YOOOO I'm back queens (I say this because the only two people who review identify as women but hey if you're a dude and you're reading you should comment and let me know :D)

I'm pretty happy with this chapter.

Like, what's not to like about unnecessary romantic drama and a baby Ace having to watch all of it in confusion?

Also, what's not to like about splitting the twins up?

:D :D :D

Sorry, I'm just really excited to be back, guys!


"It just figures," Sara said, groaning dramatically as she draped herself over Reese's side, staring past her out the window, "first day of our basketball retreat and it's pouring." The bus had pulled away from the school only a few minutes ago and they'd already gotten caught in a storm.

Reese loved to play pessimist too but she'd just finally gotten the go-ahead to play basketball since her Khary-related injuries and so she had to be an optimist about this.

"We have five hours of driving to do, Sara. It probably won't be raining when we get there."

"Okay, yeah, probably not. What do you want to do on the drive? I brought my phone and it has a whole bunch of Disney movies downloaded on there."

"Let's see what you've got. I don't like the super sappy stuff."

"Oh come on, neither do I, you know that. My favorite movies are the cool kickbutt ones where the heroine saves the day. Stuff like Mulan, Moana, or Brave. All the sap in those movies is palatable."

"You downloaded Brave?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's watch Brave. Should we get Addison-" Reese glanced a row back and saw that Addison was chatting away with their newest teammate.

"Ah, never mind. It probably would've been hard to watch with three people anyway." Reese felt a twinge of, well, not quite disappointment, but certainly confusion. If Addison was getting close to other girls, then, well, did their trio still stand? Obviously it wasn't the most important thing, but it still plagued Reese's mind as the bus rattled on.

They arrived at the hotel with enough time left in the evening to eat dinner and see the place where they'd be practicing for the rest of the weekend. Apparently the basketball retreat was an annual thing and Reese was completely and utterly thrilled. She'd loved her team in Berkeley but they'd never had anything like this. And, she hadn't had Sara and Addison back in Berkeley.

The room assignments were pretty standard, Reese was in a room with Addison and Sara as well as their newest teammate, Charlotte. Charlotte had moved here in January, she was part of the team as well as one of Luca's lackeys. Reese didn't have any positive or negative opinions about her, but maybe this trip was a chance to change that. Maybe it would be nice to have more friends. Maybe.

"After we eat and see the gym, why don't we hang out with the girls in the room next to us?" Addison suggested, gesturing at Bonnie, Laura Grace, Ilisa, and Harriet, who were at a table near them.

"Oh, okay, I guess," Reese said with a shrug, though she'd been thinking that it would be a good time for just the four of them to hang out. First Addison had been chatting it up with Charlotte on the bus and now she wanted to get to know the cool girls next door? When had Addison become so social? Had Addison always been this social?

Sara must have noticed that Reese was uncomfortable because she launched into a rant about English class as a perfectly timed distraction, allowing Reese to have time to eat and collect her thoughts. She was really happy to be here with her team, getting to bond with them, and hone her skills. She was massively looking forward to playing basketball for real again and it seemed like everything was going well so far, but she couldn't help admitting that she missed her family, particularly Luca. He never would've been so awkward about hanging out with new people. Maybe he would've stolen the spotlight if he were here but Reese liked that about him. If people's eyes were on Luca they weren't on her and she could get some peace of mind.

She wasn't the only person who wanted Luca there, apparently. Some opinions became abundantly clear when Reese and her room had their neighbors over for some bonding.

"Let's play truth or dare," Addison suggested like she had at the first sleepover she'd had with Reese.

"Oh my gosh, Addy, truth or dare is so babyish," Ilisa laughed. Addison blushed.

"I don't really like the nickname Addy," she said quietly.

"If truth or dare is so babyish then what do you want to play?" Reese asked, arms crossed, already done with Ilisa's attitude.

"Hmm…" Ilisa looked around, really thinking about it. Then a devious grin spread across her face, "Kiss, Marry, Kill. Laura Grace, you have to start. And it has to be someone you like, know in real life. It can't be some hot guy from tv."

"Fine, fine, okay, um… I would kiss Luca Tomago, I would marry, um… Assistant Coach Tyler and I would kill Tony Hertz."

"Ew, Laura Grace, Assistant Coach Tyler is like, old." Ilisa pretended to gag.

"He's only 26."

"That's twice your age though," Ilisa pointed out. Reese shifted uncomfortably for a different reason, but she kept her mouth shut this round. If they didn't remember that Luca was her brother she was not going to remind them.

Ilisa went next, "I'd kiss Duncan, marry Scout, and kill Angela."

"Isn't Scout your ex?" Laura Grace asked as they teased each other.

"He's not gonna be my ex for long." Reese still felt really uncomfortable. She wanted to bring up the fact that Scout had said himself that he was kind of done with relationships but she thought that that would be ill-advised, she had a feeling Ilisa already didn't like her. Which was fine, since she didn't much like Ilisa.

Reese didn't recognize any of the name's Harriet picked but she recognized Bonnie's pick for marriage, "I'd marry Zayne Diaz."

"Oh my gosh," Reese burst out laughing, "wait until I tell him."

"Hey," Bonnie said, sounding hurt, "that's not really nice." Reese had to backpedal fast.

"Oh, no, sorry, sorry, Bonnie, you're super sweet, actually. It's just that Zayne thinks that nobody likes him when clearly at least one person does, that's why I was laughing. I won't tell him anything if you don't want me to."

"Thanks, Reese. Do you… Do you think he'd ever like someone like me?"

"I hope so, he's a real downer, I don't know, maybe someone like you would really make him happy."

"Reese," Ilisa commanded, "Kiss, marry, kill?"

"Uh, um… Kiss… No one and, um… Marry no one and… Kill that one girl from our rival school with the pink hair who always taunts me. I think her name is Alexis? Or Zack with a K. Either of them"

"Okay, Reese, you're like, no fun. You've got to have like, somebody you'd want to kiss."

"I don't?"

"No one you'd want to marry?" Ilisa pressed.

"Not at all?"

"Not even, like, fictional?"

"Han Solo," Reese said instantly, "or, like, Donatello."

"The painter?" Bonnie seemed intrigued.

"The ninja turtle."

"Okay, um, I'm going to let that slide," Ilisa seemed weirded out, "Charlotte, you've been super quiet, who'd you want to kiss, marry, kill?"

"Oh! Uh… I'd kiss Grant, he's on the boys' basketball team, right? And, uh… I'd um… I'd…" She glanced at Addison and talked faster and quieter, "I'd marry Luca and I'd kill Nova." Reese felt even more uncomfortable with this newest revelation, but it got worse. Addison stood up, glaring at Charlotte.

"Oh my gosh, Char. I told you I liked Luca, I thought you were my friend. Whatever, I don't want to play this game anymore." Addison stormed out.

"Um… Sara? Kiss, marry, kill?" Ilisa clearly didn't want to address any of the drama, but Reese felt a pit forming in her stomach.

She barely heard Sara's replies.

"I'd kiss Azumi, marry Reese, and kill…" Sara looked Charlotte dead in the eyes, "You. You made both of my best friends feel bad." Charlotte burst into tears and Reese slipped out quietly, going to find Addison, still feeling sick to her stomach.

She found Addison in the room with the pool, which they technically weren't supposed to visit without adult supervision. Addison had kicked her shoes off and was dangling her feet in the water, making waves in an otherwise vacant pool. Reese sat down next to her, letting her own feet dangle in the water.

"So… We probably should've played truth or dare, huh?" Addison sniffled and looked over at her.

"Maybe I am babyish, getting worked up at Charlotte like that."

"Sara practically bit her head off after you left."

"That sounds a lot like Sara," Addison admitted.

"I have a couple of questions, but I won't ask them if you're not ready to talk about anything."

"No, go ahead, I have a feeling I need to hear whatever you have to say. Friends listen to friends."

"Yeah, that's part of it. I'm your friend, or at least, I thought I was. Why didn't you tell me you had a crush on my brother?"

"I thought it would make you uncomfortable!"

"It kind of does. I've never really understood that kind of thing and so many people liking Luca, you know, like that, just baffles me. He's great but... I just don't get it. But I'm not going to be mad at you for having feelings for my brother that I don't have for anyone except Han Solo and a cartoon turtle. And I'm not exactly going to ask you to cater to my confusion. You're obviously allowed to like whoever you like. I would never ask you not to. I just wish you had told me, and I don't understand why you told Charlotte instead of me."

"I… I don't know why either, Reese. I didn't mean for it to seem like I was picking her over you or anything, you're one of my best friends. I just kind of wanted to make more friends. And I thought… I thought Charlotte would be a good friend to make since she's new and stuff. But maybe I was wrong. Or maybe Sara and I are being too harsh to her right now. I… I really don't know."

"I think you should apologize to her, both of you. Charlotte didn't do anything wrong either, really, I don't think it's a crime to like the same guy. Maybe she behaved a little shady but, like, you two just need to talk it out, I think?"

"Yeah, probably," Addison kicked the water.

"Even if you and Charlotte can't be friends anymore, you have to be teammates. There can't be any rifts in the team. You need to repair the damage that was done."

"Were you watching Brave again?"

"Yeah."

"You always talk like that whenever you watch Brave."

"Come on, Addison, I bet Sara has more movies downloaded on her phone."

"Sounds good. Hey, Reese?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Luca could ever like me back?"

"Uh, I think that's a question for Luca."

"Not if Charlotte gets to him first."

"Yeah," Reese hesitated, thinking about the person who'd actually caught Luca's eye, "Charlotte's totally the one you need to worry about…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Never mind. Let's just get back."

When they got back they found out that there had been a change in rooming arrangements. Sara was sitting on her bed with Bonnie, looking guilty.

"After I made Charlotte burst into tears we all thought it would be better if she stayed with the others. So Bonnie volunteered to swap with her. I… I feel really bad about what I said. Charlotte didn't deserve any of that."

"No, she didn't," Addison agreed with a sigh, "we'll apologize to her tomorrow if she'll listen. In the meantime, it's nice to have you staying with us, Bonnie."

The taller somewhat buff girl beamed, "Thanks! Ilisa's kinda mean to me, anyway, so, well, it'll be nice for a change of pace."

"What do you guys want to do?" Reese said, looking around.

"I packed microwave popcorn," Bonnie commented, "and, uh, Addison? I don't think that truth or dare is babyish."

Addison smiled brightly, forgetting the earlier drama for the rest of the evening, ready to make things right in the morning.