A long, drawn out yawn left my wide open mouth. Why bother being ladylike when I'm home on a Friday night—alone. Life's sad when you tire and stumble through the week just to meet a weekend of boredom. What is there to live for!

"You bore me," Sebastian snickered from the empty bookshelf. The shadows masked the lines of his body, turning him into a dark blob with two glowing, yellow eyes.

I threw my feet onto the coffee table, snuggling into my bright orange, fluffy blanket. The sofa engulfed me, molding around my shape. "I bore myself," I grumbled.

"Why don't you go stalk your lover boy, or find a man to flirt with for the night?"

The television continued its murmurs, the voices lost to the distraction. Colors flashed back and forth, hurting my poor eyesight, causing me to close them in relief.

"What's your problem? Do you want me gone or something? I don't recall you ever giving a care in the world how I spend my Friday night."

"Care?" he replied in a haughty tone. "Why ever would I care about your Friday night life?"

"Then what's the deal?"

"You're in my spot."

I rolled my eyes. Of course, I'm in his spot, and now he's trying to push me out onto the streets. "Even if I wanted to party—which I do—Trevor has glued me to this spot by will alone.

"Sure he has."

I sat forward, glaring at him. "Yes, he has! Why do you sound like I'm making excuses?"

"Because it is an excuse. Since when did you ever sit around and wait for a man to drop into your lap?"

I frowned at his retort. A part deep down begrudged his response. It was right. He hit the nail on the head and it hurt. There was no way in hell I had fallen for Trevor. I chase guys and revel in the joy of catching them; I don't develop feelings for them, that's stupid.

"You didn't..."

Shit. He knew. I shook my head to fend off the impending downpour of attacks. "You've got it wrong. It's not like that."

He chuckled at my poor defense. "Sure it isn't."

Throwing my hands up, I sighed. "Look, it's just a phase, I'm going through a foolish phase where I start thinking like an idiot, okay?"

"Oh, this is different from your usual stupidity then?"

"Shut up, you stupid cat. You know that's not what I mean. Leave this poor girl alone."

"Why would I ever stop mocking you, little witch?"

A part of me snapped. I couldn't take his constant barrage of insensitive smack. Normally, I would dish it back and enjoy the banter, but not tonight. The thin strings holding my patience and sanity together just snapped!

I grabbed the lime throw pillow and chucked it at his position. He dodged the projectile by leaping off, hissing at me. "How dare you!" His anger fueled the beast of victory dwelling inside. "This is why you don't have friends..." Sebastian's voice trailed off as he exited the room, leaving me alone to wallow in self pity.

"Whatever. Who needs them."

Why waste time choosing my words wisely to gain a few miserable moments with someone of the same gender? The idea was beyond me. Sure, I have a few from ages past, but we don't need to constantly define our relationship with night outs. We'd rather spend it with men instead. Which leads me to the my current problem—I'm bored!

My instant of loathsome self turmoil ended as the doorbell screeched. I bolted out of my sofa from the whine induced ring, stumbling face first into the opposite wall. Both hands bolted forward to lessen the impact.

"Oh merciful dark lord, thank you," I said, my face mere inches from the peach coated walls.

The doorbell screeched again. "I'm coming, jeez, calm down. You'd think hell was freezing over or something..."

I readjusted my shorts and made sure my shirt wasn't folded strangely. A hand shot to my hair, ruffling my hair, so I wasn't a gigantic slob. Opening the door, my mouth dropped at the sight. "Did my cat drag you here?" I asked, gazing at the familiar face.

Max grinned at me; his hair disheveled from the frequent gusts. Both hands were tucked in his jacket pockets, the flap open revealing a v-neck t-shirt underneath. I raised an eye at the sight, v-neck, on a guy? "Hey, Lanna."

"Hey stranger, what can I do for you this fine evening?"

He chuckled, but his mouth morphed to a frown. "I'm surprised I caught you. Thought you'd be out and about."

I cocked my head, staring at him without responding.

His gaze dropped. "Um..." His hazel eyes flashed up, the light strengthened the worry within their depths. "I have a request."

"Oh? What is it?"

"There's this party tonight, starts in an hour or so. Can you come with me?"

"You've come last minute to request me as your date for the evening? Why should I?"

His bowed head shot up, a tint of anger replacing all nervousness he held before. "Because you ditched me once already and made a fool of me in front of my friends. The least you can do is help me out in exchange."

I laughed at his retort. "Max, let's get this straight. I have no obligation to help you. So don't try to guilt trip me."

"Then what about meeting Erwin?"