"Hey!", Luke exclaimed as he swaggered over to Alex and Zephyr, "There he is".
Zephyr immediately sighed upon seeing him, "Last time it was bailing you out of a poker match so what is it this time?".
"Whaaaaat?", Luke scoffed, "No way!".
"Right. How much money do you need?", Zephyr muttered, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
"You're not giving him any money!", Alex yelled, stopping him from continuing.
"I don't need your money", Luke declared, "I need your advice ... on girls".
"Normally, I'd say no", Zephyr murmured, "But I'm intrigued for once, so go on".
"Alex!", a girl exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Alex, "Hey girl".
"Sienna!", Alex squealed as she returned the hug Sienna gave her.
Upon separating, Sienna turned to look at Zephyr and greeted him, "Hey Zephyr" and hugged him.
"Hey", Zephyr awkwardly greeted, not hugging Sienna back.
[Commentary]
"Sienna is amazing", Alex explained in awe, "She's stylish, worldly, cool and so kind that she hangs out with me whenever she has the chance".
"I don't like Sienna", Zephyr stated as he looked at the camera, "She hangs out with Alex to spend time with me. How do I know? you may ask. Well, the answer is simple. She constantly has physical contact with me whenever she hangs out with me and Alex. She always hugs me, he 'accidentally' touches my hand, and she tries to flaunt her body by wearing really tight clothes. Even Emma agrees with me. I just don't know how to break it to Alex".
[Commentary ends]
"I've been looking all over for you", Sienna said as she tied her hair with a hairband, intentionally leaning backwards to accentuate her chest, an action that didn't escape Luke's sight.
"This is my little brother, Luke", Alex introduced as she gestured towards Luke.
"Yo", Luke greeted, deepening his voice in an attempt to sound more mature and cool.
"Hey", Sienna nodded her head, not paying him much attention, "So. What are you guys doing?".
"Zephyr and I were on a date", Alex explained, wrapping an arm around Zephyr's, "But he came over to ask us for some advice on some lame crush he has".
"OMG!", Sienna exclaimed, "That's huge. You should totally help him".
"Zephyr was going to give him some tips so that we could return to our date because he was pestering us", Alex remarked.
"Girl, he's your brother. That's not going to help him", Sienna commented, "You should totally go with him and be there to help him. I'll keep Zephyr company".
"I don't think that's a good idea", Zephyr intervened, not wanting his date with Alex to be ruined.
"Same", Alex nodded, agreeing with her boyfriend.
"I think I'd feel better if you were there", Luke expressed, "I know I'd feel so much more confident with you there".
"You should do that", Zephyr quickly agreed.
"Sure", Sienna replied, a strained smile on her lips.
"Are you su-", Alex tried to question but was silenced by Zephyr's lips pressing against her.
After separating, Zephyr turned to look at a frowning Sienna and said, "I think it'd be best if you got a move on. This fair is quite big".
Sienna nodded her head and stormed away from them, with Luke chasing after her.
"Phew", Zephyr muttered in relief, wiping his forehead off imaginary sweat, "Thank God she's gone".
"Huh. What?", Alex questioned, not hearing what he said.
"Nothing", Zephyr quickly answered, causing Alex to look at him confused for a second before she nodded.
Looking around for a second, she pointed to the distance, and asked, "Do you want to get some ice cream? I see a stall over there".
"Sure", Zephyr nodded his head and intertwined his fingers with Alex, "Let's go".
However, before they could even take a step forward, they were interrupted once more, "Alex!".
Turning around, Zephyr and Alex saw Raul and Emma walking over towards them, holding each other's hands. "Hi!", Alex greeted Emma, giving her a quick hug, which Emma swiftly returned, "What are you guys doing here?".
"My little brother came here so my parents are making me come here", Emma answered, "So then I thought that it'd be a great opportunity for me and Raul to have a date, which he agreed to immediately".
Upon hearing what she said, Zephyr sent a glance at Raul who non-verbally said' "We'll talk later". Although somewhat surprised, Zephyr nodded, and his eyes flickered over to the ice cream stand, which Raul understood.
"Hey Emma", Raul asked, "Do you want some ice cream?".
"Hm", Emma stopped talking with Alex for a second and nodded before fervently returning to her conversation.
"I was planning on going to get some ice cream as well", Zephyr interrupted, "Why don't we go get them together? Leave the girls to catch up?".
"Sure", Raul nodded and walked away with Zephyr.
"So", Zephyr muttered as soon as they were far enough, "What really happened?".
"She's terrifying", Raul explained, "Before I even knew I was going, she told my mom, dad and sister so if I said no, I'd be finished".
"Ah", Zephyr winced when he heard what Raul said, "That's ... unfortunate".
"Honestly, you lucked out with Alex", Raul complained, "Emma is great and all, but she's a bit ... forceful".
"I know", Zephyr nodded his head, "Alex is great".
Raul rolled his eyes but opted not to comment on what he said.
[With Alex and Emma]
As soon as the boys were out of sight, Emma grabbed Alex's hand and forcefully demanded, "How's it going?".
"It's going great", Alex excitedly exclaimed.
"Girl. You can't leave me hanging like that", Emma snapped, "You gotta give me the details".
"Ever since he's birthday party, things have been better than ever", Alex narrated, "We spend almost all our time together, we go out on dates regularly and-".
Before she could even finish, Emma stopped her, "I don't care about that ... actually I do, but that's not what I want to know".
"Then what do you want to know?", Alex asked.
Looking around for a second and confirming that no one was listening on them, Emma leaned forward and whispered into Alex's ears, "Have you guys had sex?".
"A-uhm-huh", Alex stuttered, her face and ears becoming crimson in the blink of an eye.
"Oh My God!", Emma exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock, "You actually did it!".
"Emma!", Alex exclaimed as she forced her hand on Emma's in an attempt to quieten her down.
Once Emma calmed down, Alex released her hand from her mouth. "Seriously?!", Emma whispered/yelled.
Although still embarrassed, Alex nodded her head, erupting an ear-piercing scream from Emma, causing Alex to cover her ears.
After a few seconds, Emma managed to calm herself down and immediately hugged Alex, "I can't believe you did it! I'm so happy for you".
"Thanks", Alex embarrassedly muttered.
"So. How was it?", Emma teased, "Was it good?".
"It was amazing", Alex answered, realising what she said halfway through and covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.
"Hey", Emma half-heartedly elbowed Alex, "No need to be embarrassed. I'm your best friend, aren't I? I promise I won't tell anyone".
"Really?", Alex hopefully asked.
"Of course", Emma resolutely answered, "Hey. I think I saw your brother with Sienna, what was that about?".
"Oh. That", Alex answered, "He came to us for advice on a girl he likes and then Sienna saw us as well. Then, Zephyr volunteered Sienna to help Luke find the girl he likes".
"Urgh", Emma groaned upon hearing what she said.
"What's wrong?", Alex inquired.
"You still haven't realised, have you?", Emma questioned.
"Realised what?", Alex confusedly asked.
"Sienna doesn't really hang out with you because she likes you but because she likes Zephyr and is trying to get to him through you", Emma answered, being direct with her thoughts.
"No. She wouldn't do that", Alex muttered, but then stopped, "Would she?". Instead of answering, Emma looked at Alex. Thinking about it, Alex found that Emma was right. All of the times Sienna hung out with her were the times when Zephyr was with her. On the few occasions Zephyr wasn't there, Sienna wouldn't approach her. "You're right", Alex murmured upon realising what Emma suggested.
"It'll be fine", Emma comforted, "You have me. You have me as well as all the girls from the Book club and the Lacrosse team to rely on. We'll be here for you. And don't forget, you have Zephyr as well".
"You're right", Alex remarked, feeling slightly less upset.
"Let's go and see what the boys are up to. It doesn't take this long to get ice cream", Emma commanded, grabbing Alex's hand and dragging her to the ice cream stand she saw Zephyr and Raul heading towards earlier.