Banging could be soon heard on the bathroom door, followed by the voice of my annoyed brother.

"Come on, Chloe!" Phil yelled from behind the door. I rolled my eyes.

"Fuck off, Phil, I'm almost ready," I said angrily, applying my mascara hastily. Putting the cap back on, I shoved it into my bag and tossed it on the floor. I then stepped back to admire my work. My hair was now done, styled with whatever I found in my bag to give it a messy look, and with a simple mix of eyeliner, mascara and eyeshadow my makeup was done. I had thrown on a pair of tight, flare bottom jeans and a red spaghetti-strap tank top I had found in one of my luggage bags. Satisfied, I opened the door where Phil still stood waiting with his arms crossed. I just smirked at him.

"Well, let's go," I said, walking downstairs, putting on my pair of black converse I had left in the porch, then proceeded out the front door and back into the passenger seat of Phil's car. He soon showed up and started the car.

"Where to first?" he asked, looking over at me. It didn't take long for me to make my decision.

"Stu's," I said simply, eager to get going and even more eager to see him. I actually don't know when the last time I had seen him was. I did keep in touch, of course, but there was one thing I wasn't sure of.

"Where does he live? Did he or Melissa keep the house?" I asked, putting on my sunglasses and looking over to Phil.

"Melissa took off somewhere, so he has the house," he replied, shaking his head, probably just at the thought of Melissa. I nodded and Phil backed out of the driveway and onto the street. God, I can't believe he stayed with Melissa for 3 years, she was pure evil. I'm sure she's out there somewhere torturing somebody already. I shook my head and sighed. I'm just happy he's not with her anymore.

In no time, Phil was pulling up to Stu's house and my heartbeat started to speed up, my breathing becoming quite irregular. We got out and I literally ran to the front door and knocked, with much force, might I add. Soon, the door opened and Stu appeared. I wasted no time and flung myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck.

"Chloe?!" he stammered, obviously surprised to see me. He hugged back, and like my mother, was soon squeezing the life out of me, though I didn't care too much at the moment.

"Hey! Surprised?" I said through a sudden outburst of laughter. His reaction had truly made my day. Hell, just being able to see him had already made my day.

"Surprised isn't the word," he said, pulling back and placing two of his hands on my shoulders, grinning like a madman. I laughed. "What are you doing here?" he asked, removing his hands from my shoulders and honestly, I was temporarily saddened by the loss of contact.

"Well, as you already know, I lost my job, and since I couldn't afford to pay for my apartment, I moved back with my parents," I explained, the smile on my face never going away. Loosing my job and being evicted isn't exactly a positive subject, but I couldn't contain myself. I was just so incredibly happy to see him.

"Ah, that's not good. Though it is good. No, great to see you," he said, and it was when he smiled again I realized something that I was too excited before to notice. With that, a round of fits of laughter set it.

"Oh my god!," I managed to say between breaths, looking at the hole where his tooth had been before. "I forgot about your tooth!" I exclaimed, doubling over with laughter. He looked hilarious.

"Uh, yeah, I still need to fix that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, but he couldn't help but to laugh. My fits subsided and I laid a hand on his shoulder, trying to get my breath back. Finally everything was in check and I took my hand away. "Do you want to come in?" he offered.

"I'd love to, but I have to go see Doug first," I told him, a bit disappointed that I couldn't stay. "Sorry," I added, looking at Stu apologetically.

"Could I come?" he asked. "I mean, maybe we could all go out for something to eat after," he explained. My expression lightened up at once.

"Of course, that would be great!" I said, grabbing Stu's hand and speeding down the stairs. We reached the car and I released his hand, but not before I noticed the color in Stu's face. I felt my heart flutter, but didn't take any notice to it. Right then I was too excited to see Doug. We piled in the car, me in the passenger seat and Stu in the back when I noticed Phil looking at me. I turned my attention to him.

"What?" I asked annoyingly, but he just raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, nothing," he said, starting the car. I sent him a weird look, but he either didn't see it, or ignored it. I sighed in frustration. I didn't want to argue with him.

We then drove off towards Doug and Tracey's house. Again, my excitement began to build and I was practically jumping out of my seat. We soon pulled into Doug's driveway and I immediately got out and ran to the door. Knocking, I waited and finally the door opened. But instead of Doug appearing, out came Tracey.

"Hello, is Doug home? Oh, and I'm Chloe, in case you're wondering," I said, as she looked a bit confused when I had asked for Doug.

"Oh, Chloe, as in Doug's old friend?" she questioned.

'Yes, that's right," I replied. She nodded and went back inside. Within moments, Doug appeared in the doorway.

"Chloe!" he yelled as soon as he saw me, picking me up and swinging me around. I hugged him and laughed as I was swung in continuous circles. He finally set me down and we separated. "How've you been? Why are you here? How long are you staying?" came his flow of questions. Before he could ask anything else, I covered his mouth with my hand. "Sorry," he added, but his smile never faded for one second.

"Hi, Doug!" I began. "Well, I've been okay; could have been a lot better. I'm here because I was forced to leave my apartment as I couldn't afford to keep it after loosing my job and am now staying with my parents. And I'm staying for however long it takes for me to find a job and somewhere to live. But I'm thinking about staying in Los Angeles, I just missed you guys too much," I said with a grin.

"Well, that's great! I mean, besides loosing your job and home," he said. He then looked over my shoulder to the car. "Hey, is that Phil and Stu?" he questioned, looking back to me.

"Yeah, Stu suggested that we all go out for a bite to eat, you want to come? I asked, waiting for his reply.

"Sure, let me just tell Tracey. I don't want her to freak out when she sees me gone without any warning," he said, laughing briefly. With those words, he turned and leaned half way through the front door.

"Tracey! I'm going out for lunch with Chloe and the guys, okay?" he yelled, quite loudly, too. I heard a muffled reply, but before I asked what she had said, Doug was half way down the stairs. I followed him to the car, and before I could say anything, he had climbed into the front seat. He seemed pretty happy, so I didn't want to say anything. Instead, I got in the back with Stu. He shot me a smile as I buckled up, which I gratefully returned. It was absolutely amazing to be back as a group again.