Elle's P.O.V
My first two full days in California are consumed mainly by a mixture of two things: avoiding Collin and attempting to control Rosie. The second has proven to be much more difficult than I thought.
At first, I tried interacting politely with Collin but when Rosie saw us laughing while eating Fruit Loops at the island counter after I saved her from exploding earlier, my phone chimed a few seconds later with a text that read:
We're ignoring him.
So I did what any good best friend would do and stopped talking. Mid-sentence.
Needless to say, Collin was very confused. He glanced at my phone, then back at me.
"Is something wrong?" He'd asked, looking concerned.
I bit the inside of my lip, feeling guilty as I slid off the barstool and took my bowl of cereal outside.
I watched Collin's hurt expression in the reflection of the patio door and sighed. Just before I slid the door open, I saw him catch sight of Rosie and a look of understanding crossed his face before he scowled.
I looked in the window briefly to see Rosie shrug her shoulders in mock confusion before smirking at Collin and walking outside to join me.
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That night, Rosie and I had been taking advantage of the firepit by roasting marshmallows when Collin approached timidly. The light atmosphere quickly turned sour as Rosie continued to give her cousin the cold shoulder. When Collin started to show his frustration, I bolted with a handful of marshmallows.
I doubted he'd get violent but my panic response set in. I managed to control my outer demeanor enough not to concern Rosie or Collin, but I imagine it would've taken a lot for them to pay any attention to me at all at that point because they'd started half-way shouting at each other.
The next morning I woke up to the smell of cinnamon and vanilla. I smiled widely and ran a brush through my hair before rushing downstairs just to find another tense scene unfolding.
"I thought pancakes were your favorite," Collin was saying, his shoulders slumped as he meekly held out a plate full of steaming pancakes.
Rosie had her arms crossed, "Not anymore."
She'd walked away from Collin then, only stopping to grab a yogurt before she headed out to the patio.
Collin's eyes met mine then. I offered him a sympathetic frown, staring at the pancakes wistfully before I decided to grab a granola bar with a sigh.
Now, it's Saturday morning and I'm standing in the kitchen in my blue bunny pajamas with messy hair and a startled expression on my face as I realize there's a herd of teenage boys strolling through the front door.
A wide range of facial expressions stare back at me.
Collin laughs as he takes in my appearance, shooting me a friendly smile before he introduces me to the four guys surrounding him.
"Elle, these are the guys. Guys, this is Elle."
It takes me a few seconds but I manage to squeak out a nervous "hi."
The tall blond with dimples laughs beside Collin, walking forward to shake my hand. "Don't be nervous, Elle. I don't bite." He lowers his voice to a whisper as he leans forward with a wink, "Usually."
I blush, a nervous chuckle catching in my throat.
"I'm Luke, by the way," he winks again, squeezing my hand briefly before letting go.
A curly haired brunette takes his place in front of me, rolling his eyes at Luke. "Don't let him intimidate you, he flirts with everyone." He smiles at me, reaching out a hand to shake mine. "I'm Milo."
I nod nervously in return, shaking his hand.
A tall, lean Asian boy is the next to introduce himself. "I'm Noah." He smiles shyly, stepping forward just a little, raising his hand in a small wave.
Everyone looks to the last teenager. The dark-skinned eboy with a jawline sharp enough to cut tomatoes sighs. "Dax," is all he says, his dark brown eyes cutting into mine with a glare.
I bite my lip, nodding awkwardly. "Hi," I mumble again.
Collin chuckles, "Well, now that introductions are out of the way," he meets my gaze hopefully before continuing, "Wanna play MarioKart with us?"
I purse my lips. MarioKart does sound fun but I'm already uncomfortable around guys my age thanks to past experience and low self-esteem plus, I don't want to upset Rosie by hanging out with Collin when she's still hurt.
"Um," I stall, weighing my options.
Dax rolls his eyes. "Just say no if you're not interested and stop wasting our time."
My eyes shoot up to meet his, surprised by his harsh comment.
"I – sorry," I stutter, tears burning behind my eyes in an instant.
I hate that my brain responds this way but I'm vulnerable and in a sensitive spot emotionally especially after the past week. Finding out the only boy I've ever loved wasn't who I thought he was, seeing Ryker for the first time in two years, getting kicked out by dad, and keeping a secret from my best friend to top it all off wasn't exactly easy. And while being in California is exciting, it's a drastic environment change which doesn't help. Getting caught in the middle of the tension between Collin and Rosie hasn't been a plus either.
Collin glares at Dax, reaching over to thwack him on the arm. "Dude!"
Dax scowls, rolling his eyes before mumbling an insincere apology.
"It's okay," I say quietly. "I'm just going to catch up with Rosie."
Collin frowns, glaring at Dax once again before turning to smile at me. "Oh, come on. It'll be fun."
Luke shoots a crooked grin my way. "Yeah, Dax is just scared he'll lose to a girl," he winks.
I laugh hesitantly; Luke's boyish charm is hard to resist.
Dax huffs, heading towards the living room.
"Um, okay." I smile, "Just let me go get Rosie first."
Luke beams, "Oh yeah, two girls to get owned by! I'm down."
Collin jabs him playfully with his elbow. "Hey, one of those girls is my cousin, doofus."
Luke wiggles his eyebrows. "But is she cute, though?"
I laugh, my defenses lowering slightly as Collin lands a playful punch on Luke's arm. I shake my head at them before rushing upstairs to get Rosie.
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"Why would I want to play MarioKart with Collin?" Rosie spits, angrily arranging the pillows on her freshly made bed.
I sigh, "You don't have to play with him; you can just play with the other boys. There can only be four players at a time anyways."
Rosie crooks an eyebrow, mulling it over. "Alright, fine," She sighs. "Sounds fun other than him being there."
I beam, "Yay! Let's go!" I grab her arm and start pulling her towards the door.
"Woah!" Rosie protests, stopping us in our tracks. "I'm not ready to meet four teenage boys!" She says, gesturing to her pink pajamas with a look on her face that says "duh."
I roll my eyes. "Fine."
Rosie waves a hand dismissively, "Go play a few games and just tell them I'll be down soon."
I smile and nod, glad I don't have to wait upstairs.
I rush out of her room and start towards the stairs before glancing back at my own door.
I bite my lip and hesitate before turning around with a sigh. I should probably change out of my bunny pajamas.
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I walk to the living room ten minutes later with my hair pulled up in a quick messy bun and my go to comfort ensemble of a hoodie and sweats. Granted, these are much cuter than the gray options I always wore in New York since Eleanor bought them for me; and the "sweats" are actually dark gray yoga pants since they were the closest thing I could get to sweats with Rosie and her mom in charge. The mint green hoodie I chose has short sleeves to fit California weather and bold, black lettering spelling out 'love' across the chest.
The boys are laughing and teasing each other, shouting out a mixture of cheers, insults, and playful taunts as their characters race on the TV screen.
"Wooh! Yeah!" Luke cheers, leaping up from the couch. "In your face!" He sticks his tongue out at Collin, earning an eye roll from him and a few chuckles from his friends.
I smile shyly, walking slowly towards the living room.
"Elle!" Luke spots me and jogs across the house to meet me halfway, ushering me over to the couch. "You can sit on the couch or you can sit on my lap," he winks, "your choice."
I blush, "Um, the couch is fine."
Luke laughs and gestures to the empty spot before taking a seat on the floor.
Milo hands me his remote with a friendly smile, "Here. I'm not doing too well anyways."
I return his smile gratefully and choose Yoshi as my character, trying to fight the waves of anxiety rising in my stomach and chest. I feel self-conscious around guys my age – especially attractive ones like Collin and his friends happen to be.
I notice with wry amusement that Dax chooses Dry Bones. Predictable.
Luke picks Princess Peach – seems fitting.
Collin decides to stick with Mario and the game begins.
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Rosie's P.O.V
"Oooh! You were right to be scared, Dax! She beat you good!"
I hear a voice hooting with laughter, quieter laughs sounding afterwards. I turn the corner and notice a dark-skinned boy looking annoyed. I'm guessing that's Dax.
The loud blond looks up and whistles. "Helloooo, gorgeous!" He raises his eyebrows at me.
I laugh, my cheeks flushing pink; I wasn't expecting to be greeted that way but okay.
"Hello yourself." I smile at him.
Collin glares at Luke before meeting my gaze. He smiles hopefully but I brush past him, sitting on the couch arm next to Elle.
Collin sighs. "Everyone this is Rosie. Rosie, this is everyone." He starts to point.
"That's Milo," he says, gesturing to the boy with brown curls next to him. Milo waves with a smile – I return both.
"That's Dax," he continues, confirming my earlier hunch by pointing to the eboy on the floor. Dax looks at me briefly before returning his attention to the phone in his hands.
"That's Noah." Collin points to a boy I hadn't noticed sitting on the armchair beside me. Noah waves shyly and I smile.
"And I'm Luke," the flirty blond boy cuts Collin off, choosing to introduce himself.
He gently slides his hand under mine, raising it to his lips before bowing dramatically. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance mi'lady." He winks.
I blush, bowing my head playfully in return.
Collin rolls his eyes. "Stop flirting with my cousin, dork."
Luke laughs. Something tells me Collin's protests will only encourage him.
I roll my eyes at Collin, "Why should anyone care what you have to say?"
A chorus of 'ooh's rises from the group as Collin's face burns red.
Luke hoots, "Man, Collin. What'd you do? She does not like you!" He laughs, earning chuckles from everyone.
Collin glares at him while I smirk.
"So," I shrug, "can someone teach me how to play?"
"Oh! Me! Me!" Luke yells, practically diving onto the couch before anyone can object, landing between Elle and I.
He looks between us with a crooked grin. "I could get used to this."
Elle blushes and I laugh, smacking his arm. Normally I don't open up around guys this fast but Luke has a way of making the people around him feel like old friends. I just met the guy and I already I feel at ease sitting with his arm touching mine.
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"Okay, seriously," Milo pried. "What did you do? She won't even talk to you!" He chuckles, raising his eyebrows with interest.
I hold my breath, curious to hear Collin's response.
"I don't know what I did," Collin sighs. "Just drop it."
Milo chuckles. "Bullcrap. Based on your lack of an explanation I think I'm gonna have to take Rosie's side on this one."
Collin squints at him, "What? Your my friend. And there aren't sides! She's just ignoring me!"
I scoff, "Oh, there are sides."
Noah surprises us by speaking up, "Yeah, dude. Why do you think Elle can't even look at you?"
The group laughs while Elle blushes, proving Noah's point by looking at the ground. I smile to myself; he's cute and observant - of course, the quiet ones always are.
Noah grins, blushing slightly as he basks in the glow of making the group laugh.
Luke wraps an arm around Noah's neck, nodding. "I noticed that earlier. These girls seem pretty smart to me; I think I'll take their side, too." Noah nods, a mock-serious look on his face.
Collin's mouth hangs open in disbelief. "Seriously?" He shakes his head and turns to Dax. "Are you going to take their side, too?" He presses.
Dax looks indifferent, though maybe a tad amused. He shrugs.
Collin rolls his eyes. "Whatever."
Elle and I meet each other's gaze and chuckle. I think I like these boys.
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The guys head home around supper time, much to Aunt Beth's dismay. They all kiss her on the cheek or hug her before they go, muttering their apologies as they walk out the door.
Beth sighs once they're gone. "Well, what do you kiddos want? I gave Adrian the day off but we can cook for ourselves; wouldn't that be fun?"
Collin and I glare at each other before responding.
"That's okay, Beth. I think Elle and I will just heat up a couple of those frozen pizzas if you don't mind," I say, smiling apologetically.
Collin follows with a brush-off of his own, "Yeah, I'm just gonna grab a burger at Sonic." He leans over to kiss his mom on the cheek before grabbing his keys and leaving the house.
Beth sighs, "Alright, maybe some other night. I guess I'm worn out from work anyways." She smiles reassuringly.
A pang of guilt pricks my heart as Aunt Beth heads to her room.
Elle watches her walk off, a sad look in her eyes before she turns back to me and plasters a comforting smile on. "So, pizza." She says, her eyes twinkling.
I smile gratefully at her, glad she understands.
I wrap an arm around her, chuckling before we walk to the freezer. "Pizza."