We arrive in Texas early in the morning, around 3am. Grayson and I were met at the airport by two security guards as well as Alisa and Oren. 

I smile fondly at the familiar sight of Alisa and Oren. Grayson and I both fashion sweats and a shared pair of earphones, I wear some comfortable UGG boots. Fashionable sunglasses sit atop my messy ponytail. He carries my suitcase and his, whilst I take both of our duffle bags of carry on. 

We both stalk down the escalator in the almost completely empty airport. The only noise in our ears being the quiet sound of folklore by Taylor Swift in both of our headphones thanks to me. 

Oren spots us first and gestures to us, Alisa whips around with an angrily expression. Before we can even say hello once reaching them, Alisa jumps into an interrogation. 

"How rational must you be to leave the most heavily guarded House in the country without warning or even the slightest glimpse of your locations, to the point two of the most highly at risk teenagers in the states are out wondering alone without protection?" Alisa's loud voice echos the silent airport with only a few other residents. 

"I've nearly died 500 times at the 'most heavily guarded house in the country' but during my time at College I haven't even had a single threat to my life, how great is that?" I smile. 

"And you Grayson? I expected better after the years of training we've put you through." She turns her glare to the tired boy. 

"Would you just relax? We're safe. We're here. And we know you're only acting so bitter cause you missed us." I grin teasingly. 

She tilts her head warningly, "It's good to have you both back." She nods through gritted teeth after receiving a look from Oren.

"Avery will be happy to have you back." Oren tells us with a small smile. "I'm sure she will." I smile as I pull my sunglasses down over my sleep deprived eyes. 

"Well I'm very glad you two have got cosy since your departure however I'm very disappointed to have to inform you that tonight you will be sleeping in separate complexes." Alisa says sarcastically.

"Cosy?" Grayson quotes repulsed by such accusations. "Yeah we just met up on the plane when we realised we had the same flight. Haven't seen him since I left." I deny. 

Oren raises a brow and glances between us, Alisa gives an unconvinced nod. If we were going to lie about this we'd have to do a much better job than this. 

Nevertheless we're both escorted to separate hotel rooms in Avery's large hotel. I get a room on the top floor and him on the bottom. 

I immediately send a text to Max.

Me: Are you here yet?

Max: Driving to hotel from airport now, almost back.

Me: Omg meet me at vending machines in 30 mins

Max: I'll be there.

And just as promised, at 4:30am Max showed up in sweats and a messy ponytail just like me at the vending machines. A few snack machines line a wall, next to some drink ones and a large ice machine. 

Immediately when I see her I freeze. We both just look at each other for a moment before a smile creeps onto her face, "Come on then Pear Bear, don't just stand there. Give old Maximilian a hug." She smirks. 

I launch into a hug with her and we jump around squealing excitedly. "I missed you so much." She cries into my shoulder, "I missed you too." My voice is muffled by her thick sweater. 

"Your hair, Pear Bear! You look so different! You look so Frat Girl Hot!" She screams. I stifle a laugh, preparing to reply a joking comment.

Behind me I hear a creak of the floor board and jump into defence mode, turning around sharply. I'm met with the alarmed face of Grayson Hawthorne holding an empty bucket.

"Oh. It's you." His eyes soften comfortingly. I smile at him, Max looks between us with a raised brow. 

"Nice bucket Hawthorne." Max nods in greeting. "Thanks." He tightens his eyes for just a moment in sarcasm. 

He walks toward the large ice machine and starts to scoop some ice out. 

"I'll see you later." He smirks a little at me before walking away. 

Once he's well out of sight Max turns to me with bulging eyes. "Did you see that? He was totally flirting with you!" She squeaks excitedly. For once she's actually right.

"No he isn't." I scoff. "And have you ever seen him without a suit? That's like the first time! I couldn't even imagine him without one until now." She rambles.

A ping snaps us from our conversation. Max pulls her phone out and her eyes almost fall out with how wide they become. 

"It's Xander. He wants to come by." She informs me excitedly. "Okay I don't know if it's more concerning that he is awake at 4:30am and somehow knows your location and that you just arrived back, or the fact he is so horny he can't even wait a day before he fucks you." I laugh.

"What should I say? You're here and I can't just kick you to the side for some hookup. But then I can't say no because then he'll think I'm not interested. I could ask if he wants a threesome with you?" She rambles nervously. 

"Ok bitch, shut up." I laugh. "I'm literally gone. Go get that bbc." I smirk as I run away before she can overthink it and change her mind.

The next morning I approach Max's room eagerly. I knock on the door with anticipation. 

Max opens the door, wiping her eyes having just woke up. 

"Where is he?" I demand desperately. Behind her I see a tall figure emerging from the shadows of her bed. He squints until his tired eyes focus and he sees me, "Paris!" He yells like a kid.

We run towards each other and meet halfway into Max's room in a huge hug. He lifts me off the ground and spins me around. "I missed you so much." I murmur into his bare neck. He's shirtless due to his night spent with Max. 

"You too." He squeezes me extra tight. "We have so much to talk about." He adds.

He places me back down to the ground, "You've changed so much. Have you grown?" Xander looks down at me. "It's only been like three months." I scoff. 

And just like that, the three of us had started in a group gossip which lasted several hours until Alisa joined us along with some dress designers with big racks of dresses. 

Xander sits on Max's bed as we both try on dresses. Max tries on an emerald green one whilst I try a pale pink one. Max's dress hugs her frame in all the right places and the color complements her eyes perfectly. 

Xander smiles up at his girl, finding it blissful to see how happy this perfect dress is making her. 

I squint my eyes at the puffy dress I wear. "It just doesn't feel right." I shrug sadly. 

The dress designer looks at me with offence and begins searching through the rack. He finds one silk red dress and passes it to me. "A perfect pop for your comeback dress." He declares. 

I try the dress on and smile excitedly when I see it. The dress squeezes tightly around my breasts and pushes them up, a slit up to my thigh starts at the bottom, the rest of the fabric hugs my whole body like saran wrap on a sandwich. Perfect.

They start on our makeup and hair as Grayson and Xander get ready in Grayson's room. I finish myself up by placing my Mother's necklace around my perfumed neck. 

Max and I forced Grayson and Xander to do a full photoshoot of the two of us posing in our dresses as we wait for the text from Libby saying Jameson and Avery were out of the House.

We're onto our 36th pose when Xander sighs thankfully and tells us he got the text. 

We each get driven to the house quickly and when we arrive we are met in the foyer by Thea and Rebecca. 

"Hey." I smile, finally glad to have some continuity again. "Hi." Bex smiles sheepishly. The six of us start a conversation as we wander into the house further until we reach the main room everyone is. I run in my heels over to Libby and Nash. 

I pull Libby into a tight hug before she can even turn around to see me. "Pear?" She says with a wide smile, she turns around and hugs me back. "It's so good to see you! Look at you, you've grown up so much so fast." She tells me. 

I giggle, "I've not even been gone for three months." 

She sighs into my shoulder, "It feels like longer." She cries. 

"Good to see you kid." Nash smiles from behind her, once I'm done with hugging Libby I wrap him in one too. His cotton shirt feeling soft on cheek.

We all work together to set up the party. Grayson, Max, Xander and I start to move some platters of food from the kitchen to the open space outside. Max and Xander each pick up a platter and walk through with them in hand. Now only one tray remains which Grayson takes and starts carrying through. 

I walk beside him and try to reach onto the plate to steal a mini sandwich, he swats my hand away and we end up laughing about it together. The second we get out the privacy of the large and echoey kitchen, he drops his laid back attitude and carries the platter through with only a small smile signifying the moment we just shared. It's only now I realise that this open side to Grayson I've gotten used to isn't the real him, well technically it is but it's not the real Grayson everyone else knows. Back in Texas he isn't Bronco. This Grayson wouldn't dare let someone do skincare on him, or kiss someone in the middle of a party whilst everyone was staring. But isn't that a good thing that I know the real him? 

I run to follow behind him and help position the snack bar with Xander, Max and him. Xander and him are both dressed nicely in suits and ties.

I move a plate of cheese on small sticks, "Do rich people seriously put their cheese on sticks?" I scoff. 

"Is that not normal?" Xander scrunches his face together in confusion, glancing up at me from over the punch bowl he is adding ice to. "No. See babe, when us poor people want cheese we cut off a bit from a block and munch on it like rats." Max answers in a joking tone. 

"And do you also eat olives without balsamic vinegar and oil?" He asks genuinely curious. "No Xan, we don't eat olives. That's disgusting." I sneer with disgust. 

"If you think olives are disgusting wait until you try snail." Xander quips, Max and I share a look. "That's repulsive." I say, holding back a gag.

"Remember that thing I told you I was allergic to P?" Grayson asks. Xander and Max glance at each other and mouth 'P?' at the same time. 

"Yeah, saffron and abalones." I nod along, "Abalones are a type of marine snail." He informs me.  I send him a look of pure disgust, "So if you eat a marine snail you die?" I ask. "Affectively, yes." He nods. "Better be careful nobody slips a snail into your drink then or you're done." I joke. He smirks in response earning some strange looks from Xander and Max.

"So when did you and P get the chance to catch up?" Xander teases, hiding his suggestive smirk. "Just at the airport we were getting food and I mentioned I was allergic to mustard and he told me his allergies." I lie nonchalantly. Max gives a little unconvinced hum. 

We finish getting the place set up and all we can do now is wait. Beside me sits Nash, Libby paces anxiously in front of us, her dress flowing behind her as she struts.

"You gotta stop pacin' darlin', you're creatin' a draft." Nash comments. Libby gives him a look. "So are you two official yet?" I ask them, "You and that college kid official yet?" Nash fires back. My cheeks turn red, that college boy is your brother. "So when will Avery be here?" I change the subject.

"Any minute now, that's their helicopter there." Grayson approaches us and stands behind me, with one hand pointing up to the helicopter flying above us, the other hand squeezing my shoulder gently in a comforting and subtle way that nobody notices. 

"Oh no." Libby panics, I step in front of her to cease her pacing. "Relax. She's gonna love it." I assure her. Oren lands the helicopter, Avery and Jameson start to walk over together. 

I run off before they can see me to the ferris wheel where I find Xander and Max. Max and I are Avery's special Birthday surprises. 

We three play a special game known as 'Ferris Wheel leapfrog Death Match' something I'm not entirely sure I wanted to learn how to play.

"Well if I break any bones I will personally insure you do not make it to the next game of Ferris Wheel Leapfrog Death Match." I warn Xander. 

We keep playing until we're beckoned over to the group. 

"Hey Beach!" Max yells out as we walk towards Avery. Her eyes shoot up to us. "Max? Pear?" Avery's face fills with pure joy. 

"Surprise!" Libby grins. "Alisa may have been under the impression that there was going to be a much larger party." Jameson smiles beside my sister. His body is covered by a gorgeous white tuxedo that suits him perfectly.

We make eye contact for a moment and his smile falters, mine too. But we both recover quickly.

Max and I both start running towards Avery excitedly, the three of us jump into a group hug. 

"Ask me how college is!" Max insists. "How's college?" Avery obeys. "Not nearly as fun as Ferris Wheel leapfrog Death Match." Max replies excitedly.

"Ferris Wheel leapfrog Death Match?" Avery repeats. "Who's winning?" Jameson tilts his head. "Who do you think is winning, Hawthorne?" I roll my eyes obviously, insinuating it is obviously me.

He chuckles a laugh and walks towards me, giving me a quick and friendly hug. At least that's how it looks, for us that hug is worth a million words.

We pull away and I find Grayson watching us and approaching slowly. He and Avery share eye contact for a moment but immediately he snaps his glare back to me. "Ferris Wheel leapfrog Death Match? That never ends well." He comments. 

For the rest of the night we all danced around like kids, like nothing outside of this party exists. It's getting pretty late now, the sun went down hours ago but we keep dancing.

I stand by the snack bar with Grayson, our hands holding each others but making sure to be subtle about it and doing it behind the table where nobody can see.

"You glad you came?" He asks me. "So glad. Thanks for convincing me to." I smile gratefully. In response he gives my hand a little squeeze.

Suddenly I let out a loud gasp when I hear the song that starts playing. Without explanation I drop Grayson's hand and sprint over to the dance floor.

Max was with Xander at the Ferris wheel but quickly ran over too. Avery and Jameson were slow dancing, bodies pressed against one another, but she pushed him off with a giggle and joined Max and I in the centre of the dance floor.

Years ago when the three of us were just little kids we choreographed a dance for our parents to make them let us have a sleepover. The song playing was the one we always did it to.

In fits of laughter the three of us dance the cute dance we made years prior. None of us forget a single bit.

Everyone watches us in amusement, gathering in front of the dance floor and cheering us on.

We finish the dance with jazz hands and burst out laughing, hugging each other exasperatedly whilst all our friends cheer for us.

In fits of laughter we all step into the arms of our partners for a hug, I hesitate before stepping towards Grayson. We're in a secret relation, I'm pretty sure that doesn't involve hugs. 

Despite my hesitation he takes me into his arms and hugs me, playing it off really well as just a friendly one. 

We spend the rest of the night drinking, dancing, and joking around. It was perfect. The perfect day back.

(a/n. I loved this one. I think slowly I'm being converted from a Jamis girl to a Graris girly, but don't worry it won't affect who Paris ends up with. It's an even playing field here. I just personally have started to enjoy writing Grayson stuff more than I used to. 

I'm uploading more frequently because I kinda want to finish this before new years. That's pretty scary considering how far we've come but I'm actually planning on making a part 4 to Riches which will be significantly shorter with maybe 5-10 chapters just about like one last mystery for Paris because all of these mysteries were centred around Avery and I want to give my baby some time to shine. 

Also I need someone's help real quick, can anyone tell me when the fuck Grayson jumped into the pool to save a drowning child? I was rereading final gambit the other day and noticed a flashback to this moment and I don't recall it whatsoever, anyone remember when it was? It would be really appreciated if anyone could remind me? Thanks for reading <3)