"I did cartwheels? On the middle of the road? In front of a car? And Antonio Brown pulled me away? Then he lectured me? And I laughed at h–"

"Yes, yes, yes to all," I exasperatedly looked at her.

Lily and I were in one of the many guest rooms in Antonio's grand house. The plush, white bed we'd slept in was so comfortable that we'd only just woken up, and it was well into the afternoon. Lily wasn't at all wrong last night when she'd said the houses on this side of town were bigger. His house must've been triple the size of mine. It made me wonder how rich he was—or rather, his parents.

Suddenly, Lily squealed and excitedly latched onto my wrist.

"Are you still drunk?" I skeptically surveyed her, despite knowing full well that she'd vomited into the front hedges of Antonio's house last night—a minor detail I omitted for her sake.

"No," she chuckled. "I'm just so happy you dragged me to that party."

"Really?" I laughed. "I thought you'd be embarrassed."

"Not really," she frantically shook her head. "I talked to more people in one night than I have in my entire life. And I got drunk for the first time. Hell, I slept over at Antonio Brown's house! If you'd told me any of this yesterday, I would've called you crazy. This was the best night of my life," she blissfully sighed, collapsing onto the pillow next to me. "And it's all thanks to you."

I wistfully sighed. "At least one of us had a good time."

The smile instantly slipped off Lily's face.

"People like Buzz are what's wrong with the world. To lay his hands on you..."

She got up from the bed to pace up and down the guest room. It sounded a bit grim, but I was fascinated by the way she seemed so distressed by this. She truly cared. Something told me our friendship was only soaring from here.

"I know," I eventually replied, looking down at my wrist. It was still sore and rather red from when Buzz had pushed me to the ground.

"Did he do that to you?" Lily gasped.

I immediately hid it. "Yeah," I admitted.

"He should not get away with this," Lily anxiously bit her nails. "I don't get how you're not furious."

"Well, Antonio already beat him up," I said hopefully. "Speaking of, how do Antonio and Buzz know each other?"

Lily stopped pacing and plopped down on the floor. "He's Antonio's rival. They go way back."

"Rival?" I crinkled my freckled nose. "What is this, Karate Kid?"

Lily snorted. Before she could muster a response, a commotion from outside the bedroom made us snap our heads up.

"There's no one there, I already told you!" Antonio's muffled shout carried through the door.

Lily and I glanced at each other in confusion.

"I thought he said his parents were out of town!" I whispered in alarm.

Apparently I wasn't quiet enough, because a loud voice from the other side of the door said, "I just heard someone talking!"

There was a slap. Then a groan and the sound of someone hitting another. Then, the door banged open. I must've resembled a dear caught in headlights, though I relaxed to see that it wasn't Antonio's parents at all. There were boys. Tall boys. Hot boys.

I looked at the one on the left first, who looked both shocked though happy. His hair was dark and curly, and his brown eyes darted between Lily and me. Between the height and features, there was definitely a resemblance between him and Antonio. Brothers?

The other one had a dark complexion with a short, twisted hairstyle. Those cheekbones, I thought in awe. Though, he bore a scowl on his face that almost made me recoil.

Last but not least, Antonio apologetically strolled into the room, glancing between Lily and me. There was a rugged morning look to him that took the cake. My hazel eyes lingered over him longer than I realized.

"I swear, I tried to stop th–"

"Well, hello there," the curly head strolled into the bedroom, boastfully looking at the guys behind him. "And who might you two be?"

"This is Rose and Lily," Antonio said brusquely, glaring at the boy. "Now you can leav–"

"You guys are the most beautiful girls I've ever laid eyes on," he shamelessly acclaimed, brown eyes practically shining in delight.

I noticed he had a slight accent that added an elegant flair to everything he said. What was it, Italian?

"Thank you," I bashfully grinned. Even Lily blushed from her spot on the ground.

He grinned right back. "The name's Romano. I'm Antonio's brother–"

"Cousin–"

"We're practically brothers," Romano brazenly pushed aside the other two to get a better look at me. "Goodness, your hair is to die for!"

I stifled a smile at his sweet words, despite knowing that he had to be lying. Beds and curly hair didn't mix.

"You know what? Why don't you two leave." Romano's suggestion sounded more like an order. He swiftly pushed the other two outside of the door. "That'll give me more time to get to know the girls."

The other boy whose name I still didn't know, looked unbothered. He clearly did not care. Meanwhile, Antonio shouted. "Hey!"

Nonetheless, the door was slammed in their faces and swiftly locked.

The doorknob persistently rattled, followed by Antonio's shout. "Ro, I swear if you bother them–"

"Oh, would you relax?" Romano rolled his brown eyes. "Go cook breakfast for us."

I had to laugh at that, and Romano's attention was quickly drawn towards me again. He promptly ran over and jumped onto the bed next to me.

"I'm so sorry for what you two are about to deal with." We could hear Antonio sigh from the other side, and then the sound of retreating footsteps.

Lily was silent, usually shy when she met new people. Though, Romano gestured her over and shifted so that we were all on the bed.

"You two aren't from around here, are ya?" He rolled over to the edge of the bed like a dog.

"No, we live on the other side of town," I admitted.

"You go to Burnsley High?" he curiously asked.

"Yeah, but you don't, do you?" Lily shyly asked, and he looked at her. "I would've recognized you."

He grimaced. "Unfortunately, I go to the private school."

Lily gasped in horror and Romano solemnly nodded.

"What's so bad about that?" I confusedly asked the two.

"Downsview Academy. That's the school Buzz goes to," Lily replied, playing with her blonde strands. "Our schools have been rivals since the beginning of time. They just don't mix with us Burnsley High kids. Every kid from there..."

"Is a stuck up brat, no need to sugarcoat," he cutely grinned.

"Yeah, sorry," Lily winced.

"Don't be. I'm nothing like the others, rest assured."

I can certainly tell, I twitched, on the verge of smiling. I loved Romano already.

"So, tell me. Who are you guys? To Antonio, I mean," he curiously leaned in to get a good look at us. "No, wait. Don't answer."

Lily and I shared looks.

He stared at me for a moment then suddenly sat up alight. "You're wearing Antonio's shirt. You must be the girlfriend!"

"What? No," I looked down at the baggy white tee Antonio had given me to sleep in. "He just lent me this for the night. Trust me, Antonio and I know nothing about each other."

"As if," he doubtfully raised his perfectly shaped eyebrows at me. "Antonio has zero friends. He never brings anyone home. Other than that grouch, Benny, but he doesn't count. They've been friends since preschool."

I immediately knew he was referring to the other boy who'd been with them. The one who hadn't said a word, and instead resorted to glaring at the ground.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Lily curiously asked, cocking her head to the side. "Antonio practically has people lining up to talk to him at school. He's friends with everyone, especially those guys he's always with."

Romano actually snorted. "What, you mean those idiots he smokes with? They're not his friends," he shook his head. "You ask me, he only hangs out with them for free cigarettes."

I muffled a laugh with my hand. "Are you serious? That's terrible!"

Romano chuckled. "You're telling me." He sharply sat up to look at us. "You guys are friends with Antonio–" not really– "which makes you friends with me!"

I playfully shrugged. "Deal."

Lily looked at me, stunned. "It's that easy?"

Whether Romano heard her or not, he plucked out his phone and began to rapidly type.

"Put in your numbers. We're going shopping tomorrow," he brusquely said as if this were a business transaction.

We took turns exchanging numbers, and by the end of it, Romano had a bright look on his face. "I have a good feeling about this," he said.

I do too, I wanted to say. Though, I settled for a small smile. What a character.

• • •