The Boys are Back in Town

The Boys are Back in Town: Five

Being inside the Dashwood home, sitting around their kitchen with cups of coffee and listening to their familiar banter, a knot untangled in my chest. Everything is as it should be.

In the same hour I'd learned that they left boarding school earlier than they were supposed to be let out because Adrian wanted to come back to take the SATs in May.

"The last two months of classes were pretty busy," Adrian said. "We had to pass early requirements, read hundreds of pages worth of text and take early exams."

"But couldn't you have taken the SATs there?"

"We could have done since there are testing centers there, but Dad had to move back for work so we all decided to come back together."

I startled, finally noticing the fact that their parents weren't around.

"We dropped them off at Walmart," Alek said, before I could ask.

"Mom wanted a twinkie," Andre added. "Apparently it couldn't wait."

I laughed. "How are they?"

"Same as always, still wishing they had a daughter like you instead of two sons like them," Andre replied, gesturing to his brothers with a sigh. Adrian pushed his head to one side and Alek pushed it back.

"I'm sorry you'll have to deal with this sorry arse by yourself at Falcon, Cupcake," Adrian said.

"Wait, you're finishing the term at Falcon?" I asked.

"Well, yeah, I could've opted for online courses like Alek, but where's the fun in that?"

"Online class?" I looked at Alek.

He smiled. "Pick you up after school?"

"I can bike home perfectly fine, thank you," I said, straightening my spine and raising an eyebrow. After a moment, I slouched in my seat again. "But I end at two."

"Got it," he grinned.

I was actually pretty relieved that Alek wasn't going back to Falcon. I couldn't imagine the kind of chaos that would cause. Andre alone would be a lot to handle. They were popular when they were here, and they remained popular while they were gone. It was the way it was.

"So Clair," Andre said slowly. "Is there anything I should know before I go back to school next week?"

My eyebrows drew together. "Like what?"

"Like, you know," he tilted his head to one side and widened his eyes.

I shook my head. "What?"

Adrian sighed, looking like he wanted to push Andre's head again. "Boyfriends, hookups, admirers. Basically any boy he should look out for or politely threaten."

I looked at the three of them, stunned. Alek smirked back.

"No," I stuttered. "Why would you guys think that there was anyone? I would have said something if there was."

"No she wouldn't," Andre said to his brothers, who nodded back.

"Well, there's no one," I huffed. Just to get a rise out of them, I added, "there might have been if everyone in school didn't think..."

"What?" Adrian asked, looking surprised that I noticed boys at all. Andre echoed his question a second later.

"If they all didn't think I was going out with Alek," I finished, crossing my arms and looking expectantly at the accused.

Adrian and Andre's heads whipped towards him. Alek managed to look both calm and extremely satisfied at the same time.

"Bro," Andre said.

"I can't believe you actually did it," Adrian said, his voice tinged with wonder.

"Did what?" I asked.

Alek glanced at me, looking mildly apologetic. "All I had to do was hint at it once to someone in my AP History class. Honestly, the outcome was better than I expected."

"Bro," Andre repeated, shaking his head. "Well done."

"You didn't," I said. But I already saw it clear on his face.