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[?'s P.O.V.]
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"My alarm clock rang as I lazily got up from my bed and switched off the loud alarm. I let out a lazy yawn before peeking my eyes open to look to at the time.7 a.m.Looks like it's another day. I got up as I tidied up my bed and grabbed my headband and my hair scrunchie to tie my hair up in a messy half bun, and dragged myself to get ready for the day."Good morning, Ev!" I smiled at my reflection at the mirror. Same face, messy long black hair, same old fainted scar on my left cheek. My name's Evangelyn, I'm 15 and gonna be a sophomore in a few days, and I go by my nicknames "Evan", "Ev" or "Lyn" and occasionally "Jelly" that the kids I sometimes babysit call me. Majority of them are still in grade school.As soon as I had gotten dressed, I got out of my room and found my brother by the dining table, helping himself with some bread and chocolate milk."Morning, Jer!" I nodded at him.My brother looked at me as he gave me a nod as well. That's my twin brother, Jerald but goes by Jerry, younger than me (by one hour, 6 minutes and 17 seconds). Those were the days before I became the older sister."Hey Sis." Jerry replied."Can you believe that high school starts in 3 days?" I asked."Yup, once school starts, let's never run into each other." Jerry nodded."Yeah, I can't wait to meet up with Cassie and the rest. Because having to share a life with you has been...a lifeful of havoc and surprises." I stated, before chewing at a piece of bread. "Where's mom?""She and dad are off to work. But they left me in charge, so I will be inviting Cy over.""Not if I invite him over first! We've been getting in the merengue of Stranger Things marathon!" I teased him. Cyrus Nollen is our good friend who lives right next-door, he's always got a good sense of humor, and he's one of the greatest guys I know. Oh, and he's just like a big brother to me, I mean, I find him attractive and adorkable and all but I am not really attracted to him in a romantic way."Heck no, it's bad enough we have to share the same womb, but sharing best friends is out of the question." Jerry exclaimed. We both shuddered a bit."Fine, I'll just go to Wired to hang with Cassie and the girls." I rolled my eyes at my brother. Besides, Nate's gonna be at Wired, it's his favorite hangout place, I mean based on my observation, not like I stalk him or anything.Nathaniel 'Nate' Nicholas, he is one of the most popular (and sought after) guys in my high school, he's about 2 years older than me. And I have sort of had a crush on him for about a year now. Can you blame me? He's down-to-earth, charming, friendly, charismatic, volunteers at the animal shelter, Student Body President, a Straight-A student, and he is the football team's captain. And over the summer, he's been working part-time at Wired. (twice the reasons why I go there every weekend, but sometimes he's not there when I go over. Probably his day off.)And just to be clear, I do not stalk him, those are just facts I got to know from my gossipy friends, and he's one of the most popular guys at school. So I usually just observe what he does. From a long and safe distance without being a complete stalker. "Have fun bluffing about your lame life." Jerry teased me before I stuck out my tongue at him. I tried to keep my crush on Nate as low-profile as possible, because the last thing I need is people meddling in my love life. The last time I was interested in a guy, Tyrone Olsen, I didn't really tell him how I felt about him, and he ended up dating Joelle Tanner from our Algebra class. (My hunch among my friends were that he was interested our other friend Jessabelle Tang from middle school. I'm starting to think Tyrone is interested in girls with an 'elle' behind their names.)I went into my room before I saw someone throwing rocks at my window."WHAT?!" I demanded, opening the window, before noticing who it was. "Cyrus! Stop tormenting my windows with your poor rock-throwing skills!""What was I supposed to do? Knock?" Cyrus responded, climbing into my room."What up?" I asked."Are you going to meet up with the girls later?" Cyrus asked."Why so? You want me to check up on Lexi, huh?" I teased him."Psh, what? No...ok, maybe." Cyrus blushed. He totally has a huge crush on her, he's been in love with her since she was 5. Her brother Lucas, me, Katie and Jerry used to tease them when we were in grade school."Why can't you just talk to her yourself? I have a life too, you know.""Like checking out Nate?" Cyrus snorted."No..." I lied."Mhm-Hmm?" Cyrus raised his eyebrows at me, looking judgmental."That is not what your phone says." Cyrus pointed out, showing a very private section from my Instagram page of which I would secretly look through Nate's profile (But I never hit like or comment, I like to keep my love life as discrete as possible to prevent anyone from finding out). I keep forgetting he likes to hack into computers and stuff, maybe that's why he is good at bribing!"Fine, I fancy him. But it's not like an awesome person like him would ever notice me," I chewed the bottom of my lip, Nate's got this own Senior year gang (including Ivan Ranjit the President of the Computer Club, Adina Zales the friendly and pleasant Head of the Student Yearbook, and the cheerleading twins: Carmen and Caren Laurens, I heard they both or one of them have a huge crush on Nate, and they do not hesitate making girls who get too close to him suffer.)"But sure, I can help talk to Alexa for you. If it doesn't end well, I am pinning the blame on you!" I replied. "Now get lost, Cyrus-Virus, I gotta change my clothes.""Ok, ok." I shoved Cyrus out of my room, and down the stairs yelling: "YO JER! CYRUS IS HERE!""THANKS FOR THE DELIVERY!" Jerry shouted back, catching Cyrus."Morning Grammie Peggy, Grandpa Bowen." Cyrus greeted my grandparents (Grandpa Bowen and Grammie Peggy)"Morning Cyrus.""WHO?" Grandpa shouted (he's getting old and is practically deaf now)"CYRUS!" Grammie Peggy shouted."BUY RUST?" Grandpa asked."CY-RUS! The nice young man next door!" Grammie replied."He's getting as old and blind like his father." Grammie rolled her eyes at Grandpa.I went to shower, dried and combed my hair. I wore a blue flannel blouse over my black undershirt and some mom jeans, laced up my high-tops before getting my handbag and dashed downstairs.Our neighbors include the Nollen family (who lives next-door), the Rostand family (where my friend Roxy lives, she lives a couple of houses away until the Rhodes family moved next-door to her place 2 years ago. Their daughter Barbara sure is a wild one. Wild in a good way.), the Cooper Family and the Mendoza family (who live right behind our backyards). I've been friends with them for almost a decade. There is Lucas Mendoza (he's the oldest, but behaves like the narcissistic big brother), then there's Cyrus (younger than Lucas by a few weeks), me and Jerry, Katie Cooper, Alexa Mendoza, and last but not least: Jack (Katie's little brother)We all grew up together in the same neighborhood. And we're kind of like a family. But over the years, the social circle grew wider considering we're all in different grades. Jack is the youngest and the baby of the friendship circle, but he became friends with Fletcher Blake (and boy, they get into such trouble. One time, Lucas found a large bunny sitting inside the bathtub before he went to bath. Apparently, Jack and Fletcher lost the bunny while practicing a magic trick for the school's talent show)"I'm going out with some friends, see you!" I bid my grandparents, my brother and Cyrus goodbye before cycling my bike off to Wired.
"Does anybody have a map? Anybody maybe happen to know how the hell to do this?

I don't know if you can tell, but this is me just pretending to know..."
I started humming to 'Anybody Have A Map' from Dear Evan Hansen. Unfortunately, I didn't look at where I was going before I almost knocked into another person. I saw the back of a tall sturdy lady."LOOK OUT, MA'AM!!!"I quickly halted the brakes before losing grip of the bike, falling off the bike and hit the grass lawn."Are you alright?"Someone asked me. Sounds like a guy, must be the lady's husband or something.Argh, I coughed out some dirt before rubbing the dirt off my chin."Yeah..." I muttered, looking around the grass for my glasses. "Where are my glasses?""I will take that as a yes." The person stated, before he handed me my glasses."Thanks." I muttered, putting on my glasses. I mean, I can see without my glasses but my eyesight has gotten worse. I fear someday I might end up blind like Grandpa Bowen."I am so sorry, I didn't notice you." I apologized."No, it was my fault, I am still new here. I wasn't exactly seeing where I was going, either." The person responded."Oh, you're not a ma'am. Sorry about that." I blinked at the realization I shouted, almost rammed into a guy and not a lady.I looked at the person, and wow. 
First thought: Oh boy, that is NOT a lady.

Second thought: Holy Horcrux, he is gorgeous! [He looks kinda like Roman from Lab Rats: Elite Force and Jay from Disney Descendants.]
Crap, I could feel my heartbeat racing inside my chest. Quit gawking at him already!"Hey, you got some grass in your hair." The guy pointed out, kneeling beside me."Yikes. I am such a klutz. But on the bright side, my mom always tell me to be closer to nature. This is the closest to flora I can get." I made a joke, before he looked amused.Where did the grass go? I started searching for the grass weeds."Here." The boy offered as he pulled out few tiny grass weeds from my hair.
So much for making a first impression.
"Thank you, new guy. I'm Evangelyn Chan. But I prefer to be called Evan. Or Lyn. Whichever you like." I offered a handshake. More people call me 'Evan' and 'Lyn' or 'Linnie' is a nickname saved for only my closest friends and family members."Christian Newville." The new boy smiled back, before we shook hands. "You can call me Chris.""Just moved in, huh?" I looked over at the lorry parked in front of a porch. The house used to belong to old Mrs. Sanchez, but according to my dad, she's retired and moving in with her youngest son and his family in Florida."Yeah." He nodded."Where are you studying?" I asked him."Bergerac High School.""So am I. What grade are you in?""Junior.""Sophomore.""Cool. Maybe you could show me around when school starts? I am still new and all." He asked me. Is he flirting with me? Nah, he's probably trying to make a new friend."Sure. Me and my brother can show you around. He's better at road directions than I am, and I suck at Geography." I joked before he laughed. He's got a nice laugh, really charming.I felt my phone ringing, before I looked at my phone screen."HOLY CABBAGES!" I realized how late I was. Cassie's gonna be pissed! "I am late, I need to meet up with my friends. Cass is going to KILL ME if I am late again."I tried standing up before wincing in pain."Must be a muscle sprain, I have GOT to start exercising more often." I grumbled to myself."Are you sure you're alright?" Christian asked, looking concerned. "I'm good, probably another bruise. Long story. Anyway, I would love to chat but I have a bestie who is getting ticked off if I show up late." I struggled a bit before I cycled to Wired."Well, see you around then, Evan." Christian smiled politely, it kinda made my heart skip a beat."Same back, Chrissy." I smiled back. WHY DID I JUST CALL SOME GUY I JUST MET CHRISSY?! HE IS NOT A GIRL!I felt my phone vibrating inside my bag.Oh boy, that's probably Cass. PEDDLE FASTER THAN LAFAYETTE RAPPING WHILE KILLING THE BRITISH SOLDIERS IN 'GUNS AND SHIPS'! 
[Normal P.O.V.]
Christian Newville wasn't exactly sure what just happened. He was minding his own business, looking around his new home. It's his first day in town and all.
"LOOK OUT, MA'AM!"
Ma'am? Was his mom outside the lawn?He slowly turned around and saw a person his age cycling.That was the last thing he could remember before someone almost crashed into him but managed to braked the bike on time and skidded over the grass.Turns out it was a girl his age who was on her way to this "Wired" café around the area when she almost knocked him over. The funniest part was that she thought he was a lady (because of his hair, she did apologize though), but he could tell she's an interesting person. 'Wow, she peddles fast.' Chris thought, watching the girl he just met racing her way to wherever she was meeting her friends.
[Evan's P.O.V.]
And here I am, Wired Café. It took a while but now that almost everyone is back in town, we're having a Girls' Day here.I parked my bike and put on a lock before I walked into the café. I glanced over and saw Nate taking one of the customer's order. It looks like he has gotten a new haircut and dyed his black hair light brown, well he still looks handsome to me.Nate noticed that I had been looking at him before my eyes meet his gaze. Oh no, he noticed that I have been staring at him.
ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION!!
I quickly turned away and hide my blushing face, before I eventually found my friends sitting at the table behind."Hey Cassie." I walked to my bestie, Cassandra 'Cassidy/Cassie/Cass' Medoka. She is artsy, creative, spunky and one of my best friends, along with Angelica Dominique and Jessabelle Tang (Angie has moved to New York after her dad got a job transfer, and Jessa is going for a boarding school in California). We used to come over to Wired and talk non-stop about our favorite novels."Girl, what took you so long?" Cassie asked me."And what are we? Dead tamale?" Alexa raised an eyebrow. Two of my other friends: Eleanor 'Ellie' and Monica started to laugh as well. There was also a guy among the trio named Carl but he's friends with my brother so I would assume Jerry, Cyrus and Carl are having a round of video games today."Hey girls." I waved at my friends.There is Alexa Mendoza and Katie Cooper, my childhood neighbors. Roxanne 'Roxy' Rostand the pretty and pleasant popular friend. And Barbara Rhodes, who moved in town a few years ago from New Jersey, the sarcastic and spunky and Roxy's bestie/neighbor. There's also Bronwyn who is Cyrus's cousin, she gets along well with Ellie (but Cyrus fears they're going to get into too much trouble. So needless to say, Ellie and Bronwyn are like my version of Nymphadora Tonks and Tulip Karasu)Ellie Blake is the tomboy of the team, she can be stubborn sometimes but she's a loyal friend. Monica Yang is Hannah's older sister, they're both usually caring and bubbly but can get anxious sometimes. I got to know Ellie through Cyrus, and Monica through Hannah."Where's Val and Kat?" I asked. Yeah, although we're all the unlikeliest of friends (There are 15 of us: The carnivorous Barbara, the popular beauty queen Roxy, Ellie the rebel, Cass my otaku BFF, Alexa the sporty, Katie the Caring, Reagan the sassy, the two sisters Hannah and Monica, Val the Worldly, Kat the Talented, Bronwyn the Prankster, Angelica the Wise, Jessa the Gentle, and me-Evan the Awkward) but we're all good friends. Angie and Jessa may have moved away, but our friendship remains strong. Val and Kat were my new friends I made last semester after being paired in a group assignment.Although we all have our shares of arguments (Barbara would usually have arguments with Ellie when it's Girls Night and picking out video games, Alexa would hiss at Roxy when the blonde friend tries to do her hair, Monica and Hannah sometimes argue who ate all the cereal at home), but we always make up in the end."Val is joining her family to their annual vacation to Taiwan and Kat mentioned something about her pet River going to a vet today." One of Alexa's friends, Reagan, responded.Valarie 'Val' Nguyen and Katrine 'Kat' Howards are a couple of friends Cass and I became friends with after being assigned to a group project for History last spring. Val is very worldly (she travels a lot) and carefree despite she looks a bit uptight sometimes. Although Roxy also has a cousin with a similar name but goes to another school.Kat (who ironically is a dog person) is the smart, talented friend who may look meek but she throws a mean punch and she bakes too. She's as good with computers as Cyrus (and she values him as a rival) and won second place during a robotics competition last year."Why are you limping?" Barbara asked me."Long story short, I almost knocked into someone on the way here." I responded, before glancing at Nate."I thought you had fun along the way here." Barbara made a suggestive joke, before I gagged."At least I am keeping myself clean until I'm married." I claimed."Which could be a very long time." Bronwyn snickered before Cass hurled the paper towel on my behalf at Bronwyn's face. "Eww! Some of us are underage here!" Katie exclaimed, flustered at the joke."Nice seeing you girls again, how's your summer so far?" Hannah (one of Alexa's friends, we were not that close but mutual acquittances) asked us. This was kind of a mixer for all our girl friends, since most of them aren't familiar with the other."Eh, same old, read Harry Potter, fanfiction, watching anime." Cassie answered, "and barging into Ev's room on a daily basis."Not as frequent as Cyrus does, but we've grown to tolerate with each other by now."Remember the time our brothers walked in the time all of us girls were having the talk with our moms?" I asked."Yup, Lucas was severely traumatized, Jerry remained unfazed, and Jack only wanted to grab his toy car from the living room." Alexa chuckled."Speaking of Harry Potter, have you guys checked out Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery? May I just say, Barnaby Lee is fine!!" I giggled, going fan-crazy again."Seriously? Barnaby Lee just looks like he would be the love child of Harry Hook and Gil son of Gaston!" Cass stated."Still think Barnaby is cute." I shrugged, I mean Cass has the hugest crush on Tom Felton and a bigger fictional crush on Draco Malfoy."Speaking of cute, have you check out the new waiter?" Reagan asked. She must be talking about Nate."Oh, that's Nathaniel Nicholas, he's a Senior." Roxy told the girls."Well, he is older." I shrugged, trying to act cool."I meant High School Senior." Roxy frowned over."He's hot." Hannah gushed."Don't let the Laurens twins hear that, they get really jealous." Bronwyn told them."Who?" Hannah asked, before Roxy started to fill the girls in about the Laurens twins."Linnie, I hadn't ordered my drink yet, c'mon." Cass suddenly dragged me to the counter. Oh no, Nate's on duty now! WHAT DO I DO?!"Welcome to Wired. My name's Nate, what would you ladies like to order?" Nate greeted us with his smile."Hhm...I'll take the Peppermint Hot Chocolate and a sliced of Oreo cake." Cass took a good look at the menu, before turning to me, "What would you like?""Well, I will have a Caramel Hot Chocolate, since you'll be splitting the cake with me like always." I tried to be my usual self, trying to avoid making actual eye contact with him."Names?""Dude, we've been in the same Art Class at Madam Murphy's for 3 years." Cass exclaimed, before responding with a stern look, "Mrs. Draco Malfoy."I stifled a laugh."Really?" I asked."Yeah, really." Cass elbowed me playfully."And you?" Nate was looking right at me, and my heart is hammering inside of me."Evan, you know, like the musical Dear Evan Hansen." I stammered a bit."But I can tell you that I think of you each night~" I heard Cass humming 'Sincerely Me' under her breath, before I punched her shoulder to tell her to cut it out. I do not want my crush to think I'm a dating my friend (Just because two besties hang out, doesn't mean they're a couple)!"Ok, that will be 16 bucks." Nate told us before Cass and I split the bill."Ugh, I was such a dork." I groaned."Well, compared to your usual tactic of running away, this is an upgrade." Cass stated."Running away?" Katie questioned."And hiding." Bronwyn added, before I covered my face with my hands."Oh, Ev's got a crush on Mr. Waiter since last year." Ellie snickered."Ellie!" I blushed furiously. "SHH!""You have a crush on-?" Hannah gasped."I said shush!" I hissed over."Aw, that is adorable!" Katie giggled."What part of SHUSH do you not understand?!" I groaned."Wow, that is unexpected-" Alexa teased."Silencio, Lexi!" I pointed a straw at Alexa, pretending it was a wand."Ahem? Is now a bad time?" I heard someone coughing, before I yelped. Nate was right in front of us with the food and drinks Cass and I ordered."Not at all." Cass shrugged."Here are your drinks." Nate handed Cass her Peppermint Chocolate. "Mrs. Malfoy.""My father-in-law will hear about this." Cass played along. Classic Cassie. I sometimes wish I had her confidence."And here's your Caramel Hot Chocolate, Miss...Evan." Nate smiled politely as he handed me my drink. Our fingers met for a brief second before I broke contact."Thanks." I nodded, before avoiding eye contact with him and taking a sip. "Ouch, hot!" "You gotta learn to blow before you drink." Roxy commented."Did you know, there is actually another meaning for that." Barbara smirked, almost everyone caught onto that subtle message fast."EWW!!!" everyone else quickly scooched away.I choked on my drink. Cass patted my back slowly."Breathe in, breathe out." Cass reminded me before I thanked her."Clearly you know far too much." Nate stated, with an unreadable expression."Thank you, so I've been told." Barbara chuckled."Hey, where's my lasagna order?" Barbara frowned. "It has been 10 minutes!""Right on it." Nate nodded before rushing back to his job.He is so dreamy...I gave him a quick glance before I looked away, hiding my blush."Mrs. Malfoy, really?" Alexa arched an eyebrow at Cass as Cass shrugged."Hey, do not judge a girl based on her crush." Cass smirked, before winking over at me."Riiiight, Future Mrs. N-."I quickly shoved a piece of the cake into her mouth."Shush!" I hissed."Girl, what is wrong with your love life?" Hannah laughed."Anyway, have you guys got your schedule yet?" Roxy asked."Yup, hopefully we are in the same lunch group." Alexa nodded."I don't care WHICH group I am in, as long as there is food." Barbara stated, crossing her arms."1, 2, 3!"All of us checked our schedules."GROUP A!" the girls all exclaimed, only Monica's and Hannah's eyes were still closed."Here's your lasagna, with extra cheese, extra chili and extra onions." Nate walked over with Barbara's lunch."Hannah, Monica, what's wrong?" Reagan asked."I am afraid to look." Hannah stated, before finally checking, "group A. I do not mix well with strangers!""Same! Thank goodness." Monica sighed in relief, before the two sisters hi-5ed."Huh, I'm in Group A as well." Nate responded, before I could feel my heart leaping inside of me."Wow, what a coincidence! All of my friends are in the same group as well! My buddy Evan here is in Group A too!" Roxy exclaimed happily, giving me a side glance before I looked away, pretending to be fascinated by some expired coupon."Oh wow, would you look at this Dominos coupon. Buy 1 Regular size get another one free!" I pretended to be interested in a coupon."Says here it expired 2 days ago." Cass pointed out."Hey Mahogany, don't you have work to do?" Barbara barked over."Right." Nate nodded before he went back to work."I am such a dork!" I groaned, covering my face with my hands."Cute." Reagan teased me, before I stuck my tongue out at the girls."Hey, why do you have a string tied around your wrist?" Reagan asked."Oh, I am babysitting my brother." Katie replied, before yanking the string and pulling in her 10-year-old brother Jack."You put your brother on a LEASH?" Roxy raised her eyebrows."Should have seen how I dealt with my ex, Michela (formerly known as Ma'Shequa but she came out to all of us a few months ago), she needs a serious leash." Barbara snorted. Recently she broke up with her ex, Michela after finding out she was in love with her best friend Garrett Johnsonson. She was quite annoying, really but she's never been happier now that she can be her true self."It was either that, or he sits with us." Katie stated, before all the girls nodded in agreement of Katie's method of babysitting."So what part of high school are you most excited about?" Hannah asked."Trying out for basketball!" Alexa called dibs."Pep rally." Monica giggled."The Scavenger Hunt." Ellie stated. She's got a huge crush on the Senior and this year's List-Master, Barrett Duncan; or it could be the vice-List Master, Adam Nicholas (Yes, he's Nate's younger brother. Their dad is American and their mom was Taiwanese. But both brothers take after their mom. I happen to know that Nate and Adam have a younger brother named Wyatt who's in 4th grade like Jack) from biology class."Football games!" Reagan nodded."Finding a guy that gets me." Roxy sighed romantically."More Taco Tuesdays." Barbara stated."Getting even with Lee at pranks." Bronwyn stated. She has an ongoing rivalry with Lee, Carl's older brother."Dances." Alexa giggled."Theater!" I nodded."Pottermore Club Meetings." Cass raised a hand."That is a thing?" Reagan asked."One should NEVER underestimate the power of a fangirl, it is as bad as insulting a Hippogriff." I nodded. I am in the Theater Club as well. Katie would love the President of the Theater Club, Kristen Atwal (she's a whole bubble of energy and laughter), Meagan the Treasurer (she's really fun and loves to tell jokes), and Vivienne 'Vivi' the genderfluid secretary (a Master of disguises)."Joining the Pastry club." Katie nodded, before yanking her brother over."Where are the cookies?" Katie frowned."Oops." Jack burped out, while Cass and I started to laugh."He's a kid, what do you expect?" Roxy chuckled weakly."And he's got the IQ of a goldfish!" Barbara added."Ugh, Gwenny's here." Alexa groaned. Gwenny Thompson has been Alexa's arch enemy since day one, she is the Merula Synde to Alexa's Jacob's Sibling (Main character of Hogwarts Mystery). I don't really have a good opinion about Gwenny too, she is too much of a snob.It also really doesn't help that Gwenny is Roxy's cousin from her mom's side of the family."And Savannah." Ellie scowled over.Savannah has been Ellie's rival since...middle school. Not to mention: Gwenny happens to be Savannah's neighbor. So in a way, having Savannah and Gwenny as besties is NOT a good sign to ANYONE! It's like Jafar and Hades teaming up in that Aladdin and Hercules TV series crossover episode!"Welcome to Wired, my name is Nathaniel and I will be taking your order." Nate introduced himself."Oh *giggles* hello Nathaniel, I'll take a decaf French Vanilla latte with more caramel and whipped cream please." Gwenny proceeds to flirt with Nate."And I'll take a mocha expresso with chocolate sprinkles and hold the foam." Savannah seemed to be flirting with Nate as well.Kitty (one of the members of Savannah and Gwenny's posse) started to giggle girlishly at the sight of Nate.Oh, heck no! I began to clench my fists tightly. It gets worse when Gwenny and her posse started flirting with him."Ugh, those girls always make my blood boil." I hissed under my breath."That's because your hand's in the teacup." Ellie pointed out dryly, before I looked down and retreated my hand from the hot cup of tea."Seriously? In my chamomile tea?" Barbara frowned at me."Sorry." I apologized, before Barbara shrugged and continued to sip on the tea."That's the least bit hygienic!" Hannah frowned."Hello Alexa." Gwenny walks over to our table after ordering her latte."Gwenny." Alexa faked a smile."Long time no see." Gwenny snorted."Not long enough." Alexa rolled her eyes."Sorry you didn't make it to the basketball team." Gwenny pretended to pity Alexa."What? School hasn't even started yet." Alexa stated, before the two started their banter."Holy Demogorgon!" Cass stood up, staring at Gwenny in disbelief."What?" Gwenny hissed over."Gwyneth Thompson, you're still alive? I thought you moved away or something." Cass pretended to be shocked."I am not, I was on vacation with my mom in Europe!" Gwenny frowned."Well, it was truly peaceful while it lasted." Cass sighed.I could see from the corner of my eye that Nate was giving our little banter a small but amused smile.My heart started to race inside of me, before I quickly turned away to hide my blushing face.The rest of us continued to watch the banter going on between Alexa and Ellie against Gwenny and Savannah. This is like a ping-pong contest."Ten bucks say they'll start a fist-fight." Barbara stated."ten bucks say hairpulling will be involved." Reagan mouthed over."Sounds kinky." Barbara teased before Roxy nudged her elbow."That's my cousin." Roxy frowned.We still find it unbelievable how someone as cool and sweet as Roxy could be related to someone as snotty as Gwenny."Ok, I get that you have an extremely active...dating life, you don't have to share with us." Monica groaned."Some of us are underage!" Cass gagged. Barbara is the Big Sis of the team (18) and Roxy is second eldest (17), the descending order the age ranges from 18 to 14-15."TMI!" Hannah covered her ears."It's not even their first day, and you've scarred them for life." Roxy frowned."I have no idea what's worse: the fact you scrapped the bottom of the barrel when you dated Michela or the fact you made out with Steve Guishe (the mean jock/Star Player of the football team, but to me I think Nate is the star. Wait, did I just admit that out loud?) at the party Deana threw last year." Bronwyn commented.Deana isn't really our friend, she's Roxy's popular friend. But Roxy doesn't care if she is friends with people who are outcasts, that's one of the remarkable qualities I admire about her. She is literally the Penny Haywood among the group of friends."Who's Steve Guishe?" Reagan asked, being the upcoming freshman and all."He's this mean jock of the football team. Most of everyone else on the team are skirt-chasing hormonally-crazed jocks, only Nate is the nice one who treats people with respect." I replied."Now all that's left of your dating life is the ACTUAL barrel, Barb!" Ellie stated."Seriously, who considers Barrels as a relationship anniversary gift?!" Monica exclaimed."It was a gift from Michela when we were dating." Barbara defended.The banter between Team Sass and Team Snob ended with Savannah and Gwenny retreating. Well, more like 'Screw this, I'm leaving"."Let's go, girls. This place isn't cool enough anymore." Gwenny announced."It will be once you leave." Alexa replied sarcastically."Nice save." Ellie gave Alexa a fist-bump. Those two bonded after Cyrus invited Ellie over for video game night and Lexi was obviously crashing the party since we all lived close by.Alexa snarled as the snobby girls left (after paying for their drinks, and flirting with Nate for a minute before actually leaving)."We gotta go, it's almost 3!" Katie checked the time before she announced."What's at 3?" Reagan asked.Oh yeah, since the four of us (Cyrus, Alexa, Katie and my family) all live in the same area, only few of us know about Alexa's condition."Lexi and Kate are helping me arrange my books. Again." I answered."Right, that's what's happening." Katie nodded."You better not cough out a dust bunny again." Alexa frowned."That only happened ONCE because I didn't know Cyrus, Jerry, Jack and Lucas were pranking us!" I groaned at the memory. Jack was only 7 but that's enough to tell damage is done for the boy."Ok, see you guys later." Cass waved."Later, girls." I followed Alexa and Katie out of Wired."Thanks for the cover." Alexa smiled."No biggie, I need to get back before Lucas, Cyrus and Jerry tries to go through my stuff again." I nodded."I still don't get how the three of them found your secret stash of Mighty Med action figures." Katie asked. I'm just glad I managed to kick them in the shins (Cyrus and Lucas, I would NEVER hurt my baby bro) before they grabbed my Solar Flare and Blue Tornado figurines."I hid all of my action figures behind my bookshelf, and underneath my emergency stash of school supplies." I muttered."Hey, what's with the long face?" Katie asked, noticing Alexa was worried."I'm just worried what if the doctor doesn't claim me for school?" Alexa asked."What are you talking about? Of course, you will!" Katie replied, trying to be optimistic."But just in case," I added, crossing my fingers."Way ahead of you." Alexa crossed her fingers along with Katie.The three of us did a handshake before we left for home.Oh crap, we almost forgot about Jack! As Katie walked, the leash tugged Jack until he smacked himself against the door."Are you coming?" Katie asked me, as I open up the door and helped Jack up."You ok there, buddy?" I asked, before Jack gave me a toothy grin."Just a sec, I cycled here. Remember?" I went over to get my bike, I waved goodbye to our gang of friends, before taking one last glance at Nate smiling at a customer. He didn't notice me looking over at him.I reached into my pockets, feeling it lighter.
WHERE ARE MY KEYS?!
Oh, my housekeys and my bike lock keys (I have 2 bike locks, and an extra backup key). But the keys to my journal lock, my backup housekeys along with my favorite keychain has gone missing.Don't panic. Don't panic. Just stay calm.Where could it have been?! Did I drop it inside? No, I should just retrace my steps.Maybe I must have dropped it when I crashed into the new guy's lawn. Yeah, maybe it's there. Besides, no one knows what the key to my journal lock is. I started pushing my bike slowly and walked alongside with Alexa and Katie."Hey, Ev! Can I ride on your bike? Please? PLEASE!!" Jack begged."I dunno, this bike is pretty big." I hesitated."Can I ride on the back?" Jack asked, before Katie nodded, and handed me the leash."Fine. Hold on tight, ok?" I smiled back, before Jack held onto my waist (I giggled a bit because I get ticklish) as I started cycling."You guys need to hurry, I can help stall your brother and mom if they get back early." I told them before I cycled Jack and I home. I took the same route I cycled by when I was reaching Wired earlier.I caught a glimpse of the new kid, Christian Newville. He unpacking stuff from the moving truck when he started looking up at the sky, I saw some trophies sticking out of a box. Must be a jock kind of guy.And I saw some paintings sticking out of the box.Maybe he's a painter or an artist. Cute.He must have seen me before he gave me a tiny wave. I felt my heart starting to race, before Jack shrieked me back to reality. "Woah! Mailbox!" Jack exclaimed before I dodged a mailbox."Bush!"Dodged the bush."PRINCIPAL WENTWORTH!" Jack shouted, before I cycled past my former middle school principal, Mrs. Wentworth. She was like a kind but sometimes stern nurturing lady."SORRY, MA'AM!" I apologized."Cycle CAREFULLY MISS CHAN!" Mrs. Wentworth shouted back.
Just a day, just an ordinary day.

Just trying to get by.

Just a boy, just an ordinary boy.

But he was looking to the sky.

~ Ordinary Day by Vanessa Carlton

[Normal P.O.V.]
'What an unusual girl...' Christian thought as he watched his new friend almost running into several pedestrians.But a good kind of unusual. I guess?He caught sight of something shiny sticking out of the bushes, before going over to see what it is.It was a keychain with some keys and an ID tag on the back.
Property of Evangelyn Chan. If lost, please return this to my home address. Or else, I will hunt you down and rearrange your ribcage.
Yup, she really is something, alright.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

[Third Person P.O.V.]
Alexa Mendoza, Evangelyn 'Evan' Chan, Katie and Jack Cooper all managed to reach back to Alexa's place. Well, actually Evan and Jack were a few minutes late because they almost ran over a few mailboxes along the way home."Thanks for the ride, it was AWESOME!" Jack grinned."We almost ran over your Principal! How was that awesome?" Evan groaned, parking her bike in her house's garage."Anyway, I've invited Fletcher over, we're gonna work on our magic act for the Winter Talent Show!" Jack stated."Fletcher, as in Fletcher Blake? Ellie's little brother, right?" Evan mused a bit."Yup. This year, we're gonna blow all the judges away." Jack nodded, before rushing back to his house to get ready for when Fletcher's mom, Mrs. Blake, dropped her son off for a playdate."Note to self: bring fire extinguisher and safety kit during the Talent Show." Evan reached out for her phone and left a note in the Memo section."By the way, will Alyssa be there?" Jack asked."You mean my cousin Alyssa ? I think so. I mean, you guys are in the same grade." Evan checked her schedule, before looking at the tween. "Why?"Evangelyn has a ton of cousins from her mom's side of the family, and Alyssa is cousin number 9 out of 11 cousins, she is very hyperactive and a little high-strung sometimes, and likes to randomly attack her other older cousins sometimes. Now that Evan thought about it, Jack and Alyssa are kind of PERFECT for each other."No reason!" Jack lied, before heading into his house."He so has a crush on her." Evan shook her head, before smiling to herself."Oh! and I invited Wyatt Nicholas too! His big brother's sending him over!" Jack added, before I froze tracks.Wyatt is Nate's brother! HE could be around.
I HAVE TO RUN!!!

Seek refuge at Lexi's house! Now!
"So what did I miss?" Evan quickly rushed into Alexa's house."You don't have to sing and jazz it up like Thomas Jefferson. Every. Single. Time." Alexa grimaced. "Linnie."Evan allows few people to call her 'Linnie', most of the people who are allowed to call her by that nickname are her family, Cyrus, Cassie (her BFF since 4th grade), the Mendoza family and the Cooper family."You're just in time, Alexa's mom should be back any minute." Katie motioned her to grab a seat on the couch."Wait, where's Cyrus? Don't you think he should be here too?" Evan asked."He's probably busy, playing basketball or video gaming with Jerry and Lucas." Alexa replied, asking, "why are you asking?""Or attempting to hack into the Pentagon." Katie added."Don't be silly, Katie! Cyrus would NEVER do something so impulsive like hacking into the government database. Not without the encouragement of Bronwyn, Jerry and Kat Howards." Alexa stated.That statement did not make Katie or Evan feel any better about the probability Cyrus might attempt to hack into the Pentagon. Once, Kat and Cyrus got into a heated argument over a video game, and Kat claimed she would shove a pot of cactus down his throat. (And the cactus-Lollipop immediately became a trend on their giant Discord group chat) The cactus trend eventually stopped once Barbara managed to turn that cactus-meme into an R-18 content that scarred everyone else for a few months."Because he's the only other person besides our three families that know. So, he's like the extended family member. Or future family member." Evan answered, before pouring herself a glass of water from the kitchen countertop."Ew, don't tell me you want to MARRY Cyrus!" Katie frowned at Evan."GROSS! I like Nate, ok?! Besides! Cyrus is like a brother to me!" Evan tried not to choke on her water when she heard Katie's assumption."Oh, thank god." Alexa sighed in relief, she was glad that one of her closest friends was not romantically attracted to her male best friend."He's the boy-next-door, and while I admit I find Cyrus attractive, but I love him like a big brother." Evan added. She and Cyrus made it very clear that their relationship is more of a bromance and strictly platonic. Cyrus was what Evan would consider as an attractive guy, except for his large nose which he is insecure and ashamed of (but Evan still reassures him that he is handsome, which Cyrus responded that she's only saying that because she is just trying to make him feel better)."Quick! My mom's gonna get in soon. Take your shoes off, and act like you've been in here for hours!" Alexa ushered, before hopping onto the couch and pretended she has been napping for hours.
At that exact moment, Lori Mendoza, Alexa and Lucas's mother, came walking in.
"Hey mom." Alexa pretended to yawn."Hi honey, I'm so sorry. I got caught up at work." Lori rushed in. "I hate missing your appointment sessions. So how'd it go?""It was fine. I went straight home after the hospital. I took a nap." Alexa lied."You came straight home?" Lori asked, sounding suspicious."Mom, we had an agreement. How can you just ask that?" Alexa rolled her eyes.Lori motioned to the cup of mocha Alexa had bought back from Wired."Is that your mocha?" Lori asked."Yeah. From yesterday." Alexa lied."And yet, it's still warm." Lori felt the surface of the cup."Climate change?" Alexa stated."Hi Katie, hi Lyn." Lori turned to the two girls sitting on her couch."WE HUNG OUT AT THE COFFEE SHOP!" Katie blurted out the truth."Katie!" Evan groaned, while Alexa gave Katie a look."Hey! There was so much tension in here" Katie defended herself."Alexa, you KNOW you're not supposed to get tired." Lori lectured."I'm not even a little tired, mom." Alexa rolled her eyes, "Hey! Did Dr. Breitweiser call?""Not yet." Lori replied, before adding, "We'll talk about this 'nap' thing once Katie and Linnie leave and can't hear me yell.""No, no. we can actually hear you pretty good from next-door." Katie stated."Or backdoor." Evan added quietly, walking over to the kitchen to fetch another glass of water.Lori shook her head with a smile before she headed back to her room to put down her bag.
As soon as Lori left, the boys came barging in.
There was Lucas Mendoza (one of the most popular and handsome guys in school), Jerry Chan, and Cyrus Nollen."See you tomorrow, Carl!" Jerry shouted outside, as their friend Carl (Ellie and Monica's friend) left on his brother, Lee's car."Carl! Jerry didn't mean to kill you!" Cyrus frantically apologized."Jerry, what did you do?!" Katie panicked."At VIDEO GAMES." Jerry shrugged. "I accidentally set my army of wasps and scorpions on Carl's paladin. It wasn't my fault I mistaken the Paladin as the Shadow Knight!""That was NOT an accident. That's treason." Cyrus snorted."It was a murder, but not a crime!" Evan sang out a verse from Chicago the Musical's 'Cell Block Tango'.Lucas threw the basketball outside, before jogging in."Hey Lex!" Lucas ruffled his sister's hair."Ugh, gross! You're sweaty!" Alexa groaned."Yeah! I stink too." Lucas teased his sister. "Want a whiff?""Where's the deodorant when you need one?" Cyrus rolled his eyes."Forget that, I'm getting the pepper spray." Jerry mouthed back."Why do YOU need pepper spray?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow at his friend."Because." Jerry gave a mysterious reply."Nah, you can't wreak that bad. Remember Summer Camp of 2013, when Jerry and Cyrus pushed Steve Guishe into a room filled with skunks?" Evan shrugged in response, grabbing a seat by the dining table and placed down the cup of warm water she was drinking."Ever since that, he's been bullying everyone more than usual." Jerry rolled his eyes."And ogling at anything that has two X chromosomes and is moving." Cyrus added with a scowl. He knew for a fact that Steve Guishe is a big flirt among the ladies, and has attempted to flirt with Bronwyn a few times."So he's like Zeus?" Evan asked."Possibly. But he doesn't have an angry wife." Cyrus shrugged."Wait, so you've known the school's bully since middle school?" Katie asked."He's this mean bully who bullied both of us back in 3rd grade." Evan hissed under her breath. She was fine with Steve picking on her, but if you mess with her baby brother, you know you're in trouble."Wasn't he that guy Cyrus got a black eye from after he bullied Alexa?" Lucas remembered as Cyrus nodded, wincing a bit at the memory.Alexa quickly ruffled Lucas's hair in response."hey! Not the hair! You KNOW not the hair!" Lucas hissed.Katie was smiling at Lucas, but Jerry and Evan could have sworn they saw hearts in her eyes."Hey Katie." Lucas smiled over."Great thanks!" Katie waved back."Oh! heh, I meant I'm going great, you didn't ask." Katie corrected.Evan recognized that look, that was the exact some response she gives whenever Nate talks to her."Ok." Lucas shrugged, before he walked over to the fridge."Hey Evan." Lucas exchanged a mutual fist-bump."What up, Adonis." Evan gave him a smile. She had given him the nickname Adonis after reading Greek mythologies. It was either 'Adonis' (which was how she say 'Hey good-looking' in a platonic way) or 'Narcissus' (how she calls him when he is vain with his looks)"So how did the video games tournament go?" Evan asked the boys."It was awesome, Alexa you should've been there." Cyrus turned to Alexa. Cyrus and Alexa are the Dream Team whenever the 4 families come together for Video Game Night.Well, technically the parents would just watch the football game or the news on TV. The kids just hogged Cyrus's basement for video games. Turns out their parents all knew each other back in back in the day. Gail (Cyrus's mom) and Sunny Wong (Evan and Jerry's mom) were the same age but are a few years older than Jennifer (Katie's mom), Lori and David (Alexa and Lucas's parents). The twin's dad, Francis Chan, met David when they worked in the same fast food restaurant. Francis was the oldest among the group of parents, but he looks like he was in his mid-40s."Maybe next time. Raincheck?" Alexa smiled faintly, before patting Cyrus by the shoulder."Oh good, everyone's here. Except Jack who is busy with Fletcher practicing magic." Jerry exclaimed in sarcasm before he sat on the couch."For their sake, I hope I do not find another unwanted magic act in the bathroom" Alexa mumbled."For the rabbit's sake, I hope that Presto doesn't find its way to the roof." Katie added."Hey, so what did you guys do today?" Evan asked her brother and Cyrus."Video games, then basketball." Jerry replied."Who murdered who in the games today?" Evan asked."Cyrus did. I came second, then Lucas, and then Carl." Jerry answered. "I was THIS close to getting a headshot at Cyrus's army when I got ambushed."Alexa seemed to be signaling a Girl Talk gesture, before Evan went over to check on the two girls."Anyway, I just remembered I wanted to talk to Lexi and Kates about something." Evan lied, before heading over."Lucas?! Seriously?! You've known him since we were 5!" Alexa whisper-yelled at her best friend."Better Lucas than Jerry." Evan crossed her arms. She has always been protective of her twin brother and would give any girl seen flirting with her brother a murderous look.The other girls were mentally warned and noted by the older twin that Jerry was off limits. Although, considering Gwenny will be attending the same high school as them, Evan would have to make sure she doesn't flirt with Jerry. I mean, if Katie could suddenly develop a crush on Lucas, there is a chance Gwenny might flirt with her brother or any of her guy friends."Or Cyrus." Alexa muttered under her breath."What's with all the smitten kitten look?" Evan asked."I don't know what you're talking about!" Katie denied, trying to play it cool."You know he farts." Alexa stated."HE DOES NOT!" Katie defended for Lucas."Yes, he does. I once sat next to him on a school trip to the National History Museum." Evan commented. Jerry sat with Cyrus that day. She occupied her time competing with Lucas who belch louder and the foursome got detention before they passed the first highway. They were all in 4th and 5th grade back then."You don't know that. It could have been you." Katie responded."Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess?" Evan concluded with a shrug."We're all out of milk!" Lucas announced."Oh no! That's terrible! Milk is very important." Katie exclaimed.Alexa gave her bestie a look, before Katie added in a nonchalant tone, "But water's also good.""Hey Cyrus, can I get some milk from your place?" Lucas turned to Cyrus."No! You chugged down all the almost-expired milk last time you were there." Cyrus frowned."Why do you need expired milk?" Alexa asked."See, I was saving it to prank you guys for next April Fools." Jerry answered, before the three girls gave him a dirty look. "Cyrus was willing to help.""Look, if you need milk that badly, my sis has some school milk cartons at my place." Jerry replied."Why do you keep school milk cartons?" Cyrus asked, turning to the twins."Because Linnie's too cheap to spend money at school." Jerry grinned, before he walked back to his place to get Lucas a carton of milk."Thanks, Jer'!" Lucas shouted."You owe me." Evan warned Lucas.Lucas spent the next few minutes admiring his own reflection in the back of the frying pan."Yup, I was right. Beauty REALLY is in the eye of the beholder." Evan concluded her statement."Looks a bit poufy in the back." Cyrus joked."Where?!" Lucas grabbed a spatula to check both sides of his reflection."Next time, we're using greying hair." Alexa whispered over."You do that, I was going to say bald spot." Cyrus nodded, as they both snickered.Evan and Katie looked between Alexa and Cyrus's interaction before they both mouthed to one another 'Ship!'.It was no surprise there that Cyrus had always had strong feelings for Alexa. Growing up, Cyrus would always be there whenever Alexa is in trouble, and always gets in fights when he sees someone bullying his 'friend'."No. I look good." Lucas grinned."Alright, that's enough reflection today, Narcissus." Evan smirked over."Hey kids, listen to this!" Lori came running into the living room. "It's a note from the Principal and Vice Principal. They said that they are aware of your condition and we can count on them for any help and support we need. So pretty cool, right?""Auntie Lori, with all due respect, but after being away from high school for so many years, I think you have clearly lost touch on what 'cool' means." Cyrus raised a hand, before Alexa gave him a hi-5."Cy is right, being friends with the Vice Principal does not make it cool to brag about." Alexa agreed with him."Principal Castillo is a cool guy. But I can't say the same for Vice Principal Trugly." Evan spoke out."Yeah, one time I skipped homework, and she gave me detention. No one can stand her. They call her Ugly Trugly behind her back." Lucas added."Can you blame her?! She's like our version of Principal Perry!" Cyrus stated."And Gladys from Bunk'd, merged in one!" Evan added, before the teens all chuckled."That is awful!" Lori spoke out."Sorry." Evan mumbled an apology."That was mean!" Alexa corrected."And rude." Katie added."But that's ok, it was what we used to call her back in high school." Lori stated, "Not your father though, she was so obsessed with him. He was such a suck-up.""So it's like Gladys with Morgan Ross all over again." Evan made a Bunk'd reference."You know, if your dad didn't have a Mustang, I wouldn't have ever," Lori stopped, remembering there were plenty of underaged kids present, "Driven home with him in that Mustang.""Sure, let's go with that, Auntie Lori." Cyrus nodded. He was very sure that there was another subtle meaning for the 'Mustang car' dates."You know, let's get back with you skipping class!" Lori turned to talk to Lucas."Uh...I would love to, mom, but that sounds important." Lucas motioned to the ringing phone."That's Dr. Breitweiser!" Alexa exclaimed, before she rushed to pick up the phone."Ugh, dad!" Alexa frowned in disappointment."Ooh! Tell him to buy more milk!" Lucas added.Alexa had ended the call.Another phone rang, before Cyrus offered to check."It's Uncle David, again." Cyrus stated, before Alexa snatched the phone and ended the call."Why can't he just text like everyone else does?!" Alexa grunted in frustration.Another phone rang this time, before Alexa checked."It's Dr. Breitweiser! Mom, answer it!" Alexa handed the phone to her mom."Hello. Dr. Breitweiser? Yes. Really, that's good." Lori spoke to the phone, while Alexa and Katie were trying to guess the call.Alexa and Katie did a silent cheer when there was what seemed to be good news, and danced around."I love it when she dances." Cyrus smiled dreamily at Alexa."You are one weird guy." Evan frowned at him, before he nudges her."No, no. of course not." Lori shook her head.Alexa and Katie started to droop their shoulders, looking upset."Go comfort her." Evan mouthed over, pushing Cyrus forward, offering Cyrus to be a shoulder for Alexa to cry on."Oh, that's good!" Lori smiled.More cheering for Alexa and Katie, Cyrus decided to chicken out the last minute."No, I totally understand." Lori's eyebrows furrowed.Alexa and Katie started to look upset again, Cyrus pluck up the courage to offer Alexa a shoulder to cry on."Mom! You're killing me. Is it Yes or No?" Alexa whisper-yelled."I'm sorry, Dr. Yes." Lori mouthed over.The three girls started to cheer, before Alexa gave Cyrus a big hug of relief."Ship!" Katie and Evan smiled."That's right! I'm going to high school~ With my best friends Katie, Lyn, and Cyrus!" Alexa started to sing and cheer. She was so excited, she didn't know that she had started to waltz around the living room with Cyrus."You think if we let them keep going, would they start to tango by the next hour?" Evan asked Katie."They look so cute together!" Katie squealed silently."Oh my gosh, that is in three days!" Katie grinned, watching Cyrus dipping Alexa gently."Oh my gosh! THAT'S IN THREE DAYS!" Katie started to panic, "What are we going to wear? What are we going to say?!""Here's what I'm gonna say if I ever see Nate in school." Evan nodded, before she ducked behind the couch."Real smooth, Linnie." Cyrus smirked."Hey, I know about the Laurens sisters' creepy obsession with him!" Evan crossed her arms."You can work on breathing, I can work on outfits!" Alexa suggested, as she and Cyrus stopped dancing. Alexa then turned her gaze to Evan, "I can pick out something for you too, Eva!""No, no, no! You know how I don't like dress up!" Evan groaned."Maybe you should listen to Lex, she always knows what to wear and look fashionable." Cyrus stated, backing Alexa up."Thanks, Cyrus." Alexa patted Cyrus's back, giving him a grateful smile. Cyrus looked away, hiding his blushing face."Very friendly advice there, Cyrus." Evan smirked at Cyrus, before they all sat on the couch to chat about high school plans. 
Meantime...
Jerald 'Jerry' went over to the pantry before he started digging up for his sister's backup stash of carton milk. He got the milk, but wanted to use his house's wifi just to watch a gaming tournament he was interested in.That was when he heard a knock at the door."Could be the mailman." Jerry muttered, ignoring the door knock, his grandparents were taking their afternoon nap.He would normally try to trick his sister to answer the door, but right now she's with their friends.The knocking got louder.Seriously?! Just when the game tournament was getting exciting."ALRIGHT!" Jerry yelled, before he answered the door."Who the ACK are you?!" Jerry snarled at the stranger outside.It was someone he has never seen before. He looked about a year or two older than Jerry was, or at most 5 years older (if growing on the wrong side of puberty). The stranger had tanned skin, dark eyes, long flowing hair that reminded him of one of those Werewolf guys from that Twilight series his female classmates were obsessed about."Uh is Evan here?" the guy stammered, the little kid who answered the door sure is mean."Evan? My sister?" Jerry raised an eyebrow."You're Evan's brother?" the guy asked."Wait, who are you?" Jerry asked."I'm Christian." Christian responded."So am I. Are you some kind of teenage bishop or a mercenary?" Jerry answered sarcastically."No. Christian is my actual name," the older guy stated.Jerry had grown to be suspicious of people he just met, so who knows if this guy was a liar or a thief."Hold on for just a second, come on in. I'll go hail my sister." Jerry motioned, before adding, "Take off your shoes when you enter, or put them on the rack inside.""Take a seat on the couch, don't steal or touch anything." Jerry warned, before Christian sat on the couch.After some second thoughts, Jerry told Christian to follow him to go look for his sister. Since there was no guarantee what would happen if their grandparents catch a stranger in the house.On one occasion, Grandpa Bowen almost vandalized a car some snob parked outside their lawn a few years back. Or their grandma who would embarrass the grandchildren by telling stories from when they were babies."Wait outside here." Jerry told Christian to wait at the Mendoza's backyard. Jerry rushed back to the Mendoza residence, before kicking the backdoor open."YO SIS!" Jerry shouted, before turning over to Lucas. "Oh Luke, here's the milk!""Thanks!" Lucas whooped, catching the milk carton."What?!" Evan hissed."There's this guy looking for you. You know, tanned skin, good hair, dark eyes, looks what you called 'Handsome'." Jerry stated."I'm standing right here." Lucas blinked."Not you!" Cyrus chuckled."Oh My Gosh, what if it's Nate?!" Katie asked."No way! He doesn't know where I live." Evan started to get nervous.
He doesn't even know I exist!
"Jack mentioned Wyatt is coming over." Katie stated."His name is a religion." Jerry added. "Take a guess.""Hinduism?" Cyrus asked."Buddhism." Alexa took a guess. Since the Chan family were following Buddhism, except Jerry who is trying to convert into Christianity."Jewish?" Lucas guessed."Islam." Katie asked."Christian!" Evan remembered after thinking for a few seconds."Yeah that one." Jerry nodded. "He's outside.""I gotta go!" Evan stood up."Who's Christian?" Katie asked."No idea. Maybe her new boyfriend?" Lucas joked."She doesn't have a boyfriend. Last time I checked." Alexa snorted."What are you implying? She's got a girlfriend now?" Cyrus joked."She is very straight. Ok?" Jerry frowned at Cyrus."Well then, who the Hamilton is talking to our Linnie?" Katie asked."As a concerned brother, I volunteer we go check. From a safe view up from Lexi's room!" Jerry suggested, before heading upstairs."Oh ok then...wait a second!" Alexa shrugged, before the realization hit her like a bullet."HEY! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE MY ROOM??!" Alexa stood up before she followed after Jerry."BECAUSE I SAID SO." Jerry declared, before rushing up the stairs quickly."I respect you, Jer!" Lucas grinned."This is kind of rude to eavesdrop!" Katie frowned."It's not eavesdropping, think of it more as...a social experiment! We are just merely observing the behavior of a boy and a girl, from upstairs where the girl won't chop our heads off." Jerry popped his head out of Alexa's room as he grinned at his friends."Hey! Who even gave you the permission to barge into my room?!" Alexa hissed over."This ain't gonna be pretty." Cyrus shook his head, trying to restrain Alexa from mauling on Jerry.When they were kids, whenever Alexa gets angry at someone who made fun of her, it would usually be Cyrus and/or Katie trying to cool her down. Whereas Evan, Jerry and sometimes Cyrus goes into full Revenge mode at the bully.Evangelyn walked outside and found Christian (the guy she rammed into earlier).He was leaning against the giant tree, looking around the jointed backyard.'He looks like something out of a dream...' Evan thought, finding herself admiring his beauty, before she remembered why she was out here."Chris? Why, HOW do you know where I live?" Evan asked, surprised."You dropped your stuff at my place earlier." Christian replied, handing her the keys she left earlier."Thanks. I thought I dropped them on the way to Wired." Evan sighed in relief. "Where did you find it?""In the bushes." Christian shrugged."So, who do you think is her new boyfriend?" Cyrus asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leaned against the wall. He was watching his friends creeping up unsuspiciously from Alexa's room above."Boyfriend? I thought she likes that football captain?" Alexa turned over to face Cyrus, only to find out that their faces were inches apart. The two realized that their noses touched. Cyrus has a larger nose (which he is insecure and sensitive about) but when they were kids, Alexa had preferred spending time with Cyrus in their early toddler years until Katie and the Chan family moved in a few years later."Sorry." Cyrus apologized, hiding his flushed cheeks."N-no biggie." Alexa turned away awkwardly, feeling strangely flustered."Ha! I knew it!" Jerry whooped, he had a hunch for a while that his sister has feelings for the football captain. "See, I TOLD YOU she doesn't have a crush on you, Lucas! She's off-limits! PAY UP!"Lucas rolled his eyes at Jerry before taking out 10 dollars from his wallet and handing it to Jerry."Why would you ever think Lyn has a crush on Lucas?" Alexa shuddered in disgust."Hey, her ideal kind of guy usually have tanned skin, big brown eyes, nice hair and charming smile." Cyrus listed the criteria of most of the guys Evan have liked over the years."But 'vanity' is not on the list of requirements." Jerry snorted, pocketing the bet money from Lucas into his wallet.There was Tyrone Olsen (the class clown from 6th grade), that one Filipino pizza delivery college part-timer whom Evan briefly had a crush on a few months back, Lucas Mendoza (back in 5th grade Evan had a small crush on Lucas, but he was too oblivious to notice and only sees her as a good friend and she quickly fall out of love with him), Nathaniel Nicholas, and whoever guy she was talking to downstairs just fitted the bill."Well, I am glad she's not interested in me." Lucas sighed in relief."Why? Because she could round you up in a hog-tie?" Jerry snickered."No, because she is like a sister I never had, and she scares me." Lucas replied with a shudder."Lucas, you HAVE a sister." Alexa snarled."Yeah, but I meant the one I didn't have." Lucas joked before Alexa nudged him by the elbow."HUSH UP, DO YOU REALLY WANT TO RUIN HER LOVE LIFE?!" Katie whisper-yelled."So...which lunch group are you in?" Evan tried to start a small talk."Group A." Christian replied."So am I." Evan smiled."Cool, does that mean I'll be seeing you often?" Christian asked slyly."That depends." Evan chuckled. "But I've got my own friends to hang out with too.""So how did you figure out where I live?" Evan asked."When you dropped your...stuff, I saw a tag with your house address, and after asking around I found your place." Christian answered."I asked this pretty blonde girl about your address, she pointed me the directions." Christian added.Pretty blonde girl...Could be Roxy. She's the only other person Evan knew who lives close by.Or it could have been Gwenny. Ugh, the thought of Gwenny shamelessly flirting with Nate or Christian made Evan's blood boil."Nate. I MEAN Neat." Evan nodded, before realizing the slip of the tongue."Who's Nate?" Christian asked."Nobody." Evan replied, avoiding any form of eye contact with Christian.A brief awkward silence."Nice brother you got there." Christian commented. "I didn't know you are a twin.""I am not a twin, we are just two unique individuals who happened to double-booked a womb." Evan corrected him with a stern look, before to her surprise, Christian laughed at her statement.Not a mocking laugh, a genuine amused laugh."So, which one of you two is older?" Christian asked."I am the older sister and he's my little brother, Jerald. But he often goes by Jerry; while I am usually called Evan and Lyn. For as long as I can remember, it's always been me and him against the world." Evan's lips curled into a kind smile."I think Lyn suits you better than Evan." Christian pointed out. "Sounds cuter.""Yeah but the nickname is a little girly, and very few people are allowed to call be Lyn." Evan crossed her arms. "And it's not at all cute! It's just.... affectionate.""Like how you called me Chrissy?" Christian joked before she punched his arm."Wow, you hit hard for a girl." He admitted."I took Muay Thai classes with my brother when we were 6," Evan flexed her arms a bit, wincing in pain."Must be nice to have a twin." Christian nodded."It can be annoying sometimes." Evan snorted, "he once gave me a black eye when we were kids. Of course, it was partially my fault too, I was hitting his back because it was supposed to be my turn with playing video games.""Sorry, am I rambling too much?" Evan realized she was talking too much."Kind of, but it's alright." Christian shrugged.Evan mused a bit, although they just met, but she could tell they are going to get along swimmingly, that is the irony considering Evan can't swim."So, I supposed you want me to show you around the town and introduce you to my friends?" Evan asked."That would be neat." Christian chuckled."She's talking to him! And for once, she didn't faint when a guy is talking to her." Jerry stated."She's only fainted once around a guy was because Cyrus refused to take a shower the night before." Katie pointed out."I WAS 6!" Cyrus exclaimed. Back then he only liked to play in the dirt after going on 'adventures' with Lucas and Jerry; while Evan, Alexa and Katie had tea parties."We all were 6, and then Evan got her epilepsy attack the next morning." Lucas nodded."Don't bring that up." Jerry frowned. He knew his sister didn't like to be bought up the fact she suffered from epilepsy when she was 5 and now, she was feeling better now.Probably another reason of how Alexa and Evan became friends was due to their frequent visits to the hospital when they were children. For different reasons of course. "I think you'll get along well with my friend Lucas. He's one of the most popular guys, and he's the basketball captain." Evan added, "Oh! and my best bro, Cyrus. He's one of the most awesome people I've ever met. And my brother, Jerry.""You're talkative sometimes. Do you notice that?" Christian commented."Yeah, I know. It's always been a bad habit of mine." Evan looked at her shoes. "I get worked up when my feelings get the worst in me.""It's cool, I like that." Christian smiled."I...should head in. I really don't want Jerry to wait up too long. And my twin senses are tingling, so he is up to something." Evan hid a blush."So does that mean we're like friends?" Christian asked."Sure, nice to meet you, new friend." Evan nodded, before she offered another handshake."Can we exchange numbers?" Christian took out his phone."Ok, why not?" Evan giggled, before they exchanged contacts with one another."Done." Evan labelled Christian as 'Christian (Chrissy) Newville'."Chrissy? Really?" Christian frowned, "That sounds girly.""More like adorkable." Evan joked back, before noticing how he labelled her under his contacts list.Christian raised his eyebrows in surprise before he added."If you call me Chrissy, then I think I have the right to call you 'Linnie'." Christian said."Nope, that nickname is only reserved for people I am closest to!" Evan hissed."Fine, Angel then." Christian decided."My name isn't 'Angel' and I am hardly one." Evan snorted, feeling oddly flustered for some reason."But you can't spell Evangelyn without Angel." Christian winked at her."You can also spell Courage without Rage." Evan crossed her arms.'Gah, why am I blushing so much? I hardly blush around any guy that soon, and that includes Nate!' Evan thought."Hey Linnie! Wyatt's here! So is his brother!" Jack shouted.
I spoke too soon.
"Well, see ya!" Evan yelped, before she made a run and started climbing up the tree that leads to Alexa's room."Hey! Wyatt's big brother, wanna see my backyard?" Jack asked."Why are we going out there?" a male voice asked.Wait, that is not Nate.That's Adam, his brother. (Nate comes from a family of 4 brothers, him being second eldest) So it would be Ellie's crush.Dang it, now she regretted climbing up the tree within 20 seconds (which was her best record)."Because my rabbit is missing!" Fletcher whined."How could it have gone missing?" Wyatt asked. "Whew! At least I am safe up here." Evan thought, glancing down from a safe distance.Wait, why is there something large and poufy sticking out of the pillows?!Crap! It's Fletcher's bunny!"He could be back here." Jack dragged his guests outside."Nice bunny." Evan gulped, she had never gotten along well with animals. Not that she hates them, she loves animals, but was never good at approaching them. Just like how she has troubles approaching guys she liked."AHHHH!!!!" Evan shrieked when the rabbit pounced onto her."Oh! There he is!" Fletcher's face lit up."Fletcher, Jack! If you both ever loved me, get up here and help!" Evan hissed over, ignoring the fact the new handsome guy was in the same place."This is too funny to watch!" Jack laughed."Are you ok?!" Christian asked."I will be. Have you even fed this little fuzzball?" Evan frowned, groaning a bit.Before she looked over.
HOLY TAMALE, WHY ARE HER FRIENDS AND BROTHER STARING AT HER BEING ATTACK BY A RABBIT FROM ALEXA'S ROOM?!
"Jerry!!" Evan roared at her brother."Hiya." Jerry gave a wave."Did you do this?" Evan motioned to the rabbit, giving him a glare."I swear, even though I love pranks, this is not my doing." Jerry shrugged. "It's called Karma, and it's pronounced 'Ha'!""I'm coming up there to fetch Presto!" Fletcher said."No, I should do it. I don't want any of you getting injured." Adam offered, climbing up the tree."Wow, bad hair day, much?" Adam joked."Very funny, Nicholas." Evan rolled her eyes, before climbing down the tree and then recomb her hair."Ahh! Yeti!" Jack's overly active imagination acted up before he screamed."That's rude. I am AT LEAST a banshee." Evan scoffed, before she puts the boy in a headlock. "Come give this Banshee some fresh blood.""Stop it, you're killing me!" Jack laughed."So uh...where is your brother Nathaniel?" Evan asked, casually."He's still at work. Some girls kept flirting with him nonstop lately." Adam replied."Oh, that's...something." Evan mumbled, trying to sound like it didn't affect her. Of course, he is busy, he hardly notices her, and he's one of the most popular and handsome boys at school, he's got tons of girls hurling themselves at him."Anyway, I should get going. I have a meeting with Barrett. Oh, hey Cyrus, Lucas, Jerry!" Adam looked up before waving at his friends."I still cannot believe you boys met in Summer Camp, and stayed friends." Evan shook her head. She considers herself to be somewhat friends with Adam, but she barely knows anything about Nate (probably a good thing too)."We're a tight brotherhood." Jerry saluted.Adam waved them goodbye before heading off to meet his fellow Scavenger Hunt organizer, Barrett Duncan. The three tween boys eventually went back inside to feed Presto some carrots."Hi there, Linnie's new boyfriend!" Katie grinned as she waved.Behind, Alexa and Cyrus were making kissy faces at Evan and Christian. Katie and Lucas joined in on the teasing action."Really mature, guys." Evan rolled her eyes."Yeah, my sister is the most disgusting female I know. Who in their right mind would ever like her?!" Jerry snorted. "Hey, fella! Have you SEEN her eating? She's like a blender without the lid!""He is NOT my boyfriend! And THANKS for the motivation, bro!" Evan groaned, smacking a hand over her face."Sorry about my friends, we're a wacky bunch." Evan apologized to Christian."Don't be. We're all a little crazy sometimes." Christian chuckled, before they both laughed."That's just about the friends you've mentioned, right?" Christian asked."Oh no, there's more of us than you could imagine. This is just the Childhood gang. We have a LARGE friendship group: there is the Girl Squad, the Brotherhood, the Kiddos." Evan snorted."Oh, and before you could ask: All my female Friends are OFF-LIMITS, and so is my brother." Evan warned."Why would I ever hit on your brother?" Christian asked."Sorry, force of habit. I have only one baby brother, and I get crazy protective of him." Evan explained."I'd like to meet all of your friends someday." Christian smiled."I'd like that." Evan smiled back."Um...I should head back; my parents are probably worried." Christian said, checking the time."Right, sorry for taking up your time." Evan apologized, before walking him to his car."So, you ok if I come over again another day?" Christian asked."Sure, I can always crash into your lawn when I have nothing to do." Evan joked, before he laughed."Please don't. My mom likes gardening and she'd be devastated if you keep landing on her dandelions." Christian frowned, slightly fearful of what damage his new friend could do."I'm just glad there is no roses." Evan nodded. "Or Cactus.""Well, not yet." Christian shrugged, getting into his (it was his dad's old car, but it was a hand-me-down birthday gift) car."Bye." Evan waved."I'll text you." Christian told her, before he drove away, "Later, Angel!""Don't call me that!!" Evan yelled.
You don't have to try too hard,

You already have my heart.

You don't got a thing to prove,

I'm already into you.

So, hold, hold, hold, hold me tight now,

Cause I'm so, so good to go,

Don't say, don't say 'Goodnight', you know?

You had me at Hello.

~ Had me @ Hello (Luke Benward) ~

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shortly after Christian Newvile has left the Quad’s residence (at least, that was how Evangelyn labels her neighborhood that connects the Nollen family, the Cooper family and the Mendoza family with her family), Evangelyn walked back to Alexa’s house.“So, I guess you got a new boyfriend now.” Lucas joked, before Evan frowned at him.“We just met. There is nothing weird going on.” Evan assured her friends.“Whatever you say, Ev!” Cyrus joked back, before he started working on something on his laptop and plugged in another pen-drive.“Good, because it’s weird and impossible if anyone would take any interest in you.” Jerry made a sarcastic remark, before he went on YouTubes to watch a livestream of a video game tournament that he was interested in.“That’s rude.” Evan frowned.“Thank you, I try!” Jerry grinned, before he looked back at his video game tournament.“Are you saying you could get a girlfriend before your sister dates a guy?” Lucas asked.“Probably. If I were ever interested in any gender in a romantic way. I mean, my good friend Rocki is a girl but we’re just bros.” Jerry shrugged in response.“I’m heading upstairs to Alexa’s room now.” Evan rolled her eyes, before heading upstairs.Moments after, Alexa and Lucas’s father David came into the house, carrying large bags of groceries.“Hey, I’m home from the driveway. I need help!” David winced a bit, as he struggled with the large bags.“I GOT YOU, DAD!” Lucas ran over, before Evan ducked to the side of the stairs to avoid being flatten over.“WATCH IT, LUC!” Evan yelled over.Lucas went through the bags of groceries before finding the large carton of milk and started chugging it down.“You’re always there for me, son.” David muttered to himself.“You need any of my help, Uncle Dave?” Cyrus asked.“Sure, there’s a lot of stuff in the driveway.” David smiled a bit, at least Cyrus is there to help.“By the way, my mom has got another date tonight so is it ok if I eat over?” Cyrus asked.“Sure thing, kid.” David agreed, having Cyrus over was always a pleasure. The boy didn’t have a stable fatherly figure in his life, considering Cyrus’s dad left Gail (Cyrus’s mom) and Cyrus when he was 4 years old.“What? Are you saying I have nothing edible at my place?” Jerry joked, taking that as an offense.“No, I just like to eat over from your place to Lucas’s place from time to time.”  Cyrus cleared his throat.“Mhm-hmmm?” Lucas and Jerry raised their eyebrows at Cyrus. Clearly, spending extra time at the Mendoza family usually meant Cyrus getting to spend more time with Alexa.
[Evangelyn’s P.O.V.]
I laughed to myself, watching Katie and Alexa discussing what clothes to wear for their first day of school. Along with watching Alexa hurling clothes across the bed at Katie’s direction.This is why I learned to sit far away from where you might get ambushed by laundry. I’ve had that experience with Lucas and Jerry once, the two of them were supposed to be pranking Alexa (the Prank Protégé among our inner circle, because both Ellie and Alexa were mainly influenced by Bronwyn) by dropping Lucas’s filthy laundry over her but I walked in and got doused by something that stenches more than the school’s gym.“I have NOTHING to wear!” Alexa sighed, before exclaiming in frustration.“You have my dress.” Katie pointed at the yellow sundress Alexa was holding.“Eh!” Alexa shrugged, before throwing the dress at Katie.“You have a pile of clothes, why would that be nothing to wear?” I exclaimed.“What about you, then? What did you wear for your first day of freshman year?” Katie turned to me.“Wow, it’s been so long I kinda forgot that already.” I tried to remember what I wore on my first day. “I remember I wore a white shirt and dark jeans that day, keeping it simple and basic.”“Besides, why are you asking me for fashion help, you all know that I am the least fashionable person in this room!” I frowned at them, sitting on the floor cross-legged.“So…who was your new male friend?” Katie asked, giggling.“Oh, Christian?” I replied, hiding my face by looking at the floor and playing with my hair. “Nothing, we just met today, that’s all…”“You two seem pretty chummy to me.” Alexa was giving me a Cheshire cat smile.“Remember when I said I was late?” I reminded them as they both nodded.“While I was cycling over to Wired, I may have accidentally almost ran Christian over.” I told them about how I met Christian.“Long story short, I may have lost my backup keys to my cabinet’s collection of the Skoliver Wedding figurines I brought from the Craft Shack Convention. He found my keys and returned them to me. Nothing out of the ordinary…” I explained to them.“That ought to be a great story to tell your kids someday.” Alexa joked, before I threw one of her shirts at her.“He seems pretty cute though. I mean, next to Lucas.” Katie admitted.“Do you think he’s cute?” Alexa asked me.“Well…I do think he’s handsome…”  I nodded, “but it’s still too early for me to tell what he’s really like. He kind of reminds me of Barnaby Lee from Hogwarts Mystery though.”“Aww, do you have a crush on him?” Katie hummed.“No, I like Nate, remember?” I reminded them, before I felt my cheeks turning pink.“Besides, what about you and Cyrus earlier, I saw you two waltzing in the living room when Aunt Lori announced you can go to school!” I reminded Alexa, before her smile vanished, replacing what seems to resemble a flustered expression.“I was just excited, that’s all!” Alexa stated, trying to stay calm.“About Cyrus?” I raised an eyebrow at her.“No. About going to school with you two, and my brother, and Jerry, and Hannah and Reagan, and possibly Cyrus.” Alexa admitted.Last year, during the Winter Formals, Cyrus originally wanted to ask Alexa out as his friend-date but her condition worsened back then, so Cyrus voluntarily decided to skip the Winter Formals to visit Alexa in the hospital. He dragged Lucas, Jerry and I over by driving Lucas’s car all the way to the hospital.Which was a good thing, during the dance, I didn’t really want to see all the other girls flirting with Nate. Bronwyn, Cassie and I didn’t have dates, neither did Cyrus, Jerry and Lucas (Lucas just couldn’t decide who to go out with, so he juggled among dates at the dance) so we all decided to go in a group as friends. I get protective of Jerry so I would warn off any other girl who seemed interested in him.“You two are so meant to be together!” Katie giggled.“Shush up, you know Cyrus is a really good friend.” Alexa stated.Yeah, right. Adrien Agreste from Miraculous Ladybug says the same thing about Marinette.“Yeah! Friends with benefits.” Lucas walked by, giving us a teasing wink. I could see from the corner of my eye that Katie was blushing.“GET OUT!” Alexa snarled, before she threw a pillow at her brother.I laughed, before I fell over and continued laughing hysterically.“Lucas, you gonna get it!” I shouted over to him in a Raven Baxter tone.“So do you want me to help you pick out something that could catch Nate’s eye on the first day at school?” Alexa asked.“Oh, no. I prefer admiring him from a safe distance without people knowing I like him!” I denied their offer.“Girl, how is that going to help your love life?!” Katie exclaimed.“I’m not looking for a relationship right now, I am perfectly fine crushing on someone from a distance!” I commented. It is better this way, I would like to get by high school with as little heartbreaks as possible.“But that’s kind of agonizing sometimes, isn’t it? Having feelings for someone who doesn’t seem to notice you in that way…” Katie hugged her knees to her chest.She must be referring to Lucas.“Sometimes…But I prefer to stay in the safe zone, it’s better when you admire someone from afar.” I nodded, telling them from my perspective, “Besides, no one gets hurt if you play it safe. And if he is happy, then I am happy for him.”We heard a door knock from outside as Aunt Lori walks in, holding a notepad.“So, I see you girls are excited for school.” Aunt Lori smiled at us.“You bet!” Alexa grinned, “I’m pumped!”“I cannot wait for the school play. Last year, the Theater department did one howler of Hamlet, I mean, Nate was in it.” I told them excitedly, before realizing I was blubbing about my crush, and looked away awkwardly.“Weren’t you in the same Theater club?” Katie asked me.“I was backstage, being part of the volunteers setting up the props. I mean, Lucas even got to play Horatio (ironically, one of the few people made it out of the plot alive) and Jerry portrayed one of the soldiers in the play.” I replied, I was mainly there to support my brother and Lucas, but ended up seeing Nate there for the first time. I didn’t speak to him, but I noticed how he was not like that much of a snob like most popular people were at my school. There was something about his charismatic attitude that caused me to become drawn to him.“Whatcha got there?” Alexa noticed the notepad Aunt Lori was holding.“Just some notes from your doctor.” Aunt Lori replied.“What notes?” Alexa’s smile vanished.“Let’s just remembered we just heard the good news.” Aunt Lori reminded her.Something doesn’t sound good to me of whatever is in that notepad.“yeah, great! What notes?!” Alexa grabbed the notepad and started reading it.“Come right home when school ends? No extra-curricular activity?” Alexa read the notes out loud.“It’s just a few precautions.” Aunt Lori stated.“No physical activities?!” Alexa read the last part, that was unfair to her, she loves sports especially basketball.  “Mom, that means no basketball!”“Well, you could be the team manager?” Aunt Lori tried to make Alexa feel better. It clearly wasn’t working. “You know, do the roster! And manager stuff.”“And you could glitter your clipboard!” Katie piped in, before I sat on the bed next to Katie, nudging her to be quiet.Alexa frowned disapprovingly at Katie’s statement, before Katie slumped her shoulders.“Glitter’s awesome…” she mumbled.“It is, we all know glitter makes your eyes sparkle.” I told her, before she smiled softly back at me.“Look. Not every kid gets clearance from their doctor and get to go back to school this early. You are lucky.” Aunt Lori tries to reason with Alexa, I mean on one hand Aunt Lori has a fair point, but for Alexa’s side, she is upset she can’t be involved in what normal high school kids do (besides drugs, smoking, underage drinking, and all that intimate stuff).“Lucky? That means no sports, no dances, being in place. All that’s left is going to class!” Alexa exclaimed, listing out the disadvantages. “and that is the WORST part about school!”Katie and I tried to distract ourselves by walking over to the window and pretend to be fascinated by the tree leaves. Or the little bird nest on the tree.“That is a TERRIBLE attitude, young lady!” Aunt Lori told Alexa in a strict tone, before correcting, “sorry, that was my mother talking.”“Honey, I know it sucks. But it’s just for right now. You know, you’re getting better, and we don’t want to risk that.” Aunt Lori wraps her arms around Alexa’s shoulders.“I know.” Alexa sighs, before adding, “I just thought once school started, things would go back to normal…”“And they’re on their way. Look before you know it, you’re going to be lying to me about skipping classes instead of skipping naps.” Aunt Lori stated, before kissing Alexa’s head.“God, I hate myself.” Alexa muttered, as Aunt Lori left the room.“We’re starting high school together~” Katie tries to make Alexa feel better. “We should celebrate!”“Sure, let’s do something our moms will hate!” Alexa suggested.Hope she’s not thinking about getting any piercings or tattoos.“I was thinking more like an ice cream cone?” Katie suggested thoughtfully.Alexa frowns at her, before Katie adds, “with dangerous toppings!”“Or watch movies!” I added.“Nah, we should dye our hair!” Alexa whispered to me.“Oh no, I can’t do that. You know I have two strict grandmas.” I shook my head.“Ok, fine, maybe we can show you our hair.” Katie smiled over.“Sure. I’ll be over in a sec! Cassie just sent me a message and I need to text her back first.” I told them, before I watched the two girls head over to the bathroom to look for hair dye.I walked over to the staircase, where I find none other than Cyrus.“How much have you heard?” I raised my eyebrows at him.“More than I should have.” Cyrus replied in a tone of guilt. He likes to intrude on other’s privacy sometimes, but he respects Alexa’s privacy over anyone else.“I just feel bad for her that’s all. It’s not easy going through so much at this age, and it’s unfair if she doesn’t get her chance of happiness.” Cyrus told me.“So what are you going to do about it? We can’t change her health condition, or whatever the doctor said.” I replied with a shrug.“I don’t like seeing her in pain or in sadness. That’s all.” Cyrus muttered.“Tell her how you feel.” I told him.“Do you think she would ever love someone like me? Look at me! I’m like Shrek!” he exclaimed.“You’re both insecure about something. You feel insecure about how you look; she feels insecure because of her health condition. You’re PERFECT for each other!” a voice chimed from downstairs.“HOLY SAMOSA!” Cyrus yelped, before blushing red. “JERRY!”“You lament your love for her through poems and words, I know that.” Jerry responded, leaning against the wall downstairs. “I know more than you think I do. You love her.”“What’s the use? She’ll never love me.” Cyrus slumped his shoulders.“Look, Cy, you may not be able to change what’s been done, but you can change the chemical reaction of what could happen.” Jerry told him.“That’s actually pretty wise, lil’ bro.” I smiled at Jerry.“Thanks, Sis.” Jerry nodded back, before putting on his earphones and listened to music, before humming to ‘Never Been In Love’ by Will Jay.“Anyway, I should go and check on them.” I stood up, before I walked over to the bathroom.“Lyn, could you please not tell her what I know.” Cyrus whispered over.“Sure,” I zipped my mouth shut, and walked over to the bathroom.“Hey, can I come in now? It’s me, your gal!” I knocked on the door.“Sure! Come on in!” Alexa’s voice spoke out.I walked in while Alexa was dying part of Katie’s hair dark brown.“Wow, I love what you did!” I smiled.“Thanks, I feel like such a bad girl!” Katie nodded, eagerly.“You’re a rebel.” I winked over at her.“Do you want me to dye your hair too?” Alexa asked. “I mean, I like what you did to your hair. The brown highlights look cool on you.”Alexa motioned to my black hair with brownish streaks.“Oh, those aren’t highlights, I think it’s just natural.” I shrugged.That, or it could be my bad habit of peeling off my hair split ends. I should REALLY stop that habit.“But I might wanna go for a haircut, the summer weather makes it irritating for me to manage my hair.” I stated, running a hand through my mid-back length hair.“You should cut it a few inches past your shoulders.” Alexa suggested.“Yeah, that’s kinda what I was going for.” I smiled at them.“Now I have to hide it from my mom.” Katie started tying up her hair to make the brown hair dye less obvious.“Great! I got clearance from the doctor, dyed my hair. All that is left is buying new clothes, take Gwennie down and I am officially ready for school.” Alexa grinned.“Are you seriously keeping up this stupid feud? It’s been going on for years!” Katie commented.“What choice do I have, am I supposed to just let her win?” Alexa asked back in a sarcastic tone.“I have nothing against your feud; but if any one of you ladies flirt with my brother, there will be consequences.” I raised a hand.“No worries, Lyn, we all know about the ‘Jerry is off-limits’ rule.” Alexa chuckled.“It’s an endless revenge cycle, do you think anyone is going to win?” Katie asked.“Yes, and it’s going to be me!” Alexa smirked.“Let’s face-time Hannah and Reagan and show them our new hair!” Alexa suggested, before taking a seat.“Ok, hey Lyn, wanna join?” Katie asked.“I guess so, but after this, we should show the boys your new hair!” I joked, “Cy would definitely love it.”“It’s Cyrus we’re talking about, he finds everything Alexa does interesting.” Katie snorted.“Very funny, you two!” Alexa threw a plastic wrap at my head.“Help, I have been assaulted in one out of my many essential body parts.” I pretended to faint.“You watch WAY too many Brandon Rogers videos.” Alexa giggled.“I must thank Kat and Cassie for introducing me to his videos.” I chuckled, standing up.Meantime I noticed that Katie was staring at a shaver, muttering if Lucas uses it and hiding the urge to smell it.I mean, I have crushes on boys too but I hadn’t gone to ‘sniff through their personal belongings’ phase.“Kates, don’t!” I grimaced at her.“I wasn’t going to!” Katie defended.“But you were thinking it.” I stated.“I’m not going to smell it!” Katie claimed.I noticed that Alexa looks a little uneasy. Before Katie’s phone rang. Sure enough, it was Hannah and Reagan calling.“Wait, let’s just surprise them on our first day at school!” Alexa stated.“Ok.” Katie nodded, before receiving a text from her mom. “Ooh, gotta go. My mom says dinner is ready.”“I should head back as well, see you later Lex!” I waved her goodbye before walking out.I could tell something is up with Alexa, but she doesn’t want to tell any of us.But she will tell Cyrus.I mean when she got her first period on that winter Katie’s mom took her and her brother to visit their grandmother (and my brother and I were unfortunately having food poisoning while visiting our Uncle Irv and Aunt Erin), she texted Cyrus to help her out (because both her parents were at work, and Lucas was on that skiing trip 9th graders have to attend). Long story short, Cyrus went to buy the ‘monthly essentials’ for Lexi and got laughed at by the register guy until Alexa backs him up for laughing at her (boy) friend.“Hey Cy. Can I talk to for a mome-Wow.” I noticed Cyrus was editing something on his laptop.It was labelled ‘Alexa’. With pictures of Alexa over the years.“I will just blankly assume you are talking about the app Alexa instead.” I commented.“Thank you for blankly assuming.” Cyrus nodded, standing up, “what up?”“Could you keep an eye on Lexi? I don’t think she’s well, and as a concerned friend, I am worried.” I whispered over.“I’m worried of her too, more than you know.” Cyrus sighed.“Which is why I know she’ll open up to you. She’s always trusted you. Even when you dropped that skunk in the wrong cabin at summer camp, she trusted you.” I placed my hands on his shoulders. “Look after her, ok?“I will.” Cyrus took a deep breath as he nodded.“Thanks, Cyrus. Now if you will excuse me, I have to help my gramma prepare dinner.” I turned to walk away.“What are we having?” Jerry asked.“Rice with wax gourd soup, onion omelets and stir-fry cabbages with a side order of carrots.” I shouted back.“Ooh, when you’re done and have any leftovers, can I have some of the soup?” Lucas asked.My grandma makes one of the BEST soups ever, so usually we would share the soup with the Nollen’s, the Mendoza’s and the Cooper’s.“Fine, but y’all owe me a cup of hot chocolate from Wired.” I laughed.“Do you want me to get Nate to sign it for you?” Lucas joked.“Noooo!’ I shouted back.We all grew up together, so naturally, we’re all like this big blended family. I think of Cyrus like an unofficial big brother.“Are we still on for movies later?” Jerry asked Lucas.It is movie night later, usually us kids would sit and watch movies together in Cyrus’s attic.“I vouch for Disney Descendants!” I shouted from across the yard.“You’re only saying that because you have a HUGE crush on that character, Jay.” Jerry teased.“What? Booboo Stewart is one of the most beautiful people to ever existed!” I hissed defensively, feeling my face turning pink.“WHAT ABOUT ME?! I’M BEAUTIFUL TOO!” Lucas yells in protest from his room. I mean, yeah you are extremely good-looking (not as good-looking as Nate or Christian but…) but not to the point I would be like Katie around you!“YOU SURE ARE! I mean, it’s a general fact?” Katie responded, before correcting.“She means good-looking NOT DELUSIONAL!” Jerry yelled back, “MY SISTER, OFF-LIMITS!”“Jay looks like that guy who was looking for you earlier, huh?” Cyrus teased me.“I don’t see it.” I shrugged blankly.“Stranger Things!” -Cyrus“Indiana Jones!” -Lucas“Star Wars!” -Jerry“The Princess Bride!” -Katie (from her room upstairs, next-door to Alexa’s place)“IT!” -Bronwyn (she usually shows up for dinner night in advance)“Jumanji!” -Jack (how did he hear us? I thought he’s far away from the yard)Odd, usually this is when Alexa would shout out the movie of her choice. Maybe she’s just busy.“How are we gonna settle this?” Jerry asked.“Rock paper scissors?” Lucas shrugged.“We’ll talk about this later. Ok?” Cyrus nodded.
[Normal P.O.V.]
Alexa took a while before she snuck out of her room.Cyrus was working on something on his laptop, before Alexa tapped his shoulder.“Gah! Alexa, hi!” Cyrus quickly slammed his laptop shut so Alexa couldn’t see what he was doing.“Um…can we talk? Upstairs, in my room? It’s something personal.” Alexa spoke in a quiet voice, so that Lucas or Jerry couldn’t hear them.“Yeah, sure.” Cyrus nodded, hiding his blush, before grabbing his bag and his laptop and headed upstairs.“You owe me 10 dollars.” Lucas told Jerry. “I told you Alexa would make the initiative of asking Cyrus out.”“Screw you, Mendoza.” Jerry rolled his eyes, before unwillingly handing over Lucas 10 dollars.“What’s the matter, Alexa? Is something bothering you?” Cyrus asked his crush.“This.” Alexa quietly pulled out a few strands of hair that was slowly falling out of her head.She just went through chemotherapy over the summer to help reduce her symptoms.“Alexa, you’re…” Cyrus stammered, didn’t really know what to say about her condition. He didn’t want to say something that would upset her.“I don’t want Katie or my parents to know. I don’t want them to treat me like a sick kid.” Alexa told him.“Hair is overrated anyway, I mean have you seen Eleven from Stranger Things? She doesn’t need to look pretty to know she’s awesome.” Cyrus tried to say something to please her.“I wanna do something thrilling before high school begins.” Alexa began.“You’re not gonna drink alcohol, are you?” Cyrus frowned at her.“Just because my older cousin Sofia does that, it doesn’t mean I am following her footsteps.” Alexa crossed her arms in front of her chest.“Or my cousin Fig.” Cyrus added.Sofia Beaumont is Alexa’s cousin (from her mom’s side of the family) and looks strikingly similar to Alexa. While Figueroa ‘Fig’ Raganeau is Bronwyn’s older brother and looks similar to Cyrus but has the better-looking nose. The two are in their Senior year, and will be graduating next year. Fig has a huge crush on Sofia, and much like Cyrus’s crush on Alexa, the feelings often go by unnoticed by their respective crushes.Cyrus would describe Fig as the Spontaneous version of who he wishes to be; while Sofia is a sarcastic and the opposite of how Alexa is.“I am talking about TPing someone’s house.” Alexa suggested eagerly.“Isn’t that kind of wrong?” Cyrus raised an eyebrow.“This is coming from the same guy who changes his high school pictures and captions from the yearbook every single year since 4th grade!” Alexa sassed back.“Point taken. Who are we TP-ing?” Cyrus nodded.“Gwenny Thompson.” Alexa smirked.“Aw man, why can’t we ever TP Steve Guishe’s house?” Cyrus whined a bit, making Alexa giggle.Cyrus has an ongoing rivalry with Steve Guishe just as long as Alexa’s rivalry with Gwenny Thompson. And it’s one of the many similarities both Cyrus and Alexa share: they BOTH like to prank their rivals. Occasionally, Ellie Blake would join them to triple-prank her nemesis Savannah in process.“C’mon, just this one night of crazy fun and then it’s boring school life ahead of me.” Alexa tried to convince Cyrus to come along.“you don’t have to try to convince me, I’m always going to there for you. And your epic schemes.” Cyrus assured Alexa with a smile.“Thanks, I knew you’d always be there for me.” Alexa smiled back at him before she rested her head on his shoulder.“What are friends for.” Cyrus replied, feeling his face turning pink.“Good, we’re leaving after dinner.” Alexa declared.“How are we gonna explain to your parents?” Cyrus asked.“We don’t have to tell them. It’ll be like our little secret.” Alexa winked at him.“Yeah, I always thought we should have like, a little secret.” Cyrus smiled at her.“great, let me just text Katie for a moment.” Alexa reached out for her phone to send a message to Katie.“You’re asking Katie to tag along?” Cyrus paused for a moment, trying not to sound disappointed.“Well, I do not have the most trustworthy face.” Alexa pointed out.“Ok. I can activate the sprinklers at Gwenny’s house and flood her front yard.” Cyrus suggested. “Really? While we were supposed to TP her house? Is that supposed to be punishment to me or her?” Alexa joked.“Fine, we can flood her yard AFTER we’re done.” Cyrus asked as Alexa nodded in agreement.“We make such a great team.” Alexa giggled. “I wonder why everyone else thinks it’s a bad thing.”“It’s probably because we were both voted Most Likely To Accidentally Become Lawbreakers, Move To Vegas And Become Blackjack Dealers.” Cyrus reminded.“Like the time we pranked and scared the summer camp counselor back when we were in middle school?” Alexa asked as Cyrus nodded.“Are you kidding me? The camp counselor Rani jumped off the cliff and straight into the bottom of the lake!” Cyrus reminded Alexa as they both laughed at the memory of pranking their camp counselor“So should we invite Jerry too? He’s quite good at pranks.” Alexa asked.“Nah, he’d probably try to top our pranks. Or team up with Bronwyn to do worse.” Cyrus stated as Alexa nodded.“So I guess we’re not joining Movie Night then.” Cyrus stated as Alexa nods.“I’ll tell Bronwyn that we won’t be going for Movie Night today.” Cyrus reached to text his cousin about the sudden change of plans.
After Dinner, at the Cooper house…
Jack Cooper was going through the cookie jar to find a double chocolate chip cookie, while Katie was trying to eat her dinner without being annoyed by her younger sibling.“C’mon, where are you?” Jack asked out loud.“Are you seriously going to touch every cookie?” Katie asked.“Why does every cookie have a single chocolate chip?” Jack asked.“Because you have a single parent.” Jennifer Cooper replied, trying to be funny, only to earn odd looks from her youngest son. “Nothing?”“I’m going next-door to Alexa’s. They’ve got more leftovers.” Jack announced.“Oh, bring me back one.” Jennifer told Jack as he left. “Oh! and get yourself something nice for lunch tomorrow.”“So, how’s Alexa feeling about school starting?” Jennifer asked Katie.“She’s ready.” Katie replied.“High school is a really big change, she’s already going through so much…”  Jennifer said.“Mom, I know she will worry. Alexa and I can practically read each other’s minds.” Katie assured, before hearing a bling from her phone.“See? Like right now, that’s her texting.” Katie gestured to her phone, which her mom picks up to check the message.“Oh, you’re right.” Jennifer nodded, mildly impressed.“And I can tell you what it says,” Katie tried to guess, “Don’t start Movie Night without me.”“Huh, close. It says ‘Meet me at the Tree when you know your mom’s asleep’.” Jennifer read out loud.“Oh! and I will obviously tell her ‘Sorry, I’ll be asleep myself then.’.” Katie awkwardly texted Alexa back with her mom in front of her.“This is obviously what they call ‘a teachable moment’, but I’m gonna go take a bath.” Jennifer decided to excuse herself, and let Katie sort out her problems with Alexa.
Later…
Katie went to her room window, before opening it and snuck out to the Tree.“Hey.” Cyrus waved over, he was dressed in black: black jeans, black combat boots, black long-sleeved shirt, he even wore a black bandana.“What took you so long?!” Alexa asked. She was wearing dark clothes too, kinda matches with what Cyrus was wearing.“Huh? Don’t you mean ‘Katie, thanks for meeting me, even though you are supposed to be in bed, and it makes you uncomfortable to do things you could get in trouble for?’?” Katie responded back sarcastically.“What’s with the getup? You both look like ninjas on date night.” Katie commented.“This is NOT a date!” “Ewww! We’re just friends!” Cyrus and Alexa immediately corrected.“Ok, Cyrus and I need your help. So wear dark clothes and grab as many toilet rolls as you can,” Alexa began.“Goodnight, you two can go ahead with your prank rendezvous!” Katie gave the duo a look before attempting to excuse herself to leave.“Katie, wait! It’s important. I need to toilet paper Gwenny’s house.” Alexa explained, earning a frown from her best friend.“Sounds like fun. Cyrus, you do it. Goodnight!” Katie turned to Cyrus.“Katie, come on! Do you really want to look back from when you’re old and tired and bitter about everything in life, and then wonder why you never TPed a house before?” Cyrus asked.“Ok, I did not really need that image in my head.” Katie shuddered for a moment of picturing herself as a cranky bitter old lady. “But I do. I really do!”“What is wrong with you, Alexa? You are kind of losing your mind.” Katie placed a hand on Alexa’s.“She really needs this, Kates. This is about closure.” Cyrus explained.“Vandalizing your arch nemesis’s house isn’t exactly what I call Closure.” Katie frowned.“Please. Do it for her.” Cyrus mouthed as he begged. If Alexa is happy, Cyrus would be happy. And watching both of her favorite couple (not yet) happy makes Katie really happy.“It’s a good distraction from everything else.” Alexa stated.“Pleeease…” Cyrus and Alexa now tried to plea Katie to tag along.“Ok fine.” Katie nodded. “I’ll do it.”“This is gonna be fun!” Jack’s voice interrupted the trio misfits-to-be.“Jack, go to bed!” Katie frowned at her little brother. “and keep this to yourself.”“What if I go with you?” Jack asked.“What if I strangle you and then you keep it to yourself?” Katie threatened.“Mom said you’re not allowed to strangle me anymore.” Jack smirked playfully.“Alright, alright. Let’s just do it.” Katie sighed.“I’ll go get the toilet paper!” Jack eagerly volunteered.“Shh!” Katie hushed at her brother.“I’ll go get the toilet paper.” Jack whisper-yelled.
Switch scenes…
Lucas, Bronwyn, Jerry, and Evan were sitting in Cyrus’s attic (because he has the larger space), noticing the absence of Alexa, Katie and Cyrus. Jack couldn’t come at the last minute.“I got the snacks. Jerry got us soda.” Evan checked the snacks and soda set on the table.“What about milk?” Lucas asked.“How much do you love your calcium anyway?” Evan asked, amused.“As much as you love chocolate.” Lucas sassed back.“Well played.” Evan nodded, before she sat on the sofa.“Where is Cy?” Jerry asked.“He skipped out last minute, I think he’s out with Lexi.” Bronwyn replied.“Ok, so why are Jack and Katie missing?” Lucas asked.“Cyrus mentioned something about going with Jack, Katie and Alexa.”“So basically, a Cylexa date with company.” Evan concluded.“What’s Cylexa? Is that some sort of reading disability?” Lucas questioned.“First of all, that is called dyslexia, not Cylexa.” Jerry corrected.“Nah, it’s what I call Cyrus and Alexa’s ship name.” Evan giggled, before crossing her arms, “You know, I am slightly offended Cyrus didn’t ask for my help. Kates and I have been planning Cyrus and Alexa’s wedding for YEARS!”“You are so weird.” Bronwyn rolled her eyes.“So since it’s just the four of us tonight,” Lucas asked.“So what movie are we watching?”  Jerry asked, before holding up a DVD, “How about Star Wars, huh?”“Indiana Jones!” Lucas suggested.“IT!” Bronwyn shrugged.“I like Sci-Fi.” Jerry replied. “And movies with LOTS of death scenes.”“Action!” Lucas suggested.“Horror!” Bronwyn grinned.“Comedy and Rom-Coms are usually my go-to.” Evan shrugged in response.“At this point, I feel like Stranger Things is the go-to base on all the requirements of what we want in a movie or TV show.” Evan stated, before everyone else shrugged in agreement.“But we only have time for like one and a half episode, because my curfew is 10pm.” Jerry stated, looking at his watch.“I’ve already downloaded the episodes online beforehand.” Evan started loading the episode to the large screen Cyrus has.“I’m just glad Alexa isn’t here. Cyrus has a shrine dedicated to her.” Lucas commented.“I’m surprised you are so chilled about my cousin getting with your sis.” Bronwyn said.“That’s because Cyrus has been in love with her for ages.” Lucas shrugged.“It’s not a shrine.” Evan looked at a part of Cyrus’s attic decorated with pictures of his friends and Alexa in particular.“And it’s definitely not some sort of memorabilia.” Jerry snorted. “not creepy, at all.”“SHH! THE SHOW IS STARTING!” Lucas hushed his friends, before they started watching Season 1 of Stranger Things.“So, Cyrus told me you had a guy over earlier today.” Bronwyn asked Evan. Earlier today, she was working shifts at Wired for the evening shift (she works there part-time, but rarely talks to Nate because of different time schedules) when Alexa, Katie and Evan went back to Alexa’s place.“He’s new in town, and we just met.” Evan replied, fixed on watching the episode. “Besides, I am not interested in dating right now.”“Agreed. Dating and love are so overrated.” Jerry agreed.
Back to the Midnight TP Squad…
Jack was pulling a wagon of toilet paper, and Cyrus managed to buy some eggs from Walmart for the prank.“Are we really doing this?” Katie groaned a little.“Nope, we’re really doing this.” Alexa stated, as Jack began vandalizing the house by throwing toilet paper around the house.“I’m activating the sprinklers to when Gwenny walks out that door, she’s ready for a Sloppy Joe surprise.” Cyrus started programming something on his computer.“I love the way you think.” Alexa winked at him.“You two are so in love!” Jack made smoochy voices at Alexa and Cyrus.“No, we’re not!” Cyrus and Alexa protested, before they looked at each other and looked away awkwardly.Katie and Jack looked between the two ‘friends’ before mouthing ‘Ship’ to each other. Nearly everyone around the neighborhood know that Cyrus has a crush on Alexa since they were kids and the feelings only grew over time.Alexa grabbed two rolls of toilet paper before suddenly feeling exhausted.“Hey, are you alright?” Katie asked, before Cyrus could.“You know I hate that question. As my best friends, you know you can’t ask me that question.” Alexa responded, she hated being treated as a sick kid or someone who was weak because of her illness.“And as my best friend, you do not do things that wear you out!” Katie added.“She’s saying this because she cares an awful lot about you, like me.” Cyrus replied, gazing at her.“I know you’re both concerned about me, but I’ll sit here for a minute until I feel-,” Alexa told them.“Better?” Katie asked.“No, inspired.” Alexa replied, “now go do the bushes.”“Now, come on. You’re not going to ruin Gwenny’s life by just sitting around.” Cyrus offered a hand as he helped Alexa up, but he may have yanked her arm too hard before he pulled her close to him.“You have not a bad arm strength, Nollen.” Alexa complimented.“I have been working out.” Cyrus bragged.“Really?” Alexa asked with a smirk.“Yeah, really?” Katie frowned.“Nah. But our friends can be prone to violence from time to time, so I had to compromise with them.” Cyrus replied.Evan and Jerry have a violent streak sometimes and are prone to violence when raged. And Bronwyn has a habit of getting into trouble.“This is the BEST night of my life!” Jack declared in a gleeful voice.“Ahh, makes sense. Remember the time Bronwyn and Jerry both broke a wooden chair in Shop Class?” Alexa nodded.“It was Steve Guishe’s Shop Class assignment. But it was worth it.” Cyrus chuckled, before realizing something, “Wait, isn’t that Katie’s ski cap?”“Oh my gosh, I will give it back, ok?!” Alexa exclaimed.Katie was um…decorating the bushes when she froze tracks once she saw whose house it was.“Alexa! Cyrus! Get over here!” Katie whisper-yelled, “This isn’t Gwenny’s house!”“Really? Then whose house is it?” Alexa asked.Cyrus walked over to check before his face went pale.“This is Vice-Principal Trugly’s house!” Cyrus whispered.The lights inside the house went on, as they heard someone walking towards the door.“Jack! Jack!  We gotta go!” Katie signaled her younger brother to leave. Cyrus tried signaling Alexa to leave first, but she was too busy throwing eggs at the windows.Jack paid no attention and continued hurling rotten eggs, and accidentally hit Vice-Principal Trugly’s face with the eggs.“We’re dead.” Cyrus sang out loud.“Hey Vice-Principal Trugly, is that a new haircut I see?” Cyrus asked, trying to sound friendly.“What do you think you’re doing?” Vice-Principal Trugly demanded. “I am calling your parents! This will not end well.”That was a terrible timing as the sprinklers went on and sprinkled muddy water.“Correction: NOW we’re dead!” Katie corrected, as they all groaned.Jack swung down from the tree, before he cheered.“That was AWESOME! Also, my brain feels weird.” Jack commented., before falling off the tree and landed on Cyrus’s back. “I’M OK! Cyrus broke my fall!”“And Jack broke my back! I think I need a chiropractor!” Cyrus winced in pain as Alexa went to help him up.
Sometime Later…
After Movie/TV night, everyone went back to their homes, although Cyrus’s mom, Katie’s mom, and Alexa’s parents seemed pretty pissed off by the phone calls they received from Vice-Principal Trugly.“I cannot believe you two plus the Cooper Siblings went to vandalize the Vice-Principal’s house! That was WICKED!” Evangelyn told the Quad via face-gap.“We’re having a Parent-Teacher Conference tomorrow morning.” Katie groaned, in a worried tone.“My mom is already fuming.” Cyrus added, using face-cam from his laptop in his room. “Ed is trying to calm her down.”Ed is Gail’s boyfriend, and they’ve been dating for 2 months now. Ed was ok with Cyrus but Cyrus is just more emotionally distant from his mom’s boyfriend. He was happy that his mom is finally putting herself out there in the dating game.“I cannot believe you guys did that!” Lucas chuckled in amusement.“Yeah, and she got a case of the Paper Mache Doll!” Jerry added.“Time for bed!” Gail yelled from upstairs of Cyrus’s room.“OK, MOM!” Cyrus shouted back.“Anyway, we gotta end this call now. I’m so getting grounded for over a month.” Katie ended the call first.“Goodnight.”“Night!”Everyone ended the face-gap session.
[Evangelyn’s P.O.V.]
“Man, our friends are wild!” Jerry commented, as I nodded.“You do realize this could seriously affect Cyrus long-term, right?” I replied.Just last semester, Cyrus pulled a revenge prank on the Coach, Mr. Harris because he thought the coach was making fun of his nose, and somehow got the Coach to receive road tax from the cops and got the coach’s car seized. Cyrus is extra sensitive about what others thought of his appearance, especially his nose.“This is so weird, he’s never like this.” I muttered. Sure, Cyrus has a mischievous streak, but not to the point vandalizing someone’s house was necessary. Or pulling extreme revenge pranks to ruin another person’s life.“I think it has something to do with Alexa’s condition.” Jerry spoke out, catching my attention. “What do you mean?” I asked slowly.“Think of it, before Alexa was diagnosed with leukemia, Cyrus used to be more studious, more confident, and a goody-two-shoes kind of guy. But ever since Alexa got cancer when she was in 7th grade, he changed himself completely. He became more withdrawn and extra sensitive about everything. At first, I thought he was changing himself because of high school and it’s just teenage behavior kicking in.” Jerry explained.“Alexa is his muse.” I realized.“That’s not the word I was looking for, but close enough. I think Alexa affects Cyrus’s behavior, she doesn’t know it, but she brings out the best in him.” Jerry smirked.“When did you become so observant about the human emotions?” I asked him in an amused tone.“Ever sicne I decided I am gonna study Psychology and Counselling after I’m done with high school.” Jerry replied, “I’ll be going to my room, there’s a good 20 minutes for me to practice playing my guitar before mom and dad get us to sleep in.”“Ok, sleep tight, Jer!” I waved at him, before shutting the door.BlingHuh, a text? Who could it be?
Christian ‘Chrissy’ Newville (1 UNREAD MESSAGE)

‘’Sup’ -Chrissy
I felt my heart racing a bit, but tried to brush it off. I mean, this is the first time a boy texts me, and I’m not including my close guy friends because it’s usually just asking for a favor, or talking about our next Stranger Things marathon night.I felt the strange urge to text him back. One, my curfew is in 20 minutes, and two, he needs to learn how to spell better.
[Christian’s P.O.V.]
Why did I text Evan? I don’t know why, but I just felt like I needed someone to chat with.Great, what if she gets annoyed for texting her late?Bling!
Evangelyn Chan ‘(Not-An) Angel’ [1 UNREAD MESSAGE]

‘Seriously? That’s the best pickup line you can start a conversation with? “Sup?” It should be ‘What’s Up?’ or misspelt to Subway.’ -Angel
She sure can be straightforward. It usually works when I use that pickup line on girls.
[Evangelyn’s P.O.V.]
Bling!Crud, did I sound too snippy during that last text reply? I don’t want to sound like this rude girl. I have been told that I have a sharp tongue that often spills out harsh words, and I don’t want to scare away my friends with it.
‘What do you expect me to say?’ -Chrissy

‘Something basic, like “Hey” or “Hello” or even “G’day”.’ -Angel
‘No one hardly uses pickup lines that that anymore since like the 18th century’ -ChrissyI started to laugh a bit at this statement, maybe I guess I am kind of old-fashioned, but I like using proper English, not just ‘Yeet’ or ‘wefie’ or whatever.
‘They do if you want to sound polite. Or casual. Or casual BEFORE asking for a loan.’ -Angel

‘So you wouldn’t mind if I had just texted ‘Wotcher Linnie!’ (Harry Potter reference =-P)’ -Chrissy
Did he just quote Harry Potter at me? Ok, now that is a way to start a conversation.
‘Are you a fan of the Harry Potter series…?’ -Angel

Please say yes, please say yes.
‘I like the series, but not really a huge fan-fan. Still kinda new to the fandom.’ -ChrissyOh…Well, at least he likes the series.‘That’s neat, my bestie Cass, my friend Val and I love Harry Potter series.’ -Angel‘Don’t you mean ‘That’s Nate’?’ -Chrissy
[Christian’s P.O.V.]
I started to tease her a little about the slip of the tongue ‘Nate’, whoever he is. It sounds like Evan is interested in him.Could be her boyfriend or something.Bling!Oh great, she texted me back. I wonder what she’d say.
‘I know where you live, do NOT make me march over there to give you a black eye.’ -Angel
I laughed to myself, she really knows how to make a first impression. She’s kind of feisty and sometimes bold, but it’s fun that way.I started texting her back and continued our banter.
[Evangelyn’s P.O.V.]
Ugh, if there is one thing I learned after that slip of the tongue, it’s that Chrissy had found out I like someone named Nate. Good thing he hasn’t actually meet the actual Nate yet, because if so, I will try to convince my parents to let me be home-schooled.Or move back to Malaysia to live with my relatives there.Yes, I was from Malaysia but the whole family moved to America when Jerry and I were 4 years old. My mom was in America as part of the foreign student exchange program when she was in high school. Sometimes, our family go back to our old house during the summer vacation, and occasionally it’s a group vacation with the Quad family.Bling!Oh no, he texted back! What did he say?!
‘I’m very sure if my mom catches you in my room at night, there will be questions.’ -Chrissy
Ugh, and he added a winky face tongue-sticking out emoji. Is he really pushing my buttons?Yeah, and I don’t want any ‘questions’ about why am I alone with a boy I just met earlier today. Good point, Chrissy.
‘Screw this texting, my fingers are turning numb. Maybe I can text you tomorrow??’ -Angel
I should just turn in for the night, not before I continue my nightly novel reading first.I grabbed a copy of The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer (I love that guy!) and started reading it.A few minutes later, my phone started ringing, before I answered it.“Hello?” I answered the phone.“Wotcher Evan.” It was Christian.“Christian! What a surprise.” I responded, sounding a little surprised.Even his voice sounds enchanting. Hold yourself together, Ev!“Sorry, I figured maybe calling you was better than texting. Does that sound cheesy?” he asked me.“No, not at all. It’s just kinda unusual. Most calls I get are from the telemarket or my family. Unusual, but also kind of sweet.” I admitted, sitting on my bed cross-legged.“So…I was wondering if you’re ok with showing me around the town tomorrow? The only people I know and have met so far is my old friend Lee and his younger brother Carl.”“Oh uh…let me check my schedule. I only need to go and get a haircut on Saturday noon…But tomorrow is gonna be a busy day for me and my bro. My parents are taking us to the Back to School shopping at Costco.” I checked my planner.“Oh, well, can I see you on Saturday then?” Chrissy asked me.“Um sure, I can show you around town. But I can get a little lost sometimes, and that’s not a good thing. I would also need to tell my parents that I will be out with you. In a platonic way!” I ran my fingers through my hair.“It’s alright. I appreciate the offer.” He chuckled.“Maybe I can introduce you to my brother and my friend Lucas then. My friend Lucas Mendoza is vice-captain of the school’s basketball team.” I told him, I’d like to him get to know some new friends before starting school, so he won’t be as lonely. But he seems like a friendly and extroverted guy, he would make friends easily.Cyrus might be busy with his computer work, so he would probably be checking on Lexi, because they’ve got a Parent-Teacher Conference with Principal Castillo and Vice-Principal Trugly.“Cool. I can’t wait to meet them.” He sounded happy.“Wait, Lee and Carl, the two guys you talked about earlier, as in Leighton and Carlson Lioner?” I asked.“Yeah, you know them?” he questioned me.“Sort of. Lee’s in the school’s newspaper committee like my brother and I. And Carl is my brother’s friend. How do you know them?” I responded. Huh, do they used to know each other back in the day? I mean, I am in an ok-terms with Lee, but I would stay out of his feud with Bronwyn from time to time.“They were from the same town as me back when we were all in middle school. Lee is my first friend I met since kindergarten. I’m from Portland, originally.” He explained.“That’s cute.” I giggled.“You think I’m cute?” Ugh, why is he teasing me?“Ye-No! I mean the fact you are both still good friends.” I corrected.“But do you think I’m cute?”Um…well, that is a hard question. I mean, I admit I find Christian an attractive guy, but looks aren’t that easy to let me swing for another guy.Not when I’m currently crushing on Nate…Besides, it’s still too early to declare my feelings as ‘love’ just yet.“Who are you talking to? You know that it’s past your curfew, young lady.” My mom walked in while I was chatting with Christian on the phone.“I…Oh what’s that, mom? Ok, I’ll go and sleep now! Sorry Chrissy, but I gotta go.” I apologized to him.“Oh, ok. Goodnight Angel.”“Goodnight to you too, Chris. Sweet dreams.” I ended the call.“Hi mom, sorry I was on the phone with a friend of mine.” I apologized to my mom.“Is it Cass again?” she asked me.“No. It’s a new friend I just made today. His name is Christian Newville and he just moved here.” I explained. Figured it is better to tell my parents about my new friend before they ask too many questions when they actually meet him.“That’s good. You can always be friends with people regardless of their gender or skin color.” My mom nodded, she’s very accepting about making friends with new people, but is against the idea of me or my brother dating before we’re grownups.“But remember, no dating until-,” my dad walked in.“I’m in college or when I am an adult.” I finished his sentence.“Don’t worry, mom and dad. I won’t date anyone while I am still in high school.” I assured her. Like I mentioned before, I have strict parents. So no dating or romance UNTIL college.“Goodnight, mom. Goodnight dad.” I hugged both of my parents goodnight before I went to sleep.
Back at Christian’s house…
“Goodnight to you too, Chris. Sweet dreams.” Evangelyn spoke out, before she ended the call.
…
“Back at you.” Christian smiled lightly as he looked at his phone.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Well, that just happened!
Apparently, Alexa Mendoza, Cyrus Nollen and the Cooper siblings: Katie and Jack had all vandalized their Vice-Principal Trugly’s house last night.And now all three families were to attend a Parent-Teacher Conference to discuss what actions should be taken against the midnight vandals.“All in all, I would say you nailed the Sloppy Trugly prank.” Jerry Chan spoke out with a tiny smirk.“That’s not exactly what you should say to someone who’s facing ‘Judgement Day’.” Alexa Mendoza frowned at her friend.“Still. It was funny.” Lucas Mendoza, her older brother, gave a light chuckle.Jerry Chan nudged Lucas by the elbow, motioning him to hush up.“Ok, I understand that we’re here because of the ‘incident’ from last night.” Katie voiced out, “but why are the rest of you here.”Katie motioned to Jack, Lucas, Evangelyn and Jerry.“We’re here providing Moral and Emotional support.” Evangelyn responded, giving them a light smile. “I’m sure everything will be alright.”“I’m here because it was either this or watching Grandpa and Grandma argue over which TV channel to watch.” Jerry replied with a half-shrug.“We’re part of the family too.” Evangelyn added. “Not biologically related.”“Thanks.” Cyrus gave a half-hearted smile.“Well, we ALL know Cyrus will be part of the family when he grows up and marries Alexa!” Jack piped in, before Alexa and Cyrus scooched away from each other, flustered.“Jack, shush!” Jennifer hissed at her son.“What? It’s true!” Jack claimed, before Jerry covered Jack’s mouth.“The last time someone got sent to the Principal’s office this early before school was when two of the Seniors, Gordy and Jesse, got in trouble for spiking the fruit punch during last year’s Winter Formal. And then Career Guidance Counselor Chuck almost got fired because he supplied the alcohol contents” Jerry added.“Lots of vomit. Glad I skipped it.” Lucas nodded. Last year, the high schoolers (Lucas, Cyrus, Evan, Jerry plus Bronwyn) skipped out Winter Formal was because of Alexa’s worsening condition.“I cannot believe we have to show up here in the early morning!” Lori shook her head.“What on earth were you all thinking?!” Gail just proceeds to scolding the mess-makers.“Calm down, Gail.” Jennifer tries to restrain Gail from any form of mental breakdowns. The last time she (Gail) had a mental breakdown was when her husband (Cyrus’s father) had divorced her and left for another (younger) woman. It was the most difficult time of the Nollen’s life, but they managed to get through it over the years.“I just hope Trugly doesn’t remember me. Obviously, I had broken her heart when I had to let her down easily.” David was pacing back and forth outside of the Principal’s office. Principal Castillo and Vice-Principal Trugly were having a discussion about the events that occurred last night.“This is about Alexa, David.” Lori reminded her husband.“Oh right!” David nodded.Strangely, everyone found it more concerning that David Mendoza was more worried about meeting someone who had a crush on him and he rejected back in high school over being worried about his own daughter being potentially suspended.“Now I can see where Lucas gets his ego from.” Evangelyn made a comment, smirking a bit.“Rude, much?” Lucas puts down his phone where he was taking selfies with. “I’m not that delusional, am I?”“Not until you’re 50.” Cyrus replied, as Alexa gave him a hi-5.“I’d suggest you check if you have saggy skin.” Jerry added before Lucas frantically used his phone’s camera setting to check his reflection.“I think you’d still be good looking at 50.” Katie piped in, trying to compliment Lucas.“Why bother? Lucas is probably gonna outlive every one of us.” Evangelyn commented.“Do you know how much trouble you’re in right now?” Lori whisper-yelled, reminding Katie, Alexa and Cyrus about the damage they’ve done last night.“I just don’t understand what made you do something like that, Alexa.” Lori turned to her daughter.“And with Jack too! This is not like you, Katie.” Jennifer added, motioning to her younger son Jack sitting beside the other Quad teens.“I know…” Katie sighed apologetically.“But it was so fun last night!” Jack whined a bit, before Jerry covered the young boy’s mouth before the boy could say anything more that would get the Midnight Pranksters in trouble.“Uh maybe the boys and I can play Pull-Tag outside?” Evangelyn stood up, sensing the sudden uneasy and tense atmosphere.“What’s Pull-TAAAAAG?!” Lucas asked before Evangelyn yanked the boys (minus Cyrus) by their shirts outside to wait. Jerry did not need to be yanked; he already knew the cue to leave with his older sister.“She’s getting better at pull-tag.” Cyrus tried to make a joke, before his mother’s glare made him keep quiet.“Lori, Jennifer, I am so sorry Cyrus dragged your kids into this mess.” Gail apologized.“No, it’s clearly Alexa’s idea.” Lori shook her head.“I don’t feel that way at all, Katie is her own person and is in charge of her own behavior.” Jennifer voiced out, before Gail and Lori could proceed with ‘Whose Kid is Blamed’ debate.When it comes to mischief making, Alexa and Cyrus are at par with their prank skills. Alexa is more of a physical or subtle prank kind of person; while Cyrus is more of a virtual or digital prankster who occasionally gets physical with pranks.“Look we can deal with our teenage children ourselves when we get home. But right now, we need to present ourselves a united front to both Principal Castillo and Vice-Principal Trugly. We don’t want them to start school with a bad reputation.” Lori concluded as the other two mothers nodded in agreement.“Absolutely.” Jennifer agreed.“You have a point.” Gail nodded.“I know Trugly can be intimidating,” Lori gave the other two a heads up.“I’m not afraid of her.” Jennifer shrugged.“And I graduated around the same time the rest of you started high school. So, I didn’t really get to stay around much,” Gail added, being the older one among the mothers.“Mr. and Mrs. Mendoza, Mrs. Cooper, and Miss Nollen (she kept her maiden name), you may enter now.” Vice-Principal Trugly walked out, before announcing.“It was all her daughter and her son!” Jennifer pointed at Gail and Lori.“Jennifer!” Lori hissed.“Sorry, I panicked.” Jennifer whispered back.“Ladies, gentleman. Please come inside so we can discuss.” Principal Castillo walked out, holding a coffee mug.“David.” Vice-Principal Trugly called David out.“Oh hey, Trugly!” David tried to sound friendly.“One of the perpetrators is yours?” Vice-Principal Trugly asked in disbelief.“Uh in my defense, I am not around that much.” David explained. “I am a pilot, so it’s Captain Dave.”“Neither is my dad.” Katie added under her breath. Her father works in Africa and travels a lot.“I don’t have a dad. He’s dead to me.” Cyrus announced in a bitter tone. He does not acknowledge his biological father’s existence because of what the man did to his son and his wife.Alexa gave Cyrus a sympathetic look before gently rubbing his shoulders in an assuring way. Katie just watched the two interacting in silence, before smiling a bit.“Just get inside,” Principal Castillo called out from inside the office, as the three teens get inside.The three of them sat inside the Principal’s office while their parents have a discussion with the Vice-Principal and the Principal about what to do about the prank.
Meantime…
“I kinda missed school.” Jerry stated, as they walked around.“For what? Watching kids get food poisoning?” Jack questioned.“I can’t wait for basketball tournaments.” Lucas pointed out with a smile.“I just can’t wait to be writing for the school paper again.” Evangelyn smiled. “And seeing my friends.”“And Nate.” Lucas coughed out, before Evangelyn automatically punched his shoulder.“Psh, whaaaaat? No way! I am just excited to be coming back to school and meet up with all my friends, and talking to Val and Cass about Harry Potter again.” Evangelyn corrected.“Yeah, along with listening to you and your girl-friends singing and quoting from musicals.” Jerry rolled his eyes.“By the way, we gotta split. Mom and dad are picking us up in 10 minutes to go back-to-school shopping at Costco.” Evangelyn checked her phone.“Do you think you two will be ok on your own?” Evangelyn asked, before thinking for 10 seconds of how hyperactive Jack can be and how forgetful and vain Lucas is sometimes. “You know what? I can ask mom and dad if I could let you two tag along. I can just text your parents if it is ok.”“Are you sure? Remember last time when Jack ate through the entire sandwich filling samples last month?” Jerry asked.“It is either they follow us; or they stay at school and get in trouble.” Evangelyn reminded.“Makes sense.” Jerry nodded after thinking.“Actually, I told Fletcher I was going to his place so we can practice magic tricks later today.” Jack pointed out.“Great, we can drop you off when we’re heading back.” Jerry shrugged.“I am so looking forward to when Wyatt, Fletcher and I go to high school!” Jack exclaimed.“I’d reckon Jack would end up with our cousin Alyssa and Fletcher with cousin Delphine.” Jerry commented. He was aware Jack seems to be interested in their cousin Alyssa and Fletcher is ‘good friends’ with their other cousin Delphine and seems to enjoy her company. Delphine is very smart for her age and can be sassy sometimes; while Alyssa can be loud, emotional and hyperactive. And yet, those two are best friends.[A/N: Geez Louise, Fletcher, Jack, Delphine and Alyssa are turning into this crossover AU’s version of Fearsome Foursome (Spin, Bob, Jenny, Jamie) Spin is Jack; Bob is Fletcher; Jamie is Alyssa; and Jenny is Delphine]“What about Wyatt?” Jack asked, blushing at the mention of Alyssa. Jack and Alyssa go to the  same karate classes and got along well.“Who knows! Maybe cousin Ashleigh even though she’s like 2 years older than you, because cousin Haley is too young and too sassy for any of you.” Evangelyn shrugged, before receiving a text message “Ok, Uncle Dave said it was ok for you guys to tag along. Apparently, Aunt Lori and Aunt Gail are starting a heated argument with Vice-Principal Trugly.”“10 bucks say Aunt Lori is gonna win the argument!” Jerry raises his hand.“Go mom!” Lucas grinned.“C’mon up, kids.” The Chan twin’s mother, Sunny, called out from the car.“Morning, Uncle Francis and Aunt Sunny!” Jack smiled.“Have you kids eaten yet?” Sunny asked.“Yup.” Jack grinned.“This used to be more spacious when we were kids.” Lucas commented.“At least this is the bigger car.” Jerry replied.“Well, what do you expect? We’re not little kids anymore. I mean we’re still kids, just bigger.” Evan stated, before checking with her mom over the grocery list.“Let’s see. We need to buy eggs, rice, some milk,” Evan was scanning through the list.“Ooh, dibs on the milk!” Lucas raised a hand.“Get your own carton of milk!” Evan barked.“We’re short of mayo at home too.” Jerry added.“Ok, I’ll add that to the list.” Sunny nodded, before writing something down on the list.“I heard that there’s gonna be a sale on the Oreo cookies, could we get some?” Jerry asked.“OREOS!” Jack cheered.“Dude, my eardrums!” Lucas winced a bit, covering an ear. Jerry and Evan just laughed.
Bling!
Evan checked her phone, before smiling.“Who texted you?” Jack asked.“Oh, Kath just shared with me and some of the girls a few cute memes about dogs and cats.” Evan explained.“By the way, mom, dad, is it ok if I go for a haircut tomorrow?” Evan remembered.“Yeah, I wanna go too.” Jerry nodded, “you read my mind, sis.”“Sure thing, do you want us to send you over?” Sunny asked.“No need, I am going to tag with a new friend of mine. His name is Christian Newville and his family just moved from Portland to old Mrs. Sanchez’s house.”“A boy, huh?” Frances asked, sounding amused.“It’s not what you think!” Evan defended herself.“Christian? Isn’t he that guy you were talking to yesterday?” Lucas piped in, before Evan punched his arm.“Why did you do that?” Lucas winced in pain.“You got a fly on your arm.” Evan smirked, as Jerry snickered.“He’s new in town, and I just wanted him to feel welcomed.” Evan explained.“By letting him pay all your bills? That’s how I got your father.” Their mom joked.“Mom! I am not letting a new guy pay for me.” Evan rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.“I won’t mind if he pays for me. The best way of spending money is that NOT spending your own.” Jerry joked.“It’s ok, sweetie. Anyone can be a friend. As long as he is a decent person, he’s okay with me. But no dating.” Sunny nodded, before warning.“Until college.” Evan and Jerry ended their mom’s sentence.“No worries, mom. I am not interested in dating anytime soon.” Jerry shrugged.“I can’t say the same about sis though.” Jerry added with a quiet chuckle, before his sister elbowed him.“Shush it.” Evan hissed at her brother.
Skip scene

[Evangelyn’s P.O.V.]
“Lucas, you better follow up, no time for selfies.” Jerry hissed at Lucas who was taking pictures of himself.“That’s Luc for you. He’s a pretty boy.” I laughed a bit. Lucas has always been a guy who prides on how he looks, but he has a heart of gold. Somewhere deep down under his vainness. He might be a bit full of himself sometimes but he is truly one of the most loyal friends you can ever meet. That was what drew me to him back when we were younger.“Aww, have you fallen for me, again?” Lucas responded by ruffling my hair with a grin. That’s our weird way of showing affection.He didn’t know I had a crush on him back in middle school, although when I admitted that I used to like Lucas back in one of the Truth or Dares session last year, he has not stop teasing me about how I used to have a crush on him since then.“You wish!” I rolled my eyes with a laugh.“Mom and dad are picking out the eggs so we just need to pick up some cereal and oatmeal for our grandparents.” Jerry reminded me. Sometimes it feels like I’m the older sibling; while at times it seems like he is the older one when we take charge at different situations.“Good thing your parents are looking after Jack.” Lucas added, pushing his phone into his pocket.Yeah, my parents have dealt with group babysitting the Quad crew before. Apparently, my dad and mom used to babysit some of the neighbors’ kids back when they first started dating.“Wait, I think I see Cameron from my English class, I just need to go talk to him.” Jerry spotted a friend from school before going off to talk to him.Ah, Cameron Garcia. I’ve met him before, he shares some classes with my brother; I’ve talked to him a few times before. But he’s more of Jerry and Lucas’s friend than mine. Nice guy.“What? I’m going too! Cameron is my friend as well.” Lucas joined Jerry.“And they just left me on my own. Smart.” I muttered in sarcasm. Oh well, I am better at finding the oatmeal and the cereal on my own than relying on Lucas and Jerry.Where is it…Ah, here it is. After walking for a while, I found the brand of oatmeal and cereal our family likes.Better get back to mom and dad. Jerry and Lucas can handle themselves fine on their own.Wait a second…Is that Nate?!I saw somewhere around the corner that Nate was walking around, shopping for groceries. My heart was hammering inside of me.Is this normal for a teenage girl when you see your crush? Anyways, I cannot let him see me here. I look like a slob compared to him.I hid behind a shelf of canned food, before sneaking glances at him. He was wearing a white shirt with blue jeans, and he was wearing glasses too. He looked kinda handsome with those glasses on.How can a person be so cute and gorgeous at the same time?I saw someone bumping into him and dropped their belongings. Nate helped the guy up and helped him with the belongings.Wow, not only is Nate beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well.
Ugh, no. You gotta snap out of it. No matter how handsome Nate is or how much you like him, he will never be yours.
“Dear Diary, I met a cute and sweet boy at Costco today.” I heard someone leaning behind me and spoke out.“Argh!” I yelped as I turned around.Christian?! Why is HE here?!“Wotcher Ev.” Chris flashed me a smile.“Gah, Chris you startled me!” I sighed.“Great. I dropped the packet of oatmeal.” I mumbled to myself, kneeling down to collect the oatmeal packet. Well, at least it’s not broken.“Do you need some help with that?” Christian started kneeing down to pick up some of the groceries I dropped.“Oh no, I can handle it. I’m perfectly capable of handling this.” I reassured him with a smile. “But thank you, anyway.”“What are you doing here?” Christian asked me, handing me one of the oatmeal packets.“Shopping for groceries with my family and neighbors.” I gave him a half-shrug.“That goes the same with me.” Christian flashed me a smile, which made my heart skip a beat. He’s got a really gorgeous smile. Ugh, focus!  This is not the time to be focusing on crushes right now.“You got dragged along a grocery trip with your parents, your brother and your two neighbors?” I raised an eyebrow at him.“No, I’m here with my mom and my stepdad and my younger siblings.” Christian responded.“How many siblings do you have?” I asked.“3. One sister and two brothers.” He replied, not going too much details about his family life.“That’s a lot of siblings. They must be as cute as you are.” I commented with a tiny smile. He must have a lot of responsibilities if he’s a big brother of several younger siblings. I froze when I realized I just called Christian ‘cute’. “Uh I mean…where’s the peanut butter?”I turned my gaze to look for a jar of peanut butter jam, our home is running low on peanut butter which my grandma loves to eat with bread. Ugh, why can’t I reach it. Curse you, my short arms.“This conversation seems to be getting a bit personal, huh?” Chris commented with a teasing tone, handing me a jar of peanut butter jam I couldn’t reach. He handed me the jar.“Sorry about that.” I apologized, I didn’t mean to be rude or invade his privacy when we barely know each other. “And thank you.”“Who was that guy you were looking at?” He questioned.“That’s…one of the guys from school. He’s our upperclassman.” I replied. Not exactly a lie, since it is half-truth. I just didn’t want the new boy in town to know about my crush on Nate just yet.“He’s pretty short.” Christian commented. Ok, fine, Nate is only two or three inches taller than me, but I think he is still charming in his own way.“He is average-height.” I corrected him defensively, which caused him to raise his eyebrows suspiciously.Crud, I cannot let him know the person he called short happens to be my crush. “Hey Linnie, we need help! Jack is ransacking the samples section again!” My brother ran over to me.“Well, that’s my cue to leave. Anyways, I’ll probably fill you in about our school later.” I waved at him.“Hey Linnie, why is that guy following us?” Halfway walking to meet our parents, Jerry pointed out to me, before I turned around and saw Christian a few feet behind us.“Why are you following us?” Jerry asked, before frowning. “Eww, don’t tell me you are one of those guys who stalk the first girl they meet? There is hardly anything that is appealing about my sister. Not to mention downright toxic.”I shrug back at my brother: I already have low self-esteem but you don’t have to remind me constantly about it.“No, I’m just…lost.” Christian pointed out with a sheepish smile.“Sure, you can tag along.” I nodded.“Do you have any idea where your family could be?” I asked him, as he checked on his phone.“My mom says she’s at…Counter 15.” He replied after a few seconds.“Oh we can show you the way over.” Jerry responded, before giving Christian some directions.“It’s on the way to where we’re going.” I added.Eventually, we caught up with Jack who was trying out the samples for a new promoting biscuit brand with my parents. By that point, my brother and I have pointed directions to where Counter 15 is so Christian was already long gone.
Later that day…

Normal POV
“So, how did it go with the Parent Teacher Conference?” Jerry asked once the Mendoza-Cooper-Nollen family call came back from the Parent Teacher Conference.“Terrible. Cyrus, Katie and I got suspended for 3 days!” Alexa exclaimed.“You got any video for that?” Jerry raised a hand and asked. He received dirty looks from Alexa before muttering out, “Sorry.”“I cannot believe you guys got suspended for 3 days!! That’s like half a week of the first week of school!” Lucas exclaimed, before adding, “Man, I missed out!”“Not to mention unfair.” Evangelyn nodded, glaring at Lucas a bit.“Actually, they were only suspended for 1 day, but then Lori kept arguing with Vice Principal Trugly that caused both Principal Costello and Vice-Principal Trugly to extend the suspension period. And Lori is suspended from school for a whole month.” David spoke out.“Yeah I was suspended for 3 days out of the other two, but then Lex kept protesting about how unfair it was.” Cyrus raised a hand. He decided to take the blame as the mastermind of the prank, despite the fact he knew well enough it was one of Alexa’s schemes.“I slipped.” Lori corrected.“Twice?” Jennifer asked, raising her eyebrows.“This can’t be happening.” Katie’s voice cracked a little with sadness as she turned to Alexa, “we’re never going to have a First Day at High School.”“If it helps, Trugly is crazy.” Cyrus piped in.“Is THIS going to be what we will be dealing with for the next 4 years?” Alexa exclaimed.“Ooh, I have an idea. Why don’t Katie and I go to Carver High instead?” Alexa suggested after a moment of silence.“Carver High is halfway across town.” Evangelyn remembered.“We don’t know anyone there.” Katie pointed out.“And they are our rivals!” David reminded them. It was off topic but Carver High Coyotes and Bergerac High Bears have a long-lasting rivalry.“Is it too late for you guys to be homeschooled?” Jerry asked out loud.“I agree with Jerry! Mom you can homeschool Katie and me!” Alexa seconded Jerry’s statement. “And Cyrus is smart enough, he can teach us too.”“Oh, I’m sure he would teach you more than just school stuff.” Lucas smirked, before Evangelyn and Jerry jabbed him with their elbows.“You shush!” Evangelyn hissed over.“You mean, not even going to high school? That’s crazy.” Katie frowned, she was looking forward to going to high school and experience teenage life with her friends.“We can learn in our PJs?” Alexa tried to suggest.“What’s the point when we all know Cyrus is gonna fall asleep in the middle of class?” Lucas pointed out.“Dude, you are not supposed to rat me out. And I only fell asleep in class ONE time!” Cyrus whisper-yelled over to Lucas.“It was 8th grade Health Class about the human body, I think it is a reasonable time to fall asleep in class.” Jerry nodded.“Alexa, we have been waiting to start high school since 4th grade.” Katie pointed out.“And I have a job” Lori raised both her hands into the air.“Dad, wanna homeschool us?” Alexa turned to her father.“Oh, I love you, but I really don’t.” David shook his head in response.“Neither do I!” Jennifer pointed out.“Alexa, Cyrus, what is really going on?” Lori asked, while she poured herself a glass of red wine.“Are you two finally dating?” Lucas asked, before turning to Jerry, “you owe me 10 bucks.”“Kids, did you know the house you vandalized was Trugly’s house?” Gail found a note in one of Cyrus’s dark jackets.“How would I know where the Vice Principal lives?” Alexa asked with a shrugGail showed everyone the note she found, which displayed the name of the Vice Principal as well as her address.“Did you two lied about Gwennie?” Katie turned to her two friends. She understood if it was Alexa’s plan as Cyrus easily goes along with her pranking schemes all the time when they were younger.“You lied to get us in trouble. And you strung Cyrus along too?” Katie motioned to Cyrus. The two started to look guilty.“No, it was my idea!” Cyrus stepped forward. “I was upset at Vice Principal Trugly for suspending me last semester and confiscating my laptop.”“Cyrus, stop. You don’t have to keep lying for me.” Alexa turned to her friend.“Guys, do you think we should leave?” Jerry mouths over to his sister and Lucas.“Yes, this is gonna get ugly.” Evan nodded.“Don’t you mean Trugly?” Lucas made a joke, before the twins frowned at him.“Let’s just go upstairs and play Monopoly.” Jerry spoke out as they sneaked upstairs to avoid listening to an argument.“Playing Monopoly” is their excuse of getting out of awkward or ugly situations, and right now with Katie mad at Alexa and Cyrus, it is the PERFECT time for playing Monopoly.“Hey Jack, isn’t almost time for your friends Wyatt and Fletcher to come over your place for magic practice?” Jerry remembered.“Oh right, thanks. See ya!” Jack waved before he made a dash out of the house to avoid any awkwardness.“You two lied to me! Why would you do that to me?” Katie asked, feeling hurt and betrayed. She crumpled up the piece of paper before she dashed out of the house.“Meanwhile, you and I need to talk, Cyrus.” Gail crossed her arms in front of her son, signaling that they should be at their own home to discuss about his misbehavior.“I’ll text you later, ok?” Cyrus turned to Alexa before she gave back a weak smile.Alexa started running up to her room as soon as Katie left.“By the way, mom, we are out of toilet paper!” Jack shouted out from the Cooper housed before Jennifer frowned in response, before waving a hand dismissively.
Later that evening
“Hey, you wanna talk? I heard about you getting into trouble without me.” Bronwyn knocked on the door to check on her cousin.Evangelyn and Jerry had enlisted in Lucas’s and Bronwyn’s help so that they could talk it out with Katie and Cyrus. Lucas was not easy to talk into helping, but at least he is kinda into the gig.“I brought you some Thai food.” Lucas Mendoza added, holding up some takeout food.“Did you bring enough coconut rice?” Cyrus let them in as soon as someone mentioned Thai food, that was his favorite cuisine.“Yup.” Jerry nodded.“How are you feeling?” Bronwyn asked, a few minutes later when Cyrus started eating.“Go easy on the food, pal. Remember: chew before you swallow.” Jerry passed Cyrus a glass of water.“Thanks Jer.” Cyrus mumbled out as he took a sip of water.“Why’d you do it? Why would you risk it all just to get yourself caught in that much trouble?” Bronwyn asked Cyrus the question that was pretty much stuck in the other’s minds.“Because it pains me to see Alexa like this. She is going through a lot. And it was fun to prank Vice-Principal Trugly.” Cyrus responded.“It was a good prank.” Lucas quipped in, before he earned nods and agreements from the other teens.“We’ve all known each other forever, what made you think that it was worth all the trouble for Alexa?” Jerry asked out.“Because I care about her, I know what I did was an extreme and it was certainly unfair to drag Katie into the mess. But I just wanted to support Alexa and let her have her final moments of freedom before she faces the real world.” Cyrus explained.All his friends kept quiet after Cyrus answered, before Lucas broke the silence.“Aww, Cyrus loves Alexa, Cyrus loves Alexa~” Lucas teased in a sing-sang tone.“You shush.” Bronwyn and Jerry smacked their friend in the arm.“Why did you drag him along again?” Bronwyn turned to Jerry.“Because apparently he is part of this gang, even if he can be no help sometimes.” Jerry rolled his eyes. “Honestly I am surprised Lucas is ok with Cy liking Lex.”“Hey, I’m a nice big brother. And I always thought Alexa and Cyrus should end up together.” Lucas spoke out.“Not to mention: Katie and Linnie have been planning the wedding since grade school.” Bronwyn added with a teasing smirk.“You still need to apologize to Katie for dragging her into the mess.” Bronwyn stated.“But knowing Katie, she would jump out of the frying pan and into the fire for Alexa. Even if it burns or hurts her, Katie does all the extremes for her bestie.” Jerry spoke out.Katie has always been the kind, caring and loyal friend anyone can rely on, which is one of the best traits.
Switch scenes to the Cooper household…
“Hey, Aunt Jenn, is it ok if I can talk to Katie?” Evangelyn knocked on the door when Jennifer answered it. “Sure, I am actually going to talk to her as well. Would you like to join?” Jennifer nodded.“Are you sure it wouldn’t be awkward?” Evangelyn asked. I mean, this seemed more like a personal mother-daughter talking moments and Evan would not want to intrude on the Cooper family’s personal space.“Nonsense, you’re like family to us.” Jennifer shrugged it off, she has grown used to her neighbors being like a family to her and her family. Evangelyn often behaves like a big sister towards Katie, Alexa and Jack, so Jennifer could trust Evan enough to offer assistance.“Well, if you insist.” Evan nodded, pushing her hands into her hoodie pockets.“Hope she’s in a better mood.” Jennifer spoke out, before taking out a two-chocolate chip cookie from the cookie mantel in the kitchen and walked upstairs towards Katie’s room.
Katie’s room
Katie was sulking in her own room, before she heard a knock on the door.“Go away, Alexa!” Katie called out.The door opens, revealing her mother Jennifer and Evangelyn.“I brought you a cookie.” Jennifer offered the cookie with a tiny smile, hoping to cheer up her daughter.“I’m not Lexi, but eh close enough.” Evangelyn shrugged.“Oh, it’s just you.”  Katie sulked in response.“Were you hoping it was the person you just told to go away?” Evangelyn asked.“Lori told me to return your skiing hat.” Jennifer motioned to the skiing hat she was holding in one hand.“Lori told me that Alexa is pretty upset after the fight.” Jennifer spoke out.“Good, she should be!” Katie responded, pretending to be nonchalant and unbothered.“I think you should go and talk to her, Kates.” Evangelyn suggested.“No way! She should be the one to apologize to me!” Katie objected, getting up from her bed.“Woah, 3!” Jennifer exclaimed when she realized that she was eating a cookie with 3 chocolate chips instead of the standard 1 or 2 chocolate chip cookies.“She lied to me!” Katie stated.“I know, and I’m sorry you had to be suspended as well.” Jennifer walked over to hand Katie the skiing hat. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”“Kates? I know you are upset and hurt that Lex lied to you, and strung you along with Cyrus for the prank. But you should think about how she’s feeling right now.”  Evangelyn went over to sit by Katie’s bed. “She certainly feels guilty for talking you into going through the trouble with her, but from what I can tell, Alexa is going through a lot more than any of us are ever going through.”“Maybe to her, going on this prank for Vice-Principal Trugly was her last remaining bits of freedom she has before facing the reality of life. I have no idea why she would do something that extreme but one thing is for sure,” Evangelyn took the skiing cap in her hands, before taking out a small wad of Alexa’s fallen hair, “She is going through so much in her life but you and Cy are like her lifeboat, and you are just as brave and strong as she is.”“Just…promise me that you’ll think about what I said and you three should talk things out. Okay?” Evangelyn ended her speech, before giving Katie a side hug. Katie gave a silent nod.“And uh mind if I use the treehouse exit? I gotta jet.” Evangelyn asked as Katie nodded. With that, Evangelyn climbed out of the window and headed back to her home.“Oh Alexa…” Katie began to tear up once Evangelyn’s words had sunk into her. Even if her best friend was going through so much with the chemotherapy, she shouldn’t have to go through that much extremes on her own…
Outside, the rest of the teens were waiting by the tree.
“How’d it go with Cyrus?” Evangelyn went over to her friends, as she slowly climbed down the treehouse.“Geez, you scared me! You’re like a bear without the fur.” Jerry exclaimed.“It went alright.” Bronwyn gave a half-shrug. “I think we’ve done what we could to help Lex, Cy and Kate to mend their argument.”Bronwyn checked her watch for the time before looking up, “Ugh, it’s getting late, gotta head back now. I got a morning shift at Wired tomorrow.”“Be careful.” Evangelyn waved over at Bronwyn.“Hey, just so you know I think it’s cool that you are doing this for my sister and Katie.”  Lucas turned to the twins after Bronwyn had left.“Nah, you helped out as well. Although if anyone is braver than all of us combined, it should be Kates.” Evangelyn stated with a smile. Hopefully talking Katie up would be helpful at getting Lucas to notice Katie.“Besides, we all know how ugly it gets when our friends are having a fight and it just gets awkward.” Jerry added as the other two nodded.“Anyways, it is getting late, see you tomorrow, Luc.” Evangelyn grabbed her brother by the arm and started walking towards their home.  “C’mon, we’re gonna watch the next few episodes of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’!”“See you guys tomorrow.” Lucas gave his friends a wave.“Goodnight, dude.” Jerry saluted over, before giving Lucas a warning glare and mouthed over, “My sister. Off-Limits.”
A few minutes later in the Mendoza residence…

Alexa’s room
Alexa was lying down on her bed, staring at the ceiling when Katie suddenly went into her room through the treehouse.“Why didn’t you tell me?”  Katie asked, as she motioned to the skiing. “The skiing hat.”“I gave it back to you, let it go.” Alexa responded.“No, I’m talking about your hair. Does Cyrus know about this?” Katie reached into the inner part of the hat and pulled out a small wad of fallen hair.“He might have, I suggested to TP Trugly’s house to him in the first place.” Alexa looked way guilty.“So you’d rather tell your boyfriend you were balding and not your best friend?” Katie asked in a joking and pretended to be upset tone.“So why are you so mad? Cyrus and I were the ones who roped you into trouble in the first place. And I’m the one who is losing my hair.” Alexa got up from her bed. Cyrus was a willing compliance to the whole midnight prank deal, but Katie was an innocent victim who got talked into it.“Because I’m your best friend, Alexa. And so are Bronwyn, Linnie and Jerry! You should have told us what was going on.” Katie exclaimed. “And honestly, I wouldn’t care if you have hair or not. Cyrus definitely wouldn’t mind and still think you look pretty.”“Alright. I don’t want my stupid hair to fall out. And all of a sudden, all this is happening. Just as school is about to start.” Alexa replied.“…And that’s why you wanted to get us suspended.” Katie realized.“Actually, I was hoping for a month’s worth suspension, but Trugly and Costello have gone soft.” Alexa shrugged.“I don’t want to go to school with this.” Alexa admitted, “And I don’t want to not go to school without you or Cyrus.”“That was sweet. And awful.” Katie smiled back, before mumbling, “mostly awful.”“I’m really sorry, Katie.” Alexa apologized as she sat up, “as much as I hate losing my hair, I just hate being seen by everyone as the girl with cancer!”“I’m sorry I dragged you along too, Kate.” A voice called out. The girls turned over and find Cyrus outside the window.“HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!” Katie exclaimed, pointing at Cyrus. “How long have you been outside there?!”“Cyrus, did you put up wires in my bedroom?” Alexa asked in a joking manner.“Don’t be joking, I’m always at the Mendoza’s home. I wanted to come over and apologize, I’m just too lazy to use the door” Cyrus responded in a joking manner. “But I see you girls have started without me.”“This isn’t just about my hair, I want to have a normal high school life: I want to go to basketball games, and not keep secrets from our friends, and take Gwennie down.” Alexa spoke out. “And now, when school starts: people won’t see me as Alexa, they will just think of me as the girl with cancer.”“Look, I know you are worried of how other people would think of you when they see you at school, but guess what? You’re not the sick girl, you are actually so much more than that.” Cyrus climbed into the bedroom, and walked towards Alexa. “Alexandrite Mendoza, you are the bravest, coolest, most athletic, the most badass and beautiful girl I have ever met. And those are just some of the remarkable qualities I find in you.”Alexa stared at Cyrus in silence as she smiled in response.“Is this a private moment or should I just leave?” Katie asked awkwardly, noticing sparks flying in the air when Cyrus was confessing to Alexa.“Oh, and uh I think Katie and Evan are pretty too.” Cyrus added, afraid of offending Katie.“Hey, don’t worry, you will figure out. You’ll do something crazy,” Katie tried to cheer Alexa up. Lifting Alexa’s spirits was often something that Katie and Cyrus would do, sometimes it becomes a competition at who understands Alexa better.“Yeah, hopefully you’ll ask me to tag along your misadventures next time.” Cyrus quipped in as Katie playfully nudged him in the arm.“I know you guys mean well, but sometimes it really, really sucks. When I saw my hair falling out, I panicked. And instead of telling you or my family and our friends, I took it out on you and Cyrus by pranking our vice-principal.” Alexa explained.“I have an idea,” Katie took a deep breath as she walked out to the bathroom, she returned moments later with a razor.“What are you doing?” Cyrus yelped.“You think I should just shave my head off?” Alexa asked.“What if you’re not the only girl who is bald.” Katie stated, as she switched on the electric razor.“Katie, I know you are the best friend in the whole wide world, but you should put that away.”  Alexa tried to calm Katie down.“You should put that razor down gently.” Cyrus nodded, trying to talk some senses to the blonde girl. But it was all too late when Katie took the razor to her hair and shaved off a part of her hair.“Oh my god, Katie!” Alexa yelped.“I can’t believe you just did that.” Cyrus’s eyes widened in shock. He wasn’t surprised that Katie would do something as brave and extreme as shaving her hair bald to make sure Alexa will not be the only girl who is made fun of by her classmates for being bald.“Hey, as long and you are my best friend, Alexa, you are not gonna go through anything alone.” Katie gave Alexa a reassuring smile.“Seriously?”  Alexa asked with a smile.“Yeah, I kinda get it now. How does my hair look?” Katie bowed down.“Really really bad.”  Alexa gave a weak smile.“Nah, you look fine to me.” Cyrus shook his head.Alexa took the razor from Katie’s hand and shaved off a part of her head.“How do I look?” Alexa asked weakly.“Ridiculous.” Katie shook her head smiling.“Beautiful.” Cyrus nodded firmly, even if Alexa has shaved her head off, she will still be the same old beautiful Alexa to him.“You’re the only one who thinks that.” Katie laughed a bit. Cyrus blushed bright red before throwing a pillow at Katie’s face.“So, how ‘bout it, Cy? Wanna join us and be bald?” Alexa teased.“No thanks, I’m good. I just want to be here for you girls through and through. Emotionally, physically and metaphysically.” Cyrus shook his head and rejected politely.“If you promise not to keep things from me, I will promise to personally help you take Gwennie down.” Katie told Alexa.“Deal.” Alexa smiled.“So what tattoos are we getting?” Alexa joked.“What?!” Katie frowned in response.“Not today, just playing ahead.” Alexa smirked back. the two best friends then started to give each other a reconciling hug.“It’s nice to see you girls getting along again.” Cyrus smiled over.“Come on, get in here, Cy-borg!” Alexa dragged Cyrus into a group hug.“Ok, we’re seeing our hairs now. 3, 2, 1.” Katie and Alexa counted before they turned and face the mirror.And just like that, their screams were loud enough to wake up the rest of the Mendoza, the Cooper and the Nollen families.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The screams of Alexa Mendoza and Katie Cooper were loud enough to wake up the entire Mendoza residence.Alexa and Katie were standing in the bathroom, their heads clean and shaven bald. Beside them was an equally distraught looking Cyrus Nollen with his hands pressed onto his face that he honestly looked like 'The Scream' but with tanner skin and a larger nose."Ok Lex, I knew that your hair was gonna start falling off after the chemotherapy, but I wasn't expecting you to lose all your hair that soon." Cyrus spoke out."Yeah I was expecting it to feel like going to a surprise party, only with less party and more 'bald'." Alexa made a joke back, trying to ease the situation."So what now?" Katie asked out loud in an anxious tone."You're asking me?" Alexa responded with a forced smile, "A few minutes ago, I had hair. I mean it was falling out in chunks but I wasn't expecting to be bald tonight.""Does your head feel weird, girls?" Cyrus asked out."Super weird." Katie and Alexa responded, touching their bald heads."Oh no, we all start school on Thursday, which would be fine if we were on Mars." Katie started to ramble."What happened? We heard screaming." At that moment, both of Alexa's parents walked in, before the two teen girls turned to face the couple."Holy Mother of Dragons!" Lori exclaimed in shock."Wow." David muttered out loud, still in shock and processing the revelation."Honey, I didn't know your hair started coming out," Lori went to hug her daughter tightly."Ok, mom. I might need to breathe." Alexa croaked out weakly before her mother lets go of the hug."My beautiful girl," Lori cupped her daughter's face, before adding, "Thank god you didn't get your father's head. I would've helped you.""I didn't know I was doing it until I was doing it." Alexa responded. "Katie kinda helped me start it.""I think she's still in shock, Lex." Cyrus pointed out, waving a hand in front of Katie who was looking at the mirror."Katie." Lori went to hug Katie as well, "Dave, can you believe Katie did this for Alexa?""Yeah, uh I like how you…" David motioned to his head before muttering out, "wow.""Cyrus, shouldn't you be at home with your mom?" Lori asked out."Yeah, I kinda came over to apologize to Katie and Alexa, when I got roped into the shaving." Cyrus explained for himself. It would be concerning for any parent to find their daughter, her friend and their teenage neighbor in the same bathroom in the middle of the night."And you didn't shave your head too?" Lori questioned."I'm just here to provide moral support." Cyrus raised a hand."This is the sweetest thing I have ever seen," Lori smiled, but noticed Katie is still in shock of what she just did."I think she zoned out again." Cyrus pointed out, before snapping his fingers to get Katie's attention. The poor girl must be distraught that she has lost her hair as an effort to support and be there for her best friend. "Katie?""Uh yeah I'm gonna go home." Katie declared as she started to walk towards the door, she turned around to glance at the shaven hair on the counter and added, "and I guess my hair's gonna stay here.""I uh should follow her too, just in case she shocked her mom too much." Cyrus pointed out."Well, good night Cyrus. Take care ok?" Lori called out as Cyrus gave a polite nod and headed out to check on Katie."Honey, don't let your head get cold, ok? Or your neck, or your cute little ears." Lori turned to look at her daughter."I'm not cold." Alexa assured her mother. Ever since the family found out Alexa had cancer 2 years back, her mother has grown to be constantly worried and kept smothering her daughter."You may not be cold now, but-" Lori insisted."Mom, I'm good." Alexa responded in a firm tone, before shifting her gaze to her father who still looks surprised, "Dad, are you ok?""Wow." David nodded in response."I think I broke dad." Alexa leaned over to her mom and muttered out."Nah, he came that way," Lori shrugged dismissively, "I still cannot believe Katie did this with you. Does Jennifer know?"At that moment, Jennifer screamed in shock from next door."I think so." Alexa spoke out with a half shrug.
The morning after…

It was breakfast time with the Chan Family…
"So what was up with the screaming last night? Was there a break-in?" Jerry Chan asked out loud while the family were in the middle of having breakfast.Apparently, the screams from the Mendoza and Cooper household was enough to wake up their neighbors (mainly the Quad's family members), the last time anyone was this loud at waking people up in the middle of the night was Jerry when he was a baby."Did Doctor Ranjit's home got robbed again?" Their grandfather, Bowen, made a guess.Doctor Ranjit lives near the Mendoza family and he owns a clinic in town. He's one of the wealthier families who lives around the neighborhood and hence there are occasional break-ins when he and his family are out. (Yes, Dr. Ranjit is the father of Ivan Ranjit, AKA Nate's friend)"No, apparently Alexa and Katie both decided to shave their heads last night, and Jennifer did not take the news very well." Grandmother Peggy responded, before helping herself to a cup of tea.Ah, that explains it. Evan was surprised by what had happened. She already had a feeling Alexa was hiding something after her hair is slowly falling out, the only thing is Evan had no idea was her pep talk with Katie would lead to both friends shaved bald."I can't believe that Katie would sacrifice her own hair just to make sure Alexa isn't alone." Said Evan, admiring the dedication Katie has towards Alexa."Yeah, I wouldn't even donate my own blood to Linnie even if our lives depended on it." Jerry nodded. He is close to his sister and they share almost the same DNA, but there are some things that even he couldn't go through lengths for."That's because the two of you have different blood types, kids." Their father corrected."Oh poor Alexa, she's already going through so much for the past few years. I just hope that their family members aren't taking the news too badly." Sunny spoke out."Anyways, we're done with breakfast. What time did your chauffer friend said he was gonna pick us up again?" Jerry asked."About 1 noon." Evan checked her phone text messages as she responded. "Also, he's not my chauffer.""Until we learn how to drive, anyone who offers us a ride is a chauffeur." Jerry joked out loud."Wanna go over to the neighbors' place afterwards, Jer?" Evan switched the subject to prevent her brother from making fun of about how she met her new friend."Sure, right after you do the dishes." Jerry nodded, before leaving a pile of plates in front of his sister, and went back to his room. "Last person to finish eating clears the table!""Oh come on!" Evan groaned, smacking her hand against her forehead. "Jerry, I'm your sister, not your servant.""Eh, semantics." Jerry shrugged before he closed the door.
The Nollen household…

[Cyrus's P.O.V.]
While it was great that Alexa and I had talked things out with Katie and was still somewhat involved in the whole shaving incident, those good moments never seem to last.Long story short but I ended up receiving a long lecture and an earful from my mother consider all the recent misadventures I've had.And as punishment, my mom has now signed me up for the upcoming marathon run their town hosts every year. It didn't help much as my mom's boyfriend Ed kept encouraging me to "go out and exercise" or participate in sport events. It's easy for him to say! Ed owns a bicycle repair shop and goes to the same gym as his mom does. The guy is built like a fitness trainer.Ugh, guess now I have no choice but to take up Lucas's offer for working out. Lucas has always been the more athletic one between us three guys. I am more of an indoors person, Jerry is somewhere in the middle (being a gamer geek, musician and also on the school's swim team), and Lucas is the athlete of the group. And whenever I do take up his offer or advice, he looks like as proud as his mother when she actually convinced him to wear a three-piece suit for our 8th grade yearbook picture day. (It was not a flattering suit, mind you)Plus, I will get to see Alexa later on, and it's always nice to talk to her. Even if she is bald now, but it honestly doesn't make much of a difference to me because she's still the same Alexa I know and love.
Switch scene to the Mendoza family
A few minutes later, both the Chan twins and Cyrus ran into each other by the yard."Are you going to see how Lex and Kates are doing too?" Jerry asked out."Uh yes. And no. It's a long story." Cyrus sighed, as he took out the paper flyer for the upcoming marathon race."Sorry, gotta rush to work kids." David Mendoza suddenly came rushing out of the door, before turning over to return his breakfast plate to his wife and then walked towards his car."Huh, that's something you don't see every day." Jerry mumbled out loud as the three teens watched their neighbor was seemingly in a trance as he frantically made his way to the car."Knock, knock." Evan and Jerry tried to knock the door to be polite."Who's there?" Lucas Mendoza called out."Come on in, you kids." Lori responded as the three teens opened the door."Good morning Aunt Lori." Evan greeted Lori before questioning, "Also, how'd you know it was us?""The Cooper's never really knock and would just walk in, our home is basically a second home for Cyrus, and your family are the only ones who knock when you visit." Lori Mendoza replied."Wow, when I heard you shaved your heads, I did not expect this." Jerry gapped a bit at Alexa's new shaven head."I know; she looks just like Lex Luther. Classic." Lucas Mendoza made a joke as he laughed hysterically."See, now you have a costume idea for Halloween." Jerry nodded as him and Lucas shared a hi-5. Evan stifled a laugh by faking a cough."No, I do not!" Alexa snarled a bit as she threw her headscarf at her older brother."You look great by the way, Alexa." Evan tried to ease Alexa's mood by giving a compliment."What are you holding?" Alexa went forward and snatched the paper flyer from Cyrus's hands. "The annual marathon run's coming up.""Yeah, and my mom is making me join the run as punishment for TP-ing Vice Principal Trugly's home." Cyrus slumped his shoulders."Cyrus, the marathon run is happening next week, which means you need all the training you can get." Lori examined the flyer and responded. Usually the Mendoza family would join the marathon run every year."Oh no, physical exercise, my worst nightmare." Cyrus exclaimed dramatically. The last time he tried to join the marathon race was back when he was in middle school one year, and Steve Guishe pushed him to the ground several times."I thought your worst nightmare was being stuck on an isolated island with no wifi." Jerry pointed out."Oh yeah, that too." Cyrus remembered as he nods at Jerry's comment."On the bright side, at least you get to participate in the marathon run this year." Alexa tried to console Cyrus. She has not joined the marathon race for nearly 2 years ever since she was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 12."This calls for a training montage." Jerry tried to lighten the mood. "Lucky for you, I know the password to Lucas's Spotify account.""Do we even have the time, bro? We got a haircut appointment at 1pm." Evan reminded her brother."Fine, we'll do the training montage when we get back." Jerry shrugged it off as Lucas gave a thumbs up while Cyrus groaned in dismay."Oh cheer up, Cy. This will be a good experience for you to shape up." Evan consoled her friend by patting his shoulder. "Y'know what they say: Health is wealth after all.""This is not one of the times for proverbs." Cyrus responded dryly, not fond of his friends actively encouraging him to participate in something he is uncomfortable with."If it helps, Cy, you can join and run for the marathon on my behalf." Alexa smiled over."Well…if you say it like that, then I guess it wouldn't hurt to go for it." Cyrus thought for a moment before he agreed."Yeah if Lex and Kates have to deal with going to school bald after suspension, it's only fair if you suffer as well." Jerry commented. "Love ain't easy pal, especially when both lovebirds are going through hardships.""That, was uncalled for but well said." Lucas agreed with Jerry, as both guys ran off before Alexa or Cyrus could yell at them."Ugh, brothers." Alexa crossed her arms."Can't stand them, can't live without them." Evan nodded."Hey wanna go over to Katie's place right now?" Alexa tugged Evan by the wrist before whispering over, "My mom is driving me stir-crazy with her sudden obsession of putting cute things over my head.""Can I tag along?" Cyrus asked, hoping to skip out on training."Nope, because you need to train for the marathon run." Lucas peeked his head from the staircase and reminded. "I have been waiting for this day to come for a long time!"It wasn't every day that his friend Cyrus would actually go to him for advice, even if he did offer Cyrus multiple times to change his appearance to look more fashionable."Yeah, Cy, if you're gonna go to join a marathon run, you also have to look as stylish as you're not a decent athlete." Jerry nodded. Oddly though, out of the two siblings Jerry is the more fashionable one (something he inherited from their mom) and has high standards when it comes to his outfit choices."Training montage begins!" Lucas whooped loudly as both teens went and dragged Cyrus away, with the brunette boy turning over to Alexa and Evan mouthing 'Help me!'."I'm sorry, Cyrus." Alexa mouthed back apologetically."Quick, let's slowly make our way to the door while your mom is busy." Evan whispered over as she gave a light wave at Cyrus.
Half an hour later in Katie's room…
Alexa and Katie are currently sorting out all headwear they had available, especially since Jennifer had left Katie a job to collect Jack's video game "Zombie-Geddon" whom their grandfather had pre-ordered for Jack's birthday. Katie is putting on a red beret."Not you." Alexa shook her head in response, before trying on a cowboy hat."Not you." Katie responded flatly, before putting on a strange looking hat that resembled a helmet with spikes."I don't think that hat's anybody." Evan pointed out, as Katie tossed the hat aside."Well, we have to figure something out." Katie sighed as she sat on the bed. "We have 96 hours before school starts and we don't have a plan.""Y'know what? Who cares what everyone will think. Let's make bald cool!" Alexa declared out loud in a confident tone. Alexa has always been the more self-assured and confident one out of the girls, which was a trait Evan admired."Yeah, you're right, Alexa. I don't care who sees us like this!" Katie agreed, standing up straight and looking more confident.Suddenly, Alexa's phone rang before Alexa noticed the caller ID."Oh no, it's Hannah and Reagan on face time…" Alexa frowned."No, we're bald!" Katie hurled the phone at the bed."Woah, careful there." Evan manages to catch the phone from falling."So uh wanna go to the wig store?" Alexa offered."So badly…" Katie nodded before she asked, "So is there a wig store on the way to the wig store?"Clearly Katie is still uncomfortable of her looks."Het Katie, I think this song fits how you're feeling right now." Evan took out her phone before playing 'Pretty's On the Inside' by Chloe Adams."Do you have a soundtrack for almost every occasion?" Katie joked a bit, feeling better now."Yup, you'll never know when you need a song or a musical number to set the mood." Evan responded with a crooked smile.At that moment, Katie's younger brother, Jack, rushes into her room."Hey Alexa and Linnie, did Katie tell you that Zombie-Geddon is coming!" the 10-year-old boy began to jump up and down excitedly."Oh Jack, we don't talk about you here." Alexa corrected with a smile, as Jack slumped his shoulders."That's cool. I'm sure you and the guys will enjoy that video game." Evan mused a bit, patting Jack's head.One similarity that all the guys shared is that they are avid video gamers. Part of the blame goes to Cyrus who introduced the rest of the gang to the Zombie-Geddon series and Jack was hooked to the video game since then."Are you bald because of your cancer, Alexa?" Jack suddenly asked out loud."Jack…" Katie tried to motion her younger brother to be quiet."No, it's ok." Alexa sat down on the bed as she explained, opening up to Jack, "Not because of the cancer, but because of the medicine that kills the cancer. It also kills the hair.""And you took that medicine?" Jack asked."A lot of it." Alexa nodded in response, "I still do.""So being bald means you took your medicine, and that means your cancer is getting cured?" Jack asked again, understanding what Alexa had meant."Pretty much," Alexa nodded."Wow, that is awesome." Jack smiled as he hugged Alexa, and went back out to his room."See, that's why we keep him." Katie stated, motioning to her younger brother who had left."Aww, that's adorable." Evan mused a bit. Evangelyn's always been soft when it comes to little children, considering the fact she and Jerry both babysit for their neighbors sometimes.A few seconds later, Cyrus came running into the room."Have you guys ever heard of the term 'knock before enter'?" Katie frowned."Can't talk. Running. From Jerry and Lucas!" Cyrus was trying to catch his breath, as Alexa offers him a bottle of water."Thanks Lexa." Cyrus thanked his crush before taking a large gulp."They said they want to give me a heads up to start running to work out. But it feels like I'm being hunted." Cyrus spoke out in a weary tone."Yup, that sounds like what my brother would do." Evan nodded."Hide me!" Cyrus turned over to whisper-yell."Well, you can't go outside because I can see my brother under the tree." Evan pointed out, as she and Katie looked out the window."Hey sis, hey Katie, you see Cyrus? He ran off!" Jerry hollered from downstairs. "Wait, never mind, I've sent Luc to go check. Lucas, you take the insides; I'll stand out here to guard if he's hiding up there!""Hey Jack." Outside the hall, the girls could hear Lucas coming in. Not before Jack stopped him for a short conversation about Zombie-Geddon's new release date and invited the teen boy to join him for a video game night."Ya'll really need to lock your doors." Evan muttered out loud, peering her head outside Katie's room and sees Lucas's silhouette climbing upstairs."Lucas! Oh. My. God." Katie yelped before she ran to hide in her closet before Cyrus could go and hide. The pain of embarrassing herself in front of Lucas is apparently far stronger than hiding her friend Cyrus during his time of need."Seriously?" Cyrus whisper-yelled, throwing his hands into the air."My room, my dibs." Katie briefly opened the closet door and hissed."She's acting like you whenever you see Nate at school." Cyrus told Evan."No I don't." Evan gritted through her teeth, throwing the weird-looking hat at him in response."Where else can I hide?" Cyrus whispered over to his friends, before Alexa turned to eye Katie's bed."Quick, get under the bed!" Alexa whisper-yelled in response as she tries to hide her male best friend under her female best friend's bed."Wow, it's like an entire two-man SWAT team out to get ya, Cy." Evan turned to see Alexa trying to force Cyrus to hide under Katie's bed."You really need to clean up down here." Cyrus muffled from below the bed."Shush, and hide!" Alexa whispered, before sitting on top the bed. Thankfully, Katie's bed uses long comforters."Mom is looking for you guys." Lucas walked in, before he looked around, "Where's Katie?""In the closet." Evan and Alexa motioned at Katie's closet."Heeey Lucas." Katie's voice came out of her closet in a nervous tone."Hey Katie, what are you doing in there?" Lucas asked."Uh just doing some chin-ups?" Katie responded before pretending to be exercising, "7…8…!"Lucas was impressed by Katie's exercising skills before he tried to open the closet door but Katie pushed it shut, "Well I think it was really cool what you did for Alexa.""Give a girl some privacy, Luc." Evan patted a hand over his shoulder."Y'know, you could have just shaved your head too." Alexa piped in, distracting her brother from noticing Cyrus hiding under Katie's bed. Cyrus was the tallest person (the guy's a High School Junior and he's already 6-foot-tall) out of the Quad, so it was easy to spot his shoes peeking through the bedsheets."Yeah, yeah I could totally do that," Lucas turned around, before adding, "But it's Katie's thing.""I think Katie won't mind." Alexa shrugged."Yeah, maybe you could go as Lex Luther this Halloween, Luc." Evan joked."Cool, but I forgot to tell you that I'm also joining the annual marathon run, and Cyrus has gone missing. And I have to find him, because I care." Lucas suddenly remembered Jerry had sent him to find Cyrus. "And dragging your boyfriend out to run for the marathon in your place shows that I care.""He's not my boyfriend!" Alexa hissed over, her ears turning red."Speaking of Cyrus, have you seen him?" Lucas asked out loud."Uh nope. Haven't seen him at all." Alexa lied, signally Evan to do something to prevent Lucas from seeing Cyrus."Hey Lucas, I think you have a dust bunny in your hair." Evan tried to divert Lucas's attention."Where?!" Lucas has always pride his hair as his greatest feature, and would get worked up about people saying something is wrong with his hair."You're gonna have to half-squat because I can't reach your head." Evan said."Ev, you're Alexa's height." Lucas pointed out."Yeah, but I have short arms." Evan retorted, grimacing. "Plus, your hair is like a cotton candy jungle!"When the Chan family first moved into the neighborhood, Evangelyn and her brother Jerry mistook Lucas's permed hair as a cotton candy. The nickname 'Cotton Candy Hair' got stuck since then.Out of the teens, Alexa is the shortest while Cyrus is the tallest of the group. [The descending order of the teens in terms of height is: Cyrus (being nearly 6-foot-tall), Lucas, Katie, Jerry, Bronwyn (the honorary Quad member/cousin), Evan and Alexa]"Ok fine, make it quick." Lucas hunched over his head for his friend."Right…here." Evan swiftly pluck out the dust speck off Lucas's hair.A few seconds later, Jerry had climbed up the tree and was standing outside Katie's window."Lucas, what the heck? I've been waiting for you for the past 10 minutes. I did not send you in here so you can talk about video games with Jack or have long tea-time conversations with the girls. OR ask my sister to check for hair ticks." Jerry panted for breath, before his twin sister offered him her bottle of water and chugged it in a go, "Where is Cyrus?""He's under my bed." Katie's voice responded from her closet."Thanks, Katie. There he is. Grab him!" Jerry declared, climbing into Katie's room and went to pull Cyrus from beneath Katie's bed."Nooo…" Cyrus winced a bit."C'mon, you're making this more awkward than it has to be!" Jerry commented, turning to face Lucas. "I'll take the arms; Lucas, you carry the feet.""On it." Lucas saluted, as the two teens dragged Cyrus out of the bed and out of the Coopers' home."See ya later at lunch, sis!" Jerry hollered over before leaving."Be careful with Cyrus, he's fragile!" Alexa added, watching her friend being carried off by her brother and their neighbor.A few moments after the boys had left, Katie decided it was about time she comes out of the closet."Oh uh where did Lucas go? Did I miss him?" Katie tried to sound casual.
Back at the Mendoza household with the 4 mothers…
"The funny thing is…this is the first time Alexa's been this healthy since she's been diagnosed." Lori placed a mug of coffee on her dining table. "Her hair falls out, and all of a sudden she's doing well."Lori is currently having a chat with Jennifer, Sunny and Gail. The moms would get together once a week to chat and talk whenever they could."Of course, that must be why you and Dave have been acting so weird." Jennifer nodded."You mean Dave." Lori corrected."Yeah, sure. Let's go with that." Gail shrugged."Oh, that hat would look so cute on Katie." Sunny tried to distract Lori by pointing at one of the online shopping sites."And that wig would look adorable on Alexa." Lori pointed at another wig that was on sale."Your daughter is so amazing," Lori gave Jennifer a compliment."Your daughter is so brave." Jennifer responded with a smile before the two mothers hugged."And my son is a troublemaker." Gail frowned a bit, taking a sip of coffee."Don't you think you're being a bit too harsh on him by signing him up for the annual marathon race?" Sunny asked Gail."After all the stunts he pulled lately? No, I think this is considered punishment of its own." Gail shook her head. "I don't understand why he's changed so much."A few minutes later, Alexa, Katie and Evan came walking in."Mom, you only have 2 cries per week maximum, don't use it all in one day." Alexa told her mom with a frown on her face."Sorry, how are you feeling?" Lori asked her daughter. "Hungry? Tired? Cold?""Smothered." Alexa replied. "Mom, I'm fine. Can you drop me and Katie at the mall?""And then park and meet you inside? Sure." Lori nodded. "I'll go get my purse.""Why can't you just ask Linnie if her new friend can drive you kids along the way?" Sunny asked her daughter."Nah, mom. I don't think I should impose on Chris by asking him if my friends could carpool along." Evan shrugged, declining the offer."Nah that's ok, Aunt Sunny. I can ask my dad to drive me and Katie to the mall, and we can meet you guys there instead." Alexa waved a hand dismissively."Dad, could you drop me and Katie at the mall instead?" Alexa went to her father."Uh yeah, yeah. That sounds like bal-Fun!" David nodded, not really making any eye contact with his daughter, before he suddenly rushed out. "Time for a training run.""Ok…That was weird…" Alexa watched her dad ran out the house, before they all heard a thud outside."I'm ok!" Cyrus declared from the yard before groaning. His day just keeps going on from bad to awful."I am so sorry, Cyrus." David helped up the teen boy, before he scurried away for an exercise run."Mom, are you sure you have time to go shopping? Shouldn't you be practicing for the marathon run?" Alexa reminded her mom, hoping to distract her from joining her and Katie to the mall."Oh please, I can do my 10k in my sleep." Lori shrugged dismissively at her daughter's concerns."The run is 10 kilometers?!" Cyrus exclaimed from outside, before falling over in exhaustion."Hey, you're not done with your pushups yet." Jerry reminded, checking his watch."Mom, I can hear your breathing heavily after you vacuum." Alexa pointed out."We have thick carpets." Lori lied."Ok fine, but if you get tired, just go to the Nurse Room's bathroom. They have a very nice lounge there. And you can lie down to rest." Lori added.Jennifer motioned her daughter to go over to her, before handing out her credit card."Here, you can use my credit card to get yourself a wig." Jennifer said."Thanks, mom." Katie smiled."Just don't go over a hundred dollars." Jennifer reminded her daughter of their budget expenses."Don't worry mom, I won't." Katie nodded, before hugging her mom."Oh and since you're going to the mall, if you stop by the Nurses' lounge, be sure to-," Jennifer added, before her daughter finished the sentence."Bring back their fancy paper towels." Katie nodded."That's my girl. Oh and bring the big purse before you go!" Jennifer called out before leaving to go back and study for her upcoming midterms."I'll see you girls later if we do swing by the mall." Evan waved at Alexa and Katie."Have fun on your date." Alexa teased her friend."It's not a date if your brother has to tag along." Evan made a face at her friends. "Besides, it's not a romantic date."She gave her mother a glance before whisper to Alexa and Katie, "And you know I have a crush on someone else.""Enjoy your afternoon, girls. Make sure to eat something while you're there." Gail waved over as David took Alexa and Katie out to the mall."Linnie, I need you to go back and help me prepare lunch." Sunny stood up, looking at the time."On it, mom. See y'all later. Lexa, Kate, don't get in too much trouble." Evan waved at her friends, as she and her mom went back home."We won't." Katie responded."I will make no such promises." Alexa smirked a little.
[Christian's P.O.V.]
I told my mom that I was going out to hang out with 2 new friends for the entire afternoon. Much to my dismay, she's sent me out on a new task."Mom, I can't bring her out when I'm spending the day out." I whined, hoping to change her mind."You think I'm happy about this?" My stepsister, Ashlynn, grunted out as she crossed her arms at me."Is it a girl you're meeting?" my mom cocked an eyebrow at me. She could read me easily when I am about to go out to meet a girl."Well, one of them is." I replied. The other one is her brother."Is she cute?" My mom smirked, teasing me."Mooom!" I exclaimed. She always had a habit of teasing me about any girl I meet is automatically my future soulmate or something."Look, I know you're still adapting to our new neighborhood, but I need you to bring Ashlynn for a haircut. And it is convenient since your friends are also heading the same place and I've made the phone reservations for her haircut appointment." My mom shrugged, before a cry cut off our conversation and she went to the nursery."Oh, now you've done it." Ash gave me a stink eye, motioning to our younger brother crying."No, don't cry!" My 5-year-old stepbrother (Mickey) rushed to the nursery to help mom out with the crying baby."Besides, Sam and I need to run some errands around town later today, and we will be taking Winnie and Mickey with us." My mom added, exiting the nursery holding Winnie. We're still in the middle of decorating our new home, so I guess mom and Sam will be going to town to buy some furniture or decorations for the nursery.My mom and Ash's dad (Samuel Medoka) got married about half a year ago, and they decided to move to Wellard, Virginia to live closer to my stepdad's family. It's been a few months, but I'm still trying to get used to having new younger siblings considering I was an only child.My stepdad, Samuel, had two kids from his previous marriage: Ashlynn 'Ash' (who is 11 years old) and Michael 'Mickey' (he just turned 5 years old last week).My mom and Samuel met around two years ago when Mickey was modelling for my mom's new clothing line for kids, and dated for a few months. Suddenly, they announced that they are engaged and are expecting a new baby. Which brings us to my youngest baby brother Winston 'Winnie' who was just born earlier this April."So I still need to get a boy's haircut while my new big brother gets to keep his Tarzan hair?" Ash grumbled under her breath, before she stormed upstairs to her room. She did not take the news well when she learned from Samuel that he and my mom are engaged."Here's a hundred dollars for you to spend on your day out with your friends." Samuel came over to me and handed me some money.Well, guess now I have to bring Ash would town with me the whole day. Hope Angel and her brother won't mind.
1pm, the Chan residence

[Evangelyn's P.O.V.]
A car pulls up in front of the house porch, it's Chris's car."That's Chris. We gotta jet, Ryrie (Jerry)." I called out. "Our haircut appointment's in 15 minutes!""Ok, I heard you the first time, Linnie." Jerry walked out of his room, putting on a dark grey shirt."Have a nice day, kids." My mom smiled over."See you later, mom and dad." I gave my parents a quick kiss on the cheek, before grabbing my handbag."We're heading out, grandpa and grandma." My brother and I called out to our grandparents who were watching some Cantonese soap opera (that has been running since Jerry and I were in middle school probably)."I call shotgun." Jerry exclaimed, before we noticed another person in Chris's car. It was a young girl about 10 or 11 years old sitting in the backseat."Hey Chris. Who's this?" I waved at him, getting in the car and sitting next to the young girl while my brother sits in the front. He is a better road navigator than I am when it comes to road directions."Sorry if I forgot to tell you but my mom wanted me to take my stepsister out for a haircut for the day. Evangelyn, Jerry, this is my stepsister Ashlynn. Ashlynn, Evangelyn and Jerry." He did a brief and quick introduction for us."Hey, you have a Lyn in your name too!" Ashlynn pointed out with a grin."Nice to meet you." I shook hands with Ashlynn, she seems like a nice and sweet girl. "You can call me Evan or Lyn.""You can call me Ash." Ash smiled back, before asking out loud, "Are you that 'Angel' person Christian keeps talking about?""What? You can't spell Evangelyn without 'Angel' in the middle." Chris responded in a defensive tone."So which way is to the hair salon?" Chris asked before my brother started giving him directions to the place."Sure, the place is call Mi Amor. I have no idea why they changed the shop name (originally called Harmony Hair Salon) but it makes sense that the original owner had retired and her son took over the salon with his wife." Jerry explained."We've been living here for 10 years; we know our way around." I added.There are about a few hair salons in Wellard but there are only 2 or 3 hair salons that my family are used to. (my grandparents go to the hair salon owned by Madam Graham, my dad and brother would go to Mr. Patel's Barber shop, my mom and I usually go to Mi Amor hair salon)"It's not fair that all my younger brothers and I have bowl cuts but my big brother here gets to keep his long hair like a Barbie doll." Ashlynn made a sarcastic comment."So I'd assume you would like a tour around our town once the haircut appointment is done." Jerry broke the awkward tension."Ooh, do you guys have a mall or a bookshop here?" Ashlynn asked out loud, "I still need to buy some back to school stationary."Huh, she likes to go to bookshops? I knew there was something that I like about Ash."Yeah I heard that there's a mall here, maybe we should go check the place out when we're done with the haircut." Chris nodded."Ok just another traffic light and the hair salon will be around the corner." Jerry gave Chris some road directions to the hair salon.Looks like this is going to be a long (but enjoyable) day.