Chapter 7

By the time the twins got back, I had almost forgotten about the whole wedgie incident. Almost.

But, of course, Miles and Alex had not.

The moment they stepped inside, both of them were grinning like they had been waiting all day for this moment.

"Sooo, Baby Bunny," Miles started, dropping onto the couch beside me. "How's your day been?"

"Yeah," Alex added, smirking. "Any fun moments? Any... uplifting experiences?"

I groaned, sinking lower into the couch. "Shut up."

Miles gasped dramatically. "Oh no, Alex! He's embarrassed!"

Alex shook his head in fake sympathy. "Poor Adrian. Imagine getting wedgied so hard that everyone in the family saw it."

"You guys are the worst," I muttered, trying to ignore the heat creeping up my neck.

"You love us," Miles said, ruffling my hair.

I swatted his hand away, but I couldn't stop the small smile that tugged at my lips. They were annoying, but it was hard to stay mad when they were clearly just having fun with it.

Before they could say anything else, Easton called from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!"

That was enough to get everyone moving. Henry dragged himself out of his room, looking like he had just woken up again, and we all gathered around the table.

Tonight's dinner was grilled chicken with roasted vegetables, which was fine except for the rice on the side. I frowned at my plate, pushing the rice around with my fork.

"Eat," Easton said, not even looking up.

I sighed but took a bite of the chicken instead, ignoring the carbs completely.

As we ate, the conversation naturally drifted toward school the next day.

"Ugh," Alex groaned. "I can't believe we have to go back already. The weekend went way too fast."

"Tell me about it," Miles agreed. "And we've got that stupid history test."

"You mean the one you didn't study for?" Easton asked, raising an eyebrow.

Miles grinned. "Exactly."

Henry, on the other hand, looked unbothered. "I don't mind going back. I get to see Leon."

Elijah smirked. "Right, because the only person you actually like is your best friend."

Henry shrugged. "Not my fault the rest of you are annoying."

I rolled my eyes. "Wow. Love you too, Henry."

He smirked but didn't argue. Instead, he turned back to his plate, looking smug.

"Leon is probably the only person who actually tolerates you, maybe lucas if you aren't being a knob," Alex teased.

I kept my expression neutral at the mention of Lucas, but my stomach flipped.

Lucas Scott Henry's best friend's little brother. And also my best friend.

I had known him forever. We hung out all the time, texted constantly, and he was probably the one person outside of my family who actually got me. But what I never told anyone what I couldn't tell anyone was that I liked him. Like, liked him.

But there was no way I was saying that out loud.

Henry smirked. "Well, I am excited to see Leon. And Lucas."

I forced a casual shrug. "Lucas is cool."

"Yeah, he's alright," Miles said. "But he totally talks about you all the time, Adrian."

I nearly choked on my chicken. "What?"

Miles grinned. "I'm just saying. You guys are kinda inseparable."

Alex wiggled his eyebrows. "Yeah, bunny. Something you wanna tell us?"

I felt my face get warm. "Shut up," I muttered, focusing hard on my plate.

Easton rolled his eyes. "Enough. Let Adrian eat."

The teasing died down after that, and the conversation moved on to other things homework, sports, Henry complaining about how he always gets detention for stupid reasons. But my thoughts kept drifting back to tomorrow.

I was excited to see Lucas. But I wasn't ready for the way my stomach would twist every time he smiled at me, or the way I'd have to act normal even though I wanted to tell him how I felt.

But that wasn't happening.

Because no matter what, Lucas could never know.

After dinner, everyone slowly drifted off to do their own thing. Miles and Alex went to play video games, Henry disappeared back into his room, and Elijah settled on the couch with his phone. I stayed at the table for a little longer, pushing around what was left of my food, before finally getting up and heading upstairs.

I was exhausted, but I couldn't shake the feeling of unease about tomorrow. School always felt fine when I was in it, but the night before? That was when the overthinking started. Would Lucas notice if I acted weird? Would the twins tease me more in front of everyone? Would I be able to get through the day without someone commenting on my eating again?

I changed into pajamas and climbed into bed, but sleep felt impossible.

Not even five minutes later, there was a soft knock at my door before it creaked open. Easton stepped inside, his expression calm like always. He didn't say anything at first, just walked over and pulled the blankets up a little higher around me.

"You're thinking too much," he said quietly.

I sighed, staring at the ceiling. "I can't help it."

He sat down on the edge of the bed, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Listen, I know school can be a lot sometimes, but you don't have to worry about tomorrow. If anything happens, the twins and Henry are just across the street. And if you really need something, you can go to the office and call me or Elijah. We'll come get you."

I swallowed, nodding. "Yeah... okay."

He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Try to sleep, alright?"

I nodded again, and after a few more seconds, Easton stood up, giving me one last reassuring look before heading for the door. He flicked off the light but left the hallway one on just enough so the room wasn't completely dark.

"Night, Adrian," he said softly.

"Night," I mumbled back.

As the door clicked shut, I closed my eyes, forcing myself to focus on Easton's words instead of my own racing thoughts.

Tomorrow would come, whether I was ready for it or not.

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Word count: 1012

Hey Guys Thanks for reading this story so please be nice and kind. I am sorry if there are any spelling mistakes or bad grammar.

Thanks for reading my sixth chapter and please vote and leave a comment.

More chapters will be coming out soon.

*EMMA HETHRON*