A/N:I hope you liked the first chapter and are looking forward to finding out what will happen with Lex and the girls. I love to hear what readers think of my writing, characters, ideas etc so if you could take a moment and leave either a review or send a PM that would be great. Enjoy :-) Jarrad


I have been at The Brew for about half an hour writing emails to some of my friends and family back home in Australia and listening to my favourite Fall Out Boy album, Save Rock and Roll, when I hear someone say my name. I take off my headphones, but I leave them around my neck, looking up I see the blonde from yesterday, "Sorry?"

"I said hello, I saw you sitting here and thought I should come over and say hi."

"G'day mate. What ya couldn't stay away huh?" I wink and the blonde giggles.

"Lex your accent gives me goosebumps." She admits as she rubs her arms.

"I didn't realise I had that effect on you Blondie." I smirk, and the blonde playfully slaps my arm, "You come to get a caffeine hit or just to hit me?"

"Caffeine, I'm here with my best friends Aria and Spencer while we wait for Emily to finish her shift." She then points to the raven-haired girl behind the counter, and the two brunettes talking to her. "I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?"

"Nah it's all good, I was just listening to music while I write some emails to family and friends back in Oz."

"Good because I was wondering if you wanted to have a coffee with us, then you can meet Aria and Spencer."

"I dunno Blondie, I don't want to intrude."

The blonde takes a seat across from me at the table. "You wouldn't be, come on Lex, I had fun hanging with you yesterday, and Emily did too."

"I liked hanging out with you and Emily too, it's nice to know someone else here."

"So right now, you know two new people, but by the end of the day you could double that if you wanted. Spencer and Aria said they didn't mind me inviting you." The blonde's phone buzzes in her handbag, "Sorry, I better get that, it could be my mum."

"Go ahead." She pulls out her phone and starts typing away as I toss up whether to accept the invitation or not, that is until the taller brunette turns around and looks in my direction, she must be wondering where Hanna is. My mouth suddenly becomes drier than the outback in the middle of a drought, and my mind goes completely blank. I think the brunette's beauty just fried my brain. The brunette whose lips look so plump and kissable curl into a smile. It takes me a moment to get my brain to work again, but once I do, I manage to smile back, although I hope it didn't look as awkward as it felt. That smile is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I feel like it's now my life's mission to make the brunette smile again and again.

"So, what do you say? Have a coffee with us?"

I don't take my eyes of the brunette even as she turns her attention back to the shorter brunette beside her, "Yeah sure." I say, almost dreamily but I'm rudely snapped out of my daze when the blonde claps her hands and stands up.

"Are you good for a drink Lex?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure." I say as I remove my headphones from around my neck, my attention still focused on the stunning brunette.

"Okay well I'm going to go get Spencer and Aria and bring them over to meet you."


I save my current email before closing my laptop and put it and my headphones in my messenger bag. Oh no, what have I agreed to? I'm going to say something stupid, I just know it. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, while repeating 'just breathe Lex, it will be fine' over and over in my head like a mantra. When I open my eyes, I see Hanna and the two brunettes walking towards my table.

"Don't listen to Han, just because she thinks that it's crazy to want to go school over summer, it doesn't mean Em and I agree. You should feel proud you got into the program, not everyone gets accepted."

"Thanks Spencer."

So now I know who the stunning brunette is, Spencer, I instantly forget any doubts I had over the name Spencer for a girl yesterday because now that I see her, I think the name suits her. The two brunettes stop short of Hanna who stops directly in front of me. "Now you already met Emily, these are my other best friends, Aria and Spencer, guys, this is Lex."

I stand and extend my hand out to both girls and smile, "G'day, nice to meet you Aria, Spencer."

"Nice to meet you Lex, Hanna has told us that you moved here from Australia."

"And that you're pretty cool and have a 'sweet ride.'" Adds the shorter brunette with air quotes, "Hanna actually pointed it out on our way in."

"Gossiping about me and my car huh Blondie?"

"Oh definitely, your car is awesome, I didn't want to go home yesterday."

"Typical," I chuckle, "only want the car, not the driver." I wink at the blonde.

"You wish I wanted you." Chuckles Hanna, "I only said I would have coffee with you because of your accent, but then you ended up being cool and you having a convertible was just a bonus."

"Well I'm just lucky I have a fair dinkum Aussie accent then. Or otherwise I feared you were going to beat me with your handbag."

"I thought about it." Hanna swings her handbag in my direction, I flinch causing the blonde to crack up, "But then you opened your mouth. Do you mind if we go sit on the couches over there?" Asks Hanna pointing to the back of the coffee shop.

"Yeah, wherever you want to sit is fine with me."

"Lead the way Aria." Hanna waves at the shorter brunette to start walking towards the chairs. When we arrive Aria calls dibs on a single chair, Hanna sits on the lounge end furthest from the petite brunette, Spencer follows and sits to the left of the blonde and I place my bag carefully on the floor and take the last seat on the lounge. Our shoulders brush and my breath hitches. Maybe I should have sat in the other single chair, oh well, it's too late to move now.

To distract myself from being so close to the stunning brunette I look around the café, when I look towards the door, I see the blonde from the mall walk in with another girl, "Hey guys, do any of you know that girl over there, with the bleached blonde hair?" I nod my head in the direction of the counter where she is currently standing.

"Ugh, yes. That's Britney Ward." Hanna sighs before narrowing her eyes, "Why do you want to know? Please don't say you're after an introduction because you don't want to go there, believe me."

"So, I take it you don't like her then?"

"That's a big fat yes, she's a total bitch."

"Han, that's enough." Warns Spencer and then softens her tone, "So why did you want to know who she was?"

"I was just curious, I just wanted to know what I was dealing with. A couple of days ago I was putting some things into my car at the mall and she came up to me and started flirting with me. She was rubbing her hand all up and down my arm, eyeing my tat and gave me her number telling me to call her if I ever wanted to put the top down and have some fun."

"She threw herself at Em when she first came out too." Says Aria before she drinks from her cup. Emily's gay too? Well that's another correct ping on the gaydar. It's never been wrong so far.

"Well what did you do? You didn't call her, did you?" Asks a slightly disgusted Hanna.

"No way, I was super uncomfortable, so I just took her number and got in my car and left."

"Really? You didn't say anything to her? You just drove away?" The blonde begins to chuckle to herself.

"Mate, if a sheila comes up to ya looking like she was gangbanged by a box of crayola crayons and starts cracking onto ya and hands you her number, you don't stick around for her to yabber on, ya run the other way."

"Huh? You lost me, in English please." Complains Hanna.

"Sorry, I'm having a hard time remembering you have no idea what I'm saying sometimes, so let me translate for you. Mate is like saying dude, sheila is a girl or woman and to yabber on is to talk a lot."

"Even though I have no idea what you're saying sometimes, I still think your accent is hot as hell."

"Jeez Han, if I didn't know better, I would think you were hitting on poor Lex here." Emily says as she approaches us, with a take away cup in hand. "Looks like I turned up at the perfect time to save Lex from a slightly predatory and horny Hanna."

"Hey." Exclaims the blonde as she folds her arms across her chest and pouts, "I'm not predatory, just horny."

"Naww, poor Blondie, you might have to do something about that." I say and a smile tugs at the blonde's lips before she breaks out into a smile.

"Maybe I will." She winks before laughing.

"Was she like this with you yesterday?" Asks Aria and I nod, the brunette shakes her head and laughs.

"Well our token blonde is usually harmless, so I wouldn't worry too much." Chuckles Spencer.

"I think I can handle Blondie."

"Oh, I'm sure you could short stack." Hanna then chuckles at me.

"Oi there mate, take that back, I'm not that short, I'm five foot three."

"Fine, I'm sorry Lex. Can you say something else totally Australian please?" The blonde practically begs.

"Okay, but only because you asked nicely. Now try and wrap your heads around this. Last weekend some bloke named Davo, who's built like a brick shit house bailed me up at Azza's barbie by bringing me a coldie when I came out of the loo, but I told him I would prefer a bundy." I smirk as I look at the girls, they look completely lost.

"Did you just make up words?" Jokes Hanna.

"Nope. All real words or sayings that are quite common, especially for a bushie like me. Go ahead, give it a crack."

"Could you repeat that please?" Asks Aria.

"Sure." I make sure to speak slower this time, "Last weekend some bloke named Davo, built like a brick shit house bailed me up at Azza's barbie by bringing me a coldie when I came out of the loo, but I told him I would prefer a bundy."

"Umm, last weekend some guy named Davo-" begins Emily.

"Short for David?" Asks Spencer, I nod.

"All I got was some guy named Davo was at Azza's barbecue…and he brought you a drink but would prefer something to eat." Says Aria hesitantly, almost questioningly.

I chuckle, "Not quite. But you got the drink bit right."

"I give up, and I swear you just made those words up." Groans Hanna.

"Okay, last weekend some guy named David, a big strong guy, cornered me at Aaron's barbecue by bringing me a beer as I came out of the toilet, but I told him I would prefer a bundy, which is an Australian brand of rum and coke."

"Whoa, it's like you speak a totally different language. Tell us another one." Comments Emily.

"Then he was chuckin' a wobbly about not getting his roo bar for his ute in time for the B&S and asked if I was going but I told him I'll be flat out like a lizard drinking all weekend."

"This one is harder, no fair." Complains Hanna, I smirk as they all seem to mull it over.

I see Spencer open and close her mouth a few times before dropping her head into her hands, "I have nothing."

"Well if Spence is out so am I." Says Emily.

"Same." Nods Aria.

"Yeah, I'm not going to be the only one guessing and then end up looking like an idiot." Says Hanna.

"You sheilas are no fun." I chuckle, "So Davo was throwing a tantrum about not getting his roo bar, which is a bar that goes on the front bumper to protect the car, usually from kangaroos, we also call them bull bars. So, he can't get his bull bar for his utility vehicle, you call them pick-up trucks, in time for the B&S, Bachelor and Spinsters ball, which is a big party where people who live in the bush dress up, show off their utes and hit the turps, sorry, go on a drinking binge. He then asked if I was going but I told him I would be busy all weekend. Last one, I was in the big smoke with Piper yesterday arvo having a cuppa and a bikkie while she was whinging about Azza being a wombat and saying he was a bogan, all while she had a durry hanging out of her mouth, hair unkept wearing tracky daks and uggies and getting on the piss at two." I look to see them all staring at me blankly. I chuckle, "So I was in the city with Piper yesterday afternoon having a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit, you would say cookie, while she was complaining about Azza eating, rooting, which is having sex, and then leaving."

Spencer chuckles, "Eats, roots and leaves. That's pretty funny."

"She also said he was a bogan, think of them as the Aussie version white trash or rednecks. All while she had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, her hair was a mess, wearing tracksuit pants, you call them sweatpants, and ugg boots. And getting on the piss is drinking beer."

"Can I just say, that was so confusing but so damn hot at the same time?" Winks Hanna.

"Well you just did Han." Spencer states as she bumps the blonde with her shoulder, and we all laugh.

"It's okay Hanna. A lot of people keep commenting on my accent. Sometimes I even play it up and use Aussie slang and phrases to confuse them like I did to you guys just then, but obviously not to that extreme. Speaking of accents, anyone want to hear a funny story?" All four of the girls either nod or say yes, "Okay, so last week on the plane from Dallas to Philadelphia there was this woman that I was sitting next to in business class and we started talking-."

"Hold up, you were in business class?" Hanna exclaims.

"Yeah, I was from Sydney to Dallas as well. Gran and Gramps wanted me to be comfortable, they wanted to pay for first class, but my parents kept saying they wouldn't let them, but Gramps only listened when I told him I would probably be asleep most of the time anyway, even though I was awake for most of the trip, in nearly forty-eight hours I only slept for four maybe five hours in total."

"Whoa, no way in hell I could do that." Mutters Hanna.

"So anyway, this woman was in her late fifties, early sixties and tried to strike up a conversation, so we began talking about why we were going to Philadelphia, so I told her, I was coming to stay with my grandparents in Rosewood and she told me she was going to visit her son and his 'housemate' of two years, because she won't call him his boyfriend as she sees it as a sin, I was like 'okay', all the while thinking how could she be blatantly homophobic like that. I reluctantly kept talking to her, and then out of the blue she asks, 'are you an aspiring actress?' I was confused as hell, but I was like 'why do you ask?' Then she turns and looks me straight in the eye and her features deadpan which freaked me out a little, 'because your British accent isn't any good.' I told her 'well of course it isn't any good because it's not British, it's Australian.' Then she was like 'well your Australian accent isn't any good either. It sounds nothing like what they do in TV and the movies. I think you need more practice, or you should just stick with your American accent.' Oh man, I was as mad as a cut snake, 'Umm excuse me? For your information most of the Australians you see in the movies and TV are American or Canadian, and you would be surprised to know how many Aussie actors and actresses are currently on your screens, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush, Mel Gibson, Guy Pierce, Jackie Weaver, Olivia Newton-John, Rachel Griffiths, Portia De Rossi, the late Heath Ledger, the Hemsworth brothers, Margot Robbie and the great late Errol Flynn was an Aussie too. And that's just off the top of my head, so imagine how many more I could think of if I sat and thought about it. And just so you know I was born and raised in Australia, this is my real accent, and howdareyou say otherwise.' I said a few other things I don't quite remember about being homophobic I told her that I was gay and by the end of my rant I was seeing red, then the whole of business started clapping, even people at the front of economy did too. The woman ended up storming off red faced to the restroom and stayed there until she was told to return to her seat for us to land. A flight attendant came up to me and said that the woman was a frequent flyer, was rude to the attendants and other passengers and deserved to be taken down a peg or two."

"You're such a badass Lex." Cried Hanna and we all have a good laugh at her comment.

"Nah, just can't stand dickwhackers like that. Sorry, I mean idiots." I didn't realise but I had balled my hands into fists and my whole body had tense up.

"So how are you handling all the changes?" Asks Spencer, she must have noticed me tensing up and decided to change the subject and I silently thank Spencer with a smile, which she returns.

"It's okay, I was prepared for the big ones like converting kilometres to miles, Celsius to Fahrenheit, kilos to pounds and vice versa and the way you write the date, but they all make me stop and think for a moment. It's weird with all the little differences though, like calling a car boot a trunk, and lollies are candy or sweets, tea is a drink but also another name for dinner to us and biscuits are cookies. A funny one though is thongs, over here you call them flip flops, that's a mistake I don't really want to make again. Oh, but I'm already missing Vegemite, it's only been a week, but I feel as though I'm having withdrawals, I love the stuff and tim tams."

"What are they?"

"Vegemite is a thick black spread, made from yeast extract, so it's salty, and can be a little bitter sometimes. You usually butter a piece of toast then spread on the Vegemite. You can even have it with cheese, tomato, lettuce or with avocado. You can use it in cooking too."

"Sounds interesting. What are tim tams?" Says Spencer.

"Tim tams are a chocolate biscuit, they consist of a chocolate creamy filling sandwiched between two chocolate malt biscuits and covered in chocolate."

Spencer leans over and jokingly whispers, "Lex, wipe your chin, I think you're drooling."

"Too right I am, I placed an order from a website that sells Australian food and other goodies yesterday, it should be here in a couple of days. You can all come around and try some Vegemite on toast, tim tams and some Aussie chocolate when it arrives if you like. We can even go for a swim or just hang about the pool if you want." I take a sip of my iced chocolate and quickly add, "But I don't want to sound pushy or like I'm trying to rush things, I know you only met me today or yesterday, so it's fine if you guys would rather not."

"I don't know about the others, but it sounds like a plan Lex." Says a smiling Hanna.

"Yeah, count me in me."

"Me too."

"And me."

"Really? You sheilas want to keep hanging out with me?" I look around at all four girls and they all nod, smile or both, "Awesome, I thought I would have scared you lot off by now."

"I don't know why but I feel really comfortable around you, I feel like I have known you for a long time Lex." Says Hanna, "I have never hit it off with anyone like this before. If I was into girls, I think we would have gone on a date last night and I would already be planning on moving in." We all have a good laugh at Hanna's lesbian U-Haul joke.

"That's after the second date, so you must be eager." I chuckle and lean over and pick up my iced chocolate from the coffee table, I look up and in a very deadpan tone I say "Because I'm a deadset legend, everyone either wants to get with me or be me. Isn't that right Emily?" I wink at Emily and she starts spluttering as she nearly chokes on her coffee, her eyes are as wide as saucers and her face and neck turn a deep crimson red. Hanna doubles over in a fit of laughter nearly falling off the lounge, "Your…your face Em…oh my God…I…I can't breathe." Hanna cries as she holds her sides. Spencer and Aria are both chuckling quietly. Well that certainly got a laugh but I feel bad that I embarrassed Emily.

"Sorry Emily, I didn't mean to embarrass you like that. It was never my intention, I was only joking, I hope you know that." I say as I fidget with my straw, my cocky confidence shot to hell. I look up to see Emily's face has thankfully started to return to its natural tan complexion, "I know I took it way too far then. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"It's okay Lex."

"At least let me buy you another coffee seeing as I made you spill what was left of that one." I point to the table where her coffee cup lay on its side, with coffee trickling out. She must have spilled it as she tried to put her cup down quickly when she was choking.

"You seem to have a knack for making us spill our coffees, so you better watch out Spence and Ar." Says Hanna as she points a finger at both the brunettes.

Emily looks down at the coffee table, "Oh, I didn't realise. Yeah okay, thanks Lex."

"Emily, it's the least I can do."

"Well I'm just going to grab a cloth to clean this up." The swimmer says as she stands up and heads to the kitchen.


"Not so much of a badass now, are you?" Teases Hanna.

"Hey, I feel like a real dropkick okay, Emily is really sweet, like an adorable puppy and I embarrassed her and now she probably hates me. I might just take off before she comes back." I grab my messenger bag but I'm too late, Emily starts walking back to us and begins to wipe up the spilled coffee.

"Are you leaving?" I plonk back down on the lounge and shake my head, "Lex, if you were leaving because of me don't, I promise you I'm fine. You just took me by surprise that's all, but now that it's been brought up, you were right, girls either want to be you or be with you and I can say without a doubt, I am one of the later." She says as a smirk plays at her lips.

"Huh-hmm." I clear my throat, "Is this you umm, asking me out?" Everyone can see I'm nervous as anything, "Because if you are, I'm really sorry but I don't see you that way, but we can still hang out as friends, can't we?"

"Ha!" Emily starts laughing, "That was payback Lex. You're certainly my type but I'm not really looking for anything right now anyway, so friends." Emily extends out her hand, and I shake it, absolutely flabbergasted.

"She got you so good Lex." Chuckles Hanna.

Aria giggles, "I think we can all agree that should be called even now."

"Yeah, where did badass Lex go?" Chuckles Spencer.

I shake my head to snap myself out of my embarrassed daze.

"Quick question Em. What would you have done if Lex did want to go on a date with you? Would you have gone through with it?" Asks an intrigued Aria.

"I did say Lex was my type, so I would have gone on the date. But I didn't think I had anything to worry about because I have a feeling Lex likes someone else."

"What? How?" Cries Hanna excitedly, "Do you have like super gaydar or something?"

"No. I just have a feeling. Don't worry Lex, I won't tell anyone."

I feel my cheeks burning, thankfully I have a tan complexion, so they might not notice as much. I quickly change the subject to take the focus off myself. "Umm, what would you like Emily? Anything you want on the menu, food or drink."

"Just an americano please."

"Milk or sugar?"

"One pink, thank you."

"Okay, anyone else want anything? My shout of course. I want to make a good first impression."

"You don't have to worry about that Lex, we love you already, you're a crack up. I will have a skinny vanilla latte and a chocolate chip muffin if they have any please."

"Hanna!" Exclaims Spencer.

"What? She asked if I wanted anything, so I told her. Jeez Spence, lighten up." Says Hanna shaking her head at the brunette.

"It's okay guys, I wouldn't have offered if I was going to get pissed if you accepted."

Hanna smiles smugly at Spencer, "See."

"Well if you're sure, can I get a supersize drip with three sugars please?"

"Sure, Aria?"

"Can I get a dry soy cappuccino? Would you like one of us to come with you? It's a lot to remember?"

"Of course you can Aria, and she'll be right, I got it. Dry soy cappuccino, americano with one pink, supersized drip with three sugars and a skinny vanilla latte with whipped cream and a choc chip muffin and an iced chocolate for myself." I point at each girl as I say their order, "Is that right?"

"Whoa, that was pretty good Lex, but I didn't ask for whipped cream."

"Thanks, I have a pretty good memory and I know you didn't ask for it, but you look like a like a whipped cream kinda girl."

"Yeah, I am actually, it goes well with the vanilla."

"Well, seeing as you're buying everyone else's drinks too, I think it's only it fair that you drive me home when we're done here." A coy smile tugging at Emily's lips.

"Yeah sure, I can do that." I smile back as I stand and go to the counter to order our drinks.


Once I have ordered our drinks I return to the girls and sit back down on the lounge, "She said she would bring the drinks over when they're ready. And you're in luck Blondie, there was one choc chip muffin left."

Hanna smiles wide. "Thanks Lex." Says the blonde.

"So, tell us a little bit about yourself and where you used to live Lex." Says Aria.

"Yeah, the way you talk sometimes feels like you're from another planet." Adds Hanna.

"Well up until I started school my parents and I moved around from place to place. My parents are both archaeologists who deal mostly in indigenous excavations. So as a kid I got to visit remote Aboriginal communities and meet people I never would have if it wasn't for their jobs. It made me want to learn about my Aboriginal heritage and its culture. But when it was time for me to start school, I started a year later than usual, we moved back to my mother's hometown, so we could be close to her sister and her husband, so they could look after me when they would go away for work. From age five up until a week ago I lived in a small country town in the state of New South Wales called Forbes, a rural town so we kinda live out bush. It has about eight thousand people living there and the surrounding area. I lived with Mum and Dad, they will be leaving next week for Peru to go to an Incan dig site for at least the next eighteen months."

"How long would they normally go away for?" Asks Aria.

"Usually about eight months out of the year, on and off, but they would also take turns or overlap so I usually had a parent with me, otherwise I stayed at my aunt and uncle's. So, this is the longest time they will be gone. But they said that they should get time off in there somewhere to come visit."

"I assume you don't have any siblings?"

"You assume right Spencer, I'm an only child, so I was always spoilt growing up, especially by Gran and Gramps, who are my father's parents, that's who I'm living with now. We actually visited Rosewood every year except for one since I was six during my school holidays for three to four weeks."

"I wonder if any of us ever saw you while you were here." Ponders Aria.

"You probably did, we were here for Christmas and New Year's. With my birthday being at the end of October Gran and Gramps would just wait until we came over to give me my birthday presents. They would always buy a cheap suitcase, so I could take my birthday and Christmas presents home with me. They would always give me a prepaid debit card and send me shopping for clothes or whatever I wanted. Last year it was only a carry-on size suitcase though. I usually buy a lot of clothes, because it's all so different over here, but for my birthday last year Gran and Gramps paid for a new MacBook Air and I bought a new iPhone when I got back home, as well as clothes and Mum and Dad bought me a new iPad and a pair of Beats Studio wireless headphones as well. The cute girl who worked at the Apple Store was rapt when we walked in and I bought everything, I bet she was wishing she worked on commission. I gave her a nice tip and she gave me her number. We actually went out for dinner and a movie the next night, but we didn't make it to the movie."

"You dog Lex." Chuckles Hanna.

"Nah mate, it wasn't like that, yeah she was smokin' hot, but she was boring as bat-shit and all she did was go on about her ex-boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend. But the worst part was when she was being so rude to the wait staff, I ended up asking her to come to the bathroom with me."

Hanna chuckles, "Who knew Lex was that kind of badass? Bathroom stall sex is hot."

I shake my head, "Not for that Hanna, I just didn't want to make a scene when I chewed her out." Hanna bursts out laughing, and the other girls soon join in, "Okay I admit it, that was a bad choice of words, but I wanted to have a word with her, but she thought what you did Hanna. I told her I was rather embarrassed to be at the same table with her while she was behaving like that and I reminded her that she worked in retail, she should know how it felt to be treated like shit by a rude customer, especially if they're wrong. Like seriously you don't order a streak medium rare and then complain if it bleeds a little. After all this she tried to kiss me, I brushed her off, so she went back to the table, we finished eating, she even ordered dessert then just expected me to foot the bill, which of course I did, I always pay on the first date no matter how bad it is, but she didn't know that and I waited until she left and apologised to the wait staff and gave them both a generous tip for having to deal with her shit all night."

"Whoa. She sounded like a gold-digging bitch. That's probably what Britney would have done if you accepted her offer for 'fun'." Says Hanna.

"Yeah I agree with you there Han." Adds Aria.

"It sounds like you handled her well." Says the brunette beside me.


A waitress approaches us with a tray full of drinks and a muffin, she says the orders and places them in front of the respective owner and clears away the empty cups, we all thank her before she turns on her heel and returns to the counter.

I lean forward and take my new drink in my left hand, "Nice tattoo Lex. How long have you had it?"

"Thanks Spencer, I had it done as a birthday present for myself last year. Do any of you have any tattoos?" All four girls shake their head.

"May I ask why a jellyfish? Did you just think it looked cool or does it mean something to you?" Asks Emily.

"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing." Adds Spencer as she looks closer at my forearm. "Do you mind?" She points at my arm.

"No, knock yourself out." I lift up my right leg and tuck it under myself and turn on the seat, and stretch my arm out and rest my hand on my leg so she can get a better look and the other three girls either stand up or lean forward so they can look too, "There is meaning behind the tattoo, I chose a jellyfish because they remind me of myself."

Spencer looks up and I am instantly drawn to her lips, "How so?"

"Well they are so simple yet at the same time very complex and that's me to a T and they seem to just be going with the flow, which is what I try to do most of the time. Also, they may look very docile on the outside since they look relatively harmless and sometimes soft and squishy, but its sting can prove to be very painful, even deadly. I am usually chill but if you mess with my family or friends, awe mate, you better be ready to feel a world of hurt."

"Whoa, that's a lot of meaning behind one tattoo Lex." Says Emily.

"Yeah, I really wanted it to have meaning behind it, it's there forever so I don't want to be regretting my decision later down the track."

"Whoever designed it is very talented." Says Aria as she looks at the tattoo very closely.

"Thanks." I smile.

"You designed this?" Asks a shocked Hanna.

"Yeah, it took me about three months to get it perfect, mostly the tentacles."

"Wow, a lot of time and thought went into this tattoo then. But I fully understand why you would want it to be perfect, it's in a spot where you see it every day, so any imperfections would drive you insane. I know they would if it was my tattoo." States Spencer as she runs her fingertips over the tentacles and I instantly feel my pulse start racing and I just hope she doesn't notice.

"Mate I couldn't have said it better myself." I look into the brown eyes of the tall brunette beside me and smile. Since being here in America I have noticed that whenever I get nervous my accent gets thicker, so it's bad today especially since I have been sitting so close to Spencer. I look away and I see Emily watching our interaction with a small smile on her face and I have a feeling she knows that it's Spencer that I like.


"You want to know something that is just so weird for me living here?"

Spencer looks up from my tattoo but keeps her hand on my arm, "What?"

"Stairs. In houses I mean, not in general." Spencer chuckles quietly. "In my hometown you don't really see many two-story houses, but over here in the States it's the norm. It feels strange having to walk up and down stairs to go to and from my bedroom. At my house we have one small step out the front and two at the backdoor, so nearly every day so far, I have tripped on the stairs, usually when I'm still half asleep in the morning.

"Huh, I never really gave having stairs a second thought. I guess because we all grew up in houses with stairs, we don't really even notice them." Muses Aria.

"I don't think it helps that I'm so un-co it's not even funny and then add in the fact that me and stairs don't really go together well, and you have a recipe for disaster."

"Why is that?"

"Well stupid me broke my right ankle two years ago because I wasn't paying attention stepping onto the last step at my best friend's house. They have about a dozen steps and I miscounted and only half my foot made it onto the last step, so instead of an angle of ninety degrees, my leg and foot were completely straight for a split second and that's all it took. I have had a bit of a fear of stairs ever since, they always get my full attention now, especially if I'm carrying something."

"You seriously broke your ankle?" Asks Spencer, a look of concern on her face and she squeezes my forearm.

"Yeah, I did a number on it too, I required surgery to put in a metal plate and six screws to keep it all together. Because I had a bimalleolar fracture, which means I broke the bones on the inside and outside of my ankle, so it was very unstable." I point on my wrist where I broke the bones. "Essentially my foot was only connected to my leg by cartilage, muscles, tendons and skin."

"Eww, gross." Cries Hanna as she screws up her face.

"And how is this for a coincidence, when I was in Orange, the city where I had the surgery, I was getting my cast off and a mate of mine from school was getting a cast put on. He had the exact same surgery as me, he fell off a ladder and we even share the same last name, but no relation."

"Freaky." Says Emily.

"So, do you have a scar? 'Cause chicks dig scars." I chuckle at the blonde.

"Yeah it was. I have two, one on the inside of my ankle and another on the outside."

"Can I see them?" Hanna asks excitedly.

"If you're game you can even touch them and feel a couple of the screws and the plate under the skin."

"Umm, no thanks." Squirms Emily and Aria agrees.

"Speak for yourselves, let me at them." Chuckles Hanna.

I begin to undo my laces when Spencer asks, "Does it still hurt? I know sometimes after an injury requiring surgery like that you can still be plagued by issues later?"

"Yeah, it's a dull throbbing or ache usually, but it's worse in winter and to make things worse I didn't fully recover. The muscles aren't as strong as they should be because I injured the ligaments on the outside."

"Okay nerds, enough medical speak, show us the scars." I take my shoe off and roll down my sock.

"Nice kicks," Comments Spencer, "Batman?"

"Yeah, they're my favourite pair of Chuck Taylors."

"Cool." Says Hanna as she runs her finger along one of the scars, "Arr, I just felt one of the screws. Are you sure it's meant to be at an angle like that?"

I chuckle, "Yes I'm sure. You can actually feel the groove in the screw head as well."

"Really?" Inquires a curious brunette.

"Yeah, right here." I run my finger over the screw head and I feel fingertips brush against mine and my breath hitches.

"You're right, doesn't that feel so weird though?"

"Nah I'm used of it. But it hurts like hell if I ever knock it, there's also a hole here." I hold my finger over the empty hole in the plate and once again Spencer's fingers follow, but this time she places her hand over mine, and when I feel her warm breath on my neck I freeze. As Spencer runs her fingers up my scar, she exhales onto my neck causing me to involuntarily shiver. All hopes of her not noticing are dashed when I hear her giggle quietly. Damn it Lex, keep it together I scold myself. "I set off the metal detectors at the airports with my ankle hardware, so that's always fun."

"I'm sure it is for the TSA officer having to pat you down." Spencer husks as she slowly pulls away from me and another shiver runs down my spine. I can already tell this girl is going to be the death of me.

"Other than the obvious, I was really bummed because I broke it at the start of November, so for the first time since we started, we couldn't come over here for the holidays, I couldn't miss my physiotherapy appointments. But it was good in a way, because I got to experience my first real Aussie Christmas. For someone who has lived in Australia their whole life it was so weird to have a Summer Christmas that I remembered, I have been having a white Christmas since I was six. Spending most of Christmas Day outside either sun baking or floating on my blow-up pool lounger was good though. But the biggest difference was the food and drink."

"What did you eat?" Asks Hanna.

"Well instead of a traditional American Christmas dinner and egg nog we had an Aussie barbecue, so we had snags, steak, burgers, kangaroo steaks, seafood and fruit punch."

"Well that definitely sounds different. Wait, you eat kangaroo? What's it taste like?"

"Yeah, it takes pretty good, the best way to describe its flavour would be somewhere between venison and beef. I have also had goanna, crocodile and emu, but kangaroo is my favourite by far."

"But they are so cute and aren't they like your country's mascot?"

"Just because you're a vegan, doesn't mean others can't eat cute animals." Teases Hanna.

"Are you a vegan Aria?" The petite brunette nods her head, "They're our mascot, but you might think kangaroos are cute but you're usually picturing baby joeys or wallabies. Kangaroos can grow to be one point eight metres tall, that's like as tall as Spencer, the tallest recorded was over two metres which is umm," I try to do the math in my head.

"Six feet, seven inches." Interjects Spencer, I look at her and smile.

"Thanks, and a boomer, which is a large male, can weigh up to about ninety kilos." I look to Spencer.

"About two hundred pounds."

"Whoa." Mutters Aria.

"And with their long tails they lean back on it like a kickstand and kick out with their big feet, they can slice you up with their claws if they were to kick you. So, they can be very dangerous if you were to be attacked by one. Thankfully they usually don't attack people, they just hop the other way."

"Everything really is out to get you Down Under."

I chuckle, "That's nothing. Of the twenty-five most venomous snakes in the world twenty-one of them are found in Australia including the number one. Three of the ten most deadly spiders and countless deadly sea creatures including the number one in the box jellyfish and the cone snail at two and the very ugly stonefish." I lean forward and grab my drink, while I'm drinking, I notice that the girls have yet to speak so I add, "So nowhere is safe."

"Well I'm crossing Australia off my list of countries to visit. I value my life too much." Says Aria as she shakes her head.

"No wonder you wanted to move here." Adds Hanna.

"Nah mate I love living in Australia and I love watching documentaries, especially about Australian wildlife, deadly ones are my favourite. It makes me appreciate our native wildlife more, not less. And don't cross the Lucky Country off you list Aria."

"Yeah it's the lucky country because you're lucky you aren't all dead." I have a good chuckle at Hanna's comment.

"I knew that Australia had a lot of dangerous and deadly animals, but I didn't realise it was that deadly. Is it true you have a tiny octopus for which there is no anti venom?" Asks Spencer.

"Yeah, it's about the size of...can I see your hand for a sec?" Spencer puts out her hand, "Now spread out your fingers, okay good. That's probably about as big as one grows." I run my fingers around her palm, "Tentacles and all. And there is no anti venom, so you need to get to a hospital immediately or you will most likely go into cardiac arrest and die."

"Jeez you two, why you gotta be such downers?"

"Sorry Blondie."

"It's not my fault Lex seems to be a nerd too." Says Spencer and I shrug nonchalantly.


We chat away for a while about nothing too deep, "So…Hanna likes to shop, Emily swims, Spencer is a total nerd, what's your thing Aria?"

"Well I like art and writing. I'm actually about to start a Summer creative writing course at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia."

"Oh wow. That sounds good. So, I'm assuming you like the classics? Dickens, Hemingway, Austin, Tolstoy, Twain, the Brontë sisters to name a few."

"Yes, I love the classics. The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Great Expectations, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Winesburg Ohio and Grapes of Wrath are among my absolute favourites."

"You have good taste. I absolutely love To Kill a Mockingbird, it's one of my favourite books. I like a lot of the classics too, but you can't go past J.K Rowling, she is phenomenal. I like Dan Brown and John Marsden but I'm an absolute sucker for anything by Jeffery Deaver. I never want to put the book down once I pick it up, and more than once I have locked myself away in my room until I have read a book cover to cover."

"So, you're a fan of psychological thrillers books, what about movies? Emily loves horror movies."

"The scarier the better I say." Pipes up Emily.

"If you want a few suggestions for some Australian authors or books you can't go wrong with anything by Bryce Courtenay, but Jessica is a good one, and the Tomorrow Series by John Marsden, it's for teens."

"I'll look into those, thanks Lex."

"Another one, it makes me cry, is Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence, it's based on a true story about the stolen generations."

"The stolen generations? What's that?" Asks Hanna, Emily nods as if she is silently asking too.

"Well between the years of 1905 and 1970 the federal and state governments would forcibly remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. These children were called 'half-caste' because they had white fathers and they were placed into foster care or orphanage style institutions. Essentially white man wanted to kill off the black man, but they tried to hide behind the rationale of full-blooded Aboriginals resented the mixed-race children because they were fathered and then abandoned by their white fathers. The white government believed that the only way to deal with the 'problem' was to rip children away from their families, away from their customs and traditions and send them off to work for the white man on farms and such as maids, station hands etc. It's so disgusting knowing what my government did to the Indigenous people."

I hear Hanna mumble, "Whoa, that's pretty heavy."

"Speaking of heavy topics, have you ever read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov?"

"No, I haven't, I've never heard of it, what's it about?"

"It's about a middle-aged literature professor called Humbert Humbert, who is obsessed with the twelve-year old Dolores Haze, with whom he becomes sexually involved after he becomes her stepfather. 'Lolita' is his private nickname for Dolores. He writes a journal about how he feels about her and his urges. Her mother dies, and he takes her around the country, and she ended up with a bit of Stockholm syndrome. She then escapes from him and marries another man, who it is revealed exploits young girls in child pornography. It's a very controversial book but it was an almost immediate classic. I personally haven't read it either, but it's supposed to have been written very well. So, if I know someone is an avid reader, I like to get their opinion on it."

"It disgusts me to think that it became a classic. Honestly, what kind of person would read it for the actual story? Reading a book about pedophilia and a child being taken advantage of is wrong. No offence Aria but it could be the best written book ever and I would never read a book that seemingly glorified pedophilia and child pornography." I can feel my hands balling into fists and my body begins to shake, tears begin pricking my eyes and I jump at the sudden contact of a hand on my back and another on my shoulder.

"Lex, are you okay?" Spencer begins rubbing her hand in circles on my back, I open my mouth to speak but I'm quickly stopped, "Shhh, just breathe."

I inhale and exhale deeply and look at Spencer before speaking, "Thanks Spencer." Looking around at the other girls I can see they all look worried. "I'm sorry guys, I don't usually get so worked up over things like that. I think all the stress from the move has gotten to me, I might just go splash some water on my face, I'll be back in a minute." I stand up and make my way to the bathroom, leaving the girls to share looks of concern.

I wish it was as simple as jet lag or stress from moving but it's not, it was just the catalyst that brought something bubbling up to the surface that I have tried not to think about for years.


A/N: So, there it is. What do you think it really was that made Lex so upset? Have you been enjoying the story so far? Leave a review or send a PM, let me know what you think. :-) Jarrad