"where the fuck have the two of you been? it's like 5 in the fucking morning?" mason squealed. me and cameron shared a look of exhaustion and both shook our head. it's too early for this shit. "and where are my nuggets?"

"mason, sweetie, i think it's time for bed." the other boys had either crashed on the couch or the floor. whereas mason stayed awake and waited for his chicken nuggets.

"fine. but i won't forget this."

-

scratching at my scalp, i closed my eyes shut as i felt the nerves in my body spike. me and cameron stood in front of the others. we are suppose to be telling them about last night, but it just seems a little off. neither of us really wanted to talk about it since it was all kinda blurry. "so uh-" i stopped talking when i felt myself choke on my own saliva. "ow."

"we got pulled over last night." cameron admits and folds his arms over his chest. they all shook their head and a couple of them shrugged their shoulders. "they got all suspicious and audrey wasn't exactly cooperating the way they liked. even though she was doing perfectly fine." nodding, i also cross my arms and shift my weight.

"yeah, long story short, another group of boys ran across the street in front of us and were also in the hands of the same police officer as us." swagger nodded his head to show he was listening, but i somehow sensed he was zoning out. "so we all got put into a cop car after the guy had called for backup and were sent down to the police station. the four other boys were arrested and me and cam were only questioned."

"they thought we were helping the others in their little expedition to some asylum that was blocked off to the public." mason stood from the couch and pointed at us both.

"but why were you pulled over?" he questioned.

"i was speeding. oh! dude he never wrote me a ticket!" i punch cam in the arm lightly and smile widely. "and i left my wallet here that had my license." the boys were acting a little off today already. i couldn't decipher if it was because of last night, or they all had something on their mind.

"so, when are we gonna meet, jehan?" matt narrowed his eyes at me and tapped his index finger against his thigh. holy shit. "i mean, it's been a couple days, don't you wanna invite him, show him to your friends?" shaking my head, i pinched the bridge of my nose.

"i-i-it's only been 5 days?" matt hummed with suspicion after i spoke. holy fucking shit, they know. they already know. me and cameron are cutting it short. "plus, i kinda hate the guy." i smirk and hear cameron scoff lightly.

-

after cam and audrey were done explaining what went down last night, we sent them to mcdonald's to get us food like they promised last night. "dude, do they think we are idiots?" i inquire as i lean back into the cushioned chair.

"right? they have matching rings on the same fingers! it's so ducking obvious!" matt added in and crossed his arms over his chest. "plus, jehan, he died a couple years ago in a car accident." shaking my head, i rest my head against my hand and try to think why they would want to keep it away from us. "it doesn't make sense though. like what have we done to lose their trust? i mean," matt chuckled lowly and tapped his foot on the ground with irritation.

"i'm tired of them both keeping secrets from us. even that story was half assed. it's just like, what more could they possibly be hiding?" i know it was rude of me to think they are hiding other things from us, but even lying once, and boom, you've lost MY trust. "and didn't you guys see the clip from her live stream that is going viral? you could totally tell he was rubbing her thigh. even though you couldn't really see it, dude, it's so obvious." the clip has been spreading like melted butter around social media platforms.

"so like, how long have you guys been suspicious of it?" smitty asked as he set down his phone. pursing my lips, i narrow my eyes and try to think.

"a little before our camping trip." matt says before i could. i agree. even before this whole thing, there was always something between them. "yeah, no they've always been close. the night that she broke up with me, she had fitz drive her to the airport. she couldn't even face me."

"i mean, i've been here like, a couple hours? it's so clear that she's the reason he has handprints on his bed. and he's so the reason for the bruises on her knees." kryoz laughed and poked smitty in the cheek. "i'm joking, but like, they are totally fucking. they have to be."

"it's true man." grizzy agreed.

-

"cameron, we need to tell them, now." i point to him as we stand in line. we decided to go inside the fast food place instead omg sitting in our car. "they are so suspicious."

"for sure," he nods and pursed his lips. "i know they are, but... for some reason it just feels wrong to tell them? but it also feels wrong to not tell them."

"i know... but i can't lie to them anymore. they know something." as we order, cam held my hand and rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. "i just... i love them like family. i don't want to let them think otherwise."

"i do to. but i love you more." he did not just say that.

"no, no. take that back." i point to him and tilt my head to the side a bit. he just shrugged and threw his hands up halfway. "they are your literal family, take that back."

"can't take back the truth, babe."