I'm just going to leave that picture of Cayden here because I honestly believe we need a little but of happiness in our lives. 

"How was your date?" I ask Creed who's rummaging the cabinets, searching for something to eat.

"How was yours?" He counters, darting my question.

I shoot a hurried look at Cayden, who is still lounging on the couch, to see if he heard what Creed had just said.

"Relax, he can't hear us." And he really couldn't. Creed and I are in the kitchen, out of Cayden's earshot.

"That wasn't a date." I laugh his question off but I can still feel Cayden's lips on my skin. Do a lot of not-dates end up with that many kisses?

"If you say so." Creed replies in a sing-song voice.

"Who is this girl, anyway?" I ask him, trying to deflect the conversation.

"Drop it, Shae. When I'm ready to talk about her, you'll be the first one to know. I promise." Creed stops going through the cabinets to look me in the eyes and smile.

"She must be one special girl for you to act this way."

"She really is. Speaking of special, I'm going to order a pizza." Creed shouts the second half of his sentence so that Cayden can hear him.

"Make that two!" Cayden shouts back.

Creed walks into the living room with me following closely behind, poking him in the back with my fingers.

"Shae is like an overeager puppy, isn't she?" Cayden remarks as he observes us.

"Is that your weird way of calling her a bitch?" Creed deadpans as he seats himself on the single sofa.

I smack Creed's head  and take my seat on the long couch, ignoring Cayden's chuckles.

"Did you guys notice how weird Belle and Jason were acting today?" Creed asks suddenly.

I shoot Creed a puzzled look, confused that he would bring up such a personal topic in front of Cayden. But now that I think about it, Cayden is pretty much a part of our group now with Filip slowly inching his way in.

"I noticed that too. Belle looked pretty bummed out about their date." Cayden makes quote marks around date.

"I think you guys should talk to Jason and I'll take Belle. We need to fix whatever's wrong."

"Do you think something's wrong?" Creed asks me, a worried look crossing his face.

I could feel my own face mirroring his expression. Belle and Jason were Belle and Jason. They were the ultimate couple, the kind that everyone wants to see married. If they can't make it work, then what hope is there for the rest of us?

"Yeah, I actually do."

_

Two pizza boxes, seven beers and one bad movie later, Belle and Jason finally grace us with their presence.

"Is this what happens when we're not here to look after you?" Belle disappointedly shakes her head at us.

"I don't even know why I trusted Creed with the basement keys." Jason remarks, as he gathers the beer cans and throws them into the bin.

I try to picture the sight before them. Cayden is sitting, relaxed on the sofa while I'm lying upside down on the same sofa, laughing at the TV screen.

Creed is lying face down on the floor because, and I quote, "The floor is so cool, you guys. I'm going to go give it a hug because it has always been there for me." And that was only after three beers.

Yeah. Creed's a lightweight.

I am no better. I had two beers and I already feel slightly buzzed. Cayden, on the other hand, can hold his liquor.

"I thinks it'sh weird that you lock your bashement." I clumsily sit upright on the sofa. Cayden ducks to escape my flailing legs. 

"I thinks you're just a little bit drunk." Cayden says, stifling his laugh. I frown at him in response, my brain not thinking of any other option. Was I drunk? I mean, I was slurring my words and the floor did seem to be moving a lot.

"Why did you let this happen?" Jason asks Cayden, pointing at Creed.

"Hey! The floor deserves the hug. It has always been there for him." He defends himself, trying really hard to keep his face straight. I giggle looking at Cayden's face.

"Okay, Cayden. Move your ass and help Jason carry Creed to his room. I'll take care of Shae. They'll just have to sleep this off." Belle orders them and I giggle again when Cayden and Jason salute her.

They start to lift Creed up, who thrashes against them. He really, really loves that floor. I guess Creed is one of the sentimental drunks. Creed slaps Cayden amidst all his thrashing and I laugh again.

Apparently, I'm a very happy drunk.

"Creed, if you come with us to your room, you can hug the second floor and this ceiling-" Jason points to the ceiling, "-at the same time! Isn't that amazing?" Jason tries to appeal to Creed's sensibilities.

"The ceiling has always protected me, bro."

"I know, bro. So why don't we move, bro?" Cayden mocks him and Jason shoots him a death glare.

Belle catches hold of my hand to lead me away from the struggling boys and up the stairs. 

"I love you so much, Belle." I wrap my arms around Belle's neck and squeeze tightly.

"I know and I love you too." She chokes out as she tries with all her might to get me to stop strangling her.

"But do you still love Jason?" I drop my hands her shoulders and give them a tight squeeze. 

Belle wobbles on the step slightly, visibly shocked by my question.

"Why would you ask me that?"

I wait till we reach my room and for Belle to tuck me in to answer that question.

"You guys were acting really weird today, during lunch."

Belle leaves out an exhausted sigh. "I was hoping you guys didn't catch on to that."

"Catch on to what? What's going on?" I mumble sleepily, feeling my eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

"I'll tell you about it some other time. When you're actually sober and can comprehend exactly what I'm saying."

"I can compromise you right now!" I shriek, losing the battle to sleep. I hear Belle laugh before she kisses me on my forehead.

By the time she finishes saying good night, I'm fast asleep.

- - - - - -

I hate it when the alcohol sleep wears off and leaves you wide awake with a splitting headache. I groan as I get up from my bed and clutch my head in my hands. I give it a tight squeeze which brings me momentary relief. I look around the room, letting my eyes adjust to the dark.

I grab my phone from the bedside table and check the time. I leave out a relieved sigh when I see it's only three-thirty and I have lots of time to sleep. I lay back on my bed, waiting for sleep to come to me but my hangover is doing an excellent job of keeping sleep at bay.

I kick my blankets off of me in frustration and walk towards the bathroom using my phone's flashlight as my guide. The only way I can fall asleep again is to find an aspirin and pray that it kills my headache before my headache kills me.

Unfortunately for me, there isn't even a single useful thing in the mirror cabinet unless I want smooth legs or fresh breath.

I know that I have to go downstairs to the kitchen to find the medicine but I don't want to leave my room. I scream in frustration before wincing at my own voice. I look longingly at my bed and start shuffling towards the door.

Yeah, I'm never going to drink again.

I sneak out of my bedroom, careful not to make any noise. The last thing I want is four people screaming at me for waking them up.

It takes an awful lot of time to reach the kitchen because I'm tip-toeing all the way through. As soon as I reach the kitchen, I start searching all the drawers and cabinets for the aspirin. I even find a first aid kit but there's no aspirin in it. How could they not keep aspirin in there? What if someone was dying of a killer headache? What if that person was me?

I close the lid of the box noisily, actually hoping that someone wakes up and helps me search for the tablets.

"Looking for these?"

I whip my head towards the staircase to find Cayden grinning at me, holding the pills.

"Yes, finally!" I exclaim with pure joy and run towards Cayden who meets me halfway through.

I grab the tablet from Cayden's hand and move towards the kitchen to find some water. As I gulp down the tablet, the water soothing to my parched throat, I finally know what true happiness feels like. Don't get me wrong, my head still hurts but I'll only have to bear it for one hour, maximum.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" I ask Cayden, feeling a little guilty. I was really loud in the kitchen.

"No, I was coming back here to return the pills to their place." He says, pointing towards a cabinet that I must have searched at least three times.

I stare at him astonished, "I can't believe you have a hangover. You didn't seem drunk at all."

"Oh, It isn't for me. Creed's in pretty bad shape. For a big guy, he really can't hold his liquor."

My laugh cuts through the silence of the night and it leaves a comfortable silence in its wake.

"Couldn't sleep again?" I ask him, wondering why he was awake in the middle of the night.

"You know me too well." I blush a little at that statement, hoping he couldn't make out in the pale moonlight.

"Want to join me on the balcony? We can work on our friendship again." Cayden smiles at me and I think back upon the last time we had tried to 'work on our friendship.'

That ended with a whole lot of kisses that I wasn't ready to deal with.

"Maybe next time." I smile and walk away but not before noticing his disappointed look.  

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm going to be updating twice a week now- on Fridays and Sundays. What are your thoughts on this chapter? What do you think is going on between Belle and Jason?