"Are you sure this is the right place?" Deanna whispered a little loudly. "Geez, you've asked that for the third time this minute!" Mellisa laughed. She shoved her palm so that Deanna could read Shane's handwriting on it. She had jot it down earlier on a piece of paper, but she wanted to keep the original one as long as she could. Anyway, it wasn't everyday that a cute guy like him would write on your palm!


"I thought you wrote that down," Kylie said a bit confused, pointing at Mellisa's full-with-blue-ink palm. "I wanna keep this one," Mellisa shrugged. Kylie rolled her eyes. "Apartment no..." Deanna squinted. "Zero eight - one o seven." Mellisa finished for her without looking at her own palm. She had memorized the address by heart now.


"Bingo. So are we gonna get in or what?" Kylie asked impatiently. "Look who's so eager!" Deanna gave a little laugh. "Okay here it is. Who's gonna knock?" Mellisa took a deep breath and let loose. "You go," Deanna shoved her. "I can't," Mellisa limped. Deanna's eyes bulged out, "I'm not going to!" "Neither am I," Kylie stated clearly.


"Oh you guys! Don't be so immature! Here I'll knock!" Rachel shoved forward and knocked the door three times. Do you think she'll really sulk at home, missing a chance to meet with cute guys? You're wrong. After an hour of pleading, begging, persuading and tickling the other three girls managed to convince her to go with them.


"Gee Rachel, that's the first time I hear ya talk since we got out of the house!" Mellisa smiled. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Rachel rolled her eyes. The girls waited a few minutes, then when nobody answered Rachel whammed at the door again, this time really loud. Deanna almost gasped seeing this wild side of Rachel (hoho). The girls kept quiet, hoping silently that this time somebody would answer before Rachel knock down the whole apartment, literally. Rachel tapped her right foot impatiently. She looked at her watch. The only sound to be heard was the tick-tick sound of her Gucci.


Rachel prepared herself to slam a fist on the door when suddenly there was a slow click, as if the door was being unlocked. The other girls sighed with relief, and Rachel sighed with disappointment. "Yes?" A stranger opened the door for them. It was a cute dark-haired guy with big, ocean blue eyes - a typical boy-next-door.


"Hi, this is Mellisa and I'm her friend Kylie. I believe that we're expected..." Kylie took charge, walking boldly forward and giving the cute guy a sexy smile. Deanna and Mellisa looked at each other and both rolled their eyes.


"Oh, hello Kylie," the cute guy smiled briefly at her, then shook Mellisa's hand, "Shane's been telling us a lot about you, and now that I've seen you I understand why," he smiled at Mellisa and gazed at her. Mellisa just blushed. "Ahem," Rachel coughed deliberately, "and you are..."


"Oh, my name is Mark," he answered without looking away from Mellisa. She was starting to feel awkward. "Can we come in now?" Deanna asked keenly. "Sure, come on in," Mark snapped back to reality and welcomed them all inside.


Rachel waited for all the other girls to get inside, then hesitated for a moment. Am I really going there? "You must be Rachel, the blonde one. Bryan had been going on and on about how he met you," Mark said as soon as he saw Rachel still standing halfway inside.


"Met is not exactly the right word for it." Rachel rolled her eyes. Mark took her hand and led her inside, Rachel following a bit uneasily. I wonder how Mel talked me into this!

***

The apartment was not so different from the girls', except that it was a little more messy and un-coordinated, may be. There was a huge sofa in the middle of the room and TV right in front of it. A large dining table was at one edge of the apartment, giving it a classy kinda atmosphere. At the moment two other unknown guys, both blonde, was watching TV from their sofa. They looked up as soon as they saw the girls entering their apartment.


"Hell-oo there!" One of them who had a straight, simple, but stylish hair said. He got up and shook the girls' hand one by one, repeating, "Hi, I'm Kian. Nice to see you, you are beautiful." The other one, who had a spiky-gelled kinda hair followed suit, "Hi, my name's Nicky."


"Hi. I'm Mellisa. And these are my friends - Kylie, Deanna, and Rachel." Mellisa introduced herself and the other girls. Deanna and Rachel smiled - Deanna gratefully and Rachel forcefully. Meanwhile Kylie whispered to Mellisa, "I didn't know there'd be so many guys!"


"Hi! Please take a seat-" Nicky gestured, then looking around the messy place, "-somewhere..." he smiled sheepishly. "Here," Mark shoved a chair so that Mellisa could sit down. She looked at him gratefully, mouthing, "Thank you."


Deanna and Kylie soon found place on the sofa, while Rachel just stood there, not knowing what to do or say. "So, you all live here together?" Mellisa asked, hoping to start a conversation.


"Yeah, as you can see," Kian laughed. "But it seems that the place need a woman's touch, no?" Nicky punched Kian playfully, "he's good at chatting up with girls."


Mark joined them on the sofa, on the side nearest to Mellisa, "Shane will be right here in no time, he's in the bathroom." "He's been there for half an hour!" Nicky frowned. "He wanna look good in front of all these girls, I believe," Kian gave a little laugh.


"Where's Bryan?" Rachel spoke up. "Oh, that lazy guy!" Kian laughed again, "He's probably at some pub or other," "He said he wanna take a little walk," Nicky shrugged. "He'll be here soon, I think. He wouldn't wanna miss a chance to see you all." Rachel laughed, with a bit of sarcasm hidden, "Oh, he wouldn't."


Kylie, Mellisa, and Deanna soon were caught up in a heated conversation with Mark, Kian, and Nicky. Deanna could not help noticing Mark giving Mellisa an eye. She smiled a cunning smile, that guy's totally into Mel! Rachel talked a bit with the guys, but she kept mostly to herself - at first. When Kian cracked a joke for the first time that night Rachel had to laugh along. Then, she found herself enjoying the guys' company and started to have a good time.


"Hey! Did I miss something?!" someone suddenly said. The group stopped talking and looked up the stairs where the voice came from. It was Shane, and he was running down the stairs hurriedly to meet the girls. "Hi Rachel, hi Mellisa." he smiled shyly when at last he got down, "I thought you wouldn't come."


"But of course I will! See, I got your addie right here!" Mellisa said in a playful tone, showing him her palm. "Yeah, she even refused to wash her hand. She said she would never ever wash it again," Rachel added, chuckling. Mellisa gave her a glare.


"Well nice to see you. But I haven't known the other two beautiful ladies," Shane began. He took a seat at one edge of the sofa. Kian groaned, "Shane you're stealin' my job!" "They're Kylie and Deanna," Nicky said helpfully.


"Hey, I can talk you know," Deanna pouted, definitely teasing Nicky. "Stop picking on him." Kylie stood for Nicky. He smiled at her gratefully, and Kylie felt tingly all over. What am I doing? she thought a bit dizzily. This is stupid but am I falling for him? Kylie shook her head violently.


"What's wrong, Ky?" Nicky asked a bit worriedly. Then he quickly added, "I could call you that, right?" "Nothing, just got this sudden headache," Kylie gave him a weak smile. "And yes, you could call me that. Everyone calls me that." "Awww, Ky, it's not even dinner yet." Mellisa teased.


"Hi Kylie, hello Deanna," Shane took a good look at the two girls. "Yo," Kylie replied quickly, while Deanna kept quiet. She was busy looking back at Shane, as if she was seeing a famous pop star or something. She was completely stupefied.


"Deanna is a bit long, right? Why don't I call you... Annie?" Shane asked hopefully. Deanna smiled at him weakly, "Sure..." "She never let anyone -" Kylie started, but Deanna stomped on her feet before she could say anything else.


"Ouch! Why did you do that?" Kian looked at Deanna, bewildered. Apparently Deanna had stomped the wrong feet! "Oops, I didn't mean to get you," Deanna looked at him apologetically. Kylie tried desperately to hide her laughter but she could not. Deanna glared at her, she felt her cheeks blushing.


Shane's gaze fell upon Mellisa again. He frowned a bit, "Hey, your hair..." Mellisa touched her hair self-consciously, "What? Where? When? Is there something wrong with it?" Shane gave a little laugh, "Nah, it seems different..."


" 'Cos she decided not to wear her beloved clips this time," Deanna piped. "Of course! The butterfly clips!" Shane exclaimed. "You think I look better with it?" Mellisa asked Shane carefully. Shane laughed, "Don't worry, you look great." "I think she's charming," Mark suddenly spoke up, making Mellisa blush. An awkward silence followed.


"Um... where's Bryan?" Shane suddenly asked. Rachel felt as if she was struck by a lightning as soon as she heard his name. "Hell yeah, I wonder where Macker is," Nicky said. "Macker?" Rachel asked curiously. "His nickname," Shane supplied. Rachel laughed, it was actually a bit funny.


Suddenly the door slammed open and Bryan came in. Rachel froze as she heard his footsteps. She avoided looking at him completely. "Hey, what's all the ruckus about?" Bryan asked. Rachel frowned, his voice actually sounds cheerful!


"Hello again, Bryan!" Mellisa greeted him. "It's you!" Bryan exclaimed happily. "Hey, we're just talking about you, man." Mark slapped him accross the back playfully. "Really? What a coincidence!!!" Bryan cracked up. He walked up beside Rachel. She stiffened up.


"Hi, Rachel." he said. Rachel cringed, anticipating some biting remark. But there was none. The rest of the room was silent. Rachel realized that they were waiting for her to say something. Of course Shane's friends knew what had happened between her and Bryan. What was she going to do now?


"Hi, Bryan," Rachel said without looking at him. "Bryan's over there." Kylie hissed at her. Rachel gave her a look. "So what's up?" Bryan asked cheerfully. "Oh, nothing much," Rachel answered unenthusiastically.


Shane coughed, "hey guys, why don't we go to the kitchen and see the food there?" "Sure, great idea," Kian replied quickly. "Yeah, sure," Nicky relaxed, obviously grateful to be spared another scene of Rachel vs. Bryan. "You think you'd need a feminine hand?" Deanna offered. "Yeah! Why not?" Mark piped up. "I'll help," Mellisa decided, and Mark lit up. "Me too," Kylie added, smiling at Nicky.


Soon all seven of them were in the kitchen, but they were not exactly cooking. Kian and Nicky listened at the kitchen door, Kylie and Deanna followed suit. Shane laughed at them, "What on earth are you trying to do?" Kian quickly shushed him, "Ssshhh!!!!" "Okay, okay," Shane quickly said, gesturing his hands in mock surrender. Kian got back to listen to Rachel and Bryan's cold conversation...


"Umm... psyched to get dinner?" Bryan laughed uneasily. "Well, not really. I'm stuffed," Rachel shrugged, giving him the cold shoulders. "Oh, you eat already?" Bryan asked, desperate to keep the conversation going.


"Who are you to ask me questions like that?" Rachel finally turned to face him, hands on hips. "Hey why are you being so cold! I'm just trying to be friendly," Bryan raised his voice a bit. From behind the kitchen door Kian looked at Nicky, giving each other a significant look.


"Well you sure were friendly this afternoon!" Rachel said sarcastically. "Look, I'm sorry okay?" Bryan said, a little angry. "Right," Rachel snorted. "I'm here to have a good time and you're doing a great job ruining it. I'm going to the kitchen to help the other guys." Bryan declared.


"Fine! Let me rotten here!" Rachel challenged him. "Fine!" "Fine!" "Fine!" Bryan moved forward so that Rachel could see him in full height, six feet and all. Rachel did not look at all frightened. He sighed, "Rachel, I'm sorry."


Rachel glared at him, and to her own surprise she found herself calming down. She did not know why, but looking at those deep blue pool of an eye... Then she remembered how he had kissed her, mistaking her for his girlfriend or whoever. She stiffened again.


"So what else do you want?" she asked him coldly. "Whatever!" Bryan said finally, exasperated. He threw himself to the sofa, grabbed the remote and switched on the television. Rachel looked away from him, still standing. The two of them settled with their backs on each other.


Meanwhile, Kian took a peek from the kitchen door. "He's gonna see you," Mark whispered. "Nah..." Kian shrugged away the thought. "What do you see?" Shane asked eagerly. "I thought you aren't particularly interested," Mellisa eyed him weirdly. She was actually doing some cooking there, and the aroma was drifting down Shane's nose. "I am, a little," he answered sheepishly.


"Sssssshhhh, ssssshhhhh, and once again, ssssssssssshhhhhhhh!!!@#%$*^$%!!!!!!!" Kylie hissed, annoyed. Mellisa and Shane looked at each other, trying hard not to laugh. "Hey really Kian boy, what do you see?" Nicky asked, apparently curious. "Nicky boy," Kian called back. "Hmmm?" "I didn't know that Bryan loves to watch Teletubbies," Kian said, marveling at the sight of Bryan looking at the TV screen intently.

***

The dinner was an exceptionally good one, and everyone was having their own good time. Unfortunately though, we had to exclude Bryan and Rachel. The two of them kept mostly to themselves, except for the occasional bickering.


"I did NOT even touch your feet!!!" Rachel cried as Bryan accused her of kicking his shin from under the dining table. "Sorry Bry, I was the one who do it," Shane said apologetically. "Oh yeah? But I'm sure you do want to take your revenge on me!" Bryan taunted, apparently ignoring what Shane said. "Hell yeah I do!" Rachel gritted her teeth.


"Um, Bryan? I said I was the one who did it," Shane repeated. "But you did it when I wasn't aware of it, and that wasn't fair!" Bryan retorted, not hearing Shane at all. "Like you kiss me when I want to!" Rachel glared. "Oh I'm sure you do too!" Bryan laughed bitterly. "Over my dead body!" Rachel snorted.


"There's gonna be a dead body here if you don't stop them, soon," Mellisa said warily to Shane. "The question now is, like, how?" Shane asked back. "Hah! You're just denying it! I'm sure you like it very much!" Bryan pulled an angry face.


"You're the most arrogant jerk I've ever encountered," Rachel said, practically spitting the words out. "Thank you!" Bryan replied quickly. "You're welcome!" Rachel bit back. "I-" Bryan paused in mid-air, his mouth still hanging open. He searched for something to say, but found none.


"Still hungry, Bryan?" Kian joked, pointing at Bryan's gaping mouth. "Don't know what to say, is it?" Rachel crossed her hands over her chest. "What is it to you, Ms. Short Temper?" Bryan glared. "Her name is Rachel," Shane murmured.


"Oh I'm getting tired of this!" Rachel finally said, getting up from her chair. "You think I don't? All I want is to apologize but it seems that you're hard on hearing!" Bryan said, exasperated. "Okay, I accept your apology!" Rachel snapped.


"Fine with me!" Bryan gulped down his soft drink. "Fine!" Rachel sat back down. "Fine!" "Fine!" "Fine!" "Fine!" "Stop that!" "You stop that!" "No, you!" "You!" "You!" "You!" "Okay, fine!" "Fine!" "Fine!" "Fine!" "Fine!"


"How are we gonna get through this night?" Nicky groaned, dropping his head on the dining table. "Oh we would, somehow or other," Kylie smiled at him a bit unassuredly.