"Are you almost done?" I question Em.

She was currently in my bathroom that I share with my brothers, doing her makeup. The same makeup she was doing thirty minutes ago.

"Hold on I just have to finish my eyeliner"

"Dude the party started ten minutes ago!" I whine while stomping my foot like a child for added effect.

"Yeah well it's fine, we're fashionably late" she shrugs

She tried to get me to wear a dress and full makeup, key word being tried. Don't get me wrong, I'm not insanely tomboyish, but I hate dresses, they're uncomfortable and to risk flashing someone is not on my to do list. So instead she settled for black ripped Jean shorts with a badass AC/DC shirt and my usual high top converse. I threw my hair up into a messy bun and swiped some mascara on my lashes. All in all, it took me about twenty minutes to get ready. So far it's been an hour and a half for Em. I only went all out for super special occasion, Em did it for every occasion.

"Okay I'm ready let's go" She says motioning to my door

We could hear the music blaring from the first floor, the bass thumping against my floor. My brothers already had the beer out, the fire going and the pool open.

"Finally!" I yell hopping up off of my bed and running downstairs

" 'Bout time you bitches got down here!" Tyler yells, running over to us to give us both hugs

"That was all her" I grin while looking at Em, making her laugh.

We both follow Tyler through the crowds of people in my house to the kitchen where all the alcohol is. It pays off having older brothers who were friends with everyone, we had a long list of people we could easily get beer and kegs from.

"Where's everyone else?" I ask him

"Backyard, c'mon" he motions to he back door before he starts walking out. Half the people here I didnt even know, there were kids from all the surrounding towns here too. That's typical though, Kalanski parties were infamously known in our area.

"Girls!" I hear a new voice yell, I turn around with a smile on my face already knowing who it is. My best friends was recognizable anywhere.

"JORDY!" I scream before jumping into his arms. I could finally hug my best friend, and it felt amazing.

He catches me with ease and holds me without any chance of letting go. His hugs were possibly the best thing in the world.

"I missed my bestfriend" He smiles slightly as I look up at him, I was now standing but our arms were still wrapped around eachother.

"I missed you too Jordy" I grin, happy to see my best friend for real.

"Love you bailyboo" he says making me laugh.

That was one of the two nicknames I earned when I was younger that has stuck with me, and probably will until I die. There's one other that only one person has ever been allowed to call me.

"Love you too Jordy" I say as he kisses my cheek.

To anyone who didn't know us, we'd look like a couple, but it was really just how we were with eachother. We've been like this since we became friends, both of us knowing that our relationship is purely platonic.

"Okay I got beer," Beck says as he hands out bottles and red solo cups to everyone.

"Hey I wanted Stella!" Tyler glares as I take the last one.

"Nope, sorry Ty, it's all mine and Becks," I grin mischievously while clinking my bottle with my twin.

"You suck!" He pouts like a child, making me laugh.

"And you swallow" I retort making Jordan practically choke on his beer, I think they forgot just how blunt I really am. I barely had a filter.

Everyone starts laughing at him, as he and Tyler get into a playful wrestling match.

"Okay you two, hold on, I'll go grab you another beer Ty" I grin at him before getting up.

I walk back inside and into the kitchen to grab another cup but just as I close the fridge, a large body knocks into me causing me to lose my balance slightly and spill some of my beer all over them.

"Oh I am so sorry" I apologize, mentally cringing at my own clumsiness. It was like I couldn't walk without tripping or falling of some sorts.

"Watch where you're going" the guy snaps at me. His amber eyes dark and threatening as he towers over me.

"Okay I said I was sorry, it was an accident, no need to be a dick about it" I say, glaring at him as he looks down at me with annoyance written across his face. He was visually gorgeous with his sharp jawline, slight stubble and dark eyes but his personality ruined it all. Why do all the pretty ones have to be douchebags?

"Who are you? Do you even know me? You have no right to be telling ME what to do, so don't" He snaps, his intense, dark eyes boring directly into moine. There was something familiar about the guy but I was too annoyed to figure it out.

"No I thanks, I'm just going to do whatever the fuck I want, if you're going to be an asshole I'm going to call you out on your shit. Just a few words of advice, your dick belongs in your pants not your personality, maybe you should remove it" I snap back. He had no right being an arrogant asshole to me... in my own home.

A look of suprise takes over his face for a split second before turning back to the hard glare

I don't break my stare down with him, not daring to let him win. I was a stubborn bitch, I wasn't about to lose whatever this was to some asshole.

"I can do and say whatever the hell I please. If you don't like it then fuck off" I add once again. I swear I'm usually a nice person, I just really hated people like him.

He looked like he was confused or was trying to figure something out but his eyes immediately go wide once I finish my sentence.

"Holy shit, I'd recognize those fiery eyes of yours anywhere, Princess" His glare soon morphs into a small grin.

My own eyes go wide with realization as the nickname leaves his mouth, the gorgeous guy before me was none other than Caleb fuckin Kazer. How the hell did I not recognize him?! Wow did he got hotter since I left. Maybe I wasn't the only one who changed in the passed year.

"Holy shit you don't look like you," He teases. I still can't believe I hadn't talked to him in a year. I mean it didn't feel that long, "I still can't get over this"

"I can't either" I shake my head. He looks so different, a good different, but I still couldn't believe it. Don't get me wrong, he was extremely good looking when I left but now he's just gotten more attractive if that's even possible.

"When did you get back?" He asks as I grab another bottle from the fridge to make up for my spilt one.

"Wait did they not tell you I was coming in?" I question,

How could they not tell him?...Better question, how could Tyler refrain from telling him? He sucked at keeping any secret.

"No, no one said anything, I thought they were just having a party tonight" Caleb shrugs like this is just a normal occurrence. Though he wasn't wrong, parties were pretty normal for us.

"Well suprise" I grin Holding up my bottle "I flew in this morning"

"I see that" he smiles down at me "Did you get shorter?"

"Are you really gonna bring that up now? I've been gone for a year and that's what you comment on?" laugh at him, he's still the same Kazer I've known

"What did you expect?" He smirks " A hug, kiss and an 'I missed you' ?"

"Ew, not from you" I scoff with a small grin on my face

"Good, cause you weren't getting it" He chuckles "I am glad you're back though, things have been boring without someone to annoy"

"Me too Kazer." I say as we start walking out into the backyard.

"Where is everyone else? I was looking for them" He asks me.

"They're out by the fire ," I say before both of us start waking in the direction of our group "So big shot, NFL?" I question.

He just glances down at me with a smirk before looking back up.

"What can I say? I'm the best." He shrugs with the arrogant smirk I know all too well.

"Wow still cocky as ever" I snort before I let out a loud burp.

"Wow still ladylike as ever" He mocks

"Damn right I am" I nod as we approach our group "So hows mom and my favorite Kazers?"

"They're good, they missed the hell outta you, especially Bex. They went up to see grandma and grandpa in Fort Worth, so they'll be back in two weeks. Austin's also good, he and Kate just moved closer to home too, all the little ones go to the same school now" he says referring to his nephews, Sam and Derek and his little niece, Bexley.

Bexley technically wasn't his biological sister, she was actually his niece. His oldest brother, Brandon, partied a lot and slept around in college, He eventually got a girl pregnant. After she had Bexley, she left. So Brandon tried to raise Bex, but a short time after she was born, he got heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol. He refused any help and almost actually hit his mom, if Caleb's other brother, Austin, wasn't there to stop him. It was extremely sad, I loved Brandon. Like the rest of the Kazers, he was family. After that he just left and we haven't heard from him since. Caleb's mom and dad decided to legally adopted Bexley and since then, shes been apart of our giant dysfunctional family.

"Aww I miss them, I can't wait till they get back" I smile, thinking of his younger sisters, they were basically the little sister's I never had.

"Trust me, once I tell them you're back, I don't think they will be able to either" he grins before we join out group

"Hey guys" Caleb greets

"Hey bigshot" Em grins

"I see you two found eachother" Jordan laughs, gesturing to both of us

"Yeah she spilled beer on me" Caleb grins "I didn't even fuckin recognize her" I hear him add quietly

"So how did the meeting go?" Beck asks Caleb and Jordan as we sit down

Me, taking my normal seat next to Jordan and Caleb sitting across from us.

"It was pretty good. Theres a chance that we both might get deals straight out of high school" Jordan laughs like it was a joke. It truly was unreal though.

"I'd laugh if you got drafted to the Bears" I snort, making everyone laugh, besides Caleb of course, who was just glaring at me.

He hated all Chicago teams and has hated them since he was little. I could understand the Bears, they weren't everyone's cup of tea, but the Cubs? Come on! They were by far my favorite team and has been since I knew what baseball was. I still couldn't understand how Caleb could hate them, even after the 2016 season.

"Do not even joke about that." His face still contorted into a glare.

"Oh no I'm going to, cause it will be hilarious when it happens" I say making Em laugh even more "but look on the bright side. Talensky" I say dreamily, thinking of the current Bears quarterback.

The Bears have also always been my favorite football team, no matter how bad they've been. I stuck with them through the Cutler years and I'm staying through Talensky. I do love the Chiefs and Steelers though, they'll all have a special place in my heart.

"Princess you are still annoying as ever" He scoffs with an eyeroll

"It was only a year, do you really think I changed that much?" I grin taking a sip of my beer, deciding to ignore the annoying nickname that he's been calling me since I was three.

"Bails you did change alot" Jordan says nudging my arm.

"Not really, I'm still the same as I've always been" I chuckle,

"Great" I hear Caleb mutter sarcastically

"I missed this" Em smiles looking around at us "All of us together"

"Y'all have no idea how much I missed you guys this passed year" I say looking at them

"Trust me, you have no ideas how much we missed you" Jordan grins as he wraps an arm around me "Even Caleb " he adds as he smirks over at Caleb who just sends him a glare in response.

"Doubt that" I laugh, "If anything Caleb was the one rejoicing when I left."

"No at first I was happy, I didn't have your annoying voice constantly in my ear" Caleb smirks sheepishly at me

"Um excuse you, you're the annoying one here" I cut in

"But after a while I missed having someone to mess with" He shrugs very nonchalantly.

Aww, he really did miss me.

"Yeah I didn't miss that" I nod

"Oh come on you love me" he snorts

"You've been saying that since sixth grade, the answer is always the same" I smirk

"Yeah yeah I know" He rolls his eyes making everyone laugh. "Never in a million years"

"Okay guys let's go, there is a party happening!" I grin, hopping up and out of my seat

"Let's get a picture first!" Em says

"Em!" We all whine at her. We loved the girl, but her and her pictures would be the death of us.

"Oh stop then we can go party" she says using her mom voice

We all stand up and Em hands her phone to a random girl in our backyard to take the picture.

I was squished between Jordan and Caleb, who both towered over me. We all smile fakely as the girl takes multiple pictures of us until Jordan voices his thoughts

"I have to shit are we done Em?"

We all start to laugh, even the girl taking the pictures. I glance up at Caleb to see when already looking down at my with a grin on his face.

"Your best friend is insane" He dips his head down and whispers into my ear, talking about Em. She's had this poor girl take at least 100 pictures. I look up to see a genuine smile on his face as his eyes dance with amusement looking down at me. He didn't really smile often, and when he did, it usually wasn't his actual smile. Finally seeing it after a year is honestly refreshing. Not many people got to see his genuine smile, I was one of he few he wasn't stone cold towards.

I just nod and laugh at him as the girl continues to take pictures of us. Em loved her pictures, I did too. She was an amazing photographer, and she always gave me ones that I liked, I currently have a collection of all my favorite pictures she's taken hanging on my picture wall.

After taking about twenty more, the girl hands the phone back to Em.

"The last few were really good" The girl smiles before walking back into my house after her friends

"Aww these are cute!" She says showing me the pictures

"Send those to me," I tell her before I'm pulled inside with the guys

"HEY BELLE!" Jordan yells

"WHATS UP?" I yell back with a laugh

"FUN TIME" he yells through the crowds of people

We had easily the whole teenage population of our town plus more here tonight, my brothers went all out for this party. Their one friend was currently playing DJ and there were bodies dancing everywhere. Em and I immediately jump into the crowd and start dancing, circling around with different guys and laughing with eachother all together. We played beer pong, and we even had a giant game of quarters organized. By the end of everything, it was safe to say that I was slightly tipsy.

"Best first day home ever" I say grinning at Em

"I had a great time" she slurs

"What time is it?" I ask her as she leans on me for support

"three"

"We should probably start kicking some people out" I say while she finds her balance

The only ones still awake were Em, Caleb , Arrex and I. Jordan and Wes left around an hour ago to walk home with these two girls, Ace went to bed, Tyler is passed out on the kitchen table and Beck fell asleep in the grass out back.

"Yeah let's get the guys" I nod as we hop off the kitchen counter to go find my brother and Caleb.

As we walk into the living room, we see Caleb smashing faces with a girl on our couch. It honestly didn't even look like making out let alone kissing, this girl was just trying to eat his face.

"Hey Caleb, we're kicking everyone out, we gotta start cleaning up" I say, making him break the kiss

He just grins with swollen lips and looks at the girl

"Sorry Crystal, I have to help them" He says before slipping out from under her and walking over to us, mouthing a quick 'thank you' to Em and I.

"Um my name's Lexi!" The girl snaps at him with a glare.

"Oh yea Crystal was the girl from earlier" he says in though making Em and I burst out laughing

"Sorry Lexi but everyones gotta go" I tell her

"Just call a cab and they'll get you"

"Baby wanna come with?" The girl, Lexi, tries to smile seductively at Caleb as she blatantly ignores me. Key word-tries.

"Nah sorry, I gotta help the girls. Get home safe though," And with that, he was gone into the kitchen.

"Thank you so much." He huffs, making Em smirk at him.

"Am I missing something?" I question with a raised brow.

"Lexi and her friend Bianca, have been after me since summer started. I had a little fling with Lexi last year, it only lasted a month or two but she's been possessive ever since and has been trying to get back with me" He scoffs with disgust on his face

I snort at the whole 'dating' thing, cause fact of the matter is, Caleb doesn't date. He never has and never will.

"So what are they stupid or something?" I question

" No Lexi's actually really smart, she's just a flat out bitch. She's been a bitch to Emma since she met her. Biancas the dumbass who will sleep with anyone who has a dick. She's just a really good kisser but thats literally all she is" Caleb groans

"Wait really?" I look at Em with furious eyes she answers with a slight nod. No one is a bitch to my best friend, well besides me and the guys of course. I was obviously the more confrontational friend between the two of us.

"Yeah no, fuck that" I look back at him and he just nods in agreement

Though we barely get along, we were always the protective ones of our friends. I mean all of them were protective of Em and I, especially my brothers and Caleb. But with anyone else, it was always Caleb and I standing up for them.

"I'd like to see her say shit to you" Caleb smirks "You're a downright bitch to people you don't like"

"You would know" I just shrug with a grin before taking one last swig of my beer and throwing it into the garbage can.

"Wheres Arrex?" Em questions, Caleb points out to the backyard answering her questions

"Okay I'll go get him" She nods before slipping out back, leaving Caleb and I.

"So did you like your party?" He asks, tossing me an empty bottle to throw away

"I wouldn't say it was my party, but of course, our parties are always fun" I grin

"Oh trust me, I know. Remember your goodbye party?" he smirks.

That party was definitely something. I almost died that night, it was freaking hilarious.

"You were so pissed at me" I laugh

When I party I like to party. My going away party was probably the best one of my life so far, I got so drunk I tried to jump off the roof with my boyfriend at the time. My boyfriend made it into the pool but I wouldn't have, Caleb caught me on the way down.

"Yeah I was pissed at you two dumbasses! I had to catch you!" He pouts. He was only mad cause he wanted to jump off with us.

"Oh thanks for that by the way" I laugh. Maybe the thank you was a little late, better late than never!

"Yeah whatever," he grins with an eye-roll "Arrex yelled at me cause I was supposed to keep you away from your boyfriend"

"You gotta admit it was pretty funny" I reason trying make him smile