Well, I'll figure it out eventually.

Ethan:

Bratty left to do whatever posh things he needed to do- and I could feel the relief washing over us all when he did. Naturally, he couldn't resist making some snarky comments about our furniture, comparing our cozy home to his grand and cold mansion 'back home'. I wanted to punch his smug face, but apparently, I could go to jail for punching a minor or something. And I'm too pretty to wear those ugly orange jumpsuits, contract a terrible disease and die a painful death.

Stupid law.

But I digress.

"Good grief! Is this the powder room?!" I heard him squawk. "It's not even half the size of ours back home!"

"Just one punch, Zack, that's all I'm asking." I practically begged. "Just enough to knock him out for a bit!"

"I heard that!" Bratty shouted.

"You were meant to!" I bellowed back.

"WASSUP ARYA AND THE IDIOTS?" Renèe stormed through the house like she owned the place, opening the door so hard it dented the wall behind it.

"We have got to take away your spare key." I grumbled, but a small smile lifted my lips.

Renèe patted my head. "You've been saying that for years, E, but I still have it." She grinned, then turned to the others. "I brought company."

"Hey guys!" Marigold beamed striding through the room, closely followed by her younger brother. After the whole 'Escaping-the-wedding' shenanigan, she apologised and I have to say, she is not as bad as I thought she was. Working as a doctor had taken its toll- all the late night shifts meant she no longer had as much free time, and she earned a lot less than before. However, she had never looked happier.

"Hey Goldie!" Caleb grinned. "How was work?"

"Stressful." She sighed, massaging her temples slightly. "I have a few hours so I thought I'd drop by and see my favourite sibling."

"Excuse me?" Jacob scowled, glaring at his sister.

Marigold shrugged. "Truth hurts brother." Her gaze settled on the snoring Arya and her eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

Chris did a one-shoulder shrug, careful to not disrupt Arya's comfortable position. "Don't know- she's been pretty tired lately. Fell asleep a short while ago."

"Oh that." Jacob sighed in relief. "That's normal- it's been happening for years. Since Arya was about thirteen-ish. But don't let her sleep! Otherwise she doesn't sleep properly at night, making her tired in the day and her whole sleep cycle is disrupted."

"Then what should we do?" Caleb asked.

"One sec." Jacob walked over to the cupboards and opened the bottom one. "Wow you guys have a lot of coffee. And alcohol."

"Both are necessary to help deal with the human race." I said.

Jacob sighed and shook his head, taking out a box of ground coffee. He filled about a quarter of the cup and poured milk and boiling water with it. He stirred for a few minutes then- to mine and everyone else's complete shock- put a few drops of Red Bull. (AN: alcoholic drink with caffeine)

"The hell do you think you're doing?!" I exclaimed, aghast.

"Don't worry- when we were younger, I used tea and sugar." Jacob answered nonchalantly. He gently shook Arya awake, who groaned in protest, swatting his hand away.

"Leave me alone." She grumbled, holding on to Chris's tighter. "I want to sleep."

"You can sleep after this." Her brother negotiated. Yeah, if she doesn't die of a heart attack first!

Begrudgingly, she took a sip. Like magic, it worked almost instantaneously. She sat up a little straighter, her eyes widener and she drank eagerly, draining the cup in few seconds. Her gaze flitted around the room, before landing on Marigold.

"Goldie!" She shouted, flinging her arms around Marigold, burying her face in the crook of the older girl's shoulder. "I've missed you. How are things with Leah?"

Marigold blushed slightly. "Things are really good so far. In fact..." she raised her left hand, revealing a black band on her ring finger, studded with a small ruby in the centre.

"You're engaged?!" Zack exclaimed. "Wow! That's amazing, Marigold! Congratulations!"

"Thanks Zack." She beamed back. When the two of them met again a few years back, it was very awkward- considering they were exes and all- but they quickly got over it and became thick as thieves. In fact, Zack was the one who introduced his cousin- Leah, a very sweet girl- to Marigold.

I was suddenly brought back to the time when she came out of the closet. Some creep had been hitting on Marigold and she snapped, saying "I'm not straight". At first, we thought she was just saying that to get him off her back, but when he left she said "no really, I'm gay. Surprise!" We hosted an impromptu party that day to celebrate.

"And how about you, Jacob?" Arya asked, turning to her younger sibling and hugging him. "How are you doing?"

"Barely surviving." He laughed lightly. Jacob owned many restaurants across the globe and was constantly busy trying to organise them all, but he loved every second of it. "How are you?"

For a split second, I saw Arya's smile falter. But she regained her composure so quickly I thought I'd imagined it. "I'm good. And what about you, Rey? Anyone special in your life?" I turned to Renèe, my interest piqued though I tried to hide it.

"Actually there is." She chuckled bashfully, scratching the back of her head. "We met a few weeks ago and really hit off. His name is Derrick."

"That's great." I said, grinning, although my heart was slowly and painfully breaking inside. I really liked her, and was planning on asking her out this weekend. So much for that. I swallowed thickly and checked my phone for a non-existent message. "Err, important call, gotta go, I'll be back in a bit."

I abruptly left the room and went outside, blinking to allow the tears to escape. The cool air froze them on my cheek and I didn't bother to wipe them away. I walked through the neighbourhood, going to the one place I knew would cheer me up.

End of chapter 8.

Kinda sucky and short- but next chapter will be better!

Qotc:
1. Thoughts on Ethan?

2. Where do you think his special place is?

3. Thoughts on Renèe?

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)