Ashley nudged me with her elbow. I hadn't even noticed him sneak up on me.

"What?" I asked, turning to face him. I looked around to see if any of the other boys had been watching, but they were back to messing around, now seeing who could make the biggest splash.

"I saw you looking at Ian," she teased.

I decided to play it cool and shrugged. I lowered my voice and asked her, "Why won't he get in the pool?"

"He has a fear of water," Ashley said. "Plus, he isn't the most social type, if you haven't noticed by now. Just leave him alone. That's what I and the rest of the cast have learned to do." Keegan jumped on her back, and Ashley threw him off. "Keegan, I am going to punch you so hard in the-"She dove after Keegan, who was desperately trying to swim away.

"You okay?" Raya asked, swimming up to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"What were you and Ashley talking about?" she asked.

"She just explained that Ian has a fear of water," I said.

"Oh," she said. "Then why did he wear his swimming trunks? Not that I'm complaining..." Her eyes trailed over Ian's body.

I smacked her arm.

"Ow!" she whined. "Fine! He's all yours!"

I rolled my eyes. "I just want to at least get him to... talk. You know?"

"Maybe you should just let him be," Raya said. "It seems like that's what he wants."

"No one wants to be alone," I said.

"Whatever you say," she said, sighing. "But good luck getting him to speak."

"There has to be some way I can get his attention," I said, furrowing my eyebrows in thought.

"I have a few ideas," Raya said, an evil smirk creeping onto her face, making her expression look comical.

"How many times did you practice making that face in the mirror?" I teased.

"Maybe a few times," she admitted, chuckling. "Do you want to hear my idea or not?!"

I leaned in closer, prodding her to explain.

"Show off your hot body," she whispered.

I jumped back and cried, "WHAT?!"

All of the cast stopped what they were doing and looked at us. Julian asked, "...Is everything okay?"

I gave them a fake smile. "Mhm! Everything's peachy!" I took Raya by the arm and dragged her out of the pool. I led her inside and into the kitchen. I wrapped a towel around my waist and tossed her one to do the same.

"Okay, down to business," I said, leaning on the counter next to the sink. "What exactly do you mean by 'showing off my body'?"

"It gets every guy's attention," Raya said with a sly smile. "It can't fail. Plus, you're not exactly ugly, Ashley."

"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically. "So what exactly do I do?"

"Oh, you know..." She went on to explain.

By the time she was finished, my eyes were almost popping out, and my mouth hung open. "I'm not a slut!" I explained.

"Of course you're not!" she said cheerfully. "You don't have to do everything I just said. Those were just a few suggestions."

"A few?! No. I won't do it," I stated.

"Look, after tonight, you won't have to do it again," she said. When I didn't say anything, she asked, "Do you want Ian to notice you or not?"

I sighed. "Fine. But if this doesn't work, you owe me. Big time."

"Oh, it will," she said with complete confidence. "It will."

It was about 5 PM, and the others started getting out of the pool. Raya got out with them and winked, giving me the signal. I inhaled slowly, not sure if I should do this. But I took a look at Ian, deciding it was worth it. I took in another deep breath. This better work.

I dunked one last time under the water and came back up, slicking my hair back seductively and biting my lip. I put my hands palm-down on the end of the pool nearest to Ian and slowly slid out of the water, my eyes closed and my chest forward. I let the drops of water trail down my skin. Once I was out, I got my towel and wrapped it around my waist. I felt all of the boys' eyes on me-except Ian's. His eyes were trained on the phone in his hands.

Raya noticed my anxiety and said, "Hey, Ashley, you want to lay out a little in the sun?" She mentally prodded me on.

"Sure," I said breathily, trying to sound sexy like Raya told me to do. She followed me to the chairs next to Ian. I sat down next to him, and Raya sat down in the chair next to me. I propped myself up on my elbows and slowly unwrapped my towel, opening my legs a little more than usual. Again, all eyes were on me-except for Ian's. I pretended not to notice or care and laid back, closing my eyes.

After a little while of sunbathing, Raya said, "Let's go inside. I don't want to get burnt."

I opened my eyes. "Alright," I agreed, letting her pull me up. "Where are the othersl?" I asked her. Even Ian wasn't out here anymore.

"They went inside to unpack and get showers," she explained.

I smacked her arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" she asked.

"You owe me!" I yelled. "You said it would work, but it sure as hell didn't! God, now they probably think I'm some hoebag. You know, that's probably why they went inside in the first place..." I rambled on and on, and rushed inside the house, running into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry," I said quickly.

"It's okay." I looked up. It was Julian. Once he realized it was me, he smiled.

"Sorry," I said again.

"It's alright," he said. "By the way..." He lowered his voice and leaned down so I could feel his breath on my ear. "You look hot in that bikini." He pulled away just enough so I could see his face and winked.

I pulled my towel around me and muttered with a smile on my face, "Flirt." I pushed past him and could hear him chuckling behind me.

"I'm just messin' around, babe," he said.

Babe? Really?

I turned around and stuck my tongue out at him before continuing to my room. I took a quick shower and changed into my Batman PJ's-a black t-shirt with the yellow batman symbol on it, and short black PJ shorts with the yellow symbol scattered all over them. When I came out of my bathroom, Raya was on my bed on my laptop.

"Ever heard of privacy?" I asked, wrapping a towel around my head.

She looked up at me and said, "So I guess my plan wasn't a total failure, was it?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She sighed. "I saw your little interaction with a certain Julian Morris." She held up her hand. "Save it. It's alright. Really. It was just a little crush. There are other fish in the sea."

"Like Keegan?" I suggested, hoping I didn't give away Keegan's not-so-secret crush on her.

She laughed. "Um, I don't think so."

"Why not?" I asked innocently.

She gave me a look, changing the subject. "I'll just go and give you some "privacy". I'll make a proper dinner since all we've had is snack food."

"Ok. I'll be out in a second, after I do something with my hair," I said.

She left, and my eyes wandered to my open laptop. I didn't know much about the boys, so it wouldn't hurt to do some research, right? I mean, I should know more about who's staying in my home.

I quickly jumped onto my bed and clicked on the YouTube shortcut.

"Um... Ashley? What are you laughing at in there?" Raya asked, her voice muffled behind the door.

I slammed the laptop closed. "Don't come in!" I said quickly. I mentally slapped myself upside the head. Seriously? That sounded so innocent, didn't it?

"Well... Food's ready," Raya said, sounding confused.

"I'm coming," I said. I almost walked out, but I realized that my hair was still in a towel. "Shit," I muttered. I said louder, "I'll be out in a second!"

"Alright, but you might want to hurry, or else the boys will eat all the food. Especially Keegan," she said.

I heard a guy voice say, "Hey! I can hear you, ya know!"

I chuckled. "I'll be right out." I quickly ran into my bathroom and dried my hair for a few minutes, just so I could more easily put it up into a messy bun. I put on a little make-up and ran out of the room, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Five boys were around the six-seat table, their plates full of food. But Keegan's plate had several layers of food.

"Geez, you like to eat, don't you, Keegan?" I commented.

"Sorry, Raya just cooks real good," he said. His cheeks immediately grew a light shade of pink.

"Aw, shut up," Raya said bashfully.

I piled some fancy food on a plate for myself. "It's true, Raya," I said. "You really can cook." You and Keegan would be perfect together.

"It's true," Julian said. The others chimed in with similar compliments.

Raya rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her smile. "Thanks, guys."

I pulled a stool over to the end of the table, leaving the last seat for Raya.

"Thanks," she said, as she sat down next to Keegan. Yeah. I'm not that nice. I wouldn't give up the last seat for no reason.

HONK!

All eyes darted to the front of the house where the honking noise came from.

Raya sighed and got up. "That's probably my mom." She headed towards the door, grabbing her stuff.

"Wait, don't you want your food?" I called after her.

"I'll just get some at home!" she answered. She left quickly, knowing that if she delayed, she'd tick her mom off.

"Is that a Batman shirt?" Keegan asked me randomly.

"Naw..." I answered sarcastically.

He huffed. "Stupid Belgian. Superman is way better."

"Excuse me?!" I excplaimed loudly, making everyone cringe (except Ian, who acts like everything around him is invisible).

"Superman is so much more original," he said.

"You mean old," I corrected.

He gave me a look. "The Superman movies are so much better," he argued.

I gasped. "Have you even seen the Dark Knight?"

His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What's that?"

My mouth dropped open. "That explains everything." I quickly got up. "Alright. Everyone to the living room right now. We're watching the Dark Knight."

"But it's so cold in there," Julian whined.

"Julian, shut up," Shay said. "Be grateful she allowed us to stay here."

"Yeah, listen to Emily Fields" I said.

They all looked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Since when were you a crazy fan?" Julian asked.

"I just decided to do a little research to make sure I didn't have crazy people living in my home," I defended. "Turns out I do, but it's too late now."

Ashley gasped, feigning offense. "We are not crazy!"

Julian laughed. "Yeah, you are, Ash."

"Julian, if anyone here is crazy it's you," Keegan said.

They all started arguing.

The corners of my mouth turned up into a smile, as I got an epiphany.

The others quieted and Julian muttered, "Why is her face like that?"

"I know what we'll do," I said. "Everyone grab their comforters."

"Our what?" Keegan asked, confused.

"Grab you're duvet," Shay explained. "In Belgium, it's called a comforter."

"Ohhhh," the boys said (except for Ian).

"Hurry!" I exclaimed.

They all jumped up, their chairs raking the word floor and making the worst grinding noises. They ran to their rooms, leaving a bunch of food and dirty dishes on the table. Only Ian stayed behind. I took Raya's plate along with my own to the sink. When I turned around, I saw Ian picking up a few plates. He brought them to the sink, doing to same for the rest of the plates.

"Thank you," I said, a little surprised, but grateful.

He nodded.

Wait. He actually nodded?! I inwardly rejoiced. Finally, we're getting somewhere.

We all crowded around the fire on the large back patio, the Dark Knight movie projected on the side of the house. Each of us had our own blanket wrapped around us, and we would occasionally pass around the popcorn bowl.

Ashley was totally drawn into the movie. I was too. I've seen it countless times, yet it always seems to freak me out.

Suddenly, the joker stabbed the guy in the head with a pencil, making Troian and I scream. She literally screamed loud, her yelp almost blending together with mine. I would've laughed, but I was about to pee my pants. I grabbed the hand nearest to me, and I felt familiar zings go throughout my body. I turned to look at him.

Ian.

His eyes were still focused on the movie, but I saw the right corner of his mouth turn up, a little higher than I've seen before. It disappeared within a few seconds, but I was happy. It just confirmed my theories. No one wants to be alone, no matter how much they lie to themselves and say they do.

The movie was over, and the fire was almost gone. I got up and shut off the projector. I started to ask them, "So what did you guys think—"

"That was the worst ending ever!" Ashley exclaimed. "How can it just end like that?! The joker wasn't caught, Batman didn't do his job, and—"

"Ashley!" I interrupted. "Be quiet! I have neighbors, you know!"

She pouted and crossed her arms.

"So you liked it?" I asked.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes! I liked it! You happy now?"

I chuckled and said, "Yes. Very." I patted myself down to look for my phone, but realized I didn't have any pockets. I had left it in my room. So I asked, "Does anyone know what time it is?"

Shay and Keegan rushed to get their phones out of their pockets.

"10:31!"

"No, it's 10:32!"

"It's 10:31, Keegan."

"Look at the screen! It says '10:32'."

"Okay, now it does," Shay said.

"Ha!" Keegan declared in triumph.

"That still doesn't matter, though," Shay defended. "When I looked at my phone, it said 10:31."

"That's a load of bull—"

"Guys!" I interrupted. All three boys looked at me, and that included Ian. I couldn't believe that he actually acknowledged my existence. I gave him a small smile before continuing. "Since we have some time, how about we celebrate your first night here?"

I heard cheers, and Julian asked, "What's your idea?"

"Let's make s'mores," I said with a large smile.

"Yes!" the boys cheered.

"I'll go inside and get the stuff, and you guys try to get the fire going," I said. "Please, don't catch anything on fire."

Ashley saluted me. "We make no promises."

I rolled my eyes and headed into the kitchen. I searched throughout the pantries, but all we had were a few stale graham crackers, mini-marshmallows, and no Hershey chocolate except for a few Hershey Kisses. Well, this sucks.

I poked my head out the back door. To my horror, I saw two boys fighting with a block of wood. But as I looked behind them, Ian was calmly adding wood to the fire and blowing on the left over embers to get the flames burning again. I softly smiled.

"I'm heading to Delhaize!" I announced. "Who wants to come with me?"

The two boys stopped fighting, and they all raised their hands.

"Hrm…" I said. "I think I'll pick…" I scanned the boys. Julian was a big flirt… Or there was Keegan. Plus, I needed to talk to him about Raya. "I'll pick Keegan," I said.

Keegan fist pumped, and the others dropped their hands in defeat.

"Come on," I said, beckoning Keegan inside. He hurried inside, and I slid the back door closed.

"Can you drive?" Keegan asked as I grabbed the keys and my mom's credit card off the counter.

"Duh, I'm almost eighteen," I said. "Go out to the car. I just need to get my phone real quick, and I'll be right out."

He headed to the front door, and I ran to my room. I grabbed my phone and shoved it in my bra, since I didn't have pockets in my Batman PJ shorts.

I hurried outside to the car where Keegan was waiting at the passenger door. I clicked the unlock button on the keys, and he got inside. I slid into the passenger seat and started the car.

"Are we seriously going to the store in pajamas?" Keegan asked. He looked down at his white t-shirt and plaid flannel pants.

I said, "Dude. Everyone goes to Delhaize in pajamas."

"Okay," he said laughing. "Belgians are crazy."

"Hey!" I said, offended. "You do know that I'm a Belgian, right?"

"Exactly." He turned on the radio. The song "One Thing" by One Direction came on, and Keegan sang along. He had a really good voice, but it made me jealous. I couldn't stay on key to save my life.

We got to Delhaize, and I hopped out with Keegan. We walked inside, and I grabbed a cart.

"What's that for?" Keegan asked. "I thought we were just getting a few things?"

"Well, if you guys are going to be staying at my house for a few days, you're going to need more than just a 'few things'," I said.

He jumped up and cheered, "Woo hoo!"

We went up and down the aisles, piling food into the cart. He literally filled the cart up halfway after just a few aisles. We were in the sixth aisle when I finally built up enough courage to asked, "So. Raya, huh?"

He couldn't make eye contact with me and stuttered, "W-what about her?"

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "It's obvious you like her, Keegan! Just admit it."

He sighed, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Why does it matter? She doesn't like me anyway."

I comforted him by patting his shoulder. "She'll come around," I said softly. "Once she realizes how great of a guy you are."

He gave me a weak smile.

We continued to go down the aisles, piling junk food into the cart, along with tons of stuff for s'mores (mostly Hershey bars). We got to the cash register, and the cashier scanned everything (which took a while). The final price came up.

"Are you sure you can pay for all that?" Keegan asked.

"Of course." I handed the cashier my mother's credit card.

"Is that yours?" he asked, pointing to the credit card.

I smiled. "Nope! Let's get back home!"

By one in the morning, everyone was almost asleep on the patio.

"Everyone upstairs," I ordered. "Up, up, up."

They groaned and slowly found their way inside the house. I waited until they were all upstairs to see the condition of the backyard.

I gasped.

Candy boxes and wrappers were strewn across the yard, the pool cover needed to be put over the pool, and there were marshmallows stuck in a small tree. I pretended to roll up imaginary sleeves, and I set off to clean up.

When I got back inside from cleaning up, it was some time after two o'clock. I headed to my bathroom, but it was clocked. Damn it! This wasn't the first time I locked myself out of my bathroom. That's why we hid a spare key. But I didn't remember where we hid it last, and I didn't feel like searching for it for a while since I really had to pee. Instead, I ran upstairs and went into the bathroom the boys were sharing.

When I was done and washed my hands, I turned off the light and quietly opened the door. I heard the sound of someone moving and stopped. No one else should be up but me. I poked my head around the door frame and saw… Ian?

Sure enough, Ian was quietly exiting him room, holding something in his hands. I couldn't tell what exactly it was in the darkness. He looked around as if to check if the coast was clear. Once he didn't see anyone, he proceeded to creep to the door at the end of the hall. He opened the door, went inside, and shut the door behind him.

Why would he go there? It only led to the roof.

I zipped back downstairs and into my room, scared from the lack of light. I jumped onto my bed and snuggled under the covers.

Why would Ian be sneaking around at night?

I woke up to the sound of the front door shutting. I jumped out of bed as I recognized his footsteps.

"Hey, Dad!" I said, giving him a hug.

"Hey, sweetie," he said. "How have the cast been?" He took off his jacket and set his brief case down by the door.

"They've been great," I said. "Where is Mom?" She hadn't come home from yesterday when she left for the office.

"They called her to another office for her book," he said. "She'll be staying in a hotel near there."

"Oh."

"Listen, honey, I have to get some sleep," he said. He kissed me on my head. "Have a good day, darling." Without another word, he disappeared to his room.

I looked at the clock. It was 10:17am. How could the others not be up yet? I hustled up the stairs and opened the first room on the right. "Wake up!" I yelled.

Ashley got up slowly at first, but she quickly adjusted. "Hey, Ashley!" she greeted. Julian didn't budge.

I moved on to the next room. I yelled the same thing, and Keegan, Shay and Troian all reluctantly got up.

I then turned to Ian's room. Should I wake him up? What if he thought I was weird for doing that? But I woke up the others, so technically it would be weird if I didn't wake him up.

I swallowed my anxiety and opened the door. I saw Ian's figure in the bed. "Ian! Wake up!" I said cheerfully.

He didn't budge. I closed the door and let him be.

I went downstairs and into the kitchen. I wished Raya were here so she could make some kind of amazing breakfast. But she wasn't. So instead, I took out many boxes of cereal, the jug of milk, bagels, and cream cheese.

"Come down if you want breakfast!" I yelled. I instantly regretted yelling, since my dad was trying to sleep.

They came into the kitchen: Ashley, Keegan, Shay, Troian and Ian. Hrm. Maybe he heard me after all.

"Where's Julian?" I asked.

"He's still asleep," Ashley answered. "I couldn't get him up."

An evil grin spread across my face.

"What? What is it?" Shay asked.

"I'll be right back," I said. "Help yourselves to any food in this kitchen."

I ran into the living room and searched everywhere for the key to the bathroom. I finally found it underneath the couch. I ran through my room and to my bathroom, quickly unlocking it. I ran inside ad unplugged my straightener, wrapping the cord around it. I ran upstairs and crept inside Julian and Ashley' room. I plugged it into the outlet closest to the bed and turned it on. I slowly pulled down the covers so Julian's locks were exposed. I took a lock of his hair, picked up the straightener, and pressed it together. I pulled it down his lock of hair, and it came out straight. I tried to contain my laughter as I continued with the rest of his hair.

He didn't move once. When I was finished, I unplugged the straightener, put the covers back over his head, and ran out. I returned to my bathroom and lay the hot straightener on the counter next to the sink to cool.

When I came back to the kitchen, the boys were finished eating. That's how long it took to straighten Julian's hair. What can I say? He has a lot of hair.

"What were you doing?" Ashley asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.

I shrugged, smirking. "You'll see."

A scream rang out from the second floor. I tried to hold in my laughter; I'd never heard Julian scream before.

"What the hell?!" I heard him yell. He zoomed down the stairs and entered the kitchen.

All the boys gasped at the sight. His usually thick, curly hair was now thin and straight. Needless to say, he looks like an ugly girl with a bad haircut.

"Ashley! I am going to kill you!" he growled.

"I didn't do it!" Ashley said defensively.

I couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out in laughter. The others joined in soon after. I looked at Ian. Both corners of his mouth were slightly turned up, and his eyes actually had a small twinkle in them.

"It's not funny!" Julian insisted. "Who did it?!"

All head turned towards me.

"Ashley?" Julian gasped.

I glared at the boys. "Geez, guys, make it a little more obvious next time." I turned my head back to Julian. "Who else has a straightener, Julian?"

The others started snickering, but Julian silenced them with a glare.

"I'm going to take a shower," he mumbled, heading back upstairs.

Once he was going, Ashley gave me a high five. "Genius!" she exclaimed. "Usually I'm the one doing the pranks."

"So I've heard," I said, chuckling a little. "So what do you guys want to do today?"

They all shrugged.

"Do you have any games?" Shay suggested.

I smirked. "Follow me." I exited the kitchen with the boys on my heels, leading them to a small door in the corner of the living room. I opened it, revealing piles of board games and tons of video games for X-Box Kinect, Wii, and PS3.

"Oh my gosh," I heard Keegan gasp.

I turned to them and asked, "What do you want to play first?"

After a few hours of the board game "Life" and Call of Duty on the PS3, Raya came in through the front door. I paused the Batman game Ashley and I were currently playing and jumped up to greet her.

"Hey, Raya!" I exclaimed. "Did you mom finally let you out of the house?"

"Well, I have to be back by seven, because she's taking me to some shelter to feed the homeless," she said sadly.

I held back a snicker, but the boys didn't do as well in keeping it in.

"Be quiet!" she cried. "It's not my fault!"

I decided to change the subject for her benefit. "You want to join us? We're just playing some games."

"Sure!" she said happily, throwing her purse and keys on the couch.

I saw Keegan staring at her out of the corner of my eye. He looked a little nervous, which was very unlike him.

I decided to play match-maker.

"Let's play Twister!" I exclaimed, grabbing it from the game closet.

"Yes!" Julian exclaimed. His hair was back to its mess, since he showered.

"Alright," I said. "Well, Ashley and I have to finish this game. But the rest of you guys can play." That would mean Raya and Keegan would become all tangled together, like I'd planned.

Ian's phone suddenly rang. He got up off the couch and headed upstairs to answer it.

"Ashley, you play with them," I said. "I'll be right back."

She gave me an understanding glance. I ran upstairs and sat down next to Ian's door. My ears strained to hear.

"Hey, Mum. . . . No. . . . I know, Mum. It's just—I mean, I can't— . . ." It was quiet for a little bit.

His voice broke my heart. It was filled with such sorrow. I just… I didn't know what I could do. I felt so helpless.

Ian continued, "Don't worry about me. Please. You have enough to worry about at home. . . . I know—" I could hear him choke up. "Go, Mum. Please. And don't call me again."

Was he about to cry? What was going on? I thought he would miss his mom. Why would he tell her not to call again?

He hung up, and I heard him sigh.