Marci Wellington's POV

I forgot to add something when I described the Lealtads; they are early risers.

Now I'm not against people who like being awake by the break of dawn, but school resumes on Monday. I need all the sleep I can get.

"Girls, water the ridges, then pluck the flowers that have fully bloomed," Abuela instructs us before she struts back into the house, her trusty roll of newspaper moving along with her hips.

So far, Giá and I have helped Abuelo arrange his study and vacuum the halls. If it isn't obvious, Abuelo and Abuela are getting old, so she had us help in her garden.

Don't tell Abuela.

"So, what are we doing after this?" I ask my cousin.

"Lucas called; he and Nate want to hang out." She says as she drops her watering can. She goes on all fours and begins plucking the flowers while I water the rest of the garden.

"Sounds nice. Where are we going?"

"They didn't say, but they say dress comfy." She shrugs. "Marci?"

I hum in response.

"It's here!" She yells and backs away from the flowers.

I turn my head to look at Giá standing there and shaking like a leaf. She points a shaky finger to the ground. I follow it and hold down a laugh. It's a bunch of ants picking fruit that was overripe.

"It's not funny; they're back again for revenge! I should have never stepped on that little one last week." She's close to tears as the ants double in size.

That was my breaking point because I doubled over and started laughing. Giá had other plans because she started screaming.

"They're climbing me!" With her cheerleading reflexives, she jumps and lands on my shoulders.

Let me tell you a secret; I have as much upper body strength as a lone ant.

You know when lumbers cut up trees, and they yell out timber when the tree falls?

Mateo must have thought the same thing as me because he yelled, "Timber!"

And we both fell.

That's the story of how Giá and I spent our morning redoing Abuela's garden.

-

There's always that person or group of people you feel like you belong with when you're with them. Whether your family is falling to pieces or not, they are people for you. After Diego had driven away, the boys walked up to us. Before I could get a word out, Nathan bounded up to me and wrapped his hands around my waist.

He nuzzled my neck, "Are you okay?"

I returned the gesture and wrapped my hands around his neck, "I'll be alright."

Nathan and I always saw eye to eye, but he was always slow to admit what was happening. Although I wouldn't blame him because some things take a lot of time to process.

"How long do you think this is gonna take?" I heard Giá ask Lucas.

Nathan and I separate from the hug, but he still has his hand wrapped around my waist.

"Not sure," He replied gruffly.

My best friend does a double-take and furrows her brows, "Who pissed in your cereal?"

"Long story,"

Nathan could sense that Lucas was about to lash at Giá, so he quickly said.

"How about we go in?"

Taking the lead with him by my side, we walked into the arcade house and went to the one machine we were all good at.

The dance machine.

Despite our different personalities, we all loved dancing which is why we performed at the talent show last term.

Nate slipped a few coins into the slot, and Lucas picked our favourite song; Ayo by Tyga and Chris Brown.

I know it's an old song, but it has a vibe that made us freely express ourselves without talking.

After we finished dancing, Nate went to the basketball machine while Giá went to find the restroom. Leaving Lucas and me to play pool.

Evenly matched because our fathers had a thing for wanting to beat each other, and so as their kids, they thought we could carry along the rivalry.

They had to battle out each other in every single way.

Jokes on them because Lucas Stuart is one of my closest friends, but aside from his pessimistic attitude, he's a nice guy.

"So you gonna tell me why you're acting like a girl on her period, or should I go across the road and buy you some toiletries?" I asked and broke.

Two striped balls went in, "Don't know what you're talking about, Marci." I wanted to sink another ball, but I missed.

I moved to the side for him to play, "So tampon or pad?" He growled because he accidentally puts three-stripe balls into the holes at once.

I gave him a grin, "I could have sworn you would stop being a brat. I guess I was wrong." He seethed as he moved to the side.

"Whatever helps you sleep at Stuart," I shrugged and proceeded to sink before he abruptly said.

"My dad wants to host the Spring Gala." I missed my shot altogether and threw my pool stick onto the table.

I hoped the glare I was directing at him burned a hole in my head. "Now, who pissed in your cornflakes, Wellington?" He smirked.

"Dare I ask who is coming to the Spring Gala?"

I already knew the answer, but a girl could hope.

"Your Dad, obviously," He snorted, "And a whole bunch of wannabe music producers, models, you know, the upper-class people. Also, the presses will make an appearance."

"Well, then good luck with that."

A staring match began between us. He looked smug because he knew I would cave in.

"Fine, I'll be there, but you will practice with me for the sport's time out," I state.

"Do I have to perform with you?"

"Not if you want to but-"

"You got yourself a deal Wellington." He sunken two solid balls and sent a wink my way.

Well played, Stuart, well played.

In the end, I won the game, and I made sure to gloat.

"If you're done, I would like to eat now." Giá wrapped her hands around my shoulders and ushered me out of the arcade with the boys behind us.

We walked to the ice cream parlour next door and got some sundaes. Since it was near dusk, we decided to just stroll around until Diego came to pick Giá and me up.

"Did you guys ever wonder how we will be when we grow up?" Giá asked as we entered a park.

"I don't care about that, as long as none of us ends up dead or disabled." Lucas grinned at the small children that ran past us.

"That's sweet of you, bud. I didn't think you could last that long..." My boyfriend was saying before Lucas said.

"That's what she said." I choked on my ice cream.

"I was going to enjoy two round cups of..."

I will go on a hunch and assume Giá was talking about the ice cream in her hand, but Lucas had other plans because he cried out again.

"That's what she said!"

Giá turned back to look at Nate and me, "Remind me again why we didn't ditch him in the arcade?"

"That's what- hey!"

Nate and I tuned out the banter that was surely going to ensure and got lost in our conversation.

"How many games are in this semester, Nate?" I ask.

"Honestly, I have no idea; I just hope I won't be benched for most of it."

Just because he was a new kid and had a Scotland background, the guys in the basketball team were trying to convince their coach not to let him on the basketball teams. After sharing a few words with my older cousins, my boyfriend got admitted to the basketball team.

I kiss his cheek and choke back a laugh. Nate's sking always betrayed him by turning the same shade as his hair.

"If that's the case, I hope one person on the team gets a broken ankle." I never said I was the saint in this relationship.

"It won't matter because I'll have my favourite person as my cheerleader." His hand draped on my waist squeezes it.

"Aww, thanks, Nate." Giá drawled from the front.

Judging by that sickly sweet tone, she was messing with him.

We found our way back to the entrance, and Diego was waiting for us there while perched on the car's hood, deep in thought.

I look around, and I've gotta say, it takes real effort to find people who get you and keep them close. It's not easy to find those people when you're young. I feel relieved that even though my home life is slightly broken, I've got a tight-knit group of people right here.

"Hey guys," I get the attention of my friends. "Let's make a pact. No matter what happens, we stick together like a family. From here on out, it's us against the world. Deal?"

I fold my hand into a fist and move it into the middle of the circle that we have formed.

"Deal," They all say and return the gesture.

There you have it, guys. This is where the name of the book came from.

So Thoughts? Theories?