"I'M GOING TO MISS you, bestie," Alex pouted as he pulled Elisabeth in a hug.

They were all standing in the frontyard to say goodbye to Elisabeth, Ava and Mia, the sun high up in the sky now despite the early morning and their smiles just as warm. Ella had slept approximately two hours and somehow felt worse than before, Levi standing beside her and looking like he was in a similar state. Though Alex had complained about getting out of bed, he was still the most lively at the moment, even Will beside him muffling a sleepy yawn with his hand. Ava squeezed Will's cheek with a hand affectionately, chuckling at the bright smile he gave her.

"You have known this girl for about two days, Alexander," Levi commented.

"You have known this girl for about two weeks, Leviander," Alex countered, gesturing at Ella.

"Hey!" Ella exclaimed.

"Stop calling me Leviander," Levi scowled.

"That's the part you have a problem with?" Ella said, raising an eyebrow.

"If it clicks it clicks," Mia smiled," time is of no matter then."

Elisabeth nodded happily at that, before taking Alex' hands in hers. "Next time I'll show you my dog," she promised.

"You have a dog?" Will said with wide eyes.

"A Golden Retriever," she beamed.

"In a way you're my Golden Retriever, William," Alex said.

Will placed a hand on his heart, expression touched.

"Alexander, you flatter me."

"I can't help but imagine you guys like spoiled, rich kids with your full names," Ella said with a shake of her head.

"My parents really tried to ruin my future as a delinquent," Alex sighed," thank God for my quick thinking, otherwise people would have called me Alexander my whole life."

"It actually was because Levi was too lazy to say the full names," Will said," so at a certain point everyone just followed along."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ella said as she leaned against Levi's shoulder, glancing up at him. "Is Levi short for something?"

"No," he said, scowling at his friend," but Alex makes it a different name every time to mess with me. There are seriously people out there who think my full name is Leviander Balthasar, because he shouted it at me multiple times in St Joseph."

"I regret nothing," Alex grinned.

"You know these fond nicknames of yours started the rumor you were cheating on me with Levi," Ava drawled. Alex blinked at her amusedly, but Levi frowned in confusion, looking like he had never heard about this before. With a smirk Ava continued, words as smooth as ever. "I of course confirmed them."

"Alex couldn't even get me," Levi huffed.

"Let's not go there," Will said.

"Too late," Alex said, holding up a hand," we went there and we're going to crash together."

He parted his lips to say more, but Ava shushed him with an absent-minded glance. Her eyes turned clear again once she looked at Ella, a sigh leaving her lips.

"Escape now while you still can, new girl," she said," they're very much crazy."

"I love you too, Av," Will beamed.

Ava rolled her eyes, but didn't complain as he hugged her. She ruffled a hand through Levi's hair and pecked Ella on the cheek, only hesitating once she stopped by Alex. He seemed just as unsure about what to do, before just deciding to awkwardly extend his hand. With one look at it she raised her eyebrows, glancing back at him.

"You want to shake hands with me?" she said slowly.

"I only know I don't want you to slap me," Alex said," so I just thought I'd keep your hands somewhere else to accomplish that goal."

Something gentle wove it's way into Ava's expression as she let her hand graze Alex' cheek, quickly replaced by one of her smirks after. She shook her head, before finally blowing them all a kiss and walking away. Mia and Elisabeth were already waving, a car coming closer and parking in front of Ella's house.

"I'll see you all soon," Ava said.

"See you later," Alex replied quietly.

She glanced at him, offering him a smile, and then the three of them said their goodbyes one last time. Somehow seeing them drive off made the house feel a bit more quiet already, but on the other hand Sebastian was loud enough to compensate she supposed. With a frown she wondered when she had last seen him, though if it was any relief he couldn't have been arrested again without her seeing him.

"Have you seen Seb?" she asked Faiza, her neighbour leaning against her doorway.

"Probably overslept," Faiza replied," I didn't want to wake him."

"No worries, I'll go kick him," Ella said.

"Kick him?" Will blinked.

Ella shook her head at him. "It's called familial love. If I had to wake up with two hours of sleep he can't rest either."

Levi gave her an encouraging pat on the back and she flashed a grin at him. Before she could go up though Faiza called her back, eyes warm.

"If you want we can do a board game night," she said," Bash will probably be awake by then."

"I will destroy you all at Monopoly," Alex said immediately.

"You mean enjoy a nice game with friends," Will said.

"There are no friends in Monopoly, Will."

"Sounds fun," Ella smiled, before her eyes lit up," I even think I have Twister at home."

"I'll text him," Faiza said, glancing up at the windows of her house," knowing your brother he probably will forget right after you tell him after all."

"Come with, Faiza," Ella suggested, gesturing at the doorway," he'll be in a better mood."

Faiza hesitated, before finally nodding. Honestly Ella was glad that the tension between her and Sebastian was beginning to fade again, though she wasn't sure if they would ever revert back to their normal ways again, nor if they should. Their conversation lapsed into small talk, only stopping once they heard a laugh coming from Sebastian's room. At first Ella thought she had heard it wrong, but when she came closer she was sure she hadn't.

Sebastian had a girl in his room.

"Oh shit," Alex murmured.

Ella felt the anger flash through her, walking over to open his door. She really had thought he was serious with Faiza and now here her stupid brother was, being as indecisive as always. Faiza to her credit didn't let any emotions shine through, though her soft warmth shattered like glass.

"Sebastian," Ella shouted," get out of your room, I want to say something to you."

"Go away, Ella!" he replied," I'm busy."

"I swear, Sebastian, you're so funny," a girl giggled.

"That's a lie and we both know it!" Ella interjected.

"Why does no one tell me I'm funny?" Alex frowned.

"I don't lie," Levi said.

"You're funny," Will offered.

"It doesn't feel the same," Alex said with a solemn shake of his head, deciding to ignore Levi's comment completely.

"Ella, it's alright," Faiza said," there's no need for you to intervene for my sake."

Though Sebastian had switched over to Spanish to shout at Ella to get the hell out, he stopped talking immediately once he heard Faiza's voice. She could hear things fall in his room as he scrambled to get up, the lock of his door immediately off, but he hesitated while opening it. The girl had gone silent in the background and Ella wondered how the hell she had gotten in without her mother noticing. Then again, she and Levi had gotten inside a skating rink at night, so she supposed everything was possible.

Levi stood still behind her right at that moment, his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. It was hard though - mainly because Faiza was a close friend of hers as well and also because she had expected better from Sebastian. She was surprised enough that he wasn't on his knees in front of Faiza already, because he always lost his boldness when it came to her, but when he spoke it seemed he had found it again.

"Do you trust me, Faiza?" he said.

"Why do you ask, Bash?" she said.

"Because I need to know," he said," I know I'm the one pursuing you and I haven't given you a reason yet, but you know me. You know I love you. If you can't trust me about that now, when will you?"

"This is some Love Island stuff we're witnessing," Alex muttered.

"Can we binge Love Island again soon?" Will whispered back.

"No," Levi replied.

"Shut up," Ella said.

Faiza didn't seem to hear them though, watching the door with a complicated expression on her face. Though Ella understood Sebastian's question, she also could see why Faiza was reacting this way. Hell, if she had heard the same things coming from a room Levi was in she would have been angry, but all Faiza was was quiet, like her words evaporated into air on her tongue. Instead of choking on them she breathed them out though, her expression clearing up like the sky when the decision had settled in her chest, voice soft.

"I do," she said.

The silence that followed was a vast one, Will having immediately placed a hand on Alex' lips to muffle his gasp. Ella glanced between Faiza and Sebastian's door, before just deciding to take a step back and lean against Levi. It wasn't her place to meddle, even though she hadn't been able to stop herself before. Right then the door opened, Sebastian standing in the doorway.

"You can come in," he said.

And so they did.