It smelled different. It felt different.

I opened my eyes, realising something.

This was not my room.

It was still dark, very dark. I stayed in the same position for about minute just for my vision to adjust in the darkness. I sat upright and looked around, the curtains were slightly open and the moon shone brightly through the window.

I slowly crawled out of bed and looked at what I was wearing. I wasn't wearing Kendall's hoodie anymore, instead, I wore an oversized grey tee that ended by my thighs. I furrowed my eyebrows, I didn't remember changing into that shirt.

My head started and body started aching and I winced.

Definitely not drinking again.

I heard faint footsteps in the hallway. Though I was scared and I had no idea where I was, and it was very dark, I still wanted to leave. I turned around to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

My eyes widened, it was literally years since I woke up at that time. I rubbed my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair before slowly and quietly walking out of the room. The hallway was dark too, I couldn't see a thing. I walked through the hallway and something soft swiftly brush my ankle. I squealed and looked for the light switch.

I bumped into something... or someone and I screamed. I immediately backed away. I tripped over something and fell to the floor, I stayed in the same sitting position, watching the tall figure walk towards me.

The lights went on and my heart calmed down when I realised it was Sam. He smiled at me and ran his fingers through his tousled, dark hair. He wore nothing but his black boxers, and I saw he had lots of tattoos on right thigh and some on his left ankle. I didn't see too much because my gaze quickly returned to his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a smirk.

I blinked and nodded, letting a breath escape my mouth. I felt somthing soft and furry brush against my arm and I looked beside me and gasped when I saw an adorable, little grey kitten.

It meowed and I awed and picked it up. I raked my fingers through it's fur and it purred. It got on my shoulders and sat there.

Like when Pikachu sits on Ash's shoulder in the animation 'Pokémon'.

"Aww, he's so adorable," I cooed and stared at the kitten's blue eyes. "Or is it a she?"

"She," Sam answered and sat down on the floor with me and we leaned against the wall, staring at the adorable kitten on my knees.

"What's her name?" I asked, running my fingers through her fur.

"I don't know... you can name her." Sam said and laid his head on his folded arms.

"Mmm." I thought of a name. "Can I name her Gray, I can't come up with anymore and plus, I'm not creative."

Sam smiled and gently petted the kitten. "Isn't Gray a boy's name?"

"Yeah but... eh," I shrugged, too lazy to come up with an excuse. "Is she yours?" I asked.

Sam nodded,"Just got her yesterday morning. Why don't you name her Mittens? Or Sparkles or some other shitty name?"

"It's shitty that's why," I joked and chuckled. "Plus she's Gray. Ooh, I can name her Gray-Ember is since there's the word 'grey amber'."

Sam smiled and shrugged at me.

"Why did you get a cat?" I asked Sam and stared as Gray-Ember play with my finger by gently grabbing it with her soft paws.

"I don't know, I love... kittens." Sam turned red and looked away in embarrassment.

"Aww, you're so adorable. I didn't know you had a soft side." I started petting Sam and he glared at me. I smiled cheekily and stood up, with Gray-Ember still sitting on my shoulder.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"Our place," Sam answered and stood up as well.

"Our place?" I asked in confusion.

"Kendall and I's. We live together," he replied. "You want anything to eat?"

"Yeah, thanks." I smiled. Sam and I walked to the stairs and descended them, making our way to the kitchen. I sat at the table and Sam walked to the fridge and took out four eggs.

"Don't you live with your parents?" I asked.

"My mom and dad were shot when I left to go to a party," Sam said, avoiding eye contact. "Kendall's dad died after a week Kendall was born because of sickness. His mom disappeared after Kendall turned 16."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry for asking about--"

"It's okay, Alyssa. I trust you." Sam turned to me and I saw a slight smile on his face.

I smiled too and stood up from my seat and walked around the table to hug Sam who was unaware at first. He paused for a moment, still slightly shocked that I hugged him. I was shocked as well, Sam was still bare chested.

Sam pecked my cheek and I let go of him,"Thanks Alyssa, you're the first girl I've ever trusted," Sam stated and I grinned.

"You, Kendall and Marcus are my first ever guyfriends," I said. Sam stared at me, smiling. "And thank you, Sam, for helping me back there at the party. Who knows what could've happened if you hadn't spoke to me then."

Sam clenched his jaw and nodded, "Yeah it's no problem. That asshole is somewhere near an alley or something. Or at the bottom of the lake," Sam said and cracked the eggs onto the pan.

Gray-Ember jumped onto my shoulder and sat on it.

"Gray-Ember doesn't have claws, and she has this weird addiction to sitting on people's shoulders," Sam stated and glanced at Gray-Ember. I sat returned to the table. Sam sprinkled a bit of salt on the eggs and bacon. "Coffee?"

I nodded,"Thanks Sam."

Sam shrugged at me and placed the plate with food in front of me. Sam made coffee for the both us and food, after he was done, he gave Gray-Ember cat food.

Sam sat across me and began eating. "Are you going to school today?" he asked after he swallowed his food.

"Oh it's Monday." I groaned," And I have a headache. But I don't mind going to school."

"Alyssa, you can stay here with us if you want," Sam said.

"Eh." I shrugged and took out my phone and viewed the notitifications on my phone.

Most of the messages and calls were from my mom so I decided to answer her first. I dialed her number but waited a long time for her to answer the call so I sent her a voicemail: Hey mom, sorry for not answering your calls. Anyway, I'm at a friend's house and I'll return home in the afternoon. Love you. Bye!

I checked the messages.

I replied:

I went to Instagram and replied to some nice comments that made me smile. Sam asked me something with a mouth full of food but I heard him.

"No, I'm on Instagram," I answered.

Sam swallowed his food,"Oh."

", you guys have a lot of followers. 312K followers," I said and sipped my coffee. "Can I take a selfie with you?" I asked him.

"Sure," he replied and ran his fingers through his hair and flexed his biceps. I chuckled when he winked at me. I stood next to Sam and held the camera upwards and smiled. Sam wrapped his arms around me and placed his head on my shoulder. I took the picture and immediately afterwards, Gray-Ember got on my shoulder and meowed. I snapped another picture, Sam smiling at the kitten and me slightly laughing.

Sam smiled and I returned to my seat. I tagged Sam and posted the picture. It immediately started getting likes. We heard footsteps coming downstairs, it was Marcus and Kendall. Both were bare chested, Marcus had tattoos all over his torso. Kendall had some on his thighs and ankles.

"You guys are up so early."Kendall yawned and rubbed his eyes while Marcus ruffled his own hair.

"Morning Baby cheeks." Marcus wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and placed his head on my shoulder.

I smiled and pecked his cheek. "Morning Marcus, did you sleep well?" I asked him as he sat next to me.

He shook his head in response,"No, since I only slept two hours."

"Shame, I'm sorry," I said honestly and patted his bare back. I turned to Kendall and smiled at him.

"Morning Kendall." I waved at him to get his attention. He blinked and his gaze returned to me.

"Morning Sweet cheeks." Kendall smiled. "Are you going to school today?"

I nodded,"Yeah, although I'm very tired. Cups of coffee will help me get through the day. Wait... how am I going to get home?"

"We'll drive you there, just give us a few minutes and wait for us in the car," Kendall and Sam said simultaneously. I gasped and narrowed my eyes at them.

Marcus chuckled from beside me, "You'll get used to it. Once, they actually went through the day with doing everything simulataneously."

"Wow," I gaped at them while they left the room. I got up too and stretched. Gray-Ember jumped from the table to the floor and stood by my feet.

"Aren't you cute, Gray-Ember," I cooed at her and picked her up. She immediately got on my shoulder.

"Well, bye Marcus. I'll see you at school," I said and wrapped my arms around his torso and pulled him in for a hug.

He chuckled,"I'm not going to school today, Baby cheeks."

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm visiting my cousin Shawn," Marcus said and I frowned.

"I'm going to be all alone," I whined.

"You have friends, you're popular and Sam and Kendall are right beside you," Marcus said.

"Yeah but... it just isn't the same when you're not there," I said and ran my fingers through his hair. Marcus looked at me and bit his bottom lip which I found really attractive. My lips curved into a small smile when Marcus wrapped his arms around my waist while he was sitting on the stool and I was standing. He pulled me closer to him until there was no space between us.

"I didn't know that I'd grow on you," Marcus whispered.

"What do you mean?" I asked and my hands automatically went around his neck.

"You like me, Alyssa Heart." he smiled.

I smiled too and gave his nose a quick touch and said,"No I don't. We're pretending, remember?"

"Just because we're fake dating, Baby cheeks, doesn't mean feelings won't develop," Marcus said, staring deeply into my eyes.

After staring back at him for long, I slowly smiled and asked,"Wait... do you like me?"

"Would it be a problem if I did?" Marcus quirked his eyebrow.

I furrowed my eyebrows and pursed my lips,"Well... yeah," I petted Gray-Ember on my shoulder and looked back Marcus. "This thing between us is supposed to be fake, make people stop bullying me and help me make friends which worked. Falling for one another isn't supposed to be part of the deal."

"You can't control how you feel towards another person. It's not something that you can make a deal out of," Marcus said, his grip around my waist tightening.

"I know, I know," I said and hugged Marcus, trying to clear out the awkwardness that was developing. "But we'll always be together no matter what because you were the first person who actually stood up for me and saved me from the endless misery. And I appreciate you for that Marcus, I know I always thank you but I really mean it. I'm glad I bumped into you. Literally." I chuckled and kissed his forehead.

"I appreciate you too, Baby cheeks. You made me feel something I've never felt before towards other girls. You're really special," Marcus said and pecked my cheek and hugged me tighter.

I knew that I was feeling something towards Marcus. Everytime I was around him, I felt safe. Everytime I hear he kissed a girl or I saw him kiss a girl made me feel a pang of jealously.

With him hugging me now made my stomach fill with butterflies, my cheeks heat up and my heart pounded hard and accelerated. Marcus moved his head from my chest and met eyes with me.

Fighting the urge not to kiss him was hard, especially when his lips alone were so luscious. Fortunately, I couldn't not take it anymore so that sent me to press my lips against Marcus. He froze, not kissing back.

Oh no, what have I done?

I pulled away and stared at Marcus in shock,"I'm sorry, I didn't know what got over me."

Marcus' lips curved into a smile,"I was just shocked that you finally kissed me this time," he said and held my neck and pulled me close for a kiss.

Gray-Ember meowed and clawed her way up my back and sat on my shoulder. I smiled against Marcus' lips and we both pulled away.

"I think she's jealous of you," Marcus joked.

"Please, look at her. She's so adorable." I cooed.

"But not adorable than you," Marcus winked.

I scrunched up my face,"Oh, please."