THINGS WITH GREYSON go from being easy to being complicated, back to being easy and then it gets twisted up again, making it impossible to know where we stand. One second I'm sure that things are platonic, but then, I wonder if maybe we were in a different world if they'd be different. He says things are fine, but his body language says something else. The way he drums his fingers, distracting me from being able to focus on anything else.
I don't get too long to think about it before I'm distracted by something else. A grin spreading cross my lips when I spot her blonde hair, scrambling out of Greyson's Jeep the moment he pulls into park. My excitement growing by the second of being with my best friend once again. It being nearly three weeks since I last saw her.
"Vee!" I run across the sidewalk until I'm met by her firm embrace. She wraps her arms tightly around my waist as I hold on to her, having missed her more than I thought possible. A groan falling from my lips as I turn my head in the crook of her neck. "I've missed you."
She hums happily as she sways with me. "I missed you too, Robby."
I pull back, running my hands along her arms until the palm of my hand scraps the rough metal on her finger. A small gasp falling from my lips as I pull her hand up, taking note to the white gold engagement ring on her finger. The oval centerpiece surrounded by smaller diamonds, leaf like diamonds branching out and into the thin band. It's beautiful, and Stevie's.
My best friend is engaged.
"When?"
"We got it this morning." She grins before tucking her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. "He wanted to do a custom ring, but this one was so perfect and it was already my size. It felt right."
"And you still haven't told your brothers."
She lifts her right hand and points at me. "I told Isaac."
"Okay, tell the one brother that is far enough away that he can't threaten Felix," I say teasingly and lean into her. "You have to tell them."
"And I will!" She brushes me off when Greyson finally joins us on the sidewalk outside Stevie and Felix's apartment. The perfect distance between Berkeley and the San Francisco Academy of the Arts. "Hi Grey." She approaches him, wrapping her arms around his waist as Felix steps out of their building.
"Hey Robby," he say, resting his hand on my arm before crossing his arms over his chest, his brown hair longer and tousled but his smile is as charming as ever. The same boyish grin that won Stevie over two years ago.
"Hey," I say and move to wrap my arms around him. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," he hums happily, hugging me tightly before we're alerted by the sound of shutting car doors. I turn my head and see Riker, Stevie's second oldest brother and his fiancée, Lena, both too smart for their own good sometimes, getting out of their car. They attend Stanford, pre-med and pre-law, respectively.
"There she is!" Riker grins and Stevie turns to greet him, embracing him tightly as a gasp falls from Lena's lips. The same surprised gasp that fell from my lips when I felt the ring.
"You're engaged!"
I press my lips together as I bring my hands up, holding them together in front of my lips when the words register with Greyson and Riker. They meet each other's gaze before looking at Stevie, who has a guilty smile on her lips before holding her hands out.
"Surprise!" She nervously laughs.
"When did this happen?" Riker asks, reaching for her hand to get a better look.
"Did you even ask?" Greyson turns his attention to Felix, and I immediately slap his arm.
"Your sister is not property!"
He rolls his eyes at me. "I didn't mean it like that."
"Oh, yeah? Then how did you mean it?" I hum my question as I tilt my head.
"Okay, so many I meant it like that," he says, holding his hands up in defense before looking to meet Stevie's eyes. "I'm happy for you, Vee. If this is what you want."
"What I want." She rolls her eyes at him as she moves into Felix's open arms. "You're acting like we're getting married tomorrow. We are in no rush."
"Do mom and dad know?" Riker asks. "Isaac?"
"Isaac was the first to know," she shares. "And I'm talking to mom and dad tomorrow, so we're going to tell them then."
"Okay, now, stop being such a boy and congratulate them." Lena swats his shoulder as she opens her arms to them. "I'm so happy for you guys!"
"Thank you." Stevie returns the embrace and I'm startled by the feeling of Greyson's arm as he moves it around me shoulder. I'm stilled by the soft gesture, ridge by his sudden affection until I have no choice but to lean into it, easing the tension out of my shoulder.
"Congratulations," Riker says, giving up the fight, knowing he'll lose before wrapping his arms around Stevie and Felix. "Now, what's the plan?"
"Bowling!" Stevie grins brightly, before taking in her surroundings. "Wait, where's Isla? I thought she was driving up with the two of you?"
"She's asleep in the car," Greyson says, pointing behind him to the Jeep. "Didn't have the heart to wake her up."
"She fell asleep almost immediately," I say with a laugh. "So, right on brand for Isla."
"I heard my name," Isla says as she climbs out, settling on the pavement with a soft thud. A grin crosses her lips as she gets her bearings before running toward Stevie's open arms. "This feels good," she says, leaning her head against Stevie's. "Come on, Robby," she says, waving me over. "I need you in here."
I smile as I untangle myself from Greyson and move to wrap my arms around both of them. The three of us falling into a fit of giggles almost immediately, and it feels just like it always has. The three of us against the world, together even when we're apart, and I wouldn't want it any other way. They're my best friends. My entire world.
"We should get this show on the road," Stevie says, turning to her family. "Rik, Lena, did you want to take your car and then the rest of us can ride with Greyson?"
"Sounds good to me," Riker says, the two of them planning to head back to Stanford tonight while Isla, Greyson and me are spending the night. The drive from San Francisco to Stanford being the shortest distance, and one of the many reasons Stevie wanted to move. It's always been crazy to me just how close she is with her siblings.
I haven't seen my sister, Rachel, in nearly two years, and the last time I talked to my brother, Kyle, it was like we were strangers. I lived in the same house as Isaiah, and I couldn't tell you a thing about what's going on in his life. We're broken, distant, and we accepted it like it was the only thing we could do, but the Alexander's have always been more than that.
Siblings, sure, but they're also friends. Best friends, and it's days like today that I'm envious of that relationship. The way they care for each other.
"Who said I was driving?" Greyson asks.
"Me!" Stevie sticks her tongue out at him before tightly gripping my hand and pulling me towards the backseat. A snicker falls from my lips as I let go of her hand to run around to the driver's side, smiling when Greyson grabs the handle to the backseat and pulls the door open.
"Thank you," I say with the imaginary tip of my hat as I climb into the backseat with Stevie and Isla.
"Vee, did you even tell Riker where we're going?" Greyson asks as he climbs into the driver's seat and starts the engine.
"I'm texting him now."
"Have you somehow gotten more chaotic?" I tease.
"I have never been chaotic," she says. "How's the roommate thing going, by the way?"
"It's great," Greyson says before I can get a word out. "We're the best of friends, aren't we, Rob?"
Isla leans forward in her seat, shooting my a look with the kind of grin you only get from your best friend when a cute guy starts calling you by a nickname. It shouldn't leave me feeling warm, but it does. It's not anything new, he's been calling me Rob for ages, but it feels different now. Like it's somehow more intimate now that we live together.
"That sounded like sarcasm," Felix says with a laugh.
My lips curl up as I meet Greyson's eyes in the rear view mirror, leaning across Stevie. "It's the full truth. He's officially my favourite Alexander."
"He was always your favourite Alexander," Stevie says, pinching my hip to force me back into my seat as she leans forward to give the address to where ever we're going.
"She's got good tastes," Greyson says, taking Stevie's phone from her. I'm thankful for him being oblivious to the obvious nod to my crush. While Stevie is well aware of my crush on Greyson, it's never been something we've talked about further. She's always brushed it off as being a childhood crush I just can't shake, and I've been okay with that. Especially since Greyson's never seemed to notice the way they talk to me around him.
And frankly, I don't think he ever will. It'll just become something we talk about when we're older. Something to joke about like it meant nothing, and one day, it won't hurt that it'll only ever be just that. A crush with no real ending.