Girls With Luv

FOURTEEN Liya

"I'll finish up in the kitchen. You guys should stay for lunch." April says and looks at me and Spencer as if to get our approval. She just invited EuphoNia for lunch, why the hell will I object? And the fact that Julian Johansson is sitting right next to me, his knee dangerously close to mine, has shipped me to an alternate universe. I think I caught him staring at me when I was talking to Ryan but there's a fair possibility of my brain manipulating stuff.

"Yes, totally. In fact," Spencer grins. "It'll be great if the rest of your group joins us as well. I don't care if I sound like a fangirl, because I am one and there's no point in denying it. Plus, there's no harm in knowing our neighbours for the next few weeks, right?" She has a point, doesn't she? It's not like we'll get a do-over, so let's make the most of this. Yes, I'm the same person who lost her shit a few hours ago. People change with time, it's the truth of life.

"Are you guys seriously okay with that?" Ryan asks. See, he is the biggest and the most considerate sweetheart you'll find on the planet. I've seen fan-meet events in which he actually gave career advice and listened to a girl rant about her inability to sing.

"Yes, of course!" April grins and gets up. I spot Jeremy's gaze directed towards her.

"Then let us help you cook." He stands next to her and my smirk subtly grows into a grin. I sense a potential romance. I look at Julian and find a similar expression on his face. He catches my stare and leans in.

"Do you see something?" He whispers in my ear and my spine freezes with goosebumps.

"I see a lot of things." I grin and he chuckles.

"I know I'm pretty handsome, but the kitchen is where I look the best." Jeremy winks and April bursts out laughing. The boys, on the other hand, shake their heads and laugh, as if they saw it coming. Of course.

"Yes, I'll help too!" Ryan exclaims with enthusiasm.

So as Spencer, Julian and I sit back, the others head for the kitchen. Jeremy practically drags April out of the living room and I all but explode into a fit of laughter. Julian joins in and Spencer zones out in a world of her own.

"You guys have a backyard too?" He asks after a few minutes and I snap out of my laughter infested mood.

"Yeah yeah, it's not that big but I like it." I get up. "You wanna see?"

"Definitely." He smiles and scratches the nape of his neck. My heart blows out of the window.

Julian follows me outside and we go past the glass doors. I turn around slightly to see if Spencer's with us but she's picking up the glasses on the table. Had it not been for a certain worldly presence right next to me, I would've made fun of the fact that Spencer was willingly cleaning up someone else's literal mess. I should've given more thought to why she did that, I should've stopped and asked her, but I just couldn't, at that particular moment.

"You three seem pretty close," Julian comments as we stand together in the middle of the backyard.

"We are. Extremely close. So close that I'm wondering why Spencer is cleaning the table." See, it came out. We know each other so well, if a thought sticks with us, we will address it even if it's five minutes later.

"What?" Of course, he doesn't get it. Who would?

"She isn't the clean freak of the group, she's the messy one. She only cleans when April bullies her into doing it."

"Maybe she just randomly started cleaning and you're reading too much into it." He shrugs and I give it a thought. I mean, I am the queen of overthinking.

"Yeah, maybe."

"So," He starts and stares at the swimming pool with a grin. "Wanna sit and chat? Let's use this chance to prove to you that I'm not a high and mighty celebrity."