
"Okay, apparently I need to take a class in social observations because I was unaware of all of this and it's pretty freaking creepy."

"Every school has their cliques. You just happened to be born into the one at the top of the pyramid."

"People seriously look at it like that?"

"They're like a super clique. Most of the kids in it play a sport or are artistic. Tyler plays in the hottest local band in town. What world would that not make them popular?"
"The one where they're just my goofy cousins their goofy friends."

Her eyes bugged out at me. "You and I see the world in completely different lights."

"Yeah just hang around them some and you will see what I mean. I guess if I think about it in terms of what they do, cheer and sports and stuff then I could see it in the terms of popularity. I honestly don't think any of them besides Laura and Nina care at all about their popularity status."

"That's what makes you and the rest of them have even more popular, you don't even care that you are."

"You do like James right? Not just because he's a Harrison?"

She reeled back for a second like I had slapped her. "I swear I like James for James. I was just making an observation."

I looked at her in the eyes as she spoke. I decided to believe her for the time being.
I smiled at her and she calmed down. "I just don't want anyone to use him or use me to get to him. I've had enough of that after last night."

Cassie's eyes got wide again, "So you heard about it already? I was trying to figure out how to mention it."

"That skank wanted Tyler and when I wouldn't let her have him, went straight for my ex. She's not even his type which makes me think he was doing it to get back at me and that just pisses me off even more."

"Well then they deserve each other."

True. But I still wasn't happy about it. Ari was not the type to just make out with a stranger in a club. Not the Ari I knew. It felt like a stab to my gut and I didn't have anyone I could talk to about it without looking like the jealous ex girlfriend.

"Well as long as you aren't using me to get to James, then we're cool."

"I wouldn't do that. That would be pathetic and he would probably dump any girl who used his family."

I nodded, "That's true."

We headed to join the rest of the group. It looked like a game of football was about to be underway and I was ready to lose myself in a game for a few hours.