Lucky Charms

"Reed Brennan! Come over here, now!"

It was embarrassing hearing my name being thrown across a cacophony of noises – people slurping drinks, the jingle of poker chips and the hushed whispers – let alone hear it from Gage. He was losing a lot of of money in craps, and remembering my good fortune from St. Barth's, he decided to be an idiot and call me from four tables down.

I raised my head up to see where he was at. Gage was looking as if he was going to die any second now. He caught my eye and (embarrassingly) motioned for me to come over. I had no choice but to go.

Trying to find a way through the narrow areas, I quickly made my way through and went to Gage's table. I looked around and saw a lot of the Easton boys there. Much to my surprise, Sawyer was there with Graham, joking around and laughing. I smiled once I approached the table, standing next to Gage. Sawyer's eyes brightened considerably and he waved to me, then focused his attention back at the game.

"What is it?" I asked. I was a little annoyed because I was enjoying my time with the St. Mary's students who came down to New York just to party. They were fun.

Gage pulled me closer, and I cringed. He ignored my protests, leaned forward and retrieved the dice. His hand clenched around the small cubes and he brought it up to my face. "You know the drill."

Rolling my eyes, I blew a kiss and turned my attention elsewhere. Sawyer was looking at me and I smiled, acknowledging his presence, when suddenly, I heard yelps. It seemed that my good luck had returned for the night. Gage was jumping up and down; he even gave me a hug. I wasn't too happy.

"Alright, so I should go . . ." I trailed off, hoping he got the idea.

"Yeah, yeah, do whatever . . . I'm on a roll, baby!" He high-fived a neighboring old man who was doing a hell of a lot better than Gage and kissed a random girl beside him, earning a glare from the well-off man.

I shook my head and proceeded to leave. When I turned around, I saw Sawyer. I gave a startled gasp, and after willing for my heartbeat to slow down, I said, "Jesus, Sawyer, you scared me."

He blushed. "Sorry. I – I thought you saw me . . ."

His shyness was really cute. "It's OK. What's up?"

"Nothing in particular." Sawyer paused and smiled bashfully, inching a bit closer to me. "You look beautiful, Reed." Poor guy still looked nervous and I, in return, was feeling a bit uncomfortable. We had never . . . talked like this. Like we were more than just friends. His word choice could have been interpreted as normal friend talk, but after getting rid of Josh and being officially single, things were enhanced. Different.

"Uh, thanks." I looked down at my dress and said with a shrug, "It's a bit extravagant . . . I'm not used to this stuff."

"By wearing it, it shows you're willing to tolerate it. But you're not tolerating, are you?" The tone of our conversation sounded a little serious, so I kept my mouth shut. Sawyer suddenly gave me a simple smile and said, "You like it. So enjoy it.

"You deserve it."

I glanced around the Palace hall, which could have rivaled any casino in Vegas, at my friends who were desperately trying to win some cash, and back to a beaming Sawyer. I did deserve it. After two years of trials and tribulations, I deserved to be rewarded.

"Thanks, Sawyer. It means a lot." Smiling back I said, "You enjoy yourself, OK? I'm going to go and check up on some things." He nodded and I patted his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze. I wasn't lying about him having fun.

I walked off and inspected the hall. A ton of people were here, and we couldn't have been happier. All of our hard work paid off. The party was exclusive, rich, and spoiled – the very essence of high society.

Over to the side, I saw Astrid at a table with a bunch of old men with younger-looking wives. I could tell she was distressed because she kept running her fingers through her hair. Having nothing better to do, I decided to go over and check on her.

"Hey, Astrid," I said, sliding in next to her. Quickly, I found out she was playing Texas Hold 'Em. The table seemed hot, and it also appeared Astrid knew what she was doing.

"Oh, Reed, thank God you're here." She leaned in and whispered vehemently, "I have no bloody idea what I'm doing. I'm going to send you a text, and you text me back, alright?"

It took me a while to understand what Astrid told me, but mere seconds later, I heard a ring from my clutch. Discreetly, I moved to the side and tried to read the text without any prying eyes. Astrid smiled approvingly, glad she didn't need to tell me how to act so people wouldn't think she was cheating.

I read the message; she didn't know the difference between a flush and a straight. I began typing, telling her a flush beats a straight. All of a sudden, the table began talking way too loud, and a few looked flat-out pissed.

"Look lady, why don't you quit the game or fold, alright? You're wasting my goddamn time," a handsome, burly man across the table said. I hadn't realized how long it took me to text back, explaining her that a flush was five cards in the same suit but not a sequence, and that a straight was five cards in a sequence but not in the same suit. Hurriedly, I sent it.

"Sod off," Astrid said. "I'll take my damn time, thank you very much."

Keeping the nonchalant manner going, Astrid glanced at her cell phone, tucked it between her legs and smiled. I glanced back at Astrid over my shoulder, and she gave me the tiniest of smirks.

Smirking also, I went off, saying hellos to people here and there. After a short time, I heard a loud "Fucking ace!" from a table. I directed my attention towards the sound, and saw Astrid was hugging the same man who told her to quit.

"Hey, Reed."

I jumped at the sound of my voice, and willed for my heartbeat to slow down for the second time this evening. Much to my dismay, Josh was standing right in front of me. His golden locks were thrown all around his face, and his hand encircled a glass of champagne.

"Josh."

He gave a pained, nervous laugh, looking directly at me. I tilted my head up, showing him I didn't care, and that I was too pissed to even see him. "I wanted to talk to you."

Well, I didn't want to talk to him. "Yeah?" I asked brusquely. I was itching to leave.

Josh sighed. "I wanted to apologize. I should have told you about the – the thing or whatever. I didn't want you to get mad at me, not that it did any good, but . . ."

I shook my head and said, "But you and Ivy ended up teaming together. That tells me a lot, Josh. It tells me you did do it on purpose. You wanted to."

"No, no! I mean, I was forced to go down and say stuff, and – OK, fine. I thought if I went and gave this testimony, all the future crazies who might want to hurt you wouldn't come! I did it to protect you and everyone else," Josh explained.

Yes, Josh wanted to save me. Yes, I was still angry with him, but in all actuality, I was trying to find an excuse just to be mad at him. After all, his betrayal wasn't a big deal because we were still rebuilding Billings back. I didn't have to be angry with Josh. I was being stupid.

A wave of relief and peace followed after. This fight was petty and unnecessary. I could move past this. So, sticking out my hand yet again, I said, "I'm sorry for acting like an idiot. I really am."

"Don't be – part of it is my fault." Josh stepped forward grasped my hand firmly, looking straight through me. Our hands were intertwined for a prolonged period of time, neither of us letting go. I saw him breathe a sigh of relief, as I did.

Finally, Josh seemed to get a grip on himself and let go of my hand. He smiled a little forcedly, but after a few seconds, his lips formed a genuine grin. He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking slightly flushed and said, "You know, the first time I saw you, I knew you were . . . something. What it was, I didn't know. I just knew."

A moment of comfortable silence passed between us. "When I first saw you," I explained, "I thought you were a nerdy boy who followed Thomas around." His brows furrowed at my revelation, so I continued. "And I was right - don't think I didn't notice the Star Trek collection under your bed!"

"What? No way," he burst out. "No one knows of my collector's edition! How did you even find out?"

I smirked, laughter getting ready to erupt. "I saw it under your bed. Sometimes, I would see the DVDs out of the box; that was when I knew you were watching it."

We both began to laugh in a light and airy manner. It was comfortable, normal for us; there was nothing in between. A few tears leaked out of Josh's eyes, and he tilted his champagne glass towards me. "That's gay. You of all people – it was supposed to be a secret!" He chuckled once more, leaning against the wall.

"We were good back then, weren't we?" I asked, playfully tugging my golden belt. I glanced up and smiled at Josh.

He inhaled and leaned forward, motioning for me to come closer. He bent over and whispered, "I'll let you in on a secret."

"Uh huh."

Josh pulled back and grinned, drinking the remains of his champagne. "We're better now."

And I believed him because we really were.


A/N: Many thanks to my reviewers and to Glyndewar for beta-ing.

Just three more chapters and it's over! The playlist is coming up if you want to check it out.