"'m home," I say to practically nobody as Luke and I enter the house.

"Where is your family?" Luke asks in curiosity.

"My dad and mum are at work. Josh and Cole are at college's football practice. Cameron is out with his friends and Liam is with Sophie's sister, Sade."

"Sophie's sister?" He raises an eyebrow at me, the corner of his lips tugging upwards.

"Not like that, idiot," I roll my eyes at his way of thinking. "They've been best friends since we moved here and he always hangs out with her."

Liam and Sade have one of the most cutest, freakish friendships ever. They have the same way of thinking, same opinions, same decisions and even the same answers. If someone asks them 'which is better: Avengers or DC?', they'd answer with something like 'Avengers, duh. DC is way too dark...literally.'

They have had each other's backs since the day we moved to San Francisco and they always support each other. Like when Liam was getting bullied for being anorexic (he still is, but it's not as serious as it was back then), Sade slapped the guy and insulted him.

And when Sade was getting bullied by some racist female chihuahua, Liam straight out punched the guy and told him to stay the heck away from Sade or his face will be the color of the night sky.

Even though Liam is popular in his year, Sade is the only friend he has and he only hangs out with her. He said something about her being the only person who gets him which was really weird because when Sophie asked Sade about Liam, she said the exact same thing.

If these two aren't best friend goals, then I honestly don't know what is.

"I see," he nods.

"I was thinking maybe we could work on the project somewhere else other than my room," I tell him.

"Sure, I guess."

"Great, just wait here 'till I get my things," I say and he nods.

I rush upstairs to my room, then I quickly change in a pair of a sweatpants instead of my jeans. I have every right to be comfortable after all. I pull my hair out of the ponytail and leave it down, to free it a bit.

I gather all the supplies needed for the project, before running back downstairs. I almost trip down the stairs and roll down like a freaking bowling ball, but I manage to balance myself then I casually continue going downstairs.

Darn my clumsiness.

Luke, who has his eyes focused down on his phone, luckily doesn't notice my almost Olympian fail and I mentally thank God for that. The embarrassment would haunt me forever.

"So shall we?" I smile nervously, when Luke looks up from his phone.

"Lead the way," he slips his phone in his pocket, then he grabs his backpack slinging it on his shoulder.

I walk to the balcony's door and try to slide it open with one hand. Luke must have noticed my struggle because he slides the door open instead.

"Thanks," I smile at him, then I step outside in the backyard.

Walking in the backyard, I stop and drop all of the things in my arms on the grass.

"You want us to work on the project here?" Luke asks.

I turn around, "Yes. Don't you think it's beautiful out here instead?"

He looks around for awhile, then his eyes land on me. "It is."

"Besides if you ever feel like going home," I walk to the fence separating the two houses with Luke following me, "you can just jump over the fence."

"That's my backyard," he points out, blinking rapidly.

"Really? I didn't know," I give him a dry look.

"I had no idea our houses were that close," Luke leans on the white fence.

"The architects never heard of personal space, I know," I lean on the fence as well. I notice the small doghouse in the Carter's backyard.

"Where's your dog?" I ask Luke.

"Staying with my cousin. She's using him as a training buddy so she can get a dog herself. Said she wants to be a mother," he explains.

"How old is she?"

"Five."

"Aw, she sounds adorable," I comment, smiling.

"She is. Maybe you can meet her one day," he says.

"I'd love to meet her," I grin widely and he gives me a small grin back.

"So, the project?"

"Right. Let me just get Molly," I tell him. There's no doubt that Molly is sleeping, that's why she didn't hear us. That's all she ever does anyways. Sleep. She sleeps more than she lives. I have to admit, I relate to her a lot.

I walk to the doghouse and crouch down, opening the white door. Molly lies inside, resting on her arms. I scratch her slightly behind her ear. Her eyes flutter open and she jumps up when she sees me. Molly is probably the only living creature who gets excited to see me. That itself makes me feel honoured.

Grabbing Molly, I stand up and place her on the grass again. She starts darting around in excitement. One other thing about Molly, she's so hyperactive, especially after she naps.

She stops for a moment and stares up at Luke, then she turns her head to stare at me, then back at Luke before she proceeds to trot around Luke's legs, while he watches her with amusement.

"She really likes you," I chuckle.

"I could tell," he keeps his eyes on Molly.

That's when Molly notices her red ball in the distance and she dashes to it.

"I'm sorry, she's really hyperactive," I smile sheepishly, walking over to stand in front of Luke.

"Just like you," he says.

I narrow my eyes at him behind my big-rimmed glasses playfully and cross my arms over my chest, "I'm not hyperactive. I'm just really cheerful."

"You smile a lot," he points out.

"What's wrong with that?" I tilt my head to the left in question.

"A person can't smile that much," he leans in, teasingly. I get a whiff of apples and cinnamon, or something like that.

Note to self: search in Walmart for apples and cinnamon body wash.

I lean in too, mentally thanking God that Sophie offered me a mint in school, and beam. "Well last time I checked, I am a person and I smile that much."

His green eyes flicker down to my nose. "Your freckles are cute."

I touch my nose, leaning back and blush. "Thank you."

Suddenly, I feel a light push from behind me and I go, tumbling forward, but Luke takes hold both of my arms to steady me and I place my hands on his chest.

I blush even more, which is so noticeable due to my light complexion circumstances. My face is probably a replica of Molly's red ball.

"S-sorry," I stammer, stepping back.

"It's fine."

I look behind me and notice Molly licking her paw with innocence and I shoot her a glare.

That sneaky little rascal.

"Let's start on the project. We've already wasted a lot," Luke says.

"Yeah, we should," I agree, still glaring at Molly.

| | | |

"I noticed something," I suddenly say and Luke looks up from his laptop.

"What?"

"You stopped smoking," I grin happily.

"Yeah, I guess I just got bored from it," he shrugs. "And I thought it was too early for lung cancer to screw me up."

"Good," I smile. I care about Luke a lot, more than any normal person should do, and the last thing I want is, him getting some disease and I'm already suffering from dad's condition. I'm not going to go through this again.

"Somebody cares?" He smirks, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I care. I'm not some heartless female poodle," I say, innocently. "Also, you're polluting the environment by smoking, so..." I add, jokingly.

"Like you give a shit about the environment," Luke says.

"Of course I give a..." I pause, not being able to say the word, "...schnitzel about the environment. It's where I'm living after all."

"Schnitzel?"

"You know how I am," I sigh exasperatedly. "Which reminds me, you owe me nine questions."

"Whose turn it was?" he asks, putting the laptop on the grass beside him.

"Um...yours," I respond.

"Are you claustrophobic?" He blurts out.

My eyes widen. "How did you-" I then remember how Luke is a very observant person, "-it's too obvious, isn't it?"

"Kind of."

"Yes, I'm claustrophobic. I absolutely despise tight places and there's a huge chance I might faint if I stay in them for too long," I tell him.

"That explains why you didn't want to get in the car."

"Yup," I nod. "My turn." I try thinking of anything to ask Luke about. I look down at Molly who is snuggled up beside me, then I notice the bracelet that he got me and it clicks.

"Why do you call me cherries?"

"You smell like them," he answers.

"Seriously?" My eyebrow perks up and he nods.

I guess I've been using too much of my body wash lately.

To be honest, I kind of overuse everything whenever I'm showering. Mum yells at me about how they don't get money for my shampoos, conditioners and body washes, but I'm obsessed with doing that. No idea why though.

"So I'm a walking fruit now?"

"Pretty much."

I blink at him a few times, then I rip a paper and crumble it in a paper ball before throwing it at him. He ducks, laughing and the paper ball hits the grass instead.

| | | |

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