"Hello? Thalia?"

"Nikita?" I exclaimed. "What are you doing with Eliza's phone?"

"What were you doing last night?" She laughed.

"I, uh--I don't remember. I-I have no idea what happened."

Nikita was cracking up.

I held my phone away and stared at it. Why was she laughing?

"Thal? Thalia?"

"Yeah, Nikki?" I asked, bringing the phone back to my face. "Hey, girl."

"So, about the tub..."

"Look," I began quickly, "I seriously don't remember anything, so whatever you heard, I can't confirm or deny it, alright?"

Nikita was still laughing. "So, you didn't wake up in Bradley's bathtub?"

At that, I paused. "Well..."

"And you weren't with Roman?"

"Now, see here..."

Nikita's laughter trailed off and I paused, hesitating slightly.

"Are you mad?"

"What?" Nikita's response came as a shock. "Why would I be mad?"

"Oh, I don't know," I snorted, "I was under the impression that you hated everything that had to do with Xander and his friends, but I guess I was mistaken."

"Hah hah hah," Nikita replied. "Eliza told me everything, Thal. Why would I be mad? Nothing happened."

"Right," I nodded. What did Eliza tell her? "Right."

A pause filtered through the speaker.

"So..."

"Thal?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't like him, right? Roman, I mean. You aren't like, seeing him, or anything," she paused. "Are you?"

"Nikki," I said, as my mind quickly flew back to those dimples, "I don't think that one game of beer pong constitutes a marriage," I said, almost convincing myself.

"Okay," she said, and I thought I heard her breathe a sigh of relief. "I mean, he's just...It's Xander and--"

"Look, you don't have to explain it to me," I said. "I get it. I've heard all about the hatred."

Multiple times.

She laughed.

"You know, we used to maybe, kind of, sort of be friends."

"You and Xander?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"Yeah," Nikita said. "When we were really little. We used to be inseparable."

"What happened?"

Nikita's laugh was short and strained. "People change."

I stayed silent on the line, secretly hoping that she'd continue; that there would be more.

There wasn't.

"Oh," I said, trying not to sound disappointed. "Well, you should be proud of yourself for moving on."

"Thanks, Thalia," Nikita said, and it was as if I could hear her smile. "You're seriously the best, you know that, right?"

"Aww, stop it," I giggled. "You're making me feel all tingly inside."

"Weirdo," Nikita laughed.

"You love it."

"Sometimes."

"Always."

"Bye, Thal," Nikita replied lightly. "Eliza's asking for her phone back."

"Thank you!" I could hear in the background. "Quit hogging it, Nikita!"

"Okay," I smiled. "See you later, Nikki."

"Bye, Thal."

"Bye."

There was a rustling sound before Eliza's voice filtered through the line.

"Thalia?"

"Hey, Eliza."

"I'm coming over tomorrow. Will you be home?"

"Yeah," I replied confusedly. "But--"

"What time?"

"Like, six," I estimated, since Aaron wouldn't get off from work until three. I needed enough time to get back.

"Cool," she replied. "See you then. I'm bringing the girls."

Click.

"Who? Eliza? Eliza?"

I held out my phone. The call had ended. Shaking my head, I walked back into my room with my brother.

He was still playing Candy Crush on my bed.

"Is everything okay, Thal?"

I nodded, smiling. "I think so."

Aaron regarded me with an inquisitive eye. I knew that he knew something was up, but to be perfectly honest, I just didn't feel like sharing my conversation with Nikita, at least not with him.

I shook my head, turning back to him with a smile. "So what level are you on, now? What'd I miss while I was gone?"

Aaron's face lit up as he turned his phone to face me.

"See for yourself," he said. "See the master at work."

Grinning, I gently lifted the phone from his fingers.

-~*~-

At three-thirty, Aaron and I had jumped into his Mustang and headed downtown, just like he'd said.

He drove, tapping the steering wheel to the beat of his music as we wound down the 110 Freeway, breezing past the Staples Center and crossing over Wilshire Boulevard before exiting onto 1st Street.

"It's not too far from City Hall," Aaron said as we approached the marble structure of the city building.

I nodded silently, biting my lip to contain the smile that dare give away my excitement.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as my brother smiled to himself, turning his eyes back to the road.

True to his word, the garage was tucked up in a small neighborhood behind the LAPD.

"As you can imagine," Aaron had said as we pulled into a parking space on the street, "cars don't get stolen out of here."

"Makes sense."

My brother laughed to himself. He thought he was hilarious. "Come on," he said, motioning with me to the linked gate that wrapped around the corner. "I've got to introduce you to the guys."

I nodded, following behind my brother as he pushed aside the gate, holding it open for me to enter the auto-shop.

It was deceptively large. From the street, the only thing you could see was a driveway leading up to three stalls like an EZ-Lube, where cars were being fixed up on metal risers. But, behind that, an alleyway led back to a parking lot full of cars, all in front of a row of closed garages.

Now, the cars in the lot? Well, that was another story.

Oh, hell no.

My brother had lied to me. The Audi dealership wasn't even across the street; it was more like a few blocks away. Aaron knew that Audi was the only thing that would get me to come with him, and at the sight of the models parked in the lot, I had already started to lose hope that I'd find my dream car.

I stopped in my tracks.

"Oh, Aaron," I groaned. "Aaron, you liar!"

"Wait, wait, Thal," he exclaimed, stepping before me to put his hands on my shoulders. "Hear me out, okay?"

I shrugged out of his grasp. "No! Aaron, I told you what I wanted!"

"Yeah, but you never know what they have! I didn't lie completely. Sometimes they do have some really nice cars back there."

"Aaron!" I exclaimed, punching him in the arm, "I know cars. I know when something is a classic or a heap of junk."

Aaron sighed loudly, grabbing his shoulder. "Come on, Thal. Would you just give it a try?"

I folded my arms across my chest.

"Please?"

I should have known. Aaron had no knowledge about cars except for brand names and new models. What did I really expect?

"Fine," I sighed.

My brother smiled, just like I knew he would. "Thanks, Thal," he breathed, before motioning with his head to a young man jogging our way.

"Hey," Aaron asked as he waved to the guy, "remember what we talked about last night?"

I nodded. "What about it?"

Aaron nodded again towards the new face. This guy wore ripped, straight-legged jeans dirtied by motor oil paired with a grey shirt. The closer he came, the more I could see the writing on his shirt spelled out, Westchester Baseball.

"Well," my brother continued, "that's Xander O'Hara."

I turned to my brother in disbelief.

"His dad owns this shop."

And like that, Xander stood before me. "Aaron!" he exclaimed. "Long time no see, man."

My brother clapped Xander into a hug. "Xander, this is my sister, Thalia."

"Nice to meet you, Thalia," Xander said, flashing a winning smile. "But, if you don't mind me asking, how could you be so beautiful and be Aaron's twin?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I dropped Xander's hand, my brother scowling beside me.

"This is why I hated him in high school," my brother grunted, pointing to Xander."

"That and because we kicked your ass on the baseball diamond."

"Once!"

"Once? More like four years in a row!"

"Oh-kay," I exclaimed, stepping between the two. I could tell Aaron was about to challenge Xander to a game right then and there. "Remember, we're here for me?"

At that, the scowl fell from my brother's face.

He nodded, "Maybe Xander should show you around, okay?"

I looked to Xander. "Is that okay? Did he tell you that I'm trying to buy a car?"

Xander grinned. "Don't worry, Thalia," he said, "I've got you covered. Aaron told me everything."

Aaron waved his iPhone in front of me. "I do know how to text, Thal. Thanks."

I ignored my brother, placing my hands on my hips. "You're sure?" I asked, nodding towards the broken heaps of cars in the lot behind me. "Because that is not what I had in mind."

"About that," Aaron said, backpedalling from Xander and me, "she knows her cars, Xander."

Xander cocked his head, scrunching his nose in a way that was so cute that I wanted to just grab him into a hug, "What do you mean?"

My brother laughed. "Have fun with my sister!"

Xander stuck his thumb towards my brother's retreating figure. "What does he mean?"

"I like cars, that's all," I shrugged. "Don't listen to my brother."

Xander regarded me thoughtfully. "Okay," he said after a pause. Then, he smiled his award-winning smile. "Follow me."

Okay, so the cars in Xander's lot weren't complete heaps of junk. There were a few relatively new cars in there that he said he'd love to fix up for me, but that didn't mean I wanted him to. I wasn't trying to drive a 1996 Toyota Corolla or even a 2008 Mazda 3. That just wasn't me and I knew it.

No offense, but I'd rather walk, and I made sure Xander understood that, too.

Dramatic, I know -- but that's how I decided to approach the situation. I lowkey wanted my brother to feel bad for lying to me. I wanted it to be his fault that I didn't find my car.

But Xander didn't give up and instead; he took me to the garages. There, he said, he and his dad kept cars that they'd either never sold, or just never had time to fix up.

Anything could have been in there, he said. Apparently, even he hadn't been inside since the summer.

So naturally, I agreed to go, because why not? I had nothing better to do, and I figured that throughout our tour, I'd be able to find some reason for why Nikita hated him. I'd be able to milk out some horrible, hidden part of his personality that made my friend dislike this boy oh so much.

I found nothing.

Most likely, because there was nothing there.

Nikita was just crazy.

As if I hadn't known before.

Seriously, as (overly) dramatic and as (extra) picky as I was being, Xander was a trooper through it all. He hung tough with me, maintaining his smile, good humor and above all, his determination to find me a car.

It didn't hurt that he looked cute doing it.

He had a natural charm that I hadn't seen from my position beside the kitchen door.

While Collin had loads of dark freckles, Xander had a few light ones splashed around his eyes and nose. While Tucker took a moment to warm up, Xander was easygoing from the get-go, and didn't lose his bright grin. While the twins had the most perfect eyes in the world, Xander's brown ones were always bright, always crinkling around the edges each time he smiled.

And that smile.

I thought maybe Nico had the best smile--I mean, there were no dimples, but still ---Xander seemed to always be smiling. I figured there was nothing that could possibly make him frown.

"What about this one?" Xander asked as we filed through the fourth of the ten stalls in the garage. He pointed to the dusty gold paint of a 2004 Jeep Wrangler.

"Umm," I tapped my chin, "no. I'm not going on a Safari anytime soon, but thanks."

"Are you sure?" Xander asked. "You look like a girl who's ready to get down and dirty."

I couldn't help the heat that flooded to my cheeks. "Shut up, Xander," I retorted as he laughed, walking ahead of me. That was another thing. It took him like, zero effort to make me blush.

"Well, how about this?" He asked, pointing ahead to a BMW. "It's actually pretty cool. It looks like a 2006 3 Series. That's pretty hardcore."

"Actually," I laughed, placing my hands on my hips, "It's a 2004 3 Series, and there's nothing hardcore about a BMW."

Xander cocked his head again, staring at me. "How do you do that?"

"What?" I asked, melting beneath his gaze. "H-how do I do what?"

"How did you know the year? I mean, you've been correcting me all day. I feel like you should be the one in here showing me the cars instead of the other way around."

I shrugged. "Look at the body," I said, pointing to the white face of the car. "The 3's in 2006 were rounded. The whole shape of the car got a redraw. 2005 and before? Everything was square and boxy."

He shook his head, chuckling softly. "No, not the BMW--I mean, yes, but no."

It was my turn to stare at him. "What?"

He raised his hands. "Let me put it this way: I've never met a girl who knows cars like you do."

I nodded. "Oh."

"Oh?" He said with a shocked smile. He stepped towards me. "Oh? That's all you can say?"

"I mean," I shrugged, "I didn't think it's that big of a deal."

"Thalia," Xander said, getting closer, "I've been around cars my entire life and in," he checked his watch, "thirty minutes I've been shown up by a girl I've never met--though cute," he added with a wink. "Though very cute."

Remember, Thalia, I thought to myself, this is The Playboy you're dealing with.

"I liked to draw when I was little," I said, squaring my shoulders and putting on my best straight face. "I still do, but when I was small, I used to draw cars that I thought would be fast enough to race the ones my brother would get for Christmas."

Xander smiled, cocking his head to the side as he stood there, listening.

"My dad could bond with my brother because he was a boy," I laughed, "but when he saw that I had a thing for cars, he took that and ran with it."

"Sounds like my dad," Xander grunted. "He took me and my brothers into the garage the first chance he got."

"But, you had baseball," I offered. "Not to mention, you're a guy. Imagine my dad as a new, young parent with twins; a boy and a girl. I don't think he or my brother enjoyed playing dress up with me and my mom."

At that, Xander laughed.

"Anyway," I shrugged, "my brother got super into sports and I, well, I definitely didn't, so my dad and I shared our love of cars. My dad loves collecting classics. If he didn't have two kids to put through college," I laughed, "I'm sure he'd drive my mom crazy with cars in our garage."

"That's pretty cool," Xander nodded. "I mean, it sounds like you two are pretty close."

"We are," I nodded. Though they drove me crazy, I was incredibly close to my parents and my brother. I smiled at the thought. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"I take it you're close with your dad if you're working in his garage."

Xander shrugged. "I had to be," he lifted his lip in a tiny smile. "My mom died when I was thirteen, and my brothers used to call me her favorite," he chuckled softly. "I guess I was."

I immediately regretted my question. "Xander" I said, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," he replied, before quickly turning back to the BMW behind us. "So is the 3 a yay or is it a nay?"

I giggled. "It's a maybe."

"Cool," he said, smiling his perfect smile again. "Come on, there are a few more."

Xander showed me a 2009 Buick Enclave that I immediately gave a thumbs down.

"Well, what about this?" He asked hopefully, leading me to the next car. "Thalia, come on. It's literally brand new."

It was. It was a cherry red 2013 Dodge Challenger, with black leather interior and a lingering new car smell. It was as if someone had taken the car out for a test drive before dropping it off in the O'Hara's lot.

I thought about it. I really did.

"Maybe," I said.

Xander's jaw dropped. "Maybe? Maybe?"

I nodded, laughing into my hand as he grabbed at his brown hair.

"Why? This is seriously a brand new car. Isn't that what you wanted?"

I nodded. "Sort of..."

"Sort of?"

"Xander," I began, trying not to laugh at his expression, "I want a car, but I don't want my brother's car."

Xander wrinkled his nose. "I thought Aaron had a Mustang?"

"He does," I agreed. "But it's cherry red, just like this, with black interior, just like this."

"But--"

"It's a twin thing," I said. "The last thing I want to do is drive around and be mistaken for my brother."

At that, he nodded. "Gotcha," he said. "Believe me," he said, flicking his eyes to the ceiling, "I know what its like to be mistaken for your brother."

"Yeah," I began, "how many brothers do you have?"

"Four," he said with a sigh. "They're all older."

I placed both hands on my chest and sighed, "Awww!"

"Ugh, here we go--"

"Xander," I cooed, "you're the baby O'Hara!"

"Very funny, Thalia."

"What?" I asked. "I think it's adorable."

"Unfortunately, most people do, too."

"Do they play baseball, too?" I asked as I followed Xander into the next stall. "Are they star athletes like their youngest brother?"

"No, thank god," he said. "I could actually be my own person on the baseball diamond."

"Don't worry," I said, placing my arm on his shoulder, "I know what it's like to feel like you're living in your brother's shad--"

My breath caught in my throat and my hand fell from Xander's arm.

"--ow."

"Thalia?"

"This is it," I said, stepping slowly toward the car before me.

"What?" I could hear Xander's disbelief in his voice. "We just left a brand new car and this is what you want?"

I nodded. No words could come out. "This is it," I repeated, running my hand over the dust and grime caked on top of the bright yellow exterior. "This is the car that I want."

"Are you serious?"

I whirled around to face him. "Do you even know what this is?"

Xander folded his arms across his chest. "It's an old dirty Beetle," he grunted, "that's what it is."

"It's a classic," I retorted. "And I want it. This is what I want and I want it."

Xander raised his hands in surrender. "If you're sure..."

"Oh, I'm sure," I said quickly. "I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life."

"Well...well, alright."

"Xander," I began, because I had to get him to see the beauty of my baby, "this is a 1963 Beetle Convertible. Do you even realize what a find this is? And I can't believe it's just been sitting here all this time..."

"It's been waiting for you," Xander said, stepping to my side. "I swear, this thing has definitely been in here forever."

I clasped my hands. "So, can I have it?"

"Sure," Xander shrugged. "I'll make sure with my dad, but yeah. Yeah, I'll fix it up for you."

I squealed. "You're the best!"

Xander nodded. "I know," he whispered, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. "I know."

That's when my heart fluttered before it sank like a stone to the bottom of my stomach.

"Oh my god," I whispered, backing away. "Xander," I began, "this is a vintage Beetle. How much is this going to cost?"

Xander looked at me like I was crazy. "Who says its got to cost anything?"

"But...but..."

"I owe your brother a favor. Besides, I'd be happy to do it," he grinned. "You look so adorable right now, how could I say no?"

My conscience was screaming at me: Stop it! Stop feeling those feelings! He's The Playboy, remember?

"Take a step back, Thalia. That's how he seduced girls all throughout high school."

I backed away from Xander and looked up. A tall, tan boy in a loose fitting Notre Dame t-shirt entered the garage, his muscular arms on display. He had short black hair dyed from obvious time in the sun, and wore a bright smile that reached his eyes.

He looked awfully familiar.

"Hey," Xander grinned, "shut up Johnny Tsunami and leave me alone."

The guy laughed louder, making himself comfortable on a bench beside the Beetle. "Way to make fun of the Hawaiian kid," he shook his head, quickly composing himself to point to his friend. "Racist."

At that, I laughed at the two boys.

"Wait," that's when Xander turned to me. "How do you know him?"

I shrugged. "I need the answer to that question, too."

The guy grabbed his chest, faking a heart attack. "Wow," he breathed. "Wow. Thalia, I'm hurt. How drunk were you at that party?"

"Umm..."

Xander looked wide-eyed between us. "You were at that UCLA party, too?"

I nodded at the same time as his friend.

"She and her red-headed friend--"

"April," I said.

"Yeah, right," he nodded. "She and Averill were wasted."

"It's April."

Xander shook his head, laughing. "C'mon, David..."

"So wasted," he continued, "that they wanted to play something else to redeem themselves for their pitiful, pitiful loss."

I stared at The Ringleader. No wonder I recognized him. He was the one I remembered in my drunken haze after I had lost Roman and found Robert...with Mischa.

"Thalia may suck at beer pong--"

"Hey!" I exclaimed.

"--but she's one heck of a hide and seek player."

"Wait," Xander began, eyes sparkling with interest. "What?"

It was slowly coming back to me.

"You guys were making fun of us," I recalled. I had found Mischa and ran off to tell April, but she had been arguing with Collin about who was better between the two of them.

"So we wanted a re-match."

"And to save you from alcohol poisoning," David added, "Roman suggested we play something else."

I nodded, laughing to myself. "Oh my god, you're right."

"So, Thalia and Ginger Spice ran off and hid," David continued.

I shook my head.

"And we found them in the bathroom. Except someone," he said, eyes shining mischievously, "was a little too excited to see Roman."

I gulped, covering my face with my hands. "Oh no."

"Oh no, what?

David's eyes sparkled, as if he had waited his entire life to tell this story. "She kissed him."

"What?"

I nodded, refusing to take my hands away from my face.

"Thalia, you kissed Roman?" I could hear the disbelief in Xander's voice. "Roman?"

I peeked through my fingers. "Apparently."

Xander's eyes were huge as he looked between David and me.

"I know, I know," David nodded. "And he looked like he might have actually enjoyed it."

"Wait, so what happened next?" Xander asked, propping his elbows upon the hood of the car. "You can't stop now."

David laughed, pointing to me. "Well, our little Thalia here was so tired from all that kissing that she fell asleep in the tub. And her friend August--"

"April."

"Right," David winked. "Well, she was so excited from all that activity that she ran into the hall, crashed into Collin, fell and couldn't get back up."

That made Xander laugh. "Seriously?"

I only shook my head as David nodded. "It was actually just crazy."

And why was my shirt off? I wondered, but at this point, I was too scared to ask.

"But, I want to hear more about this kiss," Xander said. He elbowed me in the shoulder. "Was there tongue?"

"No!"

"Thalia," David smiled, "tell Xander the truth."

"I'm serious!"

"We're all friends here."

"Oh my god," I moaned, raising my hands back to my face.

"Look," David said, grabbing my hands, "she's so happy she's blushing."

"It's okay, Thalia. You can't hide from what's inside."

"I won't tell Roman," David whispered beside my hands. "I won't tell him that you love him."

I lifted my head as the boys laughed together before me.

"You two are so immature," I said, pushing David squarely in his chest. "It's like you never left high school."

David stumbled backwards, still chuckling to himself. "You should see us all together."

Xander shook his head. "You should have seen us in high school."

"Believe me," I began, placing my hands upon my hips, "I've heard plenty of stories."

David snorted. "Yeah, but from who?"

I glanced quickly at Xander. "Well--"

"Thal! There you are!"

I whirled around, backpedalling from David as my brother entered the garage.

"Find your car yet?" He asked.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, nodding vigorously. "Actually, yes!" I gestured grandly to the car behind me. "Isn't she beautiful?"

I noticed as his face fell. "Umm..." Aaron began, "yeah, Thal. It's, uh...Wow, it's great."

"Shameful," I sighed. "Just shameful. You are a terrible liar."

"You told me yesterday that you wanted a cute, clean, relatively new car, remember?"

I nodded. "But, that was before Xander promised to fix this up for me."

"Seriously?"

I nodded. "Seriously."

"Seriously," David added in a high-pitched voice. "Thalia's like, so excited."

Of course, Aaron and Xander found that hilarious. I rolled my eyes as they nearly fell over each other laughing.

Boys.

"Hey, if you want you can come help out," Xander said, turning back to me.

"Help out with what?"

He laughed. "The car, Thalia. You can come in and help us fix it up...y'know," he winked, "since we had our little bonding moment over cars."

I raised my hand to my heart. "What?" I couldn't believe it. "Xander, that's awesome!"

"Really? I mean, you'd want to?"

"Heck yeah!" I exclaimed. "Oh my god, that'd be amazing!"

I couldn't wait to get home to tell my dad. He'd freak out. Not only had I found a car, I'd actually get to fix it up, too.

"Perfect," David smiled. "Collin's got something for you, anyway."

I looked around. "Me?"

"No, me, Thalia," David sighed. "Yes, you. He said he's got something to give you."

I looked between Xander and David. I figured that I'd be seeing more of the boys in my future, whether my friend wanted me to or not.

-~*~-

Aaron and I pulled into our driveway closer to seven than six, but by the time Aaron and I had bid Xander and David 'farewell,' I had forgotten all about Eliza coming over to my house.

"So?" Aaron had asked as we cruised along the freeway, "I think I did pretty well today, didn't I?"

"Oh, here we go," I sighed.

"What, Thal? I got you your car! That's a pretty big deal in my book."

I stared at my brother through the corner of my eye. "I should have known that this was coming," I muttered. "Fine, Aaron," I huffed. "Thank you."

"Aah," he nodded, "music to my ears. That's all I wanted to hear."

I rolled my eyes. "I know, but that's because you're a big baby."

"I choose to ignore that," he smiled, pinching me from the driver's seat.

I slapped his arm. "I've had too good of a day for you to ruin it now," I said. "A 1963 Beetle Convertible?" I smiled broadly to myself. "How did I get so lucky?"

"You deserve it, Thal," Aaron smiled. "And it's not like mom or dad could say 'no,' Xander's doing it for free."

"About that," I said, as we neared home, "he said he's doing you a favor," I stared up at my brother. "What did you do for him?"

My brother faced the road, squinting against the sun. "I was a freshman," he said. "It's really no big deal."

"Aaron," I said, "it's got to be a pretty big deal if Xander's going to fix my car for free. This doesn't just happen on a daily basis. It's a car, Aaron."

"I was a freshman who did a favor for a sophomore," Aaron grimaced. "I promise, Thal, your life isn't going to be drastically altered if you find out."

"So, why can't you tell me, then?"

Aaron only shrugged. "Don't wanna."

"God, you're the worst."

"Am not," he replied, pinching me again. "It's nothing, Thalia. I promise."

I didn't believe that for a second.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You knew Xander's friend? Since when do you know David Kahue?"

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I can't have athletic friends?"

Aaron narrowed his eyes at me. "Sure..."

"I met him at the party I went to last night," I ground out. "Happy?"

My brother shrugged. "It doesn't make a difference to me."

"Really?" I demanded. "Because it sounds like it does."

By the expresion on my brother's face, it looked like it did, too.

I was silent for the rest of the ride, jumping out of my brother's car after we'd pulled into the driveway of our house.

My mom met us outside.

"Thalia," she said at once, "Eliza's here to see you."

Damn it. I'd forgotten already.

"Is she here?" I asked.

"Why does Thalia always have friends over?" Aaron groaned as he pointed the keys at his car and locked them with two quick beeps. "Can't you go over to one of their houses once and a while?"

I turned to my mom. "I choose to ignore that."

She laughed, rubbing my brother's shoulder. "As you should," she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "She's in the kitchen with April."

"Of course."

I pushed past my brother and walked inside.

"Ap?" I called. "Eliza?"

"Finally," I heard April groan over the crunching of chips.

"In here, Thal."

I fast-walked into the kitchen. "What are you guys doing? You made it seem like coming over here was a life or death situation."

Eliza raised a chip and pointed it at me, "You, my friend, should be thanking me."

I laughed aloud, taking a seat at the island counter with my friends. "For what?"

"For not telling Nikita about your little make-out sesh in the bathtub."

I gulped as April laughed to herself.

"Uh huh," Eliza nodded. "You're welcome. Jason told me everything."

Aaron chose that moment to waltz into the kitchen. "Who did Thalia hook up with?" He asked, reaching over April for chips and dip.

"No one," I snapped. "Now, get out of here you filthy animal. We aren't talking to you."

Aaron laughed, mouth full of chips. "Since when did this become Home Alone?"

"Very funny," I said, pushing my brother in the back and away from my friends. "But seriously, get out. You aren't welcome here."

"But, it's my kitchen, too."

"Not today," I hissed, and my brother stumbled into the living room. "Go away."

"Fine."

"Good."

"I will."

"Shut up and leave, Aaron!"

He raised his hands in surrender. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving," he pouted. "I'm gone," and he turned around and stalked up the stairs.

"God!" I exclaimed, turning back to my friends. "He always has to do something to ruin my good day."

Eliza raised an eyebrow as I walked back to my seat. "A good day, huh?" She pointed another chip in my direction. "And where were you today, missy?"

"Guys," I said, leaning forwards, "I found a car."

"Shut up!"

"No way!"

"That's awesome!" Eliza exclaimed. "Where is it? Did you drive it here? What type of car is it? I would die if you found a Porsche."

I shook my head at the barrage of questions. "Whoa, horsie," I laughed. "It's a convertible Beetle, and it's still at the lot. It's got to be fixed up first. I don't know when it'll be ready."

Eliza fell back against her chair. "Oh."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Oh is right."

"Well," Eliza began, clapping her hands together, "hopefully the car is ready soon, because you won't be able to drive it again until spring break."

"Unfortunately," I agreed. Then, I looked around at both friends. "Hey," I began, "where's Mischa?"

"I wouldn't know, now, would I?"

I turned to April, who had been noticeably quiet since I'd gotten home. "What's with you?"

"She lost her phone," Eliza interjected before April could respond. "So, as you can see, she's a little bitter about it."

"Did you have it at Leigh's?" I asked.

April shook her head. "I went by today and it isn't there. Ugh, guys," she groaned, putting her head on the counter, "it's probably still at the frat house. I'm so screwed."

"Maybe Mischa's got it," I suggested, as Eliza reached out to pat April on her back. "Has anyone heard from her?" I hadn't gotten a text from her since the day before.

"Nope," Eliza said. "At least, I haven't."

"Neither have I..." I realized. I never went a day without talking to Mischa. Never. It may be a bit much, but we were always texting each other.

I quickly whipped out my phone and found our messages.

TR - I found my dream car today! I typed.

Then, I paused, before firing off another message.

TR - And gw? You'll never guess who's fixing it up for me...

I knew that would grab her interest, so I sat my phone on the counter and waited.

"Don't worry," Eliza said reassuringly. "They'll both turn up; Mischa and your phone."

April's head never left my countertop. "Fuck, I hope so...I really, really, really do."

-~*~-

Yay, Chapter 5! Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating it, and Happy Holidays to everyone as well! I hope you enjoy your holiday, get full off of good food and spend quality time with your family. Thank you always for your reads and support. I need to find some holiday music or something...