Chapter 11

The barbecue went on without a hitch. Everyone talked over each other and like every get together, teasing and of course childhood stories were told. Being around my family made me relax and forget about my stupid plan to make Andy jealous. We all ate until we couldn't but when my mom came out with a cinnamon roll cake none of us said no.  

In a way my mom was like my grandparents. Whenever we visited them my grandma would feed us until our clothes didn't fit us anymore. It was like an unwritten thing that whenever you went to your grandparents house you will never leave hungry. My mom was just like my grandma right now. Every single person was groaning over how much we ate, even Cris and Andy who usually never got full.  

It went by too quick for me even though we stayed until 10 that night. Conversation was getting dry and with everyone yawning every few seconds we knew it was time to go. Plus we had a good 30 minute drive back to campus. After we said bye to my family, Kiyara and Luca, we all got in Cris's Jeep before heading back in silence.  

That happened yesterday and currently I am in the school's library finishing up my homework for the week to come. The library was bigger than I imagined and was a good 5 floors. Each floor was designated for certain genres along with rows of computers and tables for students to do homework on.  

I was on the top floor with my English textbook in front of me, a couple of notebooks that were for my math and psychology classes, my art notebook was off to the side of the table as well, and finally my laptop. I was literally taking up most of the table and was glad no one else was near me. I probably didn't need to do most of my homework today but I did not want to get behind on the first week of school.  

It was nearing 3:30 in the afternoon and I had been here since 11 this morning. Slumping back in my chair I rubbed my forehead feeling a headache blooming. Slowly I twirled in the chair, they had the coolest and most comfortable chairs. There were a few couches a couple of feet away from me and I knew they were probably really comfortable. They must be considering a guy was passed out on it.  

My head was hurting from all the homework and reading I have done. On top of that I was tired from being up all night thinking of Aunt Kiyara's advice. The plan to get Andy jealous wouldn't leave my head. Sure I wanted to know if he felt the same way I did but at the same time I didn't want to use someone to do so. That was just cruel using someone for someone else. In some ways it was a good plan but I didn't know if it would work or if it did what would happen?  

All these 'what if's' kept flashing through my mind, even right now. It was stupid to keep thinking about it but it seemed like it wouldn't go away until I officially decided. Sure last night I had wanted to go through with it but my rational side kicked in.  

Why I was even thinking this I don't know. I just barely started college last week how could I think about getting a boyfriend. I should just be thinking about school, not boys. I let out a groan under my breath as I tried to silence my thoughts.  

"Hey." A voice said above me. I glanced up to see Amy standing by the side of the table.  

"Hey." I sat up. I haven't seen Amy since the other night when we had dinner. I wanted to believe that she was busy with school and cheerleading but for some reason I couldn't shake the feeling that it was a lie.  

"Can I have a seat?" I nodded my head.  

"You don't have to ask you are always welcome." I sent her a small smile. We sat there awkwardly for a moment before she started talking.  

"Carmen I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've been dodging you lately it's just...things have been crazy these last few days and I have been trying to figure stuff out." As much as I was kind of irked that she being distant to both me and Mia I knew she doesn't mean to do so.  

"It is okay. I know things have been crazy with us starting school and trying to get a schedule down. Don't worry about it just don't freeze Mia and I out. We are still your best friends." She grinned at me and I could practically see her slump in relief.  

"Lets do something tonight." Amy said her blue eyes sparkling.  

"But it is Sunday."  

"So? We don't have to go partying, lets get something to eat and go bowling or something." She suggested. I wanted to decline but seeing her pleading look I couldn't say no. And it has been a little bit since we hung out together.  

"Okay lets do it. What time should we go?"  

"We can go now. I mean it is nearing 4 o'clock anyways." Amy shrugged.  

"Sounds good. Call Mia while I get my stuff together." Amy sent me a wide grin as she stood up moving away from me to call Mia. As I cleaned up all my textbooks and notebooks I started to agree more and more about having a girls night tonight. Maybe it would take my mind away from this whole Andy fiasco.  

"All set." With my stuff in my arms I nodded before following Amy out of the library. The walk to my dorm Amy talked about how everyday she has had cheerleading practice and how it was a lot harder than high school. I let her talk about it and added a few comments here and there even though I wasn't at all interested in cheerleading.  

She droned on about some girl that thought she was better than everyone. I couldn't find it in myself to tell her to stop because it felt like she was back to being my friend. I did not want to ruin the moment, plus I was never one to actually voice my opinions on stuff like that.  

The walk to my dorm was over quickly and sooner than I thought I was changing into something more 'appropriate' to go out in, Amy's words not mine. Apparently my paint stained shirt and jeans weren't stylish enough to be seen out in public. Pulling on a pair of blue jeans that had rips in the knees, came like that, and a cute off the shoulder pink shirt that had lace on the back. I kept with my usual flats and decided to just leave my hair in it's messy bun. The only makeup I put on was to hid the bags under my eyes and some lipstick. I did not have the energy to do anything more. It was a girls night out anyways and I was not going out to look for any guys to hook up with.  

Thankfully as I exited my bedroom I found both Mia and Amy dressed pretty similar to me. For once I wasn't going to be the underdressed one, for which I was glad. It was odd because once the three of us got mistaken for being triplets. Triplets! We looked nothing alike. Amy was tall, blonde, all body, gorgeous. Mia was dirty blonde, short, beautiful. And me I was brown haired, medium height, somewhat pretty. The person who told us had to have been drunk or high. No way could we ever look alike and ever since that incident no one else has ever thought that about us.  

"Lets hit the town!" Amy yelled once I was in the living room.  

"The town?" I raised an eyebrow at her.  

"Let me have my fun Car!" She pouted. I shook my head at her while making sure I had everything I needed to go out. "Girls night out!" Amy practically screamed as we left the dorm room. Both Mia and I sent each other looks but couldn't help but grin. We were use to Amy antics by now.  

We headed to my car this time not wanting to be left alone if Amy found some guy. We had passed some guys wearing football jerseys who cat-called us, well more like Amy or Mia I just happened to be near them. Of course the catcalls did little to actually making anyone of us give them the time of day.  

"You know we haven't done a girls night in forever." Mia said as I unlocked my Honda.  

"That's true." If you considered going to an underground fight and having Amy ditch us a girls night then it hasn't been that long. But a real girls night hasn't happened since summer probably; maybe even later then that.  

This last summer seemed to be busier than any other summers. Amy was either with her family or away at cheer camp which was like two months. Then of course she had to get ready to move into the dorm buildings so we didn't see her much. Mia and I did spend a lot of time together, again we were practically sisters.  

Over the three month summer break my parents wanted me to have the best summer before heading off to college. They scheduled a month long trip around Europe to see all the sights, to soak in the culture, and to get as much family time as possible. Some would think spending a month away with your family would be torture but in fact it was the best month of my life. I had the best time seeing all these amazing places and lets face it there are tons of hot guys in Europe. Definitely not complaining there.  

The best part though for me was taking photos. I had made sure to get a whole new sim card so I could take as many pictures as I wanted and by time we got back it was filled to the max. There were so many things I captured with my camera and later when I got home I drew things I had seen. My inspiration was at its highest by time I got home.  

"So where to?" Mia asked dragging me out of my thoughts.  

"Somewhere good." Was my response.  

"Yeah thanks for the help." Mia shot at me.  

"Any time." I winked at her as I sat in the drivers seat waiting to hear where we were going. It took us a few minutes to decide but we finally did on a diner that was a few miles away from campus. I kind of remembered the diner from eating there after one of Cris's games. It had good food and wasn't too far to drive to.  

"Music time!" Mia yelled from the passenger even though we could hear her perfectly fine in the car. I had barely pulled out of the parking lot when she screamed this. Not even waiting for any response from Amy or I she turned the radio on, turning the volume all the way up. A new song was coming up as we listened to announcers voice for a second.  

"YES!" Both Mia and Amy said at the same time as the first notes of the song played. I wanted to groan at the song because it was on ALL the freaking time but I couldn't deny the awesomeness of it.  

"Hello? It's me, I was wondering if after all this time you'd like to met."  

Simultaneously both girls leaned towards me using their hands as microphones.  

"To go over everything  

They say that time's suppose to heal ya  

But I ain't done much healing,"  

They continued on trying to match their voices with Adele's which was impossible to do. I bit back a grin that was fighting to break free and I concentrated on the road. The chorus was coming up and I prepared myself for the two worst singers to start yelling the words.  

"Hello from the other side  

I must have called a thousand times  

To tell you I'm sorry for everything that i've done  

But when I call you never seem to be home!"  

True to my word Mia and Amy screamed out the lyrics making the sound bounce around the small car. They both sounded like dying walrus's but they didn't care. Carrying on with the chorus they never skipped a beat. Mia even placed her hand on my cheek slowly stroking it while singing.  

"Car come on! Join in!" Amy urged me as the new round of lyrics was coming up. I didn't waste a second to join in. Soon there were three awful girls screaming the lyrics to Adele's Hello. As luck would have it we came to a stop sign just as the chorus came through again. I turned to face Mia and Amy as we bellowed the words. We used our hands to as if that would help us sound any better. If anyone had seen us they would think we were crazy.  

Because the diner was only a few miles away by time the song was over we had reached it. The moment the song ended we all bursted out laughing. We knew we were terrible but it didn't stop us instead it urged us on more. It was almost a rule with us that whenever we were in one of our cars we had to sing. Sometimes it was songs from the radio others we would plug our phones in.  

I pulled into a parking spot before wiping away some tears that had formed from laughing so hard. We stumbled out of the car grinning from ear to ear. It felt like we were back to ourselves. I was first inside the cute small diner. It was semi busy but we were able to find a booth with no problem. Heading to our table I glanced around the cute place.  

The diner seemed like it was straight out of a book where two characters met and fall in love, or where a group of friends met to talk while the 'shy' girls serves them to later on fall in love with one of the guys. The red upholstery could almost be tacky with the white plastic table tops but instead of it being tacky it gave off that vintage, old feeling to it. Like tons of great memories had been made right here. The floor was designed with the black and white checker tiles like every diner seemed to have, giving it an almost retro vibe.  

Booths lined the walls while tables littered the other space. A long counter with swivel car stools was placed right in the middle of the diner where I bet kids in the summer sat to drink their milkshakes. Behind the counter was the kitchen where you could see chefs busy at work. The walls were covered in old items such as old license plates, a Route 66 sign, pictures with sayings on them. There were even photos placed on the wall, some were black and white, some newer made with a Polaroid camera. Everything about the place screamed charm.  

I grinned as I looked around. I almost expected to see waitress/waiters on roller skates. Just as I thought before I sat down the seats were comfortable and you seemed to sink into it as you sat down. We barely sat down before a girl around our age was handing us menus.  

All around us kids our age sat at tables talking about everything and anything. Families were spread through out the place as well, little kids talking loud while drawing on their menus. The whole vibe of this place was friendly making me instantly love it here. I couldn't remember it being such a cute place when I came here with my parents a while back but I did know I will probably be coming here when I didn't feel like going to 95 Degrees on campus.  

"So what are you going to get?" Amy asked. I hadn't realized I was staring off into space instead of looking at the menu. I sent her a sheepish smile before finally looking at the menu in front of me. My stomach growled loudly since I haven't eaten since this morning. I was too busy in the library to eat anything.  

"What can I get you three?" The same girl asked coming back to our table with a pad and pen in her hand. Mia and Amy rattled off their order while I tried to pick something. When it was finally my turn I sprouted off my order.  

"I'll have the Bbq hamburger with no cheese and fries as well. And can I get a strawberry milkshake?" I handed her the menu watching as she raised an eyebrow at my order. Yes women I will eat it all. I thought silently.  

"I can't believe you will eat all of that." Amy said as our waitress walked off to put our order in.  

"I'm hungry." I shrugged. Mia smiled next to me knowing I order like that all the time. It was a miracle that I wasn't fat by now honestly.  

"So...have you guys been with any cute guys lately?" Amy asked looking between Mia and I. It seemed her and Mia were always thinking of guys now a days.  

"Nope." Came my response. No way in hell was I going to tell her about Gabriel. I didn't want to be rude but seeing as Amy was a lot better looking than I was it wouldn't be a surprise if she slept with him or something. Sure I didn't really like Gabriel but that didn't mean I wanted her to get to know him. I guess I was just being selfish. I could have hugged Mia in that moment when she changed the subject.  

The next few minutes were spent talking about our classes and how we weren't looking forward to more homework that would soon arise. Our conversation was steady and the only time we stopped was when our food came.  

"Car is Cris ready for the game coming up? We have been practicing the same time as the football team and man do they practice." Amy asked.  

"I think so. Yesterday it was all him and Andy could talk about." I said munching on some fries. At the Barbecue both boys kept going over plays with my father and uncle. The game wasn't until Tuesday but they wanted to be prepared. "I've heard that Coach Barnum is working them hard this year."  

"Oh he is. Although I'm not complaining when they all take off their shirts." She wiggled her eyebrows. I shook my head but smiled. She was right it was such a great sight seeing all those hot guys sweaty and shirtless. One time as I sat on the bleachers waiting for Andy and Cris to be done I had the great opportunity to see almost the entire time pull off their shirts. The bleachers were sitting right by the water cooler where they all went to to get a drink. I was able to watch about 20 or so sweaty, hot, shirtless football players come in my direction to get a drink. Lets just say I almost had a heart attack.  

That happened in high school, Andy and Cris's senior year so the guys weren't as hot as the ones in college. I think it was last year some time when I was here on campus waiting for both boys to do something when the same thing happened. I was leaning against the wall beside the door to the guy's locker room. All the football players came out shirtless dripping with water from their showers. The sight was even more delicious than the one in high school. College guys worked out more than high schoolers. I almost died then too.  

"That's the true reason you join cheer isn't it?" Mia teased.  

"Of course. Being near guys in those tight football pants is a girls dream." None of us couldn't deny that. I sipped on my milkshake thinking of Andy shirtless, I almost let out a sigh at the image. Just as Andy came to mind Gabriel seemed to force himself front and center.  

His ripped abs flashed through my mind. It was almost like he was right in front of me that is how clear the image was. I could see the tattoo on his arm as well as the ridges of his pecks and the v-line leading down to his pants. Apparently not thinking of Gabriel wasn't working for me.  

"Hey isn't that Andy's Range Rover?" Mia suddenly asked. I looked out the window to my right. A black Range Rover sat right outside the window looking exactly like Andy's. It was a present from his parents when he graduated. It was mostly a 'I'm sorry I couldn't make it but congratulations' kind of gift.  

"It looks like it." I muttered. Sure enough a few seconds later Andy slide out of the drivers side as well as my brother from the passenger seat. All three of us seemed to stop and stare at the two boys heading inside. I missed the way Amy grew pale at the sight of Andy. As they enter the diner I slide down in the booth a little bit slightly hoping they wouldn't see us, which was impossible considering the fact that we were right by the window they parked at and I was facing towards the door. It only took them a second to find us before heading our way.  

"Well if it ain't my sister, Amelia and the midget." Cris said as soon as he got to our table.  

"Ha ha like I haven't heard that one before." Mia shot back at him rolling her eyes.  

"Move over." Was all he said before he starting sliding in next to Mia and I. I was suddenly squished against the window as Cris made himself at him beside us. Andy slide in next to Amy.  

"No go sit over by your boyfriend." Mia said trying to push Cris out of our side of the booth. Her pushing did nothing for Cris was like a brick wall of muscle.  

"But what's the fun in that." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders before pulling her tight against him. Her head was smashed to his chest and arm pit. With his grip she couldn't move but she did try resulting in hitting me and pushing me further against the wall. Andy and Amy just stared at us clearly enjoying the show.  

Mia and Cris continued on practically wrestling one another while I kept getting banged and smushed against the window. When a few more minutes passed I got fed up with it.  

"Guys there is another person in this booth." I bit out turning my head to glare at them. Feeling my heated glare they pulled apart.  

"Sorry Car." Cris apologized. I fix myself so I wasn't completely smashed against the window, there still wasn't enough room for all three of us so we were still squished against one another. Not bothering to reply to him I grabbed my milkshake and sipped through the straw.  

"So what are you guys doing here?" Andy asked softly tapping his fingers on the table.  

"What does it look like we are doing?" I waved my hand at our plates.  

"Your words hurt me Car." Andy clenched his chest while smirking at me.  

"I'm glad." I sent him a sickly sweet smile.  

"Fine be that way." I watched as his eyes darted to the last few fries on my plate. Not wasting a second I grabbed two out of three before plopping them in my milkshake. His hand shot out a second later only to grab the one I left him.  

"Hey!"  

"Too slow buddy boy." I said shaking my finger at him. Just to show off that I got the other fries I slowly swirled them in my milkshake before plopping them in my mouth. "Yum."  

"You are evil." He muttered munching on the small fry.  

"You two are coming to the game Tuesday right?" Cris asked reaching for the other half of Mia's hamburger while Andy did the same to mine. Amy had gotten this big salad that I knew the boys would never eat.  

"It's a home game right?"  

"Yep." Cris said around a mouthful of meat.  

"Ew gross close your mouth." Mia sent him a look. Of course being Cris he just had to go against her words by opening his mouth wide so everyone could see the food in his mouth. "You are a pig." She slapped his arm.  

"We will be there." I said over Mia.  

"You'll be there too right?" Andy turned to Amy who hadn't said a word this entire time. I watched as Amy turned a little red which was unlike her. It took her a few seconds to reply.  

"Yeah I'll be there cheering." Andy nodded turning his attention back to my food. Keeping my eyes on Amy I noticed she let out a breath before grabbing her water and gulping it down. Weird.  

"You doing good in your classes Car?" Cris asked bringing my gaze away from Amy.  

"Yes dad. I am going on time as well."  

"Just making sure, I'm in charge of you and Mia at school."  

"You are not in charge of me." Mia butted in.  

"Yes I am. I'm older than you two. Plus our parents asked me to." Cris pointed out.  

"Just because you are older then us by a year doesn't mean you are more mature." I said.  

"Exactly! Carmen and me are way more mature than you and Andy." Mia pointed out.  

"Hey!" Andy exclaimed.  

"It's true."  

"Is not. Cris and I are way more responsible than the two of you." He said.  

"How so? I had to call and remind you two about the barbecue yesterday." I said. "Without me and Mia you two wouldn't survive."  

"Yes we would!" Cris defended himself and Andy.  

"Yeah right." Mia rolled her eyes at the two of them. I smiled as the two of them shared a look almost like they were agreeing to what we said. And it was true. If it wasn't for me and Mia they would be late to a lot of things or forgot important dates. Out of the four of us everyone would think us two girls were older than the boys. I think girls were always more mature then guys, no matter the age.  

"What are you guys going to do after this?" Andy asked.  

"Maybe go bowling or something. Haven't figured it out yet." I answered shrugging. We hadn't gotten that far.  

"We may join you. We have nothing to do for the rest of the night and being with you three is better than being at home alone, bored." He shrugged.  

"Yeah you can join us." Amy butted in smiling at Andy.  

"But I thought it was girls night?" I questioned.  

"These two can join. We can always use two more girls to our gang." Mia said before laughing.  

"Girls? We are men." Cris said and lowered his voice at the end of his sentence. Which did not help his cause, it just caused us to laugh even harder.  

"We could totally dress them up in some dresses and heels." Mia said. At the sound of that I started laughing with Amy and Mia. The picture of Cris and Andy dressed as girls was hilarious. I bet dresses wouldn't fit them or if they did their muscles were rip the fabric. And don't even get me started on them in heels.  

"Oh we should do their makeup!" Amy giggled out. Their jaws fell open at the mention of makeup. Their expressions were beyond priceless.  

"Yas." All three of us said at the same time making use burst into giggles. I wiped away a tear as the two boys glared at us. I opened my mouth to say something to them when someone called my name.  

My eyes snapped to where the voice was coming from and seeing who was making their way towards us made them almost bulge out of their sockets. I froze in my seat a million things running through my head at the moment. The first thing that did come straight to mind was the word shit. At my name being called everyone from our table turned to look at the newcomers.  

"Carmen!" Daniel beamed as he came to a stop right in front of our table. My gaze moved from him to the figure slowly making his way towards us, Gabriel. Unconsciously I found myself checking him up and down. A dark blue shirt graced his upper body and what seemed like his signature ripped blue jeans hung low on his hips. A pair of sunglasses were still perched on his nose even though he was inside. His dark brown hair was floppy and hung a little on his forehead into his eyes. I gulped nervously. A sharp jab in my ribs had me yanking me away from Gabriel to Mia.  

"Hey Daniel." I said hoping my voice didn't shake. This wasn't good. Daniel and Gabriel were here while my brother and long time crush were sitting with us; this couldn't get anymore awkward.  

"Whatcha doin'?" He asked shoving his hands into his pockets while rocking back and forth on his heels.  

"Uh nothing really. Just hanging out, getting something to eat." I could feel Gabriel's heated stare on me but tried to ignore it.  

"And you are?" Cris asked his tone serious. I looked over at him and noticed he had his big brother face on.  

"Daniel...Forbes." He answered nodding at my brother in greeting. Cris's gaze turned to Gabriel now who hadn't said a single word, just stood there like a statue. When Cris realized Gabriel wasn't going to say anything he turned back to Daniel.  

"And you know my sister how?"  

"Oh we go way back don't we sweet-cheeks." He even had to the nerve to wink at me.  

"You gave her a nickname?" Andy asked suddenly coming into the conversation. From the corner of my eye I could see him clenching his fists on the counter. I raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything.  

"Yes we do. I call her sweet-cheeks while she calls me 'daddy'." I wanted to die right then and there. Almost instantly my brother and Andy were up out of the booth. From where I was sitting I could see amusement sparkling in Daniel's hazel eyes. Behind him Gabriel still stood immobile taking in the entire scene as if he was bored. I couldn't tell what he was thinking behind his dark sunglasses.  

"You little-" Andy growled taking a step towards Daniel. Cris held him back but I could tell Cris was just as angry. I sat there frozen taking in everything not knowing what to do.  

"Carmen do something." Mia hissed at me. She gestured to the three guys staring each other down. Well Andy and Cris were glaring daggers at Daniel who was just standing there acting as if he didn't just tell my brother I called him 'daddy'.  

"Daniel I think it's time you go." I said suddenly trying to jump up from my seat. Because of the table my knees painfully hit it making me fall right back onto the bench and almost making our drinks spill. Pain radiated from my knees but I ignored it staring at Daniel. Either he heard me and decided to ignore me all together or he didn't. When he gave me no indication that he heard me I looked over at Gabriel this time. Silently I pleaded to him through my eyes to get Daniel away from Andy and Cris. I did not want a fight to break out here in the diner. I had a sinking feeling that Daniel, with the help of Gabriel of course, would kick my brother and Andy's ass. I bet Gabriel was not one to sit around while his best friend got attacked by two people.  

I mouthed the word 'please' to him feeling the tension in the room heighten. People around us were now staring waiting to see what will happen. When I thought Gabriel wouldn't do anything I saw him give me a slight nod, almost unnoticeable. He placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder still looking straight at me. I wished he would take off his glasses so I could see his eyes.  

At the touch of Gabriel Daniel took a step back. A small grin still apparent on his face. He took his eyes off the two angry guys in front of him to look at me.  

"I'll see you later sweet-cheeks." He winked once more at me. I glared back at him wanting to slowly kill him for putting me in this spot. Now once they leave I will have to deal with Andy and Cris questioning me about both of them. They will practically interrogate me. I clenched my hands into fists feeling my nails biting into my skin. I could feel both Mia and Amy shooting glances between me, Gabriel and Daniel. I already felt their questions aching to break free.  

Gabriel gripped Daniel's shoulder harder steering him away from our table. I mouthed 'thank you' to him more than glad he was getting Daniel away from us. We all sat there watching as Daniel and Gabriel exited the diner and headed to the parking lot. Cris and Andy stood glaring out the window almost like they were trying to kill them with their stares.  

It felt an eternity passed before they both relaxed slightly and went to sit back down. Seeing that they were going to sit down the other patrons went back to their meals. The steady flow of conversations slowly picked back up as the 5 of us sat there silently. A thousand excuses or ways to tell them about Gabriel and Daniel ran through my mind but none of them seemed like they would work. Trying to prolong the interrogation I kept staring out the window trying to come up with something.  

As the tension and anger grew around our table I was forced to look over at the two brooding men who staring straight at me, their jaws locked and their eyes firm. I could plainly see the questions on their faces as well as the anger. Me being the awkward person I am sent them a sheepish grin.  

"Hey." I said lamely.  

I was wrong it could get more awkward.