Carley, Krista, and Macy pour in, running right for my bed and plopping on top. Macy jumps off just as quickly as she lands though when she realizes Nico’s door is open. She races right for it.

“No, wait,” I hiss when she runs right inside without warning. “Macy!”

A few seconds later she’s walking back in with a small pout. “Boo, he’s already gone. How could you let us miss the walk of fame?”

I have to force myself not to frown.

Gone as in he left?

“Yeah, Demi. Rude.” Krista laughs, digging into my cooler and pulling out a bag of grapes. “So how was it? Did he take his time or was it hot and quick?”

I open my mouth to tell her to shut the hell up when Trent walks in with sleepy eyes and a glare.

“Busted!” Macy laughs and Krista smacks her, climbing to her knees and holding her hands out to her boyfriend.

I quickly grab some shorts and slip them on. “Thanks for knocking.”

“Shit, sorry,” Trent apologizes but doesn’t walk out.

“What time did Nico leave?” Carley asks and all eyes turn to me.

“I—”

The knock on the room door saves me so I run to open it, my eyes widening when I find Alex on the other side.

“Morning.” He grins.

“Uh, hi, I mean good morning.” I smooth my hair down, running my fingers under my eyes.

“I wanted to see if you...” He trails off, frowning at something over my shoulder.

I look to find Trent standing there, and he only moves closer. I frown and step away, turning to face Alex again.

“Did I interrupt something I shouldn’t have?” he asks slowly, his insinuation loud and clear.

“What?! No!” I shout, pushing the door open farther which forces Trent back.

Alex glances past me to spot the girls inside.

“Ah. Now it makes sense.” He chuckles. “I thought we could walk down to breakfast together.”

“Oh...” I subconsciously look to Nico’s door.

He left without a word, does this mean our fun is over?

We made everyone think we were partying together all weekend; Alex is standing at my door at eight in the morning.

Is that not the endzone?

Either way, it’s a harmless walk that my friends will be on, too.

“Um, I just woke up.” I motion to myself. “Obviously, but...” I look to the girls. “How long until you’re ready to go eat?”

“I’m only changing, and ponytailing it,” Krista says, and the other two nod.

I turn back to Alex. “Ten minutes?”

He smiles. “I’ll wait by the lobby.”

“Awesome.”

I shut the door behind me and all four of them stare with wide eyes.

“What?”

“What’d he want?” It’s Trent who asks.

“To see when we’re going to breakfast, why?”

He shrugs, then turns and walks out while the girls giggle lightly.

“Damn, Demi. Pulling two in one weekend?” Krista grins.

“It’s breakfast.”

“And last night’s dessert was Nico. Or was it you who was dessert?” Macy teases.

“Cute.” I flip her off. “Can we get dressed now?”

They hop up and within a solid twenty all of us are headed to our last breakfast before we go home and back to school tomorrow.

Alex sits by me but spends most of his time talking to the people around us until we’re about done and people begin taking pictures.

He turns to me with a smile. “So are you heading back with Krista?”

“Yeah, the four of us drove in together.”

“Well if you want, you can ride with me. I drove myself.” He grins.

“You sure you can handle me for a whole two hours?”

“I can manage.”

I smile, looking to my drink as I pick it up, something about a ‘yes’ tasting sour on my tongue. “I’ll talk to the girls about it. This is kind of our trip, so I don’t want to upset anyone.”

“Didn’t you ditch them last night to spend it with Sykes?”

My muscles lock and my eyes fly to his.

Well, that was bold and delivered a little gruffly.

“I didn’t ditch them, I ...”

I sort of ditched them, but little does he know the girls would have carried me and dropped me inside with Nico if I tried to turn him down to hang with them, they’re awesome like that.

I don’t say this to Alex.

He gives a tight grin. “I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time.”

“No, you’re fine. I guess, in a way, you can say I did.” Not really.

“So you hung out with Nico last night?” he probes.

I take a deep breath, looking away a moment.

What is he doing?

He saw us go into my room, so why question me at all?

And why am I hesitating on answering?

The sole purpose was for him to think I was with Nico, right?

Right.

Still, all I give him is a side smile and small shrug.

Alex eyes me, his lip tipping up. “Ah, come on. Let me know if I have a shot here.”

My eyes shoot wide and he chuckles, but then someone at the end shouts his name, gaining his attention the rest of the time.

Once everyone is done, we all exit together, us girls hanging back to wait for Krista as she and her parents thank the restaurant staff for having us.

I walk a few feet out to look over the water, and Trent approaches with his hands in his pockets.

“Nico, huh?”

I cut my eyes his way, but I don’t say anything.

“Weren’t you just telling me he hated you?”

“Weren’t you just telling me he didn’t?”

“Yeah.” A low chuckle leaves him. “I’ve been telling you that for a long time, Dem.”

We’re both quiet a moment before he sighs, and I know what he’s thinking, but neither of us says it out loud.

This is – maybe was is the right word – only temporary, so no need to consider long term issues.

Instead of speaking his mind, Trent asks, “Are you really riding back with Alex?”

I nod, smashing my lips together. “I might.”

“You know, him and Nico have... problems.”

“They play the same positions, so it makes sense they compete with each other.”

Trent scoffs, shaking his head and looks away as if there’s more to it.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he says. “I thought you and Nico were having fun this weekend is all.”

I frown.

Never thought I’d agree to such a statement, but I did have fun. “He’s not as heartless as I’ve known him to be.”

“Why are you leaving with Alex, then?”

I shake my head. “It’s just a ride home, Trent.”

“Right.” He nods, turning when Krista’s voice floats from the doors. “I think you should ride with Krista and the girls.”

“If this is about having your friend’s back, I can promise you Nico wouldn’t care about me going with Alex.”

Trent catches my eyes, a serious look in his I don’t see much, and his words are just as pointed. “I can promise you he would.”