Anya's POV

I counted down the days until the gigantic party at my home. Of course, it was only my parents' friends and their children who are the same age as me. I really didn't think I would be excited for I, as I continuously repeat, am not social. I know my self-confidence is not up to par, but have you seen me compared to April?

Few days earlier, April and I met up to bake goodies for the party. Dancing in the kitchen, we were baking one hundred cookies for the guests. Though there aren't many guests attending, we planned on eating them all ourselves. I was joyed that April and I were becoming closer friends, but I still wished to know what she has been hiding. We talked about clothes and she told me about the guests that are coming.

My mom had four best friends, who were all inseparable in high school. The four of them did everything together, and always relied upon each other. How sweet was it to see them reunite after all these years? April, specifically, told me about their girls and how they are. She didn't know much about them, but she at least knew their names and how they looked.

This got me thinking. Why is it that all the other girls remained in touch, yet my mother was awol from them all. I didn't understand, but I wanted to know why. Why did all of her friends and their families know each other, but we remained clueless?

In the midst of our conversation, I was tempted to ask April about what Lizzie had told me a few days earlier.

"Anya, look at this!" April screeched minutes later, "look, Dylan finally texted me!" She shouted with glee, spinning and jumping around the kitchen as if she is a five-year child on Christmas Eve.

"And...?" I inquired because I had no idea who or what he was. Being quite new made me know neither the names nor faces of students, which sucked at times. April and her friends would continuously fawn over guys, yet I'd be very confused.

"AND, WHAT?! You don't understand this! He's such a sweet guy plus he's hot, so it's amazing both ways. You know?"

"Um, sure...?"

"You'll never understand this kind of stuff, Anya. Have you even had a boyfriend, or even a crush, before?"

"Well, no. But, I don't care." I shrugged it off because I believed that I have not found the type of guy I'm looking for. Appearances really didn't matter, but rather the personality; it was what made a person truly beautiful.

"Why?" She whined, "okay, I know! Someday you'll find your prince and you'll finally, then, understand the beauty of true love."

"It's not true love if you hook up with every guy that comes your way."

"What the fuck, Anya? What. The. Fuck. Is. Wrong. With. You."

Having accidentally said such a rude comment, I gasped at my own words and immediately looked down to my feet, shuffling around. I should have not said that because it seemed as if April was ready to murder me. I truly did want to confront her about the secrets she had been hiding, but this probably was not the right time to do so. I nervously thought of a way to save myself, but to no avail, have I found a method to do so. At that moment, it seemed as my rationality has failed me for I continued to idiotically speak.

"I'm just saying, I've heard things the past few weeks I've been here." I stuttered.

"That little bitch," April whispered under her breath. I haven't seen her this angry before. The fight with Lizzie was definitely scary, but this seemed worse in so many levels."Just shut up."

"No," I insisted. There's a thing about me people usually hate yet love. I will stand up for what I believe in and what I want to know. Therefore, I'm kind of bold in a way. Even though I love April as a new friend, her secrets extremely anger me. I continued to speak.

"What are you hiding, April? Lizzie was talking about it and it seems as if everyone knows something that I don't."

"I told you. Gosh, why won't you listen? Lizzie is a freaking liar, so don't you dare listen to a word she mutters. She made you go against me, didn't she? She's just jealous of me, you know?"

I didn't know what to think anymore. I know it was an awful choice to say such cruel words to April, but I had a strong desire to know. I wanted to know if she had a dark history or secrets. They do say that Rosewood has some pretty ugly secrets, which she may somehow be involved in.

I learned that to gain one's trust you must sympathize with them and get on the same level. I came closer to her, speaking in a softer tone in contrast to the earlier yelling.

"I know you're pissed at me for bringing up stuff you don't like to talk about, but you've never told me a thing about yourself," I continued on, "you literally know so much about me, like the time I went skiing in the eighth grade or the time I was cast in the lead role in my freshman play, but I was pushed down the stage and broke an arm," I softly chuckled, "you know it all, yet what do I know about you?"

"Anya, listen," she demanded in a rather harsh tone, "what your little mind cannot grasp is that there are things people that want to lock away and forget. What Lizzie was talking about is one of those things, so let me do that in peace."

With that being said, she walked out of the kitchen. Footstep after footstep, I heard the front door open and with that, it had obviously left.

Days has passed as people had been filing into my house. It was finally the day of my parents' reunion. Every few minutes I could hear an "oh my gosh!~" from my mother or father as they hugged a random stranger. I smiled at every person who walked in and, thankfully, they were kind in replying as well.

The first family to enter was the Rivers family, which meant the evil twins, Lizzie and Willie. I assumed they had to live nearby for the kids went to the same school as me. Hanna, one of my mom's best friends, gave me a hug and initiated a conversation. Mostly, every person talked about how my mother and I looked very similar and beautiful, which was shocking for I don't get those compliments frequently.

I was able to learn more about Lizzie this way. Apparently, Hanna is always out travelling for her work as a fashion designer, therefore, she rarely has time to spend it with her family. It figures, Lizzie is obviously a mess. Their father, Caleb, works as a software developer at a high class company, which is pretty neat. He was basically the parental figure of their household, so Lizzie and Willie were closer to him. They both seem like wonderful people, as my parents were close to them. However, I sensed a strong animosity between the couple. I didn't say anything about it, but continued to be friendly.

"So, have you met Elizabeth during school? She's in the same grade as you, so I believe you guys should have," Hanna asked.

"Yeah, I've met her once or twice. She seems like a lovely person," I lied.

"Well, you guys will get along great," Caleb chuckled. "Also, our son Willie goes to the same school as well."

"Yes, sir. They both seem like cool people to hang around. We could plan something one day."

I forced myself to smile. I, in no way, want to be seen with Lizzie because she's horrid. The way she speaks to others makes me feel inferior and worthless. I had to continue to lie good things for I don't want a bad impression about me. Willie, on the other hand, seemed less evil and horrid for I have not gotten to know him well. But, if he is anything like his twin, it won't be pretty.

Minutes later, I kindly walked the evil twins upstairs to a room they could hang out in. They quietly followed and took a seat, showing no interest in the reunion. Ignoring them, I walked downstairs to notice a new family entering through the front door.

Entering the house was a family; it consisted of two parents, a mother and a father, and three children, a son and two daughters, the younger daughter wrapped around the mother's body, the elder daughter carrying a book in one hand, and the son staring at his cell phone.

I noticed tears in my mother's eyes as they walked in for she was joyed. Every single person hugs each other as none of them had seen each other in a long while.

"Spence, look at you!" My mother gleamed, alongside Hanna, as they spoke to the woman named Spence, which is a name I've never heard of before. Realizing it was my turn to introduce myself, I reached out my hand for a handshake and promptly told her my name.

She tried to return the handshake, however, her hands were tied with holding her baby. She chuckled, "Anya, how cute. I'm Spencer. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

After that, my mom motioned her to take a seat and relax. She, carefully, put her baby down and hugged my parents. Her husband, on the other hand, chatted away with my father and Caleb, as they seemed to have a similar bond like the women.

Spencer nudged her children to introduce themselves to me, so they began. They seemed hesitant to do so, yet they obeyed their mother and began to speak.

A/N: I realized I've been neglecting all my stories, so here is a part of the next chapter! It was supposed to be longer (and introduce everyone), but I wrote this around a month ago and did not complete it. I honestly had no motivation to finish this chapter, so I will be making it into smaller, separate chapters. Thank you for reading and sticking with me even when my update times are terrible!