Too Far Gone?

double date?

Chapter 8

Whispering woke me up the morning after the mission. As my eyelids slid open, I saw a blurry figure beside my bed. After rubbing my eyes and blinking multiple times, I was able to see Daniel staring at me. He was giving his signature smile with his head titled slightly to the left. With a grunt, I close my eyes and roll to the other side. This action makes him laugh and I'm assuming he's shaking his head at me.

"Time to wake up Temp," he says. "Cam is making breakfast."

When he says breakfast, my stomach rumbles. With a sigh, I roll back over to the other side. He's still there, but this time he's standing at a distance. We look at each other for a while before an idea pops into my head. I give a sweet smile and ask, "Will you bring breakfast to me?"

He responds with a shake of the head and I groan. Eventually, I throw the blankets off me and sit up in bed. With deep regret, I slowly stand up and stretch as well as I can. Meanwhile, Daniel just stands there watching me with a cheeky grin. I roll my eyes and leave the room. He follows behind until we reach the kitchen. I go to get coffee while Daniel goes over to Cam. After I get my coffee, I head into the living room to find Jane laying on the couch while she scrolls through her phone. I sit down on the chair and sip on my coffee. Jane puts her phone away and sits up. We look at each other for a few seconds before she decides to speak up.

"How're you feeling?" she asks.

With a shrug, I reply with, "I'm good. Not ready for this mission to be over. I wish you guys could stay."

She gives a sad smile in response and sighs. I love the boys, but I don't think our friendship could ever be the same after everything that's happened. They seem to be apprehensive about trusting me again, which I can't blame them for. I don't think they'll be okay with what I've done and who I've become. I've hurt people. Only people who deserve it, but still. The boys might not see it that way. They might think I'm a monster and never want to see me again. What am I thinking? I have to go back to Palm Springs anyways. It's not like we can stay friends.

Someone calling my name seems to break me from the thought bubble I'm in. I look up to see Jane gone from her position and Daniel looking at me with concern. With a smile, I take a sip of my coffee. Daniel walks over and sits down where Jane just was.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he inquires, looking at me with furrowed eyebrows. I shrug and bring my legs up to sit crisscross. "You looked pretty lost in your thoughts and didn't look too happy about what you were thinking about."

"I was just thinking about my other friends," I answer. "So much has changed for all of us. I knew I had changed, but I didn't realize the boys would change so much too."

"Everyone changes Temp," he says in return. I look at him and see him frowning. With my confused look, he explains, "When you told me about your friends and what happened between you all, I didn't think they'd all be boys. I knew you didn't get along with girls very well, but I wasn't expecting to see five boys. Who, by the way, are all rather good-looking guys."

I smile and shake my head. "Are you jealous?" I tease. He scowls and glares at me.

"Of course not, but there's no way none of them had a crush on you," he states. I laugh, thinking about Ashton.

When I stand up to leave the room I say, "There was one, but no one beats you, Daniel." While leaving the room, I hear him let out a small laugh which makes me smile a little.

After we eat breakfast, which turns out to be more of a brunch, we all decide to go out and enjoy the day. First, we go to the zoo. The idea came from Cam because he has a soft spot for animals. We all take many pictures of every animal we saw. My favorite has to be the red panda. It's barely anything like a panda but still claims the title. Plus it's really cute. Cam seems to enjoy the monkeys the most. Probably because they hold the same IQ. Even though we're here as a group, we seem to act as if we're on a double date. Jane and Cameron talk with one another most of the time, while Daniel and I walk side by side. We even share beverages, which isn't different to us but must come off as very couple-like to others who are around us.