The Bad Boy's Sleepover

Chapter 24

Julian and Lola were still transfixed on Tyler's picture, they barely registered their group of friends barging into the small pool house, creating a ruckus in their wake.

The room erupted in a fit cheers and words, mostly Edward's - the latest edition to their sleuthing squad. 

He marched to the front of the table and dumped a few tapes onto the smooth wooden surface with a thud. 

"Guys just admit it. I am freaking awesome," He shrugged his shoulders, expecting the rest to add to his self praise but no one reciprocated. 

"You haven't done anything yet," Hanna pointed out bleakly and she looked away shyly when he turned to her. 

"My queen, you were amazing! The way you distracted your uncle while we stole the tapes. You girls were right, these have been tampered with and whoever did it was an amateur. I might be able to retrieve some footage if they did a shit job." 

"I told you to stop calling me that," Hanna seethed.

Julian stood up from his seat, his face filled with surprise and awe as he stared at the scrawny boy who was fiddling with the tapes. 

"Really?" His voice came out strangled and strangely emotional. He looked like he was about the hug Edward. 

"Chill dude, you look like you're going to cry and you'd better stop because I find that emotional shit scary," Edward quickly turned to Hanna, his face apologetic. "Don't worry Hanna, if you get emotional I'll be fine with it. Just not anyone else. Yuck." 

Hanna turned to her friends, her face filled with exasperation. The guy had been shamelessly flirting with her all night and she didn't know what to make of it. 

She sat down at the table while Edward, Damien and Nalini took turns to brief Julian and Lola about their little mission to Uncle Kim's store. The whole ordeal barely took a few minutes. Nalini and Hanna had distracted her uncle with something pointless while Edward snuck to  the back and Damien kept watch.

Edward was a natural. He was extremely sharp, noticing the cameras and their positions the moment they walked into the convenience store at West Point. He was quick to figure out where the storage room had been even before Hanna had pointed it out to him. 

Hanna grabbed a packet of chips and stuffed her face with the carbohydrates that were sure to head straight to her thighs. She'd never had a guy praise her like Edward did, ever. 

She looked up at his beaming face and his beady eyes hiding behind thickly framed glasses. She'd never really noticed him before and it still shocked her that this guy had a crush on her. 

Hanna had always felt like the unattractive one in the group. Sure, their group of three rarely attracted the attention of guys in general but Hanna's insecurities always told her that she looked the worst.

And therefore no guy would ever like her. 

But then there was this guy, barging in from no where, helping Julian only because of her. The food got stuck in Hanna's throat and she gulped it down painfully. Was this guy for real? 

Edward caught her staring at him and winked making Hanna's face turn beet red. For a nerd who's been bullied repeatedly in high school, he sure had a lot of confidence. Maybe Hanna could learn a thing or two from him. 

She quickly shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts. She just hoped he wasn't making fun of her because it felt a lot like he was. 

"Hey, you okay?" Lola squeezed her shoulder, drawing her back to reality.