We're six days into this festive month, and every single day since the first, Lauren has bugged us all, persuading us to come shopping with her. I personally think it's a little too early, but finally we've all given into her whining, and we're finally doing it today.

This morning, I didn't even want to leave my bed but nevertheless, here I am, driving us to Target. Since it's Friday, this is the only day I don't have classes or work, yet I can't have a lie in because I have Lauren as a friend. It's really not fair.

"Why did I have to come with you guys?" I ask, taking a right turn out of the campus.

"Because this is a roommate thing, if you didn't come, it wouldn't be as fun. Also your car stupidly has the biggest trunk for the stuff." Lauren says, smiling over at me. Even though I have a small car, she's right, my trunk is bigger. The interior is still teeny though. Lauren's in the front seat, and Matt is in the back, currently in a mood with her because she called shot gun before he did.

"What are we even getting?" Hanna asks before I can ask the exact question.

"Everything." She shrugs carelessly, and my head spins right round to her.

"Everything?" I ask.

"Yeah, you know; Christmas tree, lights, decorations, and all that." She says.

"Are we still doing movie night?" Matt asks, his tone coming across somewhat normal but I can tell he's still in a mood with her.

"Yeah, we've got either Home Alone, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, or The Polar Express." Hanna says, and I smile at all the options. I really don't care which one we watch because I love them all.

"Can Kieran come over?" He asks us all wearily, and if I weren't driving, I would look back to see his face because I already know he's blushing. He's been doing that a lot lately, but I'm not one to judge, my cheeks deceive me at every moment they can.

"Yeah. Hanna, you can invite Jack and Wes, if you want. We'll get some drinks." Lauren tells her.

"Frankie, are you inviting Ethan?" Hanna asks me.

"Well, if everyone else is coming, I will." I say, hoping that Ethan will be free tonight. He's been pretty busy this week with training, but we've spent some time together. He came to work yesterday and we hung out after for a while, but we've not slept together since the weekend because for the last four days, I've been on my period, one of which has not fucked off yet.

"Okay, we'll get everyone together, it'll be nice. I'll bake cookies." Lauren says, and a smile etches its way onto my face. Lauren's cookies are the best... but don't tell Hanna.

"I'll ask Kieran, but please don't be embarrassing." Matt says.

"Us! You're going to be the one who will be embarrassing me with Ethan." I accuse.

"True, but truce for tonight." He sticks his pinky finger through the middle console, and I quickly wrap mine around his.

"Fine, but I'm kicking your ass if you dare break it." I tell him.

"Why would you care if we embarrass you anyway, I thought you and Kieran were just sleeping together?" Hanna teases, and I can't help laugh. We all know there's something going on there, more than just sex. They've been doing this three months now, and I can tell when Matt likes someone, it's very clear.

"Shut up." He says, and then it starts, the bickering.

I'm one of the youngest, yet here I am, driving us all to Target whilst the eldest are in the back, bickering like children. Hanna is quite chill during these drives, and usually just listens to music through her earphones and smokes a joint, but apparently, he keeps kicking her, and now they're arguing over t-shirts. I can't really keep up with them two, but again, on any other day, I am the one in Hanna's position.

"Come on, get out, we're here." I say as soon as I'm parked because I don't want to be in this car with them any longer.

"Finally." Matt exhales, like he weren't the one causing problems in the first place.

"Frankie, I'm getting a cart, I'll only be a second." Lauren says and I smile gently, giving her a nod before she opens the door. Lauren loves Christmas, actually she loves any holiday if there's the excuse to buy too much and decorate the place. Halloween is a little extreme considering it's only one day. Christmas on the other hand, we celebrate the whole month and then we reunite in the New Year, where we eat a Christmas Dinner together as a family. Last year, we had the decorations up until February – I don't really know why.

"I'll go help the little one, we need another cart for that actual tree." Matt acknowledges us all before opening his door and jogging off behind her.

"He's one pain in the ass. Poor Kieran." Hanna says, and I laugh, looking back at her. "Do you think he tops him?"

"Hanna! We can't talk like this about him." I whisper harshly, also aware of my surroundings. I know we're still in the car, but still.

"We talk about you and Ethan." She says with a shrug.

"What the fuck do you say?" I ask, needing to know this.

"Well, personally, I think you're on top more than not. The others, well they don't think that, they think the opposite." She informs me, and I hum, wow. These are my best friends.

"Thanks for backing me up, I guess?" I ask, wondering if I really should thank her for that. I mean, neither of them was right. Ethan and I have only had sex a handful of times, and every time we switch throughout whether it was me on top first or him. We never stay in just one position. I also don't have the strength or stamina to go on top the whole time, not like I could with my ex... he didn't last as long though.

"But I really don't know, no one does, and it's actually no one's business anyway, but we just discussed it casually, not meaning any harm in it. You know that right?" She asks and I nod, knowing that anyway.

"Yeah, of course I do." I mumble, looking back at her again in the backseat. "I think Matt's a top."

She's relatively shocked by that and raises her brows at me.

"He kind of talks in his sleep, so I do have some insight on his dreams – many I block out with earphones usually or I wake him. He also gives me vibes; I don't know but we can't stereotype." I say, and she smiles at me.

"Yeah, I see that. I mean, he is quite masculine despite the pink hair." She murmurs, looking at him from afar through the window.

"You can't stereotype people because it really doesn't matter what they look like, it's just a preference really. I know this is different, but my ex was a jock, he was popular and very masculine but he did none of the work. Aside from the couple times when we tried other positions, I would be on top. I'm just saying, you can't exactly pin-point and decipher what they're like in bed by what they look like. Well, that is except Damon Salvatore. He's dominant without even questioning it." I say and she laughs, nodding.

"How many times have I told you, your ex was the biggest dickhead going?" She asks.

"I had orgasms, so I didn't really care." I say with a shrug.

"Well, you're not exactly wrong to be honest." She mutters, and I can't deny it. A girl has priorities, okay? "With the whole Matt thing, Kieran really doesn't look like someone to take it up the ass."

"Have you?" I ask.

"Once, awful, don't recommend." She tells me.

"Well, there you go. You don't look like someone to take it up the ass either. But, I mean, who does though?" I ask rhetorically. Most of the population probably have or will at some point.

"You have a point there." She says, and we quickly shut up when Lauren opens my car door.

"What've you been talking about?" Lauren muses, smiling between us two.

"Nothi-" I'm cut off mid-sentence.

"Anal." Hanna shrugs, and I blink at her.

"Seriously?" Matt asks, chuckling with amusement.

"I haven't done it, she has." I say, pointing at Hanna and she glares at me.

"Yeah, and never again." She mutters.

"Why?" Matt asks her.

"Why I wouldn't, or why the conversation?" She asks.

"Well both." He says, and I sigh getting out of my car finally. I'm not staying in here just to talk about anal sex. Not today.

"I just didn't like it, it wasn't pleasing at all, and it just kind of hurt to be honest. And we were talking about you, and if you were a top or bottom." She tells him, shutting the door behind her and I finally lock the car.

"You talk so much out of context." I murmur in astonishment. He probably thinks we're talking about him now, great.

"I literally said and I quote, well it might not be the actual quote, but you know. 'Do you think he tops Kieran', then we discussed. Now, you're all caught up." She says, and he laughs looking at her.

"If you actually want to know, I'm always on top. I've only ever done anal once. Not that I didn't like the act, I just didn't prefer it, so I haven't done it again." Matt tells us, and Hanna spins around to me.

"I told you." I say, smiling at her.

"You guys are so weirdly open." Lauren says, screwing her face up at us all. She's the biggest hypocrite going. I can remember countless times her coming home and telling us every single detail of her night.

"Bottom." I comment, and Hanna nods vigorously.

"This was more fun where we were talking about Francesca." She says in a whiny voice.

"Oh yeah, thanks for that." I say, aiming that at everyone and she shyly smiles at me.

"Okay, let's stop the chatter about anal sex because we're going into Target. I don't think the occasional shop worker or child would like to hear about the escapades." Matt says, and I giggle, agreeing with him. That would certainly be embarrassing, and I think illegal.

~~

A good two hours later, we're finally back home, the living room full of all the stuff that we've just brought back from the God-awful shopping trip.

I can't even list the amount of decorations we bought as well as useless stuff that we certainly didn't need. Like Lauren found and bought a two-foot reindeer that will go near our front door, and its sole purpose is that it holds umbrellas. None of us even own one!

We have a boxed artificial white Christmas tree that will stand at seven-foot, that we have to get out, set up, and decorate. I just know we've got a long day ahead of us to get this dorm looking how we want it to look.

"I'm making drinks, I don't care how early it is. Who wants one?" Matt asks, literally throwing his arms up in the air as he walks off.

"I will, and it's not too early..." I say, looking over at the clock for assurance. "See, it's noon."

"Eh, it's five somewhere, am I wrong?" He shrugs.

"I will. Have we got vodka?" Lauren asks, peeping her head up from the floor where she's currently unpacking everything.

"I'm making us eggnog." He says and I whine.

"No, not this early. It's not even nice, I just drink it because it's festive. Come on." I plead with him, and he gives me a cheeky smile. Looks like I'm drinking eggnog at noon.

"I can't, I have a lecture in an hour. But please, drink the poison without me." Hanna insists, taking her phone out of her pocket.

"No, I thought everyone was skipping classes today." Lauren pouts, looking at her.

"Sorry, you do realize we have finals very soon, I can't afford not going." She says, and with a click of a button on her phone, Christmas music fills our ears. Mariah Carey doesn't ever disappoint. "It's only one lecture anyway, I'll be back straight after."

"Fine, okay. Matt you get the drinks flowing, we're doing the tree now." Lauren says, getting to her feet and I chuckle at my surroundings.

Yeah, this is going to take all day.

"I'm rolling a joint if we're really doing this." Hanna says, and I don't blame her really.

"I'll put the towel in front of the door." Matt says, grabbing the towel from under the kitchen counter we use for this purpose only.

I don't know how Hanna plans to go to a lecture in an hour if she's stoned, but I'm not going to even try and find the logic in it.

With the eggnog flowing – which without question was disgusting – and the joint that we passed around, we surprisingly got things done.

We had decided that we would do the Christmas tree last which was a bad decision because the box was always in the way, and as soon as Hanna left, we realized we didn't have too much left to do. When she was here, I had swapped out all of the décor like pillows, throw blankets and kitchen placemats with Christmas ones. Lauren had put the new decorations out. Matt changed all of our bedding sheets to matching ones, and then helped Hanna put up the new lights around the interior of the living room.

Again, this would have taken maybe twenty minutes if we weren't totally stoned and a little bit drunk.

It took a good hour for our highs to pass, well not really, we just became too lazy and did laid out karaoke to Christmas songs until Hanna came back. When she did, she wasn't surprised to see the dorm the exact way she left it. We were laid out in the living room, eating chips and salsa – I don't even know how it made its way to us, but it did at some point.

We soon got our shit together and finally got the tree up along with the remainder of the decorations. The dorm completely transformed compared to how it was this morning. Matt then got in the kitchen, to start dinner for later on. I did my laundry. Hanna started to study for a little whilst Lauren spoke with her parents, showing them the place on FaceTime.

Whilst they're all busy, I escape to my room and smile when I see the sheets on my bed. I feel like a child again when I'm with my friends. I jump on my bed, and sigh as my head hits the pillow.

I haven't allowed myself a second of alone time, so I haven't really thought about what we've been doing until now because I hate the holidays. I haven't always but I do now. I don't even know if I'm going home this year, and that alone makes my heart clench. I don't even know if I want to. It's lonely even thinking about it.

When I take the people around me out of the equation, I'd have literally nothing; my family hate me, I don't really enjoy my job, college is somewhat stressful and throughout the day I'm barely getting by with the trauma that invades my thoughts at every given opportunity.

I just wonder if that is how it will be when I leave this place? Next year will be Hanna and Matt's last year as well as Ethan's, and I don't know where they'll go. It'll be just me and Lauren until it's not. I hate even thinking about it.

Before I go into an overthinking spiral, I take my phone out of my sweatpants pocket and scroll down to Ethan's name. He hasn't asked for my number in a while, so he still doesn't have it, so we're still mainly communicating through Instagram.

He isn't currently active, but I'm guessing an incoming video call will change that. I'm about to give up after a minute, but he finally accepts it and I smile when I see his face. I can already tell he's at the gym by how he looks.

"Hi, did I call at a bad time?" I ask.

"Nope, I've just finished a PT session. How are you?" He asks, taking a drink from a bottle of water.

"I'm good, we've been decorating the dorm all day. It's now Christmas over here." I say with a chuckle.

"Really? It's only the sixth." He says.

"Oh, I know, but try telling Lauren that." I say and he shrugs, smiling at me. "So, um, we're having movie night as always, but I was wondering if you wanted to come. Kieran's coming with Matt. So I'd really like you to be there. You don't have to if you don't want to though."

"Of course I'll be there, when do you want me and what movie?" He asks, and I instantly feel relieved.

"We haven't decided the movie yet but it'll be a Christmas one." I tell him, and he nods. "And we haven't got a time, you can come whenever. Matt is making a pasta bolognaise thing right now and that smells amazing. Lauren's baking, but stay away from the brownies, she's put pot in them. And we have some drinks too, it'll be fun."

"Sounds nice, I'll be over when I finish work at five, if that's okay with you?" He asks and I nod, smiling.

This'll be the first time my friends will properly meet Ethan and the thought is a little scary because they were very angry at him after the whole kiss situation. Yes, he kissed someone, but he had no obligation to inform me or restrict himself either. The anger stemmed from the hurt that it caused me because I was hurt, even though I hid it mostly, they still cared.

In the last week, I've tried to convince them all that it was nothing and they shouldn't hate him anymore because I never did, but I'm not totally sure how it will go. Matt promised no embarrassing, so let's hope that interrogating counts too.

"I've missed you this week." I admit in a shy whisper.

"You've seen me." He smiles.

"You know what I mean." I say, pouting at him.

"Yeah, I know. But, soon, then you can have me." He says and I groan, currently hating being a woman.

"I've never felt the need to have someone before." I murmur, and he smiles at me through the screen.

"How many days do you have left?" He asks.

"I don't know, my body doesn't exactly stay on track. It's been four days, so it could be another day or it could be three." I tell him, not even bothered we're literally talking about my period. Seven days of hell isn't nice, I can confirm from past experiences.

"See, there's always a catch when it comes to something so beautiful." He says and I laugh, shaking my head.

"Are you staying tonight?" I ask, wondering and hoping he will.

"Yeah, is there room in that bed next to you?" He asks and I show him the space next to me. "Yeah, I think I'll fit."

"I don't know if your massive ego will though." I retort.

"It did last week." He says and I chuckle, feeling at peace as I speak to him. "So, I have around ten minutes until I have my next client, so tell me about your day."

I then went on to tell him how we drank eggnog and smoked weed whilst decorating the place which he found especially amusing.

Sadly, ten minutes went by too fast, so we said our goodbyes and now I'm alone again. Before everyone else decides to use the shower, I grab a towel and get there faster, locking the door behind me. I feel like putting on a nice outfit and doing some makeup for once even though I'm going nowhere.

~~

Staring at my reflection, I don't recognize the person staring back at me. She's different. She's wearing a white lacy bodice with black jeans, her makeup effortlessly natural. She's me, just more confident, less broken.

Everyone wears masks, only I've perfected mine.

The nightmares never leave, I've come all too aware and used to them now, ready for them to consume my dreams on a nightly basis. The panic attacks and flashbacks; they creep up on me though because it happens when I don't expect it. Before my most recent one, today in the shower, it was just before Thanksgiving, and I stupidly felt like it was over, that I was getting better. Only now, it's like I've had the biggest setback. That it isn't over, and I'm just going to have to deal with it until I don't no longer.

The difference between my nightmares and my flashbacks is that I can sometimes wake up from sleep and fight it, but with the other, I just have to sit there and let the flashbacks and panic consume me, reliving the worst moment of my life.

It starts where I'm paralyzed, I can't feel anything, I'm numb. That's the scary part and then I start to spiral since I know what's coming. Then I relive it. I hear everything, I can smell things that I thought I forgot, and I can still taste the taste of cheap vodka on my tongue like it only happened mere moments ago. It ends with me hunched over the toilet bowl, emptying my stomach as tears roll down my face.

The only way I can escape the panic is if someone is there to break me out of it, and the only person who has is Ethan. That morning when I was paralyzed to the bed at that frat house, it was the beginning of one of them but it came on much worse because of the drugs that were still in my body. His soothing words and touch is what pulled me out, distracted me from what was happening in my head, and kept me grounded in the real world.

It always happens when I'm alone though, never when I'm in the company of people. The only reason I had one that morning was because I thought I was alone; I had no recollection of us ever going upstairs and sleeping in the same bed. It's scary that I can't control them on my own, but they're not every day like they once were, the month of the incident.

I just wonder if it will ever stop, that I will get some peace.

It's funny really, how on the outside you can look like everything is so perfect but when in reality you look under the hood, it's a terrifying discovery, that you're just breaking inside.

The tears that once stained my cheeks in the shower are now covered in light foundation, and I test out my smile in the mirror. Not that I need to fake it much anymore, but right now I do. She looks fine; perfect and problem free, not the broken girl I just was in the shower.

The door opens and I gently put my mascara down on the pile next to me, smiling back at the person, Lauren. Back to reality it is.

"Hey, you look nice. I was just gonna ask if you were getting dressed up because I kind of want to wear a dress, but I guess I got my answer." She tells me.

"I'm not too dressed up, right? I just wanted to wear something other than sweats for once. I guess that's why I look different." I ask, needing assurance because I don't want to seem too different.

"You look great." She says nodding.

"Okay, thank you. And yeah, wear that black dress, you know the one that has a buckle at the front, that'll look really nice." I say and she instantly brightens up.

"I almost forgot I have that, thank you Frankie." She says, and I smile at her. "Did you invite Ethan?"

"Yeah, he's coming at five." I tell her.

"Jack and Wes said they were coming together around that time. Kieran's already here though. Him and Matt are making food together like a married couple, it's kinda cute." She says and I raise my brows.

"I need to see this. Wait, what time is it?" I ask, grabbing my phone, answering my own question. It's already four-forty. I mean it does make sense, so I'm not shocked. We got home at noon, Hanna left at one, she came back at two, we decorated for a further hour and then I came back in here, and in that time I spoke to Ethan, showered, had a panic attack, recovered from that, dried my hair, got changed and then did my makeup – honestly I'm surprised it's not later.

"I'm not quite sure but you've been back here quite a while, around an hour and half." She tells me.

"Matt's been cooking that long?" I ask, frowning slightly.

"He finished the pasta dish ages ago, but then he made some kind of dip. Now he's making tacos because he had one of my brownies." She fills me in.

"How are they?" I ask referring to the brownies.

"Strong." She chuckles.

"I'll stay away from them for now then." I say before standing up, dusting off my jeans and I sigh, looking at my outfit in the mirror. "Do I look okay?"

"Very hot, Ethan's going to be all over you." She assures.

"Thank you." I smile.

I follow her out of my bedroom, shutting the door behind me and she walks into the bathroom whereas I go straight into the living room where I'm met with the faces of my friends.

"Hey." I say, and Hanna smiles at me.

"You look hot, who are you dressing up for?" Matt muses.

"No one but myself, thank you very much. How are the munchies going?" I ask, knowing he's stoned and he gets them really bad.

"I keep eating the brownies which makes it worse so now I'm making tacos, do you want one?" He asks.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." I smile.

"So, you look pretty, Lauren is getting a dress on, that means that I have to make an effort as well, doesn't it?" Hanna asks me.

"Wear what you're wearing." I say, gesturing to her outfit. She's wearing some blue jeans and a knitted sweater, if I was wearing that, I wouldn't change.

"I'm changing the top." She says, standing up from the sofa.

"Okay." I say, walking over to the kitchen where Matt and Kieran are. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Matt burnt the onion the first time, so now we're going again." Kieran tells me.

"Did he cry?" I whisper and Kieran smiles at me.

"Hey, missy, dare I bring up the truce we pinkie swore on?" Matt asks, and I zip my lips, showing him.

"Fine, fine. Lips are sealed. I'm hungry, what's going right now?" I ask.

"What've you had to eat today?" Matt asks, and I stop to think. I had some toast this morning, then we snacked on chips and salsa, but I also threw up in the bathroom after my panic attack, so I'm basically empty right now.

"Not much, but don't worry about me." I say, peeping over the counter.

"Jesus woman get your nose out of my food station. I'll bring you a taco over once they're done, you happy?" He asks and I nod, a smile evident on my face. "So, when's Ethan coming?"

"Wait, Kane's coming?" Kieran asks.

"I forgot to fill you in; she's fucking him now." Matt tells him casually like it's passing conversation, and I whine like a child because I hate that term.

"I'm not "fucking" him, we're seeing each other. And yeah, Kieran, he's coming after work." I tell the nice one of the couple, also known as Kieran.

"Wait, you weren't before?" Kieran asks, munching on a piece of onion, and I fight the urge to gag.

"Nope, now stop with the onion, that's just unhuman." I scrunch my face up.

"Don't get me started. He eats a whole block of cheese too." Matt says and I shrug.

"There's nothing wrong with cheese, but eating raw onion is disgusting, Kieran." I say and he laughs, shaking his head.

"I grew up a vegan, but then I came to college and found my love for kebabs, steak and chicken burgers, so I kind of dropped it. I still eat things like this though." Kieran says, taking another bite.

"No, I can't, I'm leaving. Matt, have fun with the onion muncher." I say, leaving the situation before I do actually throw up.

Being around people have instantly made me feel better, but I hate that I have to rely on the company of other people to keep me grounded. For now though, I'm just going to enjoy tonight because I feel like it'll be good.

Twenty minutes later, I've had my taco which was gorgeous, the girls are now changed and back with us, looking gorgeous as always, and both Wes and Jack have arrived, meaning Ethan's the last. Time went fast though, so when I do finally get a message from him, to tell me he's here, I'm relatively surprised and definitely happy.

"Hello, Francesca." He greets as soon as I open the door, and I smile, reaching onto my tip toes as his arms wrap around my waist, them running down my back. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, not too much?" I ask and he shakes his head before lowering his lips to mine. I kiss him back briefly, our lips touching lightly. When I pull away, I take in his outfit and I smile, he's wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt. "We're matching."

"We're one of those couples now, aren't we?" He asks with a fake groan, rolling his eyes.

"Looks like it. Now we have to go to a fair and go on a Ferris Wheel and you have to win me a bear." I say, crossing my arms over my chest and he chuckles, shutting the door behind him.

"Maybe next year, it's very cold out there." He tells me, and I know, it's fucking freezing.

"Everyone's in here, follow me." I say and he does, letting me lead him into the actual dorm.

"What in the Christmas movie is this?" He asks and I laugh as he takes in the place.

"My fault!" Lauren yells, and he chuckles, looking over there and he immediately puts his arm around my waist. I don't think much of it because I like it there, I feel safe.

"You know Kieran, and I think you met Jack and Wes back at Tony's party." I say and he nods, looking back at me with a straight smile.

"Yeah, we met." He says, and I frown at him before covering it up with another smile. I don't know why he's acting strange, I'm unsure but I'm not going to dive too deep into it.

"I'm getting the dinner ready because I'm starving, and no one has ate an actual meal all day." Matt says, standing up from the sofa.

"He's a little high." I whisper to Ethan, and he chuckles, turning me around and pulling me to him.

"I figured." He says and I smile up at him, our height difference more prominent now that I have no shoes on. "You look really good."

"And I don't when I'm wearing my usual band shirt and sweats?" I ask, teasing with him a little.

"Why did I know you were going to say something exactly like that?" He shakes his head.

"I don't know, you tell me." I say, and he gently moves my hair out of my face.

"You look amazing." He tells me and a smile creeps its way onto my face as well as a blush.

"Love birds, come over here, I need help picking the movie!" Hanna yells, breaking us out of our little bubble.

"Let's go." I take his hand.

We sit down on the sofa together right next to Hanna, and she hands me the remote, a very rare occurrence when it comes to the remote but then I remember it's my week.

"So, for the movie later on, we have Home Alone-" I'm about to list the movies, but I'm cut off.

"Iconic, we're watching it!" Matt yells.

"I can't disagree." Lauren mumbles.

"Yeah, Christmas isn't Christmas until you've watched Kevin at home or in New York." Jack states.

"Can we all agree the first two are amazing, and the rest just suck?" Wes chuckles, and Hanna shakes her head.

"They don't suck, they just aren't as good." Hanna says.

"I have to agree, without Kevin, it's not Home Alone." Ethan says, and I hum, agreeing with him.

"I want to do a Home Alone weekend, where I go to New York and use all my parents money on room service and just relax, that will be fun." Lauren says, and Hanna and I share a look.

"You do that already." Hanna's the one to beat me to it.

"Yeah, well... whatever." She dismisses us.

"You've done that?" Kieran asks, very shocked at the revelation.

"When she's annoyed with her parents, yes. Usually she brings us along, it's actually very fun." Matt says from the kitchen.

"I've apparently been a part of the wrong friend group." He says, and I laugh, nodding.

"Yes, Kieran, yes, you have." I say, flicking on Netflix. "Now, we're watching Friends and no one can complain."

"Frankie, no!" Lauren whines.

"I'll put a Christmas one on, and Hanna gave me the remote anyway, it's my week." I say and she falls back on the carpet.

With the movie settled for tonight, we watch an episode of Friends whilst Matt dishes out the dinner, then we all gather around the dining table and tuck in. It was beautiful, Matt's the only person – aside from my momma of course – who can cook Italian food perfectly. We then did shots, sang some karaoke before settling down in front of the movie, blankets draped over us all.

Just a usual Friday night, movie night, just with a few extras.

~~~~~

A/N

Long chapter even though it wasn't even planned but I thought why not and went with it. I'm sorry this chapter is so long; I hope it's not really shit because I have my reserves about it. I also finished it abruptly but it's how I felt fitted better instead of writing more dialogue because this chapter is full of it!

Christmas is coming but so is the drama... fasten your seatbelts because you're in store for a bumpy ride in the next half of this book.

I also wanted to say, this is exactly halfway through my book and I'm not okay with that at all.

Life update: Nothing has really been happening... except the fact all I do is watch Netflix, read Wattpad and write.

I watched the whole first season of Outer Banks the other day, in one sitting and honestly, I loved it! I love JJ, and he reminds me of Stiles from Teen Wolf for some reason. The whole mystery had me gripped, and I just loved it.

I've been reading again lately, I read duplicity in eighteen hours, and I'm not okay. The amount of ups and downs in that book is crazy, and it isn't even completed! It has 88 chapters as of right now and I love it. Harry and Aven's relationship is like OH MY GOD. You just need to read it, even if you aren't One Direction fan... I mean who isn't but you know. It's amazing, I assure you and you don't need to know the boys, to know the book because it's fiction using only their identities, with no tie to One Direction at all, they're in a band called Duplicity as it says in the title and that's all you need to know. Read it, I promise you won't regret it, but be ready for the long chapters, some are 20,000+! Mind blowing.

Question of the chapter:

Have you ever been in love or had a crush?

I have had 2 actual real-life crushes in my life, none of which anything came from it. I still speak to one of them, but right now I'm crushing on no one. But I'm in love with every fictional character I read. I don't even know what he looks like, but Mason from 'All because of him' is my husband and I'm in love with his character. If you haven't read the book, it's by a friend of mine, yourunknownteen

I hope this chapter was okay.

Thank you for reading! Please comment your thoughts, vote by pressing the little star, and if you want, you can follow me too. Xx

5801 words!

~B